[IC] That sure is a big dog you have there !

[BeautifulSnow]

Vanessa walked in and took of her coat. ''I wonder what they will think of what I have to say'' she said and winked at Gabriel. Of course he knew it already but she was kind of trying to get them a little curious. She then turned around and walked to the livingroom. ''Hey guys, first of all... You all are staying here the night'' she said and smiled.

She saw Thomas his eyes light up and smile. Vanessa then looked at them and waited for a few moments so Gabriel was back in the room too. When he was, she smiled at him. ''And if you guys like the house.. You are all welcome to come and live there'' she said and then looked at them all. ''For free btw, no paying rent'' she added and had not told Gabriel this yet but she kinda wondered how he would react. Robyn walked into the room and smacked Thomas on his head. ''Seems like you had it right boy'' she said, a little sarcastic. ''But then again, we can all see that she is in love with our boss'' she said. This caused Vanessa to blush and grin a little idiotic. ''Oh geez! That was a joke.. is it true?!'' Robyn said, a little shocked. Vanessa walked up to Gabriel and leaned against him. ''Yep'' she simple said and closed her eyes. Everyone started to look at each other and then at Gabriel, they wanted to see if he was in love with her as well.

[Chenzor]

Gabriel wasn't expecting this reveal so soon after he had confessed to Vanessa, but as soon as they returned to the apartment Vanessa had told the others straight away. He stuttered as he looked at his friends. "W-well, I, uh... It's, I..." he began, which made Conrad and Jaze (possibly Robyn) laugh so hard they almost fell off the couch. Thomas was mostly just shocked with his jaw hanging. They had never seen Gabriel speechless before, so this was a priceless moment. "That takes the cake!" exclaimed Conrad, who had to lean on Jaze not to die of laughter. Jaze himself was chuckling. Gabriel felt incredibly embarassed, but felt like he had to retake control of the situation. "First of all, Robyn!" Gabriel said, speaking with authority, "Don't call me boss, alright? I may be your 'leader' but I'm not your boss. And secondly you just had to make that joke didn't you?" He stared her down with a stern gaze, but his flushed face made it hard to take him seriously so Robyn mostly tried to fight off a grin. "Third, yes I have grown quite... Attached..." he said, unsure what words to use and looked at Vanessa "To her. It's... Normal. Right? She did save me from the up-town pack's goons. Sorta."

[BeautifulSnow]

''I am sorry Gabriel.. We just never had thought to see you so speechless or with a women'' Robyn said, she still tried to fight her grin but without much success. ''Okay guys, now its good'' Vanessa said, she sensed that Gabriel didn't feel great and she didn't want his friends to laugh at him like he was some idiot. ''It's 5 am already... Did you guys wanna sleep a few more hours or shall we start packing?'' she asked. ''Sleep! At least you, since you are the one driving us'' Robyn said. Vanessa nodded. ''True, that might be a good idea'' she said and looked at the others.

''We can start packing or first try to sleep some'' Conrad said. ''Well, that is up to you guys'' Vanessa said and looked at Gabriel. Vanessa then got out her phone and texted her uncle for the van and said that she is going back to her own house. She knew this would be a surprise for her aunt and uncle but she also knew that they would love to have her back in her own house, they never had liked the idea of their niece living in the backstreets. ''Okay, the van will most likely be here at 11 am or 11:30'' she said. ''I will have a few last things to get done before we head to the forests.. So I would really like it if you guys could pack this house empty.. Leave the furniture though.. We have better stuff in the house'' she said. She gave Gabriel a soft kiss on his cheek and then walked to her bedroom, leaving them in the living room with the choice to do what they want.

