I awoke slowly to the morning sun coming into my room from the window across from me. Blinking my eyes, I turned my head and looked at the nearby digital clock.
7:30.
I yawned, turning onto my back and looking at the ceiling. My mind was replaying the night before. It felt like some beautiful dream, but I knew it had been real. I could still slightly smell Lenore's sweet scent on the clothing I'd laid near my bed.
A smile crossed my face as I thought about her. I actually felt giddy about seeing her again. This beautiful creature wanted to see me, to get to know me. If I played my cards right, I might even be able to snag her as my girlfriend.
While I'd never thought much about having a girlfriend before, I'd also never met a girl like Lenore. Everything about her attracted me like a moth to a flame, bringing out instincts in me that I'd never had before. I knew I'd better watch myself with all of this too. Dad was right when he said that caution was always better, and I was still learning about her.
I finally decided to get up after about ten minutes, stretching before I went over to my closet to find some clothes for the day. I made sure to put the ones I'd worn the night before deep into my laundry basket. No sense in giving my dad a chance to pick up on Lenore's scent.
After gathering my clothing, I headed to the bathroom to get in a shower and finish cleaning up. Seraphina was still sleeping as I passed by her room. Unlike me, she never closed her door completely. It bothered her too much for whatever reason.
After taking a quick shower, I dried and brushed my hair and brushed my teeth, then headed downstairs to get myself some breakfast. After running around so much the night before, my stomach was feeling pretty empty.
But I stopped as I reached the bottom of the stairs. I could hear my parents talking in the kitchen. I was glad that I had such good ears, because I could sit there and hear them perfectly, even if they were speaking low. Another Fox perk, you could say.
"I don't know Sean. I just worry about him. I mean, Sevee's always been mouthy before, but he's never gotten into a physical fight until now, and he knocked that boy out with one punch." Mia was saying.
"I understand how you're feeling, but I really don't believe it's anything that serious Mia. Sevee's not truly the aggressive type, and simply knocking another boy out in a fight isn't unusual, even for one like him." Sean told her.
I heard Mia sigh.
"I know. I guess I just overthink it sometimes. I've never thought that Sevee was an overly aggressive or harmful child, but I know that it can be hard with the Fox elements involved. I guess I get scared sometimes that he might give into the darker instincts that can come with it." she confessed.
That one perked my ears. I didn't realize that she worried so much about that stuff. I knew the story about what happened shortly after her and Sean met. He'd had more aggressive instincts then, and he'd tried to attack her, but she'd done something to him to stop him and help erase those instincts. But neither of them had ever mentioned to me that they worried about me having that.
Sean was quick to reassure her about all of this, "He doesn't have them Mia. I'm sure of that. Sevee's got an aggressive personality at times, and he definitely has the impulsiveness of a young Fox, but there's absolutely nothing I've ever seen to make me think that he'll ever be dangerous. Yes, he pushes a lot, but Sevee truly has a good heart. He just needs time to figure himself out now. You and I know it's not easy being different, and he's as different as they come."
A long sigh escaped me, and I headed back up to my room. I didn't feel like talking yet. It might be better if I gave myself a little more time.
Laying back on my bed, I looked out of the nearby window at the bright sunlight and blue sky outside. My mind drifted back to Lenore. What was she doing right now?
Maybe sleeping. She had been up most of the night with me.
She was different too, so I reasoned that things could end up working out between us. I reflected on what I'd just heard my dad say too. Damned if he wasn't right, as usual. I was very different. More than anyone else in our family, except for maybe Seraphina.
I laid there for another hour before there was a knock at my door. I didn't bother moving from the bed, only turning my head to look as I called out to them.
"Yeah?"
The door opened and Seraphina peeked in.
"Hey, I was wondering if you were up." she said, smiling at me.
I turned my head back towards the window, "I've been up. Just relaxing and taking in the morning air."
She came over to my bed, sitting down beside me. I closed my eyes as she stroked my hair back.
"Are you still having trouble sleeping?" she asked me.
