In Good Graces - {SG}

[*♥ Helena Kyle ♥]

Central Park was one of her favorite places to be. On top of the Golden Gate bridge was better. Looking down on the city lights. Wishing that she could hover above it all with closed eyes and outstretched arms. Feel the freedom like how a bird would. Soar through the air and never have to worry about anything.

There was a full moon out that night, unafraid of running into werewolves, Helena so boldly took up a spot not but fifty feet away from the bridge tunnel. Lifting up the fabric and spreading the blanket over the grass. Letting fall gracefully to a flat before she took off her shoes. Letting her toes get caressed by the plush green grass that surrounded her.

Central Park was like the pit of all things horrible in New York. Or so says the tourists. It is said to believe that there are not only stalkers, murderers, were's and vampires that trudge the earth there, but druggies and dealers, the homeless, and pollution. She hadn't seen it as so. In New York, it was one of the many places she could go to enjoy nature. There was always Holley Hill, but it was too far from her apartment, and there was no way she was going to get in the back of a slimy cab and deal with the smell of Nachos and beefsteak the whole way there.

The spot was perfect. The white dress she wore made her visible sure, but if danger was near she was more than capable of handling it. Helena just didn't fear many things, and the things she did fear, she knew they weren't close by.

It had been hard leaving England. All that she left behind. All that she was. Ever since she arrived in New York she felt homesick, but that was easily overcome when she took on her job at the Culture Club.

Her job was simple. Entertain and nothing more. Serve the boys drinks, and keep the members happy. She didn't have to strip, or show skin. Just what the uniform required. Simple. Helena enjoyed the simple things in life. It was the only way to conform with the time. She had her favorite eras', the roaring twenties, the seventies, hell, even the eighties had provided some much needed fun.

At least now in the new century she could enjoy herself and simply try to lead a normal life. Which was hard for a vampire, especially when you were a female and had no one to share time with. Having to make your own parting with society, attacks from bloodhounds, idiots who tried to take on someone they thought to be frail, only to realize they had messed with the wrong person.

Helena lifted a book from her little bag that held the blanket, sitting down atop the blanket and opening it's cover to flip through chapters. She was already on chapter eighteen and she wanted to finish at least a few paragraphs before someone decided to misjudge and think of her as food. Like one of the werewolves who had nothing better to do.

She licked the tips of her thumb and index finger, turning the page as the last sentence left her hungry for more storyline. Unable to finish up in days because of the long hours she had been putting in. It wasn't as if she was a priviliged vampire like others, she had to make her own means, especially now.

She looked the part, but she wasn't as snobby as most people thought her to be. Sure she was an evil bitch when she had to be, but all in all she had a heart of gold.

The story was getting better and better and just as the man behind the woman had been watching, she felt as though a pair of eyes were on her as well. He spoke, the man in the book, and then she heard a voice so close to her...

[Shaden Grace]

Now he was back in New York, and hopefully this for good. The chances of making it out of England alive each time he went grew more and more unlikely. He knew too many people, and more then half of them held some type of grudge. Shaden was glad to be back where he at least had no enemies no possible threat. Well, of course there were the werewolves or dogs as he so preferred to call them. They were a constant thorn in his side.

At least now he'd have something to distract him. Meeting Sevanni had the Culture Club. The thought thrilled him perhaps a little more then it should have. After all, it wasn't that long ago that they were throwing threats back and forth at one another. Could Sevanni really be trusted?

But that was enough of those useless and silly thoughts, they would bring no good, and besides, it was a beautiful night, and the full moon appeared so large and glorious in its most truest and pure form. This was how the moon was meant to be seen. Shaden had died under a full moon just like this so many years ago.

Even with the full moon he was not afraid of the dogs the so blindly tried to kill him and the rest of the vampires. The rest of the vampires...he never said, the rest of his kind. No, they were not like him. Expect one or two. But Shaden felt so cut off from every one of them, so different. A forgotten Prince. Left to rot and wallow in self-pity and live out his poor existence alone. Of course he didn't want to be alone.

There had, many times, been years when he had denied anyone from getting close to him, but those feeling died along time ago and was replaced with a need for companionship. Something true and real. Something he could hold onto and proclaim to the rest of the world that it was his alone. For his eyes alone to see. For his hands alone to feel and savor and touch. That chance, that feeling, had not yet been allowed to happen to him. But it didn't stop Shaden. He was a fighter, and sooner or later he would get what he wanted.

He wasn't like some of those other vampires, he didn't feel the need to fight for the top. He was content to wait for what would eventually come in the end. He had fought over so many things in his life, it had all been love, but when stripped of its outside beauty, it become nothing but pointless fighting and ignorance.

And Shaden was done playing the fool. In the past month he'd learned to be more relaxed. Less quick tempered, although, his well known anger lay harboring just underneath the surface; waiting for Shaden to lose control.

His head tilted up to look back up at the sky. At present, he was sitting on a small bench located in Central Park. Often the most misunderstood place in all of New York. Was it the trees fault that so many had died here? Was it is fault they chose to walk in knowing that danger could be waiting for them or that they may come face to face with a thirsty vampire? Of course not! Shaden never purposely came here to hunt. It just turned out that way. And anyway, he hadn't been the reason for every death here. After all there's been so many of them. Drugs and other such foolish things played there own parts as well.

It was then, at that one second, that the wind shifted, and in the very next second, it felt as if his world was on fire. It was the most delicious and yet calming scent he'd ever smelled. No one had ever smelled better. He got up from the bench, and instinctively followed the scent. Well, he couldn't just leave! However, that might have been the better option. What if this new encounter meant trouble. Shaden didn't want that, but still had little choice. He walked because his mind told him he had too.