[Chenzor]

"It's okay I'm not really mad." Gabriel responded to Robyn's apology. He pretended he didn't notice her struggle with hiding the grin.
"Anyway c'mon and let's pack down all the stuff yeah? Yeah?" Thomas said, attempting a terrible pun that hopefully Vanessa wouldn't get. The others just facepalmed. "That wasn't funny, kid." Conrad said, patting Thomas on the head gently. "Let's pack, gang." Said Gabriel "We can sleep when we get there."
When Vanessa gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, Gabriel smiled but didn't say anything. He just looked at her until she disappeared into the bedroom.
Packing was quite fast, although it took a while for them to realize what to pack and where to put everything. They found plastic and paper bags and stuff though, so it was fine.

Long story short, they finished packing through the morning, and when they were done they were all yawning. Gabriel kept glancing at the bedroom door, wondering when Vanessa would wake up but also wondering when he could finally look at her again, now that he had realized she was quite pretty. He snickered to himself at the thought. "Alright guys... Let's hope Vanessa wakes up soon so we can sleep, heh." he said, sitting down on a chair with a sigh.

[BeautifulSnow]

Vanessa woke up at 8 am, with only three hours of sleep she felt like she had a really heavy body. She stayed in bed for another thirty minutes and then heard Gabriel say that he hoped she would wake up soon. She got up and dressed up. Today she wore a slightly teared down jeans, with a top with a huge rose covering the front. Her hair bound in a ponytail, she put on her sneakers and walked into the living room.

''I thought that I had said that you could still sleep too'' she said and shook her head. ''Robyn, take that spare bed'' she said. When Robyn wanted to refuse she got a pretty scary stare from Vanessa. ''Okay, I am going'' she said and went to the bedroom. Vanessa followed Robyn, helped her with the bed and then grabbed a few extra blankets. She threw one at Gabriel and then one over Thomas who already had fallen asleep on the couch. ''Conrad.. Jaze.. One of you can take my bed, unless Gabriel wants to sleep there. Robyn sleeps on the bed next to mine'' she said. Jaze ran for her bed and jumped on it. Vanessa shook her head laughing and then gave Conrad the last blanket. ''We have another chair, take some sleep.. I have to get to my shop to give the keys to Amanda'' she said.

[Chenzor]

After everyone had taken their places, Gabriel smiled at Vanessa. It was funny how she already had managed to gain some sort of authority among the pack. The 'Streetfangs' they called themselves, but right now they weren't really on the street.
Gabriel covered himself with the blanket he was given and closed his eyes. A few hours of sleep is better than none.

Short post, but don't really know what to write until we get to the house in the woods x)

[BeautifulSnow]

Vanessa smiled. She walked up to Gabriel, gave him a kiss on his cheek. ''Don't worry, I'll be back soon'' she said and then walked away, taking her coat. She got out and this time she took her car. It was not much that she owned and she mostly used it as she had to go to the flower market but this would be faster.

She drove to the flower shop and saw Amanda standing there already. Holding her two year old in her arms. She parked her car and got out. ''I am going to give you something, and you can't say no to it'' she said and Amanda nodded. Vanessa then walked to the girl and gave her the keys to the shop and her pass to the market. ''But..'' Amanda said. ''I said no no'' Vanessa said. ''What are you gonna do then?'' Amanda asked. ''I am going back home, I've found some people that can use my help and I am going back'' she said. Amanda smiled and hugged Vanessa. ''I am so happy that you are going back, it is your house'' she said. ''I know'' Vanessa said. ''You will be okay'' Amanda said. ''And always welcome to come back'' Amanda said. ''Let me know if you wanna change the name or something, I'll keep the shop on my name so you don't have all that trouble'' she said. Amanda nodded.

Vanessa then drove to her aunt and uncle and gave them a last hug. ''We stored the things you still had in that garage box in the van already'' her uncle said. ''Thank you'' she said and then swapped the keys. ''Just call me when you have time to come over, then we can swap the cars again'' Vanessa said. ''That will come later, the Jeep is standing in the garage of the house'' her aunt said. ''Awesome'' Vanessa said, she hugged them both. ''We will stay in touch, thanks again for taking care of me'' she said. ''Don't be silly, we would not have wanted to miss it'' her Aunt said.

