br Cold. Cold? When has she ever felt cold? This wasn't cold, not the cold that she'd felt since she'd been Embraced. This wasn't just the ability to tell what was cold or hot, this was a temperature that she could feel in her bones, that caused her to shiver, almost worried that she'd shake so badly that she'd bounce herself right from his arms- were his arms what chilled her, or did she feel the shadows? She actually felt cold.
br Blinking her eyes open as she felt the cold slide away, Rupa realized where she was- a high knoll overlooking a majority of the city, around where the planetarium was. Father Dorsey sat her down next to him as she rubbed her arms to brush away the chill.
br "I apologize," he said, glancing away in guilt. "I often forget how the first time feels for others..."
br Rupa smiled slightly, shaking her head, "No, no, it's alright. It just surprised me."
br A few moments of silence passed. Rupa looked out at the city, it seemingly set in still silence, as if someone hit pause. The lights glittered almost as much as the sky, which held a bright moon. A flicker of thought ran through her head, thinking of Jacen, and how he never wanted to just sit, just talk. Somehow, she was here with Dorsey, unafraid of him. Unafraid of anything at the moment though still shocked at the quick swing of her view of the man. Shyly, she set her eyes to the ground after glancing over at him again, he watching her.
br "You're very passionate, Rupa," his deep voice softened. "I haven't felt that in so long...."
br She clasp her hands in front of her, furrowing her brow in thought. "I think you have. You felt great grief for your friend Diego."
br "Diego," he sighed, shifting his weight as he moved to face her a bit more. "I promised I would protect him, keep him from harm. When he died, I went back on my word."
br His word- he was obviously a man who would do everything in his power to not dishonor it. Earlier, Seaton was lying on the floor, had he not said.... "Passion comes in many forms, Father Dorsey." Did he just flinch?
br "Yet I feel drained of it," he sighed, sounding deeply stressed. "I must give up the Triumverant- I've had too much of politics- I cannot take it. ..........It raises the Beast in me...."
br Rupa moved her eyes from the ground and kept her hands in her sight. Father Dorsey, no control? It seemed widely agreed that he was a man of great control and leadership. Obviously powerful, information about him cloaked in shadows, just like the ones which brought her here. She silently wondered how much of the mysterious man she would be allowed to know.
br Though she didn't expect anything.
br As well as she knew that just because a man could have a certain type of control of situations and those around him, it didn't mean that he could control himself. History taught that many times.
br "I wish for you to teach me your passion, Rupa," he looked her strait in the eye, staying as calm as they normally were. "I've not touched a woman like that in centuries. It pushed away the Beast, I could feel my humanity- my life- come back to me. I felt as if myself, alive."
br That look in his eye, the... was it pleading? Almost nervously, she glanced down at her hands, knowing they were slowly wringing at each other, but not caring. She would do anything he said, helping him regain humanity seemed such a small task, was there really more to it, or had she misjudged the expression on his face? "I'm not one to teach, my passion could not compare-"
br "No, my lady," he kneeled before her, bowing his head in a bent arm. "Servitude, power, anything you'll ever want. Stay with me. Teach me."
br Rupa's eyes flared- this was frightening her. Too much feeling, she wanted it too much. One last
protest came through her throat, her voice dropped into a hushed, emotional whisper, "How do I know you won't go back on your word?"
br Dorsey didn't say another word. A beat passed before he slowly stood to his full height, far taller than the small gypsy woman, looking at her before just holding his wrist in front of her. For once, she didn't avoid his eyes in fear, she watched him intently, as if giving just enough time for her final worries and fears to slide away from her. His eyes never looked away, never wavered, never leaving her out of their sight. Rupa closed her eyes before kneeling in front of him, gently taking his wrist into her hands and bringing it to her mouth. When she almost lazily parted her lips, her sharp canite teeth extended, feeling his blood start to flood her mouth. She glanced up at him, her eyes glazed at the taste- calm, blessed calm, purity, ecstasy, exquisitely drugged, ! She felt as if somehow the world's problems just disappeared without ever thinking about them again. He was smiling? His head, tilted to the sky, was softened with a smile.
br In the back of her mind, Rupa prayed to see him smile more.
br "Please, don't stop.." he breathed. Rupa closed her eyes slowly, her thoughts racing. She could feel parts of him flowing into her, her closed eyes flashing with scenes of his past, his feelings, his thoughts. She felt him move behind her, her hair being gently brushed from her neck. Her neck exposed, she felt him open his mouth and start to drink from her- and felt parts of her start to melt into him.
