Snowfall

\"In here!\" The carriage had come to a halt, my guess was that it was late afternoon. The others had gotten up not long ago and started the caravan moving to the next town. But now they had stopped moving, I didn\'t recognize the voice.

\"Stop! What do you think you are doing? Get away from our wagons!\" Edmund. Doing my best to uncloud my mind, I pushed open the floor panels and stepped out quietly closing them behind me. Fin watched me with fearful eyes. Edmund, he whispered. I noticed he had a dagger clutched in his hand. It was something he was quite proficient with using. I crouched behind some of the boxes and motioned for him to do the same.

\"Get out of my way, Son.\" Another voice said. \" Someone restrain him.\" The doors were being pulled open. I could hear people climbing into the wagon.
Soon I was facing one of those people. The men from the black and red Order. I kicked him viscously in the groin. Another yelled and I knew he had come across the pointy end of Fin\'s dagger. I shoved my opponent backwards and then sideways into the next one.

Catching sight of Edmund just outside the wagon doors slowly getting to his feet and holding on to his head. I yelled to him. \"Get us out of here! Get the wagons moving!\" He turned and punched the one trying to grab hold of him and yelled to the driver of the second wagon. Slipping out of reach of the attackers still outside the doors, Edmund ran to the driver\'s seat, Soon the wagon lurched into motion and everyone inside tumbled backwards. I could not see Fin and then I noticed his leg out from under a pile of several of the men. I tossed one out the door and continued to toss them as they struggled to their feet the last giving me more trouble, I had to fight with him before launching him from the moving vehicle.

Looking down at Fin, I knew that it was too late. The floor boards were already slick with his blood but he stirred and blinked up at me.

\"Fin?\" I didn\'t have to lose him. \" You have a choice now.\" I hoped he understood. He could decide to die or choose to become like me.

He smiled. \"That\'s something at least.\" He coughed and closed his eyes. Liquid was filling his lungs, there was not much time.

\"Fin?\" I watched him desperately. Would he choose to die? It was a choice I was never able to understand, all my life I had struggled to live and though I grew weary I had not yet tired of life enough to give it up, even in those days after Amar\'s death I stumbled onward something deep inside driving me to continue.

\"Make me like you, Albin.\" He opened his eyes and searched for my face above him. \" I don\'t believe I am done yet.\"

I quickly rose to my feet and reached out to shut the wagon doors, hissing as the sunlight burned my skin. The doors could be latched from the inside but we rarely did so and I doubt it would have stopped the men who attacked us.

Coming back to Fin\'s side, I took him in my arms. \"Trust me.\" I whispered, remembering that draining feeling that started out as bliss. If I had not trusted Amar it would have been unpleasant. I gently cradled his head and slowly sank my teeth into him. His blood flowed sluggishly from the wound, so much of it going else where. I sucked down a little harder and felt Fin shudder underneath me. It was not with fear but pleasure. My eyes opened wider as I began to realize the truth. There were no girls that Fin was interested in because he had wanted me. I was shocked, here I thought Fin had just not noticed the flirting of those trying to get his attention and yet I was the one who was blind. I smiled against his neck and sucked more gently, my lips sliding softly over the warm skin beneath them.
I felt his anticipation and fear. Not of dieing or me, but of rejection. I felt it fade away and a joy and bliss replace it and I knew he was feeling the connection to me and my emotions. I pulled away quickly before he could feel my fear and I realized what Amar must have felt. How did I know when it was enough or too much? It was a dangerous thing to do to someone you cared for. Fin could die before I was able to save him.

\"Albin...\" His voice was barely a whisper. I bit my own wrist and placed it up to his mouth, the blood slowly seeping past unmoving lips. He did not respond at first and I began to despair that I had failed and waited too long.

\"Drink\" I pleaded with him. \"Please, Fin, drink.\"

Eventually I felt him move, his lips light against my skin, like the flutter of butterfly wings. His eyes opened and he looked at me, slowly his hands moved up to my arm and he pressed it firmly to his lips. I sighed in relief and pulled him to rest against me, holding him as he drank.


Fin was staring at me with a new intensity, he had barely payed attention to the change in his own skin but he was looking at me like he\'d never seen me before. \"Have you always seen like this?\"

I smiled and shook my head no. \"Not quite, I could not see in the dark and I think my eyesight is far better than it had been before. Its been many years. Its hard to remember what it was like before.\"

He picked up a book and leaned against me, pointing to the pages. \"I can read this, without the glass..in the dark.\" He smiled. \"Amazing\"

I truly hoped that it would remain so for him. Though Fin did not have the crisis of conscience at \"becoming a monster\" that I had felt. He had been called a monster from birth so this did not phase him. He told me once that he didn\'t believe it. He said there were times he had wondered if he was a demon like he had been called but after joining the Night Army and being accepted he realized that he was just as normal as everyone else. Life had showed him that men were cruel or kind and monsters could also be both as well.