"Who are you?" She asked, trying desperately not to appear overly frightened. So much for staying away from the hills.
"I would ask the same of you.. I am Kain." He said in a deep English accent. Seemingly annoyed already with the conversation.
His posture, his tone, his expressions, everything portrayed a general feeling of superiority over others. But she was even more occupied with that sword of his, still pointed somewhat threatening at her. So that's why the others were so concerned with him. One doesn't see a weapon such as that much often anymore.
"Why were you stalking me?" she asked, ignoring his request for her name.
"I am...new...to these parts. I require information. And since you are as yet the only other vampire I have come across, I figured you were my best choice."
Her eyebrow raised. "What 'information' do you so require?" Her own gruffness came out in her voice. The feeling that he was just itching to tear into someone made sure that she tried not to get too snippy.
His lip curled slightly at her tone however. "Where are we, for one?"
"We are in Los Angeles." Why didn't he know this? She felt a rush of urgency. She wanted this done with as soon as possible. Her speaking to him alone could be enough to get her in trouble.
"Where are the Sarafan?" he asked.
She blinked. "Sarafan? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about stranger."
He looked surprised by this, his dark eyebrows furrowing at her answer. "Who rules this land?"
He had to be fledgling not to know these answers. But she knew better. He carried himself far too well to be an awkward child and his general look of arrogance gave him away. Has he been under a rock for a couple of centuries or something? She tired of this. Any moment one of their own could stumble onto this scene and she didn't feel like being dragged before the Elders and questioned on her little talk.
"We do stranger. Now, if you'll excuse me, I do have to get back. I wish you luck. But I'll have you know that you've drawn quite a bit of attention from our Elders and they're not so thrilled with you being here. My advice...stay away from the security cameras." With that she tried to brush past him, her shoulder ever so slightly grazing his own.
"Wait," he said as he grabbed her arm, his claws slightly digging into her flesh. She hissed at him, something she instantly wished she hadn't of done. "Do not tempt me child. I am not finished with you yet." He bared his fangs at her, his build causing him to tower over her small frame.
"Listen, I don't know what you want of me. I can't really help you. The Elders are more then a little nervous at the presence of a stranger here and I'm really not supposed to be here with you. Probably the best thing I could tell you is to just go back to where you came from."
"That's what I'm trying to do," he almost growled the words. She wasn't sure what to do, she just didn't know what else to tell this guy. "Until then I require shelter. You will provide it for me."
"I told you I can't do that." she protested. This was quickly getting out of her control.
His grip on her arm tightened. "Nevertheless, you will."
She hesitated. It didn't appear like she had much choice however. She could only hope that no one found out about this.
"Now." he demanded. His sword still drawn and pointed towards her. Where did he get that thing anyway?
She considered her options. She needed to get rid of this guy, as soon as possible. Perhaps if she got him out of the city... "Alright," she said. "Follow me and try to hide yourself well. We don't need any attention."
She took him back to the garage, carefully passing the lone security guard as he dosed off on his shift. The place she needed to take him to was too far to travel by foot...especially since the sun would be rising in a few hours.
He seemed puzzled by her insistence that he seat himself inside the car. Almost like he wasn't sure what it was. After some assurances from her that yes it was quite necessary, he finally settled in the leather seat, although he flatly refused to put his seat belt on. Oh well. He'll just have to be the one to explain everything to the cop if they got stopped. She shuddered to think of his possible form of explanation when she remembered his sword still neatly hidden away in the back seat, beneath a pile of her dry cleaning.
His eyebrow shot up when she started the engine. Although hardly frightened, he did seem a little perplexed by it...she wondered if this guy would be frightened by anything.
The ride upstate was relatively quiet, he kept his head turned looking out the window mostly, seemingly pondering something she couldn't even begin to imagine.
The stillness brought her own thoughts and worries to mind again. Every so often she would wonder if they were looking for her yet or if they had delightfully forgotten her already. She frowned when she thought of Malcolm. She didn't have too many true friends in the vampire community. Well, at least in this city. She knew a few back home, in France where she had been turned. Still even they were not really that close to her. But Malcolm. He was truly everything that one could wish in a brother...even if he was a little too protective at times. It seemed right around time she would give up hope and begin to feel that it was just easier to shun them all and be done with it, he would usually show up. He always restored her faith in other people. Currently, she wondered if she would now ever see him again.
Which brings her back here. With this...odd stranger sitting next to her, slouched far too low for comfort in his seat due to his height. She wondered what his intentions were for her. She knew that he might just kill her after she takes him to his temporary home, but she tried to push it out of her thoughts. It didn't do much good to think about it, there wasn't anything she could do now.
"How old are you girl?" His voice broke into her contemplation. A throughly unwelcome interruption.
She smiled semi-sweetly. "I thought you weren't ever supposed to ask a woman that." She turned to assess his reaction. He didn't look amused. She sighed. "I was turned a little over 300 years ago."
It felt strange to say it. She almost felt...old.
He remained silent after that. He seemed to be digesting all of this, trying to figure out his next move. Evidently, he still doesn't have one.
"How old are you?" she asked, trying to maintain a somewhat pleasant dialogue.
"I've lost track of the exact years. I am over four centuries now." he said with a complete lack of interest in the conversation. She pressed on nonetheless.