br Her entire life was exposed to him- and his to her. They flowed into each other, becoming one, feeling like there was no difference between them. Nothing could be kept from the other, even if they wanted to- Michael.... his name was Michael... A knight, a knight who thought he was doing God's work, who was Cursed... Cursed?
br She thought Michael was a beautiful name- Michael, Michael the angel. Michael her angel, and... Tatoya? Her sire, in the argument of true love that lasted for centuries, right in the end....
br "Open your eyes," he whispered softly.
br She almost had to force herself, the ecstasy nearly too thick through her, as if running in deep water. When she finally did they fluttered in surprise- at the horizon of the city was light- a touch of the sun peeking under the night's sky. It temporarily snapped her from the blissful stupor, only able to react with widened eyes, tightened grip and sharp intake of unneeded breath before Michael's deep voice broke through her shock.
br "Do not be frightened," was all she heard, all she needed to hear to be allowed to relax. With her complete trust set in him, she let the sun rise, unmoving. The light was far more beautiful than she had remembered- the soft orange swooping to blend into pink-tinted clouds to the north, breaking to a gentle blue to the south, something she could only hope to paint.
br But she wasn't a painter. She was a dancer.
br Warmness was felt throughout her skin. The sun? The sun kept her warm. The sun was warming her skin, warming her bones, only adding to her senses. Rupa watched- and felt- as the bright yellow star moved above and behind her. The night came again- yet she was still warm. Was it not the sun, but Michael that was causing her to feel? Why did it take so long, so many years, centuries to find him? Was she not meant to feel this, not meant to feel this .....this natural? She felt alive, she felt she could breathe and bleed and die. Die for good.
br The sun passed over her head again. Didn't it just pass overhead? No, no it had already, four times prior, now that she thought about it. Five days, like this? Five days, could it of really passed that quickly? The ecstasy hadn't stopped, though things changed other than the sun. Somehow she realized her clothing being gently pulled away from her in all directions. She didn't have to look to know it was the shadows, the shadows that kept him hidden, the shadows that shot out at Laurell, the shadows that brought her here.
br Michael's shadows.
br She looked up at him, realizing her neck was free and his wrist taken from her mouth. He stood in front of her, naked, looking at her as if in pain. She felt in pain, not touching him, not erasing the near foot of space that now stood between them. There was music, as if someone was playing a piano in the background, as she stepped towards him, beauty she felt, saw, heard, watched and knew all at once. Swirls of beauty danced around, through them as he wrapped his arms around her, bending his head down and kissing her. Somewhere she felt the need to have him, have him as a mortal woman would- and could tell he felt the same way towards her.
br Opening her eyes again- when had she closed them?- Rupa saw that she was on the ground,
Michael above her. His eyes met with hers, seeming to touch every part of her. Shadows? Darkness, so dark, even her added sight couldn't see anything but his eyes- yet bright, so bright, near blinding.....
br He moved into her, and the beauty flashed up again- there was no colors, no music, yet it was there at the same time, a hundredfold in brilliance and beauty. There and not there at all...
br
centerbr~*~
brleft
br An old habit of the humanity she never really lost, Rupa took a sharp breath into her useless lungs just before her eyes popped open. Did she and Michael honestly make love, love as mortals? Love as mortals, as immortals, as.... In every possible way, it seemed. Yet it seemed as a dream, a happy dream that would make you wish you could fall back asleep and never awake again. Looking next to her, she saw Michael laying there, eyes closed, but she didn't think he was sleeping. Blinking away the last bit of "dream", she glanced all around her- they were inside the planetarium. The entire time she saw the sun, lost to the blood, she wasn't being warmed by the sun- it was Michael.
br She returned her gaze back to the man next to her, still naked, eyes still closed. Her eyes widened when a flash ran down his arm- a tattoo, set in hid forearm, glowed its strange characters like softened flames. She knew what that was, the mark of his Curse.
br Rubbing her temples, Rupa began to remember the information they'd exchanged during the long Kiss, processing the extra things that had been moved into her mind. He had killed? Killed the one Cursed, the tattoo.....
br Caine.... Bastards?
br Shaking her mind free of thoughts, Rupa let her eyes slide closed. Now, she would sleep, feeling the light catching up to her. With her last thought, though, she knew that shouldn't of been right.
br
centerbr~*~
brleft
br As each night when she awoke, air was sucked into her chest, eyes bouncing open before a moment of fluttering for clarity. She was alone in the- the bed? She last remembered the planetarium, with Michael, and the.. the ecstasy....
