[Authors Note:

Depending on the start of the chapter that's how you know who's point of view it is. My bad for not mentioning that before.
Bold-Venom
Whatever this is, completely forgot- Mykela. ]

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Time. Some wishing they had more while some wished they had less. Yet the concept remains the same. Time is of the essence. Do what you must with what you have been given. Which is exactly why time is such a tricky concept for those who are not aware of the simple truth of time. 

The truth of time is this: Those with time will never have enough of it to do as they wish and those with little will do with it more than what they realize because time exists only in a measurement of mentality. 

You do not measure love in time, but rather passion and pain.

You do not measure pain in time but rather in depth and desperation.

And most importantly, you do not measure life in time.

But if you do not measure life in time, then what do you know of the life you have and just to what extent you have actually come into contact for that which you claim as yours? 

I have wandered for far too long, I mused to myself, watching from across the dimly lit room as her chest rose and fell rapidly. Beads of perspiration and a fine sheet of sweat covered her bare skin, covering her in what appeared as a golden hue as the fire crackled and spit at the end of her bedside. I knew it wasn't the fires warmth or heat that made her miserably uncomfortable.

It could be the memories that flooded and blended into her mind in an unstoppable film like montage where the choice was to watch and learn and relive. There was a cruel irony to that last thought. Perhaps it was the the main personality overriding this new one, this shy and falsely fragile creature who had lived trapped in bliss only to be awakened by a horrid truth that would break the weakest of minds. To know that the self you thought real was merely a shell for a body you, yourself would take over? Far to cruel for my taste. Well, at least in regards for her, that is. It might have even been the deeply hidden knowledge that made her body break out in shivers, as her mind and body rekindled with her will. But no, I knew it was none of those things, none responsible for her pain.

It was my venom coursing through her body. It was me. I was the enemy. 

Her enemy. 

As always.

Wretched bitterness filled me, like claws that tore into prey, my chest felt ravaged. An all to familiar emotion when it came to dealing with her. Along with others which I had no say over. 

The light of the fire made shadows dance around the room, illuminating it in dance of wild passion and warmth and light. I neither wanted nor needed the light.  I could see just as well in the darkness of the cabin as I would see if every light had been turned on. Every nook and cranny that could have given off light was completely covered and darkened. I commanded a false relaxation over my body, commanding my hands to relax their grip over my hand rests in my chair, to unbury my fingers from the rough leather and to lean back. To  watch.

My venom did many things, has done many things, none of which are things I take pride in. But the one thing my venom does not do is let someone life.

Except for her. She is the only exception. Has been the only exception. Will always be.

But it was a victory that came at a price she was not willing to pay and thus a price I was suffering for. I understood her reason, even admired them even if at the end of the day they coiled around my throat and choked the sanity out of me little by little.  Desperation was an art in its own way that only became admired with time. Time which morphed the viewer and not the art. 

Pain makes people wiser, not happiness.

I tensed as her breath hitched, hearing her heart pick up a beat before slowing to a steady and familiarly strong rythem. For a moment peace filled me, temptation to illusion filled my thought but I ignored desire for reality. With one last look around the cabin I settled in the chair as much as I could manage. Everything was in place.

As expected, her movements were jerky and rigid as she sat up from the bed and then leaned over the left side to vomit into the strategically placed bin I placed at her side. When she was done she came up slowly, both hands over her face, hiding whatever expression she wore from my sight. Dark locks of curls fell around her shoulders,  like a wild vale of protection that ranged from various shades of brown that only seemed to shift along with the fires mood. She layed in the dark cotton covers and wore a white silken dress, not that I thought she would care much for it, but the sight of it was...alluring.

Ever so slowly, her fingers parted, not leaving her face, but rather giving her room to peek through the gap between her fingers. Eyes the color of true warmth meet mine without hesitation or question, she looked straight up without having to look for me. I watched as those brown bleed to a gold very much like my own before slowly returning to her own natural color. We stared at each other in a silence. It was not the silence of two people reuniting after spending so much time away, but rather that of two beings taking in their counter opposite and acknowledging the truth we two shared. Acknowledging, but accepting.

" Welcome back my dear." I hissed out softly, watching her register m words with a shiver she could not contain or hide from me.

