Trees and Cigarette Buds [o]

[Dieter Auttenburg]

Ah, the lovely green fields of Hyde Park. Why don’t you go for a stroll and enjoy the fresh breeze? How about bask in the lovely silver moonlight that filters through the trees? Why not enjoy the sound of the night creatures scurry and sing to their own rhythm? Indeed Hyde Park was a sight to see with its green grass, its colorful flowers and many trees. But that was far from what it was now. Even today you could see patches were the grass was left unkempt and it grew long and wild, patches were the grass was dry and frayed. There were areas were the vines had grown thick and savage, tangling through the branches of the trees and strangling the life out of them. The tree branches were thick and wild, in some areas there were hints of diseases amongst the plants –a lack of leaves in a branch, blackened bark, the color of ash. There was a tree that stood stark and commanding in the middle of a plain field of grass and in that tree there was only the trunk rising to the skies like a burnt match, no branches, no leaves.

Still if you just closed your eyes and imagined years back, where the city was trimmed, when they cared about the park and its surroundings, you could almost see how grand Hyde Park had been. You could almost see people walking through what would’ve been a stone path dug into the earth and neatly poured back for the tourists to walk by. It was very close, like a breath away, but that had happened so long ago. Before most of these people had been even thinking of being born. The beauty was ripped away to be replaced by a tangled mess of nature –sure in its own right it deserved attention. The change from black sidewalks and white washed buildings to green trees was like a breath of fresh air –even if many would just ignore the park in their way to work.

I walked slowly, hands inside the pockets of my worn out old jacket. The brown wad that typically rested in my head called hair was a mess –it only had a brush of fingers through it and I had called it a day, not caring very much with such things as combing it or looking pretty. Dark jeans and black converse shoes finished my outfit –of course I wear to remove my black jacket you would see a black shirt with a rather rude quote imprinted on the front in white and red letters. I was coming home from work so it was rather late into the night now –my mind kept leaping from subject upon subject for more reasons then one. One of such reasons was hunger –I hadn’t eaten anything all night and my mouth felt dry. In short, I could use something to drink. Another lovely reason would be the bad night I’ve been having. The patients in my office seemed to be unnecessarily rowdy today and I had to have one arrested in my office and escorted away while a nurse had to help pull another one off me –the man, for some reason, had set it in his head that he needed to punch his psychiatrist. Why was beyond me, he just appeared in my office in a rather bad mood, I suspected that he hadn’t taken his happy pills for quite a few days, but whatever that was wasn’t my problem. Right now I just wanted to get home and crawl into bed. Of course there was the fact that I had the splendid idea that maybe I shouldn’t take my car to work, naw of course not, I had to be a dumbass and decide I needed some fresh air. And let me tell you I’ve had enough of fresh air to last me a fucking month.

Absentmindedly I lit a cigarette, taking a slow drag out of it and exhaling with a sigh. My eyes were fixed on the park, for some reason it had a certain welcoming draw to it –that or the chance to rest my feet that was there in the form of a rather comfy-looking bench. Like a little good boy I looked both ways making sure no car was passing around – I only saw one car whoosh past followed quickly by a motorcycle and I was free to cross the street. When my foot reached the other sidewalk I felt the rush of wind that indicated a car had nearly squished me upon the street, but otherwise I ignored everything else and directed made my way through the grass.

Branches rustled in the breeze and the grass crunched under my feet, but otherwise I could see nothing that stirred nearby. However knowing very well that you could never tell what horrors hid in the corners of London I took a quick look over –eyes searching the darkest corners of the park –sure I had the added advantage that I was a vampire so the darkest corners of the park could easily come into view but it was better to be safe rather than sorry so I checked either way. I was quite satisfied to see no boogie monsters hid in the trees so I took a seat and leaned back on the bench. I took another long drag out of the cigarette trying to still my frayed nerves. Calm down Dieter, nothing to be tense about, just a hard day of work just like any other just think about home and shit like what you will cook once you got there. Or maybe what I would be too lazy to cook once I got there, best case scenario I would rip open a blood baggie, spill its contents into a glass and pop it in the microwave. Yeah, that was probably what I would do; in addition I would need to feed Luther Jesus, the cat must be barking mad with hunger by now. Ah, the joys of being a pet owner.

I relaxed into my seat but kept my eyes peeled, even shooting a careful glance to the tree behind me to make sure no one was waiting there waiving a gun on my face –these days you could never tell.

[Sage]

Sage's coat caught on a twig, causing it to make a sound 'snapping' noise as she broke free with a low growl of annoyance. Her silver-green eyes caught in the dim, pure light of the moon before she disappeared into the shadow of a boney bush. Her den was on the other side of the park, and she was fairly set on lighting down for a nap despite not being all that tired. She had not much else to do with her time other then hunt down scrap food in alleys and hide from the veiw of others. Her nose lowered to the ground, catching the scents of the park for her to untangle and make sense of. There was a large lack of animal scent, save for the odd obviously domesticated dog and possibly a stray cat or two. The feline scents were so far lingering that it was possible they hadn't passed by for months, and the only remaining traces was in the urine they had disposed of into this patch of dead grass. Lifting her nose, satisfied, Sage took the moment to squat and relieve herself, then continued at a medium trot. Her tags jingled lightly, but the sound was over-all ignored by her ears.

