The rain was falling in buckets when Vaughan exited the Velvet Jungle through the back door that deposited him into the ally way behind the building. He didn’t think of it as an omen, just unavoidable. The clouds had been “hanging” around for days and the sky had been turning more and more gray and looking heavy and droopy for days. It was about time that the water broke though and lightened the sky. Maybe tomorrow it would be in better spirits.

The rain fell in very fat droplets, falling like small fists to pound on whatever came into it’s direct path. Everything was covered in a sleek, wet layer, including the young man making his way across the slick grass of the park from one path to the next. Vaughan was dressed in a pair of light colored jeans, so faded that they were nearly white and with so many holes in them that there might have been more hole then material. A hole ripped across the back of the leg under the buttock revealed a pair of leather shorts so tight that they may as well have been a second skin and so short that he may as well have been wearing a thong for all they covered. Over his chest he had pulled on a black tee that read No Fear across the back. His hair was heavy with water and lay down in wet waves to his shoulders.

He wasn’t running from the rain, in fact, he was enjoying it with his face tipped up to the sky and letting the drops fall on his face and roll off of his cheeks. He was walking with a rolling motion that left very little way for argument that this young man was very graceful.

It was nearing three in the morning and Vaughan was only just leaving work, yet he was not tired. He had only been awake for little more then seven hours and would not grow tired for another ten or eleven hours. He could go home and read another book, curling up with a Alice as she made her way through Wonderland, he could have stayed at work, he could go to a club, none of these appealed to him tonight and it occurred to him that he could just stay outside and enjoy the rain. No one was left to tell him that he could get a cold from playing in the rain. No one would tell him to get inside out of the rain. The thought pained him more then comforted him.

The night brought out all sorts of interesting things, people and creatures. Tonight, even with the pouring rain, was no exception. Freaks would venture out no matter what the weather, for the most part. The female vampire was no exception. For a while, she had withdrawn from the world and had pretty much gone into seclusion. It was only when the loneliness couldn’t be stood any longer that she finally ventured forth once more.

Her long black dress that flowed down to her ankles clung to her every curve. Black heels were probably not the best thing to wear on a night like this but it was what she had picked to go with her dress. Having opted to leave her long red hair down, it clung to her just as tightly as her dress was. At her side was an equally soaked female rottweiler. Enyo didn’t go anywhere without Sasha since the day Sasha had become hers. The dog was really her only friend, sad as that probably sounds, but it’s true.

Having already fed when she had first ventured out, Enyo had made her way to the park. It was only after she was completely drenched that she made her way into one of the few gazebos that were scattered throughout the park. Sasha had shaken the water off of her fur the moment they’d stepped under the little shelter. It didn’t phase Enyo that she was soaked. She’d mostly gone onto the gazebo so that her dog could dry off some before they continued on their way. She never really knew where she was going. They just walked until they needed to turn around and head back before the morning came.

Movement caught her attention as she sat there on one of the seats in the gazebo and she turned her head in the direction of the young man that was walking through the rain. The gazebo was fairly close to where he was walking. “Don’t you know you could catch your death out here?” came a soft, feminine voice from inside the gazebo. Her question, technically, held several meanings behind it. However, it was quite easy to assume she was only talking about the falling rain.

Vaughan paused in his walking. Had he heard that right? Or had he just projected a woman’s voice out of is imagination as he had thought those very words that were spoken out?

Vaughan stood in the pouring rain and could have been a multi million dollar porn star with the water running down his face, his clothes clinging to him in places that were barely covered by his holy jeans and his little leather shorts in the first place. His hair was stuck to his face, the waves creating wiggly patterns against his light tanned skin. He reached up and peeled the strands off of his face, tucking them behind his ear.

His brown eyes swept the area in the direction that she had spoken from and finally they found her in the shadows of the gazebo. The darkness and the moving curtain of rain had concealed her from his sweeping mortal gaze the first time. When his eyes landed on her a smile spread across his lips flashing white teeth and his eyes lit up with pleasure.

“For a minute there I thought I was hearing voices,” he told her and he started walking through the rain towards the gazebo. To Vaughan, opening your mouth and speaking to him, no matter for what reason, was inviting him into a conversation. He stepped up into the gazebo and the rain stopped pounding him. “I can’t catch my death,” he told her, still smiling and standing at the edge of the gazebo so that he balanced on his toes, his heels hanging off of the edge of the step and the rain still pouring down his already soaked back. “Didn’t you know, at this age you are invincible.” He chuckled softly and the sound wasn’t quite as young, innocent, or boyish as he looked.

Bright green eyes followed his every move as he looked around to try to find the source of her voice. For the moment, she spoke nothing further. If he spotted her, cool. If not, that was cool, too. It didn’t really matter all that much to her. Going out of her way to talk to people, or get their attention, just wasn’t something that she did. It wasn’t that see was anti-social. She just didn’t socialize all that well.

Through the rain and shadows, she was able to easily see his smile and the light that shone in his eyes. She spoke nothing as he walked towards the gazebo. Sasha lifted her head from her paws at the sound of the man approaching and shifted to be laying at her master’s feet between her master and the man. It was an automatic thing for the rottweiler to do. It didn’t matter to Sasha if the person was threatening or not. This was just something she did. It was her job to protect her master, after all.

A slight smile was offered after he stepped partially into the gazebo. Her pale skin stood out against the shadows. No make-up touched her face. She didn’t need make-up. She had flawless skin. Of course, that was because of what she is. Enyo looked to only be about 18 years old and not a day older. That was not her real age, obviously, but only she knew that. Well, she and those that knew that she’s a vampire. Although, she really hadn’t told anyone her true age. Not even Morose.

Raising a brow, slightly, she continued to just watch him as he spoke. “Is that so?” came her soft voice, finally. “You’re not worried about getting pneumonia from the rain? Or some freak jumping you in the shadows?” There was an almost teasing tone to her voice as she asked the second question. Almost.

“No,” he replied with such confidence and honesty that one might think he even hoped to get pneumonia or to be jumped by a freak. Or maybe he was the freak.

When she rewarded him with a smile of her own, no matter how slight, he grinned encouragingly. She couldn’t not want him here, otherwise she wouldn’t have spoken to him at all. Vaughan takes great encouragement from small gestures. Her speaking at all was, even if she hadn’t meant it to be, a guesture.

She looked like she was his age, and even if she were not a little bit of harmless flirting would be…well, harmless. She was pretty and her green eyes were so enchanting and that dress. He can’t help it, he’s a young man, and at heart he’s even younger still. He put his arms out to the sides until his hands were hooked around the polls that made up the doorway of the gazebo and he leaned forward, leaning into the small room-like structure towards her, though it didn’t even move him more then half a foot closer to her. His smile cocked sideways and slyly. “Why? Are you?” He cocked an eyebrow up, his hair dripped beads of water down his cheeks. Then his smile turned playful. “Should I be?” This said with a downward tilt of his head.

