BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

The alarm clock chirped its nearly intolerable sound, rudely interrupting Levis nap; coaxing his groggy body to awaken from its few hours of slumber. Levi had a tendency not to sleep well, often working from early mornings and late nights to afford his father’s insatiable love of alcohol; it was a miracle he could get a few hours of sleep at all.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

He slammed his hand above the alarm; bring the clock to an instantaneous silence. He took a brief moment to lie in bed, staring at the ceiling as he body transitioned between sleep and consciousness; checking his phone for any alerts he may have slept though.

Hey we just took count and we r missing a bottle of gin from the bar, did u have something 2 do with that? – The text from AJ read.

Levi let out a tired sigh – too early for this, he thought, simply ignoring the message as he locked his phone.

By his own time, Levi paced his way to his feet; landing his soles delicately on the floor in vain attempts to alleviate bruising pain, sitting in an upward position until he mustered up enough energy to get ready for work.

Levi made his way toward the bathroom, stumbling over a few broken glass bottles and empty beer cans that had been emptied and thrown the previous night. He took a deep breath, treading lightly on his feet as the glass crunched with each pressure filled step, before opening the squeaky bathroom door that was falling off its rusty hinges.

He started to fill up the bath with cold water, undressing his self to see what new bruises had surfaced from the night prior. It seemed the older he got, the less he seemed to remember of the abuse that had unfolded; he was unable to tell if it were that he was getting used to it, or he simply didn't want to remember.

Once the bathtub had been filled, he dipped his feet in one at a time; taking a moment to pick the broken glass out of his heels before soothing them in the icy water below. Once both of his feet were firmly planted inside the bathtub, he lowered the rest of his nude body into the freezing water; lying still in the icy water, allowing the warm sunlight from the window to rest upon his skin which was a pleasant contrast of warm and cold.

Everybody hates Mondays.

Nefertari groaned as she felt the first rays of sun pierce through the curtains, and rolled over, tugging the blankets up a bit. She realized that, one, these were not her blankets, and two, this was not her room. She rolled back over and saw the mess that was Az and a whole lot of plastic wrap and silently cursed. The angel still had her jeans on, so at least that was that. ”Right… we both got a little randy last night. Not that I’m complaining, but Az doesn’t have my blackout curtains.”

Her train of thought was cut off by her cellphone buzzing rather loudly from the other room. “Shit!” She swore loudly, as she tried to get out of angel’s bed. There was little success in this endeavor however, as she was tangled up in the sheets and promptly tripped out of bed and crashed face first into the floor.

A voice piped up from the bed, barely moving at the cacophonous noise of Nefertari wrecking the place. “I got two and a half hours sleep last night,” Azrael said, grumbling. “If you’re gonna die, die quietly.”

“You and I both know it takes a lot more than me hitting my pretty mug on this floor to kill me,” Neffy said, and looked at the half-awake angel. “Besides, you know as well as I do you have work today. Especially if I’ve got work,” she added, and tossed a pillow at the angel. “This is your fault anyways. You know I can’t say no to your pretty face. Though I gotta ask, what got you so worked up?” She pulled herself up and sat on the edge of the bed.

Azrael laughed, muffled by the pillow, but it rang a little false. “Can’t a girl enjoy a fling with a friend without the Twenty Questions afterwards?” She probably wasn’t going to get any more out of her.

“Just curious,” Neffy said with a shrug. She pulled one of the stray pieces of plastic wrap from under one of the pillows and put it over the angel’s forehead and gave her a kiss there. “I’m gonna go shower,” she said and headed to the bathroom.

Azrael called after her, “Sorry if you got any burns!”

“All part of the fun,” she called back and giggled. Once in the bathroom she closed the door and locked it, and went to examine the damage. A few small burns on her feet, one on her hand, and on her right breast. Not too bad all in all. Besides, she knew a demon who owed her favors, and healing was easy. The one on her hand would be the hardest to cover, but that is why makeup was invented. She stepped into the shower and turned it on and screamed.

“WHO USED THE HOT WATER!?” She cursed silently. This house was a problem, but it was the best the three could afford, especially given Az’s nature with money. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel and went to head to her room to get dressed. She heard the distinct flutter of feathers, followed by the click of the old bathroom lock and realized Az had claimed the bathroom. She shrugged. She didn’t need it anymore. She threw on a pair of black jeans, a white and black striped shirt, and a pair of knee high black boots, and sighed. She looked at the mirror that sat pointlessly on her dresser and groaned.

”I’ll just ask Az or Morgan to make sure I didn’t miss anything while I was in the shower. My hair should be fine.” She thought to herself as she pulled out some cover-up. She looked at her left hand and started applying the makeup to the burn. It stung a little, but small price to pay. She grabbed her cell and looked at the messages and frowned. “Lovely…” She pulled out the bottle of sunscreen she had and walked into the hall.

