He followed her in, right behind her. Subconsciously, he scanned the room, taking note of unique people, placement of bar, tables, chairs, ceiling supports, et cetera. Sliding easily next to her, he waved over the bartender, asking for two of the house's special. Requesting nothing more than vodka-spiked coke, he turned to Amena, just staring for a moment, impassive. This time, he wasn't trying to make a good impression- this time, he was studying her.

And he didn't let up, just staring. After a few moments, he frowned, slightly, barely noticeable. Then he grinned, and leaned back, suddenly relaxed, and apparently accepting of her. "So tell me 'bout yourself, miss Amena," he said, in perfect English again, "Where you came from, where you're going, where you want to go, what you like." He gave a small nod of thanks as he glanced at the bartender, who came by to serve their order. Pushing one of the small glasses over to her, he took a small sip, visibly analyzing the taste, before nodding at the bartender, pleased with it.

The nudge of cold metal woke Avra, an electronic beep sounding in her ear.

Sleepily, the girl cracked open her eyes and sat up, only to be knocked over again by the impact of the softball-sized holopet.

“Relax, Sona! Lemme beee!” the girl grumbled, rolling over and shoving away the spherical ball of metal.

The ball of metal chirped at her and settled on her chest, vibrating. The girl blinked open heterochromic eyes, then sat upright again as she realized that the sun was out.

“Sorry, Sona. I’m not used to the shorter days… on the Utopia it was twenty-eight hours per day. Not twenty-four.” The girl stretched, pushing her black hair behind her ears. She’d fallen asleep on a park bench in the university common area. Which is where she’d been trying (and mostly succeeding) at blending in. Granted, professors were starting to question why she was there when none of the rosters ever had her name; other students found her implants to be either edgy-looking tattoos or repulsive ones. At least they never questioned that they were tattoos, not actual bits of circuitry.

“Yo, tattoo girl!” Someone called. Sona went limp, falling onto Avra’s lap; she let out a muffled ooph as the fairly heavy ball of metal and circuitry landed on her legs.

Avra rose to her feet, looking behind her. A kid sped by on a skateboard; with a flip of the board and a twist he dismounted and grabbed it neatly, turning to face her as he did so. She internally sighed. Jack. A boy who’d obviously been flirting with her since she’d appeared on campus.

“There’s some kind of concert tonight. Some “multi-talented musician” or something.” He said. “You wanna go? Just as friends, like.” He winked, though she knew that look from the boys aboard the Utopia. Bored teenagers in space had found ways to amuse themselves. Just as friends, sure, and she would bet all of her (now-useless) eCash that he’d have his hand down her pants before they even got there.

Her wrist was cold. She glanced at it, at the shimmery tattoo ink that spelled out the name Titus. The kid’s tattoo, visible on his forearm, had a blue, struck-through name, “Anna” on it.
With a sigh, for she hated going out with people who weren’t the ones on her wrist, she forced a polite smile. “Sorry, Jack, but I’ve got to go talk to the Classics professor to see if I can transfer into one of his classes…”

His face fell, and Anna quickly excused herself and bustled to the Classics wing of the Literature building. The janitors were just locking up.
“Looking for Mr. Smith?”
“Yes sir.” She spoke slightly breathlessly, having speed-walked over here. Not running, certainly. She certainly wasn’t scared of Jack.
“Well, he left already. Going to a concert or something.” The janitor jerked his thumb. “Maybe if you hurry you can catch him.”
She nodded. “Oh, alright. Thank you, sir!” it never hurt to not be respectful to her elders. On the Utopia rank was determined mostly by age. So, for example, Artimi had, at least when both girls were unspecialized, always been one rank above Avra, having been born a month before.

She hurried off through the dusky evening, running. She tripped slightly over her own shoes and cursed. Even the artificial gravity, though it was pretty similar to Earth’s, was not exactly the same; she could not get used to running on an Earth where the ground seemed to be level, not sloping upwards.

Nonetheless, Avra made good time as she was running. But she was still too late to catch Mr. Smith on campus; he’d probably already arrived at the concert.

So she decided that she might as well attend it.

She snuck into the back of the concert venue, craning her head to see over the tall people in front of her. Compared to the others on the Utopia, she’d been practically a midget (as even the short ones were 5 foot 6); apparently, she was short by Earth standards.

In the crowded hall, she could barely hear the music, because she was so far away. She couldn’t see the stage, not as short as she was. So really, coming here had been a waste—

And then she felt a warm, tingling sensation spread up her arm. She blushed, since she knew what it meant. She’d finally been stuck in this time for long enough that she’d find her soulmate. And he was here.

The man's response was not the one Nejmah was expecting. Instead of looking surprised or even excited, he gave Nejmah a revolted look. "Soulmate?" He asked, bewildered. "I'm sorry miss, I think you must be confusing me with someone else."