He didn’t see the dog on the ground between them for his eyes had not dropped from her eyes yet, or at least, they had only very quickly taken in the dark dress that had helped hide her in the shadows as he had approached. Now, leaning forward into the darkness of the gazebo, his eyes dropped and he leaned back again too abruptly and where only his toes had been balancing him on the steps he stumbled down the three small steps and only regained his balance when he was back in the drenching rain. He gathered his composure and he stepped back up to the gazebo, stepping back to balance on the edge of the top step once again where he had been. He had stumbled only from surprise. It seemed the young man really did have no fear in him. It was as if he didn’t have the ability to fear. “Well, I didn’t see him there.” He chuckled. “He won’t kill me, right?”

The dog hadn’t attacked him when he’d first stepped up and hadn’t seen it, there for logic said it shouldn’t attack him this time.

ooc; sorry this took me so long to write up and post... been terribly busy with getting stuff sorted and whatnot cause, it’s official, I’m moving out here to Kansas City, Missouri =D

ic; Bright green eyes remained fully fixed on the young man. A slight shake of her head was made as he answered her question. It was so slight, though, that it just might not be seen unless one was really paying close attention to her every movement and such. Had this been any other point in her life, she might have been impressed with the confidence in which he spoke. However, this was not to be the case now. She just plain thought it foolish.

She’d picked up the flirtingness coming from the young man and lifted a brow ever so slightly. A bit of humor touched her smile as she continued to watch him. She hadn’t yet answered his questions when she realized that he finally took notice of the dog at her feet. The rottweiler lifted her head from her paws as the young man went stumbling backwards. Enyo couldn’t help but chuckle as she watched him end up back out in the rain and then stepped back up onto the gazebo.

“It’s a she,” she answered, softly. “And she’ll only kill you if you make any sudden moves towards me. She’s really quite protective.” Another soft chuckle escaped from her as she leaned down to pat Sasha on the top of her head before the dog lowered it back onto her paws. The act of leaning forward like she did caused the top part of her dress to tighten and push her bosom upwards. One might think that she was going to burst out of the top of her dress. However, it didn’t happen.

Straightening back up, she returned her bright green gaze to the young man. “To answer your first question,” she began. “I am not worried nor scared of anyone jumping out of the shadows to try to harm me.” A nod of her head was given down towards her dog. “They’ll have to get past her first. As for catching pneumonia from the rain... I don’t get sick, at all. So I’ve nothing to worry about.”

A slight shrug of her shoulders was given. “What are you doing out so late, anyway?”

Vaughan saw the shake of her head, but to his slow eyes the shake was nothing more then the slightest of twitches.

He mimicked her lift of eyebrow, though he knew not what had caused it, and when she smiled humorously, he returned it with an impish grin, lowering his thick, dark eyelashes and looking at her through them. Confidence wasn’t something you just saw in the young man. You felt it when he stepped near, like a vibrating hum or warm, thick essence rolling off of his in waves. Maybe it was the confidence in his body that gave him overall confidence, spurred on by his job, or maybe it was because he had been an only child and his mothers attention had been all for him. Whatever the reason, the boy lacked many things but the ease within his own skin was not lacking.

She. His smile wavered for a flat second and then flared back to life, relighting his face. “Pardon me, madam,” he said, tilting his head into a tiny bow to the dog at her feet. “my most gracious and humble apologies to you,” the words were for the dog but as they were spoken his eyes were for her, those green eyes, that tight dress. “Any sudden move?” He smiled. “So if I approach slowly she won’t gnaw on my leg?” But he was already moving forward before the question had completely formed off of his tongue.

Vaughan moved forward with slow, graceful steps. There was a sultry sway in his hips that wasn’t often seen…on men. Somehow it didn’t make him look terribly feminine, despite his small size, despite the long waves of wet hair. Maybe it was because his wet clothing clung to places that made him anything but a woman. He stopped a few feet shy of her, but finally entirely out of the rain.

“That’s good,” he replied when she declared that she was not worried. “Because worry makes you old.” He’s collected his world and organized it in neat little boxes in neat little categories. He quirked an eyebrow at her next comment. “Then you have one hell of an immune system,” he told her, smiling broadly. Vaughan made a show at looking at the invisible watch on his wrist, smiled up at her, flipped wet strands of hair over his shoulder. “My job keeps an unusual schedule.” He gestured around himself at the park, the gesture meant more then just the park, it reached out to include the darkness itself. “Welcome to my morning.” His head tilted to the side, a quirk of interest. “Why are you out so late?”


OOC: No problem at all, love. What are you doing in Missouri?

ooc; I’m moving out here =D I have several friends that live out here, and since I have zero friends in Nebraska where I was living, I’ve decided to move out here. It’s awesome. Monday one of my friends is going with me to Nebraska to help me pack up my apartment and stuff. We’ll be back out here by Wednesday night.

ic; How interesting his reaction was to her humored smile. The female vampire knew full well when someone was flirting with her and such. Of course, it had been a terribly long time since that had happened. Who in their right mind wanted to flirt with a vampire? Especially when one can take a life so easily. But wait. Maybe he didn’t know what she was. Thus far, everyone she had encountered seemed to know what she was, or were pretty damn good guessers. Surely this young man had to know. But then why would he be flirting with her if he knew? Was it really possible that he truly didn’t know?

She had easily figured out that he was talking to Sasha when he was making his apologies. Yet, it was interesting that he had yet to take his eyes off of her. If she were not used to being stared at, she would have begun to grow uneasy or something of the sort, due to his not taking his gaze off of her. “That would depend on what your purpose for approaching is,” she answered, a teasing tone in her voice. Sasha lifted her head from her paws as the young man moved closer to her owner. A single ear twitched as she kept her eyes locked on him and just waited for him to make a wrong move, or for her master to give a sign to stop him in his tracks.

“Looks can be deceiving,” she answered in reply to his comment about worry making you old. “One can never be too sure how old a person is, or isn’t.” More teasing in her voice. The vampire had noticed that he was not wearing a watch, but yet he looked at his wrist as if he were. “Am I keeping you from being somewhere?” she questioned, curiously. Why was she out so late? “This is my morning as well.” She cast a very slight glance towards the sky just to make sure that she still had plenty of time to be out. It would be distressing to be caught outside when the sun came up.

Vaughan truly didn’t know. Maybe he was one of the few truly innocent people left in this city, the rare and dieing breed of truly ignorant, and probably happy, people left untouched by the corruption that seems to be magic. He lived outside of that world, though Vaughan has a tendency to make the world his own no matter where he is or what he is doing. She was pale, she was sexy, she was out at night. So were several of his co-workers, both the men he worked with directly and the woman who did his make up. Those small things were no grounds to break out the pitchforks and torches.

He wasn’t staring, not quite. It was a respectful, appreciative gaze. It was a gaze that young men these days didn’t usually possess. He was looking at her in a way that was all male, a way that said she’d attracted him, yet a way that said he didn’t take that for granted, that he appreciated her beauty. Somehow the oh-so-male gaze managed not to be rude. She wasn’t a treasure to admire, he wasn’t admiring her, he was complimenting her. His mother was a very good woman, his mother had made him into a very good young man. His father added those short flashes of sultry, sexy, and come-hither gaze that touched his smile every now and then.

Her teasing tone is fuel for the fire. He eats it up and continues to flirt. Vaughan tamed his smile around the corners and reached out towards her hand, then hesitated, stopping, half way to her with his palm up, his hand hovering over top of the dogs head. “What if I were approaching because I would do anything to taste your skin on my lips when I kiss your hand?” he asked, “and introduce myself. I’m Vaughan.” Ok…so his flowery speak needs a little dusting off. He’s a flirt, not an English major.

