"Link we have a problem near the food court, 2 teenage kids are reported as fist fighting rightoutside the entrance." The voice of Harry, the head of mall security, rang over the tiny walkie-talkie.

"On my way Harry." Lincoln enjoyed keeping things short and sweet, especially confrontations like the one that was to come.

As he walked through the mall on his way to the foodcourt entrance he could feel eyes on him, he always hated that feeling. Always afraid somebody had "made" him for what he is, afraid he'd have to leave his home because he's different. Praying those eyes were just people curious about what the large security guard was up to.

Harry hadn't even come close on the problem outside. It wasn't just 2 teenagers it was a whole group of them, and apparently they all were ganging up on a single teen.

"You're such a loser!" The larger of the group yelled at the boy as he shoved him to the ground, hard enough to draw a yelp out of the smaller kid. Lincoln walked up to the outskirts of the group, grabbed the closest one by the shoulders and lifted the boy off of the ground, moving him out of his way easily and drawing the attentive gazes of the others.

"It's time you guys all left." The one Lincoln had choosen to lift up bolted as soon as Lincoln spoke, while the others needed a little more incentive.

"I'm not done shopping, I have to pick my brother up his birthday present," one of the girls in the group, and the only one brave enough to challenge him.

"Well, I guess you'll have to come back with your parents. All of you are gone NOW!" The false rage in his voice was enough to send the young teens for the hills, they pushed each other running towards the parking long where Lincoln was sure none of them was old enough to have a car. Even the young one who was being harassed took off in an oppisite direction.

Turning around Lincoln grabbed his walkie and pressed the button to open the comm line, "Harry, those kids are gone for the day." In a voice that with anyone else would've been a joke Harry came back, "Good, but please tell me you didn't hurt one of them. I can't afford to risk my job for you again you know." Lincoln decided not to respond right away, letting Harry stew for awhile is always more fun.

Sunshine outside, late afternoon golden warmth flooding through the wide glass windows and seeping around the blossoms filling the displays. The white tile floors were swept clean, with neat little price tags on merchandise. There was a rack of cards and some teddies and customised mugs across from the register, manned by a slender youthful loooking woman, and some specialty chocolates next to it. Life was good.

And in the back portion of the shop which relied on the sky light for illumination, Fiona Dalway was up to her elbows in stripped leaves, twiggy offshoots and thorns. Some thin glittery ribbon was still in her hair from where Merry in a humerous fit had tied it earlier. Fiona sighed slightly, dropping another load of excess foliage that had come with the lillies into the bin. We reeaaally need a new supplier for these, she decided. But since lillies were a popular flower, they'd have to put up with it.

Casting a grey eye at the bouquet in front of her, she decided that it needed something a little more in it. It was too bright at present, it needed something to mellow it. Fiona turned to survey the rack behind her, filled with angled tubes of flowers. Picking a type out of the myriad show, she took out three giant daisies and slipped them into the bundle, before holding it up to eye it critically. It just needed the ends trimming and a wrapping, and this one was all ready for the client to pick it up. When reaching for the shears, her questing fingertips brushed them off the counter top and onto the floor with a clatter. Fiona uttered a non-descript sound of annoyance as she ducked below the work bench to retrieve it, hearing the bell on the door tinkle as somebody came in. Seeing the amount that she'd have to sweep up, Fiona groaned.

"Buck up, Fiona, only a couple more hours till closing," Merry called from the till, before saying something to whoever had come in. Yeah, whoo, couple more hours till I have to sweep this mess up, Fiona snarked silently, as she straightened up again, reaching for the cut ends of the flowers.

"Mom? Dad? Anyone home?" Alyssa called out as she pushed open the front door to her parent's house, pulling the key out of the door as she did so. She was met by silence in response. Closing the door carefully behind her, Lyssa's aqua eyes scanned the first floor of the house. Her shoulders slumped when she saw exactly how many boxes she had left to move to her apartment. When had she managed to accumulate all this stuff? Better yet, how was she ever going to move it all by herself.

One by one Alyssa moved boxes into the back seat and trunk of her sedan. The car was far too small to fit all the boxes, much to the dismay of Alyssa. It would take at least another two trips for the girl to collect all her belongings, and that is only if her parents didn't stash some of them away, forcing a confrontation.

