Starcrossed Ch. 004

Edited By: Another Wannabe

All characters engaging in sexual acts are over the age of 18.

~*~*~*~

Romulus was in his wolf form, looking up at the full moon. He couldn't help but to feel the pain of a great loss. This might very well be the last time he was ever in the security of his own home. He didn't regret going out and meeting Julian, but knowing they were likely leaving for good made leaving at all very difficult.

"Love?" Julian questioned stepping out into the garden from the back entrance of the den. He seemed to sense the sadness that had taken over the wolf. He hated leaving the wolf's den as well. For the first time that he could remember he felt safe and at home. Nothing bad could ever happen here. Julian could have stayed in the library for hours reading until there were no more words to read. "I know." He plopped down next to the wolf and rested his head on Romulus's shoulder. "We will be back here someday. I can feel it."

Rom nuzzled his vampire, knowing the next good-bye they were about to have would be just as hard.

~*~*~*~

Julian, like most vampires, hated walking through the woods. Vampires typically preferred to be clean and so they traveled quickly and near civilization where modern comforts were more common. He never quite felt at ease. The trees were determined to rip his clothing, mud wanted to coat his shoes and pants, and, worst of all, he was never sure what animals he would have to kill when they tried to make him dinner. No animal would be able to bring down a full grown vampire like Julian, but that never seemed to stop them from trying.

Julian would rather have just stayed in Romulus's nice clean lair for a few more hours. The vampire was certain he would get enough of the woods soon enough. He knew it meant a lot to his lover for him to meet whoever they were walking to meet.

He imagined Rom probably knew some old decrepit magic wolf. He was surprised when the trees finally gave way to a small village. Everything about the village was different from anything else he had ever encountered. It was as though the evil tendrils of the world had not tainted this village. What was even more shocking was they were all mortal. He didn't smell a single supernatural being.

Julian followed Romulus until the wolf blocked his path. "I'll wait here," he said, still mesmerized but the purity of the small town. He wondered how the village had survived so long without interference. Even before the world fell apart there had always been supernatural beings, they had just been hidden. The smell of blood was stronger here and made his mouth water. The humans that lived in their world were treated like wild animals or livestock. Their sole purpose was to feed the hegemonic beings of whatever realm they were unfortunate enough to end up in.

Here the humans were beings of their own. They functioned without interference from vampires, wolves or other beings. The world as it was now, he didn't think it was possible for humans to exist without the supernatural. Humans were usually portrayed as being mindless killers. They had destroyed the world, they were to blame for the pain and suffering. This town shattered Julian's image of humans. These humans seemed somehow good, and caring.

The vampire watched the overgrown wolf walk to a small stone cottage. Smoke unfurling from a single short chimney, brought with it the smell of cooked animal flesh.

Romulus pawed at the aged wooden door and whined to get the inhabitant's attention. He sat on the stone steps waiting for his friend to come outside. Romulus's visits were rarely so close together. He had always planned his trips to be sporadic, like the paths he took to get here. He had always worried coming too often would eventually catch the wrong beings attention and that his town would be destroyed. The town was in his mind fragile, and he feared for its corruption. He needed to believe that the town would always be alright.

If people here could change, and respect one another then maybe others could too. Maybe not just humans, but other races could one day live in harmony once more. Romulus of course had never known a harmonic time, but he assumed there had to have been one. Things could always have been as terrible as they are now, or no one would ever have seen the point in living.

Jackson exited his cozy dwelling in a well-worn robe. He smiled upon seeing his guardian and scratched behind his ears. "Miss me that much?" he chuckled.

He always missed Jackson. He often wished he could reveal his true self to the human, to speak with him and let him know how much he loved him. It was another reason added to an already long list of justifications, why he would never come back. The town would have to survive on its own if it was to have any hope of progressing.

Romulus trusted Jackson, and so he decided to show his old friend what was still living out in the world, to remind him of why this village needed to survive. There needed to be hope.

A cold chill ran up the wolf's spine. He worried that this farewell would not go as he planned. He trusted Julian, despite not knowing him for that long. He just worried that Jackson would be fearful, that he would see him and Julian as monsters. Romulus looked at the woods where Julian was cloaked in shadow.

