Somewhere In Between

Title: Somewhere In Between
Author: MakaiKitty
Rating (this chapter): R
Category: Original Fantasy, "Fate" storyline
Pairing: Victor/Blaine, Victor/Caspian, Victor/Sorrel/Victor, North/Victor, Victor/Tamara
Warnings (this chapter): Slash, M/M, slight sexual situations
Distribution: My website, My LJ and any LJs I choose to post at, AFF.net, FicWad, and DeviantArt. All of my accounts are under the user name MakaiKitty. If you'd like to use it just let me know.
Disclaimer: The characters, daemon realms, and situations in this story are all original and belong solely to MakaiKitty. Please don't steal, borrow, take, or otherwise use anything from my fics.
Updates: Just join my YahooGroup to be informed of any updates to this or any of my other fics - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/makaikittyfics
Status: Complete
Story Notes: This story contains characters that were first introduced in "Fate". However, it is not really necessary to have read "Fate" to understand this story. In fact, you may like Victor better if you haven't read "Fate". As for those of you who have read "Fate"? No, Shayne and Lexi will not be showing up in this fic. Maybe in later stories (Victor has a long back story), but not this one. Also, I have a general outline for this story, but everything isn't set in stone yet. Just like with "Perceived Perceptions", I'm sure that some things will not go as planned. So, the warning lable above is just a general guide, I really don't know for sure where this fic will go. Just a warning, if you're squicky about some stuff (don't worry, there won't be beastiality or scat or anything too extreme) then read the warnings at the start of each chapter. However, I know from experiance, that most of my regular readers can handle anything that I throw at them, so I'm not too worried about any of you. Either way, I hope you enjoy the fic...

Chapter Notes: Well, it's time for another update. Since the chapters are shorter than I'm used to I seem to be moving along quite well even though I don't have much free time. Although, I don't seem to be getting much response from this one yet *pouts* Oh well. This chapter was fun for me becasue it introduces one of my favorite characters, Caspian, who I've been wanting to share with you all for a while. I hope you like him, because I have plans for him *giggles* As always, let me know what you think...

Somewhere In Between

Chapter Three: Beautiful Angel, Handsome Devil

"So, you're going for your first feeding tonight, right?"

"That's what Sorrel said." Victor answered his friend without looking at the other boy, instead staring out at the two twin moons that hung low in the sky. Kaisha was in full bloom, matching it's twin for the first time all month, and Victor found the sight utterly captivating from his vantage point in the ancient tree that stood on the edge of the cliff overlooking the entire village. He wasn't certain whether his fascination had more to do with the beauty of the two moons or the fact that his werewolf blood spoke to him most strongly on the nights when both moons were full. Not that it mattered overly much to the young vampire, but it made him wonder all the same.

"Do you know who she's chosen for you yet?" The insistent voice to his right made Victor finally turn from his inspection of the two glowing orbs above them, looking at his best friend for the first time in what seemed like hours. Who knew, it may well have been that long. Caspian understood the power that the moons held over him, and as such he knew when to leave the other man to his musings. However, curiosity had obviously finally gotten the better of him. "Do you know if it'll be warm or cold; vampire, lycanthrope, or mortal?"

"Who knows." Victor said with a disinterested shrug. "She's being as secretive as always."

"Come on, Vic!" Caspian shouted, exasperation and frustration clear in his voice. "A vampire only comes of age once, and tonight is the night. Can't you at least show a little enthusiasm?"