“Hey pretty lady, could you help me? Turns out I gotta go in this morning. Old Mrs. Jenkins has shuffled off and needs to look nice for tomorrow,” she said, knocking on the bathroom door.

A faint muttering could be heard from behind the door, something along the lines of, “Why can’t I be a goddamn demon so I don’t have to freeze to death every time I go for a goddamn shower–” But it quickly cut off. Azrael opened the door, jeans pulled on and a towel wrapped around her torso. “What’s up?”

Neffy had to snerk at the angel’s language. “Do you get dinged every time you take His name in vain?” Azrael raised an eyebrow. Realizing she wasn’t winning any points, she coughed. “I gotta go into work. Can you make sure I get this stupid stuff on me? I don’t want to smell like toasted marshmallows… again.”

“Burnt flesh doesn’t smell like toasted marshmallows, but, yeah, alright. Just a sec, darlin’,” she said, before the door shut again. There was some rummaging around in the medicine cabinet that somehow housed all three of their toiletries and a curse before Azrael reappeared, this time with a slightly sodden shirt on and plastic gloves – the type found in the boxes of blonde hair dye that the angel used.

“Thanks Az, you’re a dear,” Neffy said and handed the bottle to the angel. “Just the face please. I swear, I don’t know how anyone does this without being able to see their face,” she said and sighed. She could get mostly everywhere else, but there had been a few mornings that some of the humans at the morgue had laughed, because Nefertari had shown up with white smears on her face. Stupid sunscreen. Stupid sun. Stupid vampirism.

The plastic gloves barely prevented the burn of having something so holy and pure next to her skin as Azrael did a haphazard job of applying the sunscreen, though admittedly better than the vampire would have done. “There. Happy now?”

“Very. Thanks dear. I swear if one more intern laughed at me, I’d make a snack out of them.” She realized the look she got from Az and sighed. “I wouldn’t really make a snack out them. Promise. Only pre-packs. Speaking of, I should be bringing more home tonight,” she said.

“Sure. Just make sure there’s still room in the fridge for my OJ. I’m not fond of O-Neg.” Azrael snickered to herself, then rolled her eyes, then flashed back into her room, presumably in shame because of the terrible joke.

“She must have been spending time with Clariel. That was terrible,” Neffy said and sighed. She headed back to her bedroom and put the sunscreen on the remaining uncovered parts of her body and then picked up her purse.

“I’ll see you two later! Gotta go make someone pretty!” Neffy said.

“Pick up a girl when you’re out. A living one. God knows you need it!”

“Please. I got two lovely ladies here. Why would I need another?” Neffy laughed as she headed out the door. She rolled her eyes as she went to go catch the bus to work. She didn’t need a girl, or, did she?

As the first twitters of the fall birds rang through Clariel’s open master bedroom window, they silently fumed. Happy twittering was not their style. They grumbled and went to roll over, and bumped into another figure in the bed. Clariel was about to scream for one of their housemates, when they remembered the night before.

”Right, tourists. Man did she taste good. Pretty sure she’d never been with a woman before.” Clariel smiled and then nudged the tourist with their foot. “Wake up.”

“Good morning,” the human said and went to snuggle up to Clariel, who shoved her away.

“Woah woah. I don’t care what we did last night, but I do not snuggle,” Clariel said, and dug around in their nightstand. They soon found what they had been looking for and pulled out a cig, and lit it. The smell of tobacco filled the room as Clariel took a long drag.

“But… I thought…”

“Look peach, you were great, but I don’t do romance. I don’t do snuggling. You’re lucky I didn’t kick you out last night.” Clariel took a long drag and blew the smoke right into the tourists face. “Now, get your clothing and get the hell out of my house,” they said and glared at the human. Predictably, the woman burst into tears, gathered up her clothing and ran out crying. Clariel smirked and pulled out a small journal. They opened to a premarked page and made another tally mark.

“That makes twenty-five in the past month or so. Nice.” They put the notebook back into their nightstand and leaned up against the headboard, taking another long drag. They pulled out their phone and looked at the messages. Something about gin missing from work, several texts from various one night stands begging for a second chance. Clariel nearly dropped the phone as it buzzed, indicating another text had came in. It was from Nefertari.

“C- Need some Healing. Will drop by ur work after done w/ body. -N”

“Ugh. She must have been bumping uglies with Az again. Eh whatever.” Clariel started typing back. “Yah, sure. Whatevs. When you gonna find someone that doesn’t burn?” The smirk reemerged as they typed the message.

“When you stop picking up tourists.” Clariel frowned. Well no way in hell was that going to happen. They took another long drag and realized that there was no more cig. Clariel got up and stretched, letting their wings pop out for a moment. The smell of brimstone filled the room as their wings flapped, happy to be out, even for a minute. A groan and a grunt escaped Clariels’ lips and then they headed to the master bathroom.