"You shouldn't have bitten me." Her voice came out deeply, a voice that one would miss out in a crowd, but that would fill the space in a silent room.

"I wouldn't have bitten you if you hadn't have died. I promised not to do so as long as you kept your word." I leaned forward. "You did not."

Her eyes neither narrowed or widened at my words, but I could see them harden. Some people smiled with their whole face, lighting up who ever was lucky enough to be present. She while one of those radiant people, was also someone who was a master at hiding emotions she did not want others intruding on.

But I have known her for a long time. Her expressions were like portaitres on a museum wall, exquisite art forms for me to gaze at yearningly as I tried to decipher the meaning behind every artistic stoke of the brush. She was my favorite painting and I the cruel artist that captured her beauty in time. For the life of me, I could not find remorse for an accidental occurrence.

"Seeing how the choice was taken from my hands, it was not I who broke promise first, but you." Her hands covered her eyes as she gritted her teeth, fingers digging into her soft skin. "You know what this does to me."

"I know what it does to you," I agreed solemnly. "as I also know what would happen if I did not. We have no time to wait for your memories to come to you. You are cursed. Time, is not your friend and if saving your life means that I can not be either, then I shall not be."

She chuckled at my words. I found the sound both wonderus and spiteful.

"Friend?" She questioned without holding out on the malice and anger. "You think yourself that?"

"What other label is there? One that will better suit me to your liking?" I hissed out with barely restrained annoyance, standing from my chair in swiftness that had her frame tensing. " You deny me friendship in the light of past crimes, so no to 'friend'. You've refused my partnership in a situation that revolves around the both of us because of mistrust and a few ill occurrences, so no to 'partnership'." I slowly made my way over to her until I stood at the end of the bed. "And I know better then to call myself your beloved." A rather nasty smirk made its way to my face, flashing my teeth at her in the light of fire. "For that to occur you would first have to accept the truth and that, I know, is the one thing you will vehemently deny yourself to do."

She dropped her hands from her face and bared a smile similar to my own, but with less sharp teeth. It did not mean, however, that it was less threatening. Her weakened state would pass in a few days and for all of her ill feelings towards me, she knew I would not do anything to harm her. 

" I deny myself nothing. I recognize and accept the truth in its entitlement and cruelty, but I will not play into the truth merely because it is so. You and I have-"

"Cruelty?" I whispered, my hands holding onto the bottom bed frame, feeling the wood protest at the strength of my grip. "Cruel is being tied down to someone who will never want you despite their circumstances. Cruel is having to look for them everyday for decades and centuries only to find them either at death's door or with mistrust in their eyes as you remind them of their past and unfortunate future. Cruel, Mykela Debrouhs, is the story of us." 

I hadn't realized how true the words where until they had been voiced, leaving only bitterness in its shadow. This, this was the feeling I tied to Mykela. This and dreams that were far out of my reach and more impossible then a world of reality. My words, whatever impact they had on her did not seem to faze her as she tilted her head to the side to gaze at me. Curls tumbled off of her shoulder, baring the smooth skin covered by only a thin strap that ended mid chest.

"I do not hate you Venom, perhaps there was a moment in which I did. If so, it is lost on me." She looked away from me and into the fire, her hands coming up to bury her fingers into her hair, grabbing fistfulls of thick hair in a grip that looked painful. "But I know no peace in the arms of the reaper. I can die, but I can not remain dead. My soul is lost and I have you and myself to blame for that."

I did not expect the weight that would leave my chest at her words, but I also did not expect the weight that would take their place. I had been ready for the fury of the hunter, her sadness and lack of fight were as alarming as any physical attack.

"I've accepted my part in you misery long ago, but I've also accepted your part in my misery." Releasing my hold on the bed I cautiously walked over to her side and sat closer than any sane man would have dared. " What I can not accept is that the famous Mykela Debrouhs, Hunter of all, is willing to give up on breaking the curse which -"

She had me pinned under her body, hands wrapped around my throat in a loose hold before I had finished speaking. My arms remained relaxed on the bed as her legs tightened around my waist. Brown eye glared down at me with blinding rage that made her frame shake. She lowered her face down to mine until we were a breath away, her hair fanning around me like dark curtains, the fire casted half her face in glory while the other was casted in mystery that only the dead could speak of.

