Skyla’s like a crazed Pekinese. Young vampires (until around ten years of age) are like a young anything-- totally out of control! Skyla is so cute. She’s my little lovely. When I see her feeding, I feel a tug, at my heart. She takes these little pauses and licks her lips. Then back at it. She and I are so close. I love to snuggle with her and have a lull with her next to me. I usually come out of the lull first and she always looks so angelic. Like a wee vamp angel. I thank God so much my parents didn’t stop with me. Skyla, is my gift in this world. No matter how confused, or filled with angst, or in a funk I am, she brings me out of it-- even if Lily can’t, Skyla always can.
I guess if I was put to the test I would die for any of my family-- but for Skyla; I would gladly die for her without a moment of hesitation. If it meant saving her from harm, or death by the hands of another, even a vampire, I would tear them apart if need be. I would kill them.
Killing another vampire for almost any reason is against the code. We have all sorts of committees, tribunals, and social arbiters to settle grievances. If death is to come, it is by government action only. You cannot kill another vampire without facing death yourself-- but for Skyla, I would. I so would.
My right ear-bud was just unceremoniously pulled from my ear. Who the H? I turn to look and Christian’s p’d-off face is staring at me. Skyla’s with her and is moving to the end of the bed. Here comes the jump on the bed, the puppy-eyes and the pleading. I want to resist Skyla for more “me” time with The Cons, so I don’t make eye contact with her.
“Luna, COME ON! I’ve got homework to finish before school,” Skyla pleads.
I’m almost ready to fall prey to Skyla’s pleading. I can’t help myself. I look at her. She’s got me in her puppy-eyes tractor-beam. I’m cracking.
“Luna, get your scrawny butt up!” Christian demands of me.
That helps to break Skyla’s tractor-beam. I look at Christian and on her face is plastered that “older sister” look. We all hate the “older sister” look - am I right?
I returned the volley with the younger sister “what’s the problem” look, which is really masking the “up yours” thought in my head. I’m so omnipotent within the confines of my own head. LOVES IT!
Skyla shakes her head in hopelessness as this whole thing plays out on a seemingly regular basis now. I wish she’d understand, I just don’t like to go with the family anymore. Christian did the same thing for awhile but came back to hunt with the family. I know she came back for selfish reasons. She gets it done faster as Mom and Dad are exceptional stalkers.
Right now, I want to scream “I just want to be left alone!” Instead, I’ll try to weasel out of it.
“It won’t take me long. It’s a 24/7 world now. It’s only like an hour or so for me,” I tell Christian.
I threw that out there to get Christian off my back because she obviously wanted to get the feeding out of the way so she could IChat with Alexander (her lame, emo, boyfriend). She is not however giving up. She wants me to come to make things go a little faster. I'm on to her.
“Not at this time of year. You remember what happened last year when you didn’t take in enough? The school administrators and Child Protective Services were all over Mom and Dad. And I got questioned too. All because you were AIMing with Lily every night, almost all night long. Only Lily was smart enough to have that Amish family as her source,” Christian says.
That’s true. I was a wee hooked on AIMing. Now Lily and I SKYPE too - so we can do really juvenile things in our undies. Maybe that’s too much sharing?
Lily is really smart in her vampire ways. She finds these “situations” all the time, like the Amish family - and milks them for all they’re worth.
Last year she came upon this Amish family that was setting up a new colony, commune, community or whatever they call it. There was, count them… eight kids, all over the age of thirteen and their two parents. They are out in the boonies clearing land with oxen and plows and building barns and fences around acres of land. They even built a school where the kids are schooled by their school teacher Mom. Anyway, they’re all exhausted at night and sleep like logs. All Lily has to do is show up any time after 9:00 p.m. and leave before they get up at 5:00 a.m. and zippity do dah, in forty-five minutes or less she is done, stomach maxed with blood, and on her way.
Did Lily tell her BFF, Luna about her super situation so she could tag along and share in the good fortune? Nope. So I fell into an equilibrium lull for a month.
“That was last year, Christian. Puberty totally kicked in this year and slid right into adulthood so I’m very fast now,” I say looking right at her. (yeah-- even puberty goes fast for us too)
Surely this defense will work to get Christian and Skyla to leave. Nobody likes to hear the word puberty. It’s one yucky word. Say puberty around a boy and they start twitching and walking funny. It has the same effect as when human girls hear another term for the very first time. We had to sit through the same “hygiene” class as our human-girl counterparts in fifth grade. Yeah, those girls were twitching in their seats all right. We laughed because female vampires don’t need to worry about that particular thing. We’re lucky in that regard. Our internal workings are different. That’s enough on that subject fo’ sho’.
And it was true as far as my body and vampire puberty. Boobs have kicked in and wow… so did the afterburners and the strength. I’m at a whole new level. Same things have happened with Lily. Except her boobs are boobettes. Lily’s hoping there’s more to come. But we’re fully developed by fifteen. What we’ve got by then, is what we’ll have for life. Sorry Lily.
It doesn’t make much difference really as those things (boobs) are left over from our long-ago human past. Vampires don’t suckle. Your neck is our boob. I’m just telling you how it is. Oddly, those things (boobs) still have the same effect on the males of our species though. Those wires, for some reason, did not get re-wired by evolution.
“Puberty, what’s that?” Skyla asks.
“You could miss the Winter Solstice Masquerade Ball if it happens again Luna,” Christian says as she quickly moves past Skyla’s question.
Be still my heart! A school dance. How could I miss that?!
I can’t stand school activities of any kind and I’ll only do the ones I’m obligated to do (a.k.a. forced to do) for grades. A school dance-- I’d rather suck on a rat’s neck.
“Oh, that’s like totally on my “To Do List,” I respond to Christian, as if it even needed a response.
“Lots of boys are going to be there. You’re of age now. Time to get out there and test the waters,” Christian says sweet as fresh blood.
“What’s puberty?!” Skyla insists.
“Nothing,” Christian and I say to her at the same time.
Now Mom and Dad come in.
Is there no end to the torture?!
“What’s the problem?” Dad asks.
“I think puberty, whatever that is?” Skyla blurts innocently.
“What?” Mom and Dad say at the same time exactly as Christian and I did
