Adam and Eve

[Saiketsu]

continued from In a Rush

The night was mild with a palpable sense of urgency as Damien approached the lighthouse. He\'d noticed the time back in town, the giant clock in the middle of a plaza reading 10:06. It made him more irate than he would ever admit as time was luxury he didn\'t have. But then again, business was taken care of for one more night.

When he had left the Brazilian Quarter, possibly his favorite part of town, after his encounter with the children of the Dark Wolves, a plan rapidly developed in the forefront of his mind. Needless to say, he needed to see Pierre immediately and discuss what was on his mind.

As fast as Damien could go, he had found Pierre in his usual spot -- down in Stakes and Sticks, flirting with the prettiest donor there. But as much of a womanizer Pierre DuSang was, he dropped everything and conversed easily enough with the elder vampire. So as it was, the two vampires went back and forth under their breaths in the loud atmosphere, deciding on what was to happen.

Assemble the Genuine Ones, the useful ones. Meet down at Glitter Beach. Midnight. Not a moment later. The key was found. The plans were set into motion.

Pierre left the donor sitting at the bar as he went to gather the Genuine Vampires, the useful ones, with inhuman speed. Damien, however, was already late for his own rendez-vous with the key, herself. Heading Northwest, the elder vampire picked up his pace to a preternatural level, full-fledged anxiety taking over.

Ace had not forgotten the smell of Storm\'s blood mixed with that wolf\'s and he had not forgotten that she was still out there somewhere, wounded and angry. But even Damien knew enough not to underestimate Storm\'s strength and determination -- he had tasted it when she had offered the lifeblood to him when he was in great need of it. No, Damien wasn\'t worried about her all that much. But he did worry about her legs -- and their ability to run and try to escape. He had waited years, decades, centuries, to find Isabella\'s soul. What a pain it would be to have to find it again.

The lighthouse was within view, off some hundred yards in the thick grasses which have dried since his last encounter here, but where was Storm? Her aura still lingered here strongly, but the roar of the crashing waves far below was a little too loud and his mind a little too anxious for focusing on finding her.

Reaching out, sluggishly and almost clumsily, he brushed up against her subconcious gently. "Storm." He said firmly into her mind, but gentle enough not to perturb her. She was above him, perhaps in the far reaches of the lighthouse, but he could find her directly. Damien tried again, coming close to caressing her mind, luring her to him without words.

Tonight was the night.

[The Cedar Witch]

The Akari girl had drifted, that much she knew. Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t the nightmare she had expected, given the occurrences of the past couple of days. The funny thing with dreams, though, is that you never really know that they\'re dreams. Each and every time the girl was trapped inside of her mind, she reacted the exact way she would as though she were actually experiencing the events.

Storm was in a tent, late at night. She had to be awake early the next morning for a strict training regimen set up for her specifically by the Zalmric captain. What was his name again? L-something? The fact that she couldn’t remember bothered her more then the fact that she was in his tent. It sickened her the way she was given special treatment and it sickened her even more the reasons why.

In her dream she was lying on her back on a soft mattress, completely naked with a numb sense of shame that she was forced to get used to. With wide eyes the Akari bore into the ceiling of the tent, waiting. God, she fucking hated waiting. She could feel him—his body, lying near her. He was awake, drawing out the moment, trailing his fingers… Wandering icy blue eyes, hands on her throat, her chest. The girl could feel him in her mind and she craved it—his touch. His hate.

“Storm,” in response to the touch of Damien’s mind, she rocketed back into the land of the living, completely and utterly disgusted with herself. Storm didn’t want him to know anything about her, and thus walled of any lingering feelings or memories associated with her dream. Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt it was futile, and somewhere in the back of her mind she wanted to be understood and longed to be comforted without having anyone know why she was hurting.

A dull pain thudded in her arm and she allowed herself to look down at the wound. It was repulsing and Storm forced herself to look away. Shakily standing, she walked to the edge of the lighthouse as she reached out with her mind to Damien. Her hair was a mess from tossing and turning but frankly she didn’t care. The Akari looked down, seeking his eyes, seeking something familiar and remotely friendly. And she hated how fucking needy she was when she was supposed to be angry with him.

The thought of the inconstancy of men sprang up in her mind, filling her eyes with black. Suddenly infuriated with a mixture of her past memories brought up by the dream and Damien’s failure to show up on time, she took an impulsive action. Storm vaulted off the roof, without much of a second thought, reaching out to bend shadows this time instead of the air itself in order to slow her fall. Lightly her feet touched the ground, mysterious and almost invisible silky threads of darkness swirling at her feet. As the energy dispersed and took some of hers as its own, she glared at the vampire in the face. Storm felt a strange and peculiar mixture of anger and longing for him. She spoke through her teeth.