One long bath later, they emerged from the bathroom and headed to the closet to pick out an outfit. They were working later, covering for some bartender that night. Those were the best nights. So easy to hit on every drunk girl that thought they could flirt for free drinks. After debating for a moment, the outfit of the day was a loose red button up shirt with the long sleeves rolled up, and long ripped jeans. They ran their hands through their hair, ruffling it up a bit. Clariel looked at themself in the mirror and grinned. “Perfect.” Clariel shoved their walled in one back pocket and their cell phone in the other and went to head out.

“Going to get some breakfast and then headed to work. See y’all later! Au Revoir!” Clariel said as they headed out the door and went to walk to Cafe Le Beignet, to get some sweet pastries.

|M O R G A N|
3032 Jean-Luc Boulevard

Morgan was never a morning person. Sleep was her blessed place, sleep was where she rested her weary mind and hide away from the things beyond her fortress walls. But sometimes sleep could be a living Hell. Images would play behind her eyelids, visions of the future and memories of the past, haunting her like stubborn ghosts. And when the blood would seep into the river, or when the cries of her mother began to fade she would bolt up, gasping for air and rubbing at her eyes with clenched fists. This morning was a particularly harsh one, as Morgan was subjected too view an unfamiliar, gruesome scene. A scene from the future.

Someone, Morgan couldn't decipher if it was herself or a complete stranger, was standing behind shrubbery, an unknown, tall bush that framed their vision with leaves and branches. It was dark, probably night time, and the only source of light came from a yard, sensor-activated light that was attached to a large pink house. Familiar, fiery red hair blew wildly in the autumn wind as a pale, blood-covered person stood delicately in front of a rose bush. Morgan watched from an undetermined place as the person ran their hands across the white rose petals, painting the once pure flowers a scratchy red, and Morgan could have sworn she saw a glint of white fangs before wild green eyes turned to meet her own. The person's face was beautiful, scarily so, and that was all she remembered of it. Any names and creatures escaped her, and only fear filled her mind.

no no don't come here please dont see me im not here im-!

The scene faded as she shot up from her pillow, being quickly replaced by her usual, cluttered room. Sunlight poured in from the window just to her left, filtering through her messy hair and dappling her dark skin with curling, heat-less patterns. She focused on calming her breathing, mouth parted and wavering as air shifted in and out of her throat, and eventually her lungs and chest stopped heaving and she felt calm enough to glance around at her familiar surroundings, finding additional comfort in the trinkets and books and blankets that covered her walls and floors. The final piece of comfort came to her as a soft caw, and she glanced up at her window again, smiling lightly as a crow tapped against the glass, eyes glittering with worry.

Morgan rose two shakey hands to unlatch the window, opening it just enough for Qrow to enter the room, and once inside he quickly made his way to his favorite perch on top of her bookshelf. He stared down at her silently, head cocked, and then let his head bob down. The bird was asleep within moments after that. Morgan smiled lightly at the pet, finally feeling as though her heart was done beating so painfully. She was safe within these walls, protected by her charms and her crow and her friends. They would be alright now. Morgan sucked in one last breath, hands rising to pull her unmanageable curls from her face, and turned slightly to glance at the old clock positioned just next to her futon.

"... Pretty early, huh?" She muttered, curling her afro into a tight ponytail before scooting herself off the futon and onto the wooden floor, ending up in a kneeling position beside her dresser. She opened the second drawer and carelessly pulled a random outfit from its messy depths, eyes focusing on the mirror just a bit further to her right. Once her clothes were promptly thrown to the floor, she turned to open her dream journal, where she scribbled a messy description of her vision down onto the faintly lined paper. It was her usual routine, though she rarely started so early in the morning, seeing as the shop usually opened at around one. Morgan chuckled lightly as she realized she rarely got to work on time despite the late starting hours, and with a final scoff at her laziness she rose up and stripped off whatever sleepwear she had on from the night before. The clothes she had picked were simple and comfortable, a flowing, white blouse and dark jeans. The shirt might be just a bit too light for the coming fall chills, but Morgan seemed to have forgotten about that fact already, and was instead already half way out of her room.

From all the annoyed cries she heard from the bathroom, Morgan was quick to assume that they had no hot water (again), and she leaned half in her room half in the hall as her two roommates fluttered around the narrow house hurriedly. Listening slightly into the conversation, Morgan picked up on Neffy's need to rush to work, and just as she firmly shut her door behind her she caught wind of the Vampire's farewell.

"See ya, Nef!" Morgan called towards the front of the house, and before she was able to catch sight of Az she slipped into the bathroom and shut the door, staring defiantly at her reflection in the mirror. They looked dead tired, but that was mostly usual, and with no inspiration on what to do with her face Morgan simply splayed on some foundation and eyeliner. That would be enough to hide her baggy eyes and dull expression, and after a few more moments of prepping herself for the day she returned to the hallway, wandering out towards the kitchen. Azrael was the first thing that caught her attention, and then she found her eyes drawn to her usual tote bag that was hanging delicately on the edge of a chair. She rushed forward to gather the contents before they clattered against the floor, a took a silent moment to adjust the bag on the chair before grinning lazily at her roommate, dark eyes twinkling,

"Morning, Azzy, you and Neffy sleep well?" She asked mischievously as she reached for the fridge, peering at the contents within with dreamy eyes, "only four eggs, huh. Want an omelet?"

