Trowa downed the remainder of his beer and signaled the bartender for another, �Surprises rarely come from me Makima, you of all people should know that.� Makima said a quiet �thank you� as his vodka was slid in front of him; �You need to get surprising, �cause, no offence Poseidon, your life is duller than �igh �eaven.� Trowa shook his head slightly; �High Heaven was just as dull, besides the fact that I had something to live for up there.� Makima laughed, �Ah yes, your little lover. You never cease to amuse me, you �ad a boyfriend all those years and yet you read Playboy. You are a living oxymoron Poseidon.� �Shut up or you get the tab.� Makima chuckled for a moment longer but changed the subject to something more tolerable for his drinking companion, knowing that Trowa, in a fit of rage, could bring death to whomever started it, �Being I �aven�t seen you in a while, you �aven�t �eard about my new girlfriend, �ave you?� Trowa guzzled the beer he�d just received and ordered another, �No, I haven�t. Do enlighten me.�
The demon smiled, �She�s really beautiful, but won�t let me touch �er, the stubborn girl. �Er name is �Eather, she�s got light brown �air and gray-green eyes that anyone could appreciate. Lies a lot though. Told me she was accountant she did, but even despite all my resources I can�t figure out �er real job.� Trowa had quit listening halfway through the conversation; the description Makima had given him was all too familiar�
Amber sneezed into the sink; thankful that she hadn�t been over the half prepared dinner. She wiggled her nose as she continued to wash lettuce. Once it was somewhat dry, she pulled out a paring knife to chop it into smaller pieces. Duo stepped up behind her silently, watching her chop the lettuce into minuet pieces, �What�s for dinner?!� His voice was a little louder than necessary. In her surprise, Amber missed the lettuce and sliced her finger open, the smell of blood filled the room. It hit Duo heavily, it was already close to his feeding time and the smell was unbearable. Amber let out a stream of curses as she clutched her finger to stop the profuse bleeding, �Damn it Duo! You son of a�mmmph. Shit it hurts!� The irises of Duo�s eyes began to glow red and, unable to contain himself, he grabbed her wrist. Amber went into a sort of shock when he began to suck on her finger. The sweet blood filled his mouth, slowly quenching his thirst. Amber snapped out of her shock as quickly as she�d fallen into it, �Let go of me you sicko!� When he did not, she slid the butcher knife out of the knife drawer, �Let go!� Upon seeing the glinting steel, he released her and backed away, a small trickle of crimson slipped from the corner of his mouth. Duo�s eyes flashed brighter under the shadow of his bangs, fierce hunger danced in them. With her knife in one hand, Amber made her way to the kitchen door, never allowing her gaze to stray off of him, �You keep the hell away from me, you understand?� He watched intently as she slipped through the doorway into the living room, his meal was lost. Still hungry, Duo could taste the blood that remained in his mouth; it was a taunting reminder of his feed.
The light sound footsteps drew his attention as Jess entered through the only other door to the kitchen. He was on her in a moment, his arms tight around her slim waist, �Kiss me.� Pilot seven laughed slightly, pressing her lips against his. Duo slid his tongue into her mouth, she responded quickly, sliding hers around his. Feeling the throb of blood through her skin, his fangs began to unsheathe themselves. Jess�s tongue found one, cutting into it deeply. For the second time that day, crimson life filled Duo�s mouth. The taste of her blood was almost disappointing; it was AB, though he hadn�t expected much more than that. The small girl�s eyes shot open, filling with confusion; she attempted to push him away. Duo held fast, quickly losing himself in her life. Suddenly, the taste changed from metallic to that of liquid fire. It was now Duo who became confused, it was a wonderful taste that few had experienced and many thought was a lie. It was the taste of a portion of soul, an experience that only came when the person who gave their blood and the drinker shared parts of the same soul. In simple terms, a soul mate.