Up to this point, Lyssa had managed to slip in and out while her parents were at work. She gathered her boxes and left before they ever got home, like a magical little moving elf they never saw, but could sense it had came by the diminished stack of boxes. It's not like Lys was really avoiding her parents, because she wasn't. She was avoiding the teary eyed questions of why 'she was doing this to them'. Her parents just couldn't understand why the twenty year old would want to live on her own.

Turning the key in the ignition, Alyssa started her car. She pulled carefully away from the curb, not wanting to jostle the boxes. She was about halfway to her new apartment when she realized that if she wanted dinner that night, she best be on her way to the mall. Pots and pans were necessary items to the food making process, and she didn't own a single one.

"A raccoon attack... How many were hurt?.. Were they hospitalized... Okay, I just need you to give me full name, address, and phone number... 870... 5372... Okay got that Mr. Folger, and you live on 117 South Peach Street... Okay, I can see you tomorrow, so we can discuss the major details and the acts we're going to take against the store... This thing will be settled before you know it... Bye." Michael spoke quickly into his cellphone, and hung up quickly after ending the conversation. A smirk appeared on his face that meant mischief.

Wearing a black polo shirt, jeans, and black sneakers, Michael walked through the mall. Only there to buy one thing, a book. It was rare to see a man of his age going into a mall's books store. He knew what he was looking for, he had seen it a few days ago sitting on the back shelf of the small store. He had been looking for something like it on that day, but he didn't have the money at the time. The cover of the thick red book seemed to call out to him. It was an encyclopedia, an encyclopedia of every recorded animal in the world since the year 2000. Michael wished he could get something more relevant, but it would have to do, and at least it wasn't really old.

Upon finding the encyclopedia, he grabbed it and took it to the counter. The teenager behind looked like they absolutely hated their job, and he snickered a little. When the boy looked up Michael was already gone. He looked down to the counter to see a hundred dollar ill on the counter, and smiled as he knew he was going to take the extra change as a tip, but he now needed to figure what book Michael had picked out. Walking out the door, Michael spoke.

"Encyclopedia of Animals!" Michael exclaimed . With that, he left. His curiosity struck him, and he immediately opened up the huge book and flipped through it. The book was perfect.

Nadia walked around behind the counter, grabbing a few plates that were ready to go to a table. She had a smile on that was clearly a fake. She walked back to the counter and waited for more orders to be filled. She continued to do this until she had a break and sat down at a booth in the restaurant. Her eyes glanced at the people that were still eating, she knew all of them.

This wasn't her dream job at all, but it did have it's advantages. Since the town was so small there isn't a wide variety of places to eat, in fact this was the only diner. That being the case she pretty much got to see everyone, even people new to the area. She laid her head down on the table, and yawned. She was really tired but knew that she needed to get over it. She was working a double shift today, which meant that she would be working at night.

As weird as it was to some of her co-workers, she loved working the night shift. You met all of the weird people then, and that was interesting to her. She sighed as her break ended and went back to work. Nadia waited impatiently for the sun to set, watching as people came and went. She gazed down to the grey specked counter and tapped her nails on it, waiting for another customer to walk in.

Another sleepless day. So what was new. It seemed to Murdoch that he hadn't actually slept in years. He rolled onto his back, looking up at the dank basement ceiling. A drop of cold water fell from a support beam and hit him on the forehead. He sighed and closed his pale blue eyes, thick black eyelashes fluttering ever so slightly. His finely tuned ears listened intently to the living world around him. The train on its rickety tracks as it passed in the distance, the children laughing and playing several blocks over, the wind that gently rustled the leaves of the ancient oak tree that seemed to guard the old ro home he was currently occupying.

The house was small, old and essentially falling apart. But He didn't really even use it, with the exception of the basement. It was on the wrong side of town in a truly dismal neighborhood. It worked to his advantage really. Fewer suspicions roused here. True, he had had several break ins, but nothing was ever stolen. The whole of the house was filled, floor to ceiling, with books. From every feasible time period, in every feasible language. Worthless to petty thieves, but priceless as anything to Murdoch.

He rolled onto his stomach and made a sound of discomfort. He gazed down at a help wanted add in a recent news paper.

