That Groggy Feeling

Henrick sighed.

He just didn't feel very well today. His head felt like it was filled with cotton wool. His movements felt sluggish, and he really didn't feel like doing anything. He had a paper to write, and while he knew he should do it, he really didn't feel like it. Even the random text from Felix containing "More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call" didn't really cheer him up. He couldn't even find the energy within himself to go to class.

Flopping backwards onto his bed, he stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't explain what was wrong. Maybe he was sick, and this was his body's current attempt to fight the virus/bacteria/whatnot off. Next he'd be suffering hot and cold sweats, shivering, sneezing and more if his body felt like being exceptionally cruel to him.

He'd even lost all sense of time.

Felix would be hanging out with his other friends - more than likely annoying Gethin and Cadence. Or he'd have skipped school completely and just gone off into town, taking his guitar with him.

Speaking of that guitar, whatever was ailing him was affecting his auditory senses, because he could swear he could hear that odd music that only Felix could play. Songs for instruments that didn't exist anymore, combined with lyrics of a dead language. Rolling over on his bed, gaze wandered towards the door. If it was Felix, he'd have wandered in by now. Rolling back over, he looked at the ceiling and sighed again.

"So I see my serenading you is having no effect," came a voice from the doorway.

Well, it was Felix afterall.

"Hi..."

"Dear Lord, who died?" Felix slung the guitar from his shoulder and propped it up on the chair by Henrick's desk, then sat himself down on the edge of the bed.

"No one died, I just don't feel good," Henrick mumbled, lifting an arm and draping it over his eyes. The light was starting to bother him now. "You shouldn't be here, you might catch it too."

"I haven't had a cold since I was ten. The last time I was in a hospital I happened to be in a coma - and brain dead."

"Don't remind me." Another sigh, and Henrick rolled onto his side, away from Felix and curled up. Without Aiolos, Felix would have been dead long ago. It was that very creature that was keeping him alive today. "I still don't think its a good idea you being here..."

It was Felix's turn to sigh. "Your thoughts are all muffled," he said softly.

"Stop trying to read them then."

"Well someone's in a grumpy mood." The soft tone had gone. "If you're going to be PMSing, I suppose I should leave you to it." The weight on the bed shifted as Felix stood up, heading over to collect his guitar. "The sixth years were having a party in the rec room, I came to see if you wanted to come, but since you're not feeling up to it, I'll leave you alone to be grumpy." He picked up his guitar and went to the door.

"Don't go..." his voice sounded so small that he doubted Felix would have even heard. Curling up into a tighter ball, he waited to hear the sounds of the door closing behind Felix. With the soft click of the door being shut, Henrick could do nothing to stop the tears slipping down from his eyes and dripping onto his pillow.

"Are you sure you're ill?" whispered that familiar voice by his ear. He could feel the strands of hair tickling against his cheek as Felix leaned in close, warm breath sweeping over his ear that would normally send tingles straight down his spine. The bed sank once again, and an arm slung itself over Henrick while a larger and warmer body curled up behind him. "Gosh, you are cold."

"Told you I was ill."

"Don't block me out, Hen, I'm only trying to help." Nose nuzzled against the back of Henrick's neck. "As your boyfriend it is my duty to try and help in the ways I think I can help, even if they don't feel like help at all to you."

"I think I'm just tired, Fee."

"Then sleep." Hand found one of Henrick's and fingertips softly stroked the back of his palm. "I'll be here when you wake up, promise."

Revelations of a host

It must have been a perk once a student became a sixth year that they acquired a much larger bed. That, or Felix had somehow managed to sneak one into his dorm room, because Henrick was certain that his own bed was much smaller than the one he was currently snuggled into. He'd awoken early, somewhere before dawn perhaps, and just couldn't seem to find himself capable of drifting off to sleep again. Beside him, laying on his front was Felix, happily snoozing away.

Both arms were curled under the pillows, and his face was turned away from Henrick. They'd fallen asleep snuggling, but Felix tended to move in his sleep, and prefered sleeping on his front anyway. Whether this was how he had always slept, or because of Aiolos Henrick didn't know, and Felix had never bothered to tell him. In the dim light of the room, Henrick could just make out Felix's form from the blankets around them. His back was bared to the night air. Instinct thought to cover him up, but since Felix kept his room at a snug and warm temperature, it was highly unlikely he could catch cold. There was also the added feature of having a stronger immunity than most humans.

Thinking of the creature that granted Felix these odd powers, Henrick looked over at the other male's back, carefully reaching over to trace the "tattoo" of where the symbiont resided within Felix. He'd touched the spot before, asking if the creature felt him. The answer was no, but Felix said that Aiolos knew what he was doing and was honored. Normally, Felix didn't like people touching that particular spot on his person, but Henrick was special.

Felix's skin was soft and smooth, and Henrick found his fingers wandering, almost dancing over the tribal serpant design. While he was doing so, Felix let out an odd noise - something that sounded somewhere between a sigh and a hum. Quickly pulling his hand back, thinking he'd awoken the other, he watched to see what would happen.

The soft noise that spilled from Felix's lips sounded odd. Almost like he was humming along to something in his sleep.