br As her eyes adjusted to the small bit of light in the room, she stretched, noticing the bed was large and black, the room decorated in the same color. Candebrelas sat full but unlit in each corner, a desk sat at one end of the room, the adjoining wall little more than a large window- they seemed to be far from the city, or at least far enough to have no city light to glow the dark sky.
br Another wall held the bed, and the last held a large armoire and the door, where Michael- Father Dorsey- was leaning in. He tilted his head slightly at her as if in thought before speaking to her, his voice gentle. "You awake later than most. I knew that before you fell into slumber."
br She nodded, propping upper body weight upon her elbows, "Yes. I knew you wouldn't break your word."
br "Did you?"
br "I did," she pushed her weight up from the bed, the sheet that was covering her naked body fell from her chest into her lap. She made no move to replace it.
br "There are attacks happening all over town," he frowned, walking over to the bed. "Gargoyles, I should say. Many other canites are hiding outside of town together, though you are safe here."
br Rupa slid to the edge of the bed as he sat down, resting her head on his shoulder- it was all she needed to feel normal, still alive, still... here. "I am your servant, Michael. I'm afraid I'll follow you unless I either think it isn't a place for me, or you specifically ask me not to go."
br His dark eyes met hers, his head tilting slightly, "Please, say that again."
br "I am your servant. I'll follow you unless inappropriate."
br "No," he shook his head again, bowing it for a moment. "You said my name."
br A soft smile sprung alive on her lips, "Michael."
br
centerbr~*~
brleft
br Rupa took one last check in the large mirror, part of an elaborate antique *coat rack* before turning and stepping through the front door. Sitting only a few steps away in the circular private drive was a bike- a large motorcycle with the words "*" on it's side. Michael was standing next to it, holding a hand out to her, almost smiling in his leather jacket, "My noble steed, my lady."
br "I'm not sure if I can ride on this," Rupa chuckled slightly, gently setting her hand in his. "I've never even touched one before."
br That bit of smile flashed again as he moved back towards the machine, easily throwing a long leg over it. He raised a brow over at her, "A dancer who can ride a horse should have no problem with it."
br Rupa chuckled again, shaking her head as she climbed behind him. Wrapping her arms around his muscular form, she tightened her legs, pulling them up and resting her head against his back. She felt his leg kick down just before the loud roar of the engine vibrated through her entire body. The reflection of the lights on the window caught her eye- just before Michael knocked out the kickstand, pulled out and vanished into the shadows, the shadows that felt as natural to her as the night.
br In the window, Rupa was on the back of the bike, alone, with her arms wrapped in a circle of air.
br Blinking her eyes open as she felt the cold slide away, Rupa realized where she was- a high knoll overlooking a majority of the city, around where the planetarium was. Father Dorsey sat her down next to him as she rubbed her arms to brush away the chill.
br "I apologize," he said, glancing away in guilt. "I often forget how the first time feels for others..."
br Rupa smiled slightly, shaking her head, "No, no, it's alright. It just surprised me."
br A few moments of silence passed. Rupa looked out at the city, it seemingly set in still silence, as if someone hit pause. The lights glittered almost as much as the sky, which held a bright moon. A flicker of thought ran through her head, thinking of Jacen, and how he never wanted to just sit, just talk. Somehow, she was here with Dorsey, unafraid of him. Unafraid of anything at the moment though still shocked at the quick swing of her view of the man. Shyly, she set her eyes to the ground after glancing over at him again, he watching her.
br "You're very passionate, Rupa," his deep voice softened. "I haven't felt that in so long...."
br She clasp her hands in front of her, furrowing her brow in thought. "I think you have. You felt great grief for your friend Diego."
br "Diego," he sighed, shifting his weight as he moved to face her a bit more. "I promised I would protect him, keep him from harm. When he died, I went back on my word."
br His word- he was obviously a man who would do everything in his power to not dishonor it. Earlier, Seaton was lying on the floor, had he not said.... "Passion comes in many forms, Father Dorsey." Did he just flinch?
br "Yet I feel drained of it," he sighed, sounding deeply stressed. "I must give up the Triumverant- I've had too much of politics- I cannot take it. ..........It raises the Beast in me...."
br Rupa moved her eyes from the ground and kept her hands in her sight. Father Dorsey, no control? It seemed widely agreed that he was a man of great control and leadership. Obviously powerful, information about him cloaked in shadows, just like the ones which brought her here. She silently wondered how much of the mysterious man she would be allowed to know.
br Though she didn't expect anything.
br As well as she knew that just because a man could have a certain type of control of situations and those around him, it didn't mean that he could control himself. History taught that many times.