"Kind of." I confessed, still not moving, "It hasn't been as bad for a while, so at least I'm getting some sleep now."
"You know, you could talk to dad about it. Maybe he could find some medicine to help you sleep and not have dreams." Seraphina suggested.
Yeah, she'd suggested this a few times now, but I'd always refused. I didn't want to tell my parents about my nightmares. Not only would it worry them, I also hated having anybody concerned about me. I'd always been the type to want to handle things on my own. It was enough that I'd told Seraphina a little bit about them before.
"Nah, I'm fine. I'm sleeping a little better." I lied as I sat up, "So, what are you gonna be up to today? It's Saturday, so we've got the weekend before this home school stuff starts."
Seraphina shrugged, "Not a whole lot. I was thinking about asking Mom if I could go over and visit with Noah. He said he'd be home today, and I wanted to hear the piano piece he's been working on. They're always so pretty and I love hearing his new compositions."
I debated on whether I wanted to go with her. While I didn't mind visiting with Noah, I admit that we didn't always get along that well. I guess you could say that we had a distinct personality clash at times.
But there was also the chance to escape just being stuck around the house for a while. I didn't want to take the chance of falling asleep there and drifting back into those dreams, and it would help the time go by quicker for tonight.
"I guess I could tag along if you go. It's been a while since I've been to Noah's place or seen his parents." I stated.
"Yeah, about that." Seraphina responded, sounding a little hesitant.
I didn't like how that sounded, "What's up? Something been going on over there?"
My sister had always been close to Noah, so she talked to him often. If there was something up with him or his parents, then she'd be the one to know about it before any of us.
It was kind of odd though. From everything I'd ever seen, Noah's home life was pretty good. His parents, Raziel and Anna, had been together as long as ours, and they had a very loving relationship, even if they did like taking playful shots at each other sometimes. They were almost like second parents to me and Seraphina too, and had always been around. Of course, our parent were also that way with Noah. For as different as the Renaldi family could be, we were all close knit in taking care of each other.
"I don't know that it's really something bad going on. It's just been a little different lately. Noah's had some problems getting along with his dad sometimes, and they get into arguments here and there. It's nothing too bad from what I've heard, but it's kind of stressful for them at times." Seraphina explained.
I didn't know anything about all of that. Again, from everything I'd ever known, Noah and Raziel were very close. I'd never seen them get into a real argument before. But then, I didn't really argue with my dad either. Sean and I might not have always seen eye to eye, but we did respect each other, and I'd be the first to declare to anybody that I loved my dad. I'd was sure that Noah would do the same.
"I had no idea about that one. Has Noah told you what those arguments are about?" I asked her.
Seraphina shook her head, "He doesn't like to talk about it. Actually, between you and me, it's felt really weird Sevee. It's like Noah doesn't always feel like Noah. I don't really know how else to explain it." she responded.
A strange shiver ran up my spine as she said this, like an inkling of a darkness lingering just beyond our reach. A vision of my nightmares flashed through my mind. The familiar dead eyes, that hissing voice as she glared at me.
"Fox...."
"Sevee?"
Seraphina's voice brought me back to reality, and I violently shook my head as I forced the horrid vision away.
"Sorry. I'm good. Just trying to think of whether I've ever seen Noah and his dad not get along before. It's weird to me too. But maybe he's also got some other stuff going on. We all have things to think about now that we're fifteen, and Noah's had a lot with what he wants to do with the piano and the idea of his wings coming soon." I told her.
"That's true." Seraphina nodded, "Maybe it is all stress for him, and he doesn't always handle it that well. He is more sensitive than he likes other people knowing."
That thought stayed with me as the morning progressed. I did agree with Seraphina. Noah was more sensitive than he wanted others to know, and I'd always respected that as much as I could. Maybe, in a way, I felt the same. We both knew that we were very different in a lot of ways from other guys our age, and while I doubted I'd get the Nephilim wings, I was sure that Noah would. I wondered when that time would come. Was it maybe even starting now? Could that be contributing to his sudden rebellious attitude?