“Where. Were. You?” she could feel fangs piercing her lips but she didn’t hold them back. Her eyes flickered between black, grey, brown, and red; sometimes blending the four into a strange hue without a name. There was so much the girl wanted to say, and all she could manage was a string of curses as she tried recounting for him what had happened in his absence. That stupid wolf. That stupid fucking wolf. She didn\'t even know if he caught anything at all, if he could understand a word of her story.

“Do you realize what a fucking terrible night I had, alone, infected with this fucking wolf spit?!” Storm was hardly making sense, she showed him her green tinged arm while she didn’t realize that her skin was growing purple. She balled her hair in her fists, the frustration from the dream she had to experience all over again and the fact that things never went the way she expected them to. The girl wanted to scream, and she managed to. In a quiet sort of way. She needed control, comfort, something. All she felt was cold and empty. A shell. She was a fucking shell and she felt herself losing it.
Cut it out, you’re so overdramatic. Storm felt herself bending shadows just for the hell of it. Even though that’s what he taught her. But she didn’t care right now.

((OOC: Sorry for the length. ^^;  ))

[Saiketsu]

There wasn\'t much else he could do but stare at her as she bombarded him with her anger; he was more taken aback than anything else. This display was so pecular to him after so long, so exagerated but so typical at the same time. The spirit of Isabella was there, but it was the emotion of Storm, the leaking, overwhelming aura of her. Again he was faced with the indecision of trying to hold her like he was so accustomed to doing and the temptation to push her away so he could breathe easily again.

Without thinking about it first (as he would have never have done it after thinking), Damien put both hands on her shoulders, as if trying to control her in a simple manner. "Calm down, Storm!" He subconciously tapped into the forefront of her mind-- another thing he was once accustomed to doing-- and was greeted by a large wall of fustration protecting a number of flashing images that reeked of regret.

All of a sudden, he felt overwhelmed and guilty for leaving her hanging. So instead of reacting with his typical quick-temper, his facade fell for a moment, revealing a side of himself he typically didn\'t show to anyone -- a guilty, thoughtful side, with genuine care. "Storm, calm down." The sound of the name, of her name rolling off his lips shook him back into the shadows of the mask. His stony features settled in a panic. She is not her, you fool! A taste of his real anger flooded his eyes, no towards her, but directed towards himself. He was regretting it immediately.

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm glared at him, yet her eyes didn\'t seem to agree with the anger in her face. Her skin slowly faded to a pale, fleshy tone and her eyes became normal. As much as her body cried out to shake him off of her shoulders, she kept still and focused on his face. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. She was so childish sometimes and she hated it.

The second time he called her name Storm could feel the change in him more then she could see it, and gently pulled away, turning her back to him. She didn\'t want to look at an angry face.

"I\'m sorry. That wasn\'t about you. I had a rough night," the Akari sighed heavily as she clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly in an effort to gain complete control of herself. "I didn\'t mean for you to see that outburst..." she added as an afterthought while at the same time she ran through each motion of her dream, each feeling. God, those fucking eyes. Icy blue. She hated that color more then anything.

Storm felt herself settle into place as she pushed her emotions back into their bottles. She assumed a business type attitude, trying to be realistic. There was a job to be done, she assumed, and of course she had a position to fill. Or rather, a position to try to fill. She could only try.

Making a small attempt to fix her ruffled hair, Storm turned to face the vampire again, awaiting some form of direction. A command. An order. She\'d been obeying in her dreams so why not carry on with the submission like she was supposed to?

[Saiketsu]

Damien sighed under his breath, adjusting back into his mask while biting into his lower lip hard enough to score a taste of undead blood-- not appetizing at all. He felt her submissiveness, the awkwardness between them. What the fuck, he thought with a sigh. It was never like this before.

And as a wind blew past the two of them standing there only yards from the edge of the cliffs, he remebered the kamikaze flight they both took and the wounds he still carried from the trip. But more than that, the wind carried a curious scent, one he couldn\'t put his finger on, until he looked over at Storm. It was Isabella. It was Storm.

Flashes of his Master\'s death occured in a chaotic patern, obscuring any ability to think he had left. Damien growled in his throat demonically, trying to ward off the images that brought him so much grief. They always took him by surprise with their varying intensities and inconvenient placement within the course of the night. He furrowed his brow and rubbed his hands over his face, trying to clear all thought from his mind without success. The vampire turned away slightly, trying his best to ignore how similar they both looked, even in hair style.

Breathing calmly, Damien removed his hands from his face and turned back to her, a less-than-genuine smile lining his tight lips. "I guess it\'s fair to say that neither one of us has had the best of nights. I\'ve heard about your encounter with the wolves, trust me. And I\'m sorry, but I was delayed in my journey from meeting you on time. Things and people just kept... popping up." Which, actually, isn\'t a complete lie.