It didn't take him long. Had he been walking faster then normal? He couldn't remember. She was in a white dress, sitting on a blanket with a book. The moons light seemed to make her glow. He knew she was a vampire. He wasn't stupid. So he stopped far enough away to not be considered a threat but close enough to talk to her. To properly see her.

"This is an odd time to be reading a book..." Soft words slipped from his mouth before he could stop or think about them, and he smiled.

[*♥ Helena Kyle ♥]

"This is an odd time to be reading a book..." The left side of her mouth had tilted partially to a grin, beginning words that would surely end in a pause. "What are you the book po....." She had began to turn her head while the book had began to close over her thumb. Eyes glancing over to just get a glimpse of whoever it was that spoke.

It was a man's voice. Expected because it was after all, Central Park. "lice?" She finished the sentence in a near whisper when she caught way to his features. If she hadn't smelled him before, she certainly smelled him now.

What was with Helena Kyle and attractive men? Like they were drawn to her for some reason. She had kept her best efforts in avoiding it because men were only interested in one thing, and she was only interested in their blood.

Vampires. Helena hadn't had the opportunity to be around many male vampires except at her job, and that of course had always ended up in big tips and a night of harassment. Unappreciated for her brain and quality and only seen as an object to molest and contribute cash for an exchanged smile.

This one....this...stranger, vampire, had some sort of splitting aura about him. Generally she had a sense about people. Mortals. Vampires were a bit harder to read, but she felt a blockage in him that desperately needed to be pumped out of him.

If he had jumped out at her during her "quiet time", then there could have been a devastating moment between them. She wasn't used to being approached like that, not in such a slightly courteous way. Courteous? Was that what it had been? Far better than hey bitch or oooh fresh meat. Mortals were so foul, which was another reason she enjoyed feeding on them.

"You'll have to excuse me." She started with a blushing smile. "It's just that...you don't generally expect someone to come up on you in Central Park without having some sort of witty barrier." Already the book was closed and on her lap, slightly sliding over the side to rest partially on the ground.

Her hand rose, and delicately she pulled back a few loose strands behind her ear. Moving back to rest on her lap before her other arm reached out toward him. "I'm Helena." She left her last name out. One could never be too careful. Especially with another vampire.

There wasn't even a reason to ask what he had been doing at such a late hour of the evening, it would be like putting a blond bimbette in a spelling bee. "What brings you to the devil's playground?" Just another nickname by the locals. It was worth a shot to let the phrase roll off of her tongue.

[Shaden Grace]

"What are you the book po....." He ginned, he'd guessed she might have a good witty comment to make. Most would when approached by a strange man in the middle of the park. Shaden would have a very similar reaction had things been reversed and she had come and found him instead. What kind of comment might he have come up with? Something far worse then her choice of words that was for sure, but then his words might have very had gotten him in trouble as they often did. It was both a gift and a curse; to cause so much trouble just by opening his mouth and saying what was on his mind.

Her hair was fairly long, but not overly so. Not like some of those human women he saw all the time with their hair down to their knees. He didn't know who they could stand having so much hair. Though, maybe it only seemed crazy to him because he always kept his own hair short, so it was easy to take care of. "lice?" There, she'd finally finished her sentence, though her voice, loud enough before, was now a mere whisper. And he wondered at the change of volume. He smiled, and it spread to his eyes, "No, I'm afraid I have no way of taking legal actions against you. You are free to read anytime and anywhere you like."

She had green eyes, he could see that now. Eyes that he could easily lose himself in. It was likely that her eyes changed when her emotion flared. Shaden's changed whenever he was angry or thirsty. Or sometimes, they just changed. For example, his eyes had once been a pure icy blue, but now they were mixed with green, calming them. It was as if his own body was telling him it was time for a change.

Shaden never spent too much time with other vampire women, or men for that matter, and there for couldn't truly analyze her the way she seemed to be doing. The only thing he was exceedingly good at was observing, and thus far it been enough, and it would have to remain enough.

His gaze shifted from her for just a moment, looking around. Shaden was a highly paranoid man, and couldn't help but consistently look around him to make sure no one was paying attention to him. And of course there wasn't, there hardly ever was. But that didn't stop him from looking all the same.

"You'll have to excuse me....It's just that...you don't generally expect someone to come up on you in Central Park without having some sort of witty barrier." His eyes went back to her, and he smiled, "Don't worry about it. I understand." He would have expected nothing less from a women like her. As attractive as she was, she probably had a lot of men always talking to her, and half of them were more then likely human, and he'd seen how foul they could be.

Shaden's eyes followed the path her hand made, moving her from her face, and the back down to her lap. Now her other arm moved, but this time it reached out toward him, "I'm Helena." He stepped forward, taking her hand, "Its a pleasure to meet you. My names Shaden." Just as she didn't not offer her last name, neither did he. A name as power. And he wasn't so willing to give her even the smallest amount of power of him just yet.

[*♥ Helena Kyle ♥]

"Its a pleasure to meet you. My names Shaden." She let a half smile break lips, her tongue moved against closed lips before they parted, strapped there between pearly whites so perfectly straight it could have been a crime. Lifting her hand from his delicately as if it had simply glided back into the wind to rest back on her lap.

The white cover of the book held a cell phone and some blood, not real blood, just the jacket cover. Her hand covering the words Stephen, King so visible anyone could have placed the author.

