Mother of Midnight

Chapter 158 – First Feed

“Just place your hand on her,” Vivienne instructed gently, her voice low and soothing as she guided Liora. “Then pull it into yourself—don’t force it, just let it come naturally.”

Liora’s small hand hovered uncertainly above Rava’s arm. Her dark eyes darted up to Vivienne, a flicker of fear mingling with hesitation. “I… I think I can feel it,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Is it really okay? What if I hurt her?”

Vivienne crouched down to meet her eye level, her expression calm and reassuring. “She volunteered, sweetheart,” she said softly. “Rava’s tough, and she knows what she signed up for. But you must be careful, okay? Don’t take too much. I know you’re hungry, but it’s dangerous out here in the wastes. We need her in as good condition as possible.”

Liora nodded slowly, swallowing hard as she turned her attention back to Rava. The lekine was lying still, her chest rising and falling in steady breaths as she slept. Despite her usual tough exterior, her face looked peaceful, almost vulnerable in the darkness of her tent.

“Okay…” Liora whispered, steeling herself.

Her small hand pressed against Rava’s arm, and almost immediately, Vivienne could see the change. A faint shimmer of aether began to rise from Rava’s body, like smoke curling off a dying ember. It drifted upward in delicate, iridescent tendrils, drawn toward Liora’s trembling fingers.

The young nightmare closed her eyes, her brows knitting together in concentration. Vivienne watched as the aether shifted and flowed, its intangible essence filtering into Liora’s slight form.

Rava’s face, however, contorted in her sleep. Her brows furrowed, her lips twitching as if caught in a troubling dream. The peace she’d worn moments before was gone, replaced by a pained expression that deepened with every passing second.

Vivienne reached out instinctively, placing a clawed hand gently on Rava’s shoulder. She closed her eyes, letting her own presence seep into the dreamscape Rava was trapped in. Carefully, she softened the edges of the nightmare, steering it away from terror and into something more manageable—a restless unease rather than full-blown fear.

“That’s it,” Vivienne murmured, her voice a quiet anchor. “Steady now, Liora. Just enough to take the edge off your hunger, but no more.”

Liora’s breathing quickened, her small chest rising and falling in rhythm with the ebb and flow of the aether. Her hands trembled, but she didn’t pull away. The lines along her cheeks seemed to glow faintly, and the slits beneath her eyes flickered open just a crack, revealing flashes of darkness too deep to comprehend.

Vivienne’s gaze remained fixed on the girl, her own expression calm but watchful. “How are you feeling?” she asked gently.

Liora hesitated, her voice barely above a whisper. “Better… but it’s not enough.” Her fingers twitched against Rava’s arm, and for a moment, her black eyes glimmered with hunger.

Vivienne’s tone sharpened slightly, though it remained kind. “Liora. That’s enough for now.”

The girl flinched, her hand jerking away as though burned. The flow of aether ceased abruptly, leaving a faint haze lingering in the air between them. Liora’s shoulders slumped, and she looked down at her hands, shame flickering across her face.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

Vivienne reached out and cupped the girl’s cheek with surprising gentleness, her claws carefully angled away. “You don’t have to be sorry, sweetheart. You’re learning, and that’s what matters. You did well.”

Liora blinked up at her, uncertainty giving way to a tentative smile. “Really?”

“Really,” Vivienne said with a soft chuckle. She glanced at Rava, whose face had relaxed somewhat, though faint lines of tension still lingered. “She’ll be fine, don’t worry. She just needs more rest than normal.”

Liora nodded, the faint glow along her cheeks fading as she leaned into Vivienne’s touch. Her expression softened, the hardness of hunger and fear giving way to something almost serene. For the first time since the ordeal had begun, she looked almost at peace.

Vivienne let her hand linger for a moment longer, then gently withdrew it, offering Liora a soft smile. “Come. You can join me on watch. You aren’t tired, are you?”

Liora shook her head, her eyes wide and alert. “I’m not tired,” she replied, her voice small but firm. There was something determined in her gaze that Vivienne found both endearing and slightly unsettling.

“I see,” Vivienne said, raising an eyebrow. “Well, you can keep me company then.”

With that, she motioned toward the edge of the camp, where the night had settled in cold, oppressive silence. The snow was thick underfoot, and the air had taken on the sharp bite of the night’s chill. The stars above twinkled like distant promises, but the darkness below was thick, almost suffocating.

