Creatures

“Well?” Eric stepped up to Talon as he stood watching the women walk away, “What do you think?”

“I think that this is some sort of joke. There is no way that tiny mouse of a person will ever become my partner. After all, we do not even know if she is meant for me. There have to be others out there.”

Eric gave Talon a smile, noting his discomfort. Talon was a loner by nature, but his days of being alone were about to come to an end and he could not run from it.

“Do not judge her yet. You never know what is inside a wrapped packaged. It could be a pie or it could be a firecracker. Give her a chance. Chao.” Eric waved as he headed to the library to do some research, leaving Talon alone with his thoughts.

Talon watched the ladies disappear. Firecracker? He let out a snort, yeah right. What a joke. He turned on his heel and headed for the training facility.

“Now, more about your power core.” Lily continued their conversation.

“Your power core is located someplace in your body, that only you, and most likely your partner will know. As long as your power core is intact, you can be revived and repaired.”

“Revived? Repaired?”

“Yes. We are able to do minor repairs to our bodies through the use of our powers, but as long as it is not destroyed, you will survive almost anything. As long as the damage has been inflicted from a being if a human attack you...” Lilith did not explain further. “In order for you to be completely killed, your core must be destroyed, so guard it well,” Lilith explained.

“Where is mine?” Karen asked, curious about it.

“I do not know. You will find that out soon enough though. It is the first thing that you will need to know.”

Lilith turned to the next order of business. “Now. The other thing you need to know at this time is that you will have different powers when you are using your power core with your partner then when you are alone and... the stronger your bond with your partner is, the stronger and more varied your powers will be.”

“And how do we know that this Talon is my partner?”

“We do not, not yet, but it is a reasonable guess seeing as he does not have a partner and you do not as well.”

“But there could be others out there right?”

“Yes. But the odds... We are fairly certain that you two will be paired up.” Lilith patted her hand. “Trust me, being bonded is better than being alone. No matter what kind of bond you end up with.”

“How does the bonding process work?” Karen asked, “You keep referring to it.”

Lilith smiled. She was a sharp one and had good questions.

“It will happen in three stages. For now, you only need to worry about the initial bonding stage and that it works. The rest will follow and Talon will be there to walk you through each one of them.”

“But he has not gone through it either, right?”

“Correct, but he has seen different stages of it and knows what to expect,” Lilith replied.

“What are you and... Eric’s? Bond? May I ask?”

Lilith smiled. “Believe it or not, everyone thought that Eric and I would be the hate kind. We hated each other in the beginning. After all, it is outside our control of who we bond with and what kind of bond we have. However, in the end, we ended up being the love kind.”

“And the rest?” Karen could not help but ask.

“Carrie and Michael are of the Love/Hate bond, but not even I know which one is which so do not ask. They will not tell. And although they hide it well, Emerald and Evan are of the Hate variety.”

Lilith patted her hand like you would a small child.

“It will be fun to see where you and Talon fall.”

“We do not have a choice?”

Lily shook her head, “I am afraid not. It is all preordained or at least that is what the President says. He has the ability to see bits of the future as one of his abilities.” She explained.

“I see.”

Lilith took Karen’s hands into her own.

“I am so glad that you have come. Talon has been alone for so long and needs to have someone to love and be loved by.”

“How do you know that it will be that way?” Karen asked as she gently withdrew her hands. She was not good with people touching her.

“Because he has only known sorrow and I can only believe that he is overdue for something good in his life.”

Karen suddenly had to stiffly a yawn. The past couple of days had finally caught up with her, and although she was still confused, she was no longer scared and that allowed her to relax enough to realize how tired she truly was.

“Oh silly me,” Lily exclaimed and stood up. “You must be exhausted. I will let you rest. Please, go take a hot shower and a nap. Do you remember where Mr. Lee told you the kitchen was?”

She continued when Karen nodded.

“Dinner will be at 6:30. Rest until then. There will be plenty of time to continue our discussion after you meet with everyone else. I will see you then.”

Karen watched her go, shaking her head at the retreating figure. She did not know what to make of her, but she liked her and hoped that they would get along well in the future. After all, they would be living together from now on.

