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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: In Love and Life
Fandom: Sin City Vampires original fiction
Pairing: Gen
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 951
Summary: Eternal life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Author’s Notes: I haven’t dragged Dakotah out of his coffin in some time, so hopefully he isn’t too dusty. Written for the Cry Me a River challenge at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
1_million_words. This week’s prompt was: I got tired of burying my friends.
He stood barefoot in the grass, wetness from the sprinklers tickling his toes. Moonlight cast its glow across this lone patch of green in the desert, illuminating the subject of his late night visit. Although it was nearing midnight, the heat of the day still lingered in the air, oppressive and heavy, despite the lack of humidity. Dakotah was often thankful that changes in temperature didn’t affect him like they once had, but during the summer heat, he was exceedingly grateful that he couldn’t sweat any longer.
It had been some time since he’d last visited this place and, had he had a choice, he wouldn’t be here now. But, he’d been drawn as moth to flame, looking for one last goodbye. His eyes caught on the grave marker and his heart sank. Dakotah couldn’t count the number of people he’d lost over the years. Friends, family, lovers, he even mourned his enemies when they passed. And yet, he still remained, as alive and vibrant as always.
If you asked him, Dakotah would tell you that it wasn’t fair, that he should have met his own demise long ago, in a country that no longer existed. The universe, on the other hand, had other things in mind for him.
His eyes found their way back to the grave before him. Dakotah was tired of burying those he loved, hated being left alone to find his way without them. But Julian had had a long, fruitful life. He’d been a successful businessman with a lovely wife and beautiful children. Going to your eternal rest at eighty-three was honorable and respectable, even if it still tore Dakotah’s heart in two.
They’d met when Julian was merely twenty-two and searching for meaning in his life. He’d been so blond and handsome in those days, only becoming more attractive as he aged. Fine lines and wrinkles only added character and depth to his already striking countenance. Although Dakotah had been much older than Julian even then, he’d learned so much about life from the younger man. How to let go, move on, and most importantly, how to love. Dakotah dropped to his knees beside his friend’s grave, head hung low in despair.
It was all too much.
“You need to quit torturing yourself,” a voice pronounced from the darkness.
Lifting his head, Dakota searched the inky night until his eyes landed on the shadowy form of his old friend, Tyler. If it tore his heart out to lose Julian, Tyler’s death would devastate him. They’d been through generations together, seeing the world change in ways that no one alive today had. He couldn’t imagine a world, a life, without Tyler in it.
“I am not torturing myself,” Dakotah defended, fingers clutching at the damp grass. “I am mourning.”
“Could have fooled me,” Tyler laughed, stepping out from the shadows. He held out a hand. “Come, let me take you home to your wife and child. You have so much more to experience as the years move forward.”
“More death,” he sighed, thinking still of Julian. “More loss.”
“Are you forgetting that your son will grow and have a wife and children of his own? Family you can follow and love for the rest of your eternity.”
Eternity. Dakotah shook his head. “It’s so hard, Tyler. I sometimes don’t know if I can continue to live in this manner.” His mind fluttered to Sierra and their son, Austen. It even gave brief attention to their feline invader, Lugosi. How would losing them, any of them, affect him?
Tyler dropped a hand onto Dakotah’s slumped shoulder. “You’ll always have one person,” he said.
“You were there in the beginning, my friend,” Dakotah said, nodding. “But will you be there in the end?”
“You damn well better believe it,” Tyler threatened. “We’ll be a couple of geriatric old vampires running the streets, confusing humanoids for the real thing.”
“I do not understand you sometimes.”
“You don’t have to understand me,” Tyler said, taking Dakotah’s hand into his own. “All you have to do is be my friend.”
Grasping Tyler’s hand, Dakotah allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. “I believe I can do that much,” he said, smiling for the first time since he’d gotten the news of Julian’s death.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Tyler said, patting the other vampire on the back.
Dakotah gave one last look over his shoulder as they left the cemetery. Sweet eternal rest, my love, he thought before returning his attention to Tyler’s chatter. Losing himself in the slow cadence and familiar comfort of his friend’s voice, Dakotah thought he might survive. He’d managed to live through centuries of war, plague and other horrible things, why should death cause him so much strife?
Because you are not the solitary creature you pretend to be.
He flicked his gaze to the vampire beside him. Stay out of my thoughts, Tyler, he shot back, both annoyed and grateful for the invasion.
As soon you stop being so damn maudlin. Lighten up, creature of the night.
A grin tugged at the corner of Dakotah’s mouth. There were many reasons why he kept Tyler close to hand, but this, that he understood Dakotah so well, was the biggest. “Come home with me,” he said. “You have not seen my son in quite some time. Austen asks about you, you know?”
“Does he now?” Tyler shoved his hands in his pockets, looking pleased with himself. “That little mosquito has good taste you know.”
Indeed he did if he was as drawn to Tyler as his father was. But Dakotah thought it best to not express that sentiment quite yet. There was still time.
