by Arantes
She smiled and thought. He might be a Black Reaper one day if his actions are as strong and true as his words. The passion in his eyes was strong; his determination to help others was inspiring.
Sonia was much older than he was, Albedo being around sixteen years old. She had told him her real age, which was fifty-nine. However, she had the resemblance of an eighteen year old. Vampires and Purebloods could live for thousands of years; age was irrelevant to them. Their beauty lasted longer than a human; she was still considered to be a young adult.
“Alright then, let’s get started.”
The first part of training consisted of him performing laps from school to home and back. She wanted him to run all the way up the mountain and come back, to build his stamina.
Albedo looked hesitant.
“What’s wrong, you don’t think you can do it,” she mocked.
“It’s impossible,” he replied.
“Yes for a human, but you need to stop thinking like a human, now go!”
Albedo was filled with doubt and uncertainty, but eventually started running. As he started to run, he felt the same energy when he fled from Vincent. As he climbed the mountain, tiredness was the last thing on his mind. The wind rushing across his face induced an exuberant and reviving feeling. After a long run, he returned from the mountain with a renewed sense of self-esteem. He was running faster than he ever had before. He came down the mountain to see Sonia’s face with thrill.
Albedo couldn’t believe he just ran up the mountain and back. This energy, where is it coming from?
“Impressive, now we do it the hard way,” She had a heavy bag with her; in it was heavy gear.
“What is this?” Albedo asked.
She explained to him this is training gear that the king’s guard used to train.
“It’d be easy,” said Albedo confidently. “What’s a little extra weight? I’m feeling good right now, this strength and energy is taking over me!”
The training gears were nothing but regular clothes. He grabbed the one that goes on his legs, and realized how heavy it was.
“Each one is three hundred pounds, if we’re going to increase your strength fast this is the best way,” said Sonia.
Albedo struggled to put them on and asked, “Are you sure these are only three hundred pounds?”
She quickly assisted him with the gear. The clothes were so massive that Albedo felt as if gravity was working against him. As much as he wanted to be manly for her, it was just too heavy.
“You though my training was easy huh? Now do it with three hundred pounds!” said Sonia.
She looked ecstatic, which made Albedo wonder if she was enjoying his misery. Albedo started to run, but was only doing three steps every five seconds. His weak legs started quivering as the weights pull him down.
“You’re stronger than that Albedo, just like you thought you couldn’t run that fast and you did.”
This time it was different, the weight of the world was on him. Sonia walked along side of him, and watching her gave him more strength. After a long struggle they stopped.
“Well you almost made it to the mountain, so for today we’ll call it a day,” said Sonia. This was the nicest thing she had said to him all day.
Albedo asked, “How long am I going to have to do this?” Even the sweat on his face hurt and his legs started to walk away on their own.
“O, not for long.”
The weeks pressed on, they trained every day, a lot of which consisted of pain that Albedo had never experienced before. Running with heavy weights on his back, his legs, and his hands; training gear, she called it.
After weeks of training Sonia felt something was wrong. “Stop,” said Sonia as they slowly approached the mountain.
“Is something the matter?” he asked.
She examined his body carefully. “We have a problem; your body is still the same.”
He wiped the heavy sweat from his forehead. “Maybe we need more time.”
“No it’s not that, we’ve been training for almost three weeks now. You’re a Pureblood I should have seen at least a little results… I think I know what the problem is.” She looked at him with intensity, “Albedo, when was the last time you fed?”
He thought about all the food he ate yesterday, last night and this morning, plus lunch of course.
“No that’s not what I meant, I mean… the last time you drank blood,” said Sonia.
He looked it her like she was erratic and then started to laugh. “You’re being sarcastic right?” He paused in shock--he saw the seriousness on her face. “I’m a human I don’t drink blood, the very thought of it is--.”
Sonia interrupted, “no Albedo you’re not a human, the sooner you accept that the better!” demanded Sonia.
