Agape

Chapter 9

When he was five, Shu used to sneak out from his home at nights, tiptoeing past his parents room - empty at those nights - slipping out of the doors so quietly that the guards didn't spare a glance at his small figure. Though thinking back now, they were mostly pretending not to see him because most of them were aware of his habit of slipping out of the mansion at night whenever there's a full moon.

Shu would expertly make his way in the darkness and crawl over to the highest roof of Solasta, the temple by the Waterfall where the high priestess called upon him every time to share sweets people brought, and the albino, not so discreetly made a point of walking past the temple just for the sweet treats. He sat down on the tiles - uncomfortable but solid. Shu would eagerly wait as the Alphas poured out of their houses and shifted under the silver rays glimmering the red tiled roofs of Solasta.

He loved the sight of them, the daunting shades of silver, black and brown glistening under the full moon hanging upon the sky like a diamond earring, perfectly round and bright against his naked eyes. Shu knew the force of it, the power it carried for his people, his race. He used to think it as a blessing as his crimson eyes wandered along the crowd of Wolves, howling their courageous hymns to the goddess moon before charging at the woods escaping to the unbounding freedom of nature. He thought that exhilarating feeling was happiness.

He knew he was happy back then.

When Shu was sixteen, he used to stare at the full moon from the high window of the Vampire Chambers. His cellar locked, no one allowed. It was only on full moons the medicine refused to work on his body, the power channelling through his veins fighting against the cursed liquid which had him playing under the fingertips of those vampires. He knew the full moon was a blessing, a guilty salvation coursing through his veins at this single day of relief. Relief of being untouched. Relief of being away from the pain and shame.

He closed off the rest of the world. The pained screams of the rest in cellars, pinned down by the brutality of these men. His crimson eyes focused on the silver sphere in the sky, the silver cusp of blessing.

He wasn't happy, but he was enjoying the relaxation of knowing he would be okay. Even if it was only for a day.

It was those full moon nights that kept him going. The promise of something better. Days without pain and shame haunting his mind. A day without blood on his skin.

And eventually it came to this.

He had walked on a full circle and had ended up back at the clutches of these monsters. This time, not alone. Bringing with him one of those few people who gave him a choice treated him like another person.

Shu's eyes opened into the darkness of the room slightly marred by the beams of light painting the dusty floor in white patches. His mind ran back to the memories of last night. Half of him wanted all that to be a dream, a fleeting nightmare but the telltale throb on his back and legs, the warm body next to him allowed no such comfort. Shu sat down, Lui's hands still around him, his chin tucked into his hair. He didn't have any idea about the time, but by the faint patches of sunlight, it had to be dawn.

Ah, the others might be waiting by their respective towers until the morning. They must be thinking the two of them are by their tower when... he moved his head to see Lui's face, his eyelids moving, not long before he would wake up.

After an agonising second of hesitation, Shu looked down at his body. His robe falling off his shoulders. He remembered last night he didn't bother enough to wear anything, but under the faint light of the room, Shu felt starkly revealed, embarrassed. He slipped out of Lui's hold, the latter's hands falling onto his lap as a limp weight. The White Tyrant moved, leaning against the wall, seeking comfort in this place, devoid of any such pleasure.