The Rise of Dawn ~ page 1
It was a
quiet night at The Bucket of Blood, but it being a Wednesday, that was
normal. It was the one night that the staff breathed easy, and Becka caught up
on any needed paperwork in the running of The BoB. Becka had already finished
the inventory, and was finishing up on payroll for Friday, when there was a
sudden commotion out in the bar. She paused and cocked her head listening. It
wasn’t a bar fight; there hadn’t been one of those in nigh 30 years. The BoB’s
current personality was a place to get away and have fun and relax with
friends, not go looking for trouble.
With a sigh, Becka rises from what she is doing and steps out to see what the fuss was all about. One of the Vampire bouncers greeted her just on the other side of the office door. He rolled his eyes and then grinned at her. “Nothing to worry about Becka. One of those look-alike fellows just came in is all.”
Becka cocked her head at Terrance. She knew he meant that one of the actor impersonators was in The BoB. They cropped up now and again, she was just thankful it hadn’t been on a busier night. “Which one?”
Terrance sighed, “Johnny Depp.”
Now Becka rolled her eyes. She’d seen all the Pirate movies, and some of his others, but personally didn’t see what the big deal was about the man. She supposed he was cute-ish, and he was a good actor, but other than that, she wasn’t impressed. And she supposed the poor impersonator couldn’t really help who he looked like. “Very well, treat him as if he really is, and try to keep people from killing each other trying to monopolize his time.”
Terrance nodded as she turned back to finish up the last two people on the payroll. Becka figured by the time she finished that, things will have settled enough for her to see this impersonator. She wasn’t in any rush, but it would be interesting to see just how close he came to the actor he looked like. It’d also be interesting to see if he was one of those impersonators that even tried to be like the one they looked like in every way, right down to mannerisms and speech.
Alexander was a bit bothered at being so noticed. Going outside of his own territory was always so messy. His travel coffin was sitting in the back of his McLauren making him feel exposed to a degree he really didn't appreciate. The business required his presence though. There was a problem that needed proper digesting and Alex had an appetite for fixing those kinds of problems.
Alex didn't travel heavy at all. His dress was the typical black silk outfit he wore. The shirt and pants looked almost business casual, but were actually a very exotic item few tailors would be able to identify and even fewer know the origins of as they came from China about three thousand years ago. There was not a stitch of synthetic on him. Even his underwear and socks used silk tie ropes to hold themselves up while his black leather shoes were the most modern thing on him. Shoes just wore out, but Alex always made sure he got genuine leather and cotton to replace them when they did.
His pilot, Steve Trillian, had recommended the Bucket of Blood for this evening despite not coming along for the trip. Alex felt better driving himself than flying and when stuff happened in the states, he was all too happy to take himself to the functions. Alex felt the name was very cute. He really liked red wine, blood, and sex and the name positively dripped with all three as the initials that shared 'Battery Operated Buddy' did not escape him.
The entrance did not give Alex a good feeling at all. Too many Depp fans apparently frequented the bar and his dimming seemed to not have much effect at all with the number of vampires at the place. The bar had a fairly large density of vampires the likes of which he wasn't used to. It was a tribute to humanity that they could feed such a dense population of vampires, but Alex felt something was up. With the vampire presence he couldn't do his low key stalking that he so enjoyed to do. He wondered how his pilot had learned of the place and survived it, but quickly realized the vampires would not be dumb enough to hunt from the bar. In fact, Steve had probably recommended it since Alex already had a target in mind and would not be hunting otherwise.
"No, I'm sorry, my name is Alex, not Johnny Depp. So sorry to disappoint you." He might have used his whisper to suggest to the crowd he was just someone who looked like Depp, but with vampires in attendance, it would be rude to do. He struggled his way to the bar shaking too many hands and greeting too many people. The whole affair made him wish he was back home.
Finally reaching the bar he asked the bartender, "You wouldn't happen to have a younger Shiraz or Amarone would you?" Wine had a scent of life in it that Alex appreciated. Other drinks seemed so dead they did not particularly interest him as much. He wasn't drinking for getting drunk. Drugs didn't affect him. He drank for social appearances and to smell the labor of the sun basking beneath his nose despite the fact it was night outside.
