Michael's Story

Dani

Dani finished brushing her hair up into a ponytail and glanced at her nails. The color on these things is going to have to change. She looked herself over in the mirror. Her light denim shorts were somewhat short, but not exposing anything more than her legs. The top she wore with it was a green v-neck. I've got green nail polish... She moved into the bathroom connected to her bedroom. On the counter was a variety of things. Two hair curlers sat in a corner. A semi-large group of small glass bottles filled another corner. Before she picked up the green polish, she opened the mirrored cabinet and took out the nail polish remover. Her nails were a light pink. It was her favorite shade since it was more neutral than most colors, but still cute.

By the time Dani got herself together, her mother was already up and in the kitchen. "I hope she's in a good mood today," she muttered to herself. Dani looked herself over in the mirror once more before she decided she was decent enough and headed into the kitchen. Her family fell into the middle class, so their home was nice, but nothing extravagant. It was definitely nice compared to the military housing they were living in before. This house made that house look like an over-sized cardboard box.

"I need you to wash the dishes right now," her mother said in her usual cranky tone. Dani sighed and waited for her mother to move so she could start the dishes. "I want it done now," her mother emphasized. "I need you to move first," Dani replied, a little irritation in her voice. "You can watch your tone." Then her mother was out of the room. Dani moved in front of the sink and began her daily chore. I wouldn't mind doing chores so much if she would be nice about it.


Mathias

Mathias wandered the luxurious villa his blood-bound human called home. It was nice for an Earth home, but nothing compared to what beings stronger and more powerful than himself possessed. He slid from shadow to shadow. The sun is rising. I must return before it is fully risen. His form continued to flow into the light shadows of the trees, bushes, the building, until he was finally inside the room again. For now, this is my life. I will not fail. He settled into the shadow beneath Michael's sleeping place and waited.

Michael was asleep in his overly sized bed, it was too big for four people, let alone just one. But there were two big dogs in his house, and both were Saarloos Wolfdogs. And guess what, they loved sleeping with him in bed. The female was spread out across Michael's chest, happily licking his face as he slept, tail wagging slowly to show her enjoyment. The male was laying beside the boy, and his pregnant mate. And Michael...

He was petting his dogs, smiling happily, eyes closed, knowing the sun was rising. He enjoyed these mornings where he was awoken by his dogs whom he loved very much. He was looking forward to the puppies of the two dogs, he had not intended to getting puppies, but they had chosen to mate and get puppies and he had left them to do so. Michael gently shoved Nikai, the female, to the side and and stretched with a yawn. He got up and got dressed, then went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and comb his hair, before pulling on a tank top and jogging pants before making his way down the staircase to make himself breakfast, Marley, the male following together with Nikai.

Mathias

Mathias enjoyed the presence of the canines with his human. The human seemed to be put in a positive place when they were around, which pleased Mathias. It wasn't like the faithful canines would ever turn on their owner. He continued watching from the shadows. When Michael lightly moved the female canine from over him, he knew the human was finally getting out of bed.

Following Michael down the stairs was a simple task. He used the dogs' shadows to conceal himself. The pets became convenient to him as they followed their owner where ever he went. Being mates, the two canines walked together, which created a bigger shadow for him to stretch himself out a little, not that space was an issue for shadows. "Michael," he whispered. His voice always carried a note of seriousness in it, as if he rarely ever said anything that wasn't important. "I will need another feeding before you go anywhere today."

Michael knew he was being followed, by a particular creature that had surprised him when he met it, but glad to have rescued it either way. He paid no attention to the creature though, knowing that as long as it said nothing, there was nothing to talk about really. Once in the kitchen, he baked some bacon and got some toast, some eggs and some cheese. He threw it all on one plate and sat down at the kitchen table, not really caring about the mess on his plate and started eating. Eating, until he spoke.

The young one looked up and towards Mathias as his name was spoken, and it sounded pretty serious, important. That was the case most of the time, when the shadow spoke there was something serious, important to be announced. ''A feeding...'' He nodded and cleaned his mouth after he was done eating, then put the plate in the dishwasher and looked towards Mathias. ''Alright then.''

Mathias

Mathias watched the human prepare and consume his food. Living used to be that easy for me... Before I was bound. The human finally acknowledged Mathias when the food was gone. If he could have smiled, he would have. "Thank you," he said quietly. His green eyes ran over the place. "You may find your means of feeding me. I am not picky. Once you have fed me, I will heal your wound as I have done before. It is your blood which gives me that power," he explained.