"Where are you from?"
He was quiet for a moment. She wasn't sure if she was pushing her luck with him again or not. "Nosgoth." he finally said.
"Where is that?" she asked, having no clue what hemisphere that could even be in.
"Where exactly are you taking me?" he quickly changed the subject.
"To my house. My master doesn't know I have it, it's sort of my home away from home. It should be quiet and secluded for you until you find another place to live." Which she hoped was soon. She had owned that piece of property for a good sixty years now without anyone apparently knowing about it. Well, except for one. But that could always change at anytime.
"Where will I go to feed?" he asked. The question reminded her of her own hunger, she would need to feed by at least tomorrow night.
She turned to look at him, finally realizing just how piercing his eyes could be. "There is a ready stock of blood in the house. It should last you for a few weeks."
A flash of a questioning expression came over his face but he chose not to press further.
"How much longer?" he asked, turning back to gaze out the window.
"Just a few more minutes." She wondered if that was all she had left herself.
The remainder of the trip was uneventful to say the least. After making sure there was no one around, which there never was, she quietly slipped him out of the car and into the house.
It wasn't huge, but it would do nicely for one. A master bedroom, a television, stereo, porch with a view overlooking the ocean. Hopefully enough electronics to keep him from getting too bored and into trouble. She wondered if this guy even knew what electronics were. The house was high enough that in case of a storm it wouldn't flood and was secluded enough that there wouldn't be any problems of neighbors. Good news considering that it wasn't exactly Mr Jones that she was moving in.
"There are cleaning items in the bathroom next to the main bedroom and don't worry, the water has been shut off in there," she said as she guided him through what was once her private escape, a place that previously only she had occupied. He seemed uninterested. "I'll have to stay here for the night with you, the sun will be up too soon for me to get back safely. I'll take the couch for tonight, you can have the bed."
"How...generous of you." he said with far too much sarcasm for her liking. She really wished this guy would drop the attitude.
"Well I guess that's about it. Is there anything else you need to know?" She hoped not.
"Yes." Damn. "Where can I find some books?"
Books? She guessed that he wasn't much of a TV person.
"I have a small library across the hall," Yes. In what used to be the guest bedroom. She wished that she had another bed to sleep in. "What exactly do you need?" She has helped this guy too much already. She wouldn't be surprised if the Master strangled her himself if he found out.
"Nothing that need concern you too much." he paused for a moment. "Now, I'm hungry. Take me to where I can feed."
She led him to the kitchen, she kept a refrigerator for looks, just in case there were any curious human visitors, but it was unplugged. Boxes full of instant human meals were stacked neatly in the cabinets, a few decorative dishes placed nearby. You would never notice anything a miss except that none of it ever was out of place and the odd fact that a large lock was placed on the one cabinet.
She reached for the mess of keys on the chain she had thrown on the counter. Opening the base wooden door, she revealed another, much sturdier, steal door with a number pad on it. Punching in her combo, she noticed the slight look of surprise on his face as she gave him two hand sized bags of warm blood. What? Was he expecting a room full of humans shackled to the wall or something? The humans aren't the only ones who can grow technologically.
"How is this possible?" he asked.
"These have been around for a good twenty years now. Why don't you know this?" she didn't expect an answer as she opened the plastic for him and poured a large glass of her most expensive stuff.
He didn't give her one. Instead, he downed the glass and set it on the counter, she guessed that she would have to be the one to place it in the dishwasher. Without so much as a backwards glance he made his way to the library and shut the door.
She mentally called him every slur she could think of at the moment. Where the hell did this guy get off talking to her like that? Of course that sword always strapped to his back would give a person some extra confidence, but never has she met someone like this before. Even dear old Jonathan couldn't boast to be this arrogant.
She snarled slightly to herself, knowing that she should be grateful that he even let her live. He could have killed her as soon as they walked in the doorway. Although he hadn't been overly aggressive towards her, he didn't look like the friendly type. Her own superiority complex often repelled people from her. And she knew this guy wouldn't take any of her shit.
Remembering her own hunger, she poured herself a large glass and settle to watch the nightly news. She wondered if her new 'friend' had stirred up any new issues for their leaders yet.
Sure enough.
"Police are saying that they have found two more bodies who apparently were killed by the same man caught by security scanners," No my dear anchorwoman. Hardly a man. "Police are urging people to not go out at night alone and to have friends or family know where you are going." The screen quickly switched to the police chief, in all his stereotypical husky glory. "We are currently searching for any leads we can find. We don't wish to alarm anybody but we suspect we might have a serial killer on our hands." You would think that the higher ups would come up with a better excuse by now. Every time a rogue vampire got a little messy it was a serial killer who had done it.
She smiled at the thought. It quickly faded however as she glanced at the light coming from underneath the library door. Her eyes followed shadows as they walked from one side to the other. What was he doing in there?
She slouched into the leather cushion, finishing off the rest of the blood before it cooled. She felt her eyes slowly start to get heavy, ignoring the sounds of paper being turned every few moments, she realized that she might have to think of a good excuse for her 'disappearance' before she drove back to the city. Malcolm would cover for her, he always did. With that, she drifted of to sleep, knowing better then to rest too soundly tonight.