Karen headed to the bathroom for a quick shower and then climbed into the big four poster bed waiting for her in the bedroom. She had not been able to sleep for the past couple of days and she was tired. She did not bother to turn on the lights before sinking down onto the soft mattress and falling asleep.

Karen woke to sunlight hitting her face as someone pulled back the curtains that framed her bed.

“I see you have finally woken up. The others would not be happy if you missed breakfast as well.” Came a male voice that was vaguely familiar from beside the bed. She heard steps heading away as she pried her eyes open and squinted at the man, but he stood in the light and she could only make out his silhouette. She sat up and climbed out of the bed, walking towards him as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and adjusted to the light.

“The rest were concerned when you did not come to supper so I was sent to fetch you this morning to make sure you appeared.” He spoke with disdain. Like coming into her room was the last thing he would want to do.

Once her eyes adjusted, she recognized him from the day before. He was the one that had blocked her escape. She looked down at her sweats and tee that she had pulled on to sleep in and flushed a bit, but refused to back down until she retorted,

“I am sorry, I have not had much sleep in the past couple of days. It must have caught up with me.” She turned and headed towards the bathroom. “I am up now, so you may go. I will be down in a moment.”

He gave her back a grim smile before replying.

“It is no concern to me whether or not you sleep, but I am not allowed to appear in front of them without you in tow. I will wait.”

She turned and gave him a look before shrugging her shoulder.

“Suit yourself.” She told him before disappearing.

“I will wait in your parlor.” He called as she shut the door. He did not know what to think of her. She was small and curvy, but he had seen a glimpse of fire in her eyes when she had spoken to him just now and it intrigued him.

She came out ten minutes later, much to his chagrin, showered and dressed in a skirt very similar to the one that she had worn the day before and a blouse to match. She should have told him she was showering.

“I figured it would be all right to shower as well.”

“About time.” He muttered to himself.

“I did not ask you to wait for me. I could find the kitchen by myself.”

“If that is how you feel, then I will go on ahead and let them know that you are on your way. I did not wish to be here anyway.” He was done waiting for this woman, to hell with what Carrie had said.

“What? Wait!” She called out as he headed for the door as she looked for her shoes. Did he not just tell her that he had to have her with him in order to appear before the others

“Who are you?” She asked as she searched the room, suddenly remembering that they were still in the bedroom. She headed for the door, intent on getting them before he left completely. She was fairly certain she knew the way, but it did not hurt to have some help.

The man watched her cross the room and waited until she had stopped to look back at him before answering.

“I am Talon, soon to be your new partner.” Then he was gone.

Karen froze. That was her partner! No way! She was in trouble. Not only was he handsome and made her heart do a little tap dance against her will, but he was rude and headstrong and had a temper on him. Then again, she had not been at her best either so she did not know if she would be polite if she was in his shoes either. Shoes! She needed to find her shoes. She quickly located them by the bed where she had left them and followed him out the door towards the kitchen.

“Good morning! My name is Emerald and this is my partner Evan.” Karen stared at the round, chubby face surrounded by red curls. Emerald was an adorable teenage girl and her partner was a tall, lanky, dark head boy with freckles that ran across the bridge of his nose and tattoos up the length of his arms. So this is the hate partnering? Interesting, She thought to herself, tuning back into Emerald’s prattle.

“I was so worried when you did not show for dinner last night, but Lily said...”

“Um, how old are you?” Karen asked, interrupting her.

Emerald giggled, “I am 14 and Evan is 16. I know that we are young, but do not hold that against us. We are quite good at what we do. At least we would be if they would let us fight.” She sent the man at the end of the table a glare as she prattled on.

“Not until you finish high school,” Michael commented from behind his newspaper.

Emerald stuck her tongue out at him.

“Hello,” Evan spoke softly, not looking Karen in the eyes. He quickly crossed over to the table and sat down, his eyes on his food as he started to eat.

“Hurry up Emerald, we have school and we cannot be late,” Evan spoke without looking up.

Emerald’s smile disappeared for a moment. “I know that. I am goin’. Geez.” She turned and gave Karen a grin and continued.