"Bloody Mary's
Bar tender needed ; experience necessary; humans need not apply."

Murdoch needed a job. His meager inheritance was about to run out. It wasn't that he spent much money, on the contrary in fact. The only things he bought were cases of Tru Blood, and a few item of clothing (he would have purchased those at thrift stores, but sadly they close before dark). Everything else was obtained the old fashioned way...dumpster diving. Virtually every book he owned. The wood, nails and tools to build his basement sanctuary, were all obtained in this manner. It didn't seem odd or pathetic to him. When one has lived a life such as his, trash picking was probably one of the least degrading things he had done.

He cursed under his breathe. He realized he would need new clothes for his job interview at the club. He needed to look his best, of course. That would mean going to the place he dreaded most.....the mall. Lord, how he despised that ridiculous place. But it was a necessary evil if he expected to win over the owners of Bloody Mary's. He peeked down at his centuries old pocket watch.

"Almost sundown. Crap. "

When you've been alive for 207 years, and a vampire for 185 of them, some of your days (or nights, really) just felt like a routine. But Alexis Ashmore was trying to mainstream with the humans, and she was finding it more difficult than she planned.

Now that the humans knew of their existence, vampires in turn were given certain rights. And one of those, was the right for business. It took some time to get Bloody Mary up for business, and once it had...well, there was never an empty seat. Blood Mary was the only vampire bar open for miles, and business was never slow. While some of the locals weren't too happy or inviting to the bar, they couldn't deny their interest and curiousity. Bloody Mary had their fair share of humans and tourists, all wanting to catch a peek, or just flirt with the danger of a night with a vampire.

But staffing was fucking hard to find, though. At least when it came to finding someone she could trust, and rely on. It was hard to mainstream when you employed other vampires who were just looking for easy prey. Yes, there was nothing wrong with taking some blood from a human if they were willing. But she didn't want that public display in her bar, and usually the other vampires began to turn into some kind of frenzy at the sight and smell of it. She'd fired too many bartenders to think of, and she couldn't even count how many other vampires she had to banish from the bar. If word got out that Bloody Mary was just a cover for some underground 'blood bank', they'd be shut down for sure. And Alexis wasn't having that. Take that shit home. In the meantime, she hired a few humans here and there. Someone had to make sure the bar was tended to in the day, right? Léonide had been nice enough to help tend and manage the bar when it really needed it, but she knew he had other important things he could probably be taking care of. He'd do it, with no favors asked in return, but she'd still try her best to make sure he wouldn't have to. So, that's why the opening went up.

The humans and shifters had their time now. It wouldn't be long until the sun would begin to set, and the doors to Bloody Mary would open for business.

Allison posed for the camera that was snapping away and did what the cameraman was saying. "Pose like this..do that...make a sexy face!!" Allison did everything the man said and then stood up when the photoshoot was done. She smiled at the men and women who helped her with the shoot and then walked over to the makeup and dressing room.

She walked over to a cute pair of clothes and then got undressed and put on a black bra and black panties. She slipped on a pair of american eagle pants that were dark blue and then put on a gray tang top and put a red long sleeve top over it. The shirt had a white skull on it with "My Love is Chaos.." Under it in deep blood red. She smiled and then spiked her hair and put on her egyptian anka necklace.

She knew something was missing and she snapped her fingers and walked over to the hats and put on a black hat with white stripes going down the hat and a large white skull on the side. The inside of the hat was black and it had gory bloody skulls bunched together on it. She looked herself over and then put on a pair of DC shoes that were black and white and then put on her rings and eyeliner and smiled when she looked perfect.

She walked out of the room and smiled at everyone. "Thank you everyone for a wonderful shoot!" Everyone smiled and then waved at her and she walked out of the shoot and towards a taxi-cab that she called. She smiled at the driver and then passed them a hundred dollar bill. "Take me to Bloody Marys...now.." The driver nodded and then started the car and drove away from the shoot and towards the bar called Bloody Marys.

She looked out the window of the taxi-cab and saw that darkness hit and now it was nightime. The perfect time to party and relax around the supernatural.