He stared in disbelief, drinking blood?
“Look Albedo, it’s clear that you have never drunk blood before. Unlike a vampire we Purebloods can live for a hundred years without blood, but by doing so we will be as feeble as you are. For a Pureblood to prosper and maintain its stabilities we need blood to do so; without it our bodies and abilities will be weak. Remember one thing; a Pureblood who doesn’t drink blood is as weak as a vampire; sometimes even as weak as a human--- Tonight is the blood-rain. I’ll be at the school waiting for you.”
“But I can’t, I’ve never, it’s just---” Albedo paused abruptly confused.
“When you’re ready to be a Pureblood, come and find me!” she left.
***
Albedo stared outside of his window; the blood-rain was nothing like the normal rain. This one was red instead of white, thicker than the normal rain. All the humans throughout Inferno had their doors lock. They fear the blood-rain for some reason. They call it an abomination. Albedo’s parents were asleep in the next room.
“Me drinking blood, what am I a...” He slowly open the window, the smell of blood hit him like the cherry blossoms. He took a small amount from the tip of his finger and tasted it. For the first time in his life he tasted the blood-rain, it was nothing like he imagined. It tasted sweet and a bit bitter which add flavor to it. This isn’t so bad actually. “I need to find Sonia.”
He opened the window and wrapped himself in a thick slicker, then slid his feet into his tall galoshes. Going outside the door would be risky. His parents might hear him. He leaped from his window to the tree; from there he jumped to the next one. “Never knew I can jump this high,” he smiled with excitement. He rushed to the school. He tried to open the gate but it was locked. Why am I trying to open it when I can jump over it? He leaped over the gate and it felt good, this new source of strength felt good!
“Sonia, Sonia where are you?” shouted Albedo.
“Up here!” she replied.
He looked up to see her standing on the edge of the roof, her black cloak over her head to prevent her from getting wet.
“Okay, I can do this,” he said to himself, he jumped up and grabbed one of the edges of the window. From there he jumped up to the next one until he reached Sonia.
“I see you finally starting to think like a Pureblood.”
She looked miserable, all alone by herself on top of the roof.
“Sonia, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you back there,” said Albedo with a sad face. He felt content after apologizing to her.
She extended her left arm out to him. “If you feel too proud to drink from the blood-rain,
drink from my blood,” said Sonia with a dull face. “I know it’s hard, coming from your world and stepping in to ours. I’m not mad because you think you insulted me Albedo, I’m mad because you’re not giving me the chance to turn you into something great. You can be the one the world need one day; you have so much strength inside of you, let me bring it out!” Sonia responded happily this time.
Albedo could now no longer control the urge for blood; the aroma was enticingly irresistible. Ever since tasting the blood-rain, he started feeling the urge for blood. He grabbed her hand gently and he felt his
fangs coming out his mouth, with no hesitation he bit into her arm. Fangs, he had never thought about having fangs. He has now drunk the forbidden liquid. Her blood tasted so good! Better than the blood rain, warmer, sweeter, and not one bit bitter. After drinking so much of her blood he felt different.
“Albedo, you’re ok?” asked Sonia.
He felt dizzy from drinking the blood; he could feel it rushing inside of him.
“Sonia what’s happening?”
“It’s alright Albedo; your body is going through changes. Your body is unused to the blood, so it’s acting uncanny, it won’t last forever.” explained Sonia.
He fell into her arms. For the first time she saw his light red eyes, his short soft hair as she ran her fingers through it. She stared at him as he slowly fell asleep. The blood-rain picked up even harder now. The rain bounces of their clothes and onto the roof. As much as Sonia loved the blood-rain, she loved how it felt on her skin even more. When it touches her skin its warmness wraps itself around her like a blanket. She loved to stand in the rain and let it fall on her.
Albedo woke up a couple hours later in her lap. The rain had now stopped. He felt… different. As he moves his eyes around, his vision was now wider and further, his sense of smell and hearing had changed. He could feel a burst of energy from deep within him.