Shaden.....Shaden...."Shaden... What a unique name." She rather liked saying it. "Shaden huh?" She had that English accent about her. You could tell she was European. The eloquence in her voice. The grace she held in ever movement she made. Well, except for letting the book slide off her lap some.

He was very striking. Handsome. Helena had never truly met a blond vampire that was male and so striking. She couldn't sum up his height but she imagined they would equally match each other if they stood face to face. If she had felt one iota of danger, she would have been on her feet in a matter of split seconds. But that aura he shed was just not leading him in that direction.

Perhaps he was having a nice night out as she had been. Central Park vampires meet in the cover of night, then.....well there wasn't a then yet. Emphasis on the word yet.

There was no one she could compare him to, no one she cared to compare him to. Then again, he did look like that mortal kid on television, but that couldn't have been possible. She had seen pictures of him out in the daytime and Shaden smelled of vampire that was far too old to even just be turned.

she nearly giggled to herself, letting a blushing hue cross her cheeks. "Well Shaden....care to join me for a chat? I was just reading a book, but....seeing as how we are of the same kind, I could use the company."

She gave him a quizzical look that was slightly more adorable than it should have been. If he said no, she would understand. After all, they didn't quite know each other, and who knew what kind of person he was. She just knew it was better than sitting there trying to get re-encapsulated with the book.

When she touched him, secretly she had nearly tried to take a sliver of knowledge from him. She fought against it, after all, he could have caught on and been offended by such actions. Helena Kyle, fearless.

His features were stunning. Captivating. Like something Michaelangelo would have carved, or even someone as Divinci would piece something so clever as he together. Looks didn't really mean much to her. So long as they had an aura that drew her in. Which was rare.

She had met a few vampires with dark aura's. Some slightly grayer than his, for instance, there was a man who would come in to her work once a month to handle business, and the only reason she remembered his last name, was because his aura had been pure black. Not all the time, just most of the time. It was how she could tell evil from good. And Darla. Darla had a dark aura around her all the time, which was why the evil members too a liking to her. A slut with a but who shook it oh so well.

There was room beside her, he could easily sit, or perhaps he was the take a stroll kind of guy. He was looking around as if someone would be watching him. Keeping an eye on him or some such. She couldn't tell. But those eyes told that he was not only timeless, but he had a heart, which was very rare now a days with vampires.

[Shaden Grace]

Shaden's hand pulled away as hers slipped from his, to lay once more on her lap, and once more his eyes had followed the graceful movement. Then eyes came back up to admire her smile. Could he have picked a more perfect time to come back to New York? To come to the park? There had been no reason for coming her, expect that he'd spent so much time out in the gardens in his house in England that he wanted to once more spend the night with nature, but now he found himself looking on a women to whom not even the moons purity could match.

He noticed the book, the cell phone and blood picture, and the bold last name King. Which could only mean she was reading Stephen King.

"Shaden... What a unique name." His smile was open and friendly, "Yes, so I've been told. And I agree it is unique but its far from the perfection that is your name, Helena." Was that smile a little too open? A little too friendly? He loved her English accent. Some how it simply seemed to suit her. When Shaden had been much younger, he had talked with a German accent but too much time had paced and there was no longer even the smallest trace of it to hear. "Shaden huh?" His smile widened, "Careful, even a unique name can lose its charms when spoken too often." He teased playfully.

No one had ever showed the slightest interest in his name. Everyone else simply accepted it, and made no comment about it. Not that he wanted or needed them too. He didn't care if people liked or disliked his name. It wasn't for them to judge. And he wasn't some little boy needing everyone approval, but even so, her comment about his name just felt right. Like he'd just competed a secret goal. So secret that not even he knew about it!

"Well Shaden....care to join me for a chat? I was just reading a book, but....seeing as how we are of the same kind, I could use the company." There she was, saying his name again, he nodded perhaps a little too quickly, but would she really noticed? "I could use the company as well." He said and came and sat down in the space beside her. How could he say no to an adorable look like that. But still he kept the space between them respectable.

Now that he was this close her scent as stronger then ever and it amazingly became even better then when he'd first caught it. He realized he was staring at her after a moment and looked away, up toward the sky.

Shaden had been spending a lot of time staring at the sky and moon as of late, and he couldn't think of any reason why. He remembered a time when he use to hate the night, when he would curse the moon for keeping him its prisoner, now, however, he didn't mind.

He had no idea how to start a conversation. It had been awhile since he'd talked to anyone he didn't already know. "So, why were you out here this late reading?" He glanced over at her. A small playful grin beginning to pull on his lips.

[*♥ Helena Kyle ♥]

"Yes, so I've been told. And I agree it is unique but its far from the perfection that is your name, Helena." His smile was enough to make her smile, but it wasn't a smile she gave, it was a simply close of those lids once over for a split second that seemed to have been soft in a slow steady motion. Light lashes tapped against skin. She wasn't one for dark lashes and over dramatic make up like most females. Vampires included. The less, the better. She was beautiful enough.

"Well...." She paused a moment, wanting to blush but that would be overdoing it. No. Instead she looked away rather awkwardly. No one had said her name was like perfection before. She almost melted inside. That was rare. No one, absolutely no one had ever made her melt.

"Careful, even a unique name can lose its charms when spoken too often." Lips pursed together with the notion of a smirk. "Well, I shall remember not to overly draw your name from these lips." She smiled as she teased back, letting her lower lip slip between teeth only to emerge back to where they had been.

So there she had asked him to sit with her. Gaining some company for the time being. He seemed innocent enough, for the moment, but what lay behind those dashing oceanic eyes was something she was a bit curious about. "I could use the company as well."

