O'Conner's School for the Light challenged

[The Madame Red]

Oscar glowered at both of them, "I think not!"

"Oscar," Anya playfully poked the male vampire, "Are you sure? This game would simply be delightful!"

"Over my dead body!" Oscar smacked her hand away from him, "You know better than to act like that, Anya."

"Come, come now," Anya stretched her arms above her head, "It's been too long since we can actually relax. That academy was too stuffy and the coven we were in was too strict. We're loners now, we can do whatever we want."

"Acting like imbeciles doesn't count," Oscar stood up, "If we're going to be staying here for awhile, i'd like to do things on my own then."

"Remember, Oscar, wherever you go I can always track you down," Anya smiled as she watched the male leave before turning back to Emma, "Isn't that too cute? He's starting to like you a little bit."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Emma grinned a little slyly. "He is isn't he?" She purred then silently got up from her chair and without making a noise pounced on him hoping to tackle him to the ground. "You're so adorable~!" She cooed before getting off him and touching his shoulder. "Tag you're it!" Then she bolted as fast as her body would let her. "Run Anya~!" She squealed with delight. "He's it!" She added putting the dining table between him and his retreating form. "Aw come on Oskie~! Play with us~!" Emma whined with a cute pout hands on her hips insulin pump beeping away. "Don't be so stubborn."  

[The Madame Red]

"You might want to check your diabetes contraption first," Oscar pointed out, then looked over at Anya, "Care to do the honors?"

"Of course," Anya smiled as she walked over to Emma, "Time for your medication."

Oscar followed the two females as Emma gave Anya the needle. Anya stood behind Emma, one hand wrapped around Emma's torso, holding her shirt up to her chest while her other hand gave the shot in the spot that looked like Emma had used before. After the treatment, Anya glanced up to see Oscar blushing slightly as he looked away from the scene. Anya smiled as she noticed Emma seemed to be blushing as well from being revealed in front of Oscar.

"Oscar, do you like this?" Anya dropped the needle and used the hand to pull Emma close to Anya's body, "Seeing Emma in such manner?"

The male glanced back and quickly turned away, "That's indecent and ladies shouldn't act like that. I'm going outside."

As soon as Oscar walked away, Anya released Emma and took a step aside, "I'm sure he's just tired."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Emma blushed brightly smiling small at Oscar for a moment before he turned and left. Now that she had the insulin the pump would replicate it and pump it through the body for the next nine hours. "But I'm not a lady." She pouted when he left. Emma sighed then gave a little stretch. "I think I'd like to go for a swim." She said after a moment or two. "It's a little warm and as long as the pump is wrapped I can go swimming no problem." She smiled at Anya hoping the other would agree to swimming. "Or we can go horse riding first then swimming! Or we can go swimming then watch movies we can do whatever you feel like. I don't really mind. Just as long as I call Jess so she can rub some stuff on my back." She smiled brightly. The cream that had been rubbed on her back was starting to wear off in terms of the numbing agent. Taking painkillers was dangerous for Emma since she could become addicted to them so they would instead rub creams with numbing agents in it instead. Absently and without meaning to she said. "I wonder if Oscar would do it. . ."  

[The Madame Red]

Anya became tense at first. She had seen Oscar as her brother for so long, but also her partner as well. Letting him go to continue his friendship/relationship with her friend was starting to be harder than she had originally thought it would be. Anya continued to smile as she shrugged, "I'm not so sure he would agree to do that, but you can always ask him."

Why was she getting jealous? Emma was her friend and the human had saved her life, how could she be jealous of Emma wanting an intimate moment with Oscar? He was his own person anyways. Anya then took a step back, "Well, I don't particularly like horses, but I could swim with you."

Meanwhile, Oscar was out in the fields on the outskirts of the castle. He gazed up at the moon as he tried to figure out what to do next. Being created in the coven and learning within the coven, being in a group was all he knew of. He was at least thankful that he had Anya to help him figure things out and Emma giving them a place to stay.

Thinking of Emma... Oscar gazed up at the full moon. He was starting to admire the female for being able to hold her own, but he wasn't sure how he was supposed to go about this. She was lovely, independent, and was able to stand up to his own bossy nature. Emma was also human. Oscar sighed softly, he was immortal and she would live only so long before dying.