Dani

Dani jogged to keep up with her dogs every once in a while. Their energy was almost contagious as they excitedly jumped around her and wagged their tails. She was enjoying being outside and away from the house. Her shadow spoke. "Maybe to you. Humans don't live very long, so I'm not considered a little girl. I'm young, but not a little girl," she explained. Dani was sure that he already knew that, but she felt the need to say it.

There was a small moment of silence and Dani went back to enjoying being with her dogs. The German Shepherd was eager to explore everything outside. The Rottweiler on the other hand was more interested in keeping close to Dani. While they were at home, Dani didn't spend too much time with the dogs. They mainly stayed in the backyard because her mother didn't like having them in the house.

Dani heard the shadow speak to her again. She shrugged. "Just a walk. I don't go the same route every time. I just like getting out and exploring the area a little," she said calmly with a small small on her face. She nodded her head and said a friendly "Hello" as they passed. They nodded in return and kept going. "Was there somewhere you wanted to go?" she asked, her eyes still on her dogs.

Michael looked towards Mathias. ''I'll leave it all up to you.'' He seemed carefree today, more than usual. The young one got up, stretched and put the dishes in the dishwasher for them to be cleaned, being too lazy to wash them himself, especially when there was a machine that did the work for you. He looked towards the shadow and cocked his head to the right a bit, then noticed his two dogs watching the shadow as well. He wondered if they could see and understand the conversation. He shrugged and filled the bowls of his dogs with water and food.

Mathias

Mathias made a small sound that resembled a human sigh. His voice was a tad deeper with an edge of darkness. It had nothing to do with him in particular. Every shadow resembles the realm they come from in that way. Like a humans from different places will have an accent.

The dogs fell under the attention of Mathias very briefly. They were of no danger to him or Michael, so he deemed them insignificant. The only credibility they had with him was that they appeared to love their master very dearly.

"Alright. Lend me your arm. This will not take any longer than usual." Mathias drifted toward Michael. I can break the skin myself, but it will feel different from the sting of a blade. He concealed a small patch of skin with the shadow of his mouth and pierced the skin as lightly as he could manage. The thick, hot liquid poured from the opening and slowly satisfied the shadow's hunger. He was careful, as usual. Getting greedy and taking too much would lead the downfall of both him and his human. Once he received his daily fill, he sealed the wound.


Dani

Dani was content with his answer. She continued her walk quietly. Maddy turned to look at Dani and then put her head under her hand to be pet. Dani gave the Rottweiler the attention it was asking for. After receiving her bit of attention, Maddy returned to Nitro's side and continued walking. My dogs are silly. Their behavior was amusing to her. She didn't know many dogs that would stop on a walk to get attention from their owner. I wonder why they do it.

Dani glanced down at her shadow. She was a little unsure about him, but he wasn't causing her any trouble, so there wasn't much for her to be unsure about. Maybe it's his attitude. She thought about it for a second longer before dropping it. It's not like it's bad having him. I'm just not sure he actually likes being near me. The thought felt ridiculous to her. Why should she care if he enjoyed being around her? It's not like she was particularly close to him, except that she shared her blood with him. "Is it degrading for you to be stuck to me?" she asked purely out of curiosity.

Michael sat down and looked towards the shadow, stretching his arm out to the demon. He closed his eyes and let the shadow do what he needed to do. He didn't mind, he was used to it by now but it didn't always make him comfortable. Not that he cared much. He was unsure if he wanted to go to work today, or school. He often skipped work and school and let someone else do what he needed to do. "Say, Demon, what're your plans?"

Mathias

Mathias considered the boy's question. "My plans? I am to stay by your side at all times to ensure that you are safe." He was unsure of how that could have been unclear from the very beginning. Maybe humans require verbal confirmation of everything. Perhaps he would have understood better if I had informed him of the terms. Then a thought crossed his mind. What if he is asking out of courtesy? "What are your plans?" he asked in return. What the human did was no concern of his. All that mattered was that Mathias would be there if anything happened to him.

Michael looked at the demon and shrugged. ''I have no clue. A quick jog around the area to check the garden, then, perhaps...'' He frowned, what was he going to do today? Maybe he'd head out into the city later tonight to drink and party. In the meanwhile, he could read a book, study... There wasn't much to do anyway. He just hated being bored.

Mathias

Mathias gave a slight shrug in his shadowy form. It had grown darker and a little more solid since the feeding. It was finally taking its effects. Gratefulness flooded him along with it. "Well, whatever it is you choose to do, I will accompany you. Just do not cause any harm unto yourself. Perhaps a jog would be healthy for you."

The young boy's health was important to the shadow. It was Michael's blood that kept him alive and that would always be the case. My life will end with his. The thought was dooming. As soon as his blood runs out, I will have nothing.