She nodded once in a satisfying gesture. She felt pretty privilaged to aquire such company. She didn't fancy anyone really, and to be around someone of her own kind that seemed so respectful at the current, she was a little blown away and surprised.

He lowered himself and sat beside her at a comfortable distance. It wasn't as if she expected him to just snuggle up to her and they would read together. They barely knew each other. She did like to cuddle up. With whom? That was never a thought in her head.

She loved her church like ways. Confession. Prayer. It was not as if she was a Jesus freak or anything, but she believed that even soulless beings had the right to confess their sins and seek refuge in the arms of him above. Oh bless her now for her sinful thoughts.

She was thankful he hadn't been a sleeze thus far. "So, why were you out here this late reading?" A slight smile before disappointment flooded her features. "I live not too far from here, with unruly neighbors....so when I need to clear my head, I try to soak up as much of mother nature as possible."

Her neighbors upstairs were loud and belligerent. She didn't care much for incredibly loud noises like most mortals had. Some immortals had been the same way, but she didn't care for it much. Especially after a hard day at work. "Being in a smoky room full of dead men doesn't help much either, so it's mainly solace." She gave a nod to the conclusion.

She turned away from him, that awkward moment passing by before she turned her head back to look at him and those divine features. "How about you fellow creature of the night?" She began teasingly. "What brings you to Central Park?"

More so curious to his answer. He seemed like there would be some beautiful woman waiting on him somewhere in the fray of people in New York. He was just far too handsome to be alone. Or so she thought.

[Shaden Grace]

"I live not too far from here, with unruly neighbors....so when I need to clear my head, I try to soak up as much of mother nature as possible." Shaden understood and nodded once, but he couldn't relate. He had only one neighbor, and he was a business man, and stayed out late working, came home in the middle of the night and crashed after only an hour or so of being back. It was lucky for him that he wasn't at all unruly, otherwise he wouldn't be alive. He looked at her, his head slightly tilted, "Why don't you take care of them? I would have a long time ago." He was honestly curious, it wasn't often that he came across a nonviolent vampire. Then, he didn't know her, maybe she wasn't as nonviolent as she seemed.

"Being in a smoky room full of dead men doesn't help much either, so it's mainly solace." Confusion flashed crossed his face before it slowly disappeared, "I assume your talking about a job?" He asked, that same curiosity coming out again in his voice. He sat and thought about it, she had to mean a job, and the only place he knew about that might fit was...."The Culture Club?" He finished out loud. If that was in fact where she worked, then that would be fairly interesting when he went for his meeting with Sevanni. Would he see her there?

"How about you fellow creature of the night?" The corner of his mouth lifted, "What brings you to Central Park?" It took only a second for him to decide to tell her the truth. Shaden hated to lie and avoided doing so whenever he could. Besides, there wasn't anything about the truth he wasn't afraid to tell her or anyone else. "I just came back from England, and at my house there, I spent much of my time outside in the gardens. Now that I'm I find that I miss spending time with nature. The beauty and purity of it. So I decided to come and visit Central Park." He smiled, "Plus, this is a perfect place to think."

It seemed the only thing he'd been doing lately is thinking. About everything and at nothing all at the same time. Going over his long lived life and counting off the mistakes he'd made but felt little regret over. Very few times in his life had he ever felt regret. He thought it was a stupid and pointless emotion. Why feel regret over something he had once wanted?

Somewhere, the sound of a howl broke the nights silence. It was far away. No threat to either of them, but still, his head moved lazily toward the general location of the noise. "Were you not worried they might come and cause problems?" He asked, and he turned to look back at her. The obvious answer was no, however, he still felt the need to ask. He liked hearing her talk, her accent was adorable or maybe sexy would describe it better. Point was, Shaden would easily listen to that voice all night. He absentmindedly reached up to take a cross necklace out from under his dark blue button up shirt, and simply played with it between his fingers.

[*♥ Helena Kyle ♥]

"Why don't you take care of them? I would have a long time ago." She smiled without parting lips, showing no teeth to bare. A small chuckle lifted in her throat as her hands graced the caps of her knees, lifting legs to tuck under and move to her left side. "Don't get me wrong. I would love nothing more than to drain the life out of them...." A soft sigh expelled as lids lowered halfway. "I have an insatiable appetite....." Her eyes lifted to him, so angelic in the way she did it. "It's hard to stop once I start." She giggled once over. "Besides, everyone in my building knows them, and if I were to do something like that....I'd have to find a new home." Shoulders lifted as she spoke the last line, dropping and relaxing while hands rested on her lap.

The topic had shifted to something else, which was the best thing considering she was getting highly thirsty just thinking about it. As if her heart would burst from her chest if she didn't have any. If she had been in the desert right now, she would be dead simply thinking about the soft cool calm of ice water gliding down that mortal throat.

"I assume your talking about a job?" She laughed embarrased, partially because she had just made a simple notion about smoke filled rooms. "Yes...My job." She could have worked in a bar, or a club....no bar or club permitted it these days. It was smoke outside or don't smoke at all. Leaving only a couple of places left to smoke, and being a vampire, there was only one reasonable place it could have been, and he had guessed it.

"The Culture Club?" She cleared her throat with a jive little ahem, a slightly awkward look that seemed quizzical. "How do you...." Yes...it was obvious. "Well, you can't be a member. I would have remembered such a face such as yours." An assuring smile softly glinted at him.

Helena supposed that Shaden had known a lot more than he seemed to know. She could tell he wasn't new to their lifestyle,

"I just came back from England, and at my house there, I spent much of my time outside in the gardens. Now that I'm I find that I miss spending time with nature. The beauty and purity of it. So I decided to come and visit Central Park." He smiled, which in turn made her smile back with closed lips. "Plus, this is a perfect place to think."

