Oh, This Love Is Bittersweet. ((Open))

[aiden]

Aiden stoped walking. The sand was cold, not on the surface. The kind of cold that you felt when you dug your feet deep down into the earth. He wouldn't call it walking either, more like dragging his feet behind him with each individual step. He looked out among the coastline. The waves seemed to be reaching out to the atmosphere above. For some kind of support, or help. Then crashing back down, rejected. He didn't often think in metaphores like those, but this was an acception. He was alone. Dead alone. No one around for what seemed like miles. No carnival games in the distance. Or the yelling of kids on rides. Just alone, and quiet. He began walking again. The same act of dragging his feet also.

It was pitch black all around. It normally didn't get as dark as this. Or from at least what he could remember. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face, if he tried. The only source of light that was available, was the moon. It wasn't a full moon, or a new moon. The last quarter, to be exact. Which meant, not much light available to him to see where he was going. He could be wandering miles away from where he originated from, and he wouldn't even know it. He kept walking, Only to be greeted by the wooden beams of the boadwalk above him. He slalomed around it and turned to face the ocean. The cool water brushed against his feet and retreated back into the neverending body of water. The moon was now blocked off, only to be seen by the cracks in the boards above. He turned back around and kept walking the way he was headed.

The Ocean often kept brushing against his feet. A high tide, he assumed. Although, he wasn't walking that close to the water. He picked up his feet, and began walking as a regular person would, through the streets. Every step he took, the sand got warmer. It wasn't the cool feeling like before. He zipped up the front of his hoodie and placed his hands in his pockets. The breeze coming in from the ocean was cooling. He wandered farther away from the water, until the middle of the beach. He didn't exactly know why he was walking there, but it relaxed him. Which is what he wanted. The city life, was often wearing at his nerves. And this kind of enviornment, he could get used to.

[within7temptation]

She did not feel the bitter chill that engulfed her as she stood there, gazing out over the water. Her blue-gray gaze had turned light gray when she had stepped onto the beach, and the dark night only made them look darker gray. Made them look like sparkling stones. Smoke Opals. Even so close to the water, she was never thouched by it. The waves avoided her when they rolled up onto the cool sands. Her bare feet shimmered against the sand.
The seemingly young woman's hair was curled tonight and it hung loose past her hips, or, rather, fluttered around her due to being caught by the wind. Tonight's attire was a dress of thin cotton -her slender form could be seen through the material as a light sihlloett- and died a light blueish lavender. It looked light silver in the moonlight. This was caught by the wind as well, and it fluttered around her in elegant sweeps. Had it not, it would have hung down to her ankles. The dress fit her form nicely, not too tight and a bit modest, but not too modest. The front came down in an elegant v-neck while the back was cut to reveal her shoulderblades and ended at her mid-back. The sleaves were long and reached just passed her wrists. The dress was off-shoulder. It gave her a midevil appearance, though it had a modern twist to it. The silver pentacle around her neck stayed where it was, as did the amythest ear-bobs in her ear lobes. Her make-up consisted of light lavender that faded into white.
She looked... Well...
Angelic.

[aiden]

Aiden kept walking. The normal pace that he soon had acquired to. The waves still crashing against the shoreline, in this somewhat high tide. He turned yet again to face the never ending ocean and admire it’s beauty. It made him wonder, that since it has so much power. Enough power to actually kill someone, why would some people try to stand on it. As in the act known as surfing. He shook his head and kept wandering the coastline. He took a deep breath, inhaling to smell of the sea salt and the sand. It had a sharp smell about it that made his nose tingle. He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand and turned back to keep wandering the beach.

He walked about another mile down the opposite way of the beach that of which he came, still not knowing when he would stop, let alone go back to his residence. He gazed down the beach seeing if anyone was outside at this time of night. To his surprise he saw yet another being not that far from where he was now standing. He couldn’t yet know if they were also a vampire or another being. He didn’t plan on taking yet another breath, deep enough to tell from this distance, and having the sea smell bring his nose some yet more irritations.