Eyes wide with surprise, Nejmah snuck a look at his wrist, only to notice that there was no trace of a tattoo anywhere on it. Her face turned into a scarlet mask of shame, and to make her humiliation bigger, the man's stunning companion turned around to see what was going on.

"Erik, love, do you know this woman?" she asked curiously, tightening her grip on the man's arm and giving Nejmah a serious look. A glistening engagement ring was shining on her finger, a clear sign of the relationship between the man and the woman.

Nejmah tried to brush it off. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I did confuse you with someone else! My sincere apologies," she said honestly, giving the couple and apologetic smile. "Well, I won't bother you for much longer. Hope you enjoy the show."

Trying to hide her face, Nejmah made her way to her seat to enjoy the rest of the concert, leaving Erik and his fiancé exchanging confused looks. God, she hoped the press didn't get to see her making a complete fool of herself. To make matters worse, the songs Solenne so gracefully played were love songs, not failing to reminding Nejmah that even though she had the looks and the money, she didn't a meaningful relationship with someone of the opposite sex. Sure, she had the whole 'friends with benefits' thing with Jonathan (the Hugo Boss model), but what was the point of that when they were merely each other's entertainment? All physical and nothing emotional, all appearances and no depth... Just like Nejmah's whole existence.

Lost in her thoughts but with the music driving in and out of her ears, the concert was over. Rejecting the offers from fellow models to catch them for a drink, Nejmah flagged another cab outside the concert hall that would take her to her apartment, where she would take off the reminders of this stupid night and settle for sleep on her fancy sheets, feeling as alone and empty as she was.

Amena looked up at him and smiled softly. He wanted to get to know her, which was a first in a very long time. He was interested in hearing her words rather than looking at her, again a first in a long time. Though his staring was quite uncomfortable, as she did not like being stared at. Maybe she could talk to him about that later. She said "I'm originally from Ireland. I'd really like to go back there some time, but my family is probably long gone."

"What about you? You seem to have an English accent so I'm assuming England; but your name sounds more Russian or German." She did not keep anything back, as her blunt attitude could be precieved. It was probably a good thing she turned the conversation onto him. She didn't like talking about herself much so changing the attention onto someone else was preferrable.

She ordered just a simple glass of whiskey when the bartender came to get their orders. She was pleasantly surprised by herself when she let him order for her though. Quite the feat if her exhusbands and boyfriends were anything to go by. She looked up at Alexey, awaiting her answer.

Alexey leaned back a little bit, confused. Switching to his Russian accent- his original accent- he replied, "I greet you like this, and I grew up talking like this. For the sake of understanding-" Again, he switched accents back to a clear, understandable American one- "I learned how to talk without my birthplace accent. I've heard a great many stories about teachers and professors and students from Russia and Asia, with accents too thick to be understood easily."

He momentarily turned towards the bar, took a much larger drink, and waved for a refill. Leaning against it, Alexey glanced over at the Irish woman, before turning back to a refilled glass.

"See, I grew up in Russia. My mother is Russian, and my father's father is Russian, who married my British mother and moved back to the motherland. Mixed blood- mostly Russian. I'm told that I still look British, though." He waved his head vaguely in the direction of the nearest Barnes & Noble- the one he worked at. "I work at Barnes & Noble in the evenings, at a small classic restaurant in the mornings. Hence the attire."

Titus stood among the crowded venue, letting the music that was being played roll over him. Any other night he would have woven his way to the nearest source of a drink and listened from there, with a glass of something clutched in his hand, but right now a small voice in the back of his head told him to wait, to stay here among the mass of humanity, yet he couldn't remember precisely why that was. Still whatever it was seemed important enough that he should heed the nagging little voice, even if he let the slightly concerned look (that came to him whenever he forgot something important) slip onto his face.

No more than a moment later he felt a tap on his shoulder, turning slightly Titus saw that the gesture belonged to a young man somewhere in his late 20's, he had a slight smirk on his face as the immortal turned his attention to him. "Whats with the scowl, the music not sitting right with you?" The man semi yelled, his voice being drowned out by the music and other ambient sounds

Titus quickly shook his head, and swapped the scowl he apparently had for a more impassive look "No no, it quite good actually. I do like that the band seems to have a sort of cohesion that I haven't seen in..." Titus's voice trailed off as a feeling began to spread up his arm, a slow burn that emanated from his wrist, warming the flesh and bone as if he had stuck it near a low fire. "I..I.. think I have to" Titus stammered, his words failing him for the first time in a long time as he looked back at the young man.

His acquaintance only grinned back and patted Titus on the shoulder "Dont worry about it, I understand." And without a second word stood back from the immortal, turning to look back at the stage with only a last side glance at Titus, who only nodded in thanks as he began to extract himself from the crowd. As he backed out Titus slowly undid the straps of his watch, snatching the timepiece's face away to expose the never changing tattoo that now throbbed with heat in time with his heartbeat, which was itself rising to settle somewhere in his throat. With the watch out of the way, Titus traced his eyes across the inked roman numerals and finally the name, the name he had read a hundred times yet still felt new to him "Avralyn".