Vanessa then left with the van and when she parked she saw on her watch it already was 10 am. She got out of the van, locked it and then walked to her apartment. She opened the door slowly and walked in as quiet as she could. She saw Gabriel, Thomas and Conrad asleep and smiled. She sat down next to the chair where Gabriel was sitting on, she wanted to be close to him, and laid her head against his hand.

That's okay :) Gabriel / The pack couldn't do much now anyways :P You can, if you want, do after a short wake up paragraph a time skip to where they just arrive at the house.

[Chenzor]

It was 10 AM, and Gabriel softly woke from his sleep by something touching his hand. Opening one eye tiredly to see what it was, he saw Vanessa's hair. He suddenly realized where he was again from the disorientation that sleep brings, and he smiled. With his other hand, he stroked her hair gently. Funny how I barely know anything about this girl. I don't even know how old she is, I don't remember if she told me. he thought and smiled at her again, before closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep again for a moment.

An hour later, they were all up and got into the van. Everyone was excited of course, but still sleepy. Thomas was fighting dozing off in the backseat with Robyn, who were bullying him by flicking his ear as soon as he fell asleep. He never knew what it was that woke him up.
Jaze and Conrad were in the middle row, and were yawning occasionally, looking out the window, peacefully excited about their destination.
Gabriel was in the frontseat with Vanessa, who was driving.
They drove for quite a while, out from the city and into the woods. This region was familiar to Gabriel, but he hadn't been here for a very long time. Not since his turning... His history here made him shudder slightly, but he pushed the thoughts away from his mind. Once they arrived at their destination, they were all stunned. The house was gorgeous, with an enormous property. Everything was modern and felt fresh even though nobody had probably been here for a while. They were all looking around the house and the grounds, exploring the surroundings. It was truly astounding.
It didn't last long however, for after but a few hours the pack was tired again after having spent so many hours awake and so few hours asleep. Vanessa had showed them to the rooms where they could sleep and they had all pretty much fallen asleep directly. Except for Gabriel.

Once the others were sleeping, Gabriel looked at Vanessa and smiled. "I haven't seen them this comfortable in years. It is a truly great thing you've done for us. We'll have to find a way to repay you one day." he said, and wanted to take her hand and hold it but didn't know if that would make him come off too strongly, despite the fact that they had confessed to each other just a few hours ago.
"So this entire property is yours? Your inheritence? You must've had a very rich family... It's quite a drive out here too." he said, making small-talk at first, but after not really knowing how to continue the conversation, he decided to just screw his previous thoughts, and took hold of Vanessa's hand in his own. He looked at her. "You are... Quite beautiful, you know." he said, feeling sort of embarassed for saying such cheesy things... But he wanted to say them. He wanted to speak his mind. He had always been direct, open and honest with his pack, so he wanted to be so with Vanessa too. In time... he thought to himself, She will know the truth. But not yet.
He kept holding her hand, brushed her hair away from her face with his other hand, leaned in and gave her a kiss. Afterwards, he looked at her. "Sorry, am I being too cheesy? I feel like I'm being too cheesy. I bet you think I'm being too cheesy." he said, almost laughing. He sorta wanted her to take the initiative, to see wether or not she wanted to kiss him again... He felt silly for wanting such things, but he kinda just wanted to stand here and kiss her for a moment before he could go back to sleep for an hour or two.

[BeautifulSnow]

Vanessa had given them all their own room as she had directly told her aunt and uncle that she wanted the house to have the exact same amount of rooms as it had before, just some extra bedrooms. She looked at Gabriel and took his hand as she saw he wanted to take hers. She listened to him and smiled a little. ''Yes.. This all is mine... I told you, that I had a other house, one where we could all live'' she said and winked at him.

