Genesis watched as Zane disappeared behind the bushes. When she heard a loud yell of pain her eyes went wide and she went for the bush thinking he was hurt. When she was just a few steps away from the bush she heard the yell turn into a howl. With her eyebrows pulled together she slowly walked away from the bush. She turned to walk away afraid of what she would see come from the bushes when a wolf come up behind her. Stating at her with deep eyes. "Zane?" Genesis said quietly. As if to answer her answer he rubbed his nose against her leg howled and then sat down in front of her. She let out a giggle as she sat down next to him. Petting him behind the ear. He seemed so harmless so gentle. The moon was high in the sky and the cool breeze running through Her hair and his fur felt great. For a moment they just sat there in complete silence.

After Apollo had butted out of his head, it had been much easier to think. Listening to her, Liam realised how much influence Eros had on her. He was a little grateful he wasn't completely like his; being a symbol of light, order and prophecy must get tiring after a while. Her ability to fly amazed him though. Surely a bit out of the blue? He took a minute to think, the noise of everyone around him grinding in his head. Background noise was fine, but ths was aggrevating. He still wanted to talk to his bond though. He had little experience and worried he could come off as too forward. Well, in for a penny...

He leaned over to Elysia. "Well, it's starting to get a bit loud in here for me, so I'm gonna head off. Do you... Want to come? I know what you're going to say." Oh, that's an awkward beat. "Y'know, prophetic, not because... I not..." Stumbling over your words. Yeah, this is fantastic. Liam tried to facepalm himself, but forgot he was still holding the bottle. He chose to bury his head on the table after that. "Ow. This is... I am really bad at this." Well, this was bound to ruin the first impression. He could tell even without looking at her. Liam sighed and tried not to focus on hs pain.

Dawn listened to Milton Intently. "Yes, its fine with me. I'll be looking forward to it." He paused as Dawn smiled at his answer. She would be looking forward to it as well.

"I'm available any time after three, so is three-thirty alright?"

“Of course!” Dawn exclaimed, I don't have rehearsal tomorrow so three will be great.”

"By the way, I really like you dress. It was really nice." Dawn blushed, she made a mental note to thank Aphrodite, she really did know best.

“Thank you,” She responded, the blush almost audible in her voice. “You were pretty nice yourself.” It was a little flirty, but she thought that was okay. They were bonded after all, she was to be a part of his life forever, a little flirting wouldn't hurt anything. She waited for him to respond and then followed with.

“I guess I'll see you tomorrow then! Bye for now, I guess.” She waited for his goodbye and then flipped her phone shut, she almost skipped the entire way home.

When she arrived at her house, she crept in the doorway as sneakily as she could. She was thankful she was wearing sandals now instead of heels, they were quieter. She made her way to her bedroom, trying her absolute best not to be heard or to make a scene. She didn't want to give any evidence she even existed. Once the door was shut firmly behind her, Dawn sighed happily and tossed her bag on the canopy bed. She changed out of the dress, but left it hanging over her desk chair neatly to be washed. She wanted to hang onto it. Dawn showered and then changed into some Hello Kitty pajama pants and a tank top. She fell down on her bed, put in her headphones and began her Psychology homework. She was looking forward to tomorrow.

Poor fella, thought Elyse. She wondered if he would become more comfortable around her as time went on? She hoped that he would one day. After all, they were connected forevermore. Elyse had several shy friends who tended to stutter when nervous or trip over their words. Looks like Liam was having the same problem. The least she could do was be patient and polite. Elyse often took up different personas for different people because she had many friends and so many were different. At least she was true to herself. Elyse wasn’t perfect either. Being Irish she had a temper on her and she was as stubborn as a mule. And she didn’t take kindly to those who said bad things to others as well disrespectful people. Elyse might have no brothers, but most of her cousins were boys and one of her older cousins taught her how to defend herself. Elyse knew she had a mean right hook that once gave a guy a broken nose when he tried taking advantage of one of her friends once.

When Liam asked her if she wanted to go with him, Elyse smiled. Wasn’t he sweet?

