"I-I have your purse. A-and your b-book,"
‘that answers the how.’ She thought to herself blankly as she was about to raise her hands to take her things she heard Julie speak again.
"A-And I-I don't have a home t-to go back to y-yet. B-But I-I understand if you want me to go s-somewhere else."
She would nod slowly stepping to the side and motioning with her hand to allow Julie to enter.
”it’s my fault afterall… sorry… she says her voice barely above a whisper. She truly believed those words, and it wasn’t like she wanted for space in her home she had a couple of rooms spare that she only ever went in when she was doing her best to clean. She had a maid that did most of the cleaning but Cienna had made it a ritual at least once a week she attempted to clean the house.
”my house is your house.” she said her voice blank of emotions as she waited for Julie to enter. What Julie would see is a hallway leading to a sparsely decorated living room, the only real decorations that were around were bookshelves and some flowers in a vase that seemed to be at best a couple of days. The living room had a killer view over the city and a patio which had a couple of chairs and a outdoor table on, it was shielded from the inside by a set of large glass sliding doors. To the sides of the Living room were two other corridors, which lead to four bedrooms. Ciennas was to the left at the very end, she had liked the way the breeze would flow into that room when she opened her windows.
The kitchen would be beside the Living room through another door, should she explore that she would find that it was stocked with a variety of tea and coffees though they seemed to be all put in a very specific place, Cienna’s life style demanded that she find a way to make everyday life more manageable.

---

Cienna stepped to the side for Julie, and she walked in. Instinctively, she slipped off her shoes and left them next to the front door. She set Cienna's purse, which had her book, on the couch and walked over to the glass doors. She looked out over the lit city, taking in the view. It was breath taking, and Julie had to pull herself away from the view. That wasn't her main concern right now. She looked back at Cienna. She had no idea how to start.
"I-I'm.... A-are you...," she finally sighed in frustration. She didn't want to bring up anything that would hurt Cienna any further, but she felt like she needed to talk to her. Many sentences raced through her mind. She should apologize. She should ask if she was okay, even though it was obvious she wasn't. She should insist that they're too dangerous for each other. She should say how much she hated the universe for doing this to Cienna, and to her, and to everyone. She said none of these things. She let them go for now.
As Julie turned to Cienna, she said, "Let's go dancing."

"I-I'm.... A-are you...,"
"Let's go dancing."
The thought sidetracked Cienna enough to make her actually smile if even for half a second. It was absurd to think that they would go dancing during the early evening, well not that unusual while she looked like, well she looked like a drowned rat. It was a pleasant thought though, it suddenly occurred to Cienna that Julie was actually in her home, like for real, it meant something to her. She figured if Julie didn’t want to be here she could have gone somewhere else and left her stuff at the hospital to collect later. No she had actively sought her out and brought it back, and wanted to take her up on her offer.
”th..thanks… she would say softly closing the front door and walking back up the hallways ”i.. I’ll have… to get… ready…” she adds even more softly as she stopped facing the direction that Julie was in. The slightest hint of Julies scent reached her from across the room and she wanted to go and hug her. It was a moment later that she caught herself, she had moved across the room almost running and embraced Julie. ”I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” she said repeatedly holding onto her soul mate tightly.

It was silent for a moment before Cienna ran towards her and embraced her, and began apologizing. Julie shook her head, peeling her Soulmate off and kneeling down so she could give her a real hug.
"No. I-If anything, I-I should be saying sorry. W-Which I am." That's what she wanted to say. Instead, she hugged her in silence.
When that was over she said, "So, are we going or what? I can help you get ready. I have this place I like to go." She seemed like she was acting a little...well, strange to bluntly put it. Like she had some new found confidence to her that wasn't there at all before.

Over the countless years that Madison had found himself with his particular condition, he had come to discover several things. As vampiric lore reiterated time and time again, his survival largely depended on ingesting blood. It didn’t matter if it entered his body through IV or mouth, if it was fresh out of a vein or from a bag, or even if it was human or animal (although he had found that the former of the two did a far better job of nourishing him). It was also true that food did little more for him than eating paper, but he had discovered that certain substances did hold some effect. Alcohol, for instance, was still something he was quite keenly familiar with.

Caffeine was yet another. And seeing as he had spent most of the night poring over his research, a little pick-me-up seemed like just what he needed. Humming brightly to himself, Madison turned the street corner, into his local coffee shop(seeing how close it was to his office, he tended to frequent it more often than not), and up to the counter.

