Random Occurence

[cindrella]

Well, since I don't really role play on FOG I decided it'd be wrong of me to just go into the chat rooms and talk about writing constantly and never actually particpate in any writing on the website. I was quite unsure what to do about this issue, since it made me feel bad personally, as silly as that may sound. So, in order to make my guilt go away - or at the very least, minimize - and still be a part of this fantastic community where I chat daily to people in the CR, I decided 'Hm, why not just start posting all the random stories I write?' And trust me, I write a lot of random stories. So, I decided I'll start writing a story out here in FOG and just go from where ever I leave off in the post above the next with no real base or genre to it in the slightest. Hence the title, random occurence. Read along if you will, if not I'll just be swimming in my own imagination. <3

[cindrella]

The Beginning

The rain fell from the sky, each drop seeming to become heavier than the last. Quickened breaths could be heard in the darkness on occasion, footsteps pounding against pavement as the storm showed it's wrath. The moon was hidden, masked behind dark and heavy storm clouds. It's once comforting rays no longer existed, it was as if the darkness itself had come and wrapped it's cold embrace around the world. The shadows came to life, moved with the flow of the panicked human. Large leathered wings spread wide to increase speed on occasion as the creature made a sharp turn around a corner, the discarded umbrella of his prey left behind on the street. Crimson orbs shone, locked constantly on the woman who was trying so desparately to get away. Long, thin fingers scraped against concrete, the creature too deformed to walk on two feet and instead seeming to run in an animalistic fashion on all fours. Flashing underneath a street lamp for half a second, leathery skin and a long mouth could be seen - were anyone around who saw this monster pass by slower than the speed of a bullet he was traveling at. The hunt was a rush, the hunger was a burning sensation in the very core of his being. The quickened heartbeat and the frantic breaths of the human as blood coursed through her veins made his mouth water. Saliva rolled over extremely large, white fangs, his jaw unsnapped as he nearly had her. So close, and then she dove out of the way. The hunger flared, his thirst needed to be quenched by her blood, and hers alone. Her fear was a stench that hung around her body, and it only drove his desires to the brink of destroying everything around him in order to capture her, to make her his own. The predator slowly crept closer to the ground, hissing at her in a low and seductive growl as she crawled across the wet pavement, trying to get away. Trying... Trying... One large claw reached out and dragged across the woman's back, making her scream in pain and agony, but it was covered with the clap of thunder that erupted in that moment as well. And as the vampire drew his prey in closer to him, his long tongue gliding against the neck of the dead woman, a flash of lightening lit his form up to one small girl in particular who had been unlucky enough to gaze out her window that night to watch the storm whip a tree outside about. The vampire's crimson eyes burned within the recesses of the child's mind, night after night was spent with her having to be restrained with belts to her bed as she thrashed about violently, screaming that she was in pain. That it was coming. It was coming. The thirst burned deep within her own being, sizzled and licked lik a flame to furnace at her throat whenever she saw blood. Crimson eyes haunted her constantly none the less, and it was as if she no longer even knew whom she herself was, moved from mental ward to orphan care, back to mental wards...

[cindrella]

Chapter 1;
Dreaming

"Open your shiny eyes..."

Bright crimson orbs were revealed to the world, the darkness cold and chilling to the young girl named Elizabeth. A loose white summer dress danced against her knees, her barefeet standing on the transparent floor. With every beat of her heart ripples were sent across the surface of the ground, her reflection that of not herself but of a leathery skinned monster. She hissed softly, the words dancing through her mind. Whose voice was that, who did it belong to? She lifted her head slowly to stare forward, the darkness vast and seemingly endless. Her breaths came out trembling, as if she were shivering. She took a slow step forward, her barefoot arching gently so she landed on the ball of her foot, her heel touching the ground softly. She held a hand to her chest, moving the other foot as well to finish the entire step forward, still staring into the darkness. Her bright red eyes looked fearful, she didn't like the idea of not being able to see what it was who said those words.

"Sing to the silent night."