“You have to understand. Evan and I can’t stand each other and since we are still in school we are not allowed to join in any battles unless there is no other choice. So off to school, we go.” She looked at Talon who was at the counter.

“Talon is so lucky. He gets to skip until you are ready to be left alone.”

“Talon is still in school?” Karen stared at the man that was quietly preparing his breakfast at the counter. He was much too old to be a high school student she thought. He did not even look young enough to be in college anymore.

“Good Lord no,” Emerald spoke up, explaining. “He’s a science teacher there, but is taking a break to help you get ‘situated’,” Emerald explained.

“I see.” Karen walked over to the counter where there was pancakes and eggs and bacon and started to prepare a plate. She had missed dinner yesterday and found that she was quite hungry.

“Here you go.” Lily put a glass of milk down next to her as she sat. “I hope you enjoy your breakfast.”

“I am sure she shall,” Eric spoke from the door. “Good morning all.” He crossed over to Lily and placed a kiss on her cheek before finding a seat. Lily placed his breakfast before him and he dug in.

“Did you sleep well?” He asked.

“Yes. Thank you. I am sorry for not coming down last night. I had not had much sleep and I guess it finally caught up with me.”

Eric waved away her explanation. “No big. We figured you had to be tired.” He nodded towards the group assembled at the table.

“I see you have met Emerald and Evan and that is Michael behind the paper. Say hello Michael.”

“Hello.” Micheal lowered his newspaper. He was a big man as well. She was sure that he stood well over six foot when he stood at his full height, with brown hair trimmed close to his head and piercing eyes that probably did not miss much. She was completely out of place here when it came to looks. Even Emerald was beautiful, with her curls and her cheerful attitude.

She looked around the kitchen, “Um, what happened to Talon?” She asked, becoming self-conscious after asking.

“Oh, that’s right,” Emerald spoke up. She turned to Karen. “Talon doesn’t eat with us. He usually makes his own food and takes it with him to eat by himself.”

“Why?”

“No idea,” Evan replied. “Been like that since he came here two years ago. I think it has to do with the way he lived before he was found and brought here.”

Emerald interrupted her partner. “They say that he used to...”

“Enough Emerald. Finish your breakfast and head to school.” Michael commented coldly before returning to his newspaper.

Karen looked away from Emerald to see a very petite, but very tall woman with short, jet black hair enter the room.

“Good morning Ms. Karen. I am Carrie. I assume that someone introduced my partner to you, knowing Michael, he forgot his manners. I am afraid he is not very sociable. Welcome to your new home.”

“Thank you.”

“I hope that you have found everything to your satisfaction.”

“Uh, yes.” Carrie was a no-nonsense woman with a bit of a bite in her voice when she spoke. Karen was pretty sure that she would not wish to cross words with her. She seemed to be a dangerous woman. She had to wonder, as she watched the two of them, which one was in love and which one was hated.

“I am sorry that we were not here when you arrived yesterday. We got in rather late last night.” Carrie continued as she sat down to a plate of breakfast.

“Oh, that is all right. I guess I slept most of the day away and missed supper last night as well, so...”

“We are off.” Emerald and Evan stood and headed for the door.

“Bye. See you later everyone. It’s nice to get to meet you, Ms Karen. We’ll see you after school.”

Carrie shook her head. “Be careful you two.” She called after them, but they were already gone.

She turned to Karen. “I am sure that you have already guessed their personalities. Emerald is a sweet girl but has not yet learned tack so you will have to forgive her and Evan is a shy boy, but he will open up once he gets to know you and trust me, he can talk your head off as well.”

“That is all right. I enjoyed our conversation.” Karen replied. She wanted to ask all sorts of questions about them and about Talon but felt that it would be rude, so she held her tongue and concentrated on finishing her breakfast.

“You may ask you know.” Carrie finally spoke.

“What?”

“You may ask your questions. We are sure you have them. After all, we all were in the same situation you are in now. I promise you will not offend us in the least.” This time it was Eric that spoke up.

“If you do not ask, you may never know,” Eric replied.

“Feel free to ask us anything.” Michael chimed in from behind his paper.

