A hidden scent
Birds chirped outside the window, the curtains slowly danced with the soft breeze. Sun rays gave a warm glow to the edge of the sheets, the white bouncing off blinding the soft features of its owner. Eyes still shut, brows furrowed in annoyance from the light.
“It can’t be that late..” Miku mumbled, a deep sigh escaping her lungs. Sitting upright with the blankets and sheets fall around her small frame, hair long and tangled and bangs scattered across Miku’s face.
The shifter’s fingers groggily moved through the bed till finding the long forgotten phone. In an exhausted state from returning from a late night walk, Miku had tossed her beloved iPhone into the bed and then quickly followed suit. When finally finding the phone the screen light up at the sight of her, the battery having a small line of red.
“Fuck.” Placing the phone on the nightstand and charger at the ready, Miku stopped mid breath smelling something rusty. Though deeper in the scent it was masking over the earthy scent of roses mixing with sweet sugary scent. The sweet scent lingered longer in her mind trying to match a picture to it. “Chamomile?”
Oh no.
The tossing of bedding, leaving heaps of fabric to the ground as the teen tripped and fell out of bed. She quickly gathered herself to dash into the connecting bathroom, hands on the edge of the sink looking in the mirror. Eyes scanning for what could have been the cause of the aroma, thought it didn’t take long. The old camp shirt Miku had worn last night had small specks of blood on it as if she was targeted by a spray bottle. Terror filled her body slowly coming to the realization that not only did her nightly visitor give a splash zone reaction on Miku’s shirt but also left the scent of the vampire herself along with it.
“Hey Miku, come downstairs before I eat all the bacon and sausage.” A knock at the door followed the command. Her adopted brother could be heard thundering down the stairs into the rest of the house.
It’s got to go.
Miku quickly threw the shirt off her back and hid it in the bottom of the drawer of the nightstand. She had then fished in the nearby closet for a fresh, not smelling of a vampire, shirt and jeans before opening the bedroom door. Bright sunlight danced through the rest of the house, giving a warm and inviting feeling.
“Ah there’s my little girl,” her father smiled at the bottom of the stairs, his smile big and cheeks flushed with the warmth of the day.
“Morning pops,” Miku forced her chirped smile, hiding the deep swell of anxiety that was digging in her stomach.
“Well, look who decided to join us.”
“Shove it, Kaito.” Miku rolled her eyes and grabbed the back of her chair to pull it out and sat.
“I was about to send a text to your friend saying you ditched her.” Kaito teased, the edges of his canines poked out of his mouth before taking a massive bite into his waffle.
“I am a loyal friend, I shall never fail my pack even if they are not wolves like you and I.” She spoke back, having her chest puff out and chin held high before taking a bite of her own food.
The morning chatter continued like the buzz of fluorescent lights, becoming nothing but just background noise. The young shifter held her napkin in a tight squeeze in a temp to release the uneasy feeling that had been casted on her. Last night's memory replayed like an old film.
Pink hair that glowed in the moonlight, a ring of silver highlighted her skull like a crown. Pale milky skin that held no flaw to the human eye, almost as if it was translucent. Only the blood that ran across the being seemed to bring this angel-like person back down to earth and make them real enough to touch. Bright red eyes, deep and rich that could only be found in candy and sweets but there was nothing sweet about the eyes itself. They screamed to kill anything they laid their sights on and they were looking back at Miku. Yet the teen didn’t back away instead she crept closer lost in a daze of the beauty in them.
The moments before were lost in translation and deep within the folds of the brain, but one thing that did stay to the top was the touch. Tightness around the throat, air becoming hard to swallow. Hot breath kissing her face, hot liquid sprayed on her cheeks. Miku was slow to open her eyes to see the vampire just inches away letting her words hiss off her tongue. The beauty of it all was like a drunk feeling, if the vampire let her go, she wouldn’t be too sure that she could walk in a straight line. This was a high that Miku had only heard about from others, and she wasn’t ready to let it go so easily.
“Hey space cadet, you comin?” Kaito waved a hand in front of her. “Dumbass was on Saturn, I’m tellin y’all!” He slaps his knee before laughing back up the stairs towards his room.
“Well at least I’m the first on Saturn!” Miku growled following up the stairs to her own bedroom. “Stupid ass.” She cursed before closing the door.
Sitting on the bed, fighting the thick fabric of the shoes to morph around her feet as the laces brought them together. The room filled with mumbles as she complained about her older brother. As she makes eye contact with the nightstand, the mumbles in her throat stops. Fingers holding the drawer open to reveal the shirt that was holding scents from the night before.
Her fingers slowly brought the fabric out of the drawer, and danced between the palms of her hands. Holding the shirt gently, as if it was glass ready to slip from her grip. Though out of instinct, she brought the shirt to her nose and slowly breathed the scents in, letting rust linger in her mouth but the rose and chamomile danced higher to the edge of her nose. The small breath was enough to trigger the memory of her to the front of Miku’s mind. Slowly taking the fabric back to the drawer and shutting it in as if the whole ordeal never happened. It wasn’t normal in her behavior to revisit sights, sounds, or smells but this one event had changed it all for her.
Was it curiosity? Fear? Or simply the urge to know more about the opposite cryptid?
She didn’t know nor cared for what was driving her, it was something she had to do. The fear of meeting the vampire was quickly washed away by the excitement of their next meeting.