br "I wish for you to teach me your passion, Rupa," he looked her strait in the eye, staying as calm as they normally were. "I've not touched a woman like that in centuries. It pushed away the Beast, I could feel my humanity- my life- come back to me. I felt as if myself, alive."
br That look in his eye, the... was it pleading? Almost nervously, she glanced down at her hands, knowing they were slowly wringing at each other, but not caring. She would do anything he said, helping him regain humanity seemed such a small task, was there really more to it, or had she misjudged the expression on his face? "I'm not one to teach, my passion could not compare-"
br "No, my lady," he kneeled before her, bowing his head in a bent arm. "Servitude, power, anything you'll ever want. Stay with me. Teach me."
br Rupa's eyes flared- this was frightening her. Too much feeling, she wanted it too much. One last
protest came through her throat, her voice dropped into a hushed, emotional whisper, "How do I know you won't go back on your word?"
br Dorsey didn't say another word. A beat passed before he slowly stood to his full height, far taller than the small gypsy woman, looking at her before just holding his wrist in front of her. For once, she didn't avoid his eyes in fear, she watched him intently, as if giving just enough time for her final worries and fears to slide away from her. His eyes never looked away, never wavered, never leaving her out of their sight. Rupa closed her eyes before kneeling in front of him, gently taking his wrist into her hands and bringing it to her mouth. When she almost lazily parted her lips, her sharp canite teeth extended, feeling his blood start to flood her mouth. She glanced up at him, her eyes glazed at the taste- calm, blessed calm, purity, ecstasy, exquisitely drugged, ! She felt as if somehow the world's problems just disappeared without ever thinking about them again. He was smiling? His head, tilted to the sky, was softened with a smile.
br In the back of her mind, Rupa prayed to see him smile more.
br "Please, don't stop.." he breathed. Rupa closed her eyes slowly, her thoughts racing. She could feel parts of him flowing into her, her closed eyes flashing with scenes of his past, his feelings, his thoughts. She felt him move behind her, her hair being gently brushed from her neck. Her neck exposed, she felt him open his mouth and start to drink from her- and felt parts of her start to melt into him.
br Her entire life was exposed to him- and his to her. They flowed into each other, becoming one, feeling like there was no difference between them. Nothing could be kept from the other, even if they wanted to- Michael.... his name was Michael... A knight, a knight who thought he was doing God's work, who was Cursed... Cursed?
br She thought Michael was a beautiful name- Michael, Michael the angel. Michael her angel, and... Tatoya? Her sire, in the argument of true love that lasted for centuries, right in the end....
br "Open your eyes," he whispered softly.
br She almost had to force herself, the ecstasy nearly too thick through her, as if running in deep water. When she finally did they fluttered in surprise- at the horizon of the city was light- a touch of the sun peeking under the night's sky. It temporarily snapped her from the blissful stupor, only able to react with widened eyes, tightened grip and sharp intake of unneeded breath before Michael's deep voice broke through her shock.
br "Do not be frightened," was all she heard, all she needed to hear to be allowed to relax. With her complete trust set in him, she let the sun rise, unmoving. The light was far more beautiful than she had remembered- the soft orange swooping to blend into pink-tinted clouds to the north, breaking to a gentle blue to the south, something she could only hope to paint.
br But she wasn't a painter. She was a dancer.
br Warmness was felt throughout her skin. The sun? The sun kept her warm. The sun was warming her skin, warming her bones, only adding to her senses. Rupa watched- and felt- as the bright yellow star moved above and behind her. The night came again- yet she was still warm. Was it not the sun, but Michael that was causing her to feel? Why did it take so long, so many years, centuries to find him? Was she not meant to feel this, not meant to feel this .....this natural? She felt alive, she felt she could breathe and bleed and die. Die for good.
br The sun passed over her head again. Didn't it just pass overhead? No, no it had already, four times prior, now that she thought about it. Five days, like this? Five days, could it of really passed that quickly? The ecstasy hadn't stopped, though things changed other than the sun. Somehow she realized her clothing being gently pulled away from her in all directions. She didn't have to look to know it was the shadows, the shadows that kept him hidden, the shadows that shot out at Laurell, the shadows that brought her here.
br Michael's shadows.
br She looked up at him, realizing her neck was free and his wrist taken from her mouth. He stood in front of her, naked, looking at her as if in pain. She felt in pain, not touching him, not erasing the near foot of space that now stood between them. There was music, as if someone was playing a piano in the background, as she stepped towards him, beauty she felt, saw, heard, watched and knew all at once. Swirls of beauty danced around, through them as he wrapped his arms around her, bending his head down and kissing her. Somewhere she felt the need to have him, have him as a mortal woman would- and could tell he felt the same way towards her.