"You bring yer boyfriend?" He laughed when the wolf nodded. "Well bring 'im down I'm sure I got some meat in here somewheres."

Rom tilted his head at Julian expectantly and the vampire took that as a cue to move closer. He was still confused as to why Romulus didn't just walk up in his human form. Humans were usually terrified of wolves and vampires. Rightfully so, since they were nothing more than food. The whole village was peculiar, but he didn't want to question it too much. If this meant something to his lover he would do his best to preserve it as well.

Jackson looked at Julian startled, and confused. He had been expecting another wolf, not this predatory thing. His fingers threaded through Romulus's thick fur for reassurance and, since his wolf didn't seem to feel threatened by the man, he wouldn't be either.

"Hello," Julian said, giving a small bow.

"Hello" Jackson answered, offering a hand. He looked down at the wolf, saying, "I think you got some explaining to do." He started wondering if what he had guessed all those years ago had been true all along. Was Romulus magical in ways other than his unnaturally long life?

"My name is Julian," he stated, wishing the wolf would join the conversation as well.

Jackson's hand pulled away from the wolf suddenly when he heard the first crunch of a bone breaking and reforming into a more human shape.

Julian did his best to shield his lover in the cloak they had brought and with Jackson's direction helped Romulus into a chair. "I'm sorry I hid my true self from you all these years my friend." He leaned against Julian, "I wanted you to meet my mate."

Jackson's youth returned to him. His eyes shone at the excitement of seeing magic. "I'm glad to know magic exists. So what is yer real name 'en Slash? I can't imagine I guessed it right on my first try."

"My name is Romulus. We came to say good bye." The wolf longed to say everything he hadn't been able to vocalize for all these years.

Jackson nodded, accepting the new form and name without much trouble, "can ya both stay fer a few hours?" The old man asked. The hurt of losing his long-time friend steeped into his voice.

Romulus nodded, not trusting his voice to come out evenly. He swallowed the knot that was forming in his throat. Spending a few hours more in his safe heaven was too tempting to pass up.

~*~*~*~

Julian would have liked to have stayed in Jackson's home for days. The human was fascinating to him. Not that he had ever attempted to get to know a human before, but Jackson seemed like someone worth knowing. He had been very inquisitive of the pair. How they met, where they were going, and if there were more like them in the world. He loved Romulus in a way that he didn't know humans had the capacity to love. If they could all be taught to love as Jackson did, then perhaps the race would be worth saving. It was a more truthful love than he had ever seen given by another species.

As disgruntled as the vampire was about leaving the cozy town he was even more upset once they were on the road again. Romulus liked to stay as far away from civilization as possible. When they stopped they slept in the tent and Julian never felt like he was able to get good rest.

Eating was another thing he did not like about his lover's means of traveling. He preferred to toy with his food, leading humans to believe he would love them and take them at the height of ecstasy. Now, he was stalking deer and occasionally drinking from the wolf. It was a necessity to feed from Romulus when resources were scarce. As good as Rom tasted Julian felt guilty taking too much from his mate.

Tonight it was raining, the sort of rain that sent down little arrows of water that cut through skin on their journey to the ground. The vampire was happy he could not feel the cold but that didn't mean he was any more pleased about being soaked and covered in mud.

At first they had started out with just a general direction on how to get to Rome. They meandered and walked slowly through the woods. Rom stopped often, checking the stars, to make sure they were still headed in the right direction.

Now though, Rom didn't feel the need to stop. He was being pulled, and driven, knowing he was heading in the right direction. The wolf no longer needed validation, he knew where he was going. Every step closer made the ring around his neck hurt more. Every step was like another turn on a jack-in-the-box and the anticipation for the ending was driving him crazy.

He couldn't help himself, he had been ignoring Julian's discomfort the closer they got. His drive to get to Rome made any other thought impossible. He just wanted to know... he felt guilty when he actually looked at Julian. He looked miserable. The vampire looked more pale than usual and his bottom lip poked out as he sulked.