“I’d love to join you. It is getting a bit noisy though isn’t it? Come on, let’s go.” Elyse said before taking one of his hands and leading up out of the room and soon they were out of the basement, out of the café, and in the street.

Time had obviously passed for it was evening.

“We may not has as much time to talk as we like.” Elyse commented.

Nathan threw his hands up after Yoko punched him in the arm. "Hey, I said I'd have to check it out! What more do you want from me?" He laughed as he said it, because now he pretty much had to go and do that now. He'd have to see if he could work it into his training schedule somehow. His coach wouldn't mind to much, especially if it was after he passed the pro exam. Which he thought he would do pretty easy. He knew he shouldn't say that, but he felt it, because everyone he knew had told him it wasn't all that bad. So, there wasn't much to worry about (hopefully).

"Listen, I'll see if I can arrange something with my trainer where I can come check it out for one of your practices. I'm not exactly the fancy feet type boxer, but hey, a little extra speed never hurt anyone, right?" Looking up, he sniffed the air slightly. He added, "And if my nose doesn't deceive me, that smells like the food I ordered. Did you get anything?"

Milton was glad when heard that half-past three was acceptable, he didn't know why the time was anything particular. If it was unavailable then they would just find another time. It was three thirty in the end and he looked forward to it. He laughed at Dawn's next comment. A warm feeling running through him, glad she valued his compliment.
"Me?" He responded, joking in his voice "I wasn't aware my casual wear was anything special." He was aware that the comments weren't the usual banter between two new friends. It felt more like flirting to him. He didn't mind, he enjoyed it and they were probably a lot more then friends already. Obviously a bond does that to you. "Thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow." He let her say the last word before he terminated the call. He walked for a moment staring at the phone in his hand, smiling warmly at it as if the canceled call could transmit his thoughts. Finally slipping it back in his pocket he continued to walk home, clinging fondly to the memory of Dawn's voice.

I couldn’t help but chuckle; of course I was renowned for my musical ability…but to me it was just a mere trifle. To me, my art was something to rejoice in private, a song you play by yourself….or a serenade to the being you share your love with.
The thought made me cough on my coffee: I wasn’t one to be susceptible to such feelings…well, at least if it wasn’t involved musically. I didn’t let life sway what I played or how I felt. Which if I were truly true with myself, I would admit that I am too much of a robot to ever allow someone to get close. My mind is always wrapped around one thing…music…music….it seems like the only things that ever runs thru my mind. Of course, this is the exact reason Apollo chose me…but it does make me wonder if he approved of my match with Melinoe because she is not so full of one subject matter. Unlike me, she probably had a life.
“See, my mind wandered again. Just pinch me when I do that…it’s getting to be a problem…this ‘thinking’” I chuckled, casually rubbing my shoulders. The subject was about myself. Again.
I wish I could move on from such uncomfortable subjects…I find myself rather boring…ramble, ramble…
“It’s nice to know someone out there admires my work, if you want I could stop and play sometime for her. ”
Not only was that awkward, but I sound desperate…love me, adore me, be my friend…ahh, did I just gag a little at my own comment?
She made me nervous…ridiculously so. I am not one to be nervous: I who have played with multiple full audiences at Carnegie Hall! Just pure ludicrous….yet I could fairly say she was the closest thing I have had to a muse in a long time. For almost a year I have had a writer’s block…and with her I have come up with multiple tunes..all hopelessly romantic sounding…but…there is something remarkably special about her aura and I can’t help but wish to explore it futher.

Melinoe

Mel took out a notebook and a pen and quickly scribbled her address down. As an afterthought, she added her private cell number. "This the easiest way to get a hold of me. I can be reached at almost any time day or night. Mostly night." Mel smiled. "I'm a bit of a night owl." That was the truth. As part of her role as Melinoe, she was expected to wander the city at night, collecting the ghosts that didn't drift down to Hades. She kept them in a ring, a gift from Persephone. Every few days, the ring emptied, and Mel wasn't sure how.