The words were sung this time, they danced around her. She felt her lips open, but not sound was produced. She swallowed hard once to herself before stepping forward once more. Her curiousity was unrivaled, she had to know who was singing. Elizabeth knew it wasn't a simple desire, no. It was a need, something that had to be met, it was almost painful. She walked through the darkness, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her long black hair flowing behind her, lost in the void around her at points. The voice was so pure, so beautiful... She had to know who was the owner of it, who was letting her hear it. Like her ears were worthy... As she walked a red butterfly danced past her, getting tangled in long strands of silky raven black hair before continuing to flutter onward through the darkness, leaving a small trail of crimson which Elizabeth decided to follow.

"Catch the butterfly..."

Music. She could hear music, and though it was faint she knew that's what she heard with the voice now. Barefeet padded as she began to jog gently into the darkness in attempts to keep up with the butterfly. Was the voice telling her to do this? Her reflection remained the monster, crawling slowly on all fours across the surface of the water, crimson eyes locked on the butterfly, like a predator would watch it's prey. Slowly the darkness became specked with soft candles on either side of her, feet touching cold marble floor and making her shiver now, goosebumps rising on her flesh as she slowed to look at her surroundings before continuing onward after the butterfly, turning a corner and pushing through a pair of large oak doors.

"Crying in the storm..."

She collided with a body, the man hardly acknowledging her existence as he danced. The instruments of the song throbbed beneath her feet, resounded within her mind and seemed to shake her very core with it's enchanting sound. The crimson butterfly disappeared in the crowd, heading for where all the new flashing lights seemed to be produced. Elizabeth quickly made chase, panting gently as she shoved and elbowed her way through the crowd of bodies. They were all so tall, she couldn't remember everyone being almost as tall as buildings before. She felt moisture touch her neck and she turned to see a man had brushed his lips against her back, his eyes pulsing a dim blue. Showing her obvious disgust and horror she turned and ran into the crowd further. As she finally caught sight of the butterfly she felt something hit her in the chest, looking down at the barricade now blocking her entry to the stage. She looked up again, being bumped by those dancing around her as all the bright lights focused on the singer who dazzled Elizabeth where she stood. Her hair was long blue and the flashes of alabaster skin from her short skirt and corsetted shirt made Elizabeth blush in awe.

"Let all resistance fade.."

Her voice was intoxicating, it wrapped around Elizabeth like a silk ribbon. The flash of crimson appeared again and Elizabeth clambered over the barricade, grunting as she was bumped and tumbled onto the ground in front of the metal gate. Rubbing her elbow as she stood, her eyes moved from the singer to the violinist who slowly took her place center stage. Her head tilted to the side some, he was just as amazing as her but he wore a porcelain face mask so she could not see who he was. Short dark brown hair danced against the glass skin of the mask as he flowed with the music, his body becoming one with his instrument. His fingers flowed up and down the neck of the violin gracefully, his body moving with every shift of the bow across the strings. The butterfly was forgotten now as the singer approached to the edge of the stage and held a hand out to her, smiling a toothy grin. Her eyes were glowing purple, it was faint but it was there. Elizabeth stared up at her but slowly reached for her hand, her own trembling gently.

"And disappear with me."

Hand became claw and the singer changed to the beast, her large wings ripping from her back and sending beads of crimson all around. Screams shook the rooma round her as the band too became vampires and made the crowd their prey, feasting upon those around them, the violinist still playing as if nothing was happening. Elizabeth stood, turning to run, but she felt four sharp nails dig across her back, and with a pained shriek of agony, Elizabeth was brought back into reality.

She stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom, hearing her adoptive parent's footsteps shuffling down the hall and towards her door. Crystal blue eyes slowly closed, long raven colored hair in disarray as she gave a hoarse groan. It was just a dream... Just another dream...

