Chapter Sixteen: Balon
Two Weeks Later
Balon feels very pleased with himself. There have been no arguments or escape attempts on Zenial's part since Balon and he talked.
The moon is nearly full, the sky is practically cloudless, and Balon is in the mood for fresh air.
He goes down the stairs to the living room looking for Asheema and Zenial. They are both there sitting on the couch. Zenial is reading a think non-fiction book and Asheema is listening to music.
"How do you guys feel about going to the park tonight?"
Asheema smiles up at him, excited, "Yeah! When are we going to go?'
Balon shrugs, "Is there anything that needs to be done before we go?"
"No," she says, shaking her head.
"And what about you?" he asks, turning towards Zenial, 'Are you okay with going to the park?"
"Yeah," Zenial says, smiling slightly.
"Do you guys want to go now then?" Balon asks.
"Yeah," Asheema answers excitedly while Zenial nods.
"Then why don't you guys go ahead and get yourselves ready," Balon suggests. Once he's sure that they heard him and are getting ready, he goes off in search of a pair of socks for himself.
When he's done, he goes to the door and slides his shoes on and when he's finished with that, he sits and waits for his pets to finish up with whatever they're doing.
Zenial is the first one to be done. He is ready almost as quickly as Balon is. Asheema takes a little longer. After about five minutes she comes to the door saying that she's going to bring some food, and she'll have it together soon.
True to her word, it's only another five minutes before she comes to stand by Balon, picnic basket in hand.
"Are we all ready to go then?" Balon asks.
Asheema nods, but Zenial sighs, holding the leather cord that serves as his leash out to Balon, "Here," he says.
Balon looks at him, considering for a moment,"…..You know that running away is pointless, right?" he asks, "That if you do, I'll probably catch you. And if by some meager chance you get away without me noticing, you might get caught by someone like that woman from a couple weeks ago?"
"Yeah," he says, uncertainly.
"So if I don't tie you up, you won't try and run from me, right?" he asks.
Zenial's eyes go wide and a smile spreads across his face, "You're not going to put that stupid leash on me?"
"As long as you promise not to run," Balon answers.
"I promise, I promise," Zenial agrees quickly.
Balon smiles, "Good. Shall we go then?" As he says this, he opens the door, letting his pets step out first.
The moonlight makes everything bright. Almost too bright. Balon squints against the light, waiting for his eyes to get used to it.
"Is it bright enough for you?" he asks.
"Yeah," Zenial answers, nodding.
"Is it too bright for you?" Asheema asks.
"I'll be fine in a few minutes," Balon assures her.
"It was brighter inside than it is outside," Zenial says in confusion.
"Those are artificial lights," she explains, "They're completely different for vampires."
"Oh."
"I'll be fine," Balon says. Then, "The park is this way," he begins walking towards the park, his pets trailing behind him.
Balon raises his hands in front of his face to block the sun from his eyes.
Zenial moves to walk beside him, "Thank you," he says.
"For what?" Balon asks, puzzled.
"For trusting me enough not to put that stupid leash on me again," he smiles at Balon, "Thank you."
"No problem," Balon says with a smile of his own, "I'm just glad that I feel I can trust you," his smile slides from his face, "You'd better not do anything to betray that trust; I'd never let you out without a leash again."
"I understand," Zenial says, "I'm not going to do anything I shouldn't; you don't have to worry."
"Thanks," Balon says, he reaches out and runs his hand over Zenial's hair.
Zenial jerks back, looking at him with wide eyes, "Don't," he says angrily. Then he lets out a sigh and says in a softer tone, "Please. Please don't do that."
"I'm sorry," Balon says, pulling his arms tightly to his sides, clinching his hands into fists, "I wasn't thinking."
"I-it's okay," Zenial says, "Apology accepted," Zenial falls back a few steps to walk beside Asheema.
"All he did was touch your hair," Asheema whispers her words, but Balon can still hear them. It's not that he's trying to be nosey or anything; he just has really good hearing.
"I just….. I don't like that," he shakes his head, "Balon is a nice guy, and I'm starting to get along with him, but I am not just going to stand there and let him pet me."
Asheema shakes her head, "You're so odd."
"Well excuuuuuuse me for having a different opinion than you," Zenial says, rolling his eyes.
She blinks, "I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I just meant you're different than the other humans I know."
Zenial raises an eyebrow, "You've never met anyone who wouldn't let a vampire pet them? Really?"
"I lived in a Home with some very obedient humans," she explains, "I don't think there was anyone with an obedience rating below eighty. And all of my friends were in the nineties."