[The Cedar Witch]

Really, Storm could have dealt with the wolves no problem. It was the sleeping that really got to her. And the dreams. Maybe if he had been there she would have been occupied to the point where she wouldn\'t have slept, but she knew that wasn\'t his responsibility. None the less, she spoke nothing of this. But the girl felt her mind consumed with the thought of that single memory, unable to tare herself from those icy blue eyes.

Storm shook her head, smiling a fake one right back at him. Her eyes betrayed her with a grey. "They were the least of my worries." And she left it at that. Reaching inside of her, she searched for some sort of strength from her spirit. Isabella. If maybe she could pretend, maybe if she could somehow act like this strong being that now resided within her, maybe then she could please him in some way. But deep down the girl knew she was just a disappointment. Helpful. She had to be helpful.

Drawing energy from the earth she worked on clearing her infection, something that took little to no concentration. The Akari was less then proud of herself for her accomplishments, this was more of a necessity anyway. She sighed, trying to figure out a way to change the subject. And all of a sudden she felt like a little kid again.

"I...I remembered how to do something...with energy. And shadows." she smiled sheepishly, twirling a bit of the dark matter between her fingers. It wasn\'t that she was trying to show off, and it was only after she said it that she realized it looked exactly like that. God, how much older was he?

"Look, can I ask you something?" her eyes searched his.

[Saiketsu]

He almost found her gaze threatening. Again, the unfamiliarity of the situation coaught him off guard. Damien tried his hardest not to build up a noticable wall from her. It was a simple question. He just hated being invaded, especially by someone he hadn\'t seen in a while.

Inside he laughed at himself, at his inability to recognize that Storm was different than Isabella on many planes. She gave him an odd feeling of recognition combined with the desire for walls separating him from her, her from Isabella. He couldn\'t even begin to explain, but he constantly found himself missing Isabella. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

"Go ahead, I guess." How much harm could it cause? Damien folded his arms across his chest in as casual a manner as he could muster.

[The Cedar Witch]

The Akari\'s eyes flickered in frustration. The awkwardness was suffocating and she hated it. Jesus Christ, couldn\'t they just get along? Then again, maybe it was like trying to mix oil and water, and the way things looked she was the one sinking.

"Is there something I\'m doing wrong? I mean, I know I\'ll never be what you wanted. But I don\'t know how to make this any less awkward. I\'m trying the best I can, honest. I just...I don\'t know what to do." She shook her head, muttering incoherently to herself and searching for words that made sence.

"I just want to try, okay? I\'m not giving up or anything. I\'m not going to run away," Christ, you sound like an idiot. Shut up while you still can. She was getting frustrated trying to explain what she meant.

"Give me something to go on for now, I\'ll catch on. I can learn." her eyes were hopefull, yet not directed at him. The girl stared into the dirt before her, still not even sure what exactly she was trying to say.

[Saiketsu]

Her abrupt shifting of manner caught him by surprise -- he had not expected this at all. The vampire could do nothing but stare blankly at her for a moment while he  attempted to digest what she just said. Sure, it was a relief that she wasn\'t going to be flighty anymore-- why she wasn\'t, he honestly didn\'t want to ask in case indecision took her-- and, yeah, it was great that she was willing. But for whatever reason, Damien had the hardest time trying to take complete control over her. He had never taken complete control before; Isabella was always there by his side and she was the only one with total control.

The only response he could give her immediately was another sigh as he rubbed at his neck. His bad leg began to ache from all the exertions he had placed on it over the past couple of nights. The more it hurt, the better he was getting. He shifted his weight back and forth until he had some kind of response to her.

"I can only assume that from our last visit," his mouth began to run dry, "you know what the plan of action is. I can only assume that... she told you in some way." She probably has more of an idea of what I\'m going to do than I do... The thought that he and Storm shared the same exact memories from the same exact source was still a sensation he had to get accustomed to. It sent shivers down his spine. "A... congregation has already been set up down at the beach." He looked away from her at this point. "A few of my fledglings -- younger vampires -- will be waiting at midnight. We need to discuss the actions to be taken now that you\'re found." And the new alliances which may be considered for eventual domination. Storm\'s not gonna be happy about those. He cringed at the thought of her reaction.

"But as for you, you\'re not doing anything wrong." His eyes searched for hers again, slipping out of the human facade he was so accustomed to keeping. It was time she got used to the monster; she\'d be walking into a group of them soon enough. His eyes deepened, his face became rigid with unnatural age. His jaw tensed slightly, his breathing slowed to almost a stop. "There\'s going to be a period of... adjustments between us. I\'ll assume it\'s normal." I don\'t hate you anymore, Storm.