How true he was. In that moment, as he spoke about tending to a garden, she could imagine it in her head. Full of life. Mother nature. Flowers, shrubs, pure grass that felt divine under feet and hands. She could imagine rolling around on it after a nice game of catch me if you can, and smelling the night air while being refreshed by the life force that was mortal.

She hummed a bit in her throat with adoring eyes. Her head tilted to her side as she listened. His tone was so well placed with who he was. If any other voice had taken to his body, it would have been a disappointment to her ears.

A breath escaped lungs through nostrils, unheard and barred from even her own hearing. "It must be beautiful. England is so beautiful." She smiled once more just thinking about it. Relishing the thoughts of home and all that was Europe be it England or not.

There was no other way to place it. She felt...relaxed with him as if he were a storyteller. Wishing the tales would never end and asking for more before it was time for a nightly tuck in. It was odd. Thinking like that.

Helena wasn't one for men in a sense that she had taken to him. Keen on the idea of him, and secretly wondering to herself what it had been like to live a life with such a man. A vampire. Was it so wrong?

A howl was heard, she noted it and turned her head in it's direction just as he had. Werewolves were so careless. New York wasn't suppose to have wolves in those parts, and just the idea of them close by but not to close, it made her want to grin evilly and peer eyes deep into the beast who had done it. "Were you not worried they might come and cause problems?"

She had moved her arms behind her where palms met fabric and the grass could be felt through it. Leaning back relaxed and chuckling at the thought. "No....Not at all." She gave the no gesture with her head with a sinful smirk that could have broken anyone's lusting heart. "I do not fear those ruddy bastards one bit." She nearly giggled. Not that girly kind of giggle, but more of, I am woman hear me roar, kind of giggle. "If they want a piece of me, they can find me in the open." She had glanced down at her shoulder for a moment. She did that sometimes. Glance down at certain things be it the ground or her own piece of her bodily portions.

"Are you not afraid?" She lifted a chin as she asked, like some bold little girl who spoke of the boogeyman. "You don't seem the type." Her brows lifted, that quirky bit of action beginning to come out, not bothering to hide herself from him. She never had to act. It was always her, doing what she always did. Un-enticing. Unafraid.

Helena was nearly like the virgin Mary. Hell, she could have been. So it wasn't in her nature to throw herself onto others like some did. Her chastity was safe from everyone around her and would remain as such until she found her true companion. It had been well over many centuries, and it could go on longer if she so chose.

Her eyes lingered at the sight of his hands moving to pull out something. Her eyes lifted as she licked her lips, viewing his hues before she let her right arm move around for fingers to reach for it. "You carry a crucifix." She asked ever so softly. It could have been an awe stricken question but it was planted more like a statement. Letting her fingers graze against his, but not touching it. Some people were highly sensitive about their artifacts, Helena had been, but she wouldn't mind letting him touch her things.

It was an odd place to keep it, but she cleared her throat letting her hands falter over white fabric to lace up the hem near her thigh. Pulling a small strand of what seemed like metal from the side of her under garment, pulling out the tiniest little cross. When she lifted her hand it laid in the palm. Beautiful in everyway possible with his holiness laid on a cross.

"Looks as though we have a lot in common." She said with a stunning smirk. The dress placed back down by her thigh. It wasn't in her undergarment, but hung down on the side so she would be reminded what was at stake. Not only was she one for God, but her virginity as well.

"I didn't think many vampires...." She shrugged coyly. "Other than myself of course...carried a crucifix with them."

[Shaden Grace]

"Don't get me wrong. I would love nothing more than to drain the life out of them....I have an insatiable appetite....." Oh really now? Shaden could relate to that perfectly. He too, had an insatiable appetite. Now it seemed only write for the two of them to be sitting here under the full moon. Two creatures of darkness that had a hard trouble when it came to hunting; it was very hard. Especially when the humans made it so easy. "Besides, everyone in my building knows them, and if I were to do something like that....I'd have to find a new home." Shaden shrugged, almost at the same time she did. "I see no problem with that." But of course, to her, that was her home. Shaden felt he didn't have a home, just a place to stay and hide himself from the day. There was no home. Only houses.

"How do you...." He smiled, "Know?" He finished the sentence for her. "Well, you can't be a member. I would have remembered such a face such as yours." He shrugged one shoulder, "I'm going to be meeting someone there very soon." He gave no details. He didn't want to give out too much information.

He watched her, fascinated by her, she looked as though she were thinking about something. Something far away from here in Central Park. She turned to him, those adoring eyes, they could very well be his downfall. "It must be beautiful. England is so beautiful." He looked away quickly, before her eyes could continue to trap him in their gaze. "Yes, England is beautiful, but it is not my home. If it were, I would choose to stay there and never would I feel the need to simply get away."

"I do not fear those ruddy bastards one bit." Shaden was entranced by that smirk, that one sinful smirk. "If they want a piece of me, they can find me in the open." And to think he'd thought of her as nonviolent! She was just as violent if not more so, then himself. Such a wonderful thought that made.

"Are you not afraid?" Shaden was quick to return a similar sinful smirk, and a glint of something appeared in his eyes; a glint of power, lust for danger and trouble, for pain. "You don't seem the type." He shook his head once, "You would be correct. There are very few things I'm afraid of, and those dogs are not one of them." The day he started being afraid of some over-seized dogs was the day someone needed to end his life.