"From my perspective, you're the odd one," Zenial informs her.
Balon tunes out of his pets' conversation and returns his attention to the walk to the park, "We're almost there," he says.
It pleases him when Zenial comes up to walk beside him again. He'd been a little afraid that he'd scared Zenial off.
They finally arrive at the park. The grass is lush and green, though Balon isn't sure that Asheema and Zenial can see well enough to tell the colors of anything, there are trees here and there. Great tall things stretching up to the heavens.
Balon takes them through the grass and around the trees, leading them past other groups of people, humans and vampires, as he looks for a nice quiet spot.
It takes him several minutes to find a place without any people, but he finally does find one under a large oak tree. He sits down, folding his legs underneath him. Asheema sits down beside him, and Zenial follows suit.
Zenial
Asheema digs around in her basket for a moment before pulling out a thin blanket and spreading it on the ground, "Do you want to eat now?" She asks Zenial.
He wants to go walking. He is hungry, but……walking……. "Maybe later," he answers, looking around the park.
It's dark out, but there are street lamps spread periodically through the whole park. They and the full moon keep the park almost as bright to Zenial as if it were day time.
Zenial sees a path lit more brightly then the rest of the park. It seems to stretch through the whole park. Just off the path is a large fountain that looks pretty empty. And behind the fountain is a large garden of flowers.
"I want to go look around," he looks at Balon, "That's okay, right?"
Balon looks at him for a moment and sighs, "Just don't run away, okay?"
"I won't," Zenial promises, "So is that a yes?"
"Yeah," Balon nods.
"Thank you," Zenial says, a grin stretching across his face.
"And don't be gone too long, alright?"
Zenial nods, showing that he heard before running off towards the lit up path.
The path has quite a few people walking along it. Zenial steps on the path in front of a vampire couple, their pets in tow held by leashes on their arms. They all look at Zenial in a strange way.
Probably because I'm not on Balon's stupid leash, Zenial shudders at the thought. I'm not even next to Balon at the moment.
Realizing that he's really on his own and able to do what he wants for a while makes him feel a whole lot better, but the weird stares from the couple's pets start to creep him out, so he hurries on down the path.
Zenial comes across several more people on his way to the fountain, most of them vampires with their pets, but Zenial doesn't pay attention to see how they react to him.
When he gets to the fountain, he lets out a sigh and lies across the bench. Finally! he thinks. I can finally have some alone time.
For a moment all he does is rest his head against the side of the bench, just happy for the freedom to do so.
But after a few moments he climbs up off of the bench and walks over to the flower garden. He sits there for a few minutes watching bees move back and forth between the flowers.
"What are you doing?"
Zenial snaps his head around to look, and sees Asheema standing there looking at him. "Oh, God. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"What are you doing?" she asks again.
Zenial shrugs, "Just watching the bees."
"…..Why?" She asks.
He shrugs again, "Because it's better than not looking at anything. What are you doing?"
"Balon said I should go have fun. Stretch my legs or something. So I went after you to see if you'd found anything interesting to do."
"Nope," Zenial answers, smiling at her, "All I've found that's even semi-interesting is watching bees. I'm boring I guess."
"I wouldn't say you're boring," Asheema says, "And besides, we could always just talk."
"What do you plan on talking about?" Zenial asks.
"I don't know," Asheema says, "Don't you have anything at all to talk about?"
"Um……" Zenial thinks for a moment, "I really like it here."
"Here in the garden, or here at the park?" She asks.
"Both," Zenial answers, "I like being on my own. Balon's cool and all, but I'm not really that comfortable around him yet."
"He makes you uncomfortable?" Asheema asks, taken aback.
"Yes, sometimes," Zenial admits readily.
"But he's so laidback," Asheema says, surprise still coloring her tone.
"Yeah," Zenial says, "The guy that chains me up to my bed every morning is so laid back."
"Balon is not all that bad," Asheema starts, "You-"
"Calm down, Ash," Zenial says, smiling at her, "I know Balon's cool. I'm just saying he isn't as relaxed with me as he is with you."
"Well, he can't be; you'd run away."
"I know," Zenial replies, "That's why I can't be too mad at him for it. He's got a good reason."
"I don't get you," Asheema tells him, "Why are you so willing to run away?"
"I just…..I miss my family," he sighs.
"But didn't Balon agree to let you go back when his time with his sire was up?" Asheema asks, "Trying to escape when he was already giving so much would feel like a betrayal almost, don't you think?"