The bartender gave the newcomer a slight nod just before he turned away to get his order. “Give me a minute, sir. It is downstairs.”
As he leaves another slides behind the bar to take care of other customers suddenly wanting to be at the bar too. After serving several rather quickly, he finally shoos the lingerers. “Come now, let the man breath. This is not how patrons of The BoB treat newcomers.” Many actually looked guilty and shuffled off. As they do he turns to the new arrival and speaks quietly to him, “If you must, do what you have to, to keep your space, but do not cause a panic. The Owner frowns on that. Oh, and I’m Terrance.” He doesn’t hold out his hand to shake, instead he turns to serve another patron.
By that time the original fella comes back with two bottles, one each of what was asked for. He sets them down before the gentleman, “Which would you like first?” It is obvious that multiple requests are common here. Terrance sees that the bartender is back and with a nod, walks out from behind the bar and back towards the door. He is surrounded almost immediately by patrons, and whispered questions could be heard.
Becka finally finished the last of the payroll and figured it was time to go checkout their pseudo-celebrity. She steps out of the office and takes the three paces that is the extent of the hallway to the bar proper. She pauses and looks around; it doesn’t take her long to spot the guy all the fuss is about. She frowns as she studies him and realizes he’s a vampire. She was going to hurt Terrance for not giving her a heads up on that little tidbit. She glares in his direction, and gets an innocent look in return. She can’t help but give a faint chuckle.
She moves quietly and slides in behind the bar. “Go ahead and take a break, Jimmy.” Jimmy grins and gives her a quick hug and thank you before darting off. A slight smile graces her lips as she watches him, it is still there as she turns and looks at the bottles set before the new arrival. She finally looks at him, “So, which will it be?”
Alex had to just smile at the throng thinking he was the actor he bore so much semblance to. "No, my name is Alex, not Johnny." He wondered if changing into a wolf would help, but Terrance seemed to think it was a bad idea. Terrance also seemed to think Alex turning into a wolf would upset the owner, who Alex guessed was a vampire since Terrance was. He wondered if any of them were 8741 and head of their blood line. His smile widened. He could probably move faster than any of them. They would probably be shocked. Alex couldn't be too cocky. There were a few vampires even older than him, but they were not the kind to threaten other vampires. Terrance gave away his lack of ancient membership just saying what he said. Alex would never be so bold to allude to threat like that despite the fact he was probably far more qualified to hand out punishment.
Alex's hands gracefully took each bottle by the body and tilted them up. A fast scan of the labels explained all he needed to know and he let the bottles rest again. He tells Jimmy, "The Shiraz". Things from Europe tended to taste dead. He could try the other later anyway. When another vampire came up and hugged the bartender and sent him away, Alex just smiled instead of sighing. There was a whole vampire community that would have been shocked at how Alex was being neglected, but Alex avoided that crowd on purpose. He expected to be unknown and not the center of attention unless he was busy seducing a meal. The unknown was kind of working here, except the unseen wasn't. How did the vampire population get so dense here? Alex could go years without seeing another vampire. Of course, his territory was well known and others tended to not hunt it due to his age.
"The Amarone is from Italy, and while that is the correct geography, Italian wines tend to be a little...dead. It will be nice to try it later because they surprise you sometimes, but it would be nice to start with the Australian first. The grapes there are so much more alive and there is no telling when my appearance is going to get me chased out of your establishment." He smiled at the vampire. Her blue eyes were interesting and her dark hair magnificent. Her hair made his outfit look a little droll. It was odd to see vampires running a bar. Drinks were kind of an oddity with vampires. The alcohol was meaningless to them. Yes, human blood flocked to it, but it tended to be more fun to pluck them away from bars run by fellow food than serve them yourselves. It was a bit like tossing chicken feed to chickens when there were chickens perfectly willing to feed the others.
Alex would just wait for his wine. "I like the decor here. None of those annoying mirrors." It was cheap talk, but it was an honest sentiment.
Becka’s smile grew as the newcomer spoke, though it didn’t reach her eyes. It was professional, showing she was willing to listen and be polite, but she did not consider him to be close enough for her to be friendly with. She plucked the Shiraz off the bar without even looking to see if she had the correct bottle, and turned away. She fiddled with the bottle a brief moment and the cork could be heard to pop. After reaching for a glass on a higher shelf, she turned back to the guy, pouring the wine into the glass as she went. She then set both down in front of him.