His fingers curled a little when she replied to his comment about worry making a person old. It was just the slight curl of finger, an invite: come, take my hand. “So true,” he agreed, and suddenly he didn’t look so much like the child flirting with her. He’s not exactly trying to look older, he just does. Certain comments, certain words and conversations, they make him look and feel older then he is by years. Another sign of a boy forced to grow too quickly. However, with her next sentence, another does of teasing in her tone, the age faded around his eyes and mouth. He could have been fifteen. “I have no where to go but to my empty apartment. I’m not very partial to that plan,” he added, as if to say he wanted her to give him an excuse not to go. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge.

“Well it’s my job that makes this my morning. What makes this your morning?” His hand remained out, remained patiently waiting. It was as if he could keep his arm outstretched like that forever, just waiting for her hand.


OOC: That’s cool. Glad you’ll be with friends. I have zero friends where I am now too…But I’m very content with that. I like the quiet. The only thing to make it better would be to put a muzzle on my sister and have Jesseray out here with me. If I remember right you have a son. Is he going with you? (or daughter/she?)

ooc; I usually like the quiet as well, but it’s nice to be living near friends. Yeah, I have a son. He’s staying with his father. He’s too much of a daddy’s boy for me to take him away. It’s better all the way around like that.

ic; It really was rare to find someone who was truly innocent. In this day and age, no one was safe from the corruption that plagued the world. One couldn’t really blame it on magic for the world’s corruption, though. Magic had always been, and always would be, a part of the world. It was those that used it wrong that caused the corruption. And then there were those who had nothing to do with magic that were just evil from head to toe.

Pale was putting it mildly regarding how much color she did not have. At the moment, she actually had a slight touch of color but that was only because she had already fed a couple hours prior. Otherwise, if she hadn’t have fed, she not only had no color, but her skin would be slightly transparent. But one would have to be looking fairly close to notice the transparency. So it was a good thing that she’d already fed. The questions that would possibly have come from that were not questions she wanted to answer. For anyone.

She had picked up on the way he was looking at her and that he was attracted to her. It didn’t even really bother her that he was flirting with her. It had been quite a long time since anyone had flirted with her, after all. He was young and he was handsome. Add to that the fact that he didn’t seem to know about her like everyone else seemed to automatically know... Yeah. He’s attractive. If she weren’t what she was, she just might have flirted back. But she couldn’t seem to remember how to flirt. So she didn’t bother trying.

A brow lifted, more than just slightly, as she lowered her gaze to stare at his hand moving towards her. It wasn’t until he began to speak that she lifted her bright green eyes back up to meet his gaze. Had he lost his mind? Was this guy for real? No one used lines like that anymore. Did he pick them up out of some cheesy romance novel, or what? “Excuse me?” She wanted to make sure she heard him right, even though she was sure she had.

“I’m Enyo.” Best be polite and introduce herself as well since he had just given her his name. “I make this my morning because I much prefer the cover of the night over the glare of the daylight sun.” What else was she supposed to say? ‘I’m out here through the night cause I’m a vampire and the sunlight will kill me’? No way. Not gonna happen. That just isn’t something she would say. “I wander around here through the night and, when morning is nearing, I make my way back to my empty apartment to sleep the day hours away.”

She hadn’t yet lifted her hand to his.

He reads sciFi, if that helps him be not so innocent to the ideas of magic… But it’s the closest he’s ever gotten to the idea, that and a palm reader at a fair once who told him he would die in two weeks if he didn’t find his true love first. When he’d asked her how her would die she’d told him that he would drown.

Vaughan likes pale people. He has a tan that was stuck to his skin the day he was born. He can tan darker when the trend is in but when pale is in, he can not pale. Pale people are beautiful. He’s also well-mannered enough not to have mentioned to her if he could see right through her. He’s so modest that she could be standing there completely naked and he would have done his best not to let his eyes drop from hers. He wouldn’t mention transparency.

Excuse me? He grinned because it was ridiculous. “I want to lick you hand,” he told her flatly, then laughed. “I wanna shake your hand. I was going to kiss it but you shot that down,” he said, unashamed, unfaltering, grinning. And no, no one used lines like that anymore. And yes, he had gotten it, or something like it, from a novel, though not a romance novel. He does read those, though.

“Enyo,” he repeated the name slowly, as if her were tasting it, trying to decide if it felt right to say out loud. “That’s unique,” he replied. “And pretty,” he added because that was what he’d meant to say in the first place. He nodded at her explanation, her reason for being out at night. If she’d claimed to be a vampire Vaughan would have been sure she was still teasing him. To Vaughan teasing falls into a mild category with flirting. It’s why her teasing encourages him to flirt all the more.

He left his hand there, still. Like I said, he could stand there forever. He didn’t take her not giving him her hand as rejection, he’s too stubborn for that.

“Want coffee?” he asked her, since she didn’t take up on his hint. I’m board. I don’t want to be alone at home yet.


OOC: Ok. I was sure you had a kid. I was going to kick myself if I was wrong. Lol.

Sci-Fi doesn’t truly count as being not innocent towards the ideas of magic. At least, not in her opinion. Of course, no one had asked her, so her opinion would be kept to herself. Being what she is, she doesn’t believe in palm readers anyway. One had actually taken her hand one time. She couldn’t remember where or why, but this palm reader had taken her hand and told her that she would fall in love with a tall, dark and handsome man. She was told that they would get married and they would have four children. ... This was ten years after Enyo had been turned into a vampire.

If she were standing there completely naked, she would think something was utterly wrong with him if he didn’t look at her below eye level. Either that or she’d think he was gay. Not that there was anything wrong with that, mind you. Of course, with as short as she is, it wasn’t like it would be all that easy to just cast a glance downwards. At any rate, she’s thankfully not standing there completely naked.

Bright green eyes blinked and stared at him as he made his joke. At least, she assumed it was a joke. Why would someone want to lick a stranger’s hand? Surely he was joking. His laugh confirmed that. Had she shot down him going to kiss her hand? That was quite possible. She wasn’t the most social creatures, so was unsure of what mortals did for greeting each other these days. She did know, however, that the cheesy line he used wasn’t something that the male gender used these days.

“Oh...” She finally brought her dainty hand up, hesitantly, and placed it against his. There was only a very slight warmth to her skin from having fed a few hours prior. Otherwise, she was mostly cold to the touch. Not ‘omg it’s snow’ cold, but cold enough to be noticeable. Enyo didn’t make it a habit of letting people touch her because of that reason.

“Thank you.” She wasn’t used to receiving complements, so that was all she replied with in regards to his comment about her name. Coffee? Yuck. The only thing worse than coffee was alcohol. At least she could stomach the smell of coffee. “Sure.” What the crap? She doesn’t drink coffee. So why is she saying sure? Geez. What a dork.

Vaughan doesn’t believe in palm readers either but it had spooked him enough that he had avoided the water for a long time. A year ago he got over his phobia, now he’s drawn to the water on a hot day like a magnet.