He wandered a few feet closer to her and inhaled just enough to know that she was also a vampire. He wandered closer. He could possibly spare some of his time to make acquaintances with her. He needed more friends in this area. He stopped a few feet away from where she was standing, looking out over the ocean. “Hello.” He greeted. He turned, only his head, to also look out over the ocean. The waves still making the same motion they had been. Reaching for the stars, and being rejected. It was somehow majestic, yet another thing about this area, that he could get used to.

[within7temptation]

The woman turned her head just enough to see who had interupted her solitude. A man, young and rather attractive. She smiled, though it was a cold and slightly ferral greeting, silent and mysteriouse. The "dry sopt" she stood on widened, the ocean seemed to try and avoide her cold, fearing that she could turn it to ice. "Hello."
The wind kicked up for just a moment, sending her skirts and hair billowing out behind her. The woman's eyes flashed and lightened to a dazzeling silver. She prayed that he would not extend his hand to her, for fear that she would offend him when she did not shake his hand. She never shook hands. Why? For one, it had been considered improper for a Lady of Ranking to shake hands --esspecially with a man. And second of all, though she was much older than about eighty seven percent of the Vampiric population, she was amongst the physically weakest of their kind; Thus, if another immortal grabbed her hand, they could easilly turn her and put her in one of their vise-grips. If she were unable to use speed to her advantage --which she often did, for she was very fast and quite cunning-- she could be over powered and killed. And trust me, Duskarie had not lived six hundred and sixty seven years just to be robbed of her immortal life because she threw cation to the oceanic winds and shook some strange immortal male's hand! After all... She was cunning, correct? Very. This particular Vampiress was well known --amongst the elders of her kind, anyways-- for her caution and her plots. Her reputation always hung on a hand shake.
She looked back out over the midnight waters and smiled wider, showing her long fangs. Unusually long to most. But, she was "old," after all. "Who are you?" Her voice was one that was femme fatal, the bell-like voice of a seductress. Yet it was the cold voice of a Huntress.

[aiden]

Aiden turned his head back towards her, accepting the fact that she had spoken to him. "I'm Aiden," he paused, "Aiden Livingstone". The ringing of his voice saying his own name made him cringe. He didn't always like his name. He actually planned on changing it as soon as he became of age. Then, After his sire had done his doing, he forgot about it for a while. And after going this long without a name change, he could probably go on longer without it. “And you?” He prolonged the question. Figuring on the way that she had dressed, that she was of royalty, or somewhat in that region. He now, felt like a fool for asking that question. It was sure to lead to a brief, yet detailed explanation.

He turned so now everything about him was facing the ocean. He only came out to the coast every once in a while and he wasn’t about to let it go to waste. Even if that meant being rude to the person he had just met. The sound of vehicles in the distance made him tune into whatever they were doing. Even though the sound was very faint, even for his hearing abilities. It sounded like two older men, going out for an ‘early morning’ fishing trip. They were about three miles away, so he didn’t ponder his thoughts on that any more than he needed to.

Instead his thoughts wandered. To meaningless questions that he still yet wanted the answer to. For instance, why is the sky such a dark shade of blue when It becomes night? Why is the sand such a tan and grainy substance. They made no sense to the common person, but he still wondered about it. He pondered the answers that anyone could respond to the question with. Most of them, not reasonable, but for him, It was fun to imagine the unthinkable.

[within7temptation]