So engrossed was he with the sudden development, Titus didn't realize, or see the young woman before it was to late. It wasn't enough force to knock him, or her, over by any means, but the shoulder bump was certainly enough to jar Titus out of his silent contemplation and back to reality.

Quickly catching himself he turned to the young women, his face caught in a sheepish expression "I..I am so sorry miss, I did not see you there. My fault completely, I really should be more careful in the future." As he apologized Titus quickly made note of the person he was talking to, she was young being 22 at the most he would say, with heterochromatic eyes, and swirling tattoos. He nervously played with his undone watch in his right hand as time seemed to move like cold syrup, and the warm burn from his wrist never stopped.

Beams of moonlight streamed in from the open window, glinting in her ethereal blue eyes - the only two sources of light in the room. Trixy was awake, but it wasn’t yet dawn… darkness, the hour of vampire. Casting the covers aside, panic started to rise up in the ancient woman. Something was wrong, very wrong. Someone was here while she slept, yet she lived? Instinct brought her cautiously to the front room, the gun from under her mattress in her hand. After peering around the doorframe, Trixy was assured the perpetrator was gone, for now at least, but a flash of white caught her eye. She stepped forward carefully and picked up the note to read.



The cryptic note was writ in blood, his blood. “Crazy rogue bastard!” she hissed, her voice sounding distorted with rage. Pale fingers tightened around the paper, crumpling it into her fist. She had his scent, and she wasn’t going to lose him this time. Trixy flitted to her room and threw on the first outfit she saw: skinny jeans and a gray tank worn over her Kevlar vest. She also wore a leather jacket to mask the fact that she couldn’t feel the morning chill. It’s best not to go around flaunting the fact that you are an armored, gun-toting vampire loose on the streets of NY.

Béatrix took to the road on her Ninja, it was better to have her nose in the open air when following a scent trail . The clouds hung pretty heavy in the dark, early morning sky, but she hoped the rain would hold out long enough to finish the job. This was the closest she’d been to the perp since that night in the alleyway with Bartholomew. The rogue’s scent was stronger than ever as she turned the corner, but the name on the street sign almost caused her to hit the brakes. She knew that name… her near photographic memory brought up the image of her soul mate’s address on the police computer screen. Of course, the rogue was eliminating eyewitnesses… but the note? Why not kill her first, when he had the perfect opportunity? He must like games.

“Well, I’ll play.” Trixy said aloud to no one in particular as she hastily parked the biked and retrieved the dagger from her belt, holding it so the blade faced downward. The front door was closed but unlocked, so Trixy crept in quietly. The room she entered looked much like a living room with nothing notable to see, so she snuck forward. In doing so, she stepped on a piece of glass, a sound inaudible to human ears, but the vampire upstairs heard it. A commotion took place. She looked left, the glass was from some sort of display case that was broken into, it had fittings that looked appropriate to hold a pair of blades. This didn’t look hopeful, and for some reason, her dead heart metaphorically hammered in her chest as she practically took flight up the stairs. The first thing she saw was the wolf’s back as he squatted close to the ground, a blade sticking out while blood soaked his shirt. The image was too jarring, the feeling too familiar, it was enough to distract the ever-poised huntress.

“Tog dig længe nok , fransk hore” the rogue spoke with a tongue like a serpent. Trixy turned her burning gaze to him and lifted the right corner of her lips. ”Jaloux?” she said before dashing forward and taking a swipe at him. The Danish vampire was quick to parry her, and slammed her back with unexpected force. He was strong, but she had fury on her side. It was his turn to initiate, but when it came to her parry, she was just a few milliseconds to late, and he slashed the silver blade across her torso. Thankfully, the Kevlar protected her, but it also gave away that she was weak to a stabbing attack, and if he was a worthy opponent, he would capitalize on that knowledge. They traded blows for a few seconds, all the while the fact that Tholo was bleeding out behind them sat uncomfortably in her mind. This was her fault that he was involved... but why should she care? He was just another wolf, a killer who deserved death.



The final lines of the rogue’s note taunted her. She’d kill him just to prove him wrong, now. Trixy growled, baring elongated fangs, and lunged at him one last time. The rogue rose his blade, but instead of parrying, he plunged it deep into her chest, using her own force against her. The breath left her in a hiss as the recoil sent her torso back and her head down. The silver sent wildfire blazing in her veins, but he had made one fatal error.

”You missed.” she whispered, peering up at him through the strands of ebony hair clinging to the blood on her face. Trixy punctuated the sentence by burying her own blade directly in his heart. ”I never miss,” were the last words he heard before his pale skin cracked, shattered, and then fell to the ground in a pile of ash. Truth is, he didn’t quite miss... the silver blade had nicked her heart, and her whole body felt ablaze. Trixy gripped the knife portruding from her chest, pulled it out, and sent it clattering to the wood floor. She looked over to Tholo, wolves were the supernatural race most incapacitated by silver. For a moment, the old version of herself told her to turn and leave him there to die. That’s when it hit her, killing the rogue was never the 'hero’s choice'. This was. Dead or not, she couldn’t let him win the game, and surely that is the only reason Trixy used the last of her strength to walk over and pull the knife from Tholo’s back before collapsing on the ground beside him.

