Personal Family Business (Ali!)

[*Matthew Marshall]

Matthew strolled at a fairly quick pace through the park. The stars were shining brightly this night and the wind blew relentlessly to chill his fever like body to no avail. He had just arrived nearly an hour ago in this country and he took in all it’s sights, sounds, and smells in awe. It was his first time visiting another country besides his own and he had to say he wished he would’ve done so before. All the varieties of scents that filled his nose and the magnificent sights of England to which he had never before laid eyes on had given him a sensory overload despite the fact that he was only here for one short hour. The smell of freshly baked pie danced tantalizingly in front of his nose as a couple had a late night picnic in the park. Matthew licked his lips hungrily but regretfully shook the smell away as well as the beautiful scenery that surrounded him and he focused on a more serious matter. He wasn’t here for vacation or pleasure but much more similar to a personal family business trip.

A few weeks earlier Codie had up and left without a single word of where it was she was going. Matthew, his father, and his older brother had spent days on end looking across the U.S. for her with no luck at all and they had started to become frantic at her vanishing act. Codie never would have left without telling her family where she was going so her sudden disappearance worried Matt immensely and he began to fear the worse. This worry wasn’t pacified by the faint smell of vampire that they noticed wafting around her room. That’s when they checked the voicemail messages and heard Codie’s voice calmly stating that she was in England. Matthew was out the door and headed for England within the second. He knew Codie would never leave without saying so and that meant she had been taken. His sister was a tough gal so it had to be something strong to be able to take her against her will…….something fast………something like a vampire.

Matthews eyes darted to each and every person now enjoying the park looking for his sister or anyone exceptionally gorgeous, knowing that vampires had a reputation for being quite the beauties based off of what his father had told him in regards to bloodsuckers. Matt had never encountered a vamp before and he made sure to do his share of research on them during the plane ride over. Pale skin, beautiful, fast, strong, dead, and dangerous. These attributes played on repeat in his head as he looked upon each face, making sure to breathe through his nose in case a whiff of death surrounded any of them. His sister was obviously not here so he turned his attention to finding this vampire. The picnicking couple checked out just fine, neither were exceptionally beautiful and the man was far too tan and clumsy to be a bloodsucker. A female jogger stopped for a breather and though she rank of body odor and sweat nothing else was out of the ordinary with her. Matthew paused as his eyes passed over a pretty looking dark haired woman that was walking the park alone and made a note that her skin was also on the paler side. He tensed slightly at the sight of her waiting for another sign when she tripped only to be caught by a passerby. Matt relaxed at the sight a bit and realized there was no smell of death around her either. It was beginning to seem that finding this vampire and in turn his sister was going to be more difficult than he had thought.

Seeing that everyone in the park wasn’t his sister OR an undead vampire he headed for a bench he saw on a little hill under a tree in the distance to take a seat and figure out his next move. As he approached the bench he noticed an all too familiar scent in the area around it, Codie. Another recognizable smell was mixed with it, the same smell they found in her room. Whoever this vampire was it was the same one that took her from home and he was here with her on this bench and not too long ago either. He smiled at the first clue in his hunt for Codie and took a seat to celebrate the moment. As he gazed upon the city he knew Codie was somewhere hidden there and so was the vampire that had nabbed her from home. Matthew clenched his fist at the thought of confronting the leech. When he found him he was going to make it known why no one messes with the Marshall family. This vamp had crossed the line and there was going to be repercussions for doing so.

A slight rustling of leaves snapped him out of his thoughts of vengeance and made his ears stand on end as he took a breath in through his nose and listened more intently at where the sound had come from. That’s when he noticed the smell of death mixed with flowery smell. Is that Lilacs? He hadn’t noticed the smell earlier because it was mixed among the vampire that had stolen his sister’s scent. The lilac smell threw him off as well, it wasn’t a smell that he expected for a vampire. He immediately tensed and put his game face on. This vampire could know something about where his sister was and he needed all the information he could get. He looked up through the branches of the tree as he tried to spot the source of the sound but the tree was to full and twisty to see clearly. “I’m really not in the mood for hide and seek. Why don’t you come down and show yourself.” Matthew stood up from the bench and waited to meet face to face with a vampire for the first time. He was ready for anything that could happen. It was after all death he was meeting with.