Victor couldn't help but smile at the scowl that graced his companion's lovely features. Even when he was shouting, even when he should have looked unpleasant and unappealing, Caspian couldn't help but have a certain charm about him. Although scowling still didn't suit him. The fact that Victor was now laughing gently at him didn't help to remedy the matter however, and the other vampire frowned so hard that a crease appeared between his eyes, marring his otherwise flawless skin, but that didn't stop Victor from expressing his sudden mirth. Caspian would forgive him. He always did. They were the best of friends, brothers, if not by blood then by unspoken bond. And they were often mistaken for just that, their closeness and the fact that they were rarely found apart going to further the notion that they were siblings. Not that they looked anything alike. Whereas Victor was tall and lean, Caspian was small and delicate, Victor having nearly a foot and close to thirty pounds on him. Victor's features were dark and angular, his cheek bones sharp enough to cut glass, his eyes as dark as pitch and his waist length hair the color of shadows. Caspian, on the other hand, had soft, cherubic features set in a heart shaped face, his midnight blue eyes were ringed by a mass of frilly lashes, and his dark crimson hair was the color of fresh spilt blood, kept in a paige-boy cut that flattered his pretty face. Neither of them minded being thought of as brothers, despite the fact that there was no family resemblance to further this claim, however, there was one thing that bothered Caspian to no end. Most assumed that he was the younger brother, Victor his elder, despite the fact that there was a three and a half year difference in his favor. Victor looked every bit of his twenty-two years, if not more, but Caspian had never aged a day over fifteen. A young fifteen, at that. When their son had begun to stop aging at around thirteen, his growth spurts slowing when his peers were gaining inches at a time, his parents had worried that it might have been due to a curse put upon there family by some sorcerer or a demon hired by one of their enemies. It was soon proven, however, that he was just one of the unfortunate few who, for some unknown reason in genetics, would never gain the appearance of adulthood. It was not unheard of in their kind, and one look into his ageless eyes told anyone with half a brain that he was older than his body appeared, but it was a constant annoyance to Caspian all the same. It had sometimes had it's advantages though. Most vampires had to wait until they had reached their maximum physical maturity before they could have their first proper live feed, taking blood from bottled sources until they were ready to stop the progression of time, because once a vampire had his first taste of live blood he would forever be frozen in that physical state. That was why an immortal did not come of age until he had fed for the first time. Caspian had tasted his first drop of fresh, warm blood when he was only a few months over sixteen, and Victor had been jealous of him for the longest time afterwards. Tonight that would all change. Caspian was excited for his friend, but a part of him would miss being able to gloat over what he had done that the elder-appearing of the two had not. Although there were still some things that Victor was yet behind on.

"What does it really matter?" Victor wondered aloud, shrugging his shoulders casually. "I do not see how one feed will change much of anything in my life, so why fret over it? What will happen, will happen, and there is little point in worrying over it."

"Won't change anything?!" Caspian questioned, his crimson brows drawing together in confusion, a mixture of wonder and disbelief mingling in his dark eyes. "Blessed Mother of Night, it changes everything. Everything!"

"Oh, really?" Victor tried his hardest to sound disinterested, bored even, but inside he was roaring with laughter. Leave it to Caspian to become more worked up over his coming of age than he was.

"Yes, really." Caspian repeated. "Plus, after tonight, you'll be an adult. And, unlike me, you'll actually be able to take advantage of that fact. Considering the number of admirers that you already have, despite the fact that you're still officially a child, you should be overjoyed by the fact that after your feed you'll be able to bed just as many of them as your barely beating little heart desires. Why, if it were me, I wouldn't plan on sleeping alone for a single night in the next decade!"

"If it were you?" Victor answered, knowing why his friend had worded it that way, but choosing to press on anyway. "As if you need ever spend a single night without the benefit of companionship."

"Hah! As if." Caspian's short bark of laughter held no humor, and he crossed his arms across his chest and refused to look at Victor any longer, staring stubbornly at the moons that had previously held his friend's attention. Although, Victor knew that he wasn't really looking at the two celestial bodies, knew that he still had his full attention, and so he pressed on despite Caspian's attempt at putting him off.

"You know it's true." Victor insisted, refusing to give Caspian his way in their age old argument. "You are-"

"Maybe after I go to see Aurelian-"

"Do not start with the lamorian again." Victor growled, finally losing his composure. "I keep telling you that you do not need him. Goddess, you wouldn't even know where to find him! Let alone the fact that there is nothing wrong with you in the first place, even if he could do something about your appearance, which is why you don't need his help in the least." Then, almost as an afterthought, "Besides, I don't even know if I truly belive that he really exists. Lamorians just seem a little too good to be true."