She cleared her throat, feeling uncharactoristically shy. "Listen, I'm going to level with you. I've never dated before. This bonding thing came out of the blue for me. I had expected to spend my life in solitude." She looked up at Oriana. "Not that this is all bad, just unexpected." She was scared that she'd get used to having someone bonded to her, be it love or just a deep friendship, and then it would all be taken away as she wasted her long immortality in the shades of Hades. She wanted to beg Oriana to not leave her to that fate, but they had just met and Mel hated to sound needy. Instead, she swore to herself that she'd make the most of whatever time she was granted.

"I don't suppose you get out and around the city much," Mel said. "I, uh, know of this little diner. It's got a great inner hanging garden. If you're up for it, we can go there sometime."

I nodded my head, extending my hand to take from her the little piece of paper with her intimate information. I felt as though I were being rewarded for a lack luster performance: I didn't feel I deserved to know this information. Mel seemed on an entirely different plane from myself: more sophisticated, more knowledgeable...of course, I thought these things without truly knowing her. I didn't know her past, beyond the shining vision of her guardian. But, if she was anything close to her, than I would find myself in nothing but awe, and completely humbled by Mel.

I accepted the information, making a mental note later to give her mine. I prayed that when I did she was as accepting as I am: she'd be the first I ever passed this information to! Yet, it felt only right to do so.

"It's alright: I don't think I'll have much of a problem with seeing you at night. Most of my performances or things I attend run late anyway." I mumbled, bringing my hands inside my coat pockets, subtly toying with the note between my fingers nervously.

I turned my head away when she mentioned she hadn't dated before. The blush that rose in my cheeks made me realize that I was being obvious with my feelings: something I wasn't very good at hiding. My face plumed a deep red, my eyes looking at the cold tile of the coffee shop. My throat tightened as I choked out a croak to speak: it took me several turns of this to finally whisper out what I wanted to say.
"It's fine." I began, wiping my face with one of my hands. Sweat lined my palm almost as if I had been doing some heavy exercise. What's wrong with me? Get yourself together!

"This is new for me too, we'll have to work at it together right?" I flashed a nervous smile, rubbing my wet hand against my jeans.

My alarm went off on my phone, making me jump in terror. I batted my pockets until I located the irritation, and after looking at the screen I shut the alarm off.

If I didn't hurry I'd miss my practice for one of my upcoming performances....

I sighed, wishing to stay longer, but it was a necessary evil: truth be told I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for my gift.

" I'm sorry," I leaned forward, shoving things into my pockets, and than began filling my backpack. "I have a practice I must go to, but," I thrust the bag over my shoulder, letting out a deep oomph. I skittered forward, leaning forward.

I tilted my head towards Mel's ear, licking my lips nervously.
"I would absolutely love to see you again." I choked nervously. I shoved my phone number into her pocket, trying to make it look casual instead of nervous. I lost my nerve before I could continue speaking and backed away, rushing towards the door. My feet slapped the tile, and I could feel the stares of the other patrons on my back. I wasn't concerned or shy about their stares...but Mel... I couldn't look at her again, and lord knows I didn't want to know what she was thinking when she saw my frightened self rushing towards the door.
Did she know it was not the practice but her shear presence that sent me into almost hysteria?

Melinoe

She blinked, watching her bonded leave the cafe. The time had been too short. She knew they could spend years together, and it the end would still come too quickly and make it all seem too short. She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out the number. Smiling, Mel rubbed the paper between her fingers. How sly her bonded was, slipping Mel her number like that. She had thought she had frightened the pretty muscian away, but now she wondered.

Pocketing the number again, she picked up her backpack and looked around. Earlier, when they had first appeared, a boy had approached them. He seemed to know Oriana, but her bonded had not noticed him. Mel worried that he was some suitor, a rival for Oriana's affections. Or was just a friend? Looking around the cafe, she tried to see if he was still near. Not spotting him, she left. She would have to find out what were Oriana's favorite flowers.

"How did it go?" Persephone appeared next to Mel, her feet barely touching the ground.

"It went well," Mel said. "I wish you had told me I'd have a bonded sooner. I wasn't prepared."

Persephone shrugged. "What is sooner to a goddess?"