As for her standing there naked, like I said, he would struggle to maintain eye contact. You have to remember, he’s a stripper and he works in a club that shifts from male strippers to female strippers almost every other day. He sees naked women all day. In the club, backstage, it was basically an unspoken rule: you don’t notice someone is naked. It’s a part of his life, this living by flesh. As a side note, Vaughan could be gay, if he wanted. Or straight. Not that he’d gone ‘all the way’ on either side of the park anyways.

Vaughan’s hand closed around hers. He had soft hands, a light touch. His fingers were manicured. Appearance is everything in his line of business. He didn’t shake her hand but simply held it there for five seconds. He smiled. Then he bent and he kissed her knuckle, just a brush of his lips against hers and he smiled again when he came back up. “Not so bad, right?” he asked and he let her hand go, sliding his away and letting it fall to position on his hip. His hand had been very warm and hers not so much so that when he brought his hand away the chill lingered on his skin, and on his lips. He wondered if his warmth stayed with her, but the thought left as soon as it had come.

Vaughan’s smile spread and it might have been contagious. This smile was a rare smile, rewarding, but rare. It usually spread to other people because it was so terribly pleasant. “Great. Do you have a place in mind?” He put his hands in his pockets. “I know a good place.”

There’s a difference between seeing anyone else naked and seeing her naked. The main difference is that she’s not everyone else. And it’s hard to not notice when she’s naked. She’s so pale that she might as well glow in the dark. And that’s what’s hard to not notice. Although, she is pretty busty.

Anyway...

Bright green eyes remained fixed on him as he lowered his head to kiss her knuckle. She had noticed how soft his hand was, as well as how much warmer than her he was. Unfortunately, being what she is, the instant he let her hand go, the warmth faded. She brought her hand back to her side and shifted her gaze to stare at some couple off in the distance. “No,” was all she replied with. Of course it wasn’t so bad. Odd, but not bad.

The female vampire continued to stare at the couple off in the distance until they had walked too far out of her view, which was quite a distance actually. It was only when she couldn’t see them anymore that she turned her head back around and glanced at the young man. She couldn’t help but smile, slightly, at the wide smile that was on his face. You’d think she had just told him that he’d won the lottery or something by agreeing to go to coffee with him.

A slight shake of her head was given. This caused her long red hair to dance around her shoulders. “I don’t usually go very many places,” she answered, quietly. And really she didn’t. The only time she was ever really out around people was when she was hunting. Otherwise, she kept to herself. She leaned down towards Sasha to clip a short leash onto the dog’s collar and straightened back up. Sasha immediately got to her paws and moved to stand beside her master. “Lead the way...”

Maybe he had won the lottery when she’d said yes.

He was still smiling when her hound got to it’s feet. Vaughan dropped his hand from his pocket, turning the back of it out to the dog. He didn’t kneel down to it, too easy to get your face ripped off, but he bent at the waist to bring himself slightly closer to her.

“How old is she?” he asked, keeping his hand out to the animal in question. When he was told to lead the way, however, he withdrew his hand and turned on his heels. He strode to the doorway of the gazebo and stopped at the curtain of rain. He looked over his shoulder. “Did you have an umbrella?” He frowned. “I can run over to that gas station and buy one,” he offered, pointing in the vague direction across the park.


OOC: sorry that one was a bit short.

ooc; It’s cool. I’m still able to write a reply, so it’s all good =)



The female vampire glanced down at her rottweiler when he reached out his hand for the dog to sniff. Sasha looked from the hand, up to her master, back to the hand and then up at the young man. The expression on her face was similar to ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ and she turned her head away from his hand. A soft laugh escaped from Enyo at the reaction her dog gave. “She’s not that kind of dog,” she chuckled, softly. “She doesn’t need to sniff your hand to get your scent. She was able to smell you the moment you stopped outside the gazebo.”

Sasha kept her head turned away from the young man for as long as he kept his hand held out towards her. There was no way she was going to sniff it. Who knows where it’s been. “She’s three years old. And her name is Sasha.” She opted to go ahead and introduce her canine companion since previous introductions were already done and stuff. Might as well know the name of the one who’s going to rip you to pieces if you make one wrong move towards her master. Yuppers.

An umbrella? Enyo hadn’t owned an umbrella since she had been a little girl. “No. I don’t. You don’t need to go buy one, unless you’re planning to just use it for yourself. I’ve no need for such a thing. I don’t get sick, remember? A little rain won’t kill me. Besides, it won’t take long for me to dry once we’re in a warm, dry place.”

He glanced up for a fraction of a second when Enyo laughed as her pooch ignored him. “Oh, burned,” he said when the dog turned it’s nose away from his hand and thoroughly snubbed him. “That was harsh, doggie,” he told her, but he was smiling nonetheless. “Apparently not,” he said when Enyo told him that she was ‘not that kind of dog.’ “Well then,” he smiled, “she knows the smell of heaven then, doesn’t she?” he teased. Truly, if heaven smelled of vanilla and a very faint scent of coffee, he did smell like heaven. His shampoo contrasted, it was strawberry. He added a wink to go with his comment.

He had his back to them by the time she introduced the dog by name, already standing at the edge of the gazebo. He half turned and looked over his shoulder. “It was a pleasure to be rejected by your highness, Sasha,” he spoke to the dog, smiling still. He loves animals as much, maybe more, then he loves children.

He laughed out loud when she restated that she simply didn’t get sick. His laugh was fun and light and crept across the skin. It echoed softly in the confines of the gazebo. Vaughan returned his gaze to the rain. “Well then,” he said, stuffing his hands back into his pockets (which seems to be the only safe place for them to go in order to keep himself from doing something silly like offering her his arm). “We’ll be off.” And he ducked his head out into the rain, damn near hopping down the steps. He stopped at the bottom and half turned, waiting for her.

As he was waiting he asked: “Why is it you can’t get sick? Some medical miracle child?”

She couldn’t help but continue to chuckle, softly, at how Sasha had reacted to him. No one had ever gotten the balls enough to even offer a hand to the dog to sniff. Heck, no one seemed to have the balls enough to even consider getting close to the rottweiler. “And how do you know what that smells like?” She was replying to his comment about the scent of heaven. That was one of those words that she couldn’t get herself to actually say out loud. It wasn’t because it would kill her or whatever. She just felt strange saying it. So she avoided it.

Another soft laugh escaped from her as he spoke directly to Sasha over his shoulder. “She does tend to act like she’s the queen of whatever,” she replied with soft laughter in her voice. Wow. She hadn’t laughed so much in quite some time. So why was she doing it now? How was it possible that this mortal was actually getting her to laugh and be cheerful? It was so very odd. She was being odd. Ah well. Just go with it.

The female vampire easily caught up with him when he stopped at the bottom of the steps. Out of habit from walking with others, she reached up her hand and slid it into the crook of his elbow. It was possible that he might be able to feel her coldness against his arm where she put her hand. Sasha, of course, was on the other side of her. The dog was ever so alert and keeping tabs on everything around them.

A slight shrug of her shoulders was given. “I guess you could say that,” was her answer to his question. How else was she supposed to answer? By saying that she couldn’t get sick cause she was a vampire? Yeah right. Like that was going to happen.