His fingers remained holding the little cross between them, as he watched her watch him, staring into his eyes, trapping his into hers once more. "You carry a crucifix." Her arm had reached out, and now her fingers lightly grazed against his, but never touched it. He wanted to open his mouth to tell her it was alright, that he didn't mind if she touched it, but he was incapable of doing so. Her soft, cool fingers against his own, even lightly, had the power to stop any words at from leaving his mouth.

At first he was confused, when she started to mess around with the hem near her thigh, but then she began to pull what appeared to be a chain out, he understood. But he was still surprised when she raised her hand with the small cross in her palm. Shaden was over come with the desire, no, the need to place his hand under hers. And he did. Gently, and moving slowly, he put his hand under hers and stared down at the little cross. "Its beautiful." He looked up at her, smiled, and then removed his hand.

"Looks as though we have a lot in common." His sudden smile could very well have stopped the hearts of every female close enough to see it. "It would seem so, Helena." He couldn't resist saying her name, and it sounded so sweet coming out of his mouth.

"I didn't think many vampires....Other than myself of course...carried a crucifix with them." He smiled, but it held an ancient sadness. "I carry much more then that." And with out stopping to think about it, to realize what he was doing, he unbuttoned his shirt and took it off, placing it by his side. He angled his back toward her. And there on his back was an old burn mark of the cross. It was light, and slightly faded. It could only be seen in the right light, and Shaden had, had the burn long enough to know the full moons light was just perfect for it. "I received that burn when I was a human. They believed that the devil lay inside me and made me misbehave." He picked up his shirt, and put it back on, quickly buttoning it back up, and turning back to face her. "The idea of God as literally been burned into my skin. Its hard not to believe." His eyes, filled with sudden sadness, looked up at the sky.

[*♥ Helena Kyle ♥]

It was like a glint of electricity shot through her arm and made it tingle all through and under her skin when he touched her. Almost breath stopping. He looked up at her and smiled, removing his hand. She had felt awkward for a moment, lowering the crucifix only to clasp it around her neck.

She was sure that she froze. That time froze when he smiled. A sinking feeling caught in her chest before finally tearing her eyes away from his face. "It would seem so, Helena." There it went again. A soft chill running through her, only this time it was his voice speaking her name and floating through the air to rest in her hearing. Making her want to melt at the very prospect.

Why the hell was she feeling these things? Tingles. Lightning. Thoughts that had never encompassed her mind before, and here she was sitting next to a stranger deflecting the righteous ways that her morals stood on. She was going to hell.

"I carry much more then that." Helena's brows lifted before he had even lifted the fabric from his upper body. She wanted to tear her eyes away and not look, but she couldn't help but keep them planted there. To look over such a well perfected form. As if the Gods and Goddess' had made him from their own bare hands.

She was breathing deeper, unheard, still faint. What was he doing? Then he shifted his body so his back was facing her and there she saw the most oddest thing. Not so much as odd to feast your eyes on, but it was odd because she had never seen a marking like that before. It was very faint but her eyes could see it so clearly.


"I received that burn when I was a human. They believed that the devil lay inside me and made me misbehave." Her arm reached out where fingertips traced the edges of it. Making sure not to scratch him, just......tracing it. Sure she had wanted to touch him, her actions were hisitant but she managed to do it. She wasn't sure if she should giggle or not. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but it was interesting enough to have people say such things. And here he was now with an inhuman way about himself.

Then she moved her hand away, placing it back on her lap and sitting up straight while he pulled his shirt back on and buttoned it up. It was a bit of a disappointment. Damn her for thinking so horridly. "The idea of God as literally been burned into my skin. Its hard not to believe." She could feel the sadness he bore within himself. One good thing she could do was empathize. Know what the other was feeling, and as he spoke, she could sense it more and more.

"There is a reason for everything." She whispered out into the night as he lifted his eyes to the sky. Her own eyes lowered as she let fingers run over her knuckles. "If there is anything in the world, other than him to believe in, it's the cycle." Often it wasn't a great cycle but...."But as long as we're on top of the food chain, I don't see such reason's to dwell on it."

Helena gave a half smile. Her comforting ways had seemed displaced when around him. She would have said more. Anything more, but she couldn't and she didn't know why.

There went another howl and she scoffed to herself. This was rediculous. She doesn't act that way. She's not suppose to feel suppressed around anyone. So why was he any different?

She laid back onto the fabric, letting her eyes take to the sky as if someone up there had truly been listening. Watching. "Their always there in wait." She began in the softest tone possible. As if she were tired or sad. "Waiting for us to make a wish. Waiting for us to view their beauty. And somewhere beyond them is another waiting to fulfill those wishes." She smiled partly and turned her head to view him. "We all have wishes. Even the smallest ones." What was Shaden's wish? What did he truly yearn for above all others?

"What is your wish Shaden? Something that you truly desire or need."

[Shaden Grace]

Shaden didn't know why he'd shown her the mark. He'd never done that before. It was simply something about her, something made him feel more open, like he could tell her anything, and everything from his past that he could remember, again, that had never been done before. What was with this women? No, better yet, what was with him around this women. He had not even known her an hour yet and he had already shared more with her then anyone else in this world.

There was a sharp in take of air that he didn't try to hide as she touched his back, so lightly, but it didn't matter, it felt like the touch of an Angel, and although she was being gentle, it burned where her fingers traced the mark, but it was a good feeling. The most wonderful feeling in the world. How could he being having these thoughts already? He didn't know her! He made himself focus or rather try.

With his shirt on, and he fingers no longer on his back, he felt a strange and lonely emptiness slowly making its way into him. It took nearly every ounce of control he had to not rip his shirt off and beg her to touch him again. If only for a moment. Just one moment. Then another, and another, and....