Though the evening was cool a thick film of humidity hung like a blanket in the air. Little could be heard or seen for that matter for miles down the desolate road. Shady characters lurked under the dim street lights. Pacing back and forth like rabid dogs. Making their tawdry deals and exchanges with one another. Murdoch passed them slowly. The dogs kept their heads low. They feared him. He had lived in this neighborhood long enough for everyone to know he was Vampire.

Typically he walked most everywhere he went, at a leisurely pace. But, as he was in a bit of hurry to get to the mall, he opted for a run instead. Though running is hardly the word for it. To the eyes of mortals it would seem rather like a teleportation. He was nought but a whiff of smoke and a light breeze to any human by stander who were to catch a glimpse of him.

As his home was in such a poor area of town it took a good five minutes or so to make to that trendy brightly lit beacon of conformity and greed.Ah, the Greensville Mall. Murdoch shuttered slightly as he entered. He held the door for an older woman. She stopped mid stride and glared daggers at him before she walked quickly away, looking behind her as she rushed to her car.

He looked around, a bit confused at first. This was the Food Court. Damn it! This was by far the worst place to be in the mall. So many people to stare and point and whisper. Murdoch would be lying to himself if he said that such judgments had no affect on him. And then of course their were the small, but tightly packed groups of far too eager young fang bangers that seemed to have nothing better to do with themselves than drool shamelessly over Murdochs kind. A small group of young girls dressed in goth attire looked up from their slurpeez to stare at him and giggle. He smiled at them. No intentions of leading them on, just a sign of acknowledgment. Never let it be said that Murdoch was nothing if not kind hearted, particularly of women.

He descended floors via the large escalator on the third floor. There was a group on teenage boys far in front of him. Though he did make an attempt not to, he couldn't help but eaves drop when he heard them mention Bloody Mary.

"Yo man, I'm telling you these vamp bitches are smokin hot! And I hear that they'll screw like five guys at once!"

"Dirty blood suckin' sluts." The boys all laughed and, of course, agreed that they had to go to the club tonight. Murdoch shook his head "lovely" he sighed.

He stepped off the escalator in front of some trendy little goth store. Loud, rather vulgar music blasted so loudly in the place that he could scarcely hear the sales girl. He leaned closer to her "WHAT?" he was virtually yelling.

"Jesus Amy turn the music down!" She screamed at the girl with the pink mo-hawk behind the counter. The din faded slightly. "What can I help you with today?" she asked in an almost annoyingly jovial manner.

Murdoch pulled three hundred dollar bills from the pocked of his raggedy black jeans. "Just make me look good," He spoke in his deep and soothing voice. On several occasions over his life he had been accused of glamouring, when in truth he had just been speaking in his normal voice. The sales girl looked up at him, biting her pinkie nail gingerly. "Shouldn't be too hard..." she giggled



He exited the mall, more than slightly pleased with what Beth, his newest fan apparently, had helped him pick out. He also left with her phone number, myspace, facebook and some other such nonsense. He was clad in rather tight black leather pants that laced up the sides and through the crotch, a black thermal shirt with red stitching at the seams, black cowboy styled boots, a few steel necklaces that caught his fancy, a spiked leather cuff and two or three rings on his fingers. This should do nicely, he thought to himself. Though not wanting to admit it, he enjoyed feeling as though he looked, well, sexy. He attempted, and failed to veil the smile that crept across his usually somber face.

He reached the bar quick as he was able to reach the mall. It was early yet, and parking lot was still fairly empty. He caught sight of his reflection in the rear view mirror of one of the cars. He gingerly arranged several pieces of hair on his forehead. Murdoch took a last deep breathe to regain his composer, then pushed open the front door of Bloody Mary

Nadia sat behind the counter for a few minutes, not very many people coming in. She sighed and leaned against the counter before she heard her name being called. One of the girls was asking if she could take her shit, she needed the money for rent or something. Even though she didn't really want to go home at the moment she agreed, feeling that it was the right thing to do.

She slowly walked to her car and turned on the radio. She drove home but really wasn't looking forward to staying in tonight, for some reason she just wanted to get out. She thought of things that could entertain her but there really wasn't much in this town. As she neered her home she remember hereing something about a vampire type club and decided that's were she would go tonight. After all it was better than nothing, and who knew who she could meet there.

Her shoes didn't make too much noise as she climbed the stairs to her room. She looked through her closet, trying to find one of her dresses that was club apropriet. After searching for a bit she finally found something.