Tholo awoke, the room still in the blanket of darkness signifying that morning had yet to arrive. His head slightly pained him, no doubt from the hours before from the drinking. The slight pain would disappear in a few hours. For a few moments he pondered on trying to return to sleep but decided instead it would be pointless. He might as well get an early start to the day. He sat up on the bed yet as he became upright he became fully alert, there was something wrong. Unfortunately with the slight pain in his head, it slowed him down and before he could spin on the presence he felt behind him, a sharp pain shot through his body.

Tholo howled in pain jumping up only to fall back down again, feeling weakened but whatever was lodged now in his back. He thrashed and tried to get up but only stumbled on all fours before falling back to the ground. He could feel a burning sensation in hs back, his eyes widening with rage as well as the hint of panic. The blade in his back was silver. He tried to look at his attacker who gave a smug laugh and said something in a different language but in his state, Tholo was unsure really what it was. The scent of the air mingled with wolf, vampire, silver, and blood. He had no idea how long he had. It seemed his attacker wasn't out right killing him, damn bloodsucker just wanted to see him suffer, long and painfully.

Seconds went by that felt like minutes, that felt like hours. The blood pooling around him as he tried to force himself up but now his muscles would not obey him. Still the vampire was there waiting perhaps, Tholo did not know his motives.

A noise came from the stairs below. The vampire that mocked him now spun causing some commotion. The scent in the air gave an idea on his second house guest and he wasn't sure how to feel. Now he was dying in a pool of his own blood with two bloodsuckers free in his home. The more territorial wolf wanted them out but Tholo himself just wanted the pain to go away, wanted it all to stop. He could only listen to the fight going on as his vision faded ever slightly. Soon, it had to be soon. He doubted he was going to get any help, a foreign vampire had stabbed him for reasons he did not know and the other was one who killed his kind before for a living.

Footsteps brought him from his last thoughts as he saw her come in. Of course it was her, of all people it had to be Trixy. He was certain she would spin around and leave him to die, just another animal to her, a wretched beast who killed anything he saw. Hypocritical bloodsuckers. What she did next surprised him however. She walked to him and pulled the blade from his back sending it clattering to the floor in front of him. The sight made him laugh slightly, it was one of his own damn blades that was going to kill him. Many years ago perhaps he would of expected such a death due to his job and the time period but the present, he never gave pause to dying by his own blade.

Trixy collapsed next to him, silence now greeting them. Once he gained some strength back in him and from what he could feel, the wound being at least healed enough to not bleed, he pushed himself into a seating position now looking at his savior. Once more he was confused on his feelings. Neither said anything for quite some time. Tholo eventually came to the best way he could think of trying to say thanks to her.

"Want a cig?" he asked breaking the silence. He had never been good with thanking others, even when they just saved his life ",Or a cup of coffee? Don't have blood."

Adam

Adam looked down at Dan's wrist, internally growling when he saw the shadowed Will underneath it. He hated his anti-self with a burning passion, and hated that he was an everyday part of his life.

He saw the red scales of Dan. A-a dragon? he thought, but quickly dismissed seeing anything. It'd be something to ask Dan about later.

Adam nodded to Tholo, smiling a thanks in return to receiving luck. He looked back to Danilo. Everything was coming to him all at once. It was too much for him. He couldn't do this, could he? He'd already felt bad for avoiding Danilo the other day. Dan didn't know anything about him, or why he was avoiding him. He'd most likely take it personally....

"I-I...," Adam stumbled on his own words, looking down. He could feel Will stirring inside of him.

Yes....That's right....Be confused....Be angry.... Will said inside of him.

This was all happening too fast. Before he knew it, Will would be here, and he would hurt everyone, and...

"Central Park, eight AM, tomorrow. I-I'm sorry," Adam said to Danilo, before rushing out of the bar and down the street.

Avra had mostly tuned out, focusing on the faint strings of music that she could hear. People glanced at her curiously, but she paid no mind to them. She tried her hardest to ignore the burning in her wrist--
until a man bumped into her. Her forearm felt like it was on fire and she turned to look up at whoever it was. A tall man, built like he was in the military at one point, but with a bit of an... old feeling about him. Like an... immortal.

"excusatio mihi, pater." she mumbled. Then realized... whoops, wrong language, Avra. English. Use... english. "plusbad--" nope, that's not right either. Of course, having been able to visit pretty much any time period for as long as she wished, she had at least a basic idea of how most languages worked. She giggled mentally; oh, that was a strange combination. Latin as it had been spoken in the late classical period, and Newspeak as it had been spoken in the twenty-two hundreds.