"I had been led to believe that my life would be a lonley one. What am I going to do with a bonded when I'm fading away with the other shades in Hades?" Mel turned to her mother. "I can't keep Oriana in the dark like that. It wasn't fair to you, and it won't be fair to her."

"Something will work out," Persephone said. "I doubt Apollo will let his girl fade away in the shades either. Things always work out."

Mel sighed. "Mom, I need a favor."

"Oh, now you're asking for favors?"

Mel nodded. "When I find out what kind of flowers Oriana likes, can you get me some to grow?" Mel had a small talent in the garden, a by product of having the Goddess of New Spring as her mother, and the Goddess of Agriculture as her grandmother. She could grow almost any flower, but only in the spring and summer months. Anything she tried to plant in the fall or winter died horribly.

"I'll see what I can do," Persephone said. With that, she vanished in a swirl of sweet floral scents. Mel smiled and continued on her way home.

I had ran almost all the way to the building that housed my practice. I was a little late: but not enough to be out of character. Who in NYC ever showed up to anything on time anyway?

I took the elevator to the second floor, feeling a presence in the shaft. At first, I nudged it off thinking it was just Apollo. It was normal for him to allow me to know his presence when he was on my plane; he tended to understand that I wasn't always able to know if he was behind me. In the past he had scared me numerous times with just appearing and talking to me. Of course, thankfully, this was before my professional music career, so my professors just thought I was crazy when I'd randomly jump out of the chair and scream.
It took some time, but Apollo and myself have gotten to a rhythm of knowing each other. We both know each others bodies as if they're our own.

But this presence was different than from what I'm used to: in fact, it was malevolent, and I felt an odd pulse come from within it...an urging and a hunger for something more than I could offer.
I breathed a sigh of relief when the doors opened, and I could escape. But before my foot could cross the threshold, I felt a violent thrust of power topple me over and skitter across the cold tile floor and into the hallway.
A small scream escaped my lips, muffled only by my arms shielding my face from harm. I felt as though the thing were swooping down, ready to grab hold of me: instead, a benevolent face grasped my elbow calling my name.
"Ma'am, they're waiting for you in the piano room." a young woman replied, ignoring the fact I was lying on the floor pathetically, fear exuding from my person.

"Uh, yes...I'll follow you in," I replied nervously, practically jumping up to follow her, keeping stride and completely avoiding looking behind me. The presence was still there, but it remained in the elevator shaft...perhaps it wished for me alone....

Melinoe

It wasn't until the next morning when Persephone returned to see Mel. Mel had spent the night tossing and turning, images of her bonded in her mind. She feared she had moved past love and was rapidly decending into obsession. Never having been in love, she wasn't sure if she was even doing this right. Seeing her divine mother, Mel eagerly asked the results of her request.

"I found out she likes hyacinthus and irises. I took the liberty of leaving a huge vase of them in her room," Persephone said, looking pleased with herself.

"Oh, gods, mom!" Mel was horrified. "She'll think I'm a stalker!"

Persephone rolled her eyes. "You're the daughter of the Goddess of New Spring. I'm sure it'll be okay." Suddenly Persephone became serious. "Though, something is wrong. I could feel it, something dark. I need to talk to Apollo."

"What's wrong?" Mel couldn't get an answer as Persephone vanished. She hated that, and she was now worried about Oriana. She ran out of the house, past her mortal brother, Greg, who stared at her like she was weird. Instead of heading to school, she caught the bus and headed to Julliard.

Getting home Milton went to bed pretty quickly. He wanted to be up and awake earlier so he could finish his home schooling earlier. Leaving Dawn waiting was not what he was planning at all. Lying awake he thought about what had just happened. His world had just been turned upside down. He was now not just another kid, he was the descendant of Athena, the ancient greek goddess Athena. For some reason he was a part of some great big game of the gods linking people up. Bonds, Dawn called them. So he was bonded, tied together by fate. He didn't like the idea the he wasn't in charge of his life. Although it didn't feel too bad, Dawn was beautiful and she seemed nice enough, it certainly wasn't a bad matching. He smiled to himself as he stared up at the ceiling. Still, the whole situation needed some getting used to. He'll do some research or some reading, find a way to understand just whats going on.