She grinned as she watched him, her every muscle tesnsed. Doubtless he was quite unaware of who he was speaking to... Or, rather, the type of woman that he was standing with. If she had known what was racing through his mind at that moment, she would have laughed. Royalty? Not by birth, though she was pretty far up there as far as human were concerned. Nobility. What with her father being the oldest son in a family that had been Merchents of the highest rank and her mother having been born into the upper middle-class Nobility, with a family that bred their king's finests horses and dogs... Yes, she had been very close to it.
And now, she actually was. Not amongst mortals, but to he own kind, she was a Queen. Maybe not as old as some, nor as strong or wise. But she had married Marques, one of the first ten Vampires, and had ruled his Coven after his murder. Their coven. There were close to three hundred, if not more by now, dispersed throughout Ireland, England, Spain, and her two estates in Romania.
'Perhaps...' Yes... Her brain was working in a whirl-wind by now, wreaking havoc upon itself and leaving only better and better ideas...
"Aiden, my name is Duskarie Mysteria. I lead a very large, very powerful, and highly influential Coven that resides in Europe." That same, preditary grin... Rosey lips and glistening fangs... Femme Fatal. "And I am currently looking for newer members for a headquarters here in America. Forgive my strait-forwardness, but do you think you might be interested? Financess covered, only a few simple, though highly enforced, rules. A sort of... We'll put a bunch of you in a big mansion, pay for your schooling and clothing, and feed you as long as you do as told.'
'We do not moniter your every action, though. If you want to go party and rent a room and have an origy with humans, go for it. But we do know when we are betrayed." She waited a moment. No, she was not worried that she had said too much. It was the same speech that she had given hundreds of times, mostly coming back with two or three "New Comers" at a time. You had your turn-downs; Everyone did. No big deal.
"And if you're not interested, how about accompanying me around the city while I am here. Most of the Vampires that I used to know are either dead, or have left the area."

[aiden]

Aiden turned back around to the woman as she spoke. A coven huh? “I am slightly interested. If you don’t mind, could I think about it for a little? Just a big decision for right now. But while I’m thinking, I would happily show you around town.” He hinted. He didn’t know if he should make this decision or not. He had his mortal friends that came to visit him often, and he didn’t want things to go wrong If he would accept this invitation. He turned, backwards, toward the boardwalk. Thinking about where to start.

There were many interesting places in New York alone. Times Square, Central park. But either way, any place he would choose to go, would be farther away from the coastline than he wanted to travel. But this would also introduce him to the ‘other’ side of town that he normally didn’t travel. Just the stories from other people made him want to wander away from that place sooner than possible.

He peered at Duskarie and extended a hand toward the boardwalk, “shall we?” He looked down and quickly brushed the sand off of his feet and slipped his shoes back on. He hated the feeling of the sand against his skin. Just the texture of it, annoyed him deeply. He looked back up at the boardwalk and felt an aching in his ‘stomach’. Oh no, Not now. Great. Well, if I do get hungry enough, she’ll at least see what she would be bringing into her coven. He felt his eyes hinting at the shade of red he possessed when he was hungry. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had ‘feasted.’ It had been a while, and the time slipped away from him more often than it should’ve. He started his pace toward the boardwalk, hoping that he would find something to eat soon.

[within7temptation]

One graceful step turned her well curved figure away from the ever-moving, and yet never-changing, waters. Another step brough her up to the other vampire's side. Duskarie gave the very slightest of nods, but she would wait for the male to lead. After all, she had not been the New York in so long. So much had changed. The sand felt nice beneath her feet as she moved, holding up her skirts so that they would not drag the ground or make her trip. Though, she did not lift them more than two or three inches.
It was then that she senced an irritation of some sort. "Aiden..." She turned her gaze on him with the slightest of frowns furrowing her lovely brow. "You thirst?" Even as she asked it, her mind began to wonder; She was pleased with the fact that he would concider joining her and her very large "family." Very pleased. But she wondered about his age. If she started a new Branch in America, she would really like it if the vampire she put in charge was at least two hundred years old. But the older ones were becoming so rare. So she figured that she would have to settle for who seemed like the best leader, though still followed orders as they should.
As her mind wondered, her eyes had turned silver. On top of her head were resting a pair of polarized sun glasses. They were going into an area with street lamps, she guessed. Bright, painful lighting. She pulled the blue-tinted shades down to cover her ever-changing eyes and smirked. Humans thought her strange, but the lighting hurt her so much. The glasses were so useful.

[aiden]

Aiden cocked his head to the side, “Slightly, yes.” He started walking, as the gesture she presented made him take the lead. He walked through the semi- deep dunes of sand and onto the wooden part of the boardwalk. He turned back around to the ocean, biding his farewells and whatnot until they may meet again. To him, the ocean was like another person. Another living thing in the world.

He turned abruptly and started a slow pace toward one of the streets that branched away from the beach. The boardwalk was full of sand and it seemed as though you couldn’t even tell the difference between the beach itself, and the starting of the city.

