It had been three quiet months since Snowhawk’s treatment had ended and Rais had returned to Juv. Adian sat outside, the crystal clear night bitterly cold. The wolf had a great deal on his mind, but most of it revolved around the pale Delphin he’d sworn to protect. Why can’t you be mine, Snow? he mused. He sat in the cold for hours, trying to calm his thoughts. The sky clouded up, and soon, a few flakes of snow began to fall. Perhaps he could… No. He couldn’t betray his brother, and she wouldn’t appreciate being forced to love him. He wouldn’t turn into the very vampire they were so determined to destroy. But the long years ahead looked dim.
“Adian?” Snowhawk’s voice called out. “What are you doing out in this freezing weather?” She carried a small lantern, and had a heavy cloak pulled about her.
The Lupino quickly cleared his mind and turned to see her pale form, her exposed fur glowing ever-so-slightly in the light. “Just thinking. It wasn’t snowing earlier.” She was a light to him. Despite everything, she still shone.
“Do you mind if I join you?”
“Only if my brother doesn’t.”
She smiled and walked closer to him, then sat fairly near him. She set her lantern down, and turned on the bench, pulling one leg up on it, to face him. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you.”
“Snowhawk, there’s no trouble I won’t go through for you. I swore to protect you, and that’s what I’ll do.”
“But even before that. Because of Kione.”
“I think of it like this, if Kione hadn’t found me after Sophie tried to kill me, I probably wouldn’t be here to protect you from him. He knew who you were, and you’d honestly probably be gone by now, turned back to Emerald. Then I’d have a moping brother to have to listen to while I haunted him.”
The Delphin smiled again. “I really appreciate everything, Adi.”
They sat in silence for a few moments, then Adian asked, “How has my brother been doing when I’m not around? Has Kirrian returned?”
Snowhawk looked down, shuffling her hooves a bit. “Sometimes. I’m still not sure, some nights, if Janus will be able to fight him off.”
“Don’t hesitate to call for help if you need it, Snowhawk. Protecting you from harm means from my brother too.”
The mare give a small nod, then turned to Adian and unexpectedly hugged him. “Thank you,” she whispered. In turn, the Lupino wrapped one arm around her, simply wishing this wouldn’t stop. “I’d better go,” she said after a minute, pulling away from him. “I’m getting tired. Please don’t stay out too late. A wolf-sicle isn’t going to help me any.”
Adian couldn’t help but smile. “No, it wouldn’t.”
After she vanished back into the estate, he’d reached up to where her face had been against his chest. His shirt was damp. Had she been crying? Perhaps his brother was worse off than she let on. The Director had warned them he could have periods where he was worse than others as his body reacted to the residual effects of the Avizon venom.
Following Snowhawk leaving, Adian sat alone, in silence, for another half hour. He watched as where she’d sat and where her hooves had fallen were covered in snow. He wondered what it meant, to her, now that she’d taken her steel shoes off. Had they been a fashion statement for the past decade, or was she actually trying to fight against her nature? Either way, he was glad to see them gone.
He finally decided to go inside and go to sleep. After a short walk, he was back in his room. He undressed and laid down in bed, pulling the covers up just past his waist. He placed his hands behind his head and stared at the dark ceiling for a few moments before closing his eyes. In what seemed like just a second later, he heard his door open and quickly shut. He reached over and turned the light on, and was surprised to see Snowhawk standing in his doorway. She looked terrified. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I just –” she began, pausing to collect her thoughts. “I just can’t stay with him tonight. He’s too bad off.”
“Come here, then, dear. You don’t have to.” He knew the mare couldn’t stand to be alone. She quickly made her way to the bed, laying down next to him.
“I’m sorry, Adi.”
“Don’t be sorry. He’ll get over it soon.”
A moment later she looked up at the chocolate wolf and asked, “Will he?”
Even Adian couldn’t be sure of that, so he shut off the light, then wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him. “Even if he doesn’t, you’ll be safe with me.”
She sighed softly, and cuddled up to him.
What seemed like an hour later, Adian was again awoken. This time, it was by her gentle nuzzling. She said something in the Delphin language he couldn’t understand, then took one of his hands and placed it on her breast. “Snow,” he said, unsure if she was coherent enough to realize what she was doing. She soon lifted her head up, her mouth finding his, and kissed him. “Snowhawk, what are you doing?” he whispered. She responded by gently, but firmly, pulling him over her.
“Don’t let me be alone,” she whispered in reply, then kissed him again.
Adian woke up with a start. Snowhawk was with him, asleep, so that must have been a dream. How in the world would I really deal with that? he wondered. He looked at the Delphin laying next to him, then gently stroked her cheek, then lay back down, one arm around her, and went back to sleep.
The next morning, the pair was awoken by a tentative knock on the door. Adian quickly jumped out of bed and went to answer the caller. He was greeted by his brother, seemingly unaware of what ever had transpired the night before. “Have you seen Snowhawk? I think I blacked out last night. I can’t remember a thing.”
“She’s here,” Adian replied, worried about this blackout spell. “You were apparently not on your best behavior last night.”
