A little something that came to me. Comments, questions welcome. Complaints and flames, as always, please send to my editor- Jennise Hall at jennise@dgi.com . :-) Margaret margaret@cs.arizona.edu ******************************************************************************** "The Clearing" Forever Knight Fanfic by Margaret Newman "Sniff the wind, Nicholas." LaCroix whispered, leaning over his student's shoulder, breathing into his ear. "Listen to the woods." He could feel Nicholas' excitement, the young man's body tingling with response to the night. It was just Nicholas and LaCroix and the world in this clearing. Janette had been left to her own pleasures in the village far below them in the valley. "What do you hear?" LaCroix moved, and hissed into Nicholas' other ear. His hands on Nicholas' shoulders, gripping tightly. "What do you smell, Nicholas?" "So many sounds!" Nicholas lifted his head, a breeze playing over them, and he breathing in all the variety of scents. "So many scents!" "Can you hear the heartbeats of the forest creatures?" LaCroix asked, kneeling down. One hand on the ground, one hand clutching the back of Nicholas' thigh. "Can you smell their blood?" "Yes." Nicholas moaned, waivering. His knees buckled, and he ended up collapsing on the ground beside LaCroix. "Such heady wine." He looked at his teacher, his master, his friend. "It's overwhelming." LaCroix smiled, ruffling Nicholas' hair. They were closer at this moment than they had been since that first night. He let the silence lengthen, his eyes locked onto Nicholas', and allowed their bond to strengthen. "Do you know where we are, Nicholas?" He asked, his voice now in a hushed whisper. He held held nape of Nicholas' neck tightly. "Do you?" "Where we are?" Nicholas frowned, puzzled. Glancing around the clearing, towards the woods. "Where we are." Realizing there was depth to the question. "We are like gods!" LaCroix stood, pulling his son up with him. "We can create life, destroy life -as we chose. The mortals are only here for our entertainment. Nicholas..." he purred. "WE are the center of the universe! Everything and everyone revolves around us. Do you see the glory in that? The power? Such heady wine, indeed!" Nicholas stared up at the night sky. A voice, far in the back of his conscience, murmured. A spark flickered and ignited. Were they not more like devils than gods? What right had they to proclaim themselves gods? His hand now resting lightly on the young man's shoulder, LaCroix sensed the perverse spark within Nicholas. He pulled the young man close, forcing their gazes to meet, their noses less than a hair's breadth apart. "Do you doubt me, Nicholas?" He asked, his voice congenial as a cobra about to strike. "Would I lie to you?" Nicholas smiled, shaking his head. "No, you would not." The spark flickered and died. "I am hungry." He turned, and contemplated the view of the valley below them. "Look, supper awaits us. Blondes or brunettes tonight?" "Such a dilemma." LaCroix sighed dramatically. "Why not one of each?" * * * * * * Nick leaned against the railing that ran along the upper level of the mall. He watched the people walking below him, glanced to the other side of the second level and saw how the people scurried about up here. He smiled absently, his eyes wandering up to the glass and metal tiered dome that ran the length of the mall. The sky was black through the glass, no stars being visible from here. He had come here tonight to buy something for Natalie. A present, something to make up for the way he had behaved the other night. He would never do anything to hurt Natalie, verbally or otherwise, but occasionally his temper got away from him -and his guilt- and pushed towards the edge of control. He sighed, drumming his fingers on the metal railing. He had seen nothing here that he could give her. Just the right thing, just that certain something that would stand out and say "I am for Natalie", eluded him. "Problems, Nicholas?" LaCroix asked, coming up beside him, a hand gliding along the railing. Nick glanced up at him, surprised. He had not felt the other vampire approach. "You look quite puzzled." "Nothing in particular." He shrugged. Gone was the quiet moment of existence. Shopping for a gift for Nat was now lost. The tension stood between them as solidly as if it were a person. Or a wall. "I find the places such as these very entertaining." LaCroix turned, leaning against the railing as Nick did. "Shouldn't you be at the radio station?" Nick countered testily. "Shouldn't you be patroling the streets, protecting the innocent citizens?" He chuckled lightly. "Janette says that you've been in a bad mood of late." "She talks too much." Nick straightened, pushing himself away from the rail as if he were leaving. LaCroix looked at him, and their eyes locked. "I have a great many demons haunting me. It's not so much that I am in a bad mood as that I have an occasional good mood." "You always have been too melodramatic." He reached out and straightened a flap of Nick's coat. "I had thought you would mellow with age." "That isn't the only thought you had about me that didn't work out." Nick shrugged. "Are you here for any special reason?" "Or just happened by to torment you?" LaCroix left the railing, walking by Nick, nudging him to follow. They walked down the length of the mall, neither speaking. They slowed near the escalators. A young woman, of average height and average looks, came up one escalator with her hands full of shopping bags. As she reached the top, a few of the bags escaped her hold, and fell onto the landing. A man behind her pushed her aside irritatedly, stepped on a few of her items, and strode by. "Let me help." Nick said to her, immediately kneeling to pick up her things. "This looks broken. Perhaps you can return it?" "Oh, thank you." She seemed quite surprised by his gallantry. She saw the man standing behind him, leaning against a column, arms cross over his chest. "Nicholas, ever the knight in shining armor." The man quipped. "I really shouldn't have gone overboard. It's just been such a rotten week." She smiled at Nick hesitantly. "One good idea is to make trips to your care often. It's a safety tip. Fewer bags, less chance of getting mugged." He stood, holding the bags out to her. "Less chance of dropping anything on the escalator." "How amusing." LaCroix chuckled dryly. "Thanks, really." She frowned, glancing at the other man, and then back at Nick. She smiled at him, taking the bags. "Have a nice night." "You, too." He nodded, and she walked off. "Too bad she's a red head. I seem to remember you preferred blondes." LaCroix joined Nick. "Tastes change." He shrugged. "People change, times change." "The only thing that stays the same...? No, I don't think so. People don't change. You are still the Nicholas I first met in 1228." They took a few steps in unison, but Nick stopped at these words. LaCroix turned back towards him, eyebrow raised questioningly. "You simply refuse to accept the gift I gave you." It was on Nick's lips to argue, to rebut those words. What good would it do, though? It is not as if suddenly LaCroix would hear him, understand or believe him. It's not as if he would suddenly give into LaCroix. Why fight in the middle of the mall? "Like she said, it's been a long week." Nick sighed, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I'd better get going. I need to stop in at the precinct on my way home." LaCroix smiled, knowing that Nick wasn't giving up, he was just refusing to argue tonight. He patted Nick's shoulder companionably. "All right, my friend. Off to your little playworld. Perhaps we can go, I believe the term is "malling", again sometime." He turned and walked away from Nick. He knew Nick watched him, all the way to the Bernet department store. Nick sighed, shook his head, and turned to the entrance. So many sounds, so many scents. He put on his sunglasses, heading off for the caddy. Had this mall been a clearing once, before man and civilization had arrived? ********************************************************************************