"Do not taunt me." She warned through gritted teeth. Her hands on my throat tightened faintly.

"Then stop feeling sorry for yourself or all of the preparations I've made will have been for nothing." I said staring her in the eyes feverishly, trying to ignore the way her body felt on mine. Eyes narrowing down at me she pushed away from me, her hands slithering down from my throat to remain on top of my chest.

On anyone else, it would have been a moment of seduction or even play. On her? It was a reminder that her hands were near my heart.

Even if I did not need it. It was still a vital organ for this body.

And she knew that.

"What preparations?" She demanded, not removing herself from ontop me. Very well then.

"This century has been most kind to my needs. I've found a descendant." This time a reaction for her was visible as she flinched back in shock, she blinked down repeatedly at me before rolling off and standing. 

Her body was not to full capacity, not completely over the effects my venom had on her and yet she walked as if she her body wasn't currently fighting off two of my effects. The first death. The other...the true reason for her not wanting me to bite her. I watched as she paced befre the fire, her bare feet making no sounds as she turned sharply and then walked. She didn't look up as she spoke to me. I sat up slowly.

"How?" She whispered.

"It was difficult to find someone whos gifts resembled your own and much harder then you think to actually make sure it was true but I've managed to locate one." I couldn't help the corners of my mouth twitching upwards. "Not as hard, however, to convince her of mythical beings or of her own descendants and powers."

Hearing the amusement in my voice she turned her head to peer over at me with narrow eyes, her mouth opening and then closing before shaking her head.

"She's agreed to help you." I stated.

"Did you tell her the danger of doing so?" She questioned roughly, stilling for a moment.

"I did."

"Hmm."  Her response was small, but I had a small idea as to what she could possibly be feeling.

Shock. Wonder. Fear. Curiosity and anger. Both her and I are not of this world and yet both her and I find ourselves tied to another. I could only imagine the shock of knowing that a theoretical idea we had come up with years ago was actually true. Both a wonder and a pain. A wonder because this would put us in the right position to break her curse and a pain to know that your family moved on without you, had children without you present and to know that although they were not your direct family line, that this earth still had a link to your true line. Every world had its differences and similarities. In her case, this world had a family of Debrouhs that simply didn't  have access to the same magic her original family had access to. But they were still her descendants.

And one seemed to have a gift similar to what Mykela's was, even if on this earth it didn't count as magic. At least to the human eye it wouldn't seem like magic.

"Even if I manage to unlock my gift again, what certainty is there that I won't die before I do? Or that we'll find a way to make it the other-" She cut herself off as she studied my expression. "You found a portal." She stated without question.

"I found a portal." I held her eyes, confirming it.

She turned away from me, showing her back as she took a shaky breath, her shoulders slumping. I could not see her expression but I found myself wanting too. My fingers took hold of the blankets under me, fisting them up and resisted the urge to tear them apart. Too much. Being in her presence allowed me to feel too much emotion, tempted me to do things for which I had perfect control of in the past. Already, I found my eyes wandering to the end of the white gown that ended a tad bit higher then her knees, showing off the long and lean legs. I couldn't help but to recall the feel of those legs wrapped around my waist. I felt venom start to fill my mouth, my tongue snaking out to like my lower lip. She began to turn around.

And I pulled myself back together.

"Even if this is all truly well planned out, this doesn't guarantee anything." She said grimly. I nodded.

"No, it doesn't, but it's a start and we haven't had one of those in years." 

I couldn't name the expression that passed over her face as she stared at me. But whatever it was was gone in a blink as she nodded and walked back over to the bed and in a less than graceful moved sat on the bed besides me.

Now that it seemed both of us were a bit calmer her defensive guise seemed to deflate as she sighed and put her hands on her lap and leaned forward, a deep groan coming from out of her. I could practically smell the exhaustion that small walk must have cost her.

"I hope you know I'm going to kick your ass after I feel better." She said with clear declaration. I glanced over at her slumping form.

"I had an inkling." I confessed.