“Cheers. I leave the smoke and mirrors for the Goths who think they know what is.” She gives a shrug as if to say ‘whatever, it’s their fantasy.’ Just then a male human stumbled up to the bar, and her polite smile turned a bit forced.
“Becka, Becka, Becka. Do you know you are the spitting image of your Grandmother?” The human doesn’t sound drunk, but his swaying when he wasn’t leaning across the bar, said otherwise.
Becka shakes her head, “as you’ve told me a bazillion times, Eric, I guess I have to believe that I am.”
Eric gives her a leer, “so when are you going to go out with me? I know your Grandmother would love for us to.”
Becka snorts, “Eric, I’ve told you time and time again. I do not date my customers.”
“Your Grandmother said the same thing.” His look is sour and unhappy.
“Of course she did. Who do you think I learned it from?” She eyes him thoughtfully. “Do I need to call you a cab?”
Eric sighs and nods. “I suppose you should.” And with that his head drops and in no time he is snoring, passed out. Becka shakes her head and makes a motion at Terrance, who in turn nods and picks up a phone mounted by the door. Becka turns back to the vampire and apologizes. “Sorry about that.” Amusement lurks deep in her eyes, before it fades completely. “So what blows you into The BoB, Stranger?” While she talks to him, she does as every bartender across the world has always done. She picks up a towel and starts cleaning glasses.
Alex could easily sense the boredom off the bartender. He was a master at poker after 8,741 years of living. His expression and his emotion never had to remotely match. His smile always looked full. The bartender had betrayed her lack of interest and Alex's went with it.
"Cheers." Alex returned her lack of interest with a bright smile. It was almost as if to say 'here's how it's done' but it was too good to not be genuine happiness. His hand glided down with easy grace and lifted the glass. His nose sampled the liquid and his hand glided into his pocket. Cash came out because Alex did not want to be traced or recognized for who he really was. He slipped ten twenty dollar bills to the bartender. His whisper was very slight. The bartender would hear it but no one else. "For my tab." As the conversation droned on with Eric, Alex stole a sip out of his glass.
Alex almost wanted to say, 'no real need to patronize me', but held his tongue. Terrance had enough sass for all of them and even though the bartender was bored and making it obvious, she was at least being polite. "I'm Alex, I'm here for the business convention tomorrow night." Annoyingly it had been scheduled to start at 6 PM. He had to wait for the sun to fall so he was going to be late. Frankly, he wasn't going for the presentation. He had a business nuisance to dine on. The problem was it was a male. They were not as much fun for Alex to kill. There could be no seduction before the feeding and sometimes they ran after the first feeding to make the second and third a problem. The chases could be fun sometimes. The thought crossed his mind that the bartender might be hungry, but then again, would she really want to get mixed up with the money Alex was mixed up in if she was running a bar? She might be a lesbian anyway and no more happy about seducing his target than he would be.
He sniffed his wine again before giving it another sample. He could nurse the glass for a good hour if he wanted to. It was not the stuff he really liked though. To get that he would have to disclose who he was and that was not considered in his best interest right now. He would just mull through her mid shelf stuff tonight and hope for something somewhat nice to pop out. His current glass was going to die in twenty minutes or so. A change of heart made him change his mind. Wine was the only thing he would find for his time here tonight. It was senseless boring himself just to stay completely low key, especially since he was in the company of vampires, "Say, you wouldn't happen to have some really full bodied young wines out of California or Australia would you? I'd even settle for a really good Malbec out of Argentina if you had it on stock. I have a credit card you can pre-charge."
“Pleased ta meetcha Alex. I’m Becka.” She made a face at the mention of the business convention. She had taken his ‘tab’ money and tucked it away in the cash drawer below the bar as they spoke. “Crap, that’s tomorrow night?” She sighs in disgust for having lost track of time. Not unusual when it came to something like the convention. Being a business owner, she could go, being one of the Elite of San Francisco, she was obligated to go.