Fandom: Sin City Vampires original fiction
Pairing: Gen
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 951
Summary: Eternal life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Author’s Notes: I haven’t dragged Dakotah out of his coffin in some time, so hopefully he isn’t too dusty. Written for the Cry Me a River challenge at
1_million_words. This week’s prompt was: I got tired of burying my friends.He stood barefoot in the grass, wetness from the sprinklers tickling his toes. Moonlight cast its glow across this lone patch of green in the desert, illuminating the subject of his late night visit. Although it was nearing midnight, the heat of the day still lingered in the air, oppressive and heavy, despite the lack of humidity. Dakotah was often thankful that changes in temperature didn’t affect him like they once had, but during the summer heat, he was exceedingly grateful that he couldn’t sweat any longer.
It had been some time since he’d last visited this place and, had he had a choice, he wouldn’t be here now. But, he’d been drawn as moth to flame, looking for one last goodbye. His eyes caught on the grave marker and his heart sank. Dakotah couldn’t count the number of people he’d lost over the years. Friends, family, lovers, he even mourned his enemies when they passed. And yet, he still remained, as alive and vibrant as always.
If you asked him, Dakotah would tell you that it wasn’t fair, that he should have met his own demise long ago, in a country that no longer existed. The universe, on the other hand, had other things in mind for him.
His eyes found their way back to the grave before him. Dakotah was tired of burying those he loved, hated being left alone to find his way without them. But Julian had had a long, fruitful life. He’d been a successful businessman with a lovely wife and beautiful children. Going to your eternal rest at eighty-three was honorable and respectable, even if it still tore Dakotah’s heart in two.
They’d met when Julian was merely twenty-two and searching for meaning in his life. He’d been so blond and handsome in those days, only becoming more attractive as he aged. Fine lines and wrinkles only added character and depth to his already striking countenance. Although Dakotah had been much older than Julian even then, he’d learned so much about life from the younger man. How to let go, move on, and most importantly, how to love. Dakotah dropped to his knees beside his friend’s grave, head hung low in despair.
It was all too much.
“You need to quit torturing yourself,” a voice pronounced from the darkness.
Lifting his head, Dakota searched the inky night until his eyes landed on the shadowy form of his old friend, Tyler. If it tore his heart out to lose Julian, Tyler’s death would devastate him. They’d been through generations together, seeing the world change in ways that no one alive today had. He couldn’t imagine a world, a life, without Tyler in it.
“I am not torturing myself,” Dakotah defended, fingers clutching at the damp grass. “I am mourning.”
“Could have fooled me,” Tyler laughed, stepping out from the shadows. He held out a hand. “Come, let me take you home to your wife and child. You have so much more to experience as the years move forward.”
“More death,” he sighed, thinking still of Julian. “More loss.”
“Are you forgetting that your son will grow and have a wife and children of his own? Family you can follow and love for the rest of your eternity.”
Eternity. Dakotah shook his head. “It’s so hard, Tyler. I sometimes don’t know if I can continue to live in this manner.” His mind fluttered to Sierra and their son, Austen. It even gave brief attention to their feline invader, Lugosi. How would losing them, any of them, affect him?
Tyler dropped a hand onto Dakotah’s slumped shoulder. “You’ll always have one person,” he said.
“You were there in the beginning, my friend,” Dakotah said, nodding. “But will you be there in the end?”
“You damn well better believe it,” Tyler threatened. “We’ll be a couple of geriatric old vampires running the streets, confusing humanoids for the real thing.”
“I do not understand you sometimes.”
“You don’t have to understand me,” Tyler said, taking Dakotah’s hand into his own. “All you have to do is be my friend.”
Grasping Tyler’s hand, Dakotah allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. “I believe I can do that much,” he said, smiling for the first time since he’d gotten the news of Julian’s death.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Tyler said, patting the other vampire on the back.
Dakotah gave one last look over his shoulder as they left the cemetery. Sweet eternal rest, my love, he thought before returning his attention to Tyler’s chatter. Losing himself in the slow cadence and familiar comfort of his friend’s voice, Dakotah thought he might survive. He’d managed to live through centuries of war, plague and other horrible things, why should death cause him so much strife?
Because you are not the solitary creature you pretend to be.
He flicked his gaze to the vampire beside him. Stay out of my thoughts, Tyler, he shot back, both annoyed and grateful for the invasion.
As soon you stop being so damn maudlin. Lighten up, creature of the night.
A grin tugged at the corner of Dakotah’s mouth. There were many reasons why he kept Tyler close to hand, but this, that he understood Dakotah so well, was the biggest. “Come home with me,” he said. “You have not seen my son in quite some time. Austen asks about you, you know?”
“Does he now?” Tyler shoved his hands in his pockets, looking pleased with himself. “That little mosquito has good taste you know.”
Indeed he did if he was as drawn to Tyler as his father was. But Dakotah thought it best to not express that sentiment quite yet. There was still time.
