Just Brushed Clean Feeling

[magnolia9662]

One, Two. Shoulder up.

The scene was set. It was beautiful. Nothing Olivia would pay attention to. If she would ever pay attention to anything. The focus of this lighthouse today would not be the gorgeous sunset, but rather the ballerina dancing on the rail of the lighthouse. A dangerous feat, but that\'s what Olivia did.

Point an\' point. Three, four.

Not entirely sure of how she ended up there, or if she even was in a normally dangerous situation, Olivia continured to dance along her railing. Olivia was fading, this beach was no good for her. The worst part was that she didn\'t even realize it. If Olivia does not take some energy out of something soon she will be sure to disappear for good this time. The sad part was that if she noticed she was vanishing, she\'d forget soon enough if she didn\'t focus on it.

This time, however, Olivia had realized, and considering she would not like to leave so soon, this deceased ballerina wanted to get down. And so, she jumped.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm\'s back was pressed up against the wood of the structure, delicate face hidden benieth her hood. Her dull grey eyes flickered in the fading sunlight, wind teasing the hem of her cloak.

Night had nearly swallowed the entirety of the light house. Storm hated it. As the sun sank lower she could feel her own exhaustion settle upon her like a blanket of lead. She couldn\'t remember the last time she had eaten; this sudden realization seemed to double the exhaustion.

For now she would remain hidden at the base of this old lighthouse, waiting for morning. She closed her sad eyes, leaning the back of her head against the woodwork. She exhaled slowly.

[magnolia9662]

The fall was flawless. The best ever executed. Too bad no one watched it, and too bad Olivia had already forgot about it.

Step, kick, step, up.

With a flick of the wrist and a turn of the hip Olivia was dancing around again. Normally after someone made such a jump, the person doesn\'t get back up. Ever. Not Olivia though, for her vulnerable body was already at rest. And soon she was going to be losing her spectre form as well.

There isn\'t all that much energy in an old lighthouse. She was able to take some out of a few bugs here and there, but whether she liked it or not (which I assure you she did not have on her mind), she was faded. Maybe for good.

Step an\' step, slow...

Our favorite ballerina danced around the corner and paused for a moment as she stared at the stranger she found in front of her. Forgetting that indeed they were both existing, and that this person might find it odd Olivia was staring at her. But Olivia felt her energy so she went in a bit closer.

...three, four, five, six.

And with a touch on the head, Olivia picked up some of this persons energy. Not so much as to send her into a coma, but just enough for Olivia to exist a little longer. It was how Olivia got by in her life of lost thoughts.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm inhaled sharply, feeling energy being drawn out of her. Her eyes widened and she whirled around to find the thief, while at the same time she took a mental hold on her energy, trying to draw it back to her.

It was her energy; no one had a right to take it unless she willingly offered it to them. She wasn\'t strong enough to give substantial amounts of energy until she slept, and the gods knew she wasn\'t about to do that any time soon.

"Wh...who\'s there?" she cried out, voice small and rather frightened. Her wide eyes flashed randomly, reflecting the fear in her voice. If it wasn\'t for the sudden adrenaline rush that she got from the fear, she would have most likely passed out.

[Saiketsu]

Shadows moved about in his soul, a low rumbling, a dark feeling. It felt like some mix of anger, hatred, pessimism and anguish settling deep within his being, taking root. These shadows had their claws, too, reaching out and grabbing for whatever they could to secure themselves down with.

And as much as it hurt him, Nikolai liked the pain, the inner torture. Yes, much as the shadows threatened to tear him apart, the more one side of him fell in love with the insanity of it all. The overwhelming capability of the shadows inside --the anger and hatred -- kept his face heated and stony-looking, his features an impassable mask of pale flesh, marked by piercings and perceptibly human traits.

Overhead the sky was fading to black, the half-moon relaxing in the sky, surrounded by stars he never saw in the innards of the city grime. Nikolai lost himself to the glowing disk and kept his eyes posted there, walking along through the tall grasses swaying in some kind of wind, like monsters weaving across an open plain.

A rustle of flesh against fabric, blood pounding in the veins, a shout from the Lighthouse base, a flicker of movement. The vampire stood still, his blood finding new rage. Nikolai stood watching as the mortal moved about, the movements feminine and strange, inhuman, yet alluring at the same time. And though the shadows persisted after him to reach out and kill, to react with such violence, Nikolai could feel himself staring at her through the darkness

The vampire debated his next move, whether or not to announce himself by killing this young woman outright or wait to see whether she could feel his cold gaze on her form.

[magnolia9662]

Seven, eight.
Lead with the hip, follow through.

Olivia noticed the miniscule strength through this stranger\'s voice. And still feeling a bit off, Olivia went straight back in for another suction of her energy. This time with her foot, so to amuse herself as well. And so her foot rose, heading towards the woman beside her, not for a kick, but just for a tap. Maybe the person wouldn\'t mind.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm\'s eyes widened as she caught sight of the girl trying to steal her energy. Mentally she tried pulling it back, fear growing in her chest. Not fear of the girl, no. More of a fear of sleep. She couldn\'t sleep tonight, and this girl was taking her only means of staying awake for another night.

"...wha...what are you doing?" her eyes drilled into the eyes of the little girl, trying to put on a show of bravery when everything inside of her was trembling. She was so exhausted and this tug-of-war with energy was not something she was so keen on doing at the moment.

I can\'t spare the energy, I\'m sorry! She wanted to say, but something about the appearance of the girl stopped her. She seemed almost quite ghostlike...

[Saiketsu]

Nikolai\'s eyes burned through the dark, the shadows allowing an angry smirk to press his lips, the sharp teeth and fangs exposed to the night air. He hated it. He loved it. The night embraced him and kept him secret while part of him was screaming to be known. Love. Hate. And as much as he felt the opposite views, they felt normal. This night he was getting used to the conflicting sides in his head.

