SIXTY-ONE | 'LEVELING-UP'

There's a kitchenet in the very back of the main house, well a 'kitchenet' may be a little generous. The entirety of the room consists of a large biohazard bin with discarded - empty - blood bags, and a thick silver door. As Mikyle leads me purposefully into the strange place, I feel my stomach bottoming out again...and a strange burning in my jaw. I'm starting to realize this is what it's like to be hungry as a vampire. No real hunger *per se*, but and intense...*thirst*.

Only the thirst goes beyond a parched mouth and sore throat. I *ache* for something, the very marrow in my bones burning with an arid heat that's almost worse than any pain I've felt before. Every ounce of strength is drained from me, and there's an almost primal feel to each step I take towards that metal door. My heart's quieted now, slower than usual in my chest, but each beat is heavy, almost labored.

Mikyle's still holding onto me, making sure I don't fall again, even as we reach the door. He pauses, not saying a word and looking as calm as ever as he uses one hand to pull on the handle of the metal monstrosity. I feel the usual dread consume me, looking into the walk-in fridge that holds exactly what I thought it would. Rows upon rows of...

"Lunch is served," Mikyle tells me with a knowing grin, walking us into the cold room. I survey the shelves of blood bags, each row seeming to be organized first by date, then by blood-type. I grimace, but can't deny the increase in heat within me, just at the sight of that rich red color on the shelves. My lips suddenly feel stretched too tight over my mouth and I know my fangs have dropped down again.

"One bag." I tell my shadow icily, giving into the thirst, yes, but not willing to be overwhelmed by it.

"'Course, princess." Mikyle keeps on grinning, pulling me to the first row and leaning me against the opposite empty shelving. He walks over to the shelf and plucks a bag from the top shelf, popping the tubing from the top and coming back over to me. "Bottom's up." He says cheerily.

"Bottom's up," I echo, reaching a shaky hand out to gingerly grip the bag and pull the opened tube to my lips. I try not to focus on the thick texture of the stuff as I suck, pretending it's a milkshake, though the taste is- not that bad. I pause, hesitating as I hold the cold stuff in my mouth, my tongue flicking at roof of my mouth.

"What do you think?" Mikyle asks eagerly, still wearing that grin of his. I frown at him, wondering if he spiked my 'lunch' or if blood is supposed to taste like this. "Don't keep me in suspense, princess. What's the verdict?" He asks again, and I swallow, the liquid settling coolly in my stomach and dulling the ache in my bones.

"Mh." I mumble, shrugging, but the motion is less unsure and more of a twitch of hesitation. I take in another gulp, then another as the sweet stuff warms a little from my hands, it tastes better. The closer to body-temperature it gets, the more I find myself liking it. The flavor isn't something I can describe - aside from being sweet - but there's something about it that makes me crave more - like chocolate.

Before I realize it, I'm sucking on nothing, the crumples plastic in my hands completely empty. I stare at the baggie, my mouth still watering as I recall the taste from the warming blood-

*Stop. Just stop*. I order myself, taking a deep breath as I fight to unclasp my hands from the clear bag and pass it back to Mikyle. He's watching me carefully, no longer smiling, and eyes darker than ever. I feel shame roll through me, driving the thirst away and replacing it with nausea.

"You okay?" Mikyle asks me slowly. I nod, the movement more fluid than I thought I could ever muster. I give my shoulders an experimental stretch, feeling the hum of strength in my muscles, a grace I never though I could possess following my movements. "Good, now lets get back to practice." My shadow leads me back out of the blood room and back into the kitchenet, where he promptly disposes of the empty bag in the biohazard bin. I follow him back out to the field we were in before and wait for him to face me.

Now that I've had 'lunch', I'm more alert and energized. It's a different sort of feeling than before - when I was using my Wolven strength. This is more...controlled. Time feels different, slower, but also faster - vibrating all around me like something tangible. I touch the chords, grazing them with my fingers as if I were strumming the strings of a guitar.

Mikyle's saying something, but I can't hear him as his mouth moves in a blur, his normally slow movements jerky and fast as he rushes at me. But I can see him - despite how fast I know he's moving. I clench my fingers around the vibrating chords, slowing their pulsing into a muffled thump in my grasp as I react on instinct.

My entire body flies through the air, speeding past him and kicking up an insane amount of dirt in my wake. I twist just out of my shadows way, at the same time my arm juts out to land a blow at his passing back. Then the chords slip through my hands and I feel as though I've just done a belly-flop off a high-dive. I let out a hiss, falling to my knees as my entire body burns and stings, my nails dig into the ground as the jarring pounding of my heart threatens to burst through my eyes. Everything is pulsing around me, choking and itching-

"What the-?" Mikyle gasps from somewhere behind me, his voice deafening in my ears. I wince, stretching my neck experimentally as the vibrancy of life begins to settle around me once again. "How did you-?" He's kneeling in front of me, eyes wide and excited.

"That hurt." I choke out, even my throat aching as if I've sung fifty arias.

He just grins and looks around as I regain my senses an sit back on my knees, blinking as the pounding fades to the usual rhythm of my heartbeat. He's frowning now, examining something behind me with a look of surprise on his face. I look over my shoulder - and gape at the disaster I'd left in my wake.

We're only a few feet from the library wall, but the once grassy ground has been ruined. Looking as if a comet blasted off from the spot I'd been standing only moments ago is a pit at least eight feet deep with concentric rings spreading out. Dead grass and debris lay scattered up to fifteen feet away and the once smooth stone of the library wall had a jagged scar from the ground to the center of the massive building.

"Okay then-" Mikyle breathes, examining the destroyed terrain and cracked stone of the library. "New plan:" He looks back at me, a light in his dark red eyes. "We'll have train somewhere you can wreck without Hale wanting to kill me - or you."

"Gee, thanks." I grumble dryly, pressing my lips into a thin line.

"I know just the place, princess." Mikyle gestures for me to follow him as he begins walking east, towards the ocean. I huff a deep sigh and follow after him, casting one last glance at the crater I'd made with one running start. And that was just after one blood bag... Dread and terror thread together as my resolve to train begins to fray.