Anyway. Focus, Avra.

"S-sorry, sorry, I'm sorry, s-sir." she stammered, trying to calm herself. "It was my fault. I wasn't paying attention." She took a breath and rubbed at her wrist, which still felt like it was on fire. She glanced at the man's... It had... roman numerals...?
She cursed mentally. But the damage was done; she'd have to wait and see what his reaction was. Hopefully he wasn't quite so snippy as other immortals she'd seen.

She was distracted for a moment as she realized Sona was nowhere to be seen--then let out a muffled yelp as the holopet approached the man she was talking to, bumping up against his shoulder and beeping, then flashing lights at Avra and bumping the man and beeping again.
She lunged and grabbed the troublesome ball of cameras and memory drives. "I'm s-sorry, sir... non intellegit-- uhm, it doesn't, d-doesn't know what it's doing, I'm sorry." she stammered. Her face felt like it was on fire with how bad she was blushing. She tucked the troublesome sphere into the side pocket of her backpack, where it let out a pitiful beep. "Oh you hush. You're being naughty." Avra spoke quietly to the little holopet. "I'm sorry, sir." she said, apologizing yet again.

Béatrix lay quietly on the ground, feeling surprisingly secure enough to fall in to and out of consciousness. Perhaps it wasn’t as much security as it was her injuries. A hit to the heart was enough to incompacitate a vampire at worst, and slow to heal at best. One thing was for sure, and that was that she needed blood – badly. She hoped the mug she had before bed would be enough to heal her now, or she might end up doing something reckless.

Tholo sat up before Trixy, as wolves were notoriously fast healers. Not wanting to seem weak, Béatrix pushed herself to sit upright as well, despite the fact that her heart was still healing. Trixy took a deep breath, in doing so she noticed that Bartholomew smelled like he had drank a whole bar, she vainly wondered if she was the reason for his drinking.

”Want a cig?” he asked, breaking the silence between them. Trixy laughed quietly at his choice of thanks, the motion causing pain to throb in her chest. ”Or a cup of coffee? Don’t have blood.?” Just the mention of the last word was enough to quiet her laughter and awaken her inner vampire. The veins around her eyes darkened with desire, constrasting her skin like tiny fractures in porcelain. Had he been human, he would have been in trouble, but werewolf blood was a big turn off to vampires.

”I-I have some. It’s in the pack on my bike out front - but, I can’t go out there looking like this,” Trixy pulled the light grey tank away from her body, the blood left a huge gruesome stain and caused it to cling to her Kevlar vest. She may be used to being covered in blood, but the innocent NYC passerbys would not be. ”Would you get it for me? I’d call it even for saving your ass.” she said snarkily, injured or not, she’d never miss the change to poke the wolf.

Tholo gave a slight chuckle at her remark that came out more of a grunt as pain shot through him."Yeah fine I'll get it," he said through gritted teeth getting up shakily. On the outside the wound was heal but there was no telling what damage he was dealing with internally. His left arm he noticed felt numb at the moment with him being able to barely move it. Best guess was perhaps a few hours would put it back to normal. Then despite the blade being out of him, he still had to deal with some of the side effects of the silver that was just in his system poisoning him. He managed to stumble his way out of the room and down the hall. The stairs proved to be another matter. The world seemed to sway back and forth upon reaching them, and just one step, he was down at the bottom after crashing down the flight of steps and banging himself around some more which did not help with the state he was in all ready.

"Son of a bitch!" he growled getting up from his fall. He felt some blood trickle down his back, the fall having reopened the knife wound.

He opened the door looking outside. This early in the morning he doubted anyone else was up but he wanted to just be cautious. He looked down at himself for the first time after everything that had happened and removed the shirt before deciding to go out. There was still blood on him but he could at least explain most of it to a bad wound rather then wearing a shirt soaked in it if someone saw him. He stumbled his way through his front yard to the bike. Once certain he wasn't going to mistakenly tip the vehicle from his state of being, he went about retrieving the blood from the pack Trixy had mentioned. Upon finding it he returned indoors shutting and locking the door and making his way back to the scene of his room.

"Here just none on the carpet, I all ready have a big enough stain to clean," he joked giving the blood to her and then went around the bed to a side dresser to grab an old case of cigarettes he had. He paused once opening the drawer and seeing two images he kept in there. He gave a sigh and removed those and found what he was looking for. He returned to where he had been sitting before and slumped down and lit one of the cigarettes for himself.

"Nice bike by the way," he said.

His soulmate run off, leaving Dan to just stand there. Hand still outstretched. The scene instatly replaying in the dragons mind.
"I-I...," Adam stumbled on his own words, looking down. Dan could smell the fear raising in the man. It was nearly like seeds of panic. Was it because of what he was? It was the only thing possible. Many magical races were not the fondest of the dragons. Some feared them some were taught to fear them... But shouldnt most of it be behind them all?