“Oh yes, do, we will try to answer everything that we can, though if it is about Talon, you will have to ask him yourself. There is little that we know and he as asked us not to speak about what we know to others.” Lily spoke, sitting down to her own breakfast.

“Now that the children are gone, it would be a good time to ask,” Michael commented.

Karen was not sure where to begin, so she started with the basics.

“Um, all right... I guess... how old are you?” Karen blushed and looked down as the others stared at her. They started to laugh, causing Karen to become even more embarrassed.

“I am sorry,” Eric finally pulled himself together enough to speak., “We do not mean to embarrass you, but of all the things you could have asked, to ask us our ages is quite unexpected. Nice, but unexpected.”

“We were sure that you would ask about Talon,” Lily explained further.

“But you told me not to ask about him.” Karen retorted, even more embarrassed than before.

“Oh please do not be embarrassed, we are just glad to see that you are interested in us,” Michael spoke up and put aside his paper.

“I am 45 and have been at this house for just over ten years.”

“42 and I came in just after Michael.” Carrie followed.

“25 and I was the next to be found.” Michael came after.

“23.” Lily rounded them out. “I followed close after the rest.”

“And Talon?” Karen asked tentatively, wondering if they would answer her.

“31 and I have been here two years now.” Came the answer from the kitchen door. “If you have any other questions, I will answer them after we have had our chat with the president.” Karen turned to see Talon leaning against the door and she had to wonder just how long he had been standing there.

“The president is waiting, so I suggest you get ready. You will have your first combat training directly following so you had the best change out of that skirt. I will wait for you by the front door.” Talon turned when he was done and left.

“Sorry about him.” Lily looked back at Karen from the sink. “He is not good with people and he has not had an easy time here or anywhere for that matter.”

“You need not apologize for him,” Karen replied.

“I am sure that once you and he get to know each other better he will open up to you.” She continued, ignoring Karen’s comment.

“Do not get her hopes up, Lily.” Carrie interrupted. “You never know. They may have a hate bond.”

Karen happened to be looking at Michael when Carrie said this and she watched some unidentifiable emotion flit across his face and then it was gone. She turned back to Lily and Carrie.

“Where do I go to meet the president?

“Just meet up with Talon. He will be by your side the entire time.” Lily ushered her towards the door. “Why don’t you head upstairs and change. He is right, you will not wish to have your first training session in a skirt.”

“Do you have any other questions for us before you go?” Eric asked.

“I have many questions, but it seems that now is not the time. I guess I need to meet with the president and figure out what the expectations are for me before I know what questions to ask of you that won’t sound dumb.” Karen flustered a bit. “I-I-I mean, I mean, I do not fully understand what this power is supposed to do or how to fight these creatures or if I will even be able to fight them. Not to mention if I will even be able to work with that man without being completely terrified of him and that is just the tip of the iceberg. I cannot even tell you how long he was in my room before I woke up and how did he get in? I swear I locked the door! I just do not get it...”

They watched her leave the room while she talked to herself and smiled at each other. Things were going to get interesting now that she had finally appeared.

Within minutes Karen met up with Talon at the front doors and they headed to the building that housed the president, Karen now in a part of jeans. Talon led her through the door and stopped at the end of a long hallway. He knocked once on the door then entered.

Karen followed him in and found an old, white-haired man sitting behind a desk. His hair was sticking out in all directions and his suit looked like he had slept in it the night before.

Talon sat in one of the two chairs facing the desk.

“Hello, my dear.” The old man scurried around the desk and shook her hand vigorously before drawing her into a hug and then immediately letting her go. She staggered and fell into the chair beside Talon.

“I am so glad that you finally arrived. I have been waiting for you.”

“He knew that you would be found and brought here today. He did not know who you were, but he knew that my partner would arrive today.” Talon spoke carelessly as he looked out the window, seeming to be bored with everything that was going on around him.

“I see.”

Karen looked at the man that was once again sitting across the desk from her, finally realizing that although he looked like an absentminded professor she once had, his eyes were quite sharp and they did not miss a thing.

“Now then, my dear,” he gathered some papers and started to tap them on the desk. “Shall we get down to business then?”

He sat up in his chair and looked at Karen.