He cleared his head. If he wasn't careful, he would lose control. But for that reason, would it really be so bad?

Shaden remembered it perfectly, his mark, and how he'd gotten it. He'd come in one night, later then normal, to find his parents fighting like they often did. That was the first night Shaden had ever seen his father hit his mother, and he had, in a fit of rage, attacked his dad, only to be struck down fairly quickly. That's why they had burned the cross onto his back, because they had believed the devil had made him attack his own father.

"There is a reason for everything." He listened to the sweet melody of her voice, and tried to forget about everything else. He eyes stayed on the sky, but some of the pain left them, as if her very voice could fight off the pain that sometimes threatened to overtake him. "If there is anything in the world, other than him to believe in, it's the cycle." Ah, the cycle. What a great bothersome that often turned out to be. "But as long as we're on top of the food chain, I don't see such reason's to dwell on it." He smiled, and nodded, "Yes, your right of course. There really is no reason to dwell too much on it." He looked at her, the smiled still planted on his lips.

There was yet another howl. Such a noisy and annoying animals they were. It was a shame they even still lived.

She laid back, and Shaden couldn't help but allow his eyes to wander down her body, a very slow and deliberate look, before his eyes went back up to her face. "Their always there in wait." He turned, and looked back at the sky. "Waiting for us to make a wish. Waiting for us to view their beauty. And somewhere beyond them is another waiting to fulfill those wishes." Shaden was surprised by her tone, as if something were upsetting her or she was tired. He glanced back at her. "We all have wishes. Even the smallest ones." Yes, maybe that was true, but Shaden didn't believe a wish from a vampire would ever get answered. He was going to Hell. Why should anyone, God included, care what he wanted?

"What is your wish Shaden? Something that you truly desire or need." The question was unexpected and he turned his body completely around so he could stare down at her more easily. No one had ever asked him that before. Did he dare tell her the truth? Did he even know the truth? Yes, he did. He smiled, "I want love. I don't want to be alone." Not only was he being honest with her, but for what might have been the first time, he was being honest to himself too. "And what is, then, that you desire, Helena?"

[*♥ Helena Kyle ♥]

"Yes, your right of course. There really is no reason to dwell too much on it." His voice was like a soft lullaby kissing her ears. A near smile played over her lips. Still though, the sadness in him had been evident. Like the pain of loss and that throbbing loathe one felt for another be it wolf, mortal, or vampire in the like. She wasn't sure. Maybe she should have asked. She wasn't one to pry to much, after all, they had only just met.

He was a complete stranger, still, vampire like her but could have held that taste to take her out. She hadn't felt that from him. Not yet. Her perception was incredible when it came to people. It was how she could tell the good from the bad, the trusted from the untrustworthy, and those that were just damn crazy.

She hadn't seen him glance over her form. She would be thankful for that, but she did managed to see his eyes lift up when she looked over at him. Shifting his weight so he could best view her. She was greatful for that because she simply cherished those eyes. It reminded her of sea glass and how she used to love picking them up off the beach after a nice run along the shore after a fitting meal. Enjoying the moon and knowing that the dogs around would be more vulnerable without it's full gift of shifting.

His face seemed sullen and she didn't like that look on him. Almost as though she wanted to lift both hands up and hold his face in them. Take the pain away somehow so he never had to look like that again. Then he smiled, and she felt that warmth in her heart again.

"I want love. I don't want to be alone." That touched her. No one, not even a man had said words like that unless it came from some old romantic movie. Softly the lids of her eyes closed as she breathed it in. Not only his desire, but the scent of him mixed in with it. Just a natural thing she often did. But wallowing in it? That was just not her. So why was she doing it now?

A soft caressing smile embraced lips before her eyes opened up just in time for his question. Give and take? She could do that. It was only fair, and Helena was a fair lady. "And what is, then, that you desire, Helena?"

They weren't so different after all. All the sign's pointed to the two of them and she was clearly sinking in it. Why? Everything was going too fast. Was she even truly there? Of course she was. Wasn't she?

"I want love as well." She sighed before continuing on. "But I wan't true love. Not just love that you feel for another or from another." She paused, finally leaning up on hands to where they were eye to eye and she wanted to stay that way for ever. "The kind that...when you think about them, and see them.....your heart skips a beat." She said it with passion. Like love was there and she could see it. Licking her lips before more left lips.

"And when your with them, you can't stop but wonder how you've gotten so lucky." She caught herself there in that moment. Just looking at him. Thinking. Letting the thoughts leave her head.

She was just an enthusiast. "Don't you believe that there is one person out there just meant for another?" She was so optimistic. Love was apart of the balance. It was included in the circle of life. But love didn't keep lovers together. It was the lovers that had to keep that love flowing. She didn't mind the hard work, even if it was easy. Love was worth it.

[Shaden Grace]

"I want love as well." It was odd, but Shaden wasn't the least surprised by her answer. "But I wan't true love. Not just love that you feel for another or from another." He knew all to well what she meant. That simple love, though still a love of great meaning, was weaker and more frail. She moved, leaning up on her hands bringing them eye to eye, their faces so close. Too close? No, never would there be a thing as 'too close' with her. He wanted to get closer. He never wanted to move from this spot again. Shaden would gladly remain frozen, starring into those beautiful green orbs, that so matched the nature surrounding them. Her scent filled him, seeming to brighten all the darkened corners of his mind until all there was, was her, and him. Two simple creatures looking for love.