[cindrella]

Chapter 2;
Ephemeral

Elizabeth walked slowly down the long aisles of books, the cases reaching up to the ceiling, much higher than she could ever reach without the assistance of the rolling ladders. She craddled three large books of poetry against her chest as she walked, her long black hair pulled back into a loose and low ponytail. Her cerulean eyes stared forward blankly, gazing through any person who walked by like they were transparent objects. Like she could see directly through them. It wasn't that she was being rude, emotions just seemed bothersome. Besides, when you were an immortal bloodsucking beast you kinda had to learn how to live without feeling when you saw people you care about die. She turned the corner, halting abruptly when nearly slamming directly into a young man with long sandy colored hair. He gave her an apologetic smile, but she side stepped and walked around him like nothing had happened, going down the aisle slowly, placing her books where they rightfully belonged before scaling up the ladder and placing the last one on a higher up shelf, sliding back down while holding onto the side, making the contraption roll to the side some. She turned and headed out of the aisle, walking slowly through the library and towards the front doors. She paused and turned to look to her side, a framed painting being what had caught her eyes. She slowly reached out, soft finger tips brushing against the round cheek of the girl. Her hands were over her head, bound with thorned vines. Flowers covered her chest, dancing up and around her face, seeming to blend into her skin as they touched her cheek. Leaves rested on her shoulders and spread out around her. Long black hair and red eyes as soft as the color of freshly shed blood. Full, pale pink lips and skin as white as snow... She let her hand recoil as if it had been burned by touching the painting before turning on her heel and quickly leaving the library. She felt suffocated, she needed fresh air.

She panted when she got out, like she had run a marathon, one hand going to wrap around her neck as she did this. She kept walking though, that painting was her of course, she had posed for them on occasion for the high schools, but why had that person given her red eyes? And why was it in the library, of all places? She ran a hand through her hair slowly to where the hairband was located, choking back another anxiety fit. Her mind was jumping to every bad conclusion she knew, was it a form of a wanted poster? Did they see the vampire in her? Did her eyes change to red by mistake in that short amount of time? Surely they could have not! She stroked her cheek gently and swallowed back her fear, walking forward and bumping shoulders with a man heading for the library, muttering a soft apology to him. His short brown hair danced against pale white flesh, like porcelain, and he smiled gently at her as he brushed her apology away. Of course he reminded her of the violin player from her dreams, even though he didn't have a violin or mask, still though. She stood there staring at him silently with wide eyes, eyebrows raised in shock and horror and mouth slightly agape.

"Are you alright, miss?"

She blinked once and shook her head to the sides some, removing such an insane idea from her mind as she gave hima final hesitant glance, looking him up and down. With a soft grunt, under her breath and not heard by the man, she turned and jogged away slowly. She needed to get away from that place. The man let his eyebrows furrow together as he watched her go, smirking slowly before turning and heading into the library, gazing at his painting on the wall and letting the back of his hand brush against her pale round cheek adoringly. This game had only just begun.

Slamming the front door to her house behind her, she slipped out of her shoes and tossed them near said door before heading into the house. She nearly slipped and fell on the wooden floor as she turned a corner sharply, heading into the living room and seeing her adoptive father sitting there, smoking as usual as he read his paper. He looked up curiously at her, standing when he saw that she was panting, out of breath from running all the way home from the library. That stupid guy, she wished her parents would actually be okay with getting her books for her. She ran a hand against her forehead, removing a couple beads of sweat before swallowing and offering half of a smile to her father as he exhaled the breath he had been holding and sat down again to continue reading. With a small huff from her she turned and headed upstairs to her bedroom, kicking her socks off and letting her barefoot touch the cold hardwood. She shivered gently at the feel of it, goosebumps rising on her flesh a bit. She rubbed the back of her neck, tugging off the black pleated skirt she had been wearing and the jacket so she wore her shirt and underpants alone. Tugging on a pair of loose capris she was ready for relaxation to the ultimate level in her own world. Making sure to not mess up her bed as she lied down on it, she pulled her headset on and began to play her music, the beat of the sound making her heart throb on occasion. One a particular song came on she hummed along, eyes closed and the light of the sun casting thin shadows down her cheeks from her eyelashes. Her hands twitched, resting folded on her stomach and her head on her pillow, as a song she wasn't a particular fan of came on. The voice was soft though, alluring, so she allowed it to play through. What she would give to have a voice like that, to be able to sing and have everyone love her. To not be a vampire...