“You have been brought here because you can help us fight the invasion from other life forms. I will make it clear right now that you cannot use your powers against anything other than these life forms. It is not allowed, nor will it work. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Lily explained it to me yesterday.”

“Good. Now, has it been explained to you how you obtained this power?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now let me explain what your role will be.” The man leaned back in his chair.

“You and Talon and the others will use this power to protect the earth and humanity from these beings that are trying to destroy us and earth. Your job is to protect the humans and when possible, send the beings back to their homes, alive.”

Talon snorted from his chair, “Like that ever happens old man.”

“Oh pipe down over there, I can hold out some hope, can’t I. Now as I was saying...” He turned his attention back to Karen.

“The first thing we need to do is create the initial bond and then figure out where your power core lies. From there we can decide the best method of using and protecting it. You were told about protecting your power core, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that is one less thing to discuss. Once we have located and figured out how to protect your core, you will then be given various tests to figure out what kind of abilities you possess. Do not worry child,” He added as he watched the flicker of fear that crossed her face, “You will be just fine and Talon is here to walk you through it. From this point on, you and Talon will be together every day, as much as possible. Oh, that reminds me...”

He ignored the look of despair that crossed Karens face and the glare that Talon sent his way. “We need to do the initial bond before we go any further.”

He stood back up and came over to Karen’s chair.

“Bond us? Now? Here?” Karen asked, a bit afraid of what would take place for the bonding.

“Yes. Yes. Do not worry. This is only the initial bond. You will bond twice more after this, in different ways and at different stages of your development.”

The old man gave her a smile.

“The first time is relatively easy and pain-free. This is just a meeting between the two powers to become aware of each other. The next stage is what we like to call the emotional bond and finally it will come down creating a more ‘physical’ bond between you. This will round out the mind, body, and spirit. You could say, that this is the spiritual bond. Shall we?”

Karen’s head was starting to spin with everything he was saying to her, but she nodded anyway and waited for her instructions.

He held out his hands to the two people in the room, Ignoring the tension in the air and focusing instead on what had to be done. They were not happy, but they would get over it.

“How do we do this?” She asked as she placed her hand in the president’s hand and watched as Talon did the same.

He pulled Talon and her together and stepped back, placing Talon’s hand into hers.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” This time it was Talon who spoke.

“After all, there will be no turning back for you. Do you wish to accept this responsibility for the rest of your life?” Talon asked softly.

“Is there any other choice for me?”

“There is always a choice.” He replied.

Karen thought for a moment. She was scared, but it felt right somehow. She looked into the golden flecks of Talon’s eyes and felt her fears subside.

“I do.” She spoke quietly and with conviction.

“Told you she was the one.”

Talon sent the old man a glare.

“Shut up old man. I need to know that she is willing to continue down this road, if she was not, I would not bond with her. I will not be responsible for her death because she was not strong enough to survive.”

The president chuckled. “Scared that she might tilt your world off its axis?” He asked innocently.

“I do not like people and I do not want a weak partner, you idiot.” Talon stood and turned away from Karen to face the old man.

“You dragged me, kicking and screaming I might add, into this twisted world of yours and I do not want to be a part of dragging another into it if I can at all stop it,” he growled out.

“Oh do be quiet. You came willingly enough and you know it.” he snapped back, matching Talon’s growl with one of his own.

“Why you...”

“Uh, excuse me?” Karen interrupted what was looking to become a physical fight very quickly.

“If you please, I believe that neither of you has any right to be arguing about whether or not I wish to continue. That is for me to decide on my own.”

She pulled herself up to her fullest height and glared at both of them.

“And for the record, I did not come willingly, but after having witnessed what I have on my journey here, I understand what and why I am needed and I will accept what is being asked of me. Now may we please continue?”

Karen held out her hand. “What do I need to do to make this bonding thing happen?”

Talon looked down at her calm appearance and had to admire her guts. She was stupid, but she just might survive.

“What happened on the way here?” He asked wanting to know.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with. I made it here in one piece and that is all that I will say on the matter. Now please, shall we get on with this. I believe that there are many other things that need to be done today and I would like to have some time to look around on my own.”