"He is real and I do need him." Caspian said calmly, ignoring Victor's protests completely. He was only rehashing old arguments anyway. "And I also know where to find him." Then, his voice dropping, he added a little sheepishly, "Mostly."

"Mostly?" Victor asked with an exhausted sort of humor. "And where, pray tell, would that be? I thought that lamorians were mysterious beings that flitted through time and space, going where they may, or something to that effect."

"I heard from a Quarian fortune teller just the other day that Aurelian was most recently in the Third Realm, but that he's growing bored with his business there and plans to head for the Human Realm soon."

"The Human Realm?!" Victor sputtered, dark eyes wide with disbelief. "What on earth would any self respecting daemon do in the Human Realm?"

"How should I know?" Caspian answered offhandedly, a wave of his hand dismissing this triviality without another thought. "All I know is that he'll be on the move soon, so I need to find a way to get to the Third Realm as soon as possible."

"And what would you do once you got there?" Victor asked, knowing full well that Caspian was not headed for the Third Realm. He had been tracking the mysterious lamorian's movements for years, hopping that at least some of the rumors about the daemon's abilities were true and that he would have some way in which to help the childlike vampire lose his self-perceived handicap. In the end, he never found Aurelian, and Victor strongly suspected that he never would.

"How the hell should I know?" Caspian sighed, defeat sounding in his voice, the futility of his argument evident even to the optimistic youth. "But I'm telling you, Vic, one of these days I'm going to find that damn elusive daemon and make him find a way to make me normal. I don't care what it takes."

"I don't see why this is such a big deal to you." Victor said, throwing a comforting arm around his friend's shoulder as he leaned his weight against the older boy. "I think that you are absolutely perfect just the way you are. You're stunningly beautiful, a jewel among so many worthless baubles, and you know full well that I am not the only one to think so."

"Victor," Caspian said with a self-depreciating chuckle, "The only people who think that I am perfect just the way I am are pedophiles and adolescent girls. Neither of which hold much appeal to me at this stage in my life."

"And what does that make me?" Victor scowled, only half joking. "I assure you, I am most certainly no adolescent girl."

"Oh?" Caspian answered, a wicked gleam glistening in the depths of his midnight eyes. "I'm not so sure about that. Maybe I should check, just to clear things up." His face completely serious, only the small twitch at the corner of his lips giving any sign of his suddenly playful nature, Caspian turned and slid one dainty and delicately boned hand smoothly down the front of Victor's trousers, his perfectly manicured nails scraping teasingly along the fabric as his hand made it's slow downward progression. Victor shivered as his friend's hand came to rest between his legs, the small fingers cupping his manhood through the fabric of his pants, massaging the flesh gently until it began to harden. This was an old game they had played many times, but it was a game that never grew old.

"Satisfied?" Victor asked after a few moments, enjoying his friend's ministrations but knowing that he didn't have the time to allow it to go any further. "You can clearly see that I am, in fact, not a woman."

"Oh, I'm satisfied that you're no female." Caspian giggled, his hand never stilling as he watched Victor's dark eyes narrow at the implications in his words. "Although, as I said, it's not only girls that show interest in my unusual appearance."

"Is that so?" Victor growled in mock annoyance, his fangs flashing in the moonlight as he snarled at the smaller man, his hand reaching between his own legs to wrench the teasing hand away from his half hard member. "Bratty little cock-teases like you need to be careful about what they say to their betters, lest they get punished for their impudence."

"Bratty little cock-tease, am I?" Caspian repeated, fighting hard to keep the smile off of his cherubic face as he struggled to stay in character. "You, sir, are simply too cruel. Unhand me this instant, you brute."

"I think not." Victor would not let Caspian pull his hand away, instead tightening his grip around the other boy's wrist and holding firm. "If you want me to let go then you're going to have to make me."

"You think I can't?"