“Because I was sent from there.” He said it so seriously that any initiate person who believed in angels might have thought he was one. Then they would remember the high slits in his pants, the tight shorts beneath, the sultry voice, the sexy hip-swaying walk, the man in the eyes, those eyes in the face of a boy. Slice all of that out of the picture and Vaughan might have passed as an angel. He wasn’t hansom the way men were with broad shoulders and edgy features. Rather he was beautiful in a very masculine way. Just dry him off so he can stop looking like a wet dream.

He had balls, yes, but that wasn’t what made him approach the dog. Bravery wasn’t it…more like the lack of fear.

Another angel factor, he loves to make people happy. His methods aren’t always angelic though. He flirted mercilessly. He liked her laugh, it was soft, it was a good laugh.

When she hooked her arm though his he smiled. “You know, I want to kiss your hand and I say so and its like it’s too old fashioned. I want to link arms and I manage not to and you do it for me.” He smiled. “If I’d offered, would you still have taken it?”

He started to lead her down the path, taking the longer route by staying on the path. “No, seriously, how on earth can you just not get sick. Come on. If anyone in the world needs to know it’s me.” He tried convincing her.

“If you say so,” she replied with another soft laugh. Of course, she didn’t believe for a minute that he was really sent from Heaven. Being what she was, she would have known right away if he were anything but a mortal. She’d know even more if he were an angel from Heaven and she wouldn’t have bothered talking to him in the first place, much less let him touch her. It would have hurt quite badly if he were really an angel and he touched her. Just how badly was not something she wanted to know or find out.

Honestly, the female vampire thought the young man was indeed quite handsome. It didn’t matter that he didn’t have broad shoulders and edgy features. She never had been attracted to those types of men anyway. As far as she was concerned, they were too... oh what’s the word... stuck on themselves. The only thing they were good for was feeding on and leaving their bodies to rot. Well, she didn’t really just leave bodies laying around to rot. She disposed of them so that it would be a while before they were found, depending on if they had family or not.

Turning her head towards him, bright green eyes gazed up at him and she offered a slight shrug of her shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe,” came her soft reply. “I like it better when it’s my idea,” she added with a wink and a grin. A soft laugh followed her words as she turned her head back to being forward so that she could watch where they were going. She wasn’t terribly big on surprises. The last surprise she’d gotten nearly cost her her life. That had sucked. Big time.

Another shrug of her shoulders was given. “As you said, I’m just some sort of miracle child.” The female vampire fell silent for a few moments and glanced around, briefly, to see if anyone was near. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“And I do,” he replied, when she said ‘if you say so’. Just the way he spoke, you could be so sure that he was, or at least the he believed he was, an angel. Until he smiled. The smile said he didn’t believe it at all, the smile was too devilish, too not innocent.

Who says a vampire would be in pain if he were really an angel? With a smile like that maybe he had fallen, in which case he isn’t quite classed under the subject topic ‘holy item’. More like ‘tainted holy item’ or ‘tarnished goods’.

Vaughan wouldn’t even call himself hansom. He knows how attractive he is, he knows with the amount of money resting against his thigh in his pocket. He knows because he can look in the mirror and feel beautiful, he can look at other people and know that they are looking at his body, his face, his hair. It’s the root of his confidence. But he would have never called himself hansom. Other men in the club were hansom, he played on his beauty to set himself apart. When he’d first started working at the club that weight in his pocket, the feel against his thigh, reminded him with every step that people thought he was beautiful. With every step he had gained confidence.

He grinned at her. “Well then maybe next time I should use my psychic powers to relay what I want to do into your head so that it can be your idea.” He lifted his free hand and rubbed his temple in a circular motion, narrowing his eyes at her as if relaying a thought. Then he winked.

“Try me.” She had to know that was coming. You can never say, to a person like Vaughan, that they wouldn’t get it, the wouldn’t understand, they wouldn’t believe. He might not believe her words. Maybe. Maybe he would. He’s what is known as an unpredictable element. You never know if he’s going to dart into the action or run away with his tail tucked.

She could only laugh, softly, and gently shake her head. If he wanted to believe he was an angel, then so be it. Bright green eyes were cast upon him, again, but only briefly. While she was actually smiling and laughing, it hadn’t reached her eyes. Sadness and regret is all that seemed to be able to touch those startling green eyes. At least they weren’t dull and lifeless anymore like they had been for such a long time.

Handsome. Beautiful. To the female vampire, they were basically the same thing. Either way, the young man really was quite good looking. She couldn’t imagine him not being confident. It seemed to just radiate off of him. Perhaps that was why she was allowing herself to have a good time at the moment.

“You go right on ahead and try that,” she laughed, softly. “I don’t think it’s going to work though. I’m not a mind reader.” She added her own wink after she spoke. She may not be a mind reader, but she was fairly good at picking up on others moods. She could always smell their fear. It was her they feared. For a long time, that disgusted her. But lately... it seemed to drive her forward. She’d long given up on feeding from livestock and such. She had gone back to feeding on mortals. And enjoying the fear they radiated when they discovered what she was and what her intent was.

The female vampire stopped walking and turned herself so that she was basically facing him. She’d not yet removed her hand from his arm though. Sasha positioned herself to be standing behind her master. Basically, it looked like she was watching Enyo’s back, just daring anyone to try something. “Do you believe in magic?” was all she said. The laughter in her voice had been replaced with seriousness.

Vaughan caught her look. He hated that he couldn’t quite reach into those eyes. He was reaching into her, making her laugh (or maybe he was reaching out to her) but he couldn’t draw that smile up to those eyes. It was discouraging, annoying almost. He’s never had any trouble making someone completely happy, even if he had only just met them. If she isn’t careful he might make her his personal project. He just might not stop until that smile chases away that sad look in her eyes.

He smiled. “You don’t have to be a mind reader. I’ll just plant those thoughts right in your pretty little head.” He laughed, spurred on by her wink.

He had exhibited no fear yet. No fear that she’d been hiding in the shadows, no fear of her might she-beast dog, no fear of her at all. She hadn’t given him anything to fear yet, of course, but still. He is the perfect example of a hardheaded, stubborn boy.

He continued half a step before he’d realized that she had stopped and he stopped with her, turning his shoulders and his face to be facing her, his hips squared off.

He could have laughed at her question, could have, but he didn’t. The seriousness in her tone told him that they were no longer playing his game. He didn’t answer immediately. He seemed to be considering his answer, his brown eyes staring into hers. They gave the impression that he was searching her eyes, trying to dig past what was on the surface and dig around in her soul. Maybe he was looking for whatever answer she wanted, maybe he was just judging the seriousness of this question.

As he stood there and deliberated his answer, gazed into her eyes, he seemed to grow older. His features smoothed, clearing the humor and the youth away from his face. His eyes looked older, old enough to make you doubt the age you had thought he was in the first place.

“Yeah. I believe in it.”

There wasn’t anyone alive that could get the sadness and regret to leave her eyes. It was like a permanent fixture there. It was hard to feel anything but sadness and regret deep down inside when you walk through life alone and lonely. The female vampire had finally given up on trying to find Morose, as heartbreaking as that was. Sure, all they did was fight and argue most of the time, but he was still usually there to keep her from being too alone and doing something stupid. She lost count of how many times Morose had caught her and stopped her from doing something stupid. Most of the time, it was sitting outside and waiting for the sun to come up.

