Crazy Little Thing Called Love [Litte]

[*James Silvius]

"No peeking," he warned. James, sporting a white tee, jeans, and timberland boots, gently pushed Litte's head down to avoid a tree branch. The vampire was blindfolded, James was navigating her up the thickly forested Vosges mountain range. A few weeks ago, James was pleasantly surprised to find his old hunting grounds after tracking his scent the morning before a full moon. He was tipped off that he liked the mountains east of Paris for the change.

The night was lovely; clear skies, crescent moon, glittering stars, warm climate. Perfect for their date. It was their first since he returned to the pack. James and Litte were both very excited. As soon as the sun sank, he drove them five hours from Paris and up the mountain as far as he could. Now they were on foot. They had less than a quarter of a mile left to cover now, approximately three minutes before they finally reached their destination.

One and a half years had passed since he'd been with the pack. The once gangly, rebellious teenager was nearly 20 years of age now, no longer a kid. He remembered what Litte looked like. Her young, 16 year old appearance hadn't changed, of course.

James was pleased to find his life getting back in order. After a bad bout of pneumonia, he was working again at the department store. His old boss was delighted to have him back. Things with the pack was so far so good. Everyone was polite enough, but he didn't stick around the house unless he needed a place to sleep. The wolves didn't take kindly to vampires. The less Litte was around there the better.

He'd also been practicing shifting with control. His doppelganger had been quiet, almost too quiet. He never went a moment without worrying his wolf would take back control, but he'd been getting better at concealing the anxiety.

At last they reached the lakeside. "Okay," he untied the back of the blindfold and pulled it away from his lover's eyes. Beside the lake, a blue and white checkered blanket covered a square of the lush, grassy, turf. The area was rich with greenery and colorful flowers. A picnic basket and cooler sat in the center of the blanket. A long and wide stretch of the space was prepared and marked off as his territory early this morning. It hadn't been disturbed since, and it shouldn't be for the rest of the night.

James took Litte's hand and led her over to the blanket. "What do you think?" he asked uncertainly. "I didn't know what blood you like, so I got cow, pig, goat, and chicken," James shrugged. He purchased the blood from the butchers and got himself a hunk of sirloin, raw and bloody. The sun should have kept the blood warm, and the cooler stocked with ice should have kept the meat from spoiling.

[*Litte Snow]

"I wont I wont." Litte said with a small giggle. She didnt really need to see to know where she was. She could hear all the wildlife in the forest and the nearby area. James had told her that they were going to have a date. Something to give them a little pick me up. Having gone through what they did wasnt easy. In a way, she was glad he didnt remember some of the past that they shared. It was bad enough that she had to deal with it. Not him to. She knew him. He would feel worse after he knew what had happened. Maybe he would claim to be glad to fill in the missing chunk...But Katra had been doing a fine job of filling him in. Of course..the history with Litte and him, Kat wouldnt know. He hadnt asked her yet what had happened and she wasnt going to bring it up. She was going to enjoy this night for the special occasion that it was. And it was special. Their first real date in about a year.

James had grown of course and he looked utterly handsome. Just like always. She remained her youthful sixteen year old self. If she could change one thing..that would be it. Pushing aside those gloomy thoughts though she felt him pull her to a stop. The air was slightly wet and she could hear water. Where they near a lake? When the blindfold came off, she blinked her blue eyes once to clear the spots away and then her vampire sight sharpened and she sucked in a breath. It was so beautiful! Every time he took her somewhere he always chose wonderful, beautiful places. Like their first date..The ballroom and the dancing. She turned her gaze and stared back at him with a large smile. "Its beautiful James. Absolutely perfect." She told him and smiled as he took her hand and led them over to the blue and white checkered blanket. The grass was soft as she sat down folded her legs behind her.

Looking at him though she could tell he was uncertain of somethings. She would try and show him in any way possible she thought it was perfect. "James...Easy..Down boy." She teased, placing her cold hand against his cheek. "I love it. Its wonderful. And doesnt matter what kind of blood. As long as you dont make me wrestle a grizzly again." She chuckled slightly at that memory but then frowned slightly. "But you probably dont remember that." She told him softly. Taking her hand back she folded them in her lap and smiled back at him. He was always prepared. So she was sure he had some plans for tonight.