A fresh smell of blood caught her attention and she paused, turning her head to it. For a moment, the wolf appeared indecisive as she stood there, glancing back and forth from the strong pull of the smell of blood and the direction of her den. It was a moment or two before she decided after the smell, and crept along cautiously towards the scent until it was so strong, it almost made her sick. She could tell pretty much instantly, even from the second she'd smelled it, that this was neither human, nor werewolf blood, nor any other type of animal. She came along to veiw a body, limp, cold, and pale, among reeds beside a gross-looking pond. The pond looked more like it was a tar pit. Blank eyes stared up at the dark sky, an open mouth with blood trickling down it showed fangs, only confirming her earlier thought on the species. The neck was torn out, and it took her back to the day her Master's head lay at her paws. She closed her eyes as an over-whelming feeling of saddness took over the wolf, and her head drooped slightly.

The sharp sound of a twig snapping distracted the female, and her head shot up, ears erect, fur bristling in sudden deffense. Golden eyes peered out at her through twigs, and slowly the dark shape of a fellow wolf came into veiw. It was a male. She could tell by the form and how he carried himself even before his scent wafted towards her. Slowly her tail raised in an obvious show of agression, a deep growl erupting through her throat. A stinging bark cut her growl short, and following the noise was the werewolf's own growl, louder then her own. Lowering her tail, and laying against the ground, ears flattening, Sage submitted to the male as he circled her, sniffing in curiosity. After a moment, he stepped back and gave her a nodd. The bloody scent pooled from his mouth when his mouth opened, in a low chortle. She grunted and raised, eyeing the male cautiously. An annoying itch caused the female to sit and scratch around her collar. Fleas. The male looked upon her in disgust. She ignored it. Fleas was something she'd caught about three days ago. It's a surprise she'd managed to avoid them up until then. She hadn't been groomed, nor bathed since her Master's death.

The breeze shifted, and both of the wolves' heads raised to it, and both turned as they caught the scent of another vampire. The scent brought a subtle ache to the female's chest. She missed her Master. He had been kind to her, fed her, played with her, took her for walks. A low growl came from the near-black coloured wolf. The noise raised the guard hairs on the back of the female's neck and flanks. The male glanced at her with an indifferent look and began walking off, apparently set on a new destination. Her ears followed him, tracking mostly every move the male made. A creeping dread filled her when she realized he was making his way towards the smell of the vampire. She glanced down at the cold body, and turned in the opposite direction, following the scent. At her quick darting, mostly silently, through the bushes, she managed to by far surpass the male werewolf.

Within seconds, she was in the open, eyes fixed on the vampire sitting on a bench she'd passed many times. A low whine filled her throat, and she circled, then froze when she heard the faint rustling of the male werewolf not far off into the brush. Her ears turned to it nervously before she started towards the vampire. It probably looked as if she were about to attack him when her lips pulled back suddenly. Her teeth clamped onto the wrist of his jacket and she gave a light tug, a whimper in her throat. She released him and backed up before he could swing at her, and barked a short, clipped bark, her anxiety echoing through it. It ended in a whine as she circled again, then froze when the rustling reached the edge of the bushes, and the male wolf emerged, eyes fixed on her. His lips pulled back and a deep growl made its way into the clearing.

Sage's eyes rolled up to the vampire, as if to say 'I told you to hurry' before taking a step closer to the male, fur bristling as she exposed her teeth. He barked at her, a clear way of saying 'get out of the way', and a low growl was his response from her chest. The male appeared taken aback for a moment before he bared his teeth, a clear response that said 'fine'. He crouched and lunged. He landed on the soft dirt, one bound away from the two, and sprung almost instantly back into the air. Sage huffed and launched herself into the air, colliding with a 'thud' into the male in a flurry of snaps and barking growls. The two fell to the ground, though it hardly distracted them from the fight. They continued in a series of feints and bites and scratches around and around the clearing. Sharp teeth dug into the side of her neck, pulling at the flesh and fur there until a light bit of blood trickled from a puncture. The female growled, moving her body under the male and flipping over her despite the slight tearing it caused her new small wound. While the male pulled himself up, Sage shook herself, then lunged at his paw. Her strong jaws closed down on it and she heard an audible 'snap' before jumping away, instantly landing in a defensive position.

The male had yelped, and now had his paw curled under his chest. His eyes were focused on her, dark and menacing, before a low growl sounded; 'this isn't over'. She raised, ears standing straight, tail raising; 'ah ha'. Her lips back and she snarled. Eventually the male left, and Sage took a moment to collect herself and make sure he actually left. Then she turned to the vampire and limped towards him slowly. Her left hind flank had been punctured and torn severly, and blood lightly trickled down her fur. All in all, she wasn't that bad; she didn't have any broken bones. When she got close to the vampire, she sat, and turned, gently licking the wound before turning to look at him, appearing alert as she looked at him with bright eyes. Her head tilted to the side lightly as she stared at him.