::Word Count- 1,039::

[Ali Ambrose]

[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=border,0,false][cs=0][bg=000806] The weather was absolutely gorgeous. And of course with that being said she was stuck at home by herself. Vic was once again working, his bar becoming more and more popular every night and the business was just flying through the door. It was a very good thing and she wouldnt stop him. He needed this business since he had to start this new one here in London instead of keeping the original one he had started in Vegas. She partly blamed that whole thing on herself. They had both screwed up a bit and so they needed to get out of there and not stick around. So since she still had her place in London, she had moved there with him. When they could afford to, they had gotten a new place and now lived there for good. As long as nothing bad happened like in Vegas. And she was going to make damn sure nothing did happen. Sitting on the couch quietly, every light in the house was off to where only the moonlight was shining in through the windows. In a way, it made the house seem cold and dark. Two things she didnt really like, but turning on the light would be a waste seeing as she was only sitting there in the darkness, tapping her fingers against the back of the couch softly and humming a tune that had no relevance. Humming always entertained her and kept her calm. Made her happy and relaxed. It was her happy tick. And so even when she was happy it came naturally to her. Humming had gotten her through some tough times and had made her see the bright side of things when it seemed all was lost. But even humming at the moment couldnt get her boredom away. And the night was warm for once. That made her mind up. She was going to go for a walk. Standing up gracefully she walked through the house with no light, being able to see just fine and went to the kitchen where she knew Vic would look first for notes and things like that. Just in case she would also leave a note in the bedroom on his pillow. He worried too much honestly but she humored him and told him where she was going anyway. Normally she would have sent a text message but she didnt feel like grabbing her phone or having it on her. A walk was supposed to be peaceful and not bothered by a worried husband who seemed to have no confidence that she could take care of herself without his help just fine. She had survived this long on her own and she could keep going. Despite the fact that she seemed to be a trouble magnet. Anything within a five mile radius would find her and grin while it tossed itself into her life or turned her world upside down. It didnt take her long to write the notes and leave them in their places and then head out the door after locking it. The cool night air was wonderful and felt warm to her icy cold skin. She could hear a few people out and about and she could understand their want to be outside. Good weather had a way of pulling people out of their homes and making them want to smell the fresh air and want to be around it. Be a part of it. Even a vampire could be tempted by something warm seeing as their skin was forever iced over. She could still remember how much she loved to cuddle with Vic when he had been a werewolf and his skin burned hotter then hers and any humans. He had been like her own personal space heater. It was the one thing she missed about him being a werewolf. But trading the heat for having him for all eternity seemed like a fair trade to her. Putting a little hop to her step she wandered down the road ways she knew very well. She had lived her for a good few years on and off between here and the states and she knew the city of London pretty much by heart. Just like she knew that just up ahead was a little park that had white roses planted by the walkways on one side of the park and that they had the best trees for climbing. With that thought in mind her dark brown eyes lit up and she walked a tiny bit faster so she could get there sooner. She loved that park and she hadnt climbed a tree in a while. It was one of her favorite hobbies and within the past year she never had the time to actually climb one. Tonight though, she was going to break that streak and make sure she climbed the tallest one in the park. And she knew just the tree for that goal. Passing by a small bench on the side, her fingers brushed over the top and she smiled, smelling a familiar scent and a few other scents that were familiar as well. Such as her cousin Rose's and one that was extremely old. Years old. That of Landons. That thought was saddening though and she didnt spend much time by the bench. Going over to the tree she jumped up to the lowest branch easily and with that hardest step down, it was easy enough to get to the way top. Or at least the highest she could go with the branch being able to support her weight. From her spot in the tree she could see everyone in the park. And the light breeze brought her the scents of the different people. Most of the scents were human but there were a few supernatural things around. All werewolves though. In fact, with a start, she realized there was one right under her tree and he was looking up at her. He couldnt see her of course because the tree was too leafy and she was wearing all dark clothes. The moonlight also helped her to blend in with the background. But surely he could smell her just like she could smell him. The only advantage she had was that she could see him. Moving slightly she started to climb down as his voice rose up and told her to show herself since he didnt want to play hide and seek. With a gentle grin she chuckled and then hopped down to the lowest branch, sitting there slightly. He would be able to see her clear enough to see her size, but not her face with all the shadow. "Awww...But I like hide and seek. Even though I had no intention of playing the game. You brought it up." She told him and then hopped down to the ground easily. Landing on her feet she folded her arms across her chest and walked over to him where she was standing only a few inches away from him. Her gaze was curious and she tilted her head like a puppy that was confused. "Well hello there. Im Ali." She introduced herself and then giggled softly. Acting like the little child that possessed her mind. ~~~~~~~~~~ Count it: 1,270 Tag it: Matt Comment: haha. Oh yeah...she is totally death.