“Hello again, Gloria,” Madison chirped. “One café miel, please. To go.” It took little time for his order to be whipped up- slow day, by the looks of it, and even less for him to pay and take the first taste of bliss and cinnamon. He turned to leave, but before he could even make it halfway to the exit, he noticed something.

His wrist was burning.

Perking up, Madison rolled down his sleeve, then glanced up. In all his drowsiness, he had forgotten that today was the day. The pain of the marking served as a sort of radar as the vampire wandered about the shop, sipping absently at his drink as he did so. The pain soon led him to a young woman bent over a pile of papers, and, with a certain sheepishness, he cleared his throat and spoke.

“Excuse me, ma’am. Your name wouldn’t happen to be Stefany Raterfall by any chance, would it?”

@ineffable

---

“Shit!”

Cursing, Stride dabbed at the fresh smear of paint on her canvas with a bit of thinner, watching the misplaced streak of red slowly fade- along with most of the tower she had made beneath. “Comin’!” She called, glaring daggers at the canvas over her shoulder. It would be hard to redo what had now vanished from memory alone, but there was no way of getting around it, either. “Give me a second, a’ight? Just- fuck- hang on a sec!”

From outside of the apartment, Zephyr would be able to hear the sound of wood grinding against wood, a string of rather creative swears that would make a sailor faint, the clattering of things hitting the ground, more shouting, and the “click” of a something shutting before, eventually, the door swung open. Stride gave the man standing before her a quick glance-over, squinting at him through her goggles. “Yeah? What d’ya need?”

She was dressed casually- a simple long-sleeved shirt and jeans- but the mask and goggles did a well enough job of hiding whatever expression she might have held. There was no sign of paint whatsoever on her, thankfully.

Her wrist was also burning like hell, but Stride was distracted enough to not notice for the time being.

@Daemanis

@EchoicChamber

Stefany felt her wrist burning. Really? She did not mean that to happen She gave out a lengthy sigh and bent down over her papers again. Soulmate meeting could be for another day. For now, dog anatomy was the most important. Her musings were interrupted by a young man, dressed strangely in feminine clothing. Stefany stopped her work, putting her pencil down and stared.
Finally she got out of her shock enough to speak
"I'm Stefany Raterfell. Is anything wrong?" She brushed back a lock of hair and raised an eyebrow. Her wrist was heating up. She winced before turning to face the man straight on. Her wrist seemed to burn harder. She didn't dare look down at it. This was time to study for exams, not get a soulmate. Honestly, the gods up there had no regards to her education! She huffed.

"So, are we going or what? I can help you get ready. I have this place I like to go."
Julie seemed to be acting a little awkward but then this situation would make any one feel a little off put, she would nod before she turned walking towards her bedroom to get ready. She would enter her bathroom, an ensuite that had been built into the room and that she loved having right there. Her room would be neat and tidy like the rest of the house, everything in its proper place albeit in here there would be piles of books on the bedside cupboards. Her room would be considered large by most people being able to house three king size beds easily if she were to try and put them in. The only thing that would seem to be out of place would be the computer she kept in the corner.
It had been retrofitted to be used for a blind person though just looking at it the only give away would be the keyboard having braille lettering on it aside from having the standard roman letters. She would grab her hair dryer and begin the process of drying her wings so that she would be able to fly again. The whole while she was moving around she was listening keenly to what Julie was doing.


“Shit!”
“Comin’!”
“Give me a second, a’ight? Just- fuck- hang on a sec!”
He heard come from behind the wooden portal, it was followed by a rather artistic rendition of vocabulary by a sailor on the seas. He found this to be rather humorous a stray smile coming to his face, a somewhat unusual occurrence these days. There was the sound of scraping wood followed by that of a click, that was an interesting thought, whom-so-ever was behind this wooden portcullis was attempting to hide something and he mused over what that might be.
As the door swung open he was greeted by a woman, she was dressed in casual attire which in and of itself wasn’t uncommon, dare he say it, it was the vogue thing to do whilst at home but what caught his attention faster than anything was the gas mask the woman had on.
“Yeah? What d’ya need?”
He could appreciate the question if not the way it was said and before he could even think about what he was saying he commented,
”Interesting attire.” it was in truth the most startling thing about the woman before him and lead his mind to question what exactly it was she was hiding, ‘questions for another time. I guess.’ He thought to himself before clearing his throat.
Forgive me, the name’s Zephyr, and I’m here investigating that Tornado that happened yesterday. Would you happen to know anything about the tenant that lives just besides you?”
By now his wrist would be starting to annoy him so he glanced towards the womans arm out of the corner of his eye, to make it less obvious he did this while talking and noted her wrist was also slightly glowing. ‘COME ON! UNIVERSE!’ he thought to himself ‘just my luck another human.’ Would be his next thought as he waited for her to respond.

