It was late afternoon when the knock came on her door, meaning that Neroâs household was asleepâwell, possibly with the exception of Nero himself; one never knew with that man. Aurelia, however, had been sleeping soundly, though she was instantly awake when the knock came. What could anyone want of her at this hour? Perhaps an emergency Council meeting was being called soon? They never did such things until after dark, but⊠that would only be a few hours from now, maybe. Whatever the case, the girl rolled out of bed, golden eyes slightly bleary and rose-colored hair tousled, out of its pins and thus falling to her waist in waves. Her nightgown was white, reaching her knees and floating gently away from her person, so she wasnât exactly indecent, but it certainly wasnât overly modest, either.
When she opened the door to find Einar behind it, a winning smile on his face, she nearly shut it again and went back to bed or made a smart quip about mail carriers, save for the fact that she noticed his bandages, and the fact that they were soaked through, to the point that his blood was slowly dripping onto the floor beneath him. So instead of going back to sleep, she shook her head, telling herself that smacking an injured person was not good policy, and trying to ignore the flare of genuine worry that seemed to be taking up residence in her guts.
As if to convince herself that it was not there, she stepped aside and spoke primly, shutting the door behind him. âDonât bleed on my rug,â she told him, pointing to a chair in hopes of getting him to sit in it. âHow did you get that wound? Why hasnât it healed yet? And why are you here of all places?â It was true that she could perhaps help him, but it was unclear to her how exactly he would know that. Didnât he have other arrangements in place in case of injury? She found it hard to believe heâd never been hurt on a job before. To hear people tell it, heâd been at this for two hundred years.
Einar smiled slightly, not missing the hesitance in her body language. Had she not seen the wound, she probably would have simply left him there, but as he'd known, she wasn't able to turn away an injured party. He shrugged lightly with his good shoulder. "Being a vampire does have its perks, Little Bird. I've never needed help before now, and this was the closest place. Frankly I doubt I could have made it any further than this." He grimaced, wondering exactly how she expected him to not bleed on her precious floor covering before continuing.
"As for how I was wounded in the first place, you can thank Atol's pet for that." He spat the name with contempt. "It seems that the beast can negate one's natural healing process, and considering I've already lost most of my blood twice now, this needs fixed quite soon, if you have any suggestions." There was no let on whatsoever that he knew of her healing abilities, becuase in any reality, he shouldn't know about them. Enough people knew who he truly was; it was bad enough that she was involved with him in the first place, he wasn't about to put her in any more danger. She could do that on her own.
It startled him somewhat, realizing that he cared at all.
Fortunately, this chair was on the hardwood floor, and not her rug. She actually had a practical reason for her seemingly-ridiculous demandâit was much easier to clean blood off a smooth surface, as she would need to do when he was gone, to remove the evidence of his presence here. Not that she cared if anyone knew, but there was a chance that this would tell someone looking for him something they didn't know, and she wasnât going to be responsible for that.
She hadnât known Thanatos could do that, and her mouth dropped into a frown. She sighed softly, taking a seat on the arm of the chair and studying him for a momentâhe did look a bit wan, considering. Gold met red, and Lia shook her head. There was really no other choice for it. âLucky for you, being me has its perks too,â she admitted, tilting her head to the side and exposing her neck. âMy bloodâs⊠well, it will fix your problem, at any rate.â Reaching back with both hands, she pulled her mass of her hair over the opposite shoulder, so it wouldnât be in the way.
It felt like something had simply dropped out his stomach at that point. As a rule, Haruki detested feeding, and did so only when absolutely necessary, but there was simply something about this that utterly revolted him. A part of it was the fact that he cared so much, and the other was that she so freely offered.
His mouth pursed into a thin line and he narrowed his eyes at her. "No." The syllable was clipped and short. "That is one thing I will not do, under any circumstance. I have tainted you far enough already."
Lia huffed, he frown becoming something between an irritated pout and a full-blown scowl. âDonât be stupid,â she snapped, her hands going to her hips, her glare snapping like pyrotechnics. âIâm volunteering, moron. And frankly, I have no idea what youâre talking about. Nothing about me is any more tainted than it was before I knew you, and you think an awful lot of yourself if you disagree.â Her eyes narrowed. She was half-tempted to find the nearest sharp object and cut herself with it, to give him no choice in the matter, but she wasnât exactly sure what the consequences would be if she took him by surprise like that. His species was still predatory on hers, even if she did think that it was possible for them to coexist peacefully. Part of being able to do that was not provoking a vampire without a reason, and sheâd been warned about how she smelled to them.