Somehow AJ had left the blinds open last night. Now, that had backfired as the sunlight shown through, right into her eyes. Somewhat blinded, she would roll over and place a pillow over head to block the oncoming light. Then, as soon as she knew it a shrill beeping sound came from the the other room. Gale's stupid alarm clock, yet again, she thought. With a groan, she would shove the covers to the side of the bed and lay motionless for a rough 3 minutes, getting used to the light. Rolling over, her morning appearance a mess, she would check her phone for new Facebook notifications and texts. Responding to the ones that currently caught her interest, she would find herself getting up, brushing her hair and grabbing a armful of clothes. Opening her bedroom door, she would head to the bathroom down the hall. Starting up the water, she would undress herself with a sigh before getting into the tub.

A full 15 minutes is what she took, coming out and wrapping a towel around herself before brushing her teeth while the bathroom was steamy from the heat of the water. Getting dressed, she would towel dry her hair until it was half-way dry. Brushing it, she would allow it to do it's own thing for today. Opening up the bathroom door and strolling down the hall-way, her feet bare, she would come upon her room, giving no second thought to not seeing Cas or Gale. She smiled, Cas. Now that was a long story. The two had meet, he had offered her a place to stay, and, over time, she had come to develop a crush on the dark haired, blue eyed man. Huskers not opening until later, she would find herself making her bed, then flopping down onto it as she picked up her favorite book, The City of Heavenly Fire, as she turned on the morning news for no apparent reason.

Grabbing her phone, she would turn on one of her favorite songs: September by Daughtry. Getting lost in the rhythm she would begin to read, the noise of the news fading into the back ground. Realizing that at least a good 30 minutes had passed, Alva would get up and walk down the stairs, earbuds in her ears now, the song changing every so often. Personal Jesus by Marylin Manson was currently playing in her ears: Take second best
Put me to the test
Things on your chest
You need to confess
I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver..." Some would argue that the original by Depeche Mode had better vocals, but in all reality the better beat-in her opinion- by Manson was the best choice. Walking into the kitchen she would open up the fridge to find... nothing of interest really. Rolling her eyes and realizing that she really needed to go to the Supermarket, she would find herself settling for a bowl of Cap n' Crunch.



Last night had at Club Plasma had been interesting, to say the least bit. Interesting conversations, dancing, bright lights and then the clock had struck midnight. Needless to say, the bloodlust was uncontrollable. Everyone thought that Feeding Frenzy was just some stupid PC game, think again. Anyways, she had feed and being a vampire, Lil couldn't exactly sleep. So what to do, you ask? Coming into the house at approximately 3 am this morning, she would find that she would slip into one of her favorite gorgeous, black, floor length dresses. Brushing her hair and fixing her make-up, she would sigh with almost nothing else to do.

Next thing you knew, it was daylight. Seeing the sunrise through the blinds in the living room, she would let out somewhat of a hiss before moving ever so quickly into her room. Some might think it was weird, but the bedroom tended to be the safest place for Lilith. Having thick, dark blankets over the only two windows, the sun couldn't reach her hear. With a sigh, she would think of all the other creatures getting up and doing their morning routines. Yes, being a vampire had it's perks, but sometimes, Lilith wasn't all that sure if it was the best choice.

Bee woke up with a yawn. He tossed and turned in his bed, but the sun was peering in through his window. He gt up and stretched, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. He looked around his messy bed room and yawned again. There were cloths from last night thrown across the floor, shoes everywhere. Different band and music posters hung from the walls, his dresser was next to his bed along with his night stand on the other side. He hand a closet with sliding doors and his desk is in the corner. If you were to step into Bee's room it would look like a teenager lived here. He got up and walked out of his room while he scratched his stomach. Bee enjoyed getting ready for his day, he liked taking a shower and eating breakfast while he watched some kind of kids TV show, Tom and Jerry is his favorite.

Bee had just stepped out of the shower and put on a pair of joggers and a T-shirt. He made his way down stairs and made himself a bowl of cereal. The demon did not eat much, its not like he could not cook, he just liked milk, and cereal went best with it aside from cookies. The TV was already on and he was just watching the news. Bee lived in a small little town house, two bedrooms and two bath, he liked it here because it was roomy and comfortable. Bee needed to go shopping so he got some shoes on left out the door for the market place.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Bee took his time getting to the marketplace. He walked half the way just enjoying the town with a stupid smile on his face. He teleported the rest of the way. This was one of his top three spots in the entire city. It had people all around, living and going on about their business, life was abundant here and it ran through the air like electricity. He walked up to a few tables selling fruits and vegetables others selling meats, and some selling grain and baked goods. Still not sure on what to buy Bee decided he had time to burn, his shift did not start until tonight.

