Midnight. No stars shone in the inky blackness, no speckle of light permeated its depths, all it seemed to do was engulf the light around it.
He watched from the benches as her hair floated in the pool water, spreading like spilt paint around her. It was like tendrils of smoke, reaching toward the closest bright spot, wanting only to drown it out, absorb its light and grow ever more.
How did nobody else see the danger they were in, just by being in the same room as her, as the same body of liquid. They were all putting themselves at risk, just to be close to her, just to be near enough to her enchanting eyes, captivating smile, bell chiming laugh.
His hand twitched sporadically as the pencil he held flew across the blank paper he had in front of him. With a ferocity that was becoming increasingly frequent, he drew her in all her glory, her hair floating around her like a gown, eyes closed against the harsh midday sun, creating black crescents of lashes against her skin. He drew her as a ghost, floating in the air, surrounded by nothing but the whiteness of the page her drew on.
Children's shrieks of laughter interrupted his focus, causing him to look up from his notebook.
A sudden panic seized his chest as he realised she was no longer there. She seemed to have just vanished into nothingness. How had he not seen her get out of the pool? How had he been so unfocused?
The metal cesspit that the citadel called a pool was overrun with small children and their unwilling caretakers. Each child had a smile plastered to their face, screams of delight being emitted from their mouths as they each chased one another around the sunken, water filled hole.
It seemed to be sweltering, beads of sweat gathered at his temples before slowly crawling down his face. The trees seemed to provide just enough shade from the artificial sun and heat that the giant ship produced for most of the pools inhabitants, although maybe it was just his imagination, maybe it wasn't as hot as he thought. Perhaps this was the effect of losing his prey.
Slowly, he got to his feet, his eyes scanning the crowed of potential heat stroke victims, cursing himself inwardly as he caught no sign of the inky locks that haunted his dreams.
Silently, he gathers his belongings and walks to the exit, his black eyes scanning the crowd continuously. Every person he passed, every man, woman and child, were taken in with a single glance.
How had he lost sight of her after only looking away for what felt like only a few seconds? She could be anywhere, the citadel was huge and there were millions of people living there.
How was he supposed to find a single human girl amongst all of those people?
His heart rate spiked imperceptibly.
What if she hurt someone? Killed them even? All of these people have no idea of the danger that they're in.
Fool, you fool! You know how much of a danger she is to everyone around her, you've heard of the stories about her, about how she kills without a second thought. She leaves only carnage and broken families in her wake.
The Drell picked up his pace ever so slightly, his body weaving between the crowed that surged toward him from the pools entrance.
Years of training under the Hanar, their guidance, discipline, encouragement. It had all honed his body into a lethal killing machine that was perfect in every way.
His cool gaze swept over the crowed again, his black eyes taking in every detail of the crowed that surrounded him.
Then the world went black, the inky blackness of her hair. It filled his vision as she stepped out from the change rooms, wrapped in a summer dress, a towel in her hand. Time seemed to freeze as his heart rate almost slowed to a standstill.
Her milky skin almost reflected light as she passed through the crowd without any hindrance, a beacon in this almost too perfect world. She was a black hole that made you want nothing more than to be around her, to be sucked into her mind and soul.
Her laugh filled his ears as she meandered toward the pool exit, her head shaking at the force of her sudden outburst. Her lips were parted in a wide grin and her flat teeth flashed, almost menacingly up at the man she clung too. A slight flush graced her cheeks, but from what, he didn't know. All he knew was that he needed to get to her before anyone else could get hurt.
He took a step toward the female, almost crashing into a Krogan as he did.
Stumbling back, the Drell looked up at the alien and bowed his head in apology. "Watch it there," the gruff voice of the Krogan grunted, continuing his path toward the every filling body of water/.
He didn't hear though, because she had looked up and locked him in place with brilliant purple eyes, so bright they could outshine any sun. It was almost as if she were going supernova.
By the time he was able to pull himself out of his trance, the woman had left in a wave of people, leaving the Drell standing still in the midst of them, an island of solitude amongst a sea of movement.