âYouâre not going to change me, if thatâs your concern,â she added, and for a moment, something in her eyes went dark, before she shook it off and returned to looking daggers at him. âI donât know why it works that way, but it does.â Her glance flickered to his arm. Stupidâhe needed to heal that. Why was he being so stubborn about this? He couldnât possibly be willing to die instead of taking something freely-offered, could he? Then again, she had just reminded him of how stupid he was being, so⊠perhaps he could.
His eyebrows ticked up a fraction. She couldn't be turned? That was...highly unexpected. Still, that didn't change the fact that he had no desire to feed off of her, whether his life was in danger or not.
Or rather, it was because of that desire that burned with in him that he would not give in to.
He was not blind, nor immune to her scent, any more than his brethren. The difference was he had more self-control, whereas most simply feared Nero, and rightly so. He'd tempered himself long enough that he was not willing to risk unleashing that predatory side of him that he wasn't sure he would be able to stave off. He wouldn't take that risk, not with her.
"No." he said once more. "Freely offered or not, that is not something I will take."
Damn fool.
Aureliaâs jaw tightened, and her scowl only deepened. He was being ridiculous about this, and she realized that it was actually causing her to panic a little. She didnât want him to die, for the love of all things good, and here it seemed he wasnât giving himself a choice! She dropped her hands from her hips, curling them into fists, though for what purpose, it was hard to tell. She wanted to hit something, most likely him for his damn stubbornness, but that wouldnât help anything, all things considered, and she knew better than to do it with the state he was in. He was doing a good job not acting like it, but she could only imagine that a bite fro Thanatos hurt terribly, and there was all that blood he was losingâŠ
There was really only one thing for it, wasnât there? Fixing him with her sharpest glare yet, she spoke. âFor the record, youâre leaving me no other choice.â She wasnât even sure it would workâshe knew it would in theory, but in practice, sheâd never tried it, and it kind of ticked her off that he was forcing her to. But, well⊠as far as such things went, it was a small sacrifice to make, right? Aurelia was a pragmatic person, so she shouldnât really care too much about something so frivolous, but part of her couldnât help it. âThief,â she called him, placing a hand on either side of his face.
Taking a deep breath, she surged forward before she lost her nerve, catching his lips with hers. She was really hoping he was at least a little quick on the uptake, because this was either going to require his participation or be awkward as anything she could possibly imagine. Actually, strike thatâit was already that awkward. She could feel her ears turning pink, and the flush was spreading to her cheeks as well.
Just why did her powers have to work this way, anyhow?
Haruki was not a man who was usually caught off-guard, but seeing as he'd already been caught off-guard by Thanatos and then actually caught, perhaps it was only natural that they make it three times. Or perhaps the universe was laughing at him. Aurelia kissing him was the last thing he expected. He did, however, catch on to what exactly she was doing, because the pain in his shoulder was already easing.
He reached up, his hands catching either side of her face as he returned the kiss, which was certainly not chaste, but it wasn't overly heated, either, though he himself was sorely tempted. He was a man, with everything that came with being so. But at the same time, he was also respectful of the situation, in more ways than one.
It was tinged with some reluctance when he pulled away from her, but he hid that with that ridiculous smile of his, saying softly as he ran a thumb over her cheek, "Not quite, Little Bird. A true thief would have taken much more than that." He straightened slightly before pressing his lips softly to her forehead.
He lifted her as he stood, placing her back on her feet and putting some distance between them. He was well aware of how awkward this was for her; to some extent, it was awkward for him, too, though not as much, he suspected. A little smirk appeared on his face before he spoke again.
"I do believe I should take my leave. I thank you, Aurelia."
As he spoke, his appearance shifted, his hair lengthening to almost shoulder-level, turning a bright orange in color, with a scar across his left cheek. His eyes stayed the same crimson, but his physique became much more muscled, with thick upper arms and broad shoulders, the muscles of his chest stretching the already skin-tight material of his shirt. "I'm afraid I'll have to lay low for a while, but you are still free to contact me should you have the need."
And it was with those words that he simply vanished.
Lia was still as pink as her hair, but she managed to remain standing until he left, at which point she promptly sank onto the foot of her bed, pressing her hands to the sides of her face and swallowing thickly. That⊠had not been what she expected. Not that sheâd had any idea what to expectâsheâd never kissed anybody before, after all. She wasnât at all prepared for the way her guts flipped around like that, and sheâd been so floored by her own reaction that sheâd barely even registered that he changed his appearance. He could be anyoneâeven someone she knew otherwise.