"Not really. I mean….." Zenial hesitates and sighs, "I stopped trying to run."
"Yeah, but not because you're loyal to Balon. You do it because you're afraid of being attacked by another person who eats runways."
Zenial turns his back to her, looking towards the flowers again.
"I'm sorry," Asheema says, "That was rude of me. I shouldn't have said that."
"No," he says, "It was the truth. Yes, I am afraid. But wouldn't you be if someone tried to kill you? If someone stronger than you pinned you down and said they'd bite you to death?"
"Probably," she agrees, "But you being afraid isn't my point. You not acting the part of Balon's pet is what I find odd," Zenial opens his mouth, so Asheema quickly continues, "I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm just saying I find it weird."
He looks at her for a few minutes not saying anything.
Asheema fidgets, "Um……am I bothering you? Were you wanting to be alone?"
"I-no! I mean," he pauses to organize his words, "I did want to be alone, but it's nice with you here, and I want you here now."
She smiles a slow smile, saying, "Okay," and sits down beside him.
They sit in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Asheema asks him, "What are you thinking about?"
He shrugs his shoulders, "Nothing really. I'm feeling really nice and at peace right now." It was a half truth. He was feeling good and calm, but he had plenty of thoughts. Thoughts that were all revolving around her and the odd warm glow he felt in his chest whenever he looked at her.
They sit there for a while, not saying more than the occasional word to each other.
Finally Zenial's stomach lets out a growl, and Asheema sighs, "We should go back and eat something."
Zenial sighs too, "Yeah, we probably should."
Zenial climbs to his feet, and pulls Asheema up to hers.
They walk together back past the fountain and onto the path, "So what did you bring?" Zenial asks.
She shrugs, "Sandwiches, chips, a salad; it was the best I could do with so little time."
"No, that sounds fine," Zenial says, "I was just wondering."
Just like the first time when Zenial was walking down the park path, he got weird looks from the people walking by. Even more so than the first time, since both he and Asheema are walking unsupervised.
Asheema doesn't seem to notice; she just walks down the path, a pleasant expression on her face, not looking directly at the people staring at her and Zenial.
Zenial is more than a little uncomfortable with the stares, but he follows Asheema's example and simply walks silently with her the rest of the way back to Balon.
"You weren't gone very long," Balon remarks as they sit down beside him.
"We got hungry," Asheema explains cheerfully, digging around in the picnic basket for a moment before producing two sandwiches, each in a little plastic baggie, and tossing one to Zenial.
"Oh," Balon says.
Zenial rips the bag open and takes a bite out of the sandwich.
"Zenial?" Balon says tentatively.
"Yeah?" Zenial asks through a mouthful of food.
"When you're done eating, can I, um…….have a snack?"
Zenial's muscles tense up, "A snack?"
"Yeah," he trails his hand along Zenial's neck for a moment, leaving no doubt what he wants, "I wouldn't take too much……..just a taste. Please?"
"Why me?" Zenial grumbles.
"You taste better then Ash," he explains, "You don't have to. I don't need this, so I'm not going to make you. I'm asking. Will you please let me feed?"
Zenial lets out a sigh, "Just don't take enough for me to get all sleepy, okay?"
"Thanks, Zenial," Balon says, smiling warmly at him.
He nods and sighs, taking another bite out of his sandwich.
"Do you guys like it here then?" Balon asks, in a weak attempt to get some conversation flowing.
"I do," Asheema says, "I like the fountain back there," she points in the general direction.
"I like it here. I especially like the garden," Zenial says.
"I like it here too," Balon says, "It's nice; peaceful."
"Balon?" Zenial asks, suddenly, "How often are humans put on leashes here?"
"Almost always when the pets are taken outside. Vampires rarely trust pets enough to let them go without, but……I know Ash won't run away, and I doubt you would, because you know that if you tried, you'd just get in trouble. I know you've always got a question," Balon says, lips twisting up to a smile, "But what brought this one up?"
Zenial shrugs, "People on the path looked at me and Ash funny and I thought it might be because we weren't' on leashes like all the other humans seemed to be."
"It probably is why," Balon says, "But who cares what they think? I'd say that they should mind their own business, but then, that's not any of my business is it?"
That earns a quiet laugh from Zenial as he finishes off the last of his food.
Balon draws a sharp breath and then licks his lips, "……Zenial?"
With a sigh he tilts his chin up, baring his neck for the vampire.
Zenial feels his head being twisted around slightly by Balon, leaving even more of his neck exposed.
