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WARNING: Some portions of the following work of fiction contain explicit sex. If you are under 18 (or whatever age is appropriate for your location), HIT YOUR BACK BROWSER BUTTON NOW. If you find explicit sex offensive, please don't offend yourself by reading further.

The full disclaimer for this work of Vampire Hunter D fanfiction is at the beginning of Chapter 1.

Author: Charlotte MacFarlane
Email: duckey@ns.sympatico.ca
Feedback: Please, yes, lots.
Forward to others: would be flattered if you did.
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Of the Heart

Chapter 2 Dream Waking

D sat bolt upright, throwing Kale from her sleeping position across his chest. To say the least, it woke her up. "D? You ok?" She held him across his shoulders, her support and worry in her very tough.

"Fine," he said, "just a bad dream."

"You've had a lot of those lately," she said, pulling bits of grass from his hair she could see in the dawning light. "Anything you want to talk about?"

He gently squeezed her hands as he turned to her. The dream image of her ridding away flashed in his mind's eye. The thought of that dream coming true killed him. "No," he sighed, and kissed her, asking with his lips to love him always.

She returned his passion 100 fold, and traced her fingers along his jaw and around his slightly pointed ears. Oh how that gentle touch send shivers down his spine, arousing him fully as it went. Hungrier his kiss became, his breath quick as he caressed her soft breast. How he missed touching her, the feel of her breath across his ear, the tough of her skin on his, the sensations of being with her and inside her.

She began first to unbutton his belts. His breath quickened as she slid her hands beneath his trousers, and over his buttocks.

"Excuse us?" called a man's voice.

D & Kale both snapped around to face the intruder. They were both so centered on each other, and use to not seeing anyone for the two months they were traveling, they'd let their guard down. D will have to correct that in the future. "Oh hon, leave 'em alone," said a woman, limping up behind the man. "Can't you see you've interrupted something? You big lug head." She playfully slapped at his arm, then returned to leaning on her make shift crutch.

"Who are you?" asked D urgently. "What do you want?"

"Hey easy buddy, we just saw your fire. Thought you could give us a hand."

Kale put her hand on D's arm to calm him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Well," said the man, pointing to the woman beside him. "She broke her leg, and I've no idea how to reset a bone. Do you?" D nodded and pointed to where the woman could sit down.

Once out of the shade of the trees, Kale could make out what this unlikely pair looked like. The man stood about six feet tall, about half a head shorter than D, he hand an oval face with a chiseled chin and nose, his eyes were brown, almost red, and is hair was a deep red, like the fall leaves of a red maple tree. His bangs however were short making his head look like a puffball with a long thick rope of red hair reaching to his knees. He tied it at intervals down its length with bands; a colored stone tied on for the clasp if a proper button was unavailable.

He wore a long tan coat over a green tunic and dark tan pants. A pair of dark brown boots adorned his almost size 13 feet. His coat was held closed by a thick belt tied at the front, a sheath for a wide broad sword hung from his hip on the right side. She was surprised he could carry such a weapon. It was the largest she'd ever seen, and he didn't look like he was all that well built, but then again that could just be a trick of the light and the bulkiness of his coat.

The woman was slim, her brown hair was just passed her shoulders with tamely trimmed bangs, though they had grown to about her cheekbones. She had soft brown eyes, though they seemed like daggers when she looked at her companion. She had a round modestly pretty face, with a small rather delicately pointed nose, and light pink lips. She wore a short tan dress, one piece, over which she wore a long brown coat, held closed with a slender black leather belt, and black boots. She wore her hair loose and tossed it back often while she settled, so that D could examine her leg.

Kale picked up a few long strong sticks and took out one of her old cotton shirts, torn and now used for rags. "This is going to hurt," said D, as he prepared to reset the woman's leg. She nodded. D pulled sharply, heard and felt the bone within slide back into place. Kale had to turn away for a moment. She'd only broken one bone in her life, her baby toe. Although it was in no way a dire circumstance, it hurt like hell. But she lived, and so will this woman.

Her old shirt torn into strips, D tied them around the woman's leg, securing the sticks to hold her leg straight. "There," sighed D, "Six weeks take off the sticks. But use the crutch for another two to three weeks."

"Thanks," said the man.

"Where's your horse?"

