Christian is my older sister, so the tension is thick between us. Vampire families are just like human families. Parents are always stricter with the first born, and that resentment results in a psychological rain down of, “You’re going through what I went through and you are not getting away with any less pain than me girl!”
At the end of the day I know she’s there for me and if I really needed her-- she’d step up. Believe me, she’s one kick-butt vampire.
I’m actually faster than Christian now, but she is so sleek and graceful in her running that her long strides are deceiving as to the ground she’s covering. It’s beautiful to watch. And when she makes her explosive launch towards a victim or just jumping for any reason, it is so mesmerizing to watch. It’s not like any other vampire I’ve ever seen. It’s like she’s floating and the landscape is magically moving past her. I’m jealous because my legs are shorter, but they do move. I’m also getting there with my leaps. I can’t see myself, but I think I’m getting pretty close to Christian.
I’ve never fought with Christian in the physical-sense save the occasional fang display hissy fit. I’ve seen her fight other vampires though and she’s like a snake. Striking. Recoiling… then striking again. She uses those long legs for stinging leg kicks. She doesn’t back away from a fight despite her beauty queen exterior.
I do however back away. I don’t like conflict or drama even though drama seems to find me a lot of the time. Family conflict and drama and BFF stuff I’ll engage in but that is not the real world. In the real world I’m a total bunny rabbit. Where it comes from I don’t know. I guess I’m just insecure about everything. My looks… my body-- everything. So it’s easier just to withdraw as much as possible from the real world-- and I’m an expert at that.
To limit the drama in my life I only have one single solitary friend-- Lily Burgoyne. She’s the only one that understands me. I hope she continues to as we change now that we are officially adults. We both recently turned fifteen; the vampire age of young adulthood. The biological clock is already clicking. Yuck! I’ve got to worry about that already? When does life get easier?
I don’t think Christian’s stronger than me anymore. But then again, I’ve never fought her. That would be a no, no. She’s already an Elder, so I’d be in trouble if I did. Elders have a lot of sway over our lives even if they are just a year or two older. A vampire can be an Elder at age seventeen, if they’ve gone before an Elder tribunal, and proven they are worthy of the status. I think Christian simply pranced in front of the tribunal, smiled, and they made her an Elder. This all leads to my most perplexing question in life. Why is she with Alexander Morgan?
Like I said, I’m faster than Christian now. Score one for Luna! How do I know? I raced her several months ago and won. I cleaned her clock by a mile. She didn’t talk to me for a week. Maybe I should race her every week and then I wouldn’t have to talk to her at all! I gained more respect from her but she showed it by treating me like dirt. That’s how I knew deep down she respected me.
Very odd the older-younger sister dynamic. Not as odd as the puberty-age-driven relationship between parents and child though. That’s another book by itself. They know what they want you to be, but they’ve forgotten who they used to be at our age. Their inner-conflict becomes our inner-conflict. Can’t they just leave us alone and understand we’ll eventually find our way to where they are? No… they can’t!
When I and the rest of the family have our game-faces on, look out, we’re locked on and there is no escape. You can be in a car going fifty miles-per-hour with the windows down, or have the top down on your convertible and it doesn’t matter. Six stories up in an apartment in a secured building-- you’re not safe from us.
Christian exudes zero emotion when she attacks and feeds. She’s like a momma cheetah. She’s got a job to do and she’s doing it. The rest of us in the family are more into the emotional aspects of it all. It’s an emotional experience taking a human and feeding on them.
Skyla’s like a crazed Pekinese. Young vampires (until around ten years of age) are like a young anything-- totally out of control! Skyla is so cute. She’s my little lovely. When I see her feeding, I feel a tug, at my heart. She takes these little pauses and licks her lips. Then back at it. She and I are so close. I love to snuggle with her and have a lull with her next to me. I usually come out of the lull first and she always looks so angelic. Like a wee vamp angel. I thank God so much my parents didn’t stop with me. Skyla, is my gift in this world. No matter how confused, or filled with angst, or in a funk I am, she brings me out of it-- even if Lily can’t, Skyla always can.
I guess if I was put to the test I would die for any of my family-- but for Skyla; I would gladly die for her without a moment of hesitation. If it meant saving her from harm, or death by the hands of another, even a vampire, I would tear them apart if need be. I would kill them.
Killing another vampire for almost any reason is against the code. We have all sorts of committees, tribunals, and social arbiters to settle grievances. If death is to come, it is by government action only. You cannot kill another vampire without facing death yourself-- but for Skyla, I would. I so would.
My right ear-bud was just unceremoniously pulled from my ear. Who the H? I turn to look and Christian’s p’d-off face is staring at me. Skyla’s with her and is moving to the end of the bed. Here comes the jump on the bed, the puppy-eyes and the pleading. I want to resist Skyla for more “me” time with The Cons, so I don’t make eye contact with her.
“Luna, COME ON! I’ve got homework to finish before school,” Skyla pleads.
I’m almost ready to fall prey to Skyla’s pleading. I can’t help myself. I look at her. She’s got me in her puppy-eyes tractor-beam. I’m cracking.
“Luna, get your scrawny butt up!” Christian demands of me.
That helps to break Skyla’s tractor-beam. I look at Christian and on her face is plastered that “older sister” look. We all hate the “older sister” look - am I right?
I returned the volley with the younger sister “what’s the problem” look, which is really masking the “up yours” thought in my head. I’m so omnipotent within the confines of my own head. LOVES IT!
Skyla shakes her head in hopelessness as this whole thing plays out on a seemingly regular basis now. I wish she’d understand, I just don’t like to go with the family anymore. Christian did the same thing for awhile but came back to hunt with the family. I know she came back for selfish reasons. She gets it done faster as Mom and Dad are exceptional stalkers.
Right now, I want to scream “I just want to be left alone!” Instead, I’ll try to weasel out of it.
“It won’t take me long. It’s a 24/7 world now. It’s only like an hour or so for me,” I tell Christian.
I threw that out there to get Christian off my back because she obviously wanted to get the feeding out of the way so she could IChat with Alexander (her lame, emo, boyfriend). She is not however giving up. She wants me to come to make things go a little faster. I'm on to her.
“Not at this time of year. You remember what happened last year when you didn’t take in enough? The school administrators and Child Protective Services were all over Mom and Dad. And I got questioned too. All because you were AIMing with Lily every night, almost all night long. Only Lily was smart enough to have that Amish family as her source,” Christian says.
That’s true. I was a wee hooked on AIMing. Now Lily and I SKYPE too - so we can do really juvenile things in our undies. Maybe that’s too much sharing?
Lily