Melanie West
1365 South Tara Road

Feeling the early morning sunlight hitting her Melanie groaned softly as she rolled over onto her side facing away from the window, it was a rather last night at Huskers and she didn't get home until one in the morning. She spent the next thirty minutes just laying in her nice comfortable bed, wishing she would stay there the whole entire day, she was really happy that today was her actual day off. After having a hard time returning to sleep Melanie slowly got out of her bed looking outside the window seeing that it was a nice fall morning, Melanie grabbed her phone and slowly walked out of her bedroom and headed into the bathroom. The young woman grabbed a towel hanging it over a small rack as she started to turn on the shower, waiting a few minutes as the water started to warm up. Turning on her phone Melanie selected a random song, The Sound of Winter by Bush started to play.

Spending the next twenty five minutes in the shower finding that she was clean enough Melanie walked out of the shower wrapping the towel around her body. She headed out of the bathroom and back into her bedroom searching for what she would like to wear. Choosing a black leather jacket, a grey tshirt, as well as a pair of black skinny jeans as well as a pair of fingerless gloves. She also slipped on a pair of black leather boots.After Mel had changed she headed into her kitchen, wanting to get something to eat for breakfast. "Damn it I need to do some shopping." Melanie muttered to herself seeing that there was literally nothing in her fridge.

Melanie grabbed her car keys as well as her wallet, near the curb of the street was a black and red mustang there. Melanie unlocked her car pulling herself inside, she decided to get something to eat first feeling her stomach starting to growl Mel drove down towards Main Street wanting to get something from Cafe Le Beignet.

What a fantastic night, thought Eleanor as she examined herself in the mirror. She'd just stepped out of the shower after having scrubbed a copious amount of human blood off of herself and down the drain; yes, last night had certainly been fantastic. She hadn't gotten any sleep, but of course, that was how she thought things should be. Even if it weren't, Club Plasma was such a hip place to be that she wouldn't miss it for some stupid sleep. She would sleep while the sun was out, or she could party and feed in a nice dark place. She looked down at her naked, pale belly and wondered if all this blood- she was a very well-fed vampire- would make that attractive fat tummy fill out more than she wanted it to.

Nah.

If it did, she had more than enough for liposuction, anyway. Plus, she was in her prime! She wouldn't have to worry about getting fat for, oh, another century.

Out of the oversized bathroom she went after deciding that her complexion was perfect for the moment. From there it was straight into a wardrobe so large a child could get lost in it. Once again, it was the usual problem: What to wear, what to wear? Eleanor frowned while she peeked through her ridiculous collection of clothes and eventually decided on a formal black dress. She slipped on a wide-brimmed hat to protect her face, and then slathered on a ridiculous amount of sunscreen, wrinkling her nose. She would be heading out this morning. Before the sun was too high. Not that it would hurt her much anyway, with the amount of 70 SPF she'd just rubbed on. The smell of it threatened to choke her.

Time to make the rounds and patrol the poorer parts.

---

---

Maryanne rolled over in her bed as the sun made it's presence felt against the side of her cheek early this morning. She groaned with a soft sigh then eyed her clock as it was still early in the morning. 'Mondays.' She thought to herself while removing the covers from over her body then slipped out of bed as she went into her bathroom and ran her some bath water, adding the scent of Cinnamon to the water. Maryanne relaxed in herself within the tub for about ten minutes, bathed then finally got out and wrapped a towel around her frame. While also in the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and washed her face the walked back into her room, where she stood in front of her closet, tapping her chin with her index finger, wondering what she was going to wear that day.

With the shrug of her shoulders, she pulled out a black dress that made her look slim, which she was and hung to her body like a shield. She reviewed herself over in the mirror while wearing the dress then gave a nod of approval. She sat down in front of her vanity mirror then applied a small amount of makeup upon her face. Eye shadow, mascara and pinkish red lipstick was all she needed though added a hint of blush on each cheek. When all of that was done, she got up and placed a small black sweater over her then placed black heels upon her feet. Maryanne grabbed her cell phone then headed out of her room and down the stairs.

Her nose wrinkled at the aroma that was coming from the kitchen and saw her fellow witch comrade, April, making breakfast. "Wow. Look at you being a good little witch." She said with a slight smile then watched as April only made breakfast for herself. Maryanne eyed her with disgust then turned heel to proceed her trek on walking out of the house. "Hey, I am going to be at my shop till tonight. At least clean the place a bit, will you?" Maryanne asked nicely as April did nothing but wave her hand at her. She huffed towards the little girl, not knowing what she is capable of. "Look you little witch, you either do what I say or I feed you to the wolves. Try me." Maryanne snapped then turned around and officially walked out of the house and got into her 2013 BMW convertible, which was a blue color.