[*Matthew Marshall]

Matthew strained his eyes in anticipation as he tried to catch a glimpse of the species of monster he had only heard stories about but now hid merely a few feet away from him behind the cover of the dense foliage above. An unfamiliar feeling of fear began to grow exponentially within him as he prepared himself to confront one of these immortal legends that previously had only existed in the tales of lore his father would tell them when they were growing up. Matt had never known fear and the idea of being introduced to it now irked him to his core. Being a werewolf, there wasn’t much that was a threat to him but from what he had heard a vampire easily fell under the threat category.

Every muscle in his body tensed as she hopped down to the lowest branch on the tree, only her silhouette visible as her face was obscured by shadow. He could see her size and was puzzled by how little she looked. He had pictured something a bit more terrifying in size but she was crouched so he couldn’t be sure. Rather than growls or hisses a chuckle escaped from her as she expressed her fondness of hide and seek. He raised a confused eyebrow at the way this vampire sounded more like a child than the bloodthirsty monsters he was raised to believe vampires were. That’s when she hopped down from the tree revealing her self and causing Matthew to double over with laughter at being scared of her just minutes before.

His fear evaporated as he gazed upon the little vampire. She looked like she was barely in her teens and was smiling an adorable cherub like smile as she stood barely above five feet tall in front of him. How he could possibly fear something so cute made no sense to him. He began to debate whether or not this little girl was really a vampire and not some normal little girl that may have come into contact with one but their were too many signs that matched up with her being one, besides the intimidating thing that is. She was very pretty, especially for being so young, and she moved effortlessly as if floating rather than walking. “You’re a vampire?!” He managed to get only that out between fits of laughter as he shook his head in disbelief. “I’m sorry, I was just expecting something……….scarier.” He was indeed expecting something much different. He was expecting death itself and it seems his expectations were a little high. Death was suppose to wear a cloak and carry a scythe but instead he got a cute little girl still young enough to hold a baby rattle without being teased.

He fought the chuckles away as he remembered he was here for Codie and needed to get serious as well as the fact that despite her cuteness this little girl was a vampire and that meant she was an enemy. “ahem, you know, we could play a version of hide and seek actually. I’m looking for someone. Her name is Codie Marshall. She was taken by one of your kind and I can smell his scent all over you. Where is he? And where is Codie? ” He purposefully skipped the introductions and generalities of etiquette. Codie could be in danger and shooting the breeze wasn’t helping find Codie………especially when it was being done with a vampire. Matthew tried his best to be intimidating and direct with the girl but he felt so awkward to be doing so to such a young gal. It felt wrong to be so demanding to a kid and he felt like the bully picking on a toddler.

::Word Count:: 651::
::Comment:: She's terrifying! 0.0 lmao =-P