Chapter 6

 

 

          Nairne walked down the stairs still waking up. She'd woken up earlier than usual and felt like making breakfast to give Vance a break. I should probably go see him, bet he's still in the arm chair. Walking into the foyer she noticed that he was sleeping. Stunned, she watched him sleep for a few minutes before grabbing a blanket and covering him. Nairne walked out of the foyer, closing the door behind her, her face lit up with a smile.

 

          Vance woke up to the smell of food. Shifting around he realized that someone had put a blanket over him. Nairne… Opening one eye he looked around the room, still trying to wake up his mind. Noticing that the door to the hall was closed he figured that Nairne had come through and seeing that he was sleeping placed a blanket on him and closed the doors, so he could sleep. I guess I needed that. Didn't realize how exhausted I was.

 

          Nairne was taking out plates when she heard someone enter the kitchen. Looking over to him she smiled and continued what she was doing.

 

          "Do you need any help?" Vance asked. She glanced at him quickly before shaking her head.

 

          "No, I can do this, but if you don't mind, could you get Gene for me? He might still be sleeping." Looking back at him Vance nodded his head and walked out of the kitchen.

 

          Gene was sitting up in the crib, almost like he was waiting for someone to come bring him downstairs. Vance walked into the room and Gene smiled. Taking him out of the bed, Vance let him play for a few minutes to give Nairne enough time to get breakfast ready. Watching Gene play his thoughts started drifting. Gene really is lucky to have her. He seems to have a sense for finding good people. Vance broke out of his thoughts when he heard something. Looking around he finally realized what it was. Seconds later Nairne walked in and looked at him.

 

          "I was calling and no one answered. I was starting to think you guys got lost." Vance lowered his head and smiled. Picking up Gene he stood and waited for Nairne to walk out of the room first.

 

 

 

          Nairne walked into the garden and approached the sitting figure. It didn't appear as though he had noticed her presence. Walking over to him she sat down and looked around. Vance jumped out of his thoughts when he noticed that someone had sat down next to him. Looking over he was mildly surprised to find Nairne looking around the garden.

 

          "You've done a good job cleaning it up." Nairne smiled and nodded her head. She sat on her hands and looked down at her legs.

 

          "It is still going to take me forever to finish it though. This place has been growing wild for a long time." Nairne kept looking around as Vance agreed with her silently.

 

          "Just let me know what you need done." Vance looked at her as she turned to face him. Nodding her head both broke their gaze staring at something else. A calm silence filled the air as both let the other drift away in thought.

 

          "Would you like to start now?" Nairne spoke softly, hoping that this was the right time to talk about it. Vance didn't react to her question, and she was ready to ask again, when he answered.

 

          "I'd rather it be sooner than later." His voice was controlled and emotionless.

 

          "Let's have it more open then. I'll ask you a question, you answer then you can ask me a question about whatever. That way we can both get personal if need be." Nairne didn't really care to share her memories, but if it helped him, she could share some. Vance hesitated for a couple seconds before nodding his head.

 

          "You can start if you'd like." Nairne regretted saying it, but it was probably the only way to break the ice with him. What am I getting myself into…. Silence filled the air once again as Nairne waited for his question.

 

          "What are destroyers, or rather, how are they chosen?" Nairne was surprised that he had not asked a more personal question. She thought it over.

 

          "We have an old tale, that's told to our children. I guess it's similar to humans' bedtime stories. Anyways, destroyers are two transhumans usually of same race and both siblings, but that isn’t always the case. Like now, Gene and I are from two different races. The race is usually very rare and hard to find. They have the ability to either destroy humans or attempt to live along side them. Thus the reason why the humans call us destroyers, they believe that we would try to do just that, which would be to destroy them. They are chosen at random really, the only way to narrow it down is to find the rarest species." Nairne stared straight ahead as she finished her answer. Vance stared at the grass under his feet.

 

          "Alright, I believe it's your turn then." Vance voice was thoughtful and Nairne thought over her words carefully.

 

          "Do…….do you remember anything about….being a transhuman?" The question hit Vance hard as his mind raced. Nairne noticed his body tense quickly. Shoot…. I knew I should have started off with something different. She was kind of dreading his response, hoping that she hadn't pushed him over the edge. Vance finally turned to her.

 

          "No, I don't, but I always have this weird dream of me flying. At least I think it's a dream, I don't know, it's kind of hard to explain." Nairne was overjoyed that he was telling her this.

