Celeste

“Celeste, might I come in?”

I stepped back, letting Lilith in. I knew it was her before I even opened the door, nobody else comes knocking this late at night. Nobody comes knocking at all. I was curious as to what she wanted, though. She normally calls ahead if she needs something.

“What can I get for you, Lilith?”

She tilted her head at me.

“Nothing today. But I’ve got some fresh bones for you, if you want them?”

I didn’t bother to ask where she’d got the bones from.

“What kind?”

“Human male, around 25 years old I think.”

I smiled; young bones were hard to come by.

“That’ll do quite nicely.” 

I like Lilith, she’s very considerate. I have lived here for about a year now, and she always goes out of her way to give me things or ask if I need anything. It’s very sweet of her.  

“Would you like some mint tea? I’ve just brewed it.”

She nodded.

“Please. I love your teas, I’m almost out of the jasmine one you gave me.”

I’d been giving Lilith different teas for almost six months now. She told me once that she can eat and drink, but only blood will give her sustenance. She likes my teas, though. Having lived for such a long time, Lilith has tried pretty much everything in the world, but she said my tea was some of the best she’d ever tasted.

“I have some rose and honey for you to try next. I don’t make it very often because the spell I need to put on the roses has to be cast at a specific time, but I should have enough to last you about a month. 

“Perfect, I love honey. I’ll pick it up when I bring the bones down later.”

We lapsed into silence after that. I didn’t mind. One of my favourite things about Lilith is that she doesn’t feel the need to fill the silence. We can just sit and drink our tea and not feel bad about it. Lilith could sit in silence for hours at a time. As a vampire, I suppose she saw the passing of time quite differently to the rest of us. She always seemed deep in thought during the silences, but I never asked what she was thinking about, she would tell me if she wanted to.

“What are you working on at the moment?”

I glanced over at her. She was sat with her elbows on the table, gazing at me over the rim of her teacup. The moonlight brushed her skin, making her look even paler than normal. The moonlight made her hair lighter, going from red to pale orange. I often found myself wondering how she would look in the sunlight. 

“I’m crafting a couple of spells for Emile. The pups are almost here, and I want to help as much as I can. I’m trying to create one that will track their essence once they start moving around, but the components are proving to be stubborn. I’ve also brewed some basic medicinal potions for them for things like colic and teething. Do werewolf pups even need that? I’ve never met one before. Maybe I should think of something else instead.”

Before I could carry on, I felt Lilith’s hand covering my own. She was cold, always cold, but I didn’t mind, I found it soothing. I looped my fingers through hers.

“The pups won’t change until they’re a year old, at least, so Emile will have plenty of need for whatever you give him. 

“Okay. Okay good. Thank you.”

She smiled again, and resumed sipping her tea, leaving our hands intwined.