[*James Silvius]

James beamed, "Glad you like it," now the blood... did he miss a flavor? Should he have gotten lamb? Maybe it all tasted the same to her, he honestly didn't know. Maybe she wanted human blood? Should he have broken into a blood bank? Litte seemed to know what he was thinking because she was telling him to cool it. He relaxed a little, but still wondered what she'd prefer and kicking himself that he didn't ask.

Her next comment sent him over the edge. His eyes bulged in their sockets and his heart jack hammered, "I DID WHAT?!?!?!?!" Litte wrestle a grizzly?! No way. That couldn't have happened, she was pulling his leg. He'd never allow this cute, delicate looking little creature wrestle a bear. What kind of boyfriend was he? A pretty crappy one.

"You mean to tell me, I, James, made you WRESTLE a BEAR." He said it, and he still couldn't believe it. James mussed up her hair playfully, "Ha ha, you have a sense of humor. I like that," he laughed forcibly. "But seriously. I didn't... did I?" The wolf didn't like vampires. Except this one. Did he try to have her killed? What the hell was going through his mind when he told her to fight a grizzly?

James plopped down on the blanket, his mind racing. He didn't remember anything about Litte, only that he loved her. This could really be true, he could have made her fight a grizzly. But why? That was suicide to the inexperienced. He knew that, every wolf knew that, so he must have known it then. Unthinkable, allowing her to do that. He stared at her apologetically. Obviously everything was okay, she was here with him. She won the fight with the bear. But he still wanted to know what happened. "Er, Litte, why did I do that? I mean, you're immortal and everything but a bear? Are you sure it wasn't a rabbit? A bear. Those can kill wolves!"

[*Litte Snow]

"James. I like what ever you do." She told him with a smile. She was going to tell him about their first date, since he didnt exactly remember it like she did. But her bear comment had seemed to tip him over the edge a bit. She could see the confusion and disbelief light up his eyes as he looked at her. At his outburst she blinked at him, unable to comprehend what she should say. Should she just out right tell him? But before she could speak he went on to look at her and ask her if she was kidding. Shaking her head though she laughed. "No..Im not kidding. Yes..You James made me wrestle a bear. It was for a lesson. Maybe I should start at square one?" She asked him and moved so she was a bit more comfortable. Grasping his hand she traced the lines in his palm and smiled. She could still see that night as clearly as if it was yesterday. As if it had just happened and she was looking back on a memory that was fresh and new.

"Hmm..Lets see. Well...You and I didnt have the best start at all. It was a rather bad start actually. It was in New York...The park to be precise. The night was really foggy and I had been out there to get some muse for my music. You were there for god only knows why. But we scented each other and you tracked me down and ended up pinning me down and asking me questions. You wanted to kill me. I could see it in your eyes. You hated me without even knowing me." She was looking off in the distance slightly as she retold the tale. "You took me to a shack though and then somehow a plan must have formed because you thought you could train me to hunt animal blood and not human blood. That you could handle a vampire like that. Our first trip to the forest..yes...You had me hunt a rabbit. And made me drink it down to." She chuckled. The taste of that first kill was still there in her memory how it was so different from human blood.

"The sun came up though, and you raced me back to the little shack. I dont know how it happened...But I feel in love with you that morning. And somehow you loved me back. The next night though...You took me back to the forest and had me hunt down a deer first. The blood though, attracted a grizzly. You had me attack it, to try all new kinds of blood. But of course..you had put yourself in danger to force me to take action. To step in. I won the fight though..Since Im sitting here. And thats basically the tale. Nothing to serious." She teased him and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

[*James Silvius]

James watched as Litte dredged up her memories. He envied her ability to do it with such ease. The things she was telling him he should have remembered. Her tale shouldn't have been forgotten, especially since it held much significance where their relationship was concerned. He felt ashamed of himself that he couldn't remember their first encounter. He was baffled Litte was still loyal to him after almost two years. She waited for him during and after the war, and a few weeks ago, he wasn't even aware of her existence. He was a horrible boyfriend.

