Private Finished Shocks and Bites Engulfing Me

When Lochlann woke up on the floor of the living room, his phone was buzzing.

To Alaude's credit, the apartment was clean once again. The recyclables had been taken out and Lochlann had cleaned and dusted. Lochlann even showed up for work, though he drank once his shift was over. He ate a few handfuls of dried rice crispies cereal out of the bag on the floor, and passed out sometime after debating if he could use whisky in place of milk.

Lochlann reached for a bottle and took a heavy swig before grabbing his phone.

He read the first message, which told him to be at the lake, and Lochlann felt cold sweat cover his body like a morning fog.

What had Alaude found?

Lochlann was up, pulling on a clean shirt and out the door before he remembered to put on shoes. He zipped back in, grabbed them, and put them on as he went down the stairs. It was a modern miracle that he didn't fall down the stairs and break his neck.

His phone vibrated again a few kilometers into his run, and Lochlann glanced both ways before crossing the street and pulling his phone out.

On the way, he typed.

A few more kilometers had, I'd be there faster if I wasn't responding.

Finally, Lochlann found Alaude at the lake, rounding the corner quickly. His breathing was hard, but he was recovering relatively quickly, though his lungs were clearly not happy with him. Cigarettes, liquor, and a fast jog were not a good combination. He coughed once, but regained his breath, and said, "I'm here."

It was obvious but that was about all Lochlann could manage.

He eyed the space quickly, his face faltering when he looked at Alaude.

"Why...did you choose here?" he asked.

"Oh, no thanks," Lochlann waved the bottle away.

Though his relationship with Alaude seemed to have shifted a little bit since Alaude had seen the results of his bender, Lochlann didn't put it past Alaude to try and slip something in the bottle, like poison or worse, antabuse.

Lochlann took a few deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth, and finally got his breathing under control.

As for being alive?

Lochlann wasn't sure. He still felt dead inside, and that was assuming he could feel anything at all. But he was up, he was moving, and he was ready to find a way to be worthy for Addy.

"Yes, I'm alive," Lochlann said. "Unlike you, I don't burn up into ashes if I drink in the daylight."

Whisky vampire.

"So how do we start? Lochlann asked.

"Are you sure?" Lochlann squinted at Alaude. "I mean, I'm pretty pale, but you've definitely got the whole vampire look going on."

He tilted his head to the side, looking Alaude up and down, and then he nodded.

"I bet you the sunlight probably reflects off you. You're so bright, if I lifted you up, I could probably bounce the sunrays off you like a magnifying glass to start small fires or burn ants. You'd be the ultimate wilderness survival tool," Lochlann continued.

He wasn't sure why he was doing this. It was almost compulsive.

Alaude wasn't Lawrence.

But Lochlann couldn't stop himself from treating him like his older brother.

He nodded and positioned himself appropriately when Alaude showed him how. He paid careful attention to the other man's feet, the way his arms were held, and what angle he had his head. Lochlann mirrored him. He was good at this part; it was like a dance, almost.

And then Alaude started to swing at him.

Don't hit, just counter, Lochlann thought, and then...he completely ceased to think.

Lochlann wasn't strong. He was fast.

And he was a horse, so when instinct kicked in, Lochlann just darted back away, out of Alaude's range, and then took off sprinting.

He froze at the end of the woods and said, "That's...probably not what I'm supposed to do."

He wasn't sure how he got here. Running was instinctive. Lochlann swallowed and came back, saying, "Okay, let me try again."

Lochlann was fast, but Alaue was faster. Before he could answer a question, Alaude swung out. Lochlann felt the urge to move, to go back, and he almost did, but he remembered he couldn't run. He was supposed to stay and fight.

It was not instinctual to him.

When Alaude's hit, Lochlann had managed to turn enough that the blow caught him in the side of the ribs instead of the stomach, but it still sent him flying back into the dirt. To his credit, Lochlann didn't just lay there. He moved quickly and rolled onto his side, then his feet, and picked himself up and resumed the stance Alaude had shown him. His side throbbed, but he wasn't giving up.

"Okay," he said, because he was ready again, but for a moment, Lochlann lost his smart ass comment. He licked his lips, which were dry and tasted like whisky. He could do this.

"How do I counter?" Lochlann asked. "What do you recommend?"

He'd find a snarky comment in a minute. Despite his appearances, Lochlann really was taking this seriously.

Lochlann eyed Alaude askance.

Hit him.

Yeah, like Alaude was just going to let him hit him. Lochlann had never actually thought about hitting someone before. Well, he had, but usually when it actually came down to it, Lochlann would just swing.

So now that he had to swing, he realized he had no idea how to go about doing it. He was, to put it simply, getting performance anxiety. He felt out of sorts, like a horse out of water.

He tried to remember exactly how Alaude swung at him just moments before. Lochlann took a deep breath and went for it.