The two young vampires froze, staring at each other with challenge in their eyes, coal black locked with midnight blue. They knew each other better than any two people had a right to, knew each other's strengths and weaknesses intimately, and as such each knew the true measure of the other. They were evenly matched, one strong where the other was weak, and when fighting a common enemy they were unstoppable. Against each other a battle was pointless. However, despite the fact that both Victor and Caspian knew this from years of experience, neither was willing to back down. Nor would they allow the other to do so either. Their joy lay in the struggle, not the victory.

Almost as one Caspian and Victor surged forward, hopping to knock the other off balance with the element of surprise, but in the end Victor's superior bulk allowed him to press his friend backwards and down onto the ground. Once there, however, Caspian's smaller size enabled him to squirm out from beneath his dark haired friend-turned-opponent in a matter of moments. As he tried to move away, scrambling on the ground, looking for purchase in hopes of gaining his footing and having a height advantage for once, he found his leg captured by a vicelike grip around his ankle. Victor gave a strong pull, dragging Caspian back onto the ground before pouncing on him like a cat with a mouse. Realizing that he would not be allowed another chance to try to stand Caspian conceded his momentary defeat and instead fought to grapple with Victor, despite the other boy's larger size, giving a triumphant growl as he succeeded in rolling atop his friend. The two vampires were soon rolling around on the ground, switching positions with lightening speed, neither retaining dominance for more than a few minutes. Their growls alternated with childlike giggles, Victor's deeper voice contrasting perfectly with the higher pitched squeals of laughter that emanated from his life-long companion. Their breath began to come in pants, their bodies heaving for air as they exerted their strength, but neither seemed to care much about the sweat that was soon rolling down their bodies, staining their previously pristine clothes with moisture and dirt.

Eventually their movements stilled and Victor found himself laying flat on his back, chest heaving, Caspian sprawled across him in a boneless heap. It didn't matter to either of them that there had been no clear winner, and both were contented to remain as they were for the time being. It took a few minutes, but Victor eventually found the strength to move, but only so much as it took to raise his arm and place his hand atop Caspian's head. He ran his fingers through the baby soft strands of dark crimson hair, the familiar feeling combined with the comforting beating of Caspian's heart against his lolling Victor into a mindless state, and for a moment he thought that he might be able to fall asleep right where he was. The thought of sleeping under the stars, the breeze playing across his heated skin, his best friend pressed close, really didn't seem like a bad idea at all. The dark haired youth raised his head up, thinking to tell Caspian just that, when he found himself looking into a pair of midnight blue eyes from not even an inch away.

"Yes?" Caspian asked, pressing his forehead to Victor's, their noses touching, chuckling lightly as he further invaded the other male's space. "Did you want to say something?"

"Yes," an unexpected voice abruptly sounded from above them, startling both boys with the sudden interruption, "Was there something that you wanted to say?"

Staring up into a pair of startlingly intense dark grey eyes, the tip of one sharply pointed spiked leather boot tapping an uneven cadence right next to his head, there was only one thing that Victor could say. "Sorrel."

TBC ...

Review Responses:

Moonstar:
Wow. Victor sure has a reputation...what's he doing in the mortal realms? If he's so big and famous and powerful and perfect and all that...shouldn't he be back in the Fifth Realm...ruling it like a good little invincible vampire bishounen? Anyway, I still enjoyed it. I have to pity Lennora...the poor girl. It must have been a horrible life...created as an experiment, never fitting in anywhere, always being outshown and put aside, always a dissappointment...

What's he doing in the mortal realm? Well, that's kind of the purpose of this story, to explain just that. There's a good reason for it, I promise. And trust me, you'll pitty poor Lennora even more once I'm done *feeling guilty*

I also loved your beginning descriptions of the realm itself, especially this one: "...the near-dean and the fiercely alive..." That seemed to fit vampires and lycanthropes so perfectly. Never heard of it put that way, but it really caught my attention. Appealing use of words.

At the risk of soundig conceited, I loved that line too *LOL* Glad you liked it.

Nice to hear that you'll be updating once a week, or at least trying to for awhile. Thank you for telling me...I didn't mean to, but I did forget. ^^; So yeah...lovely update, keep it up, and thanks for keeping me informed!

-Moonstar

Well, hope you liked this update too ^-^