We ended up going over to Noah's house early in the afternoon with our parents. Mia had wanted to visit there anyway, not to mention Sean had promised Raziel that he'd help him with a remodeling project he'd been working on in one of the rooms. They'd been working together on it off and on for the last month.
Seraphina and I headed up to Noah's room, which was on the second floor of the house much like ours. We found him sitting on his bed, looking over sheet music that he'd been working on.
Noah was a little smaller in build than me, and definitely took a lot after his dad in looks. His hair was such a light blonde that it bordered on white, and he had ice blue eyes. Those eyes caught the attention of just about everyone who saw him, even though he hated that.
"Hey Noah." Seraphina greeted him as we came in.
"Hey. Mom said you might come today." he responded, only briefly looking at us before going back to what he was doing, "Didn't think you'd be with her, Sevee."
"I had nothing else to do, so I decided to tag along and see what you were up to. It's been a while." I responded, glancing around his room.
No, it hadn't changed much since that last time I'd been in there about a month before. Noah's room was a lot like mine. It was spacious and had different furniture and electronics like a TV and computer. A major difference was that he had a piano in there that was set against the far wall. It was one of his favorite things, and he was always composing music in the last few years. I was convinced that he'd eventually end up being some big shot pianist for all the talent he had with it.
Seraphina sat down on the bed near him, "Are you still working on your new piece?" she asked.
"I'm almost done. I've just been thinking about altering the ending notes a little." Noah answered. He sat up a little straighter, looking over at me, "By the way, I heard last night that you got in trouble again. Did they really suspend you this time?"
I shrugged, sitting in the desk chair near them, "Yep, but I'm not going back either. I convinced my parents to let me finish out this year in home school. Seraphina's doing the same thing."
Noah's attention turned back to Seraphina, "Really?"
"As much as I hate admitting it, I agree with you and Sevee about not liking being in those classes that much, so it gave me a chance to get out of there too. Besides, I want to focus more on my art, so this will give me more time." Seraphina reasoned.
"Makes sense to me." Noah agreed, "What about you Sevee? You know you should get yourself into something too. It helps in different ways."
"Yeah, it's not like I don't have stuff in mind, and Mom wants me to maybe work with Michael over the summer and my dad. I don't mind doing that. I've been interested in what they do, and I can always find stuff to get into in the meantime." I told him.
"I don't think I want to know any more about that." Noah scoffed, rubbing his shoulder.
"Take it or leave it."
Seraphina looked concerned as she watched Noah shift a little. I felt it too. He looked pretty uncomfortable.
"Are you okay? You look like something's bothering you." she noted.
Noah brushed it off, "I'm good. My back's been bothering me a little, but my dad thinks that it's the start of my wings, so it's not that big of a deal."
That one got my attention, "They think you're getting your wings already?"
"It's not that crazy to think about. Dad got his when he was sixteen, and so did your mom. I've also heard that my grandfather got his right after he turned fifteen, so this sounds like the right age." Noah responded.
Okay, so he had a point. I'd heard the same things growing up about all of them. But my concern was more for my sister.
"Have you been feeling okay Sera? You haven't said anything about feeling anything from yours yet." I pointed out.
Sera shook her head, "I've been fine. My back hasn't been hurting at all." she assured me.
"You might be later than me too. Just because it's around this age doesn't mean it all comes at the same time. Besides, your mom and my dad were born on the same day just an hour apart, and my dad had his wings for months before your mom developed hers." Noah reminded her.
"Yeah, as long as Sera doesn't do it like Mom apparently did." I huffed.
I knew that story very well. It was more of a heroic one for my father, although it always scared the hell out of me when I was little. He'd faced down a huge creature to protect Mia, and could've died doing it. Mia's wings erupted during all of that very suddenly too. Sean always credited that as one of the reasons why he'd been able to kill that creature, but he didn't make it out of that battle unscaved. He still had a scar on his shoulder where it had sliced into him while he was in his fox form.
Noah studied me, "What about you? You still don't think your gonna end up getting wings?"
"No way." I immediately responded, "I know it's not gonna happen. I'm not a Nephilim, even if I do have a little bit of the bloodline from Mom. I'll always be a Fox."
