The man curiously asked me what I can do. I told him that it is none of his business. He asked me why I wanted to hypnotize a federal agent. I told him that the psycho has been harassing me so I want her to stop chasing me. He asked me if I was Aurora. I said yes. His eyes grew wide and I had to snarl to wake him up. He looked at me with sadness saying that I chose to be 'one of them' to earn my freedom. Now those with supernatural abilities are following my example to be safe. I smiled, "Better than being strapped down and drugged. Or did they forget to mention that since it made the six o'clock news." He said that the mythical creatures don't fail to mention it with other sentence. He asked me, "What can you do that convinced the feds to chase after you?" I ignored his question and walked to the living room.
The little girl had her nose pressed against the fish tank and observed the many aquatic animals inside. Multi colored fishes attracted her attention till I told her it was time to leave. She gave me the 'please let me stay longer' look but I waved my hand to say it was late. She slumped her shoulder as her father took her away. I warned him of the trouble he is summoning if he or his daughter tells anyone that I am here. He smiled, "I will find out what you are on my own. I have serviced in the army longer enough to know that you are non-lethal despite your gifts. So your warning has other meanings." When he left I eavesdropped the conversation he had with his army buddy.
After an hour he came knocking on the door wanting to know the type of danger that would come if he opens his mouth. I told him that he will suffer so much that he will wish he is dead. He asked, "if anything happens to me, can you watch my daughter?" I reminded him that I am vampire so daylight is off limits. Find someone else to raise his kid. I closed the door and sat down to watch a movie. I saw a flyer from the circus and I decided that I want to know what is going on. It turns out the circus is made of pariahs. So they are hoping to get their hands on something that will help them gain a way in. This object is acquire through violence. They assumed my sleepy town had till we sounded the alarm. They are going to create bloodshed till they find this object.
I called Erik and he told me that there objects can nullify a pariah. One is called a timer. Not very original but still it is a device that helps people travel through time. The next is a blood chalice. The third is the hollow. He wouldn't go into detail. I told him about my vision and he told me that the hollow can only be activated by slitting the throat of a seer. The more power the seer the better the hollow works. I turned halfway and saw the on the mirror that my back was unblemished. I saw that the brand had disappeared. I screamed and Erik laughed. He said, "You chose neutral so the branding disappeared the moment Oskar threw the potion. Until you chose a side you can't be branded. In all of history all who said neutral eventually chose a side except one named Vanya" I thanked Erik as I heard a knock on the door.
I didn't open the door but I did tell him that I am not a fortune teller who spits out daily horoscope. There is no such thing as horoscope. Horoscope is a load of baloney. He started to laugh. His daughter asked, "What's baloney?" I grimaced, "Fake" the little girl asked if she could come in. I told her that it is daytime so I will burn to a crisp if I open the door. The man said, "Stay hidden as you open so you won't get hurt" I told him to go to his army buddy. He said that the man is paralyzed below the waist. He can't raise a kid let alone do anything. He asked nicely and I told him that I am going to sleep. It is vampire nighttime. He smiled, "Of course. Vampire timetable is the opposite. Daylight is sleep time while night time is party time." I asked him, "I have lived here for one year. Did you see me throw a party?" He said, "No. In fact you are the quietest neighbor I have ever had. You weren't kidding about be under the radar" I wished him goodnight and walked away.
The girl started to cry and I came to the door. I told her that I am incapable of raise her anymore than giving birth. I gave up a lot so that I can enjoy at least this much of freedom. The little girl begged to see my fishtank. I opened the door and pressed my fingers against the door. My fingers blistered immediately. The girl quickly ran inside and so did her father. I closed the door and screamed in pain. The little girl stood frozen in fear. Her father held on to her like I was going to attack them or something. I pretended that they didn't even exist as I walked to the freezer and pulled out a blood bag. I bite down hard and drank it till it was bone dry. Then I looked at my hand. It was as good as new. I turned around to see that the girl was smiling that I was healed. The man calmly said, "Like I said non-lethal"
I told them to leave as I could be assigned to go anywhere at a moment's notice. He said, "What do you mean assigned. Do you solve problems. I have no one left in the world. The women who approach me says I should ditch my daughter so we can have a life." I promised that he will find someone who love his daughter very much. He just needs to keep looking. He told me that he might be deployed again. So I told him to tell the military that he has a real world responsibility so he is leaving the army. People have done that in the past. If he is staying he prefers the army more than his daughter. He started to protest and I asked him to think about the words coming out of his mouth. I showed him my hand and told him that I can't take her to and from school. I can't even go for a parent teacher conference. In the end he called the army on his cellphone and told them that he is leaving the army because he is the only one left to take care of his daughter. He was given an earful but in the end they let him go.
The little girl ran to the tank and started to jump so she can have a better look. I picked her up and started to yawn. The man told me to go to sleep. I told him, "This is not your grandma's house. I go to sleep when you two leave the house. Who knows what shinanigan you will be up to. She is a kid. You are ex-military so you are a bigger problem than she is" he raised his hand and stood by the fishtank to watch the critters. She wanted the names of all the fishes. I told her that a few were clown fishes. There was a butterfly fish. A zebra fish and other names too. She asked if I gave them any names. I yawned and the little girl told her father that she wants to go home. She will come back when it is vampire daytime. The man concurred. When they left I searched the entire place in fifty seconds and found no bug.