Janus sighed. “I was afraid of that. Is she okay?”
“Come on in, brother. She was shaken, but managed to sleep through the night.”
“Thank you, Adian,” Janus said with a small bow before he stepped into the room to see his love sitting up from Adian’s bed.
She quickly hopped out of bed, trotting to him. “Oh, thank God you’re back to normal,” she said as she wrapped her arms around him.
Adian looked away, then stalked out of the room.
“Adi, where are you going?” Snowhawk called out.
“To find another Avizon. Things can’t keep going on like this between you two.”
He didn’t even know where to start, or even if another Avizon would really help. But still, he had to try, for the sake of all three of them.
Hours later, he found himself down a not so familiar street, and discovered a new bar. “How long has this place been here?” he wondered. He’d used the bars of the city to find prey when needed, he’d not had the nerve to ask Snowhawk for help with that particular problem of his. Still, something called to him about this place. He stepped inside, finding most of the chairs still up on the tables, but a friendly enough Lupino female tending the bar. She waved him over, smiling generously. As he sat down, she pushed a notepad in front of him. It simply read “What can I get you to drink?”
“You’re mute?” he asked, somewhat shocked that she wouldn’t have found help. Of course, there was help for his condition, and he’d not taken it. With a small sigh, the bartender gave a nod. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”
She took her notepad back, and quickly scrawled out, “It’s okay, I’m used to it.”
“I guess I’ll just have a beer,” he said with a sigh. “Unless you can help me find someone.”
She sized him up for a moment, then took a guess as to the type of beer he’d best prefer. She slid the glass in front of him, then asked, via her note pad, “Who are you looking for?”
“Its not so much a specific person as a specific species,” he replied as he took a sip. “Amazing, that’s just what I had in mind.”
She smiled broadly, another guest satisfied. She turned and went back to arranging some of the liquor bottles on the shelf behind her.
“You don’t happen to know any Avizon, do you?” the chocolate Lupino asked.
The bartender almost dropped the bottle in her hand. She quickly composed herself, placing the bottle back on the shelf, and turned to face him. She quickly wrote out a note, then slipped the pad before him. “Who wants to know?”
“My brother… He’s not doing well. He was attacked by an Avizon over a decade ago and has been having trouble dealing with the residual effects of the venom. The Avizon that attacked him is long dead, so we’re trying to find a cure in another.”
“Sounds noble.” she scribbled out, her hand still shaking.
“If it will make his mate happy, then I’ll do anything for him.”
The bartender took a few moments to think, then looked around, making doubly sure the bar was empty, then quickly rushed to the door, shutting, locking, and pulling its curtain closed. She did the same for the curtain over the large front window. Then she returned to the other wolf. “I may have an answer for you,” she wrote, “but the secret must be kept.”
“What secret?”
“Mine,” she replied on her note pad, then stepped back. Her lupine form melted away, revealing the draconic form of an Avizon.
“Holy shit!” Adian exclaimed, nearly falling off his bar stool. “How long have you been in the city?” he asked after taking a moment to compose himself.
“All my life,” was the written reply. “My family owned this bar, and I took it over.”
“And you’ve been hiding as Lupino all this time?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder we couldn’t find you. Would you be willing to help? All we need is a venom sample.”
Thoughts of how venom was collected from snakes ran through her head. “How would you acquire it?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to contact a doctor in Juv that we’ve been working with to see how he needs it.”
“I don’t want my head squeezed.”
Adian laughed a bit, pulling out his phone. “I doubt they’ll do that. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure your secret is kept. I know the value of keeping secrets.”
He quickly pulled up Rais’ number, and stepped away to call. The bartender overheard his half of the conversation. “Rais, I found an Avizon.”
“Wonderful!” the director replied.
“But they don’t want to be exposed. Is there a way to collect a venom sample without anyone but me finding out about them?”
“I see. If they can collect their venom in a clean jar, that’ll give us enough to work with.”
“Good to hear.”
“Don’t have them do it yet, though. My team and I will come up there, and once we’re there and set up, we can start working. The fresher the sample the better.”
“Okay, thank you Rais. We look forward to seeing you.” Adian stuffed his phone back in his pocket, and then turned to the Avizon, who had returned to her Lupino form. “I’ll be back in a few days. The Director said it’s best if the venom sample is as fresh as possible. To collect it, it just need to be gathered in a clean jar. I’ll leave it up to you to decide how to best do that.”
“As long as my head isn’t being squeezed.”
“Only if you’re the one doing the squeezing.”
“And no one else will know?”
“No, I’ll come back on my own. Is it usually this quiet around this time?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you so much. I don’t even know your name, but you’re about to help not just my brother, but who knows how many other beings.”
“Just call me Ginia.”
“Thank you, Ginia. I’ll return in five or six days. It depends on when the Director arrives.” The wolf, feeling renewed, quickly finished the glass of beer before him.
Ginia went to unlock the door for the Lupino, and held the door open for him as he walked out. Before exiting the bar, he ran back and placed more than enough cash under his glass to cover his single beer. He bowed his head slightly to the bartender, and quickly headed back to the estate.