"Maybe, but you should be watching that Fox nature of yours more. It keeps getting you into a lot of trouble." Noah warned me.
"What about you? I heard that you've been arguing a lot with your dad lately. What's all that about? You and him have always been close before." I countered.
"None of your business." Noah answered, crossing his arms and looking towards the nearby window.
I scowled at him, "Hey, if you wanna get on me for what I do, then have the decency to answer about what you do."
"I don't have to tell you anything, and you know you don't have to answer me."
"Hey, stop acting like a..."
Seraphina quickly intervened, knowing how nasty our arguments could turn.
"Hey, stop it!" she ordered, "You both just said it. You don't need to get into anything you don't want to, and it's your choice if you want to talk about things, so stop arguing!"
As usual, both of us backed down to her. Seraphina always had been the one to intervene and stop our arguments. Maybe she was a natural born peacemaker.
Noah let out a long breath, "Seriously Sevee, it's nothing against you or Sera. I just don't want to talk about this stuff right now, okay?" he reasoned.
I reluctantly let it go, not only for Seraphina, but out of respect for him. If something personal was going on between him and his parents, then I'd stay out of it for now and wait to see if he'd open up to me and her. Of course, I also knew that I could ask my mother about it another time too. Mia was usually pretty open with me about when something was up.
The rest of our visit went like normal, and before I knew it, we were back home and night was falling. As the hours ticked by, I did my best to quell the impatience bubbling inside of me. I wanted to see Lenore again so badly, but I also didn't want my family, especially my dad, catching onto what I was doing.
It got later and later, and I pretended like I was going to bed. Around one in the morning, I got up and went over to my door, listening for any sounds of anybody else being up. Once I was satisfied that they were all asleep, I grabbed the bag I'd prepacked, then transformed and headed out of my window.
The woods were much like the night before, and there was again a full moon hanging high in the sky, surrounded by a blanket of twinkling stars. I could see them through the small openings in the canopy of leaves above me. Once I was close to where Lenore's hidden home was, I decided to transform back and get dressed. I could smell her sweet scent lingering in the air, and it brought a smile to my face.
Finally, I could be back with her and get to know her more.
It didn't take me long to get to the house from there. As I stepped out of the woods, I took in how quiet the area was. Nothing else like us was lingering around, which was a good thing.
But as I stood there, something high in the trees caught my attention. There was a white shape sitting on one of the branches, watching me closely. It took me a few seconds to register it as an owl. But the feeling from it was very familiar.
"Lenore?" I guessed.
The owl flew down to about a foot in front of me, transforming back into her human form. She grinned as she regarded me.
"I thought I'd see if you'd sense me like that." she teased.
"Looks like I've learned something new about you already, although I didn't realize that you were also a shapeshifter." I commented, returning her amused smile.
"It is a talent for Astartes, but we only transform into birds, and only one type with whoever we are. I've always been an owl, but I've known others before who turned into doves and blackbirds and even pigeons." Lenore explained.
"Interesting. So there are other Astartes too." I noted.
Lenore nodded, "There are a few, but we're a very select bunch."
I looked around us, taking in the pleasant night, "Hey, wanna walk the woods with me? I did promise that I'd show you around this area."
"That sounds nice. I've explored a little bit, but I don't like going too far from my home by myself yet." Lenore admitted.
"It's okay. I wouldn't let anything happen to you." I promised.
I admit that it did feel good to have her agree so easily. It proved that she trusted me. That was a good indicator for the way this might go.
The two of us walked together further into the woods. I had the sense of this area enough to know where I was going, so I didn't worry too much about it.
"This is a beautiful area out here. It's so peaceful. I didn't think places like this existed anymore back when I was human." Lenore was saying.
"Sounds like you were born and raised in the city." I noted.
"I was." Lenore confirmed, "I can't say that I liked it much either. There were parks, but the buildings were so tall around us that you never got a good view of the clear sky, and it always smelled like sewage because of how many people were around. Even though my dad had this beautiful place, stepping out of it wasn't that beautiful to me at all."