The next day wasn't the nicest, cold and overcast in the morning. The radio reported that there was going to be rain around midday when Milton turned it on at six. "Damn" He cursed, just at the right time to intervene with his three-thirty appointment. Still, he had to get his work done as well by that time so after he breakfast he brought out his books and sat down at the table. He was usually early to rise, he worked better in the morning then the night but he wasn't usually this diligent. It seemed he had something to work for. He worked his way through a chapter of his maths book, he was fine in sciences so he put more effort into mathematics to try and keep his grades up. He had a high aspiration, hoping to get to Oxford or Cambridge, although he wasn't sure what he wanted to study precisely. Now with the whole new situation he didn't know how a normal life would work out for him.

He was finished just after noon, leaving him a full two hours at least to spend before he was going to meet Dawn. He retired to his room, searching the ever useful Google for information on Aphrodite. He knew the basics, god of love and such but he wanted to know a little more about the world he just inherited. He couldn't find much, the god of beauty and love didn't exactly get a clean press on the internet and most of the sites listed Milton did not want to visit. He settled on Wikipedia, although he knew the encyclopedia was actually very narrow on the information it provided. He read through the facts, he enjoyed knowledge and didn't want to get left out if the time came. He did wonder if Dawn had gained some of her mother's more flirtatious attitude. He didn't spend too long on the thought, it was nearing three and he never liked being late so he set off for the lounge, making sure to bring a rain jacket in a backpack. The forecast of rain hadn't manifested yet, although the clouds were heavy and waiting.

My mind was running away from me: I felt like I was losing it. I couldn't focus on any set thing in class, and at rehearsal I was too worried over the apparition that attacked me to care much about anything else. It was true: it had frightened me. Mainly because it was nothing I had control over...and it still followed me. I could feel it's anger drooling down me everywhere I went. This time, however, I promised not to make myself alone and give it the chance to harm me. Yet, even though I tried not to, it remained on my mind. I knew that this must be egging on it's power...I just couldn't shake off the fear from being pushed....
"Oriana," one of the professors called, arching a brow. Yes, the professors had taken note of my behavior...it was unlike me to not pay attention in class.
"Just because you're the current flavor of the year doesn't make you an exception," the professor scowled. This one didn't like me....I excelled at everything he failed at.
I snickered under my breath, rolling my eyes. Many professors were like that: incapable of an actual music career for themselves so they harped on the students with actual talent. I had a hard time forgiving their poor manners however....

My mind began to wander once more, the evil presence gripping itself around my body, I was about to call out for help when at once it loosened itself. The door to the room burst open, and an exhausted looking Mel, completely out of breath and tired.

I jumped up, my immediate reaction to find out what was wrong: our date wasn't until much later tonight, something I was looking forward to, but didn't realize would occur so early.
"Mel, what's wrong?" I asked hurriedly, jumping up to her side and laying my hand on her back.

"Miss De Leones, guests are not permitted," the professor growled, pointing to the door. Obviously this one was enjoying his power as a professor...I would have to snuff that out later...

"Grow a career," I growled, ignoring the roar of laughter behind me (I must not have been the only one thinking these things...), and steered Mel outside the class door.
Once I had stepped out as well, I slammed the door close. The malevolent being followed me, placing it's sick grip on me as well.
"Mel?" I asked, holding her hands in mine.

Melinoe

"I'm sorry," Mel said. "I didn't mean to interupt your class. I was...I was worried about you." Mel took a deep breath. "My mother stopped by. I had asked her to find out your favorite flowers...the ones last night are from me...and she told me that you were in danger. Something was following you." Mel blushed slightly, but continued on. "She said some kind of spirit was following you. And, well, I'm the queen of ghosts, so I thought I could help."

Mel couldn't see any spirits. She could feel something, but she couldn't see it. It was a first for her. Ever since she had been capturing ghosts, she never had a moment where she was unsure. "I can't see it, but there is something after you. I won't leave you to danger. Maybe you can stay with me until we know how to get rid of it?"