The two of them settled into the shadows at the perimeter of the camp, the firelight from the others flickering behind them. Vivienne stretched out her legs, her claws clicking softly against the ice as she adjusted her posture. She kept her eyes fixed on the dark horizon, alert but relaxed in her stance, letting the quiet pass over her.

Liora, for the most part, sat a little apart, her small form wrapped tightly in a blanket, staring into the fire. But as the hours stretched on, Vivienne noticed the occasional shuffle of the girl’s feet as she inched closer, her movements hesitant but purposeful.

Vivienne glanced down at Liora, surprised to see how much closer she had come. The girl’s eyes were wide and wary, though her posture had softened. The distance between them had closed significantly, and she was now sitting within a few feet of Vivienne, her gaze flickering between the fire and Vivienne’s silhouette.

Vivienne couldn’t help but wonder about her. Where had she come from? What had happened to her before they had found her? She had a strange sense of déjà vu when looking at Liora, as if the girl was made from the same pieces as herself.

She was clearly made from her own body, from the same substance, the same hunger. And yet, she wasn’t exactly like Vivienne, not by any means. There was an emptiness to her, a void that seemed to be constantly gnawing at her insides. She had no memory, no name, no past—and yet there was something so familiar about the way she moved, the way she responded to the world.

Vivienne’s thoughts were interrupted by a soft, tentative voice beside her.

“Do you think I’m... bad?” Liora asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Vivienne glanced at her, surprised by the question. “What makes you ask that?”

“I had to hurt the big lady to eat.” 

“It’s fine.” Vivienne reassured, her voice calm and steady. She gave the girl a soft, affectionate smile, watching her fidget with an unease that seemed out of place in the quiet of the night. “You didn’t take much, so she’ll just be a bit more tired tomorrow.”

Liora didn’t seem convinced. She glanced up at Vivienne, her eyes wide and uncertain. The girl shifted uncomfortably, her hands playing with the edges of the blanket as she hesitated. Vivienne watched her for a moment, then held her arm out, a silent invitation. Liora hesitated for a beat longer, but then she slowly moved closer, her small form curling up next to Vivienne with a gentle snuggle.

Vivienne welcomed her, instinctively wrapping her arms around the girl, her warmth offering a sense of safety. The world outside was a harsh, cold wasteland, but here, together, in the shadow of their fire, there was a flicker of something warmer.

The silence stretched, comforting in its quiet. The crackling fire seemed distant in comparison to the stillness between them, the night around them almost unnervingly vast. Then, as if a thought had been brewing in Liora’s mind, she spoke again, her voice small and filled with uncertainty.

“What are you going to do with me?”

Vivienne’s gaze drifted from the comforting warmth of the fire and into the darkness beyond. She stared out into the vast, snow-covered wilderness, contemplating the weight of the question. She didn’t have an answer—at least, not one she was ready to give.

What was she going to do with Liora?

It was a question that tugged at her thoughts, one that gnawed at the edge of her mind every time she looked at the girl. So far, Vivienne had taken in those who seemed lost or broken. Renzia had been one, given her fragility, her shattered pieces, something Vivienne couldn't leave alone. Kivvy, the goblin, had been another. She hadn’t even meant to spare her, but something in her had refused to let the small creature be left to die in the wastes. And now, Liora. A girl made from her own essence, as much a part of her as the beasts she summoned.

But the girl was still a mystery, one that Vivienne wasn’t ready to turn away from, no matter how strange or dangerous she seemed.

Vivienne shifted slightly, her arm around Liora tightening, pulling her a bit closer. Her eyes, now reflecting the dim light of the fire, took on a distant, contemplative gleam. She didn’t like the idea of just abandoning people, especially not someone as vulnerable as Liora, in a place like this.

Her thoughts turned to the future. They were still deep in the wastes, far from civilization. What could she possibly do with a child like Liora here? The girl wasn’t human, but she was still so... innocent. She couldn’t just leave her to fend for herself in a world like this. Even if the idea of keeping her with them was risky, dangerous, even. Their travels were often violent, their missions frequently putting them in situations where an innocent child would be a liability.

And yet, there was something that gnawed at her, something telling her not to abandon Liora, to not leave her in a world that wouldn’t care for her, that would see her as a threat, as a thing to be feared. With her... eating habits, she couldn’t imagine her surviving in any proper society. Where would she go? An orphanage, with no one who would understand what she was, or worse, send her away, lock her up as something to be feared. No, that wasn’t a fate Vivienne was willing to let her face.