"Central Park, eight AM, tomorrow. I-I'm sorry," Adam said to him before he flee.

Danilo looked at his wrist.'' At least Adam you gave me time and place... But will you come?''

''Hey when you are done wasting space and speaking like a drunk to air, pay for what you drunk and get out.'' The bartender had walked up to him and glared at him. He must have spaced out. Danilo put back on his glove and apologized, paying what he was asked. As he was leaving the establishment he heard the same man commenting. Leave him, he is lacking a few teapots, that guy was wise to run away from him like that...

A growl, followed with a breath out of fire left Danilo. Singeing the trash bin in front of him. That couldnt have been the reason....or? He was unconventional... His fingers twitched. '' Count from 10... it is the alcohol...9...9.75...9.5...''

He marched in the direction of his home, feeling his blood on fire.

Once he was home he throw his staff away on the sofa and made a beeline to his little treasure. The precious gemstones, and jewelry distracting him from his anger.

''How dare you Adam just escape. You are mine soulmate. Mine soulmate. Mine. MINE. MINE! MOJ. SAMO MOJ!'' ((Mine. Only mine))
The dragon took a good breath in and blow out fire up into the air, until his lung hurt from lack of oxygen. Panting for air he rubbed his cheek against a ruby, a present from his parents when he graduated. The red head stayed silent after that for quite a while. He placed the ruby back to his hoard. He felt better letting it out. The tantrum now over Danilo looked up at the rooms ceiling.

''Note to self buy white fireproof paint for that black spot on the ceiling. '' He looked at the clock seeing it was 2 am in the morning Danilo decided to just skip sleeping all together. He could use the time a lot more productive.

Changing attire to a apron, he took out the items for cooking rationalizing. '' Maybe he had a job to do? So was running late? ....Oh I know maybe someone important to you is in a hospital and you were rushing to their care. '' Danilo was mixing the eggs and sugar smiling. That must be it. His soulmate must face some hard times and just couldnt spend the time with him. He was reasonable dragon and could easily understand that. Music from Kinky boots played in the background as he mixed a sweet pralines up. ''The most beautiful thing in the world is... a shoe.~ Or my Adam.~ I know. I know~ ''

It was 07:45 when Danilo was outside. The box of pralines in a water proof bag. He was annoyingly frowning at the sky. In the last hour or so grey clouds covered the skies. He had his white umbrella open the first drops of rain was failing. ''I already took a shower no need to get me wet a second time today.'' He eyed the skies as if he hoped to get the sun shining again. Today he dressed simpler. A Dark brown coat, black slacks and a red shirt under it. Green gloves on his hands. Well it was simpler for his standard.

Hopefully his, HIS soulmate... Danilo took a deep breath, his smile again settling on his face. Hopefully Adam will have more time today. He strolled in the park waiting. Maybe they could go somewhere, or at least exchange their phone numbers or emails. Does Adam use chat sites?

'' And if you are not having the time I will just follow you around all day. '' He happily giggled to himself, he didnt put on running shoes for nothing.

Titus could do nothing but grin and laugh slightly as the young woman snatched the floating ball away, only to stuff it in he pocket "It's ok, really! Im sure it didn't mean anything by it, if anything I think I offended it rather than the other way around." A light smile remained as he finished speaking, it was clear that he was honestly enjoying the light conversation, even if he still twisted his watch in his right hand to help lessen the feeling of the slow burn.

Speaking of which, Titus seemed to start speaking again, even getting so far as the first couple of letters when a pulse emanated out from the tattoo on his wrist, its heat stronger than before. This caused his voice to falter slightly and drop off as he lost his train of thought, his mind being detracted by the sudden interruption, and leaving him scrambling to find a new topic.

It only took a few moments but finally he began to speak again, going with the first thing that came to mind "I am sorry but in the midst of all this apologizing, I don't think I ever asked your name" As he spoke he wore the small smile from just a bit earlier, and kept the rest of his expression soft. Something told him that he knew this woman from somewhere, or more likely of her, yet he couldn't quite place it. Still he kept his peace and allowed her time to respond.

"Besides, from what Iv'e learned, its good to at least know someones name before trying to read their wrist." He thought in the meantime, his own eyes flickering down slightly to see if he could catch a glimpse of her wrist, as she had done previously.

Which in turn led to him almost slapping himself, his right hand intensifying it's wringing of the watch, and a fall of the expression on his face as he spoke once more in an apologetic tone "Deos meos, ego pudet. It seems I also forgot to introduce myself, and now I realize I have been exceedingly rude. So, hopefully without any further rudeness, my name is Titus and it is very nice to meet you."