She pulled her legs up and began to shuffled under the covers once more, making a 'shooing' motion at me when my boody hindered her from stretching out fully. I stood with a shake of my head and watched her get comfortable. Her brow was covered in a light sweat and even without touching her I could tell she would be cool to the touch. Of course we both knew what would make her feel better, but that was off the table. I made my way across the room and sat back in my chair, watching her as I have for as long as I have, like always. 

"Where are we?" She asked after a moment, her eyes closed as she breathed in deeply, tucking the covers up to her chin.

"Cabin the the woods." I could tell my vague answer displeased her when she opened her eyes.

"I take it we are no longer in the city?"  I nodded. Her brows furrowed in thought. "Where is Leona? Actually, where is Viper?" She asked sitting up swiftly, a worried and mistrusting look shined in her eyes.

I tried to ignore the annoyance that filled me as swift as water in a container. It was completely understandable, her asking for Viper. My sister and her had clashed heads more then once in the few times that they had come to meet, but still, Viper was getting better at controlling her impulses. Sort of.

"Leona was left in her apartment room alive and hopefully for her, hungover enough that she won't recall any of last night. As for Viper, she's roaming the woods on a lookout for anything that looks foolish enough to wander her way." I said smoothly. Perhaps too smooth, by the look on her face.

"You mean she's staying as far away from me as possible." Her voice was both amused and pleased. 

I shrugged, feeling that traveling with the two was going to be a pain. For me of course, because I seemed to be the only one that tried to resort to violence as a last call. 

"So what's the verdict Doctor?" She asked leaning back down and closing her eyes.

"You just need three days-"

"Do we have three days to spare? I mean I know its been a while since we've done this, but you still do remember that I die within a month of being reset." Her words came out cold and hollow with no emotion behind them.

"You'll be fine in three days." I whispered softly.

"Right." She whispered back. 

We didn't speak after that, I watched and listened as she fell into a light sleep. The fire danced across her dark complection in light kisses and shadows, her fingers pulling down the blanket as she turned and tossed around the bed in search of something that was right in front of her. Her fingers dug into the mattress like claws as she sighed in discomfort. My own fingers dug into the chair when her leg came free from the blankets and positioned itself on top of them, sprawled open, causing the end of th gown to hitch higher and higher....

I hissed in annoyance as I shifted in the chair and looked away.

Instead I looked around the cabin. Taking in the tempered covered windows, the small kitchen area on my right side and the lone chair sitting besides the small wooden table. The cabinet was made out of a mixture of wood and brick, so there was a thick carpet underneath my shoes. I closed my eyes and focused on my sense. Shutting out all that was unnecessary and louder then was comfortable I just listened to Mykela's heart. Strong and steady, I knew better then to fall for that falsehood of promise. I've heard that strong and steady heart become weak and silent before.

I couldn't not- would not allow that to happen one more.

Flashes of blood and screams filled my mind. Mykela's life slipping through my fingers as I held her cooling body in my arms. Her eyes staring up at me with a tortured expression of misery and wrath right before her body dissolved into shadows that slipped into the ground. Leaving me not a trace to follow. Not a clue to know where or when to look for her next.

That had been in 1974.

I had caught but glimpses of her from afar after that, but there was never enough time for me to reach her before tragedy struck. Never enough time to warn her.  And each and every encounter was like watching myself die along with her as I learned from my mistakes, of waiting for her to recognize me as our eyes met. In following behind her closely, but not close enough. In believing that time would be on my side. Time was on no side but its own. I've lived far to long, but she's died almost a thousand deaths. And even curses had limits. Mykela was at her's.

Pain made me wiser. Experience made me cautions, but her...

She made me, me.

She completed me. And I her.

She just wasn't aware of that yet.

But she would be. 

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[Authors Note:

Guess who just bought a new laptop to start updating faster with? Yeah that's right, my bitch ass. I can diss me 'cause I love me.

This chapters a little short because I needed to A) Update and B) Try out the new tech. So, win, win.

My bad for being away since god damn November, cuz shit no lie, time flies. What yall been up too. If it's illegal feel free to not tell me cuz I will snitch for reward money. ;) (JK...or am I?) 

Can you guys tell me what days you would like updates, I'm trying to make a schedule so that it becomes habit. 

See y'all soon. {Who was that posted that one comment that was like 'See you every three months.} Shit hurt cuz it's true. :}