"This is my ephemeral...
Lost in the tides of night..
Where you can get lost...
To hold you, here and now,
It's a just too pure dream...
For my black hole heart..."

The words shook Elizabeth from her trance like state that the music had enduced, her eyes slowly opening to stare at her ceiling. It was still early in the day, her sister would not be home until late afternoon from school... Even though Elizabeth was nearly twenty-one now her parents let her stay in their home. They didn't ship her off to the mental wards or the orphanage again because she was too much to handle. They had kept her since she was eight, since she was in her second orphanage and out of her third mental ward. Life would never be normal for her though. She was not human, she was immortal. A stain on the world, on God's creation, if this so called 'God' existed at all that is. Her family sure believed in him, she didn't though. Surely if God existed, her life wouldn't be so dark. She wouldn't be so scared. The red eyes would go away. The red eyes... She felt a sharp pain in her head and her hands instinctively flew up to rub at her temples, knocking her headset away from her, still plugged into her CD player and carrying the technology with it to the floor. She hated headaches, she must have been playing her music too loud. Her throat burned and itched and she touched it with one hand. No, she was hungry, wasn't she? She stood slowly and went into the bathroom, reaching into the medicine cabinet and grabbing a bottle of pills. Opening it up and then removing the cap she tugged at the plastic on the inside of it, removing that slowly and pulling out a small, thin silver razor. Setting the cap to the side she dragged the razor against the inside of her hand, swearing under her breath gently as drops of blood quickly rolled across the pale skin and into the sink below. She knew drinking her own blood would result in no pleasure for herself, nor any fullfilment, but it would at least make the burning go away, right? Quickly dragging her tongue across the self-inflicted wound, she did that until no more blood rushed out, washing her hand and the razor before replacing it in it's hiding spot and putting the pills away. Flushing the toilet to pretend she was going to the bathroom she quickly rushed out and back into her bedroom, running into the wall when she got hit with vertigo. She always got dizzy afterward, it didn't happen daily but it happened enough times to make her have a few nasty bruises on her flesh. And she knew vampires wounds healed immediately, and that they didn't bruise, but she was young. Maybe her vampirism hadn't fully grasped her just yet. It was just the hunger... So hungry. So thirsty. More, more, more, more! Her body was aching for it. She needed it. Why fight the hunger? The hunger, the hunger, the hunger. The thirst needs to be quenched. Thirsty, thirsty, thirsty, so so thirsty.

She blinked back into reality after suddenly black out in the hallway right near her room, she had found herself inches behind her father, holding a knife from the kitchen only a split second away from his throat. Her hand trembled as she stared at him, still reading and smoking, he hadn't heard her entry. Hadn't seen her standing there, a breath away from ending his life and spilling his precious plasma onto the floor. What was she becoming? She turned and slipped silently out of the room, unable to reliquish her grip upon the hilt of the steak knife as she ran straight upstairs and into her bedroom, throwing it at the wall and watching it stick where it had been directed at. She trembled with horror, with false hunger, with anger... Dropping to her knees she curled in on herself and began to rock gently, it was getting worse. She was so close, she could have killed him and not even know it. Sobs rocked her body gently as she held back the screams of denial that wanted to rip from her throat. She wouldn't have killed anyone she cared about, she wouldn't. No matter how her instincts might fight her, she knew she herself would not be able to do it. That her mind would always snap back into reality a split second beforehand. She deserved to be in a mental hospital, away from those who were not insane. Those who were not monsters trapped within themselves. Those who were mortal... human.... Her facade, the charade that came with pretending to be fine. To be a human girl who was just a little loose in the head was not going to end well at this rate. It wouldn't last much longer, it would be virtually impossible for her to continue with the war within her own mind, within her own body. She was going to lose. This was the ephemeral, she was the helpless victim lost in the darkness. Swept away by the current of it's waters. To continue her desire to be human, to continue pretending to be human, the thought was too pure for someone - something like her. Her heart was a black hole, it'd devour any ray of light around her...

That was her fate.

