“– really?”
That really hit … something, in Tanja’s mind. It made her feel both more nervous and more relaxed at the same time and the conflicting emotions felt a little like a full-body shiver. The implication was so huge but at the same time Vivian kept it close to her chest and Tanja didn’t want to think she’d misinterpreted.
So she asked.
“Like, they’re … they’re not really … human, either?”
And that was something else, too. It was the first time she’d referred to herself as something other than human. She wasn’t even sure if that was right, but she didn’t think she could be, well … if she wasn’t human she at least wasn’t a normal one.
But putting it like that also felt strange, felt - bad, but at the same time …
it was difficult to put into words.
There was a change in the air, something so noticeable that it gave Vivian pause. Uncertainty, excitement--it was hard to tell. She had never thought she was so in-tune with others emotions or energies, but there it was. Maybe, she briefly considered, maybe it was her own anxiety creeping in, making it hard to tell.
In either case, Vivian’s laugh came out quickly, higher pitched than usual. “Well, some?” Ahead of them, a few steps away, Glen walked. His head was turned slightly to the side and she knew he was listening. Would he bail her out and offer a better explanation?
“There are others like us, ones who are part of our pack--albeit not as many as we’d like. Then there are witches, who are human, just very talented ones.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “And then there are the ones who aren’t human, or no longer human. Like the vampires, the demons.”
As she let that sink in, Glen slowed his pace until he fell into step next to Vivian, height towering over her much shorter stature. “It’s a lot more common that you think. A lot of towns, cities usually, have at least some population.” His smile started slowly. “The world takes all kinds, good or bad.”
They’d probably lost Tanja somewhere already--scared her off, or either further confused her. Vivian fell silent, but Glen continued. “It helps to not think about it in terms of human, normal, abnormal, inhuman.” He balanced his hands momentary, like a scale. “We’re all just people. We all have to live in the world.”