But anyway...

His personal project, eh? That would be quite a task. Especially since it was hard for her to really feel anything but sadness and regret deep down inside. Wonder how she would react to becoming someone’s personal project. Guess it would depend on just what that someone had in mind or whatever. Truth be told, the female vampire was too scared to try to make friends with anyone. She didn’t want to start feeling close to someone, again, and have them end up leaving her, again. It’s not a very good feeling.

Yet. That was the key word. Enyo hadn’t yet done anything to give him to fear. Yet. Even when she wasn’t trying to make others fear her, it seemed to end up happening anyway. Although, Morose never did really fear her. Hate her, yes. Fear her, no. Not really. And it wasn’t even really her that he hated. It was what she had done to him that he hated. She really needed to stop thinking about Morose before the feelings in her eyes ended up showing all over her face and the laughter would end up going away.

She continued to stand there, gazing up at him, with her hand linked on the crook of his arm as he turned to face her. It was a good thing that he didn’t laugh. It actually might have offended her if he did. Either that or she would have just shrugged it off and gone on her way. Who knows. But he didn’t laugh, so none of that matters, really. The female vampire blinked and turned her head in another direction for a moment. She’d done it to shake the feeling that he was trying to see past what shone in her eyes. Once she managed to rid herself of that feeling, she returned her gaze up to him.

“What about things that aren’t fully human? Like werewolves and vampires?” Just what was she getting at? Well, it would all depend on the answers he gave. And she hoped he wasn’t just saying what he thought she’d want to hear.

Vaughan’s intentions could range anywhere from just trying to flirt and joke and innocently put that smile on her face to spontaneous little things like leaving her gifts, kissing her cheek, touching her hand, to biting and kissing and flirt with a much darker, much older angle to it. Vaughan lives in the moment, he doesn’t really plan to do anything. When he suddenly becomes that swaying, sultry figure it isn’t because he’s actually decided to, just that he’s doing it and most of the time he doesn’t realize that he is doing it at all. He’s the kind that will stay in the dance club until four am or be equally content to sit on the edge of the sofa and work a puzzle all night.

Yet. It is a key word but not a very likely key word. Some of his friends wonder if something happened during his birth that turned off the part of the brain that feels scared, that caused fear. Vaughan knows different. He’s happy, on the outside, and in most of the places inside, but it wouldn’t hurt his feelings if he died tomorrow. He has friends but no one he loves, no one that loves him, here on earth. He doesn’t fear anything because he doesn’t fear death. He knows his fear switch was not turned off because he’s felt fear. In the past year and a half he has felt fear one time, he is afraid of only one thing but he is afraid of it.

He continued to gaze at her face as she turned her eyes away from him, shifting his eyes down to her lips. The gaze didn’t change. Maybe he wasn’t trying to dig down to her soul, maybe he was digging down inside of himself and it reflected outward through his eyes. When she returned her eyes, he returned his.

He took a deep breath and frowned. Did he believe in half-breeds? In vampires and werewolves and other boogies? He smiled and it lightened the look on his face, brought his eyes back out of her (or his) soul (or where ever it had been that he’d gone). “You mean do I believe in boogies?” The smile faded a little because she was still serious and so was he. “Yeah. I guess I do. I mean not enough that I’d go out and hunt for one or anything but,” shrug. “I guess it’s like I do and I don’t. There isn’t evidence of their existence but so many myths started with truths. It’s questionable. You know?” Was he making sense? Did he care if he did? No.

It was very much quite possible that she might think he the freak if he were to suddenly bite her. Seriously. She was the one that went around biting people. And for very good reason, according to her. A vampire had to eat, after all. What real reason would he have to suddenly bite her out of the blue? Yeah. That could very well just be creepy. Or something. Or who knows. It would definitely get her attention, at least. Enyo was quite content with doing nothing but keeping to herself all the time. Well, that’s not really true. She was alone and lonely. Perhaps that was why she always found herself wandering through the park and watching people. Perhaps she was envious inside, but she would never admit that. Nope.

The female vampire knows how to feel fear. She is not above it. Every night when she goes out hunting for her next meal, she fears being caught and destroyed. Yet, she is not afraid of death. She has, after all, tried to sit out and wait for the sun to come up. Morose was always the one that stopped her from letting that happen. Damn him. And then he vanished. Now there was no one to take care of her. Not that she needed anyone to take care of her. It was just that… well… she lost the only ‘friend’ she had had in a very long time. And that just sucked. Big time.

A slight frown touched her face. “Boogies? Is that what you call them?” That was actually kind of insulting. Of course, he didn’t know this because he didn’t know what she was. “What sort of evidence would you require if I were to say that they are very much real and in this world?” The question was sincere. And she was so very serious. Serious as a heart attack.

He wouldn’t bite her seriously, not unless he was invited too. Of course, we see what his idea of invite is. She said barely ten words to her and he took it as an invite to conversation, she teased lightly with her words and he took that as an invite to flirt mercilessly. She seems so…broken though. Biting wasn’t for tender, hurt people, kisses and hugs and late night coffee was.

Maybe she was gaining a friend where she had lost one. I’ll admit, Vaughan doesn’t quite compare to Morose Riddle enough to be considered a ‘replacement.’ Vaughan is a fun, happy young man with a morbid side. Morose was a morbid, unhappy bugger with no fun side. Morose is tall and skinny like a skeleton, Vaughan is short and narrow but with meat on him. Morose was red head and (from what I can tell) with straight hair. Vaughan’s hair is brown and possibly the curliest mass of mane there was in Bayfield. Vaughan smiles, Morose cries. He isn’t a replacement, and if he is he’s a sucky one, but he wants to be a friend. He always wants to be a friend.

He smiled at her frown, wanting to reach out and touch the crease that formed the frown, to smooth it away with his thumb. “Sure,” he said, shrugging. “The boogies under the bed? You know.” Maybe she didn’t know. “s’better then calling them monsters. They are like the boogies but they aren’t actually monsters.” He had a point. The boogy man was a myth, just like them, started with the same sort of root and carried on to scare kids into behaving. Vampires weren’t monsters, they ate just like everyone else. People called them monsters because they ate people(s blood). People couldn’t stand that someone might be higher on the food chain, Circle of life, survival of the fittest and all that jazz.

“Iunno,” he said. He didn’t actually have to think about this answer. “I guess it depends on what you’re wanting to say is real. I guess if it were faeries I’d wanna see wings or glamour or something. If it were vampires I’d wanna see them do something, you know, like be really fast or climb a wall or something. I guess if it were were-animals there’d be no way to tell besides the full moon. And if that’s the case,” he grinned, “I wouldn’t wanna be around to see that bit of evidence put into action.”

Judging from what seemed to be his idea of an invitation for conversation and flirting, it might be interesting to see what set him into ‘I’m gonna bite you’ mode. At one point in her immortal life, she actually liked that sort of thing. Who knows if she still does now or not. That could very well provide to be interesting.