---

Julie watched Cienna walk away, and heard a blow-dryer. As Cienna prepared herself, Julie stood up and continued watching the city light up. She opened the glass door, stepping out onto the balcony. The wind whipped her hair around, but she didn't mind. She looked around at the city, and she smiled. Yeah, she missed her home. But she was proud of what the world had become now. Up here, so high, she felt a little like her old self again. Erin had been silent this entire time, and for once Julie was glad about it. She snapped her fingers, and her outfit changed to a pink top and some skorts. She had forgotten about that for quite a while.
"Hurry up!" she yelled back inside, a rush of excitement washing over her. For tonight, just for tonight, she wanted to forget everything that ever was. She wanted to go out and have a good time with Cienna. Just for once.

Cienna was sitting had been sitting on her toilet in the ensuite ensuring her wings were completely dry with the hair dryer, it always seemed to take the longest time when your mobility required you to keep your wings dry became a real hassle if it rained. But the process hadn’t really taken that long when all was said and done she flapped her wings testing them and finding them to her liking, She then set about washing the tear stains off her face and applying a basic layer of makeup. She had to make herself look presentable after all.
She had her head inside her wardrobe when she heard Julie call out,
"Hurry up!"
She almost laughed it was like Emerald had returned, she too was always complaining that Cienna took three hundred years to get ready to go anywhere. Her hands fell on a outfit that she felt like wearing for this night, it took her only a few more minutes to get everything on and her hair pulled back up into a pony tail. The last thing she did was bandage her feet and legs and pull on a black garter, something she had started doing years ago and she liked doing it. She could feel the air flow which suggested that Julie was on the balcony and a mischievous smile would come over her features as she walked to her window and step out her wings fanning and catching her after she had fallen approximately one story. She would fly around to the balcony from below.
Rising up she would appear outside and in front of Julie twirling in mid-air “Tadaa” her tone somewhat counter to what it had been prior but she really did want to go out and have some fun with Julie too, and the early night air felt good on her skin.

---

Julie only had to wait a little while longer before Cienna flew up right in front of her with a "Tadaa". Julie gave a giggle, looking over Cienna; her makeup, her ponytail, and what she was wearing. She gave a small smile, nodding in approval. She put her arms on the railing, leaning on it.
"You've been alive for - what - two-hundred years now? How do you feel about the eighty's?" Julie asked, a grin still planted on her face. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this excited about going out. "I have this place that I really like to go. It brings back nostalgia for me."

"You've been alive for - what - two-hundred years now? How do you feel about the eighty's?"
If Cienna had a running live commentary at this very moment Julie may have heard the narrator suddenly say ‘oh boy!’ but alas there was no such narrator and thus Julie could not possibly know the true passion that Cienna had felt about that very subject. Her eyes would light up as she recalled some very fond memories and a smile crossed her face, if Julie had the ability to monitor magic flow she might have noticed Ciennas equilibrium shift from true neutral to a little more into the darker spectrum which meant flirty, sexy fun loving Cienna was out for a little at least.
“Shaka Brah!” she said raising a hand in the iconic rock symbol. “I mean, anyone that was a live at that time has to have loved it right?” she clarified as she held out her hand to Julie ”Trust me?” she would giggle at her own reference there another favorite time period for her the 90’s.

---

Julie continued to giggle as Cienna opened up a bit more. She nodded in agreement about loving that time if you were alive then. When a hand was held out to her and she was asked to be trusted, Julie raised an eyebrow. She noticed that something had shifted within herself, yes, but she also noticed something had shifted within Cienna. If only Erin had spoken up in warning to Julie about what was probably to arrive soon.
"Not really," she said, that same smirk on her face as before. "But sure," she continued with a shrug. She took the hand of the Dark Fairy.