“It rains blood once every month Albedo; you need to feed at least once every month. If you don’t you won’t have much physical energy to use your ability,” said Sonia.
Even in the morning she smelled remarkable.
“Now that you’re awake, we still have time for a little run before school starts.” She had a warm smile now.
In a couple hours school will start soon. They had been up in the roof almost all night.
Albedo put on the gear once again, this time it felt less heavy. “It’s not as heavy as before, I feel stronger and faster and my vision is—indescribable.”
Sonia removed the hood of the black cloak off her head. Albedo stared as her beauty, which continued to fascinate him.
“Since you’re stronger and faster now, how about we get started.”
Albedo started running, he ran through the woods and leaped through trees, his body was more flexible than ever. He stood on top of a branch; a leaf fell in front of him. He watches as it falls in slow motion, swaying and floating in the light breeze. His vision was so vivid that he could see the veins on the leaf.
“You can see it, can’t you Albedo? Our visions are so accurate that nothing can escape our sight. It’s one of the reasons that I love to stand in the rain and watch it fall. The way it drops slowly around you,” said Sonia. She closed her eyes while expressing to Albedo how much she loves the rain.
“Yes, I know how you feel. This feeling is amazing!” said Albedo.
After three weeks Albedo quickly saw that his energy, speed, strength, vision and balance started to increase dramatically. Sonia was amazed at how quickly his strength was morphing. His training with Sonia was intense; she had him lifting heavy rocks that would take twenty humans to move. His muscles were growing. He had now been training constantly.
“Good, now it’s time to teach you how to fight,” said Sonia.
Albedo notice she did not asked him to take his gear off. “It’s not fair that I have to fight with all this weight against you,” said Albedo jokingly.
“It’s only heavy if you think its heavy Albedo. Just remember to use your vision, when I attack you watch my move and counter,” said Sonia.
Albedo started remembering how vividly he saw the leaf falling, how it danced in the air before touching the ground. Alright Albedo you can do this, she might be a girl but don’t let that fool you. She’s a member of the Black Reapers.
Sonia moved in with guided deliberate swings and smooth kicks confident that Albedo will be able to tune into his powerful reflexes and learn to block before she can strike. She attacked him with her left punch. Albedo watched her fist coming towards him, it felt as if time had slowed down a bit and each movement her knuckles made he could see it! Her right fist caught his left jaw with a powerful blow. The shock pushed him back and he stammered almost falling to his knees. He touched his face but no blood was coming out, it only hurt a little bit.
“I said focus not sleep,” said Sonia.
They continued. Albedo’s senses received this intensity so much that it truly was in slow motion but he still needed to quickly speed up his reflexes to catch and block the punches. He felt that his body was harder now. He could see her movement as her fist tried to clash with his face, just as she saw his. Whenever Sonia swung with her left, he managed to block it, but her right always managed to catch his jaw. As fast as he thought he had become, Sonia was much faster.
“Not bad. You’re learning fast. Let’s stop for now,” said Sonia.
“No! I can keep going.” As he was about to throw his next punch, his head started spinning, he became dizzy and began to faint.
“Albedo!” Sonia yelled frantically as she caught him from falling. “Are you ok? Albedo—open your eyes---speak to me!”
He slowly regained consciousness.
“Don’t overdo it, everything will come in time,” said Sonia.
Albedo was on the ground exhausted from training, his legs and arms were shaky. All this weight on his back drained him. She put him on her back. She smelled like roses. He felt uncomfortable being carried by her.
As Albedo directed her to his home, he took her to one of his favorite pass times. As she walked up the mountain, the cherry blossoms flew by her hair, the closer she got the more she saw. Albedo was half asleep and too sleepy to hear her say how beautiful it was. Her eyes lit up the same way his does when he sees it. The wind blew through her hair. Albedo got over the fact that he was embarrassed a bit, he felt like the luckiest man in the world. How many men can say a beautiful woman carried him? She laid him on the ground gently. She lay next to him. The cherry blossoms circled and hovered over them. He had always dreamt of taking someone to see it. Now that he was showing Sonia, his eyes would not permit him to enjoy it; the smile on her face was enough to die for.