She started the engine and revved it a few times before pulling out of her driveway and making her way towards her shop. When pulling into the parking lot, she got out and locked her vehicle with the simple click of a button then proceeded into her shop, smiling. "Hey, Dianna." Dianna was another witch that was in her Coven and she adored the sweet little blonde headed girl. Maryanne smiled while stepping behind the counter, waving at a few guests. "Hey there, Mrs. Maryanne. How are you?" Maryanne sighed at her question. "April problems. But I am here." Dianna shook her head and stepped on the other side of the counter now. "She needs to be sacrificed." Dianna muttered then opened her eyes widely towards Maryanne.

"Sorry." Dianna spoke softly while lowering her head. "It's okay. Why don't you go and stock the areas and I'll handle the register." Maryanne smiled while walking over towards the door and turning the closed sign to say open as she stood there for a few moments with her arms folded over her chest, wondering what kind of customers were they going to get today. More non-believers or much more believers. It didn't matter to her as long as she made her budget for the month.

Before he knew it, Levi was wrapped in a towel and making his way back to his room to get dressed; steering clear of the broken glass scattered about the floor. Levi had always been confused about his work hours; nobody even goes to the bar in the morning, why so early? Regardless, he needed the money for his own wellbeing so he wasn’t going to complain.

He slid into his underwear, pulled his pants up and fully buttoned his semi-formal shirt before putting on his black vest and matching bowtie. The work attire seemed a bit much for an informal restaurant , however he was thankful for the body coverage, meaning less makeup would be required to cover his bruises. To complete the look, he slipped into a pair of black loafers which crunched upon contact with the broken bottles residing in the hallway.

He made his way back to the bathroom, slapping out a liquid concealer and applying it to the purplish-blue bruises his face had displayed. Once the spots were hardly noticeable, he brushed his pearly white teeth and combed his hair back; feeling suave and clean.
Although the dress-code was over-the-top, it helped maintain the single shred of self-esteem that Levi had left; to him, it was the only way he could feel significant, mainly because the gaudy work-garb was the only nice item he possessed.

Once Levi was done emotionally affirming himself in the mirror, he began his trek downstairs. The typical smell of alcohol and TV dinners accompanied by loud, hung-over snores of his resting father filled the room. He had left the old television set on all night, playing repeats of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune; two of Marcus’s favorite shows.

Levi made his way to the kitchen, being as quiet as a mouse as he opened the honey-oak cupboards that were horribly outdated. Unsuprised, Levi found no food in the cabinets, meaning that his father had sold all their food stamps for alcohol, again. With the odds against him, it seems that Levi would have to go hungry or whip up something at work, to be deducted from his paycheck. He let out a deep sigh, grabbing the nearly empty box of Cheez-Its and eating a few for breakfast.

Levi had a feeling; it was going to be a long week.

Soaking in a bathtub full of Lukewarm water while coated in blood wasn't what one would call, well, "hygienic", but after the night Luce had he couldn't find it in his tiny heart to care! His pale skin melded with the red tinged water, and as he scrubbed at the caked on blood with his knuckles Luce thought of the kill that had made him so messy. A grin had already began to claim his refreshed face again, fangs poking against his lightly smeared lips. The kill had been made just an hour or two before, on his usual walk home from the club. The boy had been young, perhaps just twenty or so, and he had the most gorgeous blue eyes. Like the ocean, so deep and blue, and they swirled nervously when Luce caught sight of them. He locked their eyes instantly, feeling his tongue tingle with excitement, and as soon as the boy froze mid-step Luce rushed forward, gripping the boy's arm tightly as he prolonged their gaze,

"Oh my, you seem a bit tired boy, maybe you should relax. I'll hold onto you~" Luce had remembered saying, and the boy's blue eyes drooped slightly, his mouth a gap and lost for words. Dragging the half-sleeping body over to a spot where he wouldn't have been seen was a bit harder then he had expected, but ultimately worth it. The spot Luce had chosen couldn't have been anymore, well, romantic. It was a clearing, hidden away by dying, summer-flower bushes and tall trees. Though the sidewalk was a mere hop away, Luce didn't have the strength to drag the boy any further. So, he positioned the boy to stand a bit straighter, tilting his head upwards as he licked his lips. Blinking once cut off the slight use of persuasion Luce had used, and the boy's eyes fluttered awake. Luce always like to see the true nature in his prey's eyes, seeing their fear or lust was somehow more delicious then the actual blood flowing through their veins! Besides, he wasn't exactly skilled with his powers, and even the smallest amount of use left him somewhat drained.