'Having and losing is better than not knowing and losing,' he thought to himself, then turned onto his side, 'That's something Anya would say.'

For some time, he did have feelings for Anya, but it died down to where he felt as if they were siblings. Being partners didn't exactly help him either. He still felt close to Anya and that would never change, but he didn't know if the female vampire would be all too thrilled about his developing feelings for Emma.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Emma yipped for joy then dragged her friend into her room and thrust a set of swimmers in her hands before picking out her usual blue checked bikini. Being in this house made Emma feel safe enough to go parading her scarred body in front of Anya and Oscar. So after disappearing into the bathroom for about ten minutes she came out in her bikini with glad wrap around her mid section to protect the pump then she frowned. If she kept up the injections she wouldn't need the pump so she took it off gave herself one more shot then waited for Anya to dress. She frowned a tiny bit at more herself than anything else. How did she feel about Oscar? Was it just her wanting to piss him off all the time? Or was she trying to piss him off just to keep hold of his attention?
When Anya emerged Emma grinned. "Sexy." She teased then after picking up some towels looped her arm around the others and guided her to the pool. That day in the closet Anya hadn't seen the worst scar of them all. On her back she had a deep claw scar running from her right shoulder to her left hips. Even though it had healed it hurt for ages if she bumped it or slept on it. "So we have a heated swimming pool in door and a big one out side too. Maybe if we make enough noise Oscar will join us?" She ventured. She had a feeling that what she said about Oscar rubbing cream on her back might have been a line crosser by the way Anya's lips pressed into a hard line. But hopefully they'd forget it somehow. "Ems~ You got a message from The big cheese. I'll leave it on your bed. And be careful they've only just healed." Jess called from a way behind them. Emma turned back and gave the other human a thumbs up. "All righty then" She said before continuing to guide Anya to the pool.  

[The Madame Red]

Anya stayed in the shallow end of the water as she watched Emma in the other end of the pool. The scars along her body must've been caused by the wolves that wanted her to join their pack. She had never thought about those who were forced into the pack unwillingly, they all seemed to be in a pack-mindset whenever she came across one or two of them. Her eyes didn't leave Emma as she continued to stare at the scars on her body. Just a few days ago and she was the flittering lady in a powerful coven. She didn't regret her decision, she felt more empowered by herself than anything else. In any case, Anya had a new sense of freedom that she was happy to finally take back.

She sat at the edge of the pool as she dangled her feet into the water. Anya then asked Emma, "What does it feel like to feel changes in your body? I mean like when you really feel as if you'll die at any moment?"



Oscar heard the splashing from a distance and sat up to look. He saw Emma swimming in the water while Anya sat on the side of the pool. As much as he really didn't want to go over, he went against his judgements and walked over there anyways. However, as soon as he saw the scar on Emma's back, he immediately thought of the wolves. Thank God they were dead or he would've killed them on the spot.

He caught himself staring and instantly went to Anya, sitting close to her as he whispered, "I've never actually seen you in a bathing suit before."

"They're called bikinis," Anya corrected as she glanced down at her own body, "Quite honestly, I haven't been in one since they first came out."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Emma broke the surface of the water and smiled at Anya. "I'm used to it. I no longer have a flight or fight instinct I just go on reflex. You hit me I hit back kinda thing. After the Adrenaline kicks in I don't remember much else." She said with a kind but dismissive tone. It seemed her life had been put in danger so often she didn't care if she lived or died. Her eyes flicked over to Oscar and she blushed a tiny bit before paddling over to the diving board and after grabbing a hold of it lifted her self out of the water, into a handstand position then let her feet fall until they hit the board doing a few flips before landing perfectly at the steps took a step to the side then slipped on the wet surface landing hard on her but with an "Oof!" Her teeth clattered against each other and her head spun but after blinking a few times she stood up rubbed her now sore behind and sauntered over to them both smiling happily. "So~ what are we talking about?" Emma purred gently nudging Anya's side. Though she couldn't hear what they'd said the way Anya's expression and her gaze looked she was obviously correcting/scolding Oscar for clearly not seeing that it was a bikini. Her arms went around the other in a hug and she smiled over at Oscar. "Enjoy your walk?" Emma asked with a soft almost tender expression f not for the fact her butt was throbbing in pain.  