[cindrella]

Side Story;
Circle you, Circle you

The orphans laughed happily together, each holding hands and dancing around in a slow circle, the adult hiding behind them and tapping one on the shoulder on occasion whenever a child guessed wrong. This game was so innocent, wasn't it? The small blond in the corner slowly looked up, her legs pulled up to her chest and her green eyes pulsing gently in the shade. A ball came rolling towards her, bouncing off her bare toes and rolling back towards the brunette boy whom had lost it. He quickly gathered it up and turned away from her to get back to whatever game he played on that stormy night. She turned to look towards the window when a flash of lightening danced across the room, startling a few other children. She stood slowly and leaned on the sill, being a little taller than the other five year olds in the orphanage. She stared out into the sheeting rain, jumping gently when an adult touched her shoulder and looked down at her in question and concern, as if that woman were truly worried for her. The blond looked back out the window for a long moment before shuffling away and back to her corner, the woman watching her and sighing gently before going back to the other children still playing in the large room. The beds were all pushed up against the wall, so they had more room to play their games. Golden eyebrows knotted together in somewhat irritation as a small hand moved to brush the stringy hair from a pale and round face, rose colored lips pursed in a pouting fashion. She had lived in the orphanage for her entire five years of life, and she was far too intelligent for her own good. She didn't like silly fairytales, she liked scary stories. About werewolves, about mad scientists and their strange inventions, creatures that went bump in the night... It frightened the other children away from her, last time she tried to play tag she was hit in the face by a girl she had cornered to make 'it'. She didn't play anymore, and if she did, it was alone.

With a soft huff as she released her breath she heard the bell ringing signalling it was dinner time and she stood slowly, shuffling a few feet behind the group of children. The older ones lagged behind some as well, but kept their pace fast enough to avoid her. It was like she was a plague, a virus. She lowered her head some in shame, her barefeet sliding against the cold wood floor as she followed the group into the large dining room and took her place nearest to the doors to make her get away the moment she finished eating. She would be first to crawl into bed that night, she was glad her bed was close to the window. She wanted to watch the storm. She looked up at the cook who placed down white chicken and vegetables before her with a smile, filling her plastic cup with juice and giving her a small plate of cut up apples. Watching her serve oranges to everyone else she gave an inward smile, she liked the adults. Some of them at least. Reaching for an apple slice first she nibbled it quietly and stared at her chicken and vegetables, licking her fingers before grabbing her fork and knife and digging in, not waiting for the adults to lead them into prayer. The sound of her silverware scraping against her plate was the normal sound though, and no kid bothered to look because she did this every meal. She finished before everyone, went to bed earlier, and woke up earlier as well. She completed everything before the others, she just had no patience to wait.

In fifteen minutes she was done eating, grabbing her last apple slice and excusing herself from the dinner table without a word, not even so much as glancing at an adult for permission. Again, it wasn't rude, it was just something she did daily. Walking into the sleeping room, she saw the adults had been replacing the bed's positions. She quickly rushed over to her own, which had a pillow resting on it, her name sewn into the sea green fabric, gentle pink laced in cursive spelling out the name 'Odette'. She crawled up onto the bed, sitting on her knees and able to see out of the window easier than before now, pressing her nose against the chilled glass. Her breath came out misty so close to the cold, fogging up the glass she had pressed herself so close against, her emerald eyes staring out at the darkness of the forest. She could have sworn she saw yellow eyes flickering in the brush nearby. A wolf maybe, there were a lot of wolves up in the woods, she had heard about them once from the adults. They said the wolves made off with one of the little baby boys who had gotten outside because he forgot his dolly out there. That they grabbed him and dragged him through the mud and muck because they were starving. She pulled back some after reobserving the darkness and deciding the yellow eyes were a figment of her imagination. Slowly dropping onto her pillow she tugged her itchy covers up to her chin, her back towards all the other children and the doors and her eyes focused on the window still. She closed her eyes after a long moment. Maybe, if she was lucky and got adopted, her mom and dad would let her learn more about wolves. Would read her scary ghost stories at night instead of those silly fairytales about the princess and the prince falling in love. Maybe she'd get lucky...