Broken? Yes. She was broken, I guess you could say. Having actually fallen in love with someone, only to end up losing them, hurt. A lot. And then Morose vanished. Yes. She was most surely broken. But, usually, if something is broken, it has a chance of being able to be fixed, yes? Perhaps some day, the broken vampire could be fixed? Perhaps…

The female vampire would never look at anyone as a replacement for Morose. No one could ever replace him. The idea of gaining a friend, though, would quite possibly appeal to her if she were to actually think about it. There was a chance, however, that if she were to think about it, she might end up putting up some sort of barrier to try to prevent herself from being hurt again. She was broken and couldn’t take any more hurt than she’d already been through thus far.

Her slight frown deepened, a little. Monsters… At one point in time, she had actually called herself a monster. Of course, Morose had started that because she had opted to feed on mortals rather than starve herself. “I suppose,” she answered, softly. “But it sounds just as bad.” This was, obviously, her opinion. She didn’t like being called any sort of name other than what she was… a vampire.

Silently, she listened to his answer, and actually appeared to be thinking about it. Which she really was. Climb a wall? Okay that caused her to laugh, softly, and briefly. She could, however, move really fast. But she didn’t do that just yet. She had one more question she wanted to ask him…

“And how do you think you’d react/respond if a vampire were to be proven to you?”

Believe me, it’s Vaughan, everything he does is sexy by default, and when he’s really trying to be it usually means your ass deep in alligators. It’s hard to turn Vaughan away for any given reason, and usually when you actually do want to get rid of him you aren’t precisely sure why you want to. He could probably weasel his way into someone’s heart whether they wanted him around or not. Eventually he’ll become endearing, if anything.

Vaughan would never, no matter how far into someone’s heart he is able to crawl, never try to replace someone. For one thing it was a fruitless task and for another he’s quite happy being himself.

“Well I don’t think boogies sounds bad,” he said it with almost an adolescent stubbornness. “I think it sounds better then monsters and better then creatures.” He shrugged as if to say get over it and oh I’m sorry all in the same guesture.

He cocked his head at her next question. “I don’t know.” It was almost an annoyed whine. He didn’t like this game any more, what was her point? “Guess I’d be excited. I mean I love vampires. Do you know how many vampire books I have? And werewolves, and faeries,” well that explains why he’d chose those three as an example earlier, they were his favorite. “Why?” he asked. “Are you a vampire?” Wink.

By now the rain had soaked them, not that Vaughan wasn’t already soaking wet but now she was too and it was hard not to glance down at her dress clinging to her body, at the water running down her chest. Pesky, instigating rain.

Once she actually made friends with someone, she had no reason to want to get rid of them. That is, unless they annoyed the hell out of her. Of course, she could honestly say that hasn’t happened as of yet. The female vampire didn’t have any friends. None at all. Wow. That thought would make her feel pretty pathetic if she were actually thinking about it. Thankfully, though, she isn’t. If she were, it would so totally spoil anything that might or might not happen tonight.

A slight shrug of her own was given in reply to his boogies comment. Honestly, she didn’t like any of those names; boogies, monsters, creatures. But that was just her. And she’s decided to just drop that entire part of the conversation before either one of them ended up getting frustrated or something. A frustrated vampire is not fun company. At all.

She raised a brow, slightly, at the sound of his annoyed whine. Alrighty then. Guess it was pretty much time to just get right to the point. Especially when he flat out asked if she was a vampire. It was obvious to her, though, that he was basically joking when he asked since he added a wink after his question. However, the serious expression on her face didn’t change. At all.

“Yes.” Well now. If that wasn’t just blunt and right to the point. And still, the seriousness didn’t leave her voice or her face. Not even with the rain pouring down on her and causing her long red hair to cling to her just like her dress was doing.

Vaughan smiled at first, as though he were just about to laugh but he managed not to in the seriousness of her face. His lips trembled, however, with the effort not to. He actually raised his hand and touched them to cover them. When he lowered his hand his face was straight, though he didn’t try to hide the small smile playing across them.

“And how old are you, then?” he asked.

Vaughan loved to flirt, he loved to play. He was an actor, he could keep her straight serious face and feed someone whatever bullshit he felt he wanted to feed, but the look in her eyes was still there. That serious, broken look, and he wondered, for just a moment, about vampires and werewolves and loved ones and best friends.

“You’re serious, huh?” he asked, and the smile had fallen. He wasn’t sixteen anymore, he looked older again, more sobered and serious. He looked like he could believe her…and he hadn’t even asked for proof.

The serious look continued to remain on her face. A slight frown even began to form at the sight of the smile that had touched his face. She could tell that she was about ready to laugh, and her frown deepened. That would surely not make her a happy camper if he were to start laughing. It would honestly upset her if he were to do so. So much so that she probably would end up walking away from him right then and there.

Thankfully, he didn’t laugh...

“67, almost 68,” was her serious answer. “I was turned at 19.” She fell silent for a little while, to give him time to absorb what she’d just told him. Finally, she nodded her head, slightly. “Yes. I am very serious.” And that was all she said. Without anything further, the female vampire was suddenly behind him, and had removed her hand from his arm. This was done quicker than the blink of an eye.

She was aware of the fact that he hadn’t asked for proof....

When she spoke of her age he shrugged and unwrapped a piece of gum, putting the trash and the other pieces in his pocket and folding the stick into his mouth, crushing the stick against his tongue before chewing.

There was a heartbeat of a moment when Vaughan actually believed her. He blinked slowly and stared at her, his expression unchanging, and then he laughed. The smile that spread over his lips cracked into gleeful laughter the moment he ceased to believe her. This was funny. He cackled with a child like glee, younger then his years, freer then his years. He wasn’t laughing at her, this much was very obvious, but rather laughing in a way that said he didn’t laugh often enough, not truly laugh. Maybe he laughed because he realized he wanted to believe her and how juvenile that want was.

“You look good for sixty-seven, almost sixty-eight years old,” he smiled. “I hope I hold up so well.” This said with a little flip of his dripping hair.

And then she had moved. He hadn’t seen her move.

It’s safe to say that Vaughan is shocked into temporary paralysis, he even sways slightly as though he will fall before he straightens back up, spins, and meets her eyes.

“You have got to be shitting me!” The words were a hushed shout, a loud whisper, as if he couldn’t catch the breath required to speak out loud. He met her eyes and his were just a little too wide. Three heartbeats passed and his eyes are still too wide but a smile has replaced the jaw-dropped expression. “Do that again,” he said, not quite a demand.

While she hadn’t expected him to entirely embrace what she was telling him, she hadn’t really expected him to suddenly break out into laughter. Bright green eyes narrowed into an oh-so-unhappy glare. It didn’t matter whether he was laughing at her or not. It was the fact that he was laughing in general. Her dog turned her head in the direction of her master as she sensed a change coming from the one she lived to protect. The female vampire was touched with some anger. Yet, she said nothing. Instead she had already moved to being behind him and such.

Enyo remained standing where she was. Her bright green eyes were still narrowed in her unhappy glare. Yet, a look of satisfaction was beginning to form on her face as well. Satisfaction cause she knew she shocked the hell out of him. Or something along those lines. Her dog was still standing where she had originally been standing when her master had first stopped. It was easier to just remain in place while her master did her thing, unless she was called back to her master’s side.

