Monster King

Chapter 59 - Lonely Heroes

-Novas perspective -

Aeseria ran her hand through the blood that painted my arm and let it drip between her fingers. Only to move the blood to her lips and happily lick her hands clean of it, followed by a rather satisfied moan of enjoyment.

"Mmm, Lycan blood is so strong! It's like drinking a red bull." She chuckled, but quickly yawned after. 

I glanced over to her and noticed she had bags under her eyes. Right, this was like three o'clock in the morning for her. I looked forward again and felt her swipe more blood off my arm. 

"You're laying down when we get back." I said bluntly. 

"What? No way, I'm fine." 

"You're literally licking blood off my body to stay awake right now." 

"I'm fine Nova."

I stopped walking and spun her around to face me. My eyes staring deeply into her Scarlet orbs. 

"How often do you sleep?" I asked.

She smacked my arms away. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't be a hypocrite and ask me everyday how I am. Then tell me you're fine when you've got bags under your eyes and you're licking dead wolf blood to stay awake."

She grumbled and kept her eyes away from mine. I could tell I got her right in her morals. 

"I usually sleep four hours a night." She admitted. 

"And how much did you sleep this morning?" I asked. 

"Two hours…" She mumbled. 

"Aeseria you know that's not-"

"Why won't you cook anymore?" She asked and faced me again. 

And now she's turning it back on me, great. I let go of her and stepped back. Taking a breath and looking off into the woods. I guess it will help her sleep…

"Because it feels pointless. A worthless skill I'll never really be good at. It's a waste of time. I should just be training more."

"Weren't you the one about to mention healthy habits to me?" She said with another yawn. 

"I don't need to cook to be fine. Besides, I get enough sleep."

"Life's a little more than just fighting ya know?" She pointed out. 

"Is that why you don't paint anymore?" I shot back. "I can't remember the last time I've seen you enjoy anything but beating up dealers and doing charity for Monster lane."

She went silent for a moment. We both sat there in it for a bit. 

"I don't have time to waste." She mumbled. "People need me, if I don't fight. No one else will."

"And if I die, no one else can unite the wolves. I am the only one."

We both went silent again, not looking at one another. 

"I guess, we both don't have time to enjoy things anymore." She admitted. 

"Heroes don't live happily ever after, don't forget that. We kick and scream till we can't anymore. Cooking and Art aren't something that really fit in the equation." I said. 

"You've got a-"

"But! If you were to die in a fight, because you're sleepwalking. Who exactly are you gonna help?"

"H-hey, I thought we had a-"

"Look, I just fought the Alphas elite. That wasn't easy. I almost died a lot back there. If I was just a little bit off, I wouldn't be talking to you. What if Jure appeared right now? Or his army of vamps?" I turned back to her and shoved her.