Nadia parked her car and walked out. She looked different than her normal attire which consisted of her work uniform or jeans. She had heavy eye make-up and a short, tight dress. She let her hair down instead of keeping it in a pony tail and curled naturally. She walked into the Bloody Mary, looking around before sitting at the bar. It was easy to tell that she was new to the scene, not only by her coy deminor but by the fact that she didn't have a drink in her hand like everyone else.

"What to do what to do?" Lincoln thought to himself as he got out of the shower. With the mall being closed for the day and a day off tomorrow he had all night to party, though his normal crew was out of town at the moment. Looking in the mirror Link glanced to the backpack full of clothes he always carried with him, just incase he decided to have some fun, or incase he was found out.

"Ahh screw it, time to have some fun." Lincoln decided to throw on his "dancing shoes" and head out to the Bloody Mary. It wasn't his favorite club, but it was always a good crowd. There was always good music and...friendly company.

Lincoln left the house in his unbuttoned button up shirt with an open sport coat. Black pants and shoes that were his favorite to get out on the dance floor with. He hated flying solo, but he had a feeling it was going to be a pretty eventfull night if anything.

Walking into the club Lincoln scanned the crowd for the "right" people. He then noticed a girl sitting at the bar by herself, no drink in her hand. He prefered hanging with people who didn't drink as soon as they walked in, that normally turned into a sloppy messy night.

Taking an empty seat beside her he didn't give her a chance to protest him sitting. "So what are you drinking tonight?" He asked the girl in the tight dress.

Once that sun was down in the horizon, Alexis Ashmore was up on her feet. Some vampires liked to sleep in different resting places, but not Alexis. There was just something about, here it comes, "resting in peace" that she just preferred. There was that comforting feeling of where she was, right beneath her very own house. She wasn't in the Earth, really, but underground. And there was no other place she could rest that would make her feel more safe. She couldn't always rest where Léonide did. Although, vampires rarely ever rested with each other. She actually hated sleeping in the ground. Not because it was cold, or dirty...Alexis was both things already. But just waking up out of the ground felt depressing, and she felt every time she did that she was losing a bit of her humanity along with her. Which is probably why she wanted Léonide to stop. She couldn't control him. he was much older than her. And she was required to obey him, since he was the reason behind her turning. But she still looked out for him, and took care of him however she could. It beat her up inside to see him down or upset, and she'd always do whatever necessary to change that.

Once back inside the house, Alexis was quick to changing into a little black dress. The dress came down at her thighs while the fabric clung tightly to her slender form. There was little left to the imagination while she slipped on a long necklace that slid down into the cleavage of her breasts, and dark shadow was brushed over her eyelids. That golden blonde hair of hers was pulled back into a ponytail away from her face, and it bounced lightly behind her neck while she moved. Alexis was none for fashion, and she hated to dress over the top. But while Bloody Mary was a vampire bar, the humans that came in actually expected the vampires to dress and look a certain way. Fucking movies ruined it for all of them. Apparently, they expected the vampires to almost look gothic. Well, they could all go to Hell because Alexis just wasn't having it. Black was good enough for her. It was the one of the very few colors that looked good with pale skin.

Alexis was only a few minutes to Bloody Mary when her cell phone began to ring. She assumed it was the bar, impatiently awaiting her arrival. But when she saw Léonide's name on the caller ID, a bright smile began to form across her lips. Gotta love technology. He was probably at the house, wondering where she was. She hadn't seen him, and forgot to mention that she had posted an ad for employment at the bar. She really did hope he'd be happy to hear that since that meant he wouldn't have to work, even if it did keep him busy. "Hello," she said softly into the phone once it was flipped open and brought to her ear. "Is everything all right? I'm just a few minutes away from the bar. I've posted an ad for employment the other day, so I'm hoping to have some interviews tonight. Think you could stop by? Sometimes you're better at seeing through the bullshit than I can." Alexis' smile was beginning to curl into a wide grin as she pulled into the parking lot of the bar. With the phone still attached to her ear, Alexis moved inside through the back entrance.