"Felix...?"

But no answer came.

Sitting there in bad, Henrick watched for a few more minutes. Felix didn't make a constant noise, the sound escape only every now and again. Eventually, he returned to nothing more than simple breathing in his sleep - a sound Henrick was becoming more and more accustomed to. Pulling up the blankets around himself, Henrick turned his gaze to wandering around the room while the sun began to rise behind the curtains.



Felix had no clocks in his room (being on that loathed the sound of alarms), which meant Henrick had no sense of the passage of time. He could have been sitting there for five minutes, or five hours. He doubted it would be as long as five hours, but one never knew. Another glance back at Felix just moments before the seventeen year old shifted and rolled over, slipping an arn around Henrick's waist and nuzzling into his side. Fingers brushed through the messy locks growing from Felix's head, admiring just how cute - and innocent - his boyfriend looked when he was sleeping.



Another nuzzle, and a sleepy mumble of someone waking up.

"Did you say something?" Henrick whispered.



"I said...nnnmmmmnnnrrrrmmmmrrr" replied Felix, a smile curling at his lips.

"You don't have to wake up, its still early."

"I know its early," muttered Felix, snuggling as close as was physically possible to Henrick's body. "Aiolos said you were awake."

It was rare that Felix mentioned his symbiont communicating with him. He often acted like it didn't even exist, since it didn't take much of an active role in his life. Hearing that Felix had been told that he was awake caused Henrick to blush.

"Can Aiolos...talk through you?"

Felix shrugged. "Not really. If he can he's never tried - on any of us."



It was strange hearing Felix refer to himself in such a way. He didn't share much about being a host, and even little when it came to hosts before him. "But you made a sound earlier...like you were humming."

Green eyes were open now and looking up at Henrick. "He sings. Whether to drown out his telepathy or if its just something he does I don't really know. Sometimes I don't hear him. He's loudest when I'm falling asleep."

"So you were humming along in your sleep." Henrick chuckled, shaking his head lightly. There was always something new to learn about Felix. Perhaps it was because he had just woken up and was still rather sleepy, but Felix seemed to be more into sharing the private details of Aiolos and how it affected him. "Are there...more like Aiolos? More like you out there?"



"I've only ever met one. I didn't really know until I saw the markings on her back."

"Her?" It was highly unlikely that Felix had never had a relationship with someone before him. To hear about them though made him worry. What made this one even more worrisome was that this girl had been like Felix. They had something in common. "How did you see them?"

Felix gave Henrick a reassuring squeeze. "I wasn't into her like that. She was sunbathing and I was wandering down the beach. So I asked her if she was a host. She asked me how I knew, and well, the only way to prove it was to show her I had one too."

"Do they all have a common name?"

"Aiolos is what he gives us to call him. Humans can't pronounce what he's actually called. Her name was Amy - her symbiont was called Rafaeline."

"What about gender?"



"You're asking a lot of questions."

"I learn from the best."

Felix chuckled, giving Henrick a squeeze. "Gender has no meaning for them. Aiolos has had both male and female hosts. When my grandfather first gave him to me it took me a while to filter the memories of periods and PMSing. They need a female host to reproduce, and thats it. They reproduce through using having sex." He flashed a smirk at Henrick. "Be thankful you can't get pregnant, otherwise you run the chance of Aiolos deciding to 'continue his species' so to speak."

A slight blush formed on his cheeks, but nothing to harsh since it was buried beneath Henrick's curisoity. "I don't get it."

Fidgeting and shifting, Felix propped himself up on his elbows, the blankets falling away to reveal his bare torso. "When two humans mate and produce an offspring, the symbiont releases a gene, a hormone - something, I don't know, Amy told me all this - which promotes the growth of a symbiont directly inside the baby. It forms in the chest cavity, just behind the lungs, and develops much slower than the baby. When the baby is born, it catches up and eventually makes it way to the spine. The markings start out as a birth mark while the creature develops so that people don't get suspicious. The mother knows though, since she usually still has her own symbiont inside her. Then both baby and symbiont grow up, live long and normal lives and eventually the creature is passed on."

"So they grow inside humans?"

"Perfect way to be compatible with the host I suppose." Felix shrugged again before looking to the window where the sunlight was now trying to force its way around the curtains. "Now enough about all that," he said, grinning slyly.

"Hmm?"

Rolling his green eyes, Felix shifted and crawled up over Henrick, bringing their faces together until the tips of their noses were touching. "Since we're both awake how about we make use of it?" and he closed the gap, kissing the younger male passionately.

Conquering demons

Author Note: Listen to this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fRun9U1ba0Y while you read this. I was listening to it while I wrote it.


Another month, another luna cycle. There was no stopping it, no cure for him. He'd been 'exposed' to the venom for so long it was no longer the ill of another, it was his curse now. He was never going to be freed from its effects. Bearing this burden was something that shouldn't be made public. He could smell them, those traitors that escaped because of that girl with her 'cure'. That one who never turned, he who intended to remain human because he feared, loathed - or whatever his reason was - what he would become when the full moon rose into the night sky and shone sickening silver upon the decendant's of the wolf.

