[IC] Crimson Moons

[Love Dove]

This small town was peaceful. Or so it seemed, as she drove through it looking for the hotel that she was going to be staying at. Normally she rented out rooms, or slept in her car at rest stops. Though honestly, cars were so uncomfortable. It would be so nice not to have people bug her. The brunette shook her head quickly though, pulling her attention back to the road ahead of her. As well as the looks from people in the town as she drove through. One of the worst parts about small towns, was the fact everyone knew each other. However, it made for that in safety. Plus had smaller packs. The smaller the pack, the easier it was for her to hunt without having to why about them noticing. Though that hadn't been the case in the last town she was in. The wolves there had figured out who she was, and threatened to kill the person was staying with.

Scarlet cursed under her breath as she almost missed the turn to the hotel parking lot. As she put her car into park she stretched her body slightly, it had been a rather long ride and though her nerves spiked up slightly. This place didn't seem very run down, surely that was a good sign at least. Her light caramel colored eyes glanced out her windshield at the dark gray clouds that started to fill the sky threatening to pour rain down on the town at any given moment.

“Great Scar, you're not going to everything in before it starts raining.” She mumbled to herself before getting off of her car and heading to the office at the front. Locked. She sighed to herself. “The guy must be out to lunch or something.” Deciding that her car was the best place to wait, she quickly headed back to her car. The rain starting shortly after she was in. With a tired sigh she rolled her window down a little so she could take in the smell of the rain. She let her eyes close for only a moment, leaning her head against the window.

[Alfbie]

Nathaniel Russet normally worked through lunch, relieving Daisy from the front counter of their hotel. This hour gave him a chance to slow down from the hustle and bustle of the busy work day, to capture the sights, to absorb the sounds, to take in the scents, and catch up with his thoughts. There usually wasn't much activity at this time of day; all patrons had checked out by this time, new ones hadn't arrived yet, and the cleaning crew was still hard at work making each room appear pristine and new. He'd typically eat his lunch--made from home--at the front desk, lobby door wide open. From there, he could smell the exhaust of the cars snaking down the distant highway as well as the aging donuts from the pastry place a few blocks down, the perfume of the clerk from the jewelry shop across the street, and the footsteps of whoever trekked the sidewalk by the hotel. He could hear that distant highway too, as well as the conversations of the construction team on break, the whisper of the trees lining the back of the hotel, and the scurry of mice beneath the ground. To him, this was normal, mundane, part of his everyday routine. To any other person, Nate was just a lean, endearingly-scruffy man at the front counter eating a sandwich.

That morning, however, while examining the roof of the hotel he co-owned, he had heard the tractor in the hay field right by this tiny village give way, followed by the pained screams of old man John Frazier, the faint scent of blood punctuating the cry for help. So he had abandoned the roof for the time being, left the hotel to Daisy's devices, and rushed out to help a neighbor in need.

Noon rolled around. Daisy secured the lobby so that she could go to lunch. And it began to rain.

That was when Nate rumbled up in his old pickup truck, a noisy beast from the 60s that had never let him down, parking in the spot off to the side of the building reserved for the staff. He climbed out slowly, exhausted, his mind numb and his senses fried. Mud scuffed his long-sleeved flannel shirt and jeans. Old man John Frazier had passed out on the tractor, he had fallen, his leg... Trying not to think about it too much, Nate passed a calloused hand over his weary face--sharp features lined with stubble. He raked a hand through his light-brown hair as he slammed the door behind him and did not bother rushing or providing cover from the rain as it began to fall more generously. He needed the cleansing, even if it couldn't cleanse his thoughts.

He smelled her before he saw her, even through the rain, the scent of an unfamiliar woman. A visitor? Nothing out of the ordinary--this was a hotel, after all, and a common rest stop for travelers too weary to make the last few hours to the nearest city. Still, he took a quick glance, sky-blue eyes falling upon an attractive young woman sitting in her car.

Nate paid her no other mind after that glance as he fished his keys out his pocket and glanced at his watch: twelve thirty. Daisy was still out for lunch. So he unlocked the door, stepped inside, and shrugged off his flannel shirt, revealing a white tank top underneath; he couldn't man the front desk covered in mud, could he? The front desk, as he stepped around it, obscured his dirty pants as his rain-damp hair moistened his shoulders. He looked around for a spare shirt, seeing only Daisy's things, and sighed. This would have to do until Daisy returned--then he could go home and change.

He stood at the center of the counter and waited, allowing the gentle thrumming of the rain outside to numb his thoughts.