"Not really,"
"But sure,"
A smile broad smile would be plastered across Ciennas features as Julie spoke to her, she had to agree that was probably the wisest course of action, to hold back complete trust but now she wanted to have fun. As Julie extended her hand and accepted her own she would flutter her wings while hovering and the wind would begin to stir around Julie before negating the effects of gravity on her rather easily, Cienna would tighten her grip on Julies hand and lift. This would have the effect of pulling Julie into the air alongside her. If she didn’t let go this would be safe to preform, well as safe is flying with a dark wind fairy could possibly get.
Lifting higher into the early night sky she would laugh spiralling somewhat not letting go either, she felt alive for the first time in a long time, if that were to do with burning out all her sadness or Julies presence she could not answer at this point but she felt like she a long time ago. ”so where to now my beautiful rose.” she had no idea where that had come from but she had to say it seemed to suit Julie perfectly.
@GoodLuckTuck

---

As Julie was lifted into the air, she gave a laugh. Every time she flew, it was when she was falling towards the ground. Now, the wind had lifted her up on its shoulders. She laughed again, looking over to Cienna. She couldn't believe this was happening right now of all things.
"So where to now, my beautiful rose," Cienna said to her, and Julie smiled.
"It's a place called Tucker's. It's been there for awhile, and it's my favourite place." And off they went.

---

Once they had arrived at Tucker's, Cienna would find a night club that resembled the 80's. The current song playing was "Fake" by Alexander O'Neal, and there were many people dancing on the floor. The colour theme was pink, blue, and magenta. On the wall behind the bar was a giant neon sign that said Tucker's. Once one had entered, immediately to the right were a few stairs to a higher point of the club with chairs. To the left of the entrance was a kind-of walled off area with booths and bathrooms at the end of it. On the other side of the club was a small area with retro video games, like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Bubble Bobble, and Dragon's Lair. There was also an exit to the back alley.

Julie smiled, fond memories coming back to her. She swayed to the music a little all on her own, and gave a laugh. "So, what first?" she asked Cienna.

Madison’s smile faltered somewhat at the woman’s reaction. Her wrist was visibly glowing- like if an LED light had been embedded beneath the skin- but she seemed more...annoyed by the event than anything. “Well,” he said, after a moment. He extended his hand to the woman, allowing her to examine the markings that bore her name. “I hope that I’m not bothering you, Miss Raterfell, but my name is Madison Lovette. You and I seem to be soulmates.”

Now that he was close to her, and the initial excitement of discovering his partner had worn off, he came to realize that Stefany was very much human. The scent of mortality hung about her like a mist, and Madison’s nostrils flared ever-so-slightly in response. No matter, he decided. At the moment, making a good first impression was the most important thing.

@ineffable

---

Tall. Really, really fucking tall. Stride considered herself pretty average in height, and even she found herself stepping back in order to really look the guy in the eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a quick once-over before speaking.

“If the reason ya came here was to get on me ‘bout my clothes, then ya might wanna find someone who actually gives a damn about ‘em.” Stride cracked her neck.

“Call me Stride. And ‘fore ya start askin’ more questions, ya mind tellin’ me why’re ya askin’?” The man spoke in the same manner as she did before taking a statement, or preparing to flash the badge in the face of a particularly unruly homeowner.

Well. He was a little more concise about it, admittedly, but it went along the same lines.

While pondering this, she came to notice something...that she really didn’t want to notice, actually. The guy, Zephyr, his wrist was glowing. Burning bright, actually. It was only after catching sight of it that she noticed her own had begun to sear, and Stride had to bite her tongue to suppress a groan.

Fuck.

Stride discreetly pulled her sleeve further up her arm, although the fabric did little to conceal the obnoxious glaring of her wrist. If he wasn’t going to mention it, she decided, then she sure as hell wouldn’t, either.

Perhaps someone would consider the move childish, yes, but Stride certainly wasn’t that someone.

@Daemanis

The flight had been fun, she hadn’t flown with another in a long time and it reminded her of her own past. As they arrived out the front she would lower Julie to the ground gently, herself hovering so that their heads were at the same height. Entering into the night club the familiar sounds and scents hit her like a wave. Bringing back so many fond memories of times that had come and gone.
"So, what first?"
”Well, if memory serves of places like this, we buy a drink, then the fun begins?”
She answered as she swayed in the air to the music as well, this was the last thing that she expected to doing with this evening, but now here they were, and she was going to make the most of it.



“If the reason ya came here was to get on me ‘bout my clothes, then ya might wanna find someone who actually gives a damn about ‘em.”
He would almost laugh at this response, ‘well damn she seem to actually have a humour about her’
“Call me Stride. And ‘fore ya start askin’ more questions, ya mind tellin’ me why’re ya askin’?”
Humor disappeared from his face almost as quickly as it had arrived, ‘quick’ he thought to himself, most people he spoke to would usually just assume that he were a cop and answer him without a problem. He would reach into the inner pocket of his jacket producing his badge.
”I’m a private investigator, who has been asked to check into this case, given my special abilities. His tone was business like again.
He noticed the small movement that the woman had made, a little bit school yard for his own tastes, he made no movements to conceal his own burning wrist but he knew the only way that it would stop would be if they physically touched and it could get a whole lot worse but he could withstand a lot more of the heat and pain it could generate.
He was more curious about the woman, something the universe had instilled in him with many soulmates was a curiosity about why they in particular had drawn the short straw in being paired with him.