 

          "Then why not show me?" Vance stared at her confused.

 

          "What? How?" Nairne shook her head and smiled.

 

          "Remember when I told you I could see people's dream and sometimes memories? Well, all I have to do is when you have relaxed, with only that dream in your mind. I can sort of enter it I guess you can say." Vance looked at her bewildered. She can go into my mind? Vance thought it over before he nodded his head. Nairne smiled.

 

          "Good, the only thing I need you to do is relax, and think of nothing except that one thing, unless you want me to see anything else." Vance became slightly nervous. Nairne waited until she thought he was calm enough before closing her eyes and letting herself drift into his dream.

 

 

 

          Looking down Nairne saw the clouds all around her. Below was a young boy who was flying through the air. She could feel herself drifting down towards him. The boy looked up and stopped, hovering in the same spot watching her. When she became level with him a huge smile spread across his face.

 

          'Who are you? You're the only one I've ever seen here.' His voice was cheerful and happy. Nairne smiled.

 

          'My name is Nairne.' The boy nodded his head.

 

          'You have really beautiful fur. Oh, and my name is Vance.' Nairne smiled and laughed.

 

          'Thank you, I was wandering if you knew why you are here.' The boy looked at her puzzled.

 

          'What do you mean? I'm flying of course. My dad said that I could fly as long as I came back before dinner. He's says that soon I'll have really long flight feathers that will reach over ten feet!' Nairne could feel the excitement course through him. Suddenly she saw a ripple coming from behind him. I have to hurry now. She turned her attention back to Vance.

 

          'Do you remember how to turn back?' He gave her a funny look.

 

          'Of course I do!' Nairne could feel herself slipping away.

 

          'Then show him!' Finally she felt the air around her pulling her up. The boy looked surprised.

 

          'Come back soon please!' His voice was barely heard over the roaring of the pulling wind.

 

 

 

          Nairne slowly opened her eyes, to realize that her eyesight had improved significantly. Oh no, Vance. Looking over at him she felt slightly relieved to find that he hadn't opened his eyes.

 

          Vance's eyes shot open as Nairne finally disappeared from the dream. Looking over at her, he jumped to his feet and gaped at the giant cat sitting next to him.

 

          "Don't worry! It's only me. This happens sometimes after I've done that." Vance looked at her, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. Not able to hold in her laughter anymore a strange sound escaped her lips. Vance realized that she was laughing at him. Chuckling Vance sat down next to her. Finally, able to control her outburst, Nairne rested her head on her paws, looking up at his face.

 

          "It's been a long time since I've been in this form, it feels nice….I believe it is your turn to ask a question." Vance nodded his head.

 

          "So, you are a cat transhuman then?" He looked down into her eyes and felt a deep gentleness coming from them. She hesitated, looking away from his gaze. He saw her body shudder for a second and then what he guessed was a sigh.

 

          "I was originally a cat transhuman, yes. When they captured me, they experimented with mixing animal genes. Luckily Gene was never injected with anything but…..I was injected with eel DNA. So I am able to also turn into an eel, or even a split of both." Vance could feel the sadness in her and his hatred only grew. Nairne could sense how angry he was and became frightened. Quickly she placed her head in his lap, causing him to jerk in surprise.

 

          Vance looked down at her surprised by the contact. Her eyes were closed and tears fell onto his lap. Suddenly his eyes widened as he stared at her. She's crying…because she's scared….because I'm mad? Regaining control of his thoughts he gently placed a hand on her head. I need to get our minds off this…..

 

          "How is Gene able to talk, he's only about ten months old right?" He could feel her shifting, and the crying stopped.

 

          "Transhuman babies are smarter than human ones. They are usually able to speak in phrases at least mentally by the age of seven or eight months. So soon, he should be able to speak to us in sentences. Transhuman babies are able to pick up on things faster because we have too in order to survive."  Vance felt the sadness wash over her again. Everything about them…..us is depressing, because of humans. Nairne lifted her head off of his lap and climbed down from the fountain, stretching. She started walking towards the door, pausing momentarily she looked back at him.

 

          "Come on, it will be dinner time soon, and I need to check on Gene." Nodding his head Vance stood up and looked up at the sky. It was a lot later than he had thought. He could feel himself drifting up towards the clouds. I wonder what it's like to fly that high, or if I have ever flown that high…. Turning his head back towards the door he saw Nairne watching him before walking through the door, he followed a little ways behind.