Years passed for Odette, and at the age of eight she was placed in permanent placement within the mental ward, the orphanage used the excuse that her anger was explosive. That it came in short violent bursts, and though it happened rarely it was a danger to the other children. Odette couldn't understand it, she lived in the mental ward for many years and never once did she feel like she belonged. She wasn't crazy, she didn't hear voices or see things that weren't really there like some people there, she didn't want to kill people or hurt things, she didn't drop to the floor twitching and screaming. So she got angry, why was that so bad? Didn't everyone get angry? She was eighteen when she was finally released from the care of the ward, sitting in her bedroom that she had called home for ten years, the rickety bed creaking with any movement she made to sit on the edge of it. Her bag was packed at her side, only half filled because she didn't have a lot of worthwhile possesions, and things she used frequently she gave away to her friends who wouldn't be let out with her. Her green eyes moved to look around the room, memorizing it again like she did the first day she had arrived. Her hair had grown long now, reaching just past her shoulders and braided loosely against her back. She rubbed the back of her neck with her hand before standing slowly and heading for the window, leaning against the glass and peering between the sections that didn't have large black metal bars blocking her view of the small town she was going to be moving to. A nurse that had cared for her for nearly all ten years was driving her down to a small apartment where she would have a roommate and could get a job somewhere. Her hand touched the glass and in the shade underneath a tree she could have sworn she saw a flash of two yellow orbs, but she smirked and shook it away. It was broad daylight, and summer at that, if there was anything there she would have seen it.

Grabbing her bag and heading out of the room and down the hall, she met the older woman and smiled at her, "Thanks for driving me home, Mar." The woman shook her thanks off with a simple chuckle and held the front door open for Odette, who recoiled from the sunlight at first before stepping into it. She was almost hard to look at out in the open like she was in the too big white t-shirt and the baggy jeans she wore, her skin radiant in a sense since it was so pale from lack of sunlight. She shuffled through the parking lot behind Mar, tossing her bag into the trunk when given permission and sitting in the passenger seat, buckling herself in swiftly and leaning back as she exhaled. The car shook gently, and with a jerk that made Odette clutch to the dashboard to avoid faceplanting against it, the car started to roll lazily through the lot and then picked up speed as it made it's way to town through the forest. She reached forward slowly and flipped the radio on, the sound of a violin drifting out and embracing her as she raised her eyebrows curiously at Mar's choice of having a classical station on instead of the classic rock which she played at work on occasion for Odette. Deciding to let it play though, as Mar had started to hum along to the song, Odette rolled her window down and turned to let the wind blow her hair around in a chaotic way around her face, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the small rays of sun that slipped through the foliage above the car. It didn't take more than twenty minutes to reach her new home, the apartment she had been helped getting. She stood outside of the building, staring up at it and holding her bag at her side, the wind knocking it against her shins some as Mar said farewell and drove off to go do whatever it was she needed to get done. Inhaling sharply, she understood that it was now or never, and she made her way into the building and to the elevator. A young man held the door for her, leaning against the wall on the opposite side, going to the same floor as her apparently. He didn't smile, he didn't greet her, he just gave her a once over and looked away, asking if she wanted him to press a button for her.

He had short brown hair that seemed to frame his face almost too perfectly, and his eyes were hazel with the slightest tint of yellow in them, though that may have been because of the glasses he wore which were darkened. She assumed they were transition ones until he removed them and tucked them away. She had over thought it, they were just sunglasses. She watched him walk in the same direction as her apartment and started to have her suspicions, raising an eyebrow and stalking off in the same direction. As he disappeared into one of the apartments she looked down at her key and felt herself nearly gape at the irony. Opening the door she looked around and saw he wasn't in view from the front door, so she quickly closed it behind herself and made her way to one of the bedrooms, feeling a hand drop on her shoulder and hitting her roommate in the chest with her bag.