''I don't know if my family is rich... I do remember that my father used to be a hunter.. But he didn't only hunt in the morning on deer's and other wild animals.. When I was still very young I can recall somewhere in my memories a fight between my father and mother about my father's midnight hunts once a month'' she said and walked to the couch. She sat down and pulled him on it too. When he sat, she crawled up to lean against him. ''There.. this is better'' she said and then listened to him as he kept saying that he thought that she would find him to be too cheesy. She shook her head and when he didn't stop, she placed her lips on his. She closed her eyes and laid her hand against his cheek. Her hand would slowly slide into his hair and her free hand would be laid there too as she kept kissing him. She would allow him to get some sleep soon but first she wanted him to know she didn't mind him being 'cheesy'.

[Chenzor]

Gabriel listened intently to the things Vanessa told him. Her father had been a hunter? In this huge house? And the fact that her parents had argued was... Strange. He wasn't yet putting pieces together, as he suspected nothing and he was quite tired so his brain wouldn't do any work, so he just followed Vanessa to the couch and sat down. Calling her beautiful and then saying he felt cheesy, she kissed him. She kissed him tenderly and lovingly. He had never felt this before, any of it. He closed his eyes and kissed back, giving in to his heart. She loved to feel her hands through his hair and her soft lips against his.
His own hands found their way first around her back and then to her waist, holding her in an embrace during the entire time. He didn't ever want to stop.

[BeautifulSnow]

Vanessa stopped the kiss so she could breath again and looked in his eyes. ''You need to sleep some'' she said and then kissed his cheek. ''Come, I'll show you the room I had in mind for you'' she said. ''Or do you want to sleep on the couch, then I'll hold you and stroke trough your hair if you want too'' she said and smiled.

She moved a little so he could choose to get up or lay down in her lap and sleep some. She wouldn't mind both, if he would choose to sleep some in the room she had for him, she could do some work around here. If he wanted to sleep in her lap, she would stay where she was and stroke trough his hair. Maybe even fall asleep too.

[Chenzor]

Gabriel yawned. "Sleeping sounds nice. I didn't think you'd prepare a room each for all of us. Your generosity knows no bounds!" he said, snickering. "Show me to the room. Not that I wouldn't mind you running your hands through my hair a little more..." He gave her a friendly wink.
He had stopped thinking about the hunter thing, and had found this place quite comfortable. In time, maybe he would feel at home.
There was something strange about the area, however. Something familiar to him that made him uneasy. Shuddering the thought away, he took Vanessa's hand and gave her a kiss on the cheek before falling asleep in his room.

[BeautifulSnow]

Vanessa smiled and when he was asleep she stroked one more time trough his hair. She then left his room and decided to go to the office of her father. She walked downstairs on her socks and when she stood in front of it, she knocked on the door and waited. After a minute she frowned and then shook her head. ''Smart Vanessa.. No body is in there'' she said and tried to open the door but it was locked. ''Locked?'' she asked herself and then looked around.

'Where was that key again?' she thought to herself and frowned. She looked around and after half an hour she found a key, she tried it and the door unlocked. She opened it and looked around before stepping in. This always had been a forbidden part of the house unless her father would call her or her brother inside, but then you were in trouble. She then did a first step inside and walked over to the desk, even his computer was still standing there. A little note was laying on the keyboard.

She took it and read out loud: ''Dear Vanessa, welcome home. We hope to talk to you soon, if you log in to the computer open your fathers email account. Greetings, a good friend''. She frowned. ''A dear friend?'' she asked and then laid a hand on the chair. She sat down on it and booted up the computer. She looked at the screen for a while and at the empty place where she had to put in a password. But.. She didn't know what it was.

[Chenzor]

While everyone else was sleeping, Conrad awoke. He slowly snuck out of his room and listened intently around the house. Good. They're asleep. he thought and snuck out. He looked around for Vanessa, but couldn't find her. Sniffing the air, he caught her scent and concluded that she must have gone down the stairs.
Looking around one final time, listening to signs of the others being awake, he left the house. He snuck out into the daylight, and strolled around the grounds.