Was Vincent even still human?

Hiding beneath the home comforts of a thick blanket, Vincent stared at his hands. He looked weak and scrawny. His skin was pale. He looked like he would spontaneously combust were he to step out in the sunshine. But beneath that pale skin lingered the hide of a monster. Pulling his hands into his chest, Vincent curled up into a tighter ball. He seemed quite the sight on the floor of his dorm, hiding within the darkness of his blanket while the world outside was bright and white, the first snow falls tumbling to the ground beyond the walls of the school.

This was nothing new for the teenager.

Waiting for the moon to come made him antsy. Days were shorter in the winter, bringing the coming of the moon much sooner. Yet, it also included longer nights, meaning more time under the moon's influence. It gave 'lunacy' an entirely new meaning.

Who would care if a monster died?

Another evil being gone from the world. It didn't matter about the person he was when the wolf wasn't in control, whether or not he was a good and kind-hearted person. He had evil inside, and therefore he too was evil. Given the chance, that evil would break out and kill. Vincent was a slave to the moon.

Although lost within his lament, sensistive ears picked up the soft knock to his door. While there was an obstacle between him and the person on the other side, Vincent picked up the scent. Sweet, glorious, and oh so human. It was a sickening thought when all was considered, at how Vincent could pick up the differences between when Marshall fed to keep himself alive, and when he allowed that odd metabolism of his to degrade his life energy.

Vincent was a monster that knew what he was and did all he could not to allow the evil to conquer him.
.
Marshall was a human that felt he had to become a monster to survive.

Both had been forced into being 'monsters'. Vincent by the werewolf that had attacked him when he was a boy, and Marshall by birth. Neither wanted the burdens placed upon them.

Mumbling "In here," to the one outside, eyes closed within the darkness, sounds of someone entering his room muffled by the fabric around his head, but still clear to him.

"Ainsley said she was worried about you. You've not gone to any classes for a few days. Normally you try to attend some before the full moon."

Stretching out a hand, blunt fingernails dug into the carpet. "Evil doesn't need to go to class"

Marshall knelt down behind the lump on the floor. Surveying the mess, he noted that Vincent had taken a lot of his frustration out on his furniture. He'd have to fetch the janitor to come and clean up what was left of Vincent's closet and desk. The curtains were a torn up heap amidist the remains of the battle of Vincent vs Vincent. Looking down at his friend, he reached out to touch where he thought Vincent's shoulder would be.

"I still went to class."

"You don't kill people."

"Last time I checked, neither do you."

Vincent let out a low growl. Rolling over, his head popped out from beneath his blanket. He blinked up at Marshall, deep circles under his eyes. The other touched the mess of blue-black hair sticking out at all directions on Vincent's head.

"The weapon doesn't kill the person, it's the one holding the gun that kills."

Vincent snorted at Marshall. "The guns don't kill people; people kill people speech? Really, Marshy?"

Marshall shrugged, giving a sheepish smile to his friend. "Its a horrible fate we have, isn't it, Vinnie?"

Letting out a noise that sounded somewhere between a purr and a growl, Vincent moved to rest his head on his friend's lap, breathing in that sweet scent that was pure human. "I know you wonder who they are. The people that die to keep you alive. Which one is evil? Evil that commits evil deeds, or evil that eats evil for the simply fact to stay alive? You don't kill those people, they were deemed dead meat by another."

Marshall ran his fingers through Vincent's hair, stroking the strands gently. "You hide yourself away, keep away from people that you could hurt. Ainsley would -"

A growl. "Ainsley comes so close to dying every time she toys with him!" He sat up, grey-brown eyes staring deep into Marshall's. "She's nine years old and is playing with fire! I'm not an Alpha, but one of these days something could snap, and Ains will find herself a tasty werewolf treat."

"They're working on a cure, Vinnie," Marshall said soothingly, stroking his friend's face. "Knowing that they can stop the transformation happening in new werewolves will eventually lead to them finding a way to stopping you from changing."

Vincent growled again, annoyed whenever the topic was brought up by another who knew what had happened with the so-called 'cure' for lycanthropy. "One day I'll confront him. I'll show him what he's hiding from."

"Vincent!" Marshall shouted. "That's the wolf talking! Don't you dare say something like that again!"

Vincent sighed, moving forwards to rest his forehead against Marshall's chest. Fingers curled within his blanket, and his snuggled up to his closet friend. "M'sorry," he mumbled. "It knows how strong Eben could be. Its like a wanderer invading pack territory. He's a different pack"

Marshall smoothed his hands down Vincent's back while making soft 'shush'ing noises. "But don't all werewolves trace back to one decendant?"

"Don't know. Never looked into it."

Marshall moved his hands to beneath Vincent's chin, forcing his head to tilt back in order for him to look up into his face. "Well, how about to get you out of your room, we get Ainsley and head for the library? A little bit of research into werewolves?"

Vincent grinned. "How'd you know I've not done it myself?"

"Because Vinnie and research does not often occur in the same sentence, short of including 'does not do'," MArshall replied with a chuckle.