Adam

Adam had never run so fast in his life. He could feel his form slowly changing into Will. His hair beginning to turn a maroon red. His right eye a scar.
I-I can't stop it. He's coming.
Adam reached his apartment, sprinting up one flight of steps he reached his door. He fumbled with the key before opening the door, only to slam it behind him and lock every single lock once he got inside. That was all he could do, before Will took over. That night, the tattoo of their names would change on Danilo's wrist. Adam would instead be shadowed under Will.
"Why do you have to ruin everything, Adam? God damnit," Will grumbled. There was nothing he could do now though. He'd wanted to hurt, really hurt, Danilo. Of course, there was no response to Will's question.
"I can't do anything now, Adam. Give me a fucking minute to stretch and you'll have your shitty body back," Will continued as he stretched his arms towards the sky.
After a few minutes of this, he let Adam regain control.
"So basically I just ditched my soul mate again. Great," Adam muttered. All he could do was sleep until tomorrow morning....

Adam woke up to see a few rain drops against his window. What time was it...?
"Oh shit!" he screamed out loud when he saw it was 7:45am and he would be late to meet Danilo. He grabbed his black raincoat and put it on as he rushed out the door.

Thankfully, Central Park wasn't too far from where he lived. He saw the orange haired man with a white umbrella above his head. That was definitely his Danilo.

"H-hey," Adam said once he got close to him. "Sorry, uh, about last night. I was having, er...problems."

Béatrix stood up, her legs were surprisingly shaky beneath her. Perhaps she shouldn’t be surprised, she did just get stabbed in the chest - a few more millilmeters to the left and she would have been a pile of ash instead of The Rogue. Tholo agreed to get the blood for her, and she managed a smile for him in return. Trixy heard a loud commotion after he departed and assumed that he fell. She was just about to go investigate when she heard him speak and stand back up. Well, he was still alive, then...

While Bartholomew was outside, Trixy took a few moments to try to find out more about the man fate had thrown at her. She walked around bedroom, studying things like his decor, what kind of bedding he used, she looking for anything with personal value, perhaps a painting, or a portrait from his past. It seemed like he led a pretty simple life, and she had no luck discovering anything personal through this cursory glance.

Before long, Tholo was back. Tunnelvision swept over the hungry vampire, and all she saw was the pouch of ruby liquid in his hands. Trixy was too weak to use her vampire speed, so she pathetically limped her way over to Bartholomew, her darkened eyes locked onto the prize. He said some words, but whatever they were didn’t matter, they were but a low hum in comparison to the pounding thirst overtaking her. Without any regard to manners or propriety, Trixy snatched the pack from him and sunk her elongated fangs into the plastic. The blood wasn’t warm, and the plastic wasn’t live flesh, but the feeling was as euphoric as ever.

Trixy pulled the liquid down her throat and deep into her core. She could practically feel it working to heal her wounds, as if tiny little doctors were positioned on each and every blood cell. There was no human emotion that compared to feeding.

This was out of body, out of mind.
This was heaven and hell colliding.
This was better than any sexual fantasy come to fruition.
This was all of your senses maximized at once.
This was life's most divine blessing.

Time had stopped for Trixy until the very final drop was sucked from the packet. The grey veins around her eyes receeded when Béatrix opened them. Their usual icy blue color had returned, but they were still hungry for something. Apparently Tholo had taken a step or two back once Trixy started feeding, because she could now fully see him. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. A shy young maiden might have turned and looked away, but Trixy was none of those things, and she studied him with a gaze that could make a pornstar blush.

”Nice bike, by the way.” he said after fetching some cigarettes and sitting back down. Those were the first words he had spoken since his return that Trixy had actually heard. The right corner of her lips turned up before she spoke. ”Like what you see? Maybe someday I’ll give you a ride.” She let him take the double entendre as he pleased before pulling out her own pack of cigarettes and lighting one.

Tholo took a drag on his cigarette and blew on some smoke as he took notice of Trixy's gaze, eyeing him like a piece of meat, or her next meal ticket. If he wasn't a wolf he probably would of been worried, at least he knew his blood was safe for the time being. Her next remark got him to laugh slightly, taking the double entendre with ease and smirking back before replying.

"Perhaps I'll accept that offer when the time comes around," he replied looking at her, despite the blood on her she still had the body of perfection Danilo and him talked about. So much like a black rose, he thought to himself, elegant yet sharp, beautiful yet deadly. He shook his head from his thoughts as he looked around the room.

"To think I changed the carpets only a few months ago," he commented looking at the bloody stain that had pooled previously beneath him and then at what he assumed were what were the remains of the other vampire ",Not to mention replacing the case that held those blades. Never thought I would be killed by my own blades in this day and age." Once again he humored himself at that thought ",but I guess now I have another scar to add to the collection. New story to make up on that one. Can we ever just not meet under tense situations it would make things easier."

"H-hey,"
Danilo turned his head, smiling as bright as sunshine. There his soulmate did come.

"Sorry, uh, about last night. I was having, er...problems."

''I can understand busy day and such. Nice to know I didnt scare you away. '' The dragon made a bow with his head, as his hands were full. A moment passed as he observed Adam before he straightened himself and offered his bag with the pralines he made.