Once inside the bar, even if she was in the back hallway, she could already smell, even fucking taste the human blood on the tip of her tongue. They came early tonight. When one of the human waitresses walked passed, Alexis waved a hand at her. "Get me a bottle of TruBlood." Another wave of her hand would dismiss the girl. It wasn't a question, it was a demand. And if she didn't want Alexis taking her blood, then she'd be fucking quick with that, too.

Murdoch casually strolled around the front room of the bar. The decor was rather gothic, as to be expected, but very tasteful. He enjoyed the soft red velvet of the couches as he ran his finger tips down their backs. The lighting was a dim red glow emitted from large old world style lamps above the bar. A rather frazzled human was frantically attempting to serve drinks from behind the black glossy bar top, but seemed to be having a difficult time of it. He looked as though if one more person were to bark a drink order at him his very head might explode.

Murdoch looked around. His eyes searching for the owner of the establishment. He saw a woman on the phone pacing slightly whilst sipping at a Tru Blood. He was going to wait for her to finish her conversation and then introduced himself when he heard a crash over at the bar. A large angry looking vampire had pulled the frightened mixologist from behind the bar.

"I said O negative you asshole!! And my lady here wants a Tom Collins.But you cant even manage that, can you shit head!?"

Instinctively Murdoch ran toward the bar, ducking under the tiny side door. Quick asa lightning strike he had both drinks ready and in hand. "A tom Collins for the lady and O negative for the gentleman." He smiled cordially at the brute of a vampire who still had the poor human in his grasp. He then dropped the human unceremoniously to the ground and took the drinks.

"Thanks man,"he coughed and gagged slightly, "you saved my ass for sure."

Fiona had spent 15 minutes hiding under the counter top while Merry fended off her suiter. Darryl was a nice enough guy, but tenacious as hell and wasn't realising that no meant no even when delivered gently and politely. What, was the guy starved for attention that he would attatch himself slave-like to the first kindly ankle? She'd felt a bit sorry for him, so had been nice when he'd shuffled in, embaressed and looking for flowers for his mother's birthday. He'd left with flowers and a massive crush on the girl who arranged them. Merry was very understanding about it, even though she loved to tease Fiona about it. After they'd shut up shop and cleaned up, Merry had pulled her neice up the stairs to the apartment they shared above the shop.

"I've realised something terrible. You've lived here a month, and I still haven't taken you to Bloody Mary's. It's wonderful fun, and you only have to keep the glamours up against humans. They have Sweet Water!" Merry enthused. Fiona's ears pricked up at the mention of Sweet Water. It was a favourite of Feys, even though humans and other supernaturals couldn't pick up the taste. Something about it just reacted with Feys, leaving a tingle down the throat and a bright fuzzy feeling. It also didn't get you blind or hungover like alcohol did. Fiona had experienced alcohol and decided that it was nothing to write home about. She'd heard Bloody Mary's catered to vampires and by secret extension other minorities, but she didn't think they'd have that. Especially since the damn stuff came all the way from Ireland.

"Promise you won't go leaving me all alone in the bar with all the big bad hot vampires?" Fiona asked, her voice developing a lisp as she dropped her chin and fluttered her lashes. Merry raised her chin imperiously.

"Quit trying to glamour me, I'm far too old for such tricks," she declared loftily.

"Yeah, so old, seeing as you're Dad's baby sister by 80 years," Fiona teased. She ducked her aunt's swipe and danced into her bedroom. There was a standing closet with drawers in the bottom in the corner, and a mirror hung on the door. Next to it was the window and across from it was a small table. Hung in the window were a number of light catchers, casting rainbows over the ceiling. Merry leaned in the doorway by the headboard, watching Fiona free her fine hair and disentagle the ribbon from it.

"Hellion."

"Yup. Dress code?" Fiona pulled open the closet and began to eye the options.

"Sexy."

"Haha."

"Dark, sweety, fangbangers go there." she warned.

"Great, wonderful, so I get all the little twits fed Anne Rice asking me why I don't wear black," Fiona scoffed. Merry laughed and left to go get dressed herself. Fiona eyed her options, then pulled out a pair of black denim capri, followed by a deep purple top that shimmered with black threads through it, the fabric floating around her slim frame. It needed a black tank underneath since it gaped from navel to collar, the cuffs gathering the fabric in around her elbows. She brushed her hair out and applied makeup, a bit of liner and mascara, and glamoured her eyebrows a touch darker, holding it up against any, human or not, before digging out her ankle boots. She stepped out of her room to meet Merry in the hallway, equally snazzy.