Between that and her flustered state, she wasnât quite sure what to do with herself. Groaning, she flopped back on the bed and shook her head. âStupidâŠâ
When she opened the door to find Einar behind it, a winning smile on his face, she nearly shut it again and went back to bed or made a smart quip about mail carriers, save for the fact that she noticed his bandages, and the fact that they were soaked through, to the point that his blood was slowly dripping onto the floor beneath him. So instead of going back to sleep, she shook her head, telling herself that smacking an injured person was not good policy, and trying to ignore the flare of genuine worry that seemed to be taking up residence in her guts.
As if to convince herself that it was not there, she stepped aside and spoke primly, shutting the door behind him. âDonât bleed on my rug,â she told him, pointing to a chair in hopes of getting him to sit in it. âHow did you get that wound? Why hasnât it healed yet? And why are you here of all places?â It was true that she could perhaps help him, but it was unclear to her how exactly he would know that. Didnât he have other arrangements in place in case of injury? She found it hard to believe heâd never been hurt on a job before. To hear people tell it, heâd been at this for two hundred years.
Einar smiled slightly, not missing the hesitance in her body language. Had she not seen the wound, she probably would have simply left him there, but as he'd known, she wasn't able to turn away an injured party. He shrugged lightly with his good shoulder. "Being a vampire does have its perks, Little Bird. I've never needed help before now, and this was the closest place. Frankly I doubt I could have made it any further than this." He grimaced, wondering exactly how she expected him to not bleed on her precious floor covering before continuing.
"As for how I was wounded in the first place, you can thank Atol's pet for that." He spat the name with contempt. "It seems that the beast can negate one's natural healing process, and considering I've already lost most of my blood twice now, this needs fixed quite soon, if you have any suggestions." There was no let on whatsoever that he knew of her healing abilities, becuase in any reality, he shouldn't know about them. Enough people knew who he truly was; it was bad enough that she was involved with him in the first place, he wasn't about to put her in any more danger. She could do that on her own.
It startled him somewhat, realizing that he cared at all.
Fortunately, this chair was on the hardwood floor, and not her rug. She actually had a practical reason for her seemingly-ridiculous demandâit was much easier to clean blood off a smooth surface, as she would need to do when he was gone, to remove the evidence of his presence here. Not that she cared if anyone knew, but there was a chance that this would tell someone looking for him something they didn't know, and she wasnât going to be responsible for that.
She hadnât known Thanatos could do that, and her mouth dropped into a frown. She sighed softly, taking a seat on the arm of the chair and studying him for a momentâhe did look a bit wan, considering. Gold met red, and Lia shook her head. There was really no other choice for it. âLucky for you, being me has its perks too,â she admitted, tilting her head to the side and exposing her neck. âMy bloodâs⊠well, it will fix your problem, at any rate.â Reaching back with both hands, she pulled her mass of her hair over the opposite shoulder, so it wouldnât be in the way.
It felt like something had simply dropped out his stomach at that point. As a rule, Haruki detested feeding, and did so only when absolutely necessary, but there was simply something about this that utterly revolted him. A part of it was the fact that he cared so much, and the other was that she so freely offered.
His mouth pursed into a thin line and he narrowed his eyes at her. "No." The syllable was clipped and short. "That is one thing I will not do, under any circumstance. I have tainted you far enough already."
Lia huffed, he frown becoming something between an irritated pout and a full-blown scowl. âDonât be stupid,â she snapped, her hands going to her hips, her glare snapping like pyrotechnics. âIâm volunteering, moron. And frankly, I have no idea what youâre talking about. Nothing about me is any more tainted than it was before I knew you, and you think an awful lot of yourself if you disagree.â Her eyes narrowed. She was half-tempted to find the nearest sharp object and cut herself with it, to give him no choice in the matter, but she wasnât exactly sure what the consequences would be if she took him by surprise like that. His species was still predatory on hers, even if she did think that it was possible for them to coexist peacefully. Part of being able to do that was not provoking a vampire without a reason, and sheâd been warned about how she smelled to them.
âYouâre not going to change me, if thatâs your concern,â she added, and for a moment, something in her eyes went dark, before she shook it off and returned to looking daggers at him. âI donât know why it works that way, but it does.â Her glance flickered to his arm. Stupidâhe needed to heal that. Why was he being so stubborn about this? He couldnât possibly be willing to die instead of taking something freely-offered, could he? Then again, she had just reminded him of how stupid he was being, so⊠perhaps he could.