I was listening closely to this, trying to envision the place she was talking about. A city with tall buildings, which seemed nice until you had to go outside even though they had nice parks. I could picture it being a few places I'd heard of.
"So, what city did you grow up in?" I asked her.
"It's not important. Like I said, I just prefer it here." Lenore answered.
"You don't like talking about your past much, do you?" I guessed.
Lenore shrugged, "It's just not worth talking about. It's been over for a long time, and it's not like I can ever go back and change things."
"Touché."
"What about you? You said that you have a family too, and you didn't mention your last name last night. Is there a reason for that?" she continued.
Now it was my turn to act contrite, "Maybe, but it might not be worth talking about either."
Lenore made a face at me, "Oh, don't be like that. I'm sure you get why I don't want to talk about when I was human."
"Yeah, yeah. I think I get it." I stopped with her to face her, "But if I tell you about me and my family, I need you to promise that you won't go around announcing it."
"Remember who I am Sevee. I don't have room to talk to others. You're lucky I trust you this much." Lenore reminded me.
She had some points there. I knew she wasn't looking to meet with any others if she could help it. Besides, if I wanted to try and pursue this relationship beyond a friendship, then I'd have to be honest with her about my own unique heritage.
"That's true, but I have a good reason to say that." I told her. I stopped as I picked up the smell of water nearby. Good. I'd been hoping to get here before talking more about all of this, "Come with me. I know a good place to keep talking before we get into this."
Lenore obliged me, following me through the woods for about ten more feet. We finally came out to an area near one of the creeks. There were no homes around there, only the trees and calls of different animals, along with the gentle lap of the water on the shores.
I saw Lenore's eyes widen as she took in the sight of it all, especially how the water was illuminated by the full moon.
"How beautiful." she whispered.
I did my best to suppress my satisfied smile. This was something I'd had in mind since early that evening. I wanted to see how well I could impress her, and if it would draw her closer to me.
I confess that my mind although very intelligent was also still that of a fifteen year old boy. I'd never liked any girls before like this, so this was treading some unfamiliar territory for me. I'd been looking at different books and suggestions for how to impress girls, and this was one way of doing so without being too obvious. Well, that and the old saying about being yourself.
"I was hoping you'd like to see this. Like I said before, this is a great area to explore, and the views can be awesome, especially at night." I continued.
"It's amazing, and it's not even far from home." Lenore chimed.
The two of us sat down near the shore on the soft green grass. I glanced over at her, taking in the sight of her ethereal form in the bright moonlight. She may have called this place beautiful, but she was even more so.
After a few minutes of us just sitting there and taking in the scenery, I decided to go back to the subject she'd been so interested in.
"So, you still wanna hear about my family?" I asked her.
Lenore immediately turned her attention to me, "You know I do. Besides, you told me that you're only part Fox, but you're only slightly human."
"That's all true." I acknowledged. I took a few seconds to think of the best way to word all of this, "The thing is, I've got a really weird heritage now. My fox side came from my dad, and he's half human. His dad was a full fox. But the more unique side in me comes from my mom. She's a Nephilim."
Lenore's eyes widened as she stared at me, "You're serious? You're part of one of the Nephilim families?" she asked me.
"Sounds like you've heard of us. But what do you mean by families?" I responded.
"You don't know?" Lenore still looked surprised, "I've heard that there are supposed to be three families of Nephilim that were sanctioned by the Higher Powers. At least, that's what they've always said."
This was news to me. While I'd heard my dad mention before that they believed there were others like us, this confirmed that there were rumors about two other families. I wondered if I'd get more out of her about what she'd heard when I confirmed more to her.
"I guess that all fits, and yeah, I do come from a family of Nephilim. Like I said, my mom is one. Our family name is Renaldi." I told her.
"Renaldi. That sounds right. He said one time that a Nephilim named Raphael Renaldi had shown up around the Veil a few times. I guess he was exploring, but I've never met any until you." Lenore responded.
