Allure (Caius Volturi)

17

A Thing

It was starting to get warmer outside. The degrees were steadily climbing now and I found myself wandering in the back gardens one afternoon. I wore a long sleeve shirt and pants with booties, but I also held a shawl around my shoulders. The cold only slightly bit at my nose and finger tips. That was until the sun broke through the clouds. I smiled and tilted my head up. I loved overcast, I was used to it, having lived in Forks for the past few years of my life, but the sun just did something to me. It made me happy. Literally brightened my day.

The only problem was that it gave me slight anxiety. Irrationally. Living with vampires always gave me some kind of anxiety, but people finding out that I lived with vampires was terrifying to me. And with the sparkle-sparkle that results from sunlight-bam. Anxiety. I sighed as the sun went back into cloud coverage.

The trees were gaining back their foliage and I found myself smiling wistfully at the thought of spring on its way. I'd be able to read outside soon if the degrees kept going up. At the thought of the temperature, I shivered. Not ten seconds after that, a fuzzy blanket was placed over my shoulders in a whirl of ice cold wind.

"Really, Jane," I huffed. "I'm capable of knowing how I'll handle certain temperatures-" I cut off as I turned seeing that it wasn't Jane.
Caius stood to my side with a quirked brow. "I'm sorry... I thought you were Jane. She usually insists on covering me."

"If you had a proper coat on, maybe she wouldn't feel the need." He retorted, hands clasped behind his back.

"What's your excuse?" I scoffed, pulling the blanket closer noticing yet another shiver coming on. "You're wearing a flowy armed peasant shirt and tights." He chuckled lightly.

"If you'll remember, Cara Mia. I have nothing to keep warm." He shrugged. I shook my head with a scoff.

"You say that now, but wait until you get frostbite on your dic-"

"You do not want to go there, Gattina." Caius cut me off. I rolled my eyes and turned.

"Huh, I didn't know there was a hedge maze back here." I said walking forwards. I had subconsciously turned into an opening in the hedge work. The hedges were quite tall, taller than I was anyhow. They only reached Caius' forehead.

"It's not noticable if you're looking from the library, but I can see it from my room." Caius said. "It's beautiful when the flowers are in bloom. I've painted it before."

"You paint?" A far away memory of a conversation in front of a woman in rusted color scheme came to mind and I saw Caius' lips upturn.

"Much more than you'd think." He said walking ahead of me.

"Were you an artist before you were turned? Or was it something you picked up after the fact?" I asked curiously as I followed him. His shoes scuffed the stones.

"That's a bit personal, don't you think?" He looked back at me with a raised brow. My cheeks flushed and I looked down.

"Sorry.." I mumbled. "I didn't mean to intrude." There was silence for a few long moments and I thought I'd have to change subject on my own.

"I had painted a bit here and there, but it wasn't until Athenodora had changed me that I actually pursued it as much as I was allowed." Caius said and he kept walking. "I spoke to several of the great painters for advice."

"You got tips and tricks from the greats." I grinned at his back. His shoulders shook slightly.

"I guess that's correct." He hummed. "They were a big help." He looked up at the sky before he spoke again. "Many talked about beauty being the focus... They paint what they see, the passion is what makes the pictures so capturing to look at." I nodded as he spoke, but found myself thinking more about him than what he was saying. His blonde hair was no longer straight, instead it held slight waves. Like if he'd showered and then promptly slept on it. "...I missed your birthday." He hummed and I had to almost shake myself to come back to reality, not pondering his hair routine.