Once a safe distance away, he stopped and took a deep breath. The fall noon was sunny and bright, and warm enough to get away without wearing a jacket. Conrad's hand made it's way into his shirt collar, and took out a pendant. He eyed it for a moment, then clutched it in his fist. "You would've loved it here, Monica." he spoke absent-mindendly to himself. "Then again, you always said fall was your favourite time of year."
He took a few steps into the woods, and sat down on an old tree-stump. It had a strange sliced mark on it, like a single large claw had broken it apart. But it was probably just a storm that had knocked it down long ago. "I did it for you, Monica." he continued, speaking into the open air, his eyes beginning to tear up. "I did it for us. I thought I could save them." He grabbed the pendant again, holding it tightly before taking a deep, gasping breath. He tucked it away into his shirt again and walked back to the house. Once inside, the others still hadn't woken up. He decided to walk down the stairs to see what Vanessa was doing, if she was still there.
Seeing her sit on a chair by a computer in some sort of office, he knocked on the doorframe to get her attention. "You tried to get some sleep?" he said to her, smiling kindly.

[BeautifulSnow]

Vanessa had been staring at the screen for a while so when Conrad stood in the doorway she looked up and frowned for a short moment. When he started to speak she knew who he was. ''Oh Conrad.. I didn't recgonize you right away'' she said. ''Come in..'' she then said and pointed to one of the chairs in front of the desk. ''I am trying to log in on my fathers computer.. I wanted to check a few things but I don't know the password'' she said. ''I have tried things related to my mother, brother and me already but it didn't work'' she said and sighed.

''Sleep?'' she then asked. ''Your the one that should be sleeping, I have slept for four hours'' she said and smiled. ''I'll sleep at night again, when the sun is down'' she said. ''Oh.. What would you btw like to eat for dinner?'' she asked. She opened the desk drawer and placed the note in it and then closed, and locked the drawer. ''I am going to order something so I will let you choose'' she said with a smile.

[Chenzor]

"Sure." Conrad answered. "I'll get some sleep once the sun goes down too."
He didn't look at the note which she hid away, because he is making an effort to be polite. "You're ordering food for us all the way out here? At this point, I'd go for anything. It's not often we get a proper meal nowadays... Though most of us can cook." he rubbed his stubby chin for a moment, looking out the window. "How about... Pizza? Pizza is damn good."

After some small-talk and discussing what kinds of pizzas are the best, Conrad was quiet for a moment. "We haven't known you for long, but you have been very kind to us. As Gabriel's source of wisdom, I have to ask you however... You confess to loving him already? What's between you two?" he asked, not at all judgemental or inquisitive.

[BeautifulSnow]

Vanessa nodded. ''Yes, we used to do that every Friday and I am going to keep that 'tradition' in this house or.. new family'' she said with a smile. They decided which pizza's they would get and when that was done she looked at Conrad. He came up with a much serious topic to talk about. She nodded and thought about it.

''It's hard to explain.. Your the.. oldest, not that I mean your old.. But also most likely the wisest'' Vanessa said. ''It's.. The feeling that I know Gabriel already for a long time, like faith brought us together..'' she said and laughed some about herself. ''I think this is sounding really really weird to you.. I just think..'' she said, she looked around so she could think of a way to explain herself better and then suddenly looked up. ''That is it!'' she said and moved the mouse. ''Wait a second Conrad'' she said and typed something in on the keyboard and then pushed enter. The computer made a sound and it was signing in. ''Yes!'' she said and smiled.

''Okay.. Back to our topic'' she said. ''What I mean is.. I have the feeling to know Gabriel.. Like I've met him before.. He is probably a few years older than me so maybe he and my brother went to the same school or something...'' she said. ''Anyways... I can't really explain it to you.. Being close to him, makes me feel better...'' she said. ''I feel more protected and.. save'' she said. ''And the last time I've felt that, really felt that, was when I was still a child and lived here with my family'' she said.

