[WoD] To Live By The Sword (COMPLETE)

[Fiona Devlin]

"When I took his head, everything he was became mine. His knowledge and his power."

[Michele Hawkins]

I point at nothing, trying to process what Fiona said. It didn't add up. "You told me that the Quickening just an event that happens when an Immortal dies. You didn't mention this."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona nodded ::

"It was not the time to tell you then."

[Michele Hawkins]

As if I wasn't afraid enough to take a Quickening before! Panic consumed me. "But... but if that's true, then how can you stay sane after ... absorbing the memories of someone like that? Especially after hundreds of years?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"Only some of the older ones had the will to speak to me, in dreams. Then they faded."

[Michele Hawkins]

I rest my chin on my knees and chew on my lip in thought. "So, it won't change who I am?"

Fiona nodded and I was relieved. "It's more of a technical absorption without having their memories overwhelm you? How's that possible?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"We are supernatural beings, like the Kindred, and the Garou."

[Michele Hawkins]

I narrow one eye and point at her, "That's going to be your answer to a lot of things won't it."

We share a chuckle.

"You still didn't answer my question though. What does the Quickening have to do with the Game."

[Fiona Devlin]

"We live in the time of the gathering, Michele Hawkins. We fight for the prize. In the end, there can be only one."

[Michele Hawkins]

This conversation was exhausting. The answers she gives me only causes more questions. "What the hell's a gathering? And prize? What prize? Do we know what the prize is? Do we even know why we're fighting for this prize? And only one what? Immortal?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"The Gathering is a war all of us are trapped in, whether we like it or not. None of us really know what the prize is, but the last Immortal will possess the knowlege and power of all of us that ever lived. The evil ones among us would use it to cast their shadow upon the world."

[Michele Hawkins]

I finally get an answer and it sucks. The more I learn about what it means to be Immortal, the more I grow to hate what my life has become. Does Fiona have any idea what this all means to me?

"Okay, I can barely accept the rule that I can't interfere if you get caught in a duel, but I refuse to accept that if by some twist of fate that we end up being the last two Immortals on the damn planet that we'd have to kill one another, especially for a prize that no one has any idea what it is!" I get up and walk away, throwing my hand up in disgust. "This whole thing is a load of crap!"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona closed her eyes, and ignored the tantrum ::

"I would not raise a blade against you."

[Michele Hawkins]

That stops me in my tracks. I guess I kinda knew she would say that, but I'm still learning about this Fiona, the one that fights to survive the Game. Part of me's just glad to hear her say that ...

I turn around slowly. "I know. Neither could I..."

Yeah, there's a but. An unspoken one. Could we honestly say this without knowing the future? There's no way to predict it? Can we assume our love is strong enough to survive ten years from now? Twenty? Fifty? One hundred years if we're lucky to be together for that long?

That uncertainty scares me. Everything since the car accident has turned my life into one big uncertain mess and I long for the times when I accepted Fiona for who and what she was, and where my life was an illusion of happiness.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She opened her eyes and gazed deeply into Michele's ::

"What?"

[Michele Hawkins]

I sigh and turn around, "Nothing I want to get into. I'll deal."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: A troubled pout formed on Fiona's mouth as she stared at her knees , then she stood up and walked to the shower ::

[Michele Hawkins]

I open the fridge and take out a beer, kicking the door closed loudly as Fiona left. I take a long swig and sit down, my head coming to rest on the table as I fight the tears.

[Fiona Devlin]

[3 DAYS LATER]

:: Fiona stood outside the Music Practice Hall, nibbling on a cinnamon stick as she watched people walk by ::

[Michele Hawkins]

Today was an easy day for me. I spent half the time practicing and the other half working on a Psychology paper since Mrs. Ceffaclio was most impressed with me today. I was a technical masterpiece, she said. She never thought she could hear such a flawless performance from me with the recital still far off. She gave me the rest of the day off so I buried myself with Freud and Gestalt until it was time for Fiona to pick me up.

When four o'clock came around, I packed up my stuff with resignation. I wanted to stay. School was the only thing keeping me sane. When I left, it was back to being an Immortal again and I could feel my insides slowly being boxed in.

I found her outside munching away.

"Hey." I was curt but polite as I headed towards the car.