"Thank you," Balon says again before he sinks his teeth lightly into Zenial's neck.
Zenial can feel the difference from this feeding and Balon's usual feedings. Neither hurt really, but this time is a lot less…….distressing then when Balon was taking full meals from him. He was being even gentler than usual or something.
The lethargic feeling he usually gets from being fed on is there, but that too is a lot less strong this feeding.
"You okay?" Balon murmurs against his neck.
"Yeah," Zenial says, voice only shaking slightly.
"Good," he licks at the wound a couple of times, "Thank you," he pulls away, a smile on his face.
"No problem," Zenial says, managing to return a weak smile of his own, "Are you going to need to feed again tonight?"
He nods, "Yeah, but only about as much as I just did; I'm not going to need a full feeding after already eating once the same night."
"Well that's something at least," Zenial says, smiling a little more freely this time.
"And you're okay?" Balon asks, looking down at him with a……worried………no, a protective expression? "I didn't take too much or anything?"
"I'm fine," Zenial assures him, "I'm not even that sleepy."
"I'm glad," Balon says with a smile, "I was very careful; I didn't think I'd hurt you, but I had to make sure."
"I'm alright." And a part of him was surprised by that. He was alright. And not just at that moment. Really, he'd always been alright with Balon. Not great and not always even good. But he hadn't had it too bad.
They all went home not too long after they'd all eaten. The park had been nice, if only to get them out of the house and into some nice fresh air.
The rest of the night was pretty relaxed, Balon went off to read or whatever it was he did in his room, while Zenial and Asheema sit on Zenial's bed talking to each other.
"So what've you been up to lately?" Asheema asks him, lying back in a more comfortable position.
Zenial rolls his eyes, "You know very well what I've been doing. You're here all the time and it's not like I can leave the room without Balon."
"Well…..I guess not."
She doesn't say more, she's just silent. Zenial sighs, "Well, I don't know what I've been doing really. I watch the news a lot. I read a lot." He trails off, unable to think of anything else to say.
Asheema sticks her tongue out at him, "The news and non-fiction books. How boring."
"I'm not boring," Zenial says, slightly hurt by the words. She thinks I'm boring?
"Well maybe not you," she amends, "But your hobbies sure are."
"It's a great way to learn stuff. I think I should learn a little about this culture if I'm to live here for the next few years."
"I guess," she agrees.
"But there's so much I don't know……" he sighs, "So many countries I want to read about and see pictures of before I go back."
"You like geography and studying cultures?" she raises her eyebrows.
A slight blush comes to Zenial's cheeks, "I'm not doing very well at trying to convince anyone that I'm not boring, am I?"
"Nah," she argues with a shrug of her shoulders, "This isn't nearly as dorky as reading all of those political books. Some things about other places can be really cool. Have you seen a picture of the Eiffel Tower yet?"
Zenial shakes his head.
"How about the Great Wall of China? Or the Mayan Ruins? Or Stonehenge?"
"I saw some pictures of Stonehenge," Zenial says, "But not the others yet. I've heard of them though! Most pictures from my side of the wall were destroyed by the Early Virginians, I think that it was so we wouldn't be tempted to cross the wall, but I've read of them. I've read a lot about them. There are so many things I want to see; so many things I want to learn," he shakes his head, "All the time in the world, and I still wouldn't know enough."
"Was that why you came here?" Asheema asks, "To learn about the world."
Zenial nods, "I just….I had to see. I couldn't-I wouldn't believe that there were really monsters. I had to find out about all the things I read. Had to see the Grand Canyon or find a picture of it, or something. Had to see the Rocky Mountains. I had to see…….." he trails off, "It sounds stupid, because here I am owned by a vampire."
"You know, Zenial," she says, "Balon, he really wants you to be happy, if you asked, he'd probably take you to the Grand Canyon or something before you leave."
"You think so?" Zenial asks, eyes brightening.
"I don't see why not," she answers, "You should ask him."
"Yeah," he says, pensive.
Asheema lets out a yawn, "I should be going to bed soon."
"Do you plan on staying here with me?"
She nods, "If it's not too much of a trouble. The bed's a whole lot more comfortable than the sofa."
"Ash," Zenial says suddenly.
"Huh?" she asks.
"He hesitates for a moment before leaning forward and crushing his lips against hers.
The kiss doesn't last long, as Zenial pulls back quickly, a sheepish grin on his face, "I probably should have made sure that was okay with you first, but I've been waiting weeks to do that."
Ash smiles at him before shyly giving her a kiss of her own, "It took you long enough."