It was a very pacing walk to even get relatively close to the city. He could make it, that was, after all the way he had got there in the first place.

He didn’t own a car. He thought it was stupid to. Living in such a city, with all of the traffic and people wandering the streets. He couldn’t trust it, let alone manage to get anywhere in a time limit.

He thought where to go first. Many things to show someone, More things to not show someone. He thought about the statue of Liberty, but who really needed to see that? You would only see it if you were fleeing the country, or coming back into the U.S. from a vacation. So that was ruled out.

Times Square? He brought to his mind. Ahh, yes. That would be a good point to get too. From there you could go to Central Park. Another place he was known for ‘eating’ at.

He turned his head around to see if she was keeping up well with the set pace. He didn’t want to take forever to get to one place, then again, he didn’t want to end up having her lost in New York.

He felt his eyes take on another shade of red. He turned his head back around to the way he was headed. He needed to remember to not make much eye contact as possible. If he needed to, he would branch away quickly and take a ‘snack break’. Until then, he would just have to wade it out.

Unfortunately, He did get the temper of the century when he thirsted.

[within7temptation]

The brisk pace made her smile, but she kept close to him just in case. The woman could hold her own when keepin up, but getting lost was not very high on her 'things to do' list. Besides, she could feel his hunger and it made her worry. "Aiden, perhaps we should call a cab. Or find a place to stop." She reached out and took his hand, squeazing it gently, yet hard enough that he knew that she would do her damndest to stop him if he lost control. There were plenty or dark ally ways filled with those sorry scraps of humans that were poor and homeless. No one would notice if one or two of them just happened to fall and hit their head.
But the thought of feeding on their like, as with most others of her and Aiden's kind, left her feeling sick. The lesser humans tasted terrible and were so dirty. But they were human, still, and could keep a vampire alive for a little while longer as a better victem was found.
Duskarie stepped closer the the younger vampire, right beside him now, and squeazed his hand a little tighter. She was not physically as strong as most, but if she could stay in control then things would be in her favor if something went wrong. "What do you say, Aiden? Wait... Your eyes change colors..." Other than herself and one or two others, she rarely met any one who had eyes that changed their colors for any reason.

[aiden]

He peered over slightly, “Perhaps, getting a cab would be better than to have me trailing the sidewalks.” He started his pace up again, knowing that she was staying relatively close, close enough to keep up with him. "Yes, when I thirst they change to red. A deep shade, well, the deepest I’ve seen so far.” The nearest place for a cab to even be seen was more than a few streets away. He inhaled sharply and turned down another corner.

Thoughts came racing into his mind, more than what he wanted them to. He hadn’t noticed that he lost the grip of her hand on his and he turned his head to see if she was, in fact, living up to the expectations she had shown earlier.

The thoughts of his past ran instantly through his mind. Even if she wasn’t right beside him, he would speak as loud as she needed to hear him.

“My name is Aiden Maxwell Livingstone. I was born on May 28th, 1884.” The two thoughts didn’t seem as rushed in his mind as they did when they came out of his mouth.

“I am anthrosexual.” He peered over his shoulder, for fear that he had said that more loudly than necessary. “It means that I don’t care if someone is a male, female, transgendered, or any of that sort. I see them for who they really are and what they present themselves as…. Incase you didn’t know.” He didn’t know if she knew what it meant, most of the people he came into contact with didn’t. So the definition in his own words was almost a habit when explaining himself to other people.

“My mother and father died when I was a teenager. Around fifteen years of age. I moved out on my own. No siblings didn’t come in handy then. Their names were Isabell Livingstone ~Lawrell, and Kurt Livingstone.” He turned yet another corner, almost running into another dumpster.

damnit, how many dumpsters must be around this town?!

“I do have a partner. I love her dearly and to eternity. I always have and I always will.”

He needed to slip that in before forgetting about it, well, to mention it anyway.

He stopped on a main sidewalk and saw an empty cab come down the road. He hailed it when it became closer with a simple raise of his arm. It stopped in front of him and he opened the door. “Ladies first.”