"Old lunk head here, left him attached to the wagon we jumped from last night," complained the woman, once she regained her composure.

"Yha, to keep the wagon from going over the cliff!"

"Dummy! We're moving! We can replace all that, but we need the horse!" "D, go with him, take Max, and see what you can do." Kale had to say something. She didn't want to get in the middle of this couple's dispute.

D nodded in agreement and went to ready the horses.



It was nearing midday when the woman woke up. "Oh," she sighed, as she slowly turned over.

"What was in that tea?"

"Special herbs for pain, and some to help you sleep," Kale replied, poking the fire and adding more sticks.

"Oh. Whoa!"

"Its best you stay lying down."

"I see pretty colors."

"That's a side effect. Not to worry it will pass."

"Hope so. My skin looks purple."

"You and...uh...Lunk Head..."

"Lunk is his name."

"Really?"

"Yha, said his mother was pretty out of it when he was born. I would be to if my kid were as ugly as him."

"You don't seem to like him much."

"Na. I love him, but that doesn't mean I like him."

"If you don't mind me asking," she handed the woman a cup of coffee, brewed form some left overs she'd found in Nightmare, some days ago. "Why are you together?"

"'Cause he's got big feet," said the woman nonchalantly.

"Big feet?" she asked taking a long sip of the brew.

"Yha, you know, the bigger the feet, the bigger the dick."

Shocked, Kale began choking on her coffee. She hadn't heard that. Not even when she was young. "You ok?" the woman asked as Kale's color faded from red to normal.

"Yha..." she stammered, "Just went down the wrong way. Ah hem."

"Seriously though. Your...D is it?" Kale nodded. "D's gotta be big. He's got some monster feet."

"No comment."

"Oh come on. It's just us girls. Guys talk about us when we're not around. They expect us to do the same. But still. First time with Lunk, I thought he was gonna split me in two." "Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure, if you're embarrassed about talking about other men. What about D? Does he make you scream?"

"That's not what I meant by something else." Just then, the sound of horses & a wagon came to her ears. 'D's back, thank got.' She poured some hot water into his cup, and dropped in a teabag.

"Well it sure took you long enough!" shouted the woman, as she saw Lunk waving madly from the driver's seat, pointing to the horse and cart to show he'd made it through. "Yha, yha, big man. Get your sorry ass over here & help me!"

"Your carriage awaits, my lovely," chimed Lunk, rather properly.

"Oh, cut the mushy stuff," said the woman. "OWE!! Watch my leg!"

"Sorry sweets," Lunk lowered the girl into the back of the wagon, then gathered the reins as he got back in the driver's seat. "Like I said. She loves me. Thanks for your help. See ya."

Kale watched the strange pair leave, then removing the teabag, handed the cup to D. "Never want to see them again," she said.

"We will. They're trouble," said D, taking a sip of the welcome hot brew. He quickly shot Kale a surprised look. The tea was his favorite. Strawberry.

"I know how to take care of you," she smiled. "Why do you say they're trouble?"

"Nothing in the wagon belongs to them. Most likely stolen, the horse too. If you hadn't been so insistent about Nightmare's and Max's security programming, they might have taken them too."

"So her breaking her leg...?"

"The break was real, though I question the how."

"Well, we'll just watch out for them. I take it they aren't heading south?"

"He couldn't find north if you paid him. She's likely no better." D sipped at his tea more, relishing in the taste. It was sweet of Kale to find the teabag. She always knew how to loosen him up to talk. Strawberry tea was his downfall. But not this time. "What were you & Caitlin talking about?"

"Caitlin? So that's her name."

"Lunk wouldn't shut up about her."

"Neither would she of him. You wouldn't believe what she said."

"Try me."

"She said she loved him because of his big feet."

"Oh."

"So you've heard of that."

"Sure. You didn't?"

"No!"

"Then I guess you never heard the reverse."

"Oh? I know I'm gonna regret this."

"The smaller the breasts, the tighter the..."

"I get the idea," she sat down next to D, and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I guess worse things could have survived."

"Lets get moving. I saw smoke from chimneys about three valleys away. We should reach there by this evening."

"I'll have to sell some of my silver. We need supplies. But I don't think I'll get much for them. They're small and raw."

"We'll make due Kale, we always have."