The Last Day and Night

The Last Day and Night
I woke and stretched like a cat and listened to the sounds of a sleepy camp just beginning to move around after a night of revelry. I had danced all night and I felt the ache of tiredness in my thighs and calves. I smelled of the fire and of the night. We had a long trip home before us, but I had a wonderful time with my friends and I knew I would never forget the weekend.

Violet was sleeping the sleep of the just. She had been with Bill last night and he brought her back in before dawn and tucked her in. I could hear their voices soft and sweet as they said good night.
Fairy had been taken away by her Viking, after dancing with me, he looked a little over excited, so I hoped Fairy had a good time with the Vampire in her life. I finally got up, stretching and pulled on my robe and grabbed a towel and my shower basket and went out and slid into the narrow shower stall and took a solar shower. I came back into the tent and dried off and dressed and decided to pack up a few things to make it easier when we headed out tomorrow morning early to our homes far from here.
I thought about our family. We were almost three months old on our forum and we loved our home and the close ties we had made. When we got back to our virtual home, we will have another adventure under our belt and many more to come as the spring turned into summer.

Dressed for the day and clean, I made up my bed and grabbed my smokes and my comb and went out to sit under the marquee and comb out my hair and braid it and help begin cleaning up the area we had camped in. Minnie had been so good to us. We had all gone in and bought her something we were going to spend the rest of the day installing for her. With help from her husband, we had gotten her all the fixings for a pond and we were going to install it for her, complete with a little garden. Too bad we did not have a Vampire or two to help us, using their supernatural strength to lift and pull for us…if they would do such a thing.

Somehow, I believed they would. They were rediscovering things about themselves. Not just the emotions part of their long lost humanity, but their other human selves. I could see in my mind’s eye, watching God Speed, Dude, and Sal marking off the places where they were to dig, the way Eric must have looked when he worked in his own village, perhaps building on to his lodge, asking his wife how big the new chamber would be, what she would use it for. Or Bill, the traces of the plow over one shoulder and across his back as he urged the mule to pull the plow and make rows where his corn and potatoes and beans would grow. They were men of the earth before they were creatures of the night and just thinking about that made me love them just a bit more.

And yes, I did love Eric. Not in that fierce, passionate way that I loved Bill, but I loved him the way you love a friend or a brother. Strange to think of my siblinghood with a man 1000 years old and from a world so different from mine, considering him my brother and friend. It was as though by making a bond with Bill, I also made my bond with the race Vampire. They were like us and we like them: loving and cruel, animal and human, compassionate and hateful.

But what would happen to us? Would we ever truly fit in their world and would they ever fit in ours? I don’t know, I don’t think so. We would both become outsiders and depend on one another for love and companionship and protection. I think I could speak for all of us on the forum that we all felt the responsibility for them, especially when we saw one of them lying on the couch in daytime sleep, or we knew there was one in the coffin. We made sure the shutters were tight to the window so no burning sun could come in and blister them. We sent in spies and faced their own on their behalf. I know I would stand at the backs of any of them to protect them the best I could, being only human. They were our friends, our lovers, they were our Vampires. We claimed them as much as they claimed us.

And so, as I went over to help with the work, I thought about our ties and our circle and I hoped it would be unbroken.

We worked on the fountain til nearly the end of the day light but we got it finished. I patted down the last of the soil around the tiger lilies we had planted around the tall fountain and then shorter flowers around the sides and front, along with some shorter grasses. The water bubbled merrily making a lovely chugging sound. I was mucked up from head to toe, but I didn’t care. It was good to work hard. I went in to the tent and stripped down and put my robe on and went for a second shower.

Soon, we were all clean and composed and we busied ourselves with hamburgers and hot dogs and chips. I sliced some tomatoes and onions and chopped onions for the dogs. Fairy made some coleslaw, and Renee set out relish and pickles and the other condiments. The first Vampire up was Jessica. Scarlett brought her a Tru:Blood and the Vampire smiled at her and ruefully began to drink the synthetic blood. The poor thing…what would become of Jessica when Bill is gone.

Eric was the next Vampire to come out of his sleeping place. He raked his long fingers through his hair, instantly noting the pond. He walked over and looked at the pond. Minnie came and stood by him, her hand sliding into his.
“You need some koi fish for your pond lover,” he said.
“I plan on getting me some,” she said. “They did a wonderful job.”
“They did,” said Eric, looking at the water. “I will send you a mating pair of koi from my pond. That way I know when I look into my pond, there will be some of my fish swimming here in your pond.”
“I would like that,” said Minnie.
“Wonderful,” said the Viking, leaning down to kiss one of his wives. They walked back hand in hand and Fairy presented Eric with a bottle of warm blood.

Pam and Bill came up together. Bill came sat between me and Vi, he kissing her gently and then kissing me on the cheek. While polygamy would have been a part of Eric’s culture, it must be strange to Bill who lived in time when humans paired off instead of having more than one spouse. I wonder what he thought of it, but I held off. That would be a talk for another time.

We ate and talked and felt the end of our journey. After supper we cleaned up, and settled near the fire. Bill was arranging for an evening with Bella and I was actually looking forward to an early night. We had a journey to begin in the morning.