Becka quirked a brow at Alex as he requested better wine than what he currently had. She grabs the unopened bottle and placed it on a shelf. She then took the opened bottle and poured it out into glasses for others sitting close by, wanting to be near to Alex. Turning back to Alex, she speaks. “Hang on, I’ll get what you want.” She motioned to Terrance, who came to take her place as she disappeared elsewhere in the bar.
Terrance gave a nod to Alex, and looked at Eric with a shake of his head. He went about serving those who now sat at the bar. At one point he looks up to see someone enter. “Ah, Jake. Your fare’s over here.” He points to the passed out Eric. The cabby nods, and with the help of some others, gets the man out of the bar. Terrance gives a sigh as they leave. “I don’t understand why Becka puts up with that one.”
A low chuckle could be heard, “I put up with him, because he amuses me most times. I see Max is at the door, take a break if you need.” She slips in behind the bar and hands Alex the bottle. “Will this do?” It is a Zinfandel of the red variety from Buehler Vineyards in Napa Valley. “Oh, and Terrance, I won’t be here tomorrow night.”
Terrance drops an arm across her shoulders. “I know, that business thing.”
Becka nods, “yeah, something our new friend here reminded me of.” She gives Terrance a side long look. “Perhaps I should hire him, and can you?”
“Nah, I amuse you too much. And I would have said something before you retired. As it is, I’ll still have to anyway, and when you rise tomorrow. You hate those things. You have an uncanny knack of ‘conveniently’ forgetting that you have to attend them.” With that he ruffles her hair lightly and then leaves.
Becka turns back to Alex with an unreadable expression on her face. “So, have you been to Frisco before?”
Alex gave Becka a blank look at remembering the convention. She owned the bar and he knew it as obvious as Orion in the winter sky. There would be no other reason for a bartender to know about it. His target was a high profile one. Aaron Webbers had been inside trading and his AVAMP analysts had noticed the large amount of profit taking going on. The short sales were blind robbery really and continued in a very brash fashion. Alex didn't know if Aaron's final affairs were taken care of, but he had three business days to finalize them before it was going to be too late. The business convention was very uppity. Alex had avoided it like the plague for that reason. High profile kills got you noticed. Once you were noticed, trouble came looking for you. Aaron had rendered himself a sleazebag at this point though. The major powers were going to be happy to see him gone so Alex was going to get away with this one without much bother at all. The only way Becka would be going is if this was her bar. In fact, Alex would not have been surprised if she had multiple bars or businesses.
Alex nodded to add to his statement of reply in acknowledgment to Becka's offer to fill his request. "Thank you." He continued to nurse his current glass along. It really wasn't bad and Alex was never one to abuse a glass of wine. Australia Shiraz almost always had redeeming qualities to it. His nose seemed to enjoy the liquid more than his mouth did. His moves were so smooth as he sampled the glass aromatically and directly, and artist would have wanted to film it; yet, it was extremely low key and nonchalant as if he was thoroughly enjoying his breakfast orange juice. A wine connoisseur might have mistaken him for enjoying a thoroughly high quality wine in private.
Alex returned Terrance's nod with a low key smile. It was very friendly despite the fact Alex didn't trust him at all. The earlier rudeness had given him the impression of disdain behind his mannerisms. Terrance was obviously in his own world and didn't care much for the world picture. Alex had a bit of reverse bigotry when it came to that sort of thing. The southeastern end of the U.S. was the worst for it.
Alex liked Napa valley wines very much. His hand effortlessly glided past his pocket to pull a completely black card with a magnetic strip and red hologram like numbers for the account code. It looked more like a special member club card than a VISA credit card, but oddly enough it would work on money systems outside the human network just fine. It was between his fingers as he cradled the bottle in his hands a moment. His eyes gave a quick glance at the label. "That's very nice." He gently tilted the bottle back to Becka and his card evenly tilted out from his fingers in perfect concert with the motion.
Alex had to wonder if Becka and Terrance were married or not. They certainly were an item if anything. The three of them could consume Aaron in one night. If he had a date or his wife with him, it would only take two nights and practically be a full feeding. If Aaron was tasteless enough, he might even have two dates and that would be a full feeding for all three of them. It would only be a matter of how hungry Terrance and Becka where and how much of an idiot Aaron really was. Alex could not deny it would be positively delicious if Aaron was truly tasteless. It would be better than eating Hugh Hefner and his trophy wives.