"Ready to go dazzle the population?" Fiona asked.
"No, they'll be all over you, they've gotten used to my natural glamour!" Merry laughed as they left.
"Yay, biters, whoot. Then I can wear lots of lovely scarves to hide the marks."

"Well that was one afternoon of my life I'll never be getting back. What a waste." Jude had been complaining for the entire drive, whining and bitching about the gathering at the Lake this afternoon. He was right, of course, but repeating every single detail made it a hell of a lot more annoying for everyone else. Two girls in the backseat giggled encouragingly, which made the third girl sitting between them scowl even more.

They weren't part of their usual group. The only reason they'd made it this far was because tonight they were riding in Jude's car, and he chose who got a lift, and who walked their sorry ass home. As always, Fletcher had no problem barring a seat. The same couldn't be said for Emily, her second in command. She wasn't worried though. Walking home with a guy on your arm was better than any car ride.

Fletcher turned her head towards the window, staring past the red head seated on her left. She slowly began to tune out as she watched the lights of the buildings and street lamps outside whiz by. Her thoughts eventually wandered to her parents. They had been going out this evening. A meeting, nothing out of the ordinary... but it was out of the ordinary. It was a Fellowship of the Sun meeting, and just the thought of it made her sick.

Becoming a part of that group was the worst decision they'd ever made. But it was the only way they felt they could make amends for what happened to their son. She could never understand how hating a different race made the pain, or the guilt go away. There was no proof. Nothing that confirmed the identity of the murderer, or whether or not it was something supernatural. Her mother and father were wasting what was left of their own lives, all because of a 'feeling' that they supposedly had.

With a small shake of her head Fletcher relieved herself of those feelings and began to listen to the conversation again. Her eyes immediately narrowed when she realized they still hadn't moved on from the last topic. "Jude, I swear to god..." She growled at him, meeting his gaze in the rear view mirror. His expression changed almost instantly and a sheepish smile spread across his olive face. "So, who's up for a drink?"

Fletcher suppressed a smirk and leaned back in her seat, folding her arms across her chest. "Where were you thinking?" It was just then that she caught a glance of the streets they were now traveling through. Buildings were falling apart, half of the streetlamps didn't even work, their new location was quite obvious. They had reached the Strip.

"How about the Bloody Mary? I've heard there are some extra special patrons there occasionally." At that Jude winked at the two girls, enticing another chorus of giggles. "No." Fletcher snapped, her body suddenly rigid. "Not there."

It was not that she hated their kind. Or opposed their presence in the community. She didn't find them disgusting, or demonic - it had nothing at all to do with them. Though bravery was known to be one of her greatest traits, when it came to vampires Fletcher Evans was nothing but a coward. And she couldn't stand it.

Several minutes had passed, and a few choice words had been exchanged between Jude and Fletcher, but the problem had been solved. The car sped off into the night once more, it's load now a little lighter without the burden of an extra passenger. Fletcher ran a hand through her hair in an effort to keep herself calm and surprisingly it worked.

After taking in her surroundings she let out a weary sigh. "Jude, you're nothing but a spineless prick." She whispered bitterly when she finally started to move again. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and so instead of turning around and heading back the way they'd came, she decided to journey deeper into the heart of this place.

On the lonely sidewalk the girl stood out against the dreary backdrop of the night. Her hair shined like silver under the scarce light that filtered down from above. If one was to look down at her from a great height they might have easily mistaken her for a fallen star.

"Hey, check out the glowstick," Fiona nudged Merry, the two women slowing slightly. The girl's hair did indeed seem to glow under the streetlights as she walked down the street away from them.

"We got any cousins out this way?" Merry asked rhetorically. If neither of them knew any better, they'd peg the girl for a Fey. However, she lacked the distinctive 'shing' that they sensed around others of their kind. The glow in her hair was reflected light, not moonglow. Observing the girl, Fiona raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like a poor little fangbanger got herself lost."

"Don't they hunt in packs anyway?"