The more Vivienne thought about it, the more convinced she was that Liora was a nightmare, but one unlike the others she had eaten. There was no mistaking the similarities, from the hollow, to the unearthly nature of her presence, the strange and unsettling aura around her. She wasn’t like the nightmares that Vivienne had eradicated in the past, the ones she had encountered and destroyed in that ruined place where they had found Tarric. No, Liora was more than that.

Vivienne’s gaze flickered toward the girl, her black eyes glinting in the firelight. How had she been made? Was she a result of something Vivienne had unknowingly created? Was it possible that she was the one responsible for this? For Liora’s existence?

Those were questions Vivienne wasn’t quite ready to answer yet. For now, they remained theories, half-formed thoughts that hovered just out of reach. What was important now was the immediate future, the child in her arms, and the strange, unexplainable bond between them.

Liora shifted against her, her small frame pressing lightly into Vivienne’s side. The girl's dark eyes flicked up to meet Vivienne’s, full of that same uncertainty.

“Do you think I’m... a monster?” Liora’s voice was barely a whisper, but the question hung heavy between them.

Vivienne paused, letting the words settle, a twinge in her chest. “I have a question for you instead. Do you think I am a monster?”

Liora shook her head.

“Well, I am a monster.” Said Vivienne with a glint of her teeth. “I scare lots of people, and I like it.”

Vivienne’s words hung in the icy air as she fixed her gaze on Liora, a playful glint lighting her dark eyes. The girl, sitting close enough to feel the faint warmth radiating from Vivienne, stared back with wide, uncertain eyes.

“You don’t seem like a monster,” Liora murmured after a long pause, her voice trembling but resolute.

Vivienne tilted her head, her dark lips curling into a small smile. “Oh, sweetheart, I can assure you, I’m very much a monster. I’ve got claws,” she flexed her fingers, the razor-sharp talons glinting faintly in the firelight, “teeth that could tear through just about anything,” she said, running her tongue lazily over one sharp fang, “and a tongue long enough to make most people uncomfortable.” She winked as she flicked her prehensile tongue out briefly, letting it coil in the cold night air before retracting it.

Liora’s lips parted slightly, her expression caught between awe and uncertainty. “But you’re not... bad,” she said softly, her voice carrying a note of childlike earnestness.

Vivienne smiled faintly at the innocence of the statement, though it stirred something deeper in her. She wasn’t sure what “bad” even meant to her anymore. Right and wrong, good and evil—they were simple concepts, human concepts, but she wasn’t exactly human, was she? She lived by her own rules, shaped by instincts that the intelligent species’ didn’t have, couldn’t understand.

“No, I’m not bad,” Vivienne said slowly, her words deliberate. “But I’m not good either, sweetheart. I’m something in between. Different.” She hesitated for a moment, her clawed fingers resting lightly on her knee. “Most people would look at what I am and call me a monster. And I think they’re right.”

Liora’s brows knitted together as she thought. Her small fingers fidgeted with the fabric of her clothes, her lips pressing into a thin line. Then she spoke, her voice quiet but firm. “Then... you’re a nice monster.”

Vivienne blinked, the simple phrase catching her off guard. She couldn’t help the soft laugh that escaped her. “A nice monster, huh?” she echoed, tilting her head as she looked at the girl. There was a warmth in her chest now, unfamiliar but not unwelcome. “Well, thank you for saying so, sweetheart.”

The girl gave her a shy smile, and Vivienne’s heart twinged. She reached out and pulled Liora into her lap, her motions fluid but uncharacteristically gentle. For a moment, Liora froze, her small body tense in Vivienne’s arms, but as the warmth of the embrace settled over her, she relaxed. The back of her head came to rest against Vivienne’s chest, and she let out a small sigh.

“You’re such a lovely girl, aren’t you?” Vivienne murmured, her voice soft as she held the child close. Her arms, though strong and tipped with claws, cradled Liora with a surprising tenderness. There was no hesitation, no sharp edges to her touch—just warmth and protection.

Liora leaned into the embrace, her small hands clutching at Vivienne’s arm. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what, sweetheart?” Vivienne asked, her voice low, curious.

“For not being scary,” Liora replied, her voice muffled as she buried her face against Vivienne’s shoulder.

Vivienne’s lips curved into a genuine smile, and she gave the girl a gentle squeeze. “You really are just the sweetest thing,” she murmured. For a moment, the world around them seemed to fade, leaving only the crackle of the fire and the quiet comfort of the two monsters who, in that moment, didn’t feel so monstrous at all.