@EchoicChamber

Stefany looks up at Maddie with a curious look on her face before clearing the table of papers and gesturing towards the other end of the table.
"You can sit down." She looked at him carefully, shifting around in her seat. She wouldn't try to get to know him. Not when she had a whole test ahead of her.

Stride’s eyes locked upon the badge as soon as it was produced, head leaning forward slightly to take a better look at it. It seemed legitimate enough, so, pulling back, Stride gave a brief grunt of satisfaction and leaned against the doorframe. “Can’t say I know much ‘bout her,” she said. “The name’s Julie Ambers, and the gal’s been livin’ here longer than I have. ‘ccasionally blasts some crappy music through the walls, but real nice lady when it comes down to it. Pro’lly won’t be ‘round for a bit.” She shrugged, then, after a moment of thought, stuffed her hands- and wrists- far into her jeans’ pockets.

“What’re these ‘special abilities’, anyway? Seems only fair if I get’ta ask you some questions, too.”

The guy seemed kind of straight-laced. Incredibly so, actually. Like the kind of fellow who’d say something smarmy on a train and bury his face into his newspaper.

@Daemanis

---

Madison smiled warmly. “Thank you, Miss Raterfall.” Placing his cup near the edge of the table- far from the work that littered most of its surface- he settled into the offered chair, meeting Stefany’s gaze with a curious one of his own. His wrist still felt like a furnace, but it was manageable enough. He took an idle sip from his cup, then looked down at the table.

“Final’s week?” It had been a long time since Madison had been made to attend a university, but from the sheer amount of texts and materials and whatnot, it didn’t take much to guess that Stefany was a student. Madison took a long swig, holding onto the warmth of his drink even after he finished. “If you’d like, I’d be more than happy to let you study in peace, Miss Raterfell. I know how difficult this time of the year must be.”

It was somewhat disappointing, but the last thing that Madison wanted was to get in the way of someone’s studies- let alone that of his partner’s. The pursuit of knowledge was an important one, to say the least.
@ineffable

Zephyr would wait for her to finish checking over his badge before returning it to the pocket inside his Jacket, it came in handy having those credentials at times.
“Can’t say I know much ‘bout her,”
“The name’s Julie Ambers, and the gal’s been livin’ here longer than I have. ‘ccasionally blasts some crappy music through the walls, but real nice lady when it comes down to it. Pro’lly won’t be ‘round for a bit.”
He would nod as he listened not seeming to take down any notes from anything she was saying. Mentally he would record Julie’s name and character traits. He was just about to ask another question when she chimed in with one of her own.
“What’re these ‘special abilities’, anyway? Seems only fair if I get’ta ask you some questions, too.”
Not an unusual question and one he had been prepared to answer if it meant that he was able to get some more of the information that he wanted.
”Well those of us that are like me.” he would begin ”I mean those of my species, have the innate ability to sense magic and it’s source of origin. the way he spoke belied the information that he was with holding, but in truth still answered the question that he had been asked.
The burn from his wrist was beginning to get a little annoying but he had come this far and still had a couple of questions that he would like to ask her. The thought crossed his mind,
”So then Miss Phoebe Alice Stride” he would say a slight smile crossing his face knowing he had one up on her, unless of course she had actually read his badge would simply reveal his name on earth as his true name which he guessed would be imprinted in Celestial on the womans wrist. ”Do you mind if I come in so we can discuss this further, and our situation.” he would say finally pointing out his wrist and her name ”Vis-a-vee” he would add while pointing his wrist.

@EchoicChamber

Stefany gave him a tentative smile back, staring at his girly clothes and trying not to wince. Here she was, trying not to stand out so him being here was enough to make her want to go back to the safe confines of her apartment. She shuffled a couple of random papers and placed them to the side so Maddie had more place to put down his cup.
"Yeah. It's killing me." She smiled again before looking at Maddie closely. She was feeling oddly weirded out by his constant reference to her as "Miss Raterfell"
"No, no it's fine. I was finishing here anyway. Are you free for today?" She wasn't going to meet her soulmate twice. And her wrist was burning hard enough to make her want to do anything to make it stop.