"Yeah, two things there. One, I know the Raphael you're talking about. He's my great uncle. Two, I'm no Nephilim. I might have a part of it in me from my mom, but I'm a Fox like my dad."
Lenore looked curious now, "You don't like the idea of being a Nephilim too?"
"It just doesn't fit me."
We were both quiet for a few minutes. I took in the sight of the water, thinking about that afternoon. Noah was going to be changing into an awakened Nephilim soon. I wondered if Seraphina would soon follow. Man, I'd really feel out of place then.
"Hey Sevee," Lenore suddenly spoke up, "does it bother you to be a Fox in your family?"
It was like she'd read my mind, although I wasn't about to tell her that.
"Kind of. It's just, I don't know, different. I have my dad around, and he gets how I see the world and how I think, and I guess I have to admit that my mom's really understanding about me too. But it does still feel lonely sometimes. I have a twin sister who's leaned to the Nephilim side more, and my cousin is a full Nephilim. We're all the same age, but it feels like they're so different from me somehow." I confessed.
This was the first time that I'd ever talked about this stuff out loud to anybody, but I did feel like I trusted Lenore with it. It was like a part of me instinctually knew that she'd understand, even if she was different from me.
"You know, I might not know a lot about Nephilim, but I could get where you'd feel that way. It has to be hard just having your dad be another Fox in a family full of Nephilim. Does he do okay with all of that?" Lenore asked me.
I shrugged, "He does find as far as I've ever seen, but my dad's pretty amazing too. He's always been so much calmer and happier than me. I don't know if that comes from being older or what. Sometimes I think it's just his personality. Well, that and how much he loves my mom. It's like they were meant to find each other."
"How'd they meet?" Lenore inquired.
"You're nosey, aren't you?" I teased.
"Oh come on. You can't lead me on with a line like being meant to find each other and not tell me the story." Lenore countered.
I chuckled, "Yeah, you've got a point." I conceded, "I can't say I know a whole lot about what happened back then, but I do know some of the story I've been told by them and my grandparents. My mom, her name's Mia by the way, used to live in Miami with her mom back when she was a kid, and she'd visit her dad Michael during the summers. But something happened one Christmas when she was sixteen and she was sent to live with him for good here in Madison. That was when her and my dad met at the high school. It wasn't that good at first, but things ended up working out between them pretty quick, and they got married right before they graduated. Guess you can figure out the rest."
"Sounds like they were still pretty young when they had you and your sister." Lenore noted.
"They'd just turned nineteen. My cousin Noah's parents were the same way. His dad is my mom's cousin, and Raphael's son." I explained.
"You said that your dad's dad was also a full Fox. Do you know what his name was?" Lenore probed.
I thought about teasing her about being nosey again, but decided to relent on it. At least she was interested in what we were talking about.
"I've heard that his name was Sage, but I don't know that much about him. He died a few years before I was born."
"Whoa, hold on. Your Fox grandfather was Sage?"
"You know about him?"
By the way she was talking, she must've known something. But then, Sean had told me before that Sage was very well known within the Veil as one of the most powerful Foxes before he died.
Lenore quickly caught herself like she hadn't meant to let on that much, "Well, yeah. Like I said, things get around in the Veil, and they do still talk about him. He's legendary, you know?"
I decided to let it be. If she didn't want to talk about where she'd been hearing this there, then I'd wait on finding out. It was enough to be there with her like this.
"Yeah, he is." I agreed. I sighed as I looked out at the water, "Sometimes I think I want to go into the Veil to live too. Maybe I could be like him, or at least feel like I belong somewhere."
Lenore moved a little closer beside me, "Maybe, but maybe you could also belong here with me." she suggested.
I tensed up a little as she held my arm, closing her eyes while she rested her head against my shoulder. Was she serious?
"You'd really want me to stay with you?" I managed to ask.
"Yes. I already like you so much, and it's so comfortable being with you. I've never had that with anyone. Please, say you'll keep coming to see me and spend time with me." she requested softly.
I smiled as I leaned my head on hers, squeezing her hand.
"I want to. I promise, I'll keep seeing you no matter what."