He watched her more intently, her fluid movements, her palpable panic of that something around her. A glimmer of shadow near her, an image of a young being, but only an image. This mortal girl was not alone, he could see. But was this kind of creature that could escape his overly sensitive understanding of the vibe of life? He looked closer, eyes closing the distance that his feet didn\'t feel like covering.

Is that a spirit? Nikolai thought, both amused and confused at the same time. He watched for a moment more, trying to distinguish what was going on. A flicker of a dancer\'s dress, a couple of pointed toes and lifted, poised hands. And sure enough, the vampire could see the ocean through this young spirit very faintly. How odd, he mused. And it was then that his feet began to close the distance between himself and the two young women.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm froze, for the first time averting her attention away from the specter-like being. There was someone else, in the distance, watching them. She could feel something approaching. Expending what little energy she had, she reached out with her mind for the other\'s consciousness.

She stopped as soon as she brushed up against his mind. He wasn\'t alive, yet he had an active mind. That much she could tell. Storm withdrew immediately, feeling slightly more drained.

Glancing briefly at the spirit, she decided that it would be best to put distance between them. She backed away from the strange energy stealing girl, not wanting another contact with something she couldn\'t understand. Her eyes continued to flicker randomly, the wind stirring the black hair around her face.

[magnolia9662]

Olivia put her leg down following through with her dancing. Heading straight inbetween and past her two new acquaintences and began dancing off as if they were never a part of her life. And well, actually they weren\'t.

Lead with the hip, follow through.

[Saiketsu]

Dark eyes followed the small child-like form of the spirit depart. Wait, he wanted to say. Nikolai wanted to meet this child. Instead his body simply stood and watched her begin her leave, nerves in his arms acting on simple impulse as they reached out and grabbed strongly for her tiny arm. But he found that not even a vampire could grab at a ghost, as his hand passed right through the tiny limb. However, there was that feeling as though he just touched something forbidden.

He felt slightly drained after touching her. The vampire wondered if she could notice this.

Nikolai watched her for a moment more, unmoving as if frozen solid, dark hair on his head fluttering over the otherwise perfect part in the breeze off of the sea. Slowly, his gaze focused back on the mortal, well alive, near him. She seemed to be watching the ghost-child too.

"What... was that?" His voice was very quiet and not meant to be heard. He did, wonder afterwards, however, whether she could hear it.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm shuddered involuntarily as the spirit left. She could feel the effects of her lack of energy slowly taking over. She couldn\'t sleep though. Not tonight.

"What... was that?" The sudden voice of a new being drifted on the ocean breeze. Storm\'s eyes flickered randomly, searching the darkness for the source of the noise. Her eyes fell on a man, not far off from where she was standing.

He must\'ve been watching the whole time... she concluded in her mind. Something about this man caused her heart to thump against her rib cage. She could feel the adrenaline from her fear give her energy once again. She looked at him warily.

"...I...I don\'t know." she answered, timidly, still keeping her distance. Her lithe body quivered in anticipation.

[Saiketsu]

The vampire held no patience, wanted no akinment to this creature watching the spirit. He held nothing back as his eyes bore into her almost condescendingly. Nikolai felt so... insane this night.

He stood there gazing coldly at her, trying to read her.

Mortal, yet not human. Black hair, marvelous eyes and face. White skin. Small framed. Attractive. Rebellious, for lack of a better word. Her aura screamed of something completely different, something he had never encountered before. It puzzled him and made him more interested. And not to mention that palpable grip of fear or intimidation permeating the immediate area.

I like her already, he thought to himself, circling the girl as if she were some prime cut of meat, looking at her with stony eyes. Kill her or play with her? He couldn\'t decide. Nikolai continued his path, the darkness seething out onto his skin. He wondered if he looked at all menacing to her. She was pretty, to say the least, to him. Nikolai wondered if she could sense this.

But, then again, he hated calling attention to himself by announcing anything.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm eyed him suspiciously. She felt caged: her mind screaming to run but her legs refusing to listen. She felt cemented to the ground. She reached out with her mind, drawing from the energy reserves seeping from the fear induced adrenaline. The threads of her consciousness drifted into the surrounding as she reached out to feel his mind. His intentions. Friend or foe.

She couldn\'t feel life from him. Emotion, maybe, but tainted with something old and not quite alive. It was difficult to even brush against something that was...dead. She shuddered, drawing back her mind quickly as though touching a burning surface. The reading must be wrong. She was so exhausted. This man circling her could not be dead. Could he?

Her eyes flickered at a quicker pace, matching her beating heart, her pounding blood. She wanted to run, or even fly away. The rate of her breathing became restricted, as though she was trying to make herself less noticeable. Although, she knew that was impossible.

It seemed almost like he was going to pounce. He was circling her like a predator and she felt quite like defenseless prey. She swallowed a whimper before it was voiced.

[Saiketsu]

Nikolai could sense the girl pull away from him. And it interested him all the more. He loved the fear she offered so unwillingly. Why are you so nervous, my dear? He wanted to voice.

The pacing from him stopped and only his eyes remained watching her. "I\'m sorry, child. Are you uncomfortable with my pacing?" And without meaning to, he smiled wide and showed those terrible pearly whites which helped make him what he was. He watched her eyes as they changed around their colors. How he wished he could penetrate them, yet he found it incredibly difficult to do so. Could she know this?

And more than anything, he wanted to pierce into her mind, shake up her nerves a little bit, find out who the hell this girl was with such a presense. He almost felt threatened by her, for some reason. Yet he couldn\'t actually place why he was. Perhaps that was it. He couldnt place exactly what he was getting from her, who she was, what she was. And it irked him.