His eyebrows ticked up a fraction. She couldn't be turned? That was...highly unexpected. Still, that didn't change the fact that he had no desire to feed off of her, whether his life was in danger or not.
Or rather, it was because of that desire that burned with in him that he would not give in to.
He was not blind, nor immune to her scent, any more than his brethren. The difference was he had more self-control, whereas most simply feared Nero, and rightly so. He'd tempered himself long enough that he was not willing to risk unleashing that predatory side of him that he wasn't sure he would be able to stave off. He wouldn't take that risk, not with her.
"No." he said once more. "Freely offered or not, that is not something I will take."
Damn fool.
Aureliaâs jaw tightened, and her scowl only deepened. He was being ridiculous about this, and she realized that it was actually causing her to panic a little. She didnât want him to die, for the love of all things good, and here it seemed he wasnât giving himself a choice! She dropped her hands from her hips, curling them into fists, though for what purpose, it was hard to tell. She wanted to hit something, most likely him for his damn stubbornness, but that wouldnât help anything, all things considered, and she knew better than to do it with the state he was in. He was doing a good job not acting like it, but she could only imagine that a bite fro Thanatos hurt terribly, and there was all that blood he was losingâŠ
There was really only one thing for it, wasnât there? Fixing him with her sharpest glare yet, she spoke. âFor the record, youâre leaving me no other choice.â She wasnât even sure it would workâshe knew it would in theory, but in practice, sheâd never tried it, and it kind of ticked her off that he was forcing her to. But, well⊠as far as such things went, it was a small sacrifice to make, right? Aurelia was a pragmatic person, so she shouldnât really care too much about something so frivolous, but part of her couldnât help it. âThief,â she called him, placing a hand on either side of his face.
Taking a deep breath, she surged forward before she lost her nerve, catching his lips with hers. She was really hoping he was at least a little quick on the uptake, because this was either going to require his participation or be awkward as anything she could possibly imagine. Actually, strike thatâit was already that awkward. She could feel her ears turning pink, and the flush was spreading to her cheeks as well.
Just why did her powers have to work this way, anyhow?
Haruki was not a man who was usually caught off-guard, but seeing as he'd already been caught off-guard by Thanatos and then actually caught, perhaps it was only natural that they make it three times. Or perhaps the universe was laughing at him. Aurelia kissing him was the last thing he expected. He did, however, catch on to what exactly she was doing, because the pain in his shoulder was already easing.
He reached up, his hands catching either side of her face as he returned the kiss, which was certainly not chaste, but it wasn't overly heated, either, though he himself was sorely tempted. He was a man, with everything that came with being so. But at the same time, he was also respectful of the situation, in more ways than one.
It was tinged with some reluctance when he pulled away from her, but he hid that with that ridiculous smile of his, saying softly as he ran a thumb over her cheek, "Not quite, Little Bird. A true thief would have taken much more than that." He straightened slightly before pressing his lips softly to her forehead.
He lifted her as he stood, placing her back on her feet and putting some distance between them. He was well aware of how awkward this was for her; to some extent, it was awkward for him, too, though not as much, he suspected. A little smirk appeared on his face before he spoke again.
"I do believe I should take my leave. I thank you, Aurelia."
As he spoke, his appearance shifted, his hair lengthening to almost shoulder-level, turning a bright orange in color, with a scar across his left cheek. His eyes stayed the same crimson, but his physique became much more muscled, with thick upper arms and broad shoulders, the muscles of his chest stretching the already skin-tight material of his shirt. "I'm afraid I'll have to lay low for a while, but you are still free to contact me should you have the need."
And it was with those words that he simply vanished.
Lia was still as pink as her hair, but she managed to remain standing until he left, at which point she promptly sank onto the foot of her bed, pressing her hands to the sides of her face and swallowing thickly. That⊠had not been what she expected. Not that sheâd had any idea what to expectâsheâd never kissed anybody before, after all. She wasnât at all prepared for the way her guts flipped around like that, and sheâd been so floored by her own reaction that sheâd barely even registered that he changed his appearance. He could be anyoneâeven someone she knew otherwise.
Between that and her flustered state, she wasnât quite sure what to do with herself. Groaning, she flopped back on the bed and shook her head. âStupidâŠâ