"Where, what? Who are-" Luce quickly filled in the boy's words with a kiss, holding him tightly despite the hands that pushed against his chest. Eventually, the boy's fighting subsided and he slightly began to return the gesture. His rough hands turned playful against Luce's body, and a smile curled at his lips between the kiss. His hand had drifted up the boy's spin, nails stroking his neck gently, and he pulled his lips away slightly, peering into the boy's unfathomable blue eyes,

"Maybe I'll keep you..." He had whispered, but at the sight of the boy's throat he couldn't help but lunge, plunging sharp fangs right into an artery. The boy froze, his body stiffening in shock, and then he fell limp in Luce's embrace. And Luce sucked him dry.

Luce blinked as the memory faded, and he found himself staring down at his willowy hands. The fake nails he had applied only a day before had already been broken from struggling to drag the body back home, and he was left with horrible looking fingers. How ugly. He'd have to fix them later tonight. Luce, after inspecting his body for any remaining gore, eventually stood up from the tub and wrapped his hips with a towel. A dull-eyed maid was waiting just outside the door, and he quietly told her to clean the tub and any other grimy thing in the bathroom before drifting noiselessly back to his room. The curtains had been drawn to keep out the morning light, and the room was just cool and dark enough to make Luce feel a bit sleepy. He sat down gently on the edge of his bed, running a hand through his wet hair before whistling towards his open door. A dull-eyed maid entered after a moment.

"We'll be having a lovely, bloody party tonight at Club Plasma, darling. I'll need you and some others to pass out invites and such. You should know the drill by now~!" He whispered softly to the maid, who merely hummed in reply. After a moment, she straightened her back, nodded, and went off to write the invites and tell the other workers. Luce fell back onto his bed once she had shut the door, and stared up at his canopy, eyelids fluttering as grogginess claimed his mind. Eventually, he found himself succumbed to darkness, breathing softly. Luce was dead asleep within ten minutes.

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"98, 99 and 100." Could be heard throughout the home of Jackson Jones, who was up earlier than usual, exercising his body. This was his daily routine and this was what kept him in shape and healthy. After a few more minutes of exercising, he went over to his bathroom and ran the shower then stripped down to step in and take about a fifteen minute shower. When he was done, the steam seeped through the opening of the door once he opened it but quickly disappeared from the surface. He had a towel wrapped over his lower body and could smell the scent of his Axe body wash fill the air.

Jackson dressed himself up today, which was a rare occasion for him but decided that today seemed like a dress up day. He adorned his body with a blue, buttoned up collar shirt and a pair of long, Khaki pants. He looked himself over in the tall mirror that stood in his room then scoffed. "Damn, I look good." He chuckled to himself as a slender female entered his corridors now and smiled. "Yes, you sure do." She said as Jackson turned and faced her. "Oh, Marlie. You know how to make my day." He said as she entered the room a bit further now. "Yeah, more ways than one." Marlie teased while pressing her back against his chest now.

"No time." Jackson pushed her aside then proceeded to place on his moccasins and stood back up, looking towards Marlie. Jackson grabbed his enchanted necklace and placed it around his neck then walked out of his room, calling for Sebastian, a male he compelled to be his driver. Sebastian went outside and started the car then opened the door for Jackson to get in. He grabbed his cell phone then proceeded onto his walk outside and to the car, letting Sebastian know that he'd like to go to Husker's Restaurant this morning. "Oh? Breakfast date?" Sebastian said as he started driving off.

"No. More like hungry." Jackson responded as he already had blood earlier but now, wanted food. "Why didn't you feed off of Marlie?" Sebastian asked but Jackson just shrugged his shoulders then looked out of the window. He had became a regular at Husker's and they knew what he had wanted as soon as he'd walk through the door but today, he was going to surprise them and change his order up a bit.

Melanie West
Café Le Beignet

It took about ten minutes from her house the drive was uneventful as she drove down Main Street driving past The Yesterday Café, The Voodoo Shop, even past her workplace Huskers Restaurant. As Melanie finally made it to Café Le Beignet she drove a few feet away and parallel parked her car in between a black Honda Pilot, and a blue Nissan Altima. Melanie slowly pulled the keys out of the ignition and pulled herself out of the Mustang, making sure that she locked it Melanie smiled seeing that there were a few customers already inside drinking their coffee and reading the newspaper. Melanie walked inside making her way towards the front register seeing a guy with long brown hair at the register he was dealing with a customer taking her order.

"Good morning miss, how may I help you?" He smiled, Melanie looked at his nametag on his shirt his name was Maxwell taking a moment Melanie looked up at the menu thinking of what she wanted to have. "I'll have an espresso shot, as well as two croissants." Melanie said with a smile, Maxwell smiled and nodded as he put it into the register. "That will be $4.25." Melanie nodded taking out her credit card and swiped it, walking over towards the side Melanie spotted a rack of newspapers, and bought one as well. A few seconds later Melanie finally had her breakfast and headed over towards a seat closest to the door looking outside as a few cars drove by and people walking past the café.