"It's dangerous alone out here for a little girl." Fiona's tone was condescending at the girl's age, despite the blonde not exactly being a child. Being of a race that saw 1000 with little difficulty had that affect. Dear, silly little short-lived mortals.

"I wonder where her friends are. Did they abandon her?" Merry mused, her face mock thoughtful. A glint then entered Fiona's eyes, and she cut a sideways glance at her kinswoman.

"...Can we play with her?" she playfully suggested.

"Pass up the oppourtunity for mass trauma?" Merry faked shock, the glamour helping the illusion.

"Oh yes. Give the little cow something to tell her overpriced therapist." The girl would have a fit, taking the two for vampires since the silly little thing wouldn't have any idea what else they could be. Two dangerous and not to brag, gorgeous women appearing on a dark street in a known vamp area, when they'd been discussing their prey in voices too low for the pathetic human's ears to catch.

The two Feys lengthened their stride to draw level with the girl, moving swift and quiet as Feys were wont to do. It wasn't that they were evil, persay. However, all those tales of mischeivious imps and elves had to originate somewhere. They didn't mean to be malicious or cause harm. Feys were inordinately fond of pranks, was all. And if one would set oneself up for being played with...

"Hello pretty," Merry cooed, letting a hint of otherworldly aura enter her demeanour. The girl visibly started, having not seen them come up.

"How now, lovely, isn't this the wrong place for you?" Fiona lilted, closing on the other side of the girl. Merry smirked at the girl's expression.

"Oh come now, don't be frightened. We don't bite hard." she coaxed.

As night descended upon the apartment, dark shadows were cast across the poorly lit living room where Alyssa now sat. Her trip to the mall earlier had been successful, so a plate now lay in front of her on the coffee table. Save for the few crumbs left on the plate, there was no sign of grilled cheese sand which that had been there moments ago.

What was Alyssa thinking, trying to live out on her own? She didn't know how to cook. Cleaning was out of the question for her. Not that there was anything to clean, proven by the mountain of unpacked boxes stacked over in the corner of the bedroom. Her parents had done everything for her. Now it seemed far too late to adapt to doing it on her own.

Lyssa looked at the clock, pleased to find it still early in the evening. She picked up her cellphone (as she had yet to get a land line installed) and flicked through her contacts list. She dialed a number, but was met by voice mail. She tried again with a new number, then again when the second time failed. All three times she was greeted by a recording. Sighing, Alyssa tossed the phone off to the side. She was feeling oddly restless this night. Not used to being home alone, she felt company was more than needed.

The shrill ring of her phone broke the silence, causing Alyssa to jump. She grabbed the phone, her aqua eyes going right to the glowing screen. The word 'MOM' greeted, no, taunted her as she stared at the buzzing phone. Silencing the ring, Alyssa dropped the phone onto the table practically jogged into her bedroom.

Determination fueled her actions as Lyssa decided she was not going to spend one of the first nights of her new independence home alone. As she entered her room, her eyes set upon one of the boxes marked 'Clothing' in her signature swirly script. Alyssa opened the boxed, dug through it for a moment, then pushed it aside in favor of a similarly marked box. Once inside, it only took her a few moments to settle upon what she wanted.

Minutes later she was dressed and appraising herself in the mirror. The dress she now wore was a dark, steely gray. It wrapped tightly around her upper body, then fluttered out from her waist to just above her knees. While the front made the dress appear to be a halter style, the back revealed the truth. Her back was completely bare, except for the two small strips of fabric that ran across it, forming a X on her back. To complete the look her chestnut locks were down and had a slight wave to them. Her aqua eyes were lined in dark black, a shiny silver covering her lids.


Alyssa stopped her car in the parking lot of the Bloody Mary. Suddenly feeling cold, she wondered if this had been a good idea. Having never been around vampires before, Lyssa wondered if this was a foolish idea. Was walking into the bar really worth it to taunt her mother with? About the put the car into drive, Alyssa remembered why she moved out in the first place. To feel uncomfortable. It seemed silly, but it was true. She was too sheltered, too predictable.

Feeling like she had a rock in her stomach, Lyssa got out of the car and sauntered into the bar, trying her best to at least appear comfortable. Spotting an empty seat at the bar, she quickly took it, wondering if feeling uncomfortable was a worthwhile experience.