br Opening her eyes again- when had she closed them?- Rupa saw that she was on the ground,
Michael above her. His eyes met with hers, seeming to touch every part of her. Shadows? Darkness, so dark, even her added sight couldn't see anything but his eyes- yet bright, so bright, near blinding.....
br He moved into her, and the beauty flashed up again- there was no colors, no music, yet it was there at the same time, a hundredfold in brilliance and beauty. There and not there at all...
br
centerbr~*~
brleft
br An old habit of the humanity she never really lost, Rupa took a sharp breath into her useless lungs just before her eyes popped open. Did she and Michael honestly make love, love as mortals? Love as mortals, as immortals, as.... In every possible way, it seemed. Yet it seemed as a dream, a happy dream that would make you wish you could fall back asleep and never awake again. Looking next to her, she saw Michael laying there, eyes closed, but she didn't think he was sleeping. Blinking away the last bit of "dream", she glanced all around her- they were inside the planetarium. The entire time she saw the sun, lost to the blood, she wasn't being warmed by the sun- it was Michael.
br She returned her gaze back to the man next to her, still naked, eyes still closed. Her eyes widened when a flash ran down his arm- a tattoo, set in hid forearm, glowed its strange characters like softened flames. She knew what that was, the mark of his Curse.
br Rubbing her temples, Rupa began to remember the information they'd exchanged during the long Kiss, processing the extra things that had been moved into her mind. He had killed? Killed the one Cursed, the tattoo.....
br Caine.... Bastards?
br Shaking her mind free of thoughts, Rupa let her eyes slide closed. Now, she would sleep, feeling the light catching up to her. With her last thought, though, she knew that shouldn't of been right.
br
centerbr~*~
brleft
br As each night when she awoke, air was sucked into her chest, eyes bouncing open before a moment of fluttering for clarity. She was alone in the- the bed? She last remembered the planetarium, with Michael, and the.. the ecstasy....
br As her eyes adjusted to the small bit of light in the room, she stretched, noticing the bed was large and black, the room decorated in the same color. Candebrelas sat full but unlit in each corner, a desk sat at one end of the room, the adjoining wall little more than a large window- they seemed to be far from the city, or at least far enough to have no city light to glow the dark sky.
br Another wall held the bed, and the last held a large armoire and the door, where Michael- Father Dorsey- was leaning in. He tilted his head slightly at her as if in thought before speaking to her, his voice gentle. "You awake later than most. I knew that before you fell into slumber."
br She nodded, propping upper body weight upon her elbows, "Yes. I knew you wouldn't break your word."
br "Did you?"
br "I did," she pushed her weight up from the bed, the sheet that was covering her naked body fell from her chest into her lap. She made no move to replace it.
br "There are attacks happening all over town," he frowned, walking over to the bed. "Gargoyles, I should say. Many other canites are hiding outside of town together, though you are safe here."
br Rupa slid to the edge of the bed as he sat down, resting her head on his shoulder- it was all she needed to feel normal, still alive, still... here. "I am your servant, Michael. I'm afraid I'll follow you unless I either think it isn't a place for me, or you specifically ask me not to go."
br His dark eyes met hers, his head tilting slightly, "Please, say that again."
br "I am your servant. I'll follow you unless inappropriate."
br "No," he shook his head again, bowing it for a moment. "You said my name."
br A soft smile sprung alive on her lips, "Michael."
br
centerbr~*~
brleft
br Rupa took one last check in the large mirror, part of an elaborate antique *coat rack* before turning and stepping through the front door. Sitting only a few steps away in the circular private drive was a bike- a large motorcycle with the words "*" on it's side. Michael was standing next to it, holding a hand out to her, almost smiling in his leather jacket, "My noble steed, my lady."
br "I'm not sure if I can ride on this," Rupa chuckled slightly, gently setting her hand in his. "I've never even touched one before."
br That bit of smile flashed again as he moved back towards the machine, easily throwing a long leg over it. He raised a brow over at her, "A dancer who can ride a horse should have no problem with it."
br Rupa chuckled again, shaking her head as she climbed behind him. Wrapping her arms around his muscular form, she tightened her legs, pulling them up and resting her head against his back. She felt his leg kick down just before the loud roar of the engine vibrated through her entire body. The reflection of the lights on the window caught her eye- just before Michael knocked out the kickstand, pulled out and vanished into the shadows, the shadows that felt as natural to her as the night.
br In the window, Rupa was on the back of the bike, alone, with her arms wrapped in a circle of air.