Talon stepped up to her again. “As you wish.” He reached out his hand and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. She instinctively followed his example and did the same as him. she immediately started to feel a tingling sensation start to spread throughout her body from where his fingers touched her skin. She let out a gasp as the tingling started to intensify and heat up. She closed her eyes as the pain started in. She tried to let go of Talon as the pain became worse.

“Hold on.” He murmured, wrapping his other arm around her waist and pulling her body flush against his.

“It is almost over. Just another moment and the pain will be gone. Trust me.” He whispered in her ear.

The old man watched the glow flair between the two as their bodies touched and then start to diminish. He smiled, he had been right. They would be unstoppable once they were fully bonded.

Karen buried her head in his shoulder as the pain hit its peak and then quickly started to subside. Sure enough, it was over just as quickly as it had started. She opened her eyes, realizing she was clinging to Talon’s shirt and had her head buried in the crook of his neck while he had his arm wrapped around her waist and wrist. She could smell his scent of cologne and man.

Talon felt her body pressed against his and he quickly let her go and stepped back, but her imprint was embedded in his brain along with her scent of flowers and shampoo. He could still feel where he had wrapped his arm around her waist and could feel that her power core had finally awakened.

Karen could still feel where his hand had been and she now had an awareness of her power core.

“She is now awake,” Talon told the old man. He turned back to Karen. “You should now be aware of your power core and have a slight awareness of mine as well. You will also be able to feel the others cores and when there is another life form around you. It will not be strong, but it will be there.”

Sure enough, she could feel a power radiating from his body that she had not felt before.

“Are all of the powers as strong as yours?” She asked.

She turned to the president and could feel a power coming from him, but it was very faint and completely different from Talons.

“No.” He replied. “Not all power is created equally. However, because of your bond, you will always feel Talon’s power stronger than others. Now we need to get your power to the same strength as Talon’s.”

“What?”

“Your power is awakened, but untrained and untapped. We need to strengthen it and, in turn, it will strengthen the bond between the two of you. The stronger the bond between you, the more power you will create. This will also help you locate each other and communicate. You will be able to tell if Talon is in trouble or hurt and eventually you may even have the ability to communicate without the need for words.”

“Really?”

“Do not hold your breath on that one. I seriously doubt that we will ever be that in tune with each other. I do not think even Eric and Lily have that strong of a bond.” Talon snorted.

The old man glared at Talon and Karen watched as Talon took a step back. So he could be scared.

“Watch what you say, young man, I have seen a bit of your future and I am certain that you two will surpass all that has come before you.”

Talon straightened himself up.

“Is there anything else you need to say to the Lady? I believe that she was right when she said that there was a lot of things that needed to be done today and there are things that I can think of that I would be better off doing than listening to you babble on and on.”

“That will be all for now. Take her for testing and Talon...” Talon turned from the doorway where he had already opened it and was heading out. “You do not leave her side, understood?”

“Is that an order?”

“Yes.”

Karen stood. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife, it was time to go. “Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you...” she was still unsure of what to call him since he had not properly introduced himself.

“Likewise my dear. I shall see you again when you finish your training. Now run along with Talon and do not let him bully you.”

“May I ask a question?” Karen looked at the man that was once again sitting calmly at his desk.

“You may call me President and you are the only other person other than Talon to ask that question my dear.” he smiled at her sweetly before continuing on. “Now run along,” he said as he let out a raspy laugh at Karen’s expression.

“Thank you, Mr. President. Have a nice day.” Karen waved as she followed Talon out the door.

He leaned back in his chair and turned to look out the window. He had very high expectations from that pair. The power that had radiated in that moment of bonding was proof. They held great promise. Her and Talon might just be able to end the war that had started when he and Mr. Lee had been found.

He let out a sigh. It was going to be a long and hard road for those two. Maybe he should have told him that the other thing he had foreseen. He grinned. Wouldn’t that just ruin Talon’s day or perhaps even his month. Of course, It would be much more fun watching the two of them figure it out on their own. After all, destroying Talon’s composure would be the highlight of his career. He loved that boy to death, but he was too stubborn and pigheaded for his own good. He let out a laugh in delight at the turn of events.