[The Madame Red]

"As enjoyable as it's going to be," Oscar took no noticed of Anya nor Emma as he glanced away from the two, "It feels...different here. Hell it feels different altogether."

Anya sighed as she loosened herself from Emma's grip, "You're just tired."

"No i'm not just tired!" Oscar snapped as he turned his attention back to the other two, then he quickly looked away, "I'm going out."

The female vampire's eyes widened slightly, "Oscar, you can't-"

"You're not my partner," Oscar sent a sharp glare to her, "I'm going to start my own coven where this s**t won't happen again. Whether or not you join me will be on you."

With that, the male vampire started to walk away. Anya forced herself not to go after him. She kept her gaze on the ground, looking at him walk away will only make her want to stop him even more. As much as she wanted to tell Emma to stop him, even the human girl wouldn't be able to persuade him from changing his mind.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

"I highly doubt he's going to be forgiving and the only place you're safe from your final death is here Oskie." Emma said rather nonchalantly. "As long as you're with me you won't be punished for disobeying your Father or whatever." Her's face morphed into some sort of weird cross between high amusement and displeasure at the fact he was just going to up and leave. She didn't like being alone. Yet she hated being in a pack. A terrible conundrum. "Hey Em, Just thought you should know Conrad's on line one. Demands you either return his calls or he comes here to talk to you. Says' it's level one priority." Jess said poking her head out from the side door. "Oh and he also added that he's put in electric fencing. No one goes in or out until he says so. Not meant to be a prison but the last thing he wants is any wolves from other countries trying to steal you while your. . . closest translation I can find is pets-?"
"You mean companions?" Emma glowered angrily making Jess hurry on in a high pitched tone. "Uh yeah! he doesn't want you alone. And Conrad is less forgiving when it comes to you. . . for some reason." She looked a little perplexed as if Jess couldn't understand why a vampire let alone the king was so worried about whether or not Emma was safe and out of the hands of the werewolves. Emma stood up and tried her best not to limp over to a frozen Oscar. "Stay here." She said hugging him from behind. "I promise I won't call you Oskie any more."  

[The Madame Red]

Oscar remained perfectly frozen as he felt Emma wrap her around him from behind. Then again, he missed the feeling as soon as she pulled away. He waited a few moments before he turned to see Anya standing up and putting a silk robe around her.

"Anya, got a second?" he called over to her.

Anya went over to Oscar and followed him into a lone spot. He then whispered to her in perfect French, "What the hell was that about?"

"It's her way of saying she likes you," Anya answered in the same language.

"She doesn't like me," Oscar glanced away.

"Oscar," Anya pinched his chin to make him look at her, "Emma likes you. The question is if you like her as well."

Oscar remained silent as his gaze became downcasted. Anya released her hold on his chin and took a deep breath, "It's ok if you do, no one is going to get hurt."

"You will," Oscar's emerald eyes gaze down at her, "I know you. You may not have wanted to stay partners with me, but that didn't take away the feeling."

Anya stood silently this time and quickly crossed her arms, "It wasn't love, but it was close enough. Emma has more to offer than I do."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Emma was off in a side room returning Conrad's call. She spoke slow as she didn't want to mispronounce her Estonian and end up insulting the Vampire and have him come stomping in to eat her. "How's the back holding up Koeri?" Conrad asked with a tiny purr. Emma gave a small sigh and rubbed it on the wall. "It's getting a little better, the cream you send is helping heaps and please stop calling be bait it's. . . disturbing." His deep chuckle made her heart pound but not with the same emotion Oscar's voice did to her. It was different. More like the pounding of a heart when a family member comes back from a long holiday or when they're not sick any more. . . or when they die. "Emmaline?" Conrad probed. Emma shook herself a little. "Yes Conrad?" She asked back in the same tone. "This Oscar you talk about incessantly. Do you have feelings for him?" Emma blushed a little. She didn't know what to say. Conrad seemed pleased she'd made friend but whenever she talked about Oscar his voice hardened a bit. "Yes. But I don't know if he feels the same. And I don't want to find out in case I'm wrong." She coughed so she wouldn't cry. "Do you want me to ask him?" Conrad ventured which caused Emma to shriek. "NO!!" Too quickly.
"Emmaline you can be so loud sometimes." Conrad growled. "Fine I won't ask him but you should I don't want to hear you pining for him. Next time we talk I want to know if he likes you or not."
"What so you can kill him?" Emma growled.
"No," Conrad replied. "So I can threaten him." After some curt farewells Emma hung up and left her little room heading to the edge of the deep end of the pool falling forward into it then at the last second broke the fall with a dive.  