He rested his eyes for a couple seconds; she kissed him on his forehead and thanked him for showing her this beautiful scenery. She held him as Albedo drifted asleep. She gently put him on her back and carried him to the mountain. When she reached his house, she snuck through his window very carefully so as not to alarm his parents to her presence. She laid him gently onto his bed; covered him up with a white and silky blanket.
She stood silently staring at him as he slept and whispered, “I’m proud of you Albedo. You are progressing faster than I imagined.” Sonia heard his mother gently knock on his door; she quickly, and quietly, left the room.
Albedo was asleep when his mother entered his room. She noticed how different he was. His body was changing; his muscles were increasing. The skinny boy she once knew was slowly disappearing. She sat on the side of his bed and put her hand on his head. With that, she kissed him and left. As the night continued to pass, Albedo’s nightmare started again, it had not bothered him since Sonia had been in the picture, but today it had came back. He started turning and mumbling a name he was familiar with. “Dawson” He was having the same dream with a similar voice calling out to him by a different but reminiscent name--- Dawson. The voice spoke softly and breathy, “It’s time to wake up, Dawson.” As he turned left and right in his bed, he could feel someone shaking him awake.
“Albedo, wake up, you’re having a nightmare!”
He started shaking badly, his hand begin to tremble. That voice from the dream, it’s the same in the forest when the bear swung at me. He looked up to see Sonia instead of one of his parents. He cried out, “It’s him, the demon with the white flame!”
Sonia took hold of him and gently put his head on her chest.
In a panic, Albedo started a stammered chant describing the beginning of his nightmare. “White hair—“, he catches his breath. “Sonia his hair was
white and his eyes…one blue and one red!” he continues.
“It’s just a nightmare, that’s all,” she said with a soft voice in his ears. The rhythm of her heart slowly bringing him to his senses.
Albedo realized Sonia was holding him. His cheeks blushed and he slowly calmed down as he listened to their breathing and heartbeats sync. As he lay nestled in her bosom, Albedo started to become in tuned with a sense of intimacy. He started to not only change from feeble to strong, but boy to man. His heart rhythms were slow and his breathing was now steady enough to come to his senses and converse with Sonia. As he arose and gradually unwrapped himself from her arms, their eyes locked for a quick second.
Sonia felt her heart beating faster, what is this feeling? She had never felt like that before, it wasn’t a part of her makeup--- her regimen.
“Sonia?” Albedo grabbed her attention.
She gasped, “Oh! Yes Albedo …what is it?” she quietly answered.
Albedo asked, “Where did you come from, it’s like you just appeared?” he said rapidly.
“I’ve been sleeping in your tree since I’ve been training you,” said Sonia.
“In my tree?” He had never thought about where she gone off to after training him. He always thought she gone back to the castle and come back the next day.
“How do you sleep comfortably in a tree?” he asked.
She snickered bashfully, with a hand over her mouth, and smiled, “I’m a Pureblood. I can sleep comfortably wherever I want too.”
The tree was rich with branches and leaves. Out of nowhere, instantly, it started raining, this time the plain white water rain, which the humans love.
Albedo locked his door and window and told her to sleep on his bed. In his closet was an extra blanket. He decided that he would sleep on the floor tonight. She thought it was such a subtle act of chivalry; she lay there comfortably on his bed. Throughout the night Albedo shifted his body around on the cold hard floor, the room was pitch-black and the shadows seemed as if they’re watching him. He wondered if Sonia was asleep, as he constantly thought about her. He yearned to lie next to her, but he subdued his feelings and tried to drift off to sleep. The peaceful sound of the rain tapped against the roof. He started wondering how warm it would feel to lay next to Sonia.