When she finished speaking, James returned a kiss and invited her to sit with him on the blanket. His eyes misted over before he fixed them on her firmly. "I guess that sounds like me. I learned vampires murdered my birth family and first pack family. I really hated them." Kat was thorough during their catch up sessions. James learned before Pat took him in to his pack, James played a big role in destroying his first pack family. Apparently he got into a fight with a coven of vampires who, after help from Pat, were defeated. However, the survivors gathered reinforcement's and got their revenge on the young werewolf by slaughtering his first pack family.

"I think if I didn't join Pat, everything would have been a lot different," he glanced at Litte. "I'm not saying it would have been better. Just... different," then he went into an explanation. "Okay, it's like this. I was bitten because a vampire attacked my family, and a werewolf passing by saved me. He bit me because I couldn't stay with his pack as a human," turns out James didn't decide his fate. His former pack leader never asked him if he wanted to be a werewolf, he just bit him on the assumption that James would want a family since his was slaughtered. He wondered, what would happen if he was left human alone? Or what would happen if the vampire sired him?

"I wasn't raised by that pack to hate vampires. That didn't start until I got them killed and Pat took me in," James didn't remember the smaller details, the one's Kat couldn't tell him. He didn't know he was always getting into trouble in his first pack family. The leader, the wolf who bit him, Gavin, tried to keep him away from vampires. The alpha could sense James's growing hatred. Accompany that with teen angst, and the result is a loose cannon. Gavin had James's best interest in mind, but the young wolf wanted a piece of vampire, and Gavin would have none of it. So James rebelled. He got into many sticky situations, and oftentimes Gavin had to come to the rescue. The slew of scars on his body reflected that. And maybe if James wasn't restricted from letting out his inner wolf from the beginning, it wouldn't be so difficult to suppress it now.

"Pat's pack is all about hating vampires, killing vampires, or so Kat told me. I happily joined Pat," too bad he couldn't recall his first encounter with Pat. If he could, that would explain a lot. Pat embraced his inner wolf. He demonstrated for James (and on James) the power of the wolf and what happened when the wolf was released. But he warned James: allowing the inner wolf out to fight required immense control. Pat could be two different people at once, but James was one or the other. He always struggled with controlling his doppelganger. He wanted to be like Pat, but Pat never helped him. So his human conscience was engulfed by the primitive wolf.

"If what you say is true, about how we first met, about how I wanted to kill you, I think it's safe to assume I was somewhere between human and total wolf when we met. I can't believe I didn't kill you," putting it all together was gratifying, but it hurt at the same time. Litte said it herself. He hated her without even knowing her. That was the wolf talking. Human James didn't want to kill her, but he also hated vampires just the same. The only logical thing to do was keep Litte, but ensure she didn't kill humans. A grizzly sounded extreme then, but now it seemed the right thing to do at that point in time.

James looked up suddenly. "I wanted to eat you," he remembered everything that happened in the den perfectly. His countenance darkened, "Just like I wanted to kill you in the park when we first met. I had something in common with myself then and now -- being somewhere between human and wolf. And... and now history seems to be repeating itself. If I stay with Kat..." he trailed off, letting Litte fill in the blanks. If he stayed with Kat, then how could he be sure his wolf wouldn't destroy everything again?

James sighed noisily and fell onto his back. He reached and got an arm around Litte's waist. Dragging her down, he collected the tiny vampire into his side. He moved the hair out of her face and pressed his forehead against her's. "I don't want to leave Kat. She'd be devastated. But I don't know how to fix this and make it so I don't hurt anyone else," James pushed her shoulders flat on the blanket and rolled on top of her. Crushing her between himself and the blanket. He pinned her wrists down. His eyes glazed over with a feral, bloodthirsty look, pupils dilating. His teeth elongated into canines. A guttural snarl rumbled from the back of his throat. He brought his toothy mouth close to her neck.

"And this can never happen. Promise you'll kill me before I hurt you. Because if this happens and I can't come back and I come after you, I'd rather be dead." James pushed himself off of her and sat on his knees. He blinked once and his eyes returned to their natural warm chocolaty hue. His wolf teeth retracted simultaneously, and he was back to normal. "If I didn't join Pat, then I'd never have to worry about losing control. But he showed me how to let the wolf out, and now he's here to stay," he said grimly. "I've been so selfish, Litte. I can't live with myself if I don't put others before me now. Understand that you're more important than my life."