A big smile crossed Alex's face when Becka mentioned hiring. No one could afford to hire him and few could afford to trade with him. Just how deep her joke ran was an unknown though. Alex had learned to never be presumptuous. Becka might already know exactly who he was despite the fact Terrance had no clue. When the card ran Becka was going to know a great deal anyway. Hell, the card itself was a dead giveaway in upper circles and Becka could have easily seen the thing before. She was practically running a haunted house with the name to go exactly with it.
Her question was obviously still patronizing him. As annoying as it was Alex kept his dumb and happy expression on his face. It at least was very polite and he felt it was wise to count your blessings. If you didn't at least have patience at his age, you really should just go out for a nice suntan to get in touch with the universe again. How a vampire could avoid Frisco that had been around long was impossible to fathom. Maybe she mistook him for new blood, but that didn't add up to the convention. Maybe she thought he just stuck to his own territory. Maybe she recognized the ancient oriental silk of his outfit and was just trying to toy with his mind. None of it really added up and he concluded it was just game playing time. Alex didn't mind beating around the bush. Most likely she was just deciding if Alex should be in her territory or not.
"I've been here a few times. I try to stay in my little corner of Oklahoma City." A few times was a mild understatement in vampire terms, but a gross lie in human terms. Alex's stock deals took him to all the major cities at least ten or more times. He had been working stocks since shortly after the things were invented and he was well schooled in the U.S. stocks. Computers had allowed him to leave New York and centrally locate himself in Oklahoma. It made traveling meals easier to reach in North America. "Sadly some bad blood needs taken care of tomorrow night. You know how short sighted some people are with their business dealings. Sometimes someone with longer term goals has to set things straight. I'm a little hungry for action anyway." Alex really did not care about tipping off another vampire as to what he was up to. Becka needed to know he wasn't crowding her territory or going to be sticking around to feed on locals. She would know he was after a moving target and his presence was temporary. He was even alluding to letting her in on the action in a very, very subtle way. Targets had dates at times and knowing a kill was going down anyway provided for collateral opportunities to feed. Vampires knew to stay out of each other’s' business these days. He didn't want to give the impression he was starting a grazing rights war. There was no need to piss off another vampire. For some odd reason Terrance didn't know that yet, or, at least, mistook Alex for someone that didn't know it already.
At the very least, if Becka had any particulars about taking down a high profile target in her territory, she would know to let him know now. Bucket of Blood had turned out to be a good stop after all, if for anything but the Zinfandel. He was still curious about the density of vampires, but it really was trivial for now. Maybe there were just too many people and a kind of open season had been called. At any rate, it made him grateful for the quietness of Oklahoma City.
Becka took the bottle and glanced at the card with a slight nod, as if her question had been answered to her satisfaction. Her smile returns much warmer than before. “Don’t worry. This is from my private stock.” She turns and pops the cork gently, and then grabs a glass from the upper shelf and pours. She turns back and sets the glass and the bottle before him.
As he talks, she listens while serving other patrons to The BoB. She is never far, and it is plain she is interested in what he has to say, but she is also working. Her movements are graceful, and one can tell by looking that she’s had a long familiarity working behind the bar.
By the time Alex is done, Jimmy returns and wraps his arms around Becka. “Have I told you how much lately I love working for you? And that you are the best Boss ever?”
Becka rolls her eyes in amusement and winks at Alex with a grin. “And what is it you are wanting now Jimmy?”
Before Jimmy can answer, a human serving girl approaches the bar and answers for him. “He’s met this girl, from your people Becka, and he is smitten.”
Becka’s face turns stern and she turns within Jimmy’s arms. “No.” Her voice holds steel within it.
Jimmy shoots the female a dark look and then turns pleading eyes on Becka. “But Becka--”
“I said no Jimmy. You know my rules. If you wish to quit, then do so. But as long as you work for me, you will not date my people.” Jimmy looks crestfallen, and his arms drop to his side. He turns and starts working the bar. His movements slow, and his smile forced as he does so. Becka sighs and looks after him sadly, and then she seems to shake herself and looks to the female. The female in turn points to another female sitting by herself, and then goes on about her business.