"The kind that...when you think about them, and see them.....your heart skips a beat." Although Shadens heart could no longer skip a beat, he did know what she meant and agreed with her. She said the words with such perfect passion, he wanted her to keep talking, to keep those words following from her lips. He a quick smile flashed on his lips before leaving. She had licked her lips. A habit he'd been trying for over twenty years to stop.

"And when your with them, you can't stop but wonder how you've gotten so lucky." Funny, because Shaden couldn't help but wonder how lucky he was to have come to the park tonight, to have walked over to her and sat down and started talking to her, for even seeing her. It was more then he deserved. More then he expected. His head, unintentionally, leaned in a fraction of an inch closer. Something hardly noticeable unless she were paying very close attention. "A love that's more then love." The way he said those words, it sounded more like poetry.

"Don't you believe that there is one person out there just meant for another?" He did another one of his heartbreaking smiles, "Yes. I do. I've always believed that." And he would continue to do so until he found that one person whom he was meant to be with, but he could deny that he secretly wished it was Helena. Already he felt so connected with her, and he couldn't enough of her. But they had only just met, it wouldn't be right. "I've always wanted someone I could hold, protect, and say to the rest of the world that she was mine, just as i would be hers. That I alone could see her better then anyone ever truly could, that I alone could savor and touch her." A deep longing had slowly entered his eyes.

"Love is not only something I want, but I also something I need." He did need it, like blood, he might not die without it, but he would forever be in pain with its absence in his life. Nothing would have meaning. Nothing would hold any interest to him. Without love, he was dead inside.

"I thought I had that love, not so long ago, but I was wrong." His voice was soft, "But the lose has only made me more determined to find what I'm really looking for. What I've always been searching for but not really knowing thats what I wanted." He half smiled. "I refuse to live my life without love."

[*♥ Helena Kyle ♥]

"A love that's more then love." She noticed him move a tad bit closer. It was hard not to notice when you were so intensely captivated by the moment. The feeling in the air between the became intense and it felt as if the whole world had vanished from not only sight, but by sound. A flooded surrounding of nothing but comfort and hues of pastel colors. How amazing it had felt. So new.

New to her because she had never felt that sudden stir inside of her. The passion she had now felt for him grew more and more with each syllable Shaden lifted from those perfected lips. Her lips were slightly parted, perhaps letting a breath out so she could finally breathe.

"Yes. I do. I've always believed that." It was so wrong of them to act the way they were acting. She imagined him being with other women in the past. How foolish they were to let him go. Helena herself had never held a lover, but she couldn't tell him that. Who would believe a vampire of her age still held her chastity?

Who was she to make assumptions? Why was she lingering on his words and keeping them close to her? How could this moment feel so right yet so wrong, and still want to encase their time in some sort of contraption and keep it safe as it seemed sacred.

"I've always wanted someone I could hold, protect, and say to the rest of the world that she was mine, just as i would be hers." She watched him with wanting eyes. Feeling his words and aching for more. "Yes." Softly whispered through parted lips as her eyes danced over his features.

Watching his lips move as he spoke. Bringing them back up to his eyes and drowning in that ocean she craved to swim in. Shaden was the man that would wake her up and thrill her. He seemed so. "That I alone could see her better then anyone ever truly could, that I alone could savor and touch her."

Another yes was whispered out and she knew right then and there....in that very instant she had felt it, that he was saying more than she could relate to. It was an understanding that had never been held between her or anyone else. How could he know so much? Want the same things she wanted?

"Love is not only something I want, but I also something I need." Everyone needed love. Vampires were no different. Hell; even those foul dogs were no different when it came to love. It was one of those bonds you shared with someone you trusted to the highest extent. But would that come for either of them. Was love what it had felt like now? Not knowing if you were breathing or not? Feeling that emptiness in your tummy as his voice carried and his words made her want to drown within him.

She could have kissed him then and there. But he spoke again. "I thought I had that love, not so long ago, but I was wrong." He spoke so softly and she could sense that bit of loss. She couldn't imagine what it was like to think you had found love, only to have it taken away and realizing that it hadn't been the right kind of love. Or the love you were meant to bare with the other.

"But the loss has only made me more determined to find what I'm really looking for. What I've always been searching for but not really knowing that's what I wanted." He half smiled and she nearly smiled as well. He was like the start of a domino effect. Sadness had made her feel sadness. A push of hope and happiness flooded her still. All the emotions he had displayed she could feel. "I refuse to live my life without love."

She shook her head no ever so slightly. "No...." She began breathlessly. "Don't give up on love.....Not when it's so close." Soft words given. Who cared who or what was behind them. It could be easily snapped out of if danger was near, and she would sense that as well. She would be good to have around when it came to stuff like that. How long would she be around Shaden?

It gave her thought to be bold and outgoing. She just couldn't bring herself to it. What would he think? Were her thoughts and feelings not empathetic with him? Was she simply feeling her own emotions instead? It had to be impossible. They never failed her before.

"You have such wonderful passion Shaden." She could have said his name again and again. How could his name ever be worn out so quickly? He was so beautiful in his immortal glow against the moon that the setting had seemed a bit too perfect. Could it be that God himself had just granted them their wish?

"What if this is it?" She asked him with curiosity, still keeping her focus locked with his sight. She didn't want to lose that rush. "What if God has taken our wish and brought us here?" Again...she was an optimistic person who believed that everything, absolutely everything happened for a reason.

"That you and I were to meet on this night, for this reason only." She let the words drift from her tone. Her hand rose to let fingertips dance over the side of his chin before moving over those soft lips. Damnit they were so close, and she felt so far away from earth that heaven seemed like a step away.