''A little something for you, Adam.''Dan shifted beside Adam and moved the umbrella to protect his soulmate from the evil rainy drops as well. He silently watched the reaction and before Adam could have gotten in a single word in Danilo added. '' If I can I would like to help you with what ever problem my soulmate has. If you wish to tell me that is. Either way we can do what ever you have imagined today. I was waiting for a long while to meet you.''

"Perhaps I’ll accept that offer when the time comes around,” he replied after granting her remark a chuckle. The femme fatale vampire smiled at that, and his lingering gaze did not go unnoticed. Was she really doing this, flirting with a wolf? And one that was destined to be her soul mate, none-the-less! Talk about playing with fire. Every brain cell she had was screaming for her to put up her walls. Just go as cold hard as stone like she always did - just like she did with Solenne when they started to feel... feelings. Her heart wouldn’t allow it though so, despite all logic and reason, Béatrix stayed where she was and kept doing exaclty what she was doing.

Tholo mentioned the carpets. "Yeah, my place has all wood and tiled floors. Makes for easy cleanup if dinner gets... messy,” The pile of ash that Trixy stared at reminded her of their current situation, ”Or when work decides to follow me home.” Bartholomew talked about having to replace the case and how he never thought he’d be killed by his own blades.

"Well, thanks to me, you weren’t.” She smiled, but stayed thoughtfully silent for a moment, blowing out a light puff of smoke while doing so. ”And... thanks to me, he found you in the first place. I.. I’m sorry for the part I played in this. He only went after you because of me, you wouldn’t have even been it that alleyway if it weren’t for...” she glanced down to her wrist and the site of the mark disturbed her enough to want to change the subject.

Tholo didn’t seem too phased. "I guess now I have another scar to add to the collection. New story to make up on that one. Can we ever just not meet under tense situations? It would make things easier.” Trixy took a final drag from her cigarette before putting out in the ashtray on the night stand. ”Careful, Bartholomew. It sounds like you’re trying to ask me out on a date.” Her voice was purposefully sultry, with more than a hint of teasing in it. ”But I hardly look the part, would you mind if I took a quick shower? You know, blood and all...” she gestured to her ruined shirt. A shower would at least serve to clear her mind, if not her appearance.

"You wish I was," he said with a slight laugh ",Go ahead, bathroom is across the hall." He answered her. As she left the room he couldn't help but have his eyes follow watching her exit."Maybe a one time fling with a vampire wouldn't be bad," he said once somewhat certain Trixy was out of earshot and in the bathroom. He got up moving to the other side of the bed going to a drawer looking through some rather old documents, part of him reminiscing in the past.

"I hated your guts Francis but at least you were willing to give me a chance," he mumbled to himself as he put his cigarette out in the ashtray on his night stand ",Hell probably still hate you yet I hope you are living a good life, you damn bloodsucker." His mind thought back on the last time he had seen the vampire, the only other vampire besides Trixy he had gotten partially close to as an associate or even dare he say a friend as much as that made his skin crawl.

flashback time

He hate the wretched place, hated the people, hated the stench, hated everything it represented and for what it took from him. Here he was though waiting on the damn employer he currently had. How could he of fallen so far to work for a damn vampire? Yet what choice did he have, he needed cash and a means or redemption to some degree and at the moment he was the only creature not willing to kill him on spot for his crimes except for some radical wolves he didn't want to be part of.

Footsteps echoed down the alleyway he was in and he looked up seeing that finally the bloodsucker was here.

"About bloody time. Did you stop and get a drink or something?" he growled in agitation as he.

"Calm yourself beast, now do you have what we agreed upon?" Francis asked, seemingly treating Tholo as nothing more then an animal, one with a use but it still got under Tholo's skin.

"Yeah, yeah, the list," Tholo said pushing the insult aside and taking out a piece of folded parchment ",Got to tell you though, this new guy you are hunting, he's elusive. Seems to work alone as well and has spooked even the other aggressive rogues running around."

"Hmm sounds like someone I know," Francis jabbed earning a growl from Tholo.

"I had my reasons and leave it at that. I'm not proud of those years or else why do you think I would be helping you bloodsucker. I all ready know I have a place in hell waiting for me," he said ",Now the payment before I just give this to you."

As agreed Francis handed over Tholo's payment and Tholo gave the parchment.

"Well I would say it was a pleasure but the stench is getting unbearable. Perhaps I will use your service again mutt," Francis said smugly.

"Doubt it but do keep your beloved safe," Tholo said walking away with some sincerity. The little he knew of Francis was that he did meet his soulmate. Even if he was an accursed bloodsucker he could never wish harm in a relationship after his experience. He disappeared into another alleyway, not to be seen by Francis again and Tholo never to know what happened to the once benefactor.

End of Flashback

"I meant it Francis, you and whoever should be happy. Even if you are a bloodsucker," he said getting a new shirt and making his way back downstairs to the kitchen to start coffee for him and breakfast.