Karim was curled up in Ali's coffee house outside the university, slowly savoring the water pipe Ali was kind enough to let him use to calm his nerves. Next to him was a cup of the cheapest wine he could afford. Despite the best efforts of Cairo's Muslim devout, alcohol was still readily available in the city, and Karim took every chance he had to drown his fears and apprehensions in wine. In fact, he couldn't see himself going a day without the intoxicating elixir. A small sliver of the moon was watching the earth from above, and the weight of that sliver seemed to be on Karim's soul. Every second was a struggle against the urges of the werewolf he kept hidden. However, on nights where the moon was thin, he could maintain his composure much easier. In fact, there times when he could live as normal human being while the moon was in the sky. Ali's water pipe also helped Karim remain human, in its own quiet way.
There was a sudden outburst of commotion at the door, and Karim lifted his eyes to see what was going on. The voices making the noise were men, men who were voicing confusion. The object of their confusion however, remained undeterred. A woman, a European woman, had meandered casually into the coffee house. Her skin was as pale as alabaster, and her hair was pale brown shade. Her dress, an anachronistic item that was more revealing than it was originally meant to be, seemed wildly out of place in the coffeehouse. In spite of this, she meandered over towards Ali, who seemed to fall under some hex when she approached. The strange woman ordered a cup of coffee before finding her own seat towards the back of the house. She watched the mostly male crowd with gleeful eyes, apparently amused by the strange looks she was getting for violating Muslim taboo. However, the men in the house were no better, for they stared at her to the exclusion of everything else.
Like most of the men, Karim was stunned by this unusually strange European. Unlike the others however, he didn't spend too much time staring. He went back to his pipe, and continued using it until he noticed the woman's eyes falling upon him. He turned towards her timidly, the combination of nerves and chemicals keeping him shaking terribly. When he first met her eyes, she was smiling. The enigmatic woman shifted in her seat a bit, her practiced grace making her seem all the more inviting. She motioned for Karim, a clear vagrant and possible madman, to come over towards her with a coy expression. To Karim, this seemed too perfect. He had spent the last few months apart from the rest of the human race, forced apart from others save for Nibel, and even the iman was keep at a safe distance. To be invited by this strange woman seemed to be some kind of mistake. But Karim had no misgivings as he made the first few steps towards her. His mind was flooded with enticing mental images of the strange woman, sinful dreams of the crudest kind.
It was then that the presence returned to Karim's mind. The presence, secretive as ever, brushed past the hapless vagrant, barely staying longer than a moment. But in that moment, Karim's perceptions had been altered. The woman, once lively and seductive, had changed in visage radically. Her once pale skin had become rotted and decayed, while her movements stiffened into the later stages of rigor mortis. Where once she was inviting and attractive, now she was repulsive and frightful. Karim wanted nothing to do with her in this new sight, and promptly stumbled out of the coffee house, leaving the pipe and the walking corpse woman behind. Verona was stunned by this turn of events, too stunned to do anything save remain at her table. She had always been an adept seductress, and it made no sense that this desperate vagrant should resist her. Karim however was sent racing into the Cairo night, fighting to restrain the wolf inside. Although this walking dead woman was terrible, his greatest fear was now that of the unseen and overpowering presence.
There was a sudden outburst of commotion at the door, and Karim lifted his eyes to see what was going on. The voices making the noise were men, men who were voicing confusion. The object of their confusion however, remained undeterred. A woman, a European woman, had meandered casually into the coffee house. Her skin was as pale as alabaster, and her hair was pale brown shade. Her dress, an anachronistic item that was more revealing than it was originally meant to be, seemed wildly out of place in the coffeehouse. In spite of this, she meandered over towards Ali, who seemed to fall under some hex when she approached. The strange woman ordered a cup of coffee before finding her own seat towards the back of the house. She watched the mostly male crowd with gleeful eyes, apparently amused by the strange looks she was getting for violating Muslim taboo. However, the men in the house were no better, for they stared at her to the exclusion of everything else.
Like most of the men, Karim was stunned by this unusually strange European. Unlike the others however, he didn't spend too much time staring. He went back to his pipe, and continued using it until he noticed the woman's eyes falling upon him. He turned towards her timidly, the combination of nerves and chemicals keeping him shaking terribly. When he first met her eyes, she was smiling. The enigmatic woman shifted in her seat a bit, her practiced grace making her seem all the more inviting. She motioned for Karim, a clear vagrant and possible madman, to come over towards her with a coy expression. To Karim, this seemed too perfect. He had spent the last few months apart from the rest of the human race, forced apart from others save for Nibel, and even the iman was keep at a safe distance. To be invited by this strange woman seemed to be some kind of mistake. But Karim had no misgivings as he made the first few steps towards her. His mind was flooded with enticing mental images of the strange woman, sinful dreams of the crudest kind.
It was then that the presence returned to Karim's mind. The presence, secretive as ever, brushed past the hapless vagrant, barely staying longer than a moment. But in that moment, Karim's perceptions had been altered. The woman, once lively and seductive, had changed in visage radically. Her once pale skin had become rotted and decayed, while her movements stiffened into the later stages of rigor mortis. Where once she was inviting and attractive, now she was repulsive and frightful. Karim wanted nothing to do with her in this new sight, and promptly stumbled out of the coffee house, leaving the pipe and the walking corpse woman behind. Verona was stunned by this turn of events, too stunned to do anything save remain at her table. She had always been an adept seductress, and it made no sense that this desperate vagrant should resist her. Karim however was sent racing into the Cairo night, fighting to restrain the wolf inside. Although this walking dead woman was terrible, his greatest fear was now that of the unseen and overpowering presence.