It was a beautiful morning in New Orleans, most people would see that as a great sign; most would wake up with a smile on their face and a song in their heart, most people would grin if they woke up at a reasonable hour. Nate however, did not; he was not a normal person by any sense of the word. He peeked toward the night stand as his alarm screamed at him to awaken from his deep slumber.

"Be quiet..." He said resisting the urge to get his claws out to destroy the cursed thing, he wanted to keep sleeping but knew he had to get going.

The night before had been a wild one and not in a usual way. Surprisingly, he had not seduced some tourist home for a romantic endeavor; No, instead he had been out all night patrolling the woods as the beast, keeping his eyes keen to vampire activity in attempts to keep the undesirables out.

He stretched for a moment before walking to his wardrobe, grabbing whatever clothes he could get his hands on; he didn't want to be underdone, but he knew he had to keep a low profile no matter where he was. One foot after the other, he slipped into his underwear, pants and t-shirt; surprised at how well the outfit was put together. A blood red, graphic rock band, V neck shirt accompanied by some deep bluish-black jeans that were tight in all the right places; showing off his rather large muscles and pelvic region.

He moseyed downstairs while his deep void of a stomach had growled and grumbled for food. He remembered engorging on a deer carcass last night, regardless he knew that he could drink pure lard and still look like he did; one of the few perks to being a werewolf. He scavenged through the fridge ravenously, moving around fresh meats and vegetables of every assortment; which he didn't have a peckish desire for at the moment. After numerous minutes of searching for a food that would satisfy his growing hunger. Figuring that breakfast might be the best thing for him right now, he ultimately decided to eat out; craving the delicious steak and eggs at Husker's Restaurant.

With that, he made his way out of the house; hopping into his simple car smoothly, being careful not to wake his sleeping pack and began the long drive to the city, Main Street to be exact. As per usual, Nate hated the feeling of being desensitized; it was almost as bad as being neutered. He hardly ever felt there was need for taking the morphine injections, knowing that he could control the beast inside better than any other Alpha; besides the vampire rule would never know where to find him, what's the worst that could happen?

Alva, checking her watch and finally realizing that the news was off, glanced at her watch. Damn it. Can't be late for work, can I?, she thought. Getting off of her bed, she would pause to get her black purse by the bedroom door, then walk down the stairs, and finally, to the front door. She didn't feel the need to lock it. Perhaps one of the guys were inside, and if not, well then perhaps someone wouldn't go stealing things. Still listening to her music, she would turn left and head towards the bus stop. A full 10 minutes to get there, she would then have to wait out the full 15 minute ride from there. Finally at the restaurant, she would take out the key to the place, open up the door, flip on the light switch and then change the closed sign, to open.

With a sigh, she would go to the back, tie a black apron around her waist and then grab a few pencils. After that, AJ went around to the tables, sitting the chairs down on the floors. Then, back to the back again, grabbing saucers and putting them on the table, along with coffee cups. A long and drawn out process, she would agree, but, it pretty much summed up her morning routine. Walking over to the bar she would check the count once more. And once more, she would come up missing a bottle of gin. Pulling out her phone and going to her text's, she would realize that there was no text back from Levi. She couldn't help but glare at her phone. That was until a somewhat familiar face came in. Flashing the man a smile, she would gesture to the tables. "Take a seat, and I'll be right with you."

Then a face that she could name walked in, Jackson, one of the regulars. No need to tell him what to do, sense he should already know the drill by now, right? Waving to him, she would walk over to the table that the other man had chosen. "What might I get you today, sir?, she would ask. And then to Jackson: "The usual, Jackson?"

Levi finished the last few remaining Cheez-Its in the box, feeling less than full; he had estimated that there was roughly ten of the miniature cheese squares left, but that was only an estimate and he was still hungry.

Regardless, he washed his hands under the lukewarm tap, removing any artificial cheese residue before glancing over at the clock for a time estimate; noticing the lack thereof. In a flurry, he made his way out the front door to the bus stop as usual; humming to the same old song.



Before he knew it, he had arrived at the bus stop; taking a seat on the bench as he waited for its arrival. He shivered a bit as he sat alone on the bench; it was a rather cool autumn morning which wasn’t the ideal situation for a man without a jacket, but he was grateful that it wasn’t winter or snowing – at least not yet, he knew that lurking around the corner was cooler days and nights; which didn’t particularly excite him.
A few minutes of internal dialogue later, the bus came to a creaky stop as the driver pushed the doors open; it had been a few month since the lever for the door had busted – it was rumored some drunk had jammed it back in September or so.

Levi climbed aboard the bus, making his way toward the back where nobody would bother him; he usually was up for some awkward social interaction with the typical old women or tourists whom rode upon the train; it was almost soothing for him to listen to other people, it was the only thing that reminded him that he was still here.

Chhhh…

The bus driver put the vehicle in gear, easing off the break ever so slightly as the bus made its usual stop to the Main Street Strip.

I just hope AJ doesn’t bring up the missing gin.