Julian had disliked walking through the woods before, now he loathed it. The woods between Rom's den and the village was a friendly place compared to this hell. He would rather spend eternity in that woods then to take one more step deeper into this one.

"Please, look there is an abandoned building right there and everything." Julian gestured between the trees. He had seen it and had considered not saying anything but it just looked too good to pass up. The opportunity to get out of the rain, and be a little more spread out then they could get in their tent. The cold wouldn't kill him, but with the meager amount of blood he had been drinking it seemed to not sustain him as long with his body being cold.

Rom nodded, "Yeah, we can take it easy tonight, I'll bring you something back to eat. You just take it easy." He hoped for Julian's sake that the building was really abandoned. It was made of large rocks, held together by mortar of some sort. Unlike the rocks that built Jackson's home, these rocks were a darker color and felt colder. The mortar had some time ago decided to grow moss. The building was old without question, but it had stood the test of time and the challenges of nature. That, or there was someone maintaining it. It was an odd place for a building. There were no trails here and it didn't look like there would be a village anywhere close.

"I can hunt," Julian protested. He felt guilty for making Rom stop now. He knew his lover thought Rome would hold all the answers and he could understand what having no past felt like. If he felt certain that his memories would return he likely would have gone just as quickly as Rom had.

"If you can hunt then we can keep walking and set up the tent later." Rom knew he was being manipulative. Julian hated feeling dependent but he knew his lover needed a break from the traveling. They were truly desperate for shelter.

Julian was about to argue further, when he felt Rom's eyes on him, giving him a stern, 'I dare you to argue with me,' look. He smiled a little and shook his head, damn that wolf was too good at getting his way. "Fine, I'll let you bring something back," he knew it was because Romulus cared, and not because he was helpless. The dominating stare just helped to lessen the blow to his pride.

Happy to have gotten his way once more, Rom looped his arms around Julian's waist. With his mate so close to his body he felt how cold Julian had gotten. Vampires needed blood to stay warm and while they were cool to the touch a vampire should never feel as icy as Julian did now. It was a clear indicator that he hadn't been eating enough as external temperatures were easily combated by a well fed vampire.

Romulus made a mental note to watch more carefully. Julian had complained, but he had never made his plight seem urgent. It was now that the wolf realized guiltily that Julian was pushing himself as hard as he could to help Rom get to Rome faster.

"Thank you," he whispered, kissing Julian on the forehead. He was grateful both to have gotten his way and to have a mate who selflessly sacrificed a good deal of comfort and health.

Julian pressed further into the warmth of his lover's body. He would gladly use the opportunity to get clean once more, even if the cleanliness wouldn't last on the road. Being so close to Romulus again made his mind wander. Maybe his lover would be able to eat enough so that he wouldn't feel guilty feeding from Rom on the road.

~*~*~*~

Walking closer to the abandoned building made Rom bristle and he wasn't sure why. Something about this place made him sick. Twigs snapped under their feet, and the rain started coming down harder.

Julian grabbed Rom's hand. Something wasn't right and they both seemed to sense it. He couldn't smell anyone or hear any movement but he gripped Rom tighter as though this building would somehow take his lover away. "Maybe we should keep walking."

The wolf knew it would be better to keep walking. He usually trusted his instincts and that way of doing things had often saved his life. He was painfully reminded how cold he had allowed his mate to get when Julian's fingers intertwined with his own. "You are freezing," Rom kissed Julian's neck. "There's no smell, or tracks anywhere. We are both just wound tight from being on the road. We could probably even have a nice fire in there and you won't have to smell wet dog."

He knew he was trying to justify entering the building more to himself than to Julian. His lover was too cold from lack of blood and rest to continue. "I'll check it out once we get you out of this rain."

"I like wet dog. Lets me know you are close," Julian teased, moving forward again. He was willing to ignore whatever warning he was feeling for the opportunity to get dry.