Becka looks towards the female vampire and studies her thoughtfully. It wasn’t a regular patron of The BoB. She spots Terrance and catches his eye, with a few quick motions, she has conveyed what she wants and Terrance gives a slight nod before getting up and walking over to the vampire, striking up a conversation. Becka turns back to Alex. “If you wish, there are more private accommodations we can continue our talk.” She knows Terrance will get all the needed information.
Alex downed the remains of the original glass instinctively. It was a silly act among vampires, but humans got suspicious if you left alcohol lying around out of complete loss of interest. He had learned to just down it to keep a low profile and all it really took was the humans running around to instigate the habit.
The new glass was much better. It had that body he so loved. It was something touched by the sun and now before him for his amusement. It was the closest he could get to the sun, even closer than human blood. The tinge of death on it allowed it to seep into his system without having to do something disgusting like vomiting it up or letting it pass through his system undigested. It was the perfect thing to have that wasn't blood in his mind. This new glass received a lot of scent sampling. In fact, when Becka's proposal came to him, he had not even gone for his first sip. He could nurse a glass of wine like that for an hour just out of habit.
Alex smiled at Becka's invitation. He had been musing over the fact Becka was so entrenched at the bar. It had to make feeding difficult as she really couldn't pick off her own patrons. Maybe she would be more interested in helping him on a kill than he had hoped.
"I'm okay with that if you are okay helping me with my wine. Drinking alone is kind of droll." If Becka was going to be gracious enough to entertain his business, he would certainly offer her the chance to share his new purchase. Of course, he might just be going back to get a lecture on how business was done in her neck of the woods, but that would still be immensely entertaining. Any vampire that gave Alex those kinds of lines and tried to enforce them were going to be woefully shocked at just how fast Alex could move and quickly discover he had no seniors in his blood line to stop him. They would also discover his detente with the other vampires that could ruin his day. One of the advantages of being his age was that silly squabbles had been resolved over a thousand years ago. Only a young one would be stupid enough to think Alex would refuse to negotiate. Unless vampires were over feeding, Alex just didn't care to get involved in vampire squabbles.
Becka smiled at Alex. “Very well, I’d be happy to. I just received that shipment, and have as yet to try some.” She grabs a glass off the upper shelf and then steps out from behind the bar. She gives Jimmy one more glance and then sighs and leads Alex to a private room in the back. Once in the room, she closes the door and pours herself a glass of the Zinfandel. She breathed deep of the wine, her thoughts momentarily elsewhere.
She worried over Jimmy. She’d hate to see him go, but while she was up front with her help that she was a Night Walker, she did not condone them dating her kind. She made that mistake long ago, and didn’t like the whole, had to defend her territory, avenge the death of one of her human thralls sort of thing. And unfortunately, vampires outside of The Bucket of Blood employment never realized she didn’t thrall her human help. She’d made that mistake long ago as well, and learned that humans worked better of their own free will. Instead, she’d custom tailored the interview process to find those humans most suitable to work The Bucket of Blood, and thus who she could be up front with on what she was. It was hard to explain why the Owner wouldn’t be there for shipments and inventory and other things during the day otherwise.
Her eyes shifted to look at Alex. Unfortunately, with Alex’s presence she couldn’t deal with Jimmy. By his clothes alone, he was evidently old. But the black card he’d tried to hand her, was proof that he was beyond old. He was an Elite of their Kind, unlike Becka, who was just an Elite of the Human world, mainly due to her heavy donations to San Francisco. She herself had cut off most ties to the Vampire community, oh she catered to them here in Frisco, but she usually didn’t bother with getting into the affairs of the Vampires as a whole.
There was a large Vampiric community here in San Francisco, it fluctuated often depending on who was coming and who had decided to move on. But all knew that while they were welcome at The BoB, do not tangle her up in their petty affairs. Rumors reached her though, for it was also known that if something was vital to the continuance of Frisco, and its wellbeing, she’d step in and help. It was rare though, and no one could exactly pin point what it was she considered vital and detrimental.
Finally she pulls herself out of her own thoughts and takes a sip of the wine. After that she finally speaks. “Is your bad blood Human or otherwise?”
Alex smiled. It was an odd question to be sure. Becka was either out of the loop or young, but her mixing with humans and vampires so easily told him she wasn