Gabriel was pleased to see Stefan; as his small, purple-haired frame seemed to float across the room and out the door, he felt more at home in this inn than he had in the last six years. He hadn't felt this warm, this welcomed and belonging since the Castle...
This train of thought stopped. Thinking about the past gets you nowhere, Gabriel repeated to himself. Concentrate on the future, and what you're going to do to find out where your room-mates have got to.
A few seconds passed in silence as Gabriel deliberately forced his attention again to the absence of the guests; but still, that nagging memory of his days in the Castle gnawed at his mind, like someone was tightening a vice at the back of his head. With perfect timing, the door crashed open; a blast of snow and wind whistled through the frame, and Stefan came trudging back in, covered in frost, clutching a few bottles.
Intruiged, Gabriel unstoppered one of the bottles and let the aroma of its contents fill the air. It was so sweet, so overwhelming; powerful and filled with something insubstantial, something undefinable; almost life itself. It was like no wine or blood Gabriel had ever come across before, and he felt himself almost intoxicated by it's very smell. Gingerly, he brought the bottle to his lips and took a short draught of it.
Gasping deeply, Gabriel fell to his knees and began to cough. The liquid was like drinking molten gold; heavy and almost scaldingly hot. He could feel it begin to work its way through his body, as if moving with his blood. He felt a tingling stretch out from his chest and send little twinges and pricks racing over his skin, as if his blood vessels were being expanded, his skin pushed away. He felt it reach his brain, and almost at once his vision was thrown into a blinding, golden blur; everything he looked at seemed to have been carved out of light, and ghostly golden figures drifted through walls, into solid ground, seemingly with no regard for the material world. Looking down at his own hands, Gabriel could only see two great black images, each one criss-crossed with veins of the purest gold.
Though relatively quickly, amazing serenity came over him. This new way of seeing the world seemed comfortable, natural. The new feelings washed over him like a spring tide, and Gabriel had never felt better in his life. Whatever he had just drunk was more than just a pick-me-up.
And as quickly as these sensations had set in, they were gone. This golden world disappeared to be replaced by the cool tones of the Seven Roses bar, very much back in the real world. Out of the silent planet, he thought, and into the heavens.
This train of thought stopped. Thinking about the past gets you nowhere, Gabriel repeated to himself. Concentrate on the future, and what you're going to do to find out where your room-mates have got to.
A few seconds passed in silence as Gabriel deliberately forced his attention again to the absence of the guests; but still, that nagging memory of his days in the Castle gnawed at his mind, like someone was tightening a vice at the back of his head. With perfect timing, the door crashed open; a blast of snow and wind whistled through the frame, and Stefan came trudging back in, covered in frost, clutching a few bottles.
Intruiged, Gabriel unstoppered one of the bottles and let the aroma of its contents fill the air. It was so sweet, so overwhelming; powerful and filled with something insubstantial, something undefinable; almost life itself. It was like no wine or blood Gabriel had ever come across before, and he felt himself almost intoxicated by it's very smell. Gingerly, he brought the bottle to his lips and took a short draught of it.
Gasping deeply, Gabriel fell to his knees and began to cough. The liquid was like drinking molten gold; heavy and almost scaldingly hot. He could feel it begin to work its way through his body, as if moving with his blood. He felt a tingling stretch out from his chest and send little twinges and pricks racing over his skin, as if his blood vessels were being expanded, his skin pushed away. He felt it reach his brain, and almost at once his vision was thrown into a blinding, golden blur; everything he looked at seemed to have been carved out of light, and ghostly golden figures drifted through walls, into solid ground, seemingly with no regard for the material world. Looking down at his own hands, Gabriel could only see two great black images, each one criss-crossed with veins of the purest gold.
Though relatively quickly, amazing serenity came over him. This new way of seeing the world seemed comfortable, natural. The new feelings washed over him like a spring tide, and Gabriel had never felt better in his life. Whatever he had just drunk was more than just a pick-me-up.
And as quickly as these sensations had set in, they were gone. This golden world disappeared to be replaced by the cool tones of the Seven Roses bar, very much back in the real world. Out of the silent planet, he thought, and into the heavens.
posted by Gabriel Valessar at 6:51 PM
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