Rom's eyes flickered to the building again. Something was definitely strange about it but Julian was exhausted and now that Rom knew just how worn he was, he didn't want to push too hard. Rom noticed a window that was blocked off by a wooden board that had been fastened where the shutters used to hang. He circled the building and saw that some time ago there had been a rockslide. A large boulder had taken out the face that had the door and now the only way in or out of the small four walled building was through the boarded window.

He didn't like not having an escape route if something did go wrong. He rationalized that since the building had been partly destroyed by a rock slide that it was likely abandoned and would be safe enough if only for a night. He returned to a shivering Julian who looked hopeful that the building had been deemed safe. "I don't think anyone live here."

Romulus pulled hard against the wooden board and managed to pull it free. He hopped through the opening and landed on the cobblestone floor. He gave a soft growl and looked around. The building seemed even smaller from the inside. There was clearly no one inside as the wolf could easily see the entire contents of the strange building even in the dim light.

There was no furniture or places to hide. He was pleased that there was some old dry wood near the fireplace. Likely this had been a place for travelers to rest now that traveling was only done on the ground. The wood had clearly been cut years ago and some dust had settled on the meager pile. Some spiders had also decided it would be a perfect place to build a home.

Certain they were alone, Rom held his arms out to Julian and pulled him through. "See, it's safe," he assured Julian. "That wood won't last long though, I'll try and see if I can find some more that is dry so we can keep a fire going through the night."

Julian snorted, still not liking the place. "Good luck."

An echo suddenly filled the room as if a pair of heeled shoes were walking down a large stone hallway. There was a pop and the lovers were splashed with water as a melodic laughter ricocheted off the walls.

Rom growled and fell to his knees in excruciating pain. His spine felt like it was trying to twist from his body and his skin was crawling with fire.

Julian knelt beside his lover and hissed at the strange being that was now in the building with them. "What are you doing to him!" he snarled, "Stop it or I'll kill you!"

The female giggled, her blonde curls shaking with the sound. "I'm not doing it. He is remembering. Remembering me actually, though you should remember this building Julian. You lost your mind here."

A pale slender finger touched the silver ring around Rom's neck and pulled back before Julian could rip her hand off. The ring fell to the floor and turned to water. "Better baby?" she cooed in a high pitched almost melodic voice.

Rom was panting and dripping with sweat. He felt dizzy and yet more clear than he could ever remember. "It won't all come back of course but at least now remembering won't kill you. You have a promise to keep Romulus." She smiled and waved her hand conjuring a chair as if from a water fountain in the ground. When it solidified she sat.

Julian glared into her eyes, pools of endless blue. Romulus was clearly not up to questioning and he had likely less memory than his wolf. "Who are you?" He snarled watching her blue gown move on her slender frame like waves of the ocean.

"Harlen," Rom growled to which the blonde smiled.

"Very good puppy," she praised him in an almost mocking tone. "My name is Harlen and I am a Siren." She watched hungrily as Rom got to his feet. God his body was perfect, even better than she remembered. His lover wasn't bad either. "We have never met Julian, but Romulus knows me well. He will tell you when he remembers it all."

Harlen stood again and circled the pair she wrapped her arms around Rom and slid her hands down his chest whispering in his ear "Your Vampire is rather charming as well, so much power." She shivered a little at the thought of being with him.

She moved to rub against Julian who suddenly felt powerless. No matter how badly he wanted to shove her away, her touch was addicting. Not like Rom's but in the way a junkie craves what he knows is slowly killing him. "You know, typically I don't like vamps. In your case though I think I will make an exception." She licked her lips. "Get your hands off me before I break them," Julian finally managed to growl.

"Very good, leech. We will have to work on it but it's not a bad start." She turned her eyes back to Romulus. The warm bubbly mirth that had once been there was now replaced with a deep sorrowful ocean. "Do you remember me enough to skip the introduction Romulus?" She sighed knowing his memory was still tangled. "I am neither good nor evil by nature. I am a siren and I see the past present and future. I record it but normally I don't interfere. If I do, then I must equally help the other side to atone for my mistake. We aren't supposed to have hearts." She said the last part with a tinge of regret. Harlen regretted allowing herself a heart. It had done nothing but cause trouble.