[Chenzor]

Vanessa realized something, and typed on the keyboard. Conrad didn't really care that much, so he waited politely. Then, she explained her feeling. "So you feel like you know him?" he said, looking concerned. He remembered the story Gabriel had told them earlier. Feeling like they know each other might not be a good thing. "And you feel as if fate brought you together? Fate it is, then." he said and smiled. It must indeed be fate, that they reunite after all these years. Although, if only Vanessa knew the horrible truth... Conrad doubted she would still love Gabriel. He didn't know all the details about the story, but he knew what Gabriel had done on the night of his turning... And it wasn't pretty.
"It makes me happy that you feel safe around him. That's what we feel too. In our group, we're all family, and Gabriel is the one who brought us together and protected us through the years. I've never met a ... Stronger... Person." Conrad spoke, and put his hand on Vanessa's shoulder and smiled. "I'll go wake the others, we can't sleep the entire day away. Besides, I'm aching for some pizza!"
With that, Conrad left to wake the others from their sleep. Once he came up the stairs however, he saw Robyn had already woke up. "Hey, we're ordering pizza appearantly." Conrad said to her. "I was going to wake you guys but I realize it might take a while for the delivery man to get out here... So I suppose we can wait a few more minutes." Robyn brushed the tiredness out of her eyes. "Pizza?! That's awesome!" she said, enthusiastic. "I haven't had real pizza in forever!" Conrad smiled in response.

[BeautifulSnow]

Vanessa walked out of her dad's office and closed the door, even locked it. She then walked upstairs, or did a few steps. ''Robyn, Conrad.. Come down stairs before you wake up the others'' she said and smiled. ''They need their sleep'' she said and then walked back down stairs. She heard then get down stairs too. ''There are two bathrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs... I would say go take a shower and then get dressed.. There must still be clothes laying here from my family.. Robyn, they are not your style but you can wear my old clothes, they are from when I was 16 or something.. I think you will fit in them'' she said and then pointed to one bathroom downstairs. ''Conrad, you can take the bathroom upstairs'' she said and then smiled.

''I am going to get the plates and glasses and something to drink for us'' she said and smiled. She then walked to the kitchen which was connected with the Living room so you could still talk with the people in the living room if you wanted while cooking.

- Half an hour later -

Vanessa saw Robyn return, wearing her old jeans, white shirt and black blouse. ''Thanks for the clothes.. They are pretty nice'' Robyn said. ''Your welcome'' she said. The bell then rang and Robyn looked a bit surprised. ''Go wake the others Robyn.. Just let Gabriel lay down for a little longer, I'll wake him'' she said and then walked up to open the door for the pizza boy. She paid for the pizza's and smiled. ''Thanks for the fast delivery'' she said and gave him a tip, she then closed the door and placed the boxes on the table.

She walked upstairs and slowly opened the door to Gabriel's room. She squatted down next to the bed and laid her hand on his chest. ''Gabriel, wake up'' she said, softly speaking. She felt how he was breathing, so soft and in peace. ''We are gonna eat pizza'' she said and bend over to kiss on his cheek.

[Chenzor]

Conrad happily did as he was told, showered, got back up and woke the others with Robyn. Everyone else got up with the same enthusiasm about Pizza, and waited eagerly when the doorbell rang.

Gabriel opened his eyes slowly when he heard the bell. He groaned and closed them again, having no idea what the deal was. He fell asleep again within seconds, but woke up to Vanessa's soft voice speaking beside him. He could feel her hand on his chest, her warm lips as they kissed his cheek. He smiled and opened his eyes. "Hey... Pizza?" was all he could say. He groaned and sat up in bed, to wake up better. He took hold of Vanessa's hand and moved a bit inward on the bed, so that she could sit on the edge of the bed beside him.
If she did, he would wrap his arms around her in a hug. "That was quite a nice awakening." he said with a raspy just-woke-up-voice. "I kinda hope you do that more."
He kissed her neck and looked at her with a smile. "I bet the others are like happy children, am I right? They all love pizza I'm sure." he said, and gave her a quick kiss before getting up from the bed to put his shirt back on. He had slept with his pants on for some reason.