‘Do it again.‘

Not only did she do it again, but she went from standing in front of him to standing back inside the gazebo. While it wasn’t all that far away from where they were currently standing, it was enough of a distance to show that she had moved a hell of a lot faster than he could see her doing. She sent a glance towards her soaked dog and Sasha gladly began to trot towards where her master was standing out of the rain. Not a single word came from the female vampire as she stood inside the gazebo, right where she had been standing when he had first stopped.

He didn’t flinch when she vanished from behind him but his eyes grew wide again, too much white showing. Goosebumps raised up on his arms in a foreboding gesture.

“S..” He swallowed, trying to wet his tongue. His mouth had grown dry. “So you ah...” Vaughan took his hand and swept his hair back from where it stuck to his cheeks, his other hand on his hip, and he walked in a small, slow circle, looking skyward, trying to take a moment to collect himself once more.

She is a vampire. She is a vampire. She is a vampire. He acted as though emphasizing different words in the same phrase might help him accept what his brain has already accepted.

He stopped in mid step and turned to look at her, dropping his hand from his head to his hip. “Fuck. Fuck.” He has his way with words…

He scrutinized the dog. “You knew and you didn’t tell me?” he asked as if Sasha had done him a great injustice…as though she could have stood up on hind legs and informed him that he was consorting with a vampire, a real, not-living, maybe-breathing vampire.

He stepped forward, finally, falling into step right behind Sasha, his eyes on her, now holding a world of excitement and thrill and very little caution beyond the moment in which they lived.

The female vampire continued to just stand inside the gazebo. Honestly, she figured that he would freak out and leave or something. If, by chance, he were to suddenly start screaming about her being a vampire or something, she would have to do something about it. Probably kill him, if it came down to that.

Luckily for him, though, he didn’t start screaming about her being a vampire and stuff. Bright green eyes remained watching him and every move he made. She lifted a brow as she listened to the question he asked of her dog. Um… yeah. Okay. Did he think Sasha was going to answer him? Sasha merely glanced behind her at the young man before returning her attention to where her master had gone. The rottweiler finished the short distance between where she’d been standing and where her master now was. Without second thought, the dog flopped down at her master’s feet while turning her gaze out towards the young man.

The serious look had yet to leave the vampire’s face as she watched him following behind her dog towards the gazebo. “Well…?”



ooc; sorry it's crappy. i've got a killer headache x.x

Vaughan didn’t actually believe that the dog would stand up and reply like a human, he just asked in a way that might imply that he did in fact believe this. Sometimes, if the boy put enough effort into it, he could manage to have asked a question like that so convincingly of a dog that it might leave the audience themselves believing that the dog would answer. He’s an actor that might take your breath away. He knows it, it’s funny though that he doesn’t seem eager at all to apply that talent to television or acting.

Well?

Vaughan didn’t reply until he stepped up onto the edge of the gazebo as he had been perched before. He didn’t seem to be afraid of her. In fact, if anything at all, Vaughan seemed to be further intrigued by her. This affect showed in the way that the young man seemed to lean in towards her as if her were magnetically drawn to her.

“Does it hurt?” he asked. Being bit by a vampire, becoming a vampire, living as a vampire, not seeing the sun, having such heightened senses? He could be asking anything. Maybe he’s asking everything.

‘Does it hurt?’

The sadness and regret seemed to consume her bright green eyes even more than it already was previously. Just why was unclear. But it did seem to happen when he asked his single question that could have been referring to anything. At least he didn’t seem to be afraid of her… at the moment. Who knows when that would suddenly kick in and he’d try to run screaming from her. Or something of the sort. At least, that’s what her mind was saying.

‘Does it hurt?’

An almost pained expression danced across her face for a moment before she dropped her gaze down towards Sasha to try to hide it. Of course it hurt. Well, it hurt depending on what he was meaning by his seemingly simple question. But for her, nothing was simple. It hadn’t been simple since the day she had been turned into what she currently is. That was when everything became complicated. And painful. In so many ways.

“What do you mean?” she finally forced herself to ask. “Does what hurt?”

He saw the sadness spark in her eyes before she turned them away from him and he had only a moment of yearning in his heart, a need to reach out and put his hand on her face or to draw her into his arms as if the circle of his limbs would protect her from the whole world around her. It was gone nearly as quickly as it had come but for just a moment that longing flickered across his beautiful features to show that he was aching along with her.

And he was. Vaughan had his aches and pains and the cracks in his heart that could be filled no easier then her own. He shoveled dirt onto them instead of trying to mend them.

“Does it hurt…” he paused for a moment as if he were thinking, as if he had to think about what he had meant by the question. Finally, he decided he had meant everything. “Does it hurt to turn?” He knows the term, he’s a sci-fi buff at heart, a real geek. “Does it hurt to be a vampire, every day? Does it hurt to die every morning and to wake up every night?”

Frown. Another long pause. “Do you die or do you just sleep?”

Another frown, another pause, another step forward. Then another. Then three more until he’s standing right beside her, only he’s still facing the opposite direction and it leaves him looking sideways at her at a curious angle.

“Does it hurt to be like you are?” His voice was softer, a sad note cracked his voice but he recovered from it quickly. “You’re so sad.” It was said as though it were more of an observation then a statement, a very sad, sorry observation.

Something caused her to glance back up at him, briefly, and she caught the expression that passed across his face. The vampire didn’t understand the expression and dropped her gaze back down towards the dog that appeared to be sleeping at her feet. Of course, the dog wasn’t sleeping but she did have her eyes closed. Enyo had honestly not ever seen such an expression like what had passed across his face on anyone else when they looked at her. Anyone else who knew what she was, was either dead (due to her killing them) or disgusted by her. She had no friends. She had no one. Except Sasha.

Bright green eyes closed as she listened to his questions. It was easier for her to just close her eyes to try to hide the pain in them than it was to just look away. Why was he wanting to know the things that he was asking? Hopefully it didn’t mean he was going to end up asking her to turn him or something because she just couldn’t do that. She’d already turned one person and it ended up disastrous. Of course, it had been done against that person’s will. And she was filled with sadness and regret from that. Even more so now that he had gone missing.

“Yes.” The single word came out just a little louder than a whisper and seemed to be almost forced. Yes what? She should probably be more specific about what she was saying yes to. “It hurt to turn.” How could she ever forget that horrible day? It had been terribly painful and she still wished that it had never happened. “I sleep during the day.” Meaning she didn’t die every morning and come back alive every night. She didn’t even want to try to imagine what it would be like if that happened.

‘Does it hurt to be a vampire, every day? Does it hurt to be like you are?’

Oh god. If only answering that question was so easy as the questions themselves. Words alone couldn’t even begin to answer the seemingly simple questions. Her eyes slid open as she felt him move to stand right beside her and she lifted her gaze towards him. In her eyes was nothing but pure sadness and regret. And if he looked close, he would see utter emptiness behind those two things. Emptiness because that’s how she felt inside under the sadness. Emptiness from being alone.

“Yes.” Her single word answer came out as a choked whisper. The whites around the bright green coloring of her eyes was turning a pinkish-red. Look closely and you’ll realize that she seems to be on the verge of tears. She doesn’t cry ‘normal’ tears like mortals do. No. The female vampire cries tears of blood. When he made his last comment, she closed her eyes again and tilted her head downward. “Always…”