[The Madame Red]

Once the two heard the dive, Anya was the first to turn until Oscar stopped her. She turned to see him look slightly confused. Anya offered a small smile before whispering, "Whatever happens, i'll be right here if you ever need me."

"Just don't leave me alone with her," Oscar grumbled as he took Anya's hand to go back to the pool, "Alright, if we're trapped here with you, then there are going to be ground rules: 1) If we're not needed here, then we have the ability to leave as we choose to. And 2) No more of these damn bottles of blood laying around everywhere, it's not sanitary. If we're going to drink, we need live animals."

Anya sighed, but she had to agree with him on the blood. Bottled blood aged too quickly once contained. Live blood coming from a fresh corpse was more 'healthy' for them. She then took a step aside, "I think i'm going to have a look around the castle to get a feel for the place. Oscar?"

"Yeah, I think i'll come along too," Oscar shrugged as he walked to Anya's side, "Emma, why don't you just stay here? It's probably for the best that we take a break from each other anyways."

The female vampire shot him a death glare, only to have Oscar continue to walk away. She sighed. Everytime he seemed to warm up to the human, he took ten more steps back to acting as if he hated her even more. Anya just quickened her step to keep up with Oscar as they walked away.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Emma nodded a little at his conditions. The bottled stuff was only temporary anyway. As she watched them leave she sighed and put her head on the side of the pool. She shouldn't read too much into Oscar's mood swings. He only put up with her because she saved his life then gave him a safe place to live until his father bit the dust. She knew Jess was watching her so tried not to look too upset with Oscar or the other human would get upset and follow through on the threat she didn't think Emma heard. Should she tell them Conrad was planning a visit to the castle since she couldn't go there? She shook her head hard then got out of the water and after pulling on a towel headed to her room to take a bath and reconnect her pump. Maybe she should scare them a little. Let some of her blood loose. She wanted to know if it was true that vampires could smell fresh blood from hundreds of metres away. Maybe it was time to test that theory. A dark smile pulled her lips as she ran her bath laying out clean clothes and her pump before getting into the bath and cleaning up. Yes. She would have to find some way to know for sure if Oscar had any feelings no matter how minute they were. Just so her curiosity could be sated. "You're playing with fire." Jess's voice whispered through the intercom of her bathroom. "Don't care. I need to know." She pulled on some panties and some pants then a bra before getting ready to set up the pump. She could never connect it on the first try any way so in a way this would a real thing. "Dammit go in!" She hissed as blood pooled around the tubing. "Come on!" Her hands shook with nerves and panic before the tube finally connected but still a bit of blood stained her belly. Now all she had to do was turn it on. That was going to hurt. Once the strap was connected to the pump and her body she turned it on. It zapped her a little and she whined before she could stop herself. "I hate this pump." She growled pulling on a shirt and staggering to her bed.  

[The Madame Red]

"So what do you think of this Conrad guy?" Oscar asked as he put his hands in his pockets.

"He's not just a 'guy', Oscar," Anya retorted, "He's the king of our kind."

"Well you were at his court, what's he like?" he glanced over at him.

"Accepting mostly," Anya shrugged, "However, he went absent for some time during the last generation born in the human race. I'm not sure why, but I heard he was delegating a new set of rules for our kind."

"Seriously? He makes rules for-!!"

Anya smelled it too. She held her nose, but her worried gaze went straight to Oscar as he staggered around as he gripped the wall for support. However, he didn't cover his nose this time. His eyes turned from emerald to that of crimson as the scent of blood became overwhelming. It was...too close, too fresh to ignore. Anya quickly snatched Oscar and held him firmly, "Don't...you...dare!"

Oscar tried to fight her off, but it was no use. She was much stronger than him and it was very apparent. He angrily tried to pull away, "Have you any idea how long it's been since i've had a human drink!?"

"And now won't be the first in a while!" Anya growled as she pinned him to the wall.

"The ******** it won't!" Oscar shoved her off of him, but Anya easily pounced onto his back and forced him to the floor.