Duo pulled away as he felt her blood taking effect, on his face was a look of shock. Jess shared the same look, a metallic after-taste still assaulting her. He reached up, wordlessly, and healed the gouge he�d made. Her flesh sealed over with ease, causing her to understand even less, �Duo, what�?� He held a finger to her lips, his voice soft, �Ask me when I know the answer, but understand that I won�t hurt you like that again.� She nodded slowly, curious, but willing to trust his words.
It was long past dark when pilot three staggered, drunkenly, from the bar; he attempted to fish his keys from his pocket but couldn�t find them. After searching for ten minutes or so, he located them in his back pocket, �There, �hic�, you be, stupid keys.� He attempted to put the correct key into the lock but couldn�t keep the lock in focus, scratching the black surface of his door several times. Success came after several failing attempts and Trowa got the door open, �There we go!� Fortunately, there were very few people on the street at such a late hour and he didn�t encounter any other cars on the way home.
As usual, Quatre was sitting at the breakfast table, waiting for him. The blonde pilot looked up as Trowa made his way in the garage entrance, �Good, your home.� He got up to help his friend stand upright, �I really wish you�d find a better way to deal with all of this, Trowa. It always scares me when I think that you�re driving home drunk.� The tall pilot leaned heavily on his comrade, waving his hand impatiently in front of him, �There�s no�fing wrong wi�f havin� a few drinks ev�ry once in a while, �hic� Quatre!� The noble of the desert helped him to the base of the stairs and began to climb, slowly, �A few drinks, no Trowa, but every night? This has got to stop! I know I�m wasting my breath, but I have to say it on the behalf of the fact that I need to know I�m at least trying to stop it! Sweet God in heaven, isn�t there anything I can do to help?� Trowa shook his head, appearing to grow almost sober, �No, Quatre, if there was I would�ve told ya�.� He hiccuped again, �Ain�t nobody gunna change my mind �bout this. No�fing hurts when I drink, don�t you get it, �hic�?� Quatre opened the door to Trowa�s room and helped him into bed, �Go to sleep.� The silencer yanked off one shoe, but forgot the other as he laid down, �Don�t you worry your little head �bout no�fing, �k?� Pilot four pulled off Trowa�s other shoe and turned out the light as he left, �Alright Trowa, good night.�
*It�s sad that you let yourself slip this far, Poseidon. An arch that was a great as Michael, drowning himself in alcohol every night because he can�t face the past.* Trowa shot upright in bed, scanning his room for the speaker. He realized that the thoughts were transmitted telepathically and the speaker could be on the opposite side of the world, but he answered anyway, �Who are you?� There was a silent chuckle as Fang stepped from the shadows, *You don�t even remember me? I am Estrial, a hound of heaven. You should know that.* Trowa looked down at him questioningly, �What �re you doin� here?� Estrial curled his lip to reveal a row of sharp teeth, *The way I see it, coming to see a joke that had once been something great.* The silencer pointed a finger at him, �Look, I�ve heard it from three other peoples today and I don� need to hear it from you two!� The large hound looked blankly around, *Two?* Trowa grinned, �The purple cows are invading the yard!�
Fang shook his muzzle from side to side in frustration, *Cows aren�t purple! They�re black and white, just like everything else! Snap out of it Poseidon!* At this last word, Estrial leapt forward and sunk his teeth deep into Trowa�s arm. Pain shot through his shoulder and rebounded in his head, shocking him into a sort of temporary soberness. He clenched his jaw shut, holding back his shout of agony. The hound held on for only a moment before letting him go, *You need to snap out of it, you can not let yourself go! You are stronger than this! Any one who�s ever known you would say the same thing.* Trowa slowly raised his eyes to him, carefully sealing over the deep punctures Fang had left, �What do I have to be strong for anymore? I�m only here to fight as a soldier, and when the war is over�� He turned away. The unearthly hound trotted to the door, his eyes gleamed gold as he looked back over his shoulder, *I would suggest finding something to live for then. You may have fallen from heaven Trowa, but you are still an arch and your blood is strong. Find life, or you�ll die before this war is over.*