He let out a soft grunt, hardly auidible, and said in irritation, "Can I ask why you followed me?" Odette felt her mouth go dry as his eyes locked with her own, clutching her bag to her chest as she tried to stutter out a response. After a moment he sighed and leaned forward some, and if she didn't know better she'd think he was sniffing her! She stuttered more, blushing in embarrassment as he leaned away and pointed over her shoulder towards a door that was left half opened, "That's your bedroom." And with that he turned away and disappeared into a different room, leaving Odette alone to her thoughts. She rubbed the back of her neck again, turning on her heel and quickly going to her own room, closing the door behind her and letting out a shaky breath. She couldn't believe this, how had she gotten stuck with a male roommate? No one at the ward ever told her about having a male roommate. And it wasn't like she had anything against guys, but she couldn't imagine living with one. Not yet at aleast, she hadn't even dated before for Christ's sake! Deciding to distract herself she began to hang her clothes up on the closet, realizing how bare it was from her lack of a wardrobe and sighing under her breath. Grabbing out her body wash and shampoo she quickly slipped out of the room and to the bathroom, placing them in the shower on the small ledge where the window was located, the glass not being able to be seen through, thankfully. Closing the glass door to the shower again she stepped out and collided with her roommate with a grunt. He caught her before she stumbled backwards, holding her shoulders roughly and raising one eyebrow as he looked down at her.

"You blind and mute?"

"I'm not mute!" Odette's words were a shaky whisper, more to herself than to him as she glared up at him. Shaking his hands away and feeling heat rush to her cheeks again she elbowed past the man, stomping to her bedroom and slamming her door. She didn't resurface again until midnight, assuming he was asleep like a normal person - not including herself in the normal person tally. Heading for the kitchen she placed a hand on her grumbling stomach opening the fridge and grabbing the milk, fixing herself a bowl of cereal and munching on it happily at the table. Hearing a door open she swore under her breath, the man coming and sitting across from her after getting a coffee, dressed for what she assumed was his job, though why anyone needed to wear a suit out at midnight she had no idea. Maybe he did something shady for a living. It was silent, her glaring over at him from across the table as he sipped nonchalantly at his beverage.

Finally, after nearly ten minutes, he set his empty mug down and looked back at her, capturing her gaze with his own. "Thomas." She felt her face fall some and her head tilt to the side in confusion. He pressed his hand to his head and dragged it slowly downward with a sigh. "It's my name." She blinked and nodded once, standing up and taking her bowl to the sink, the silence heavy and his eyes never leaving her as he repeated the motion as before, dragging his hand across his face slowly in exasperation. "Can I have your name?" She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes narrowed in frustration. He stared back with narrowed eyes as well, since she was leaning over the sink and holding onto the counter after deciding not to return to the table with him. "It's only fair."

With an irritated huff, a noise only children made, she turned and put her hands on her hips. "Odette. It's Odette." He nodded once and rose slowly, announcing that he had to leave for work just as she suspected. With a jerky nod she brushed past him into her bedroom, her stomach soothed for now so she could actually try and get some rest. Leaving her door somewhat cracked she stared out at him as he walked through the living room once or twice, it looked like he was brushing himself up against everything and she had an image of him being like a dog with such a thought. She quickly shook it away and closed her door in unison with the soft closing of the front door. Dropping onto her bed, her pillow from her days in the orphanage resting next to her, she slowly drifted off into sleep. She had no idea that he future was going to be so different and far from the peace she so desired...

In her dreams, she was sitting on her knees, back to her orphan life and staring up at the man faces of children whom smiled down at her sinisterly. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks from her eyes, staring up at the scary faces as they all held hands and sang, circling her slowly. They were splattered in blood, some having bandages wrapped around their heads to cover a missing eye, others missing an arm and having the bandages wrapped around the limbless shoulder. She felt her body tremble in the night, tossing and turning in her bed, only calming when she felt something warm brush against her shoulder. The children faded and she was left to slumber dreamless for the rest of the night, the large brown furred wolf resting on the bed next to her, muzzle pressed against her shoulder and neck, the wolf being the size of an abnormally large horse. He exhaled slowly, staring at Odette with his bright yellow-green eyes as she calmed.

[Sponsored content]