[The Cedar Witch]

It was hard for the Akari to read him; even trying to understand what Damien was saying had become increasingly difficult due to the images flooding her mind. Almost as if Isabella was trying to help him explain what was going on, but Storm had a tendency to shut down when two people were talking to her at the same time. One thing she had noticed was the significant lift of tension, and for that, the girl was greatfull.

Storm sighed and turned away, filing the new information away appropriately to be dealt with at a later time. There were other things plaguing her mind presently, things she could not help but venture back to. Nodding vaguely in the vampire\'s direction in order to communicate the fact that she had heard and (somewhat) understood him, she turned her back toward him to seek some form of privacy as her expression instantly darkened.

Dreams were something the Akari should have been used to by now, regardless of how disturbing their nature. Yet this had been an unpleasantly personal one, something she wasn\'t typically accustomed to. Her nightmares usually had that vague sense of detachment from actual occurrences. The fact she had dreamt of a memory could only mean one thing--that he is closer then she would have intended. Black filled her vision. He could not interfere with her intentions of a new life. Not now. Not again.

Her only comfort was the fact that he was not close enough for her to get a proper reading from him. Despite this, Storm still felt so utterly weak and vulnerable. She ran her fingers through her hair and exhaled heavily.

[Saiketsu]

He felt her retreat immediately into herself and wondered if he had said something wrong... again. He shrugged it off, though he did wonder if he should say anything else, something to make it less awkward. Not that it would work anyway, based on past experiences.

"So..." he exhaled, looking out into the dark ocean. He grinned suddenly, remembering. "You up for another dive? We have an hour to kill..." And I\'d really love to taste your blood again... He found himself thinking sheepishly. Her scent, mixed with the cool breeze off the ocean, was nearly intoxicating. Too bad he had fed before...

[The Cedar Witch]

Storm noticeably shook her head, not in response to him but rather to clear her head. She turned to him again, face betraying her vague efforts to mask how she felt.

"I\'m not in the mood, really," she answered him quietly, smiling politely and studying his expression. An hour, huh? Even if she was in the mood to go jump off another cliff, she\'d need a hell of a lot more time to recover from it. And she wasn\'t about to show up at some meeting with a bunch of vampires and make herself look like a weakling from a bunch of injuries. "I wouldn\'t want to make a bad first impression" she added.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not shake her mind from that image. Those eyes. It was terribly frustrating and she found herself wanting to transform simply to leak out some of the built up hatred she was feeling. Involuntarily she let her mind sink into a familiar pattern. That spiral. She hid it as best she could, letting her fangs show to let off some of the pressure.

Storm turned from him again to control herself, shove whatever she was feeling down. It was a beautiful moon. A terribly, fucking gorgeous moon.

[Saiketsu]

He scowled faintly. "I didn\'t mean it anyway." There goes my sarcasm again, he mused. Her emotions, though obviously restricted by her somehow, were tastable on the air, flowing with her lovely scent. It made him feel as though he were getting into something very sticky, very contageous and he could feel his own mental walls go up to try to keep him out of it.

What to do, what to do. "Well, we have an hour left at least..." Damien had nothing else planned after that. He knew somehow that Storm didn\'t like to sleep, so he didn\'t suggest that again. No cliff-diving. No dangerous stuff. "Do you wanna go somewhere? Like for a walk or something?" He couldn\'t understand why his voice was quiet and why his cheeks burned faintly when he said it. After all, he hadn\'t been on a date in a very long time...

[The Cedar Witch]

She managed to seal the majority of her emotions away for the time being, not daring to touch them or examine them until they were much less violent. Clenching and unclenching her fists at intervals, she inhaled slowly to further calm herself.

Go for a walk? The girl tried not to laugh at him. Her eyes glistened with light blue and she turned around to face him again, finding his suggestion irresistibly cute. Stifling her childish reaction, she took a step toward him, swirls of Darkness scattering at her feet.

"Sure, why not," Maybe it\'ll help me clear my head a bit... She was practically begging for some distraction. "Any place in particular or you just want to wander in the forest for the next hour?" she smiled playfully, attempting to lighten the mood. Her efforts felt forced and she knew he\'d recognize them as being over exaggerated.

[Saiketsu]

He smiled awkwardly. "Well I had no place in particular in mind. I mean I\'ve been everywhere in the city, so nothing surprises me there. Why? Where would you like to go? Skipping around in the forest?" Though her emotions and whatever, the sticky feeling of her aura, were locked away, the sensation literally stuck and he didn\'t really want to be around that. Anything was better than getting dragged into some dark ooze.

"I figured I\'d let you lead the way. It\'s the least I could do after everything that\'s happened between us." The slightest of stinging sensations arose to his cheeks. When was the last time he had ever flirted with a girl for no other reason than to flirt? When he was human? When flirting was called "courting", and involved dancing with hands touching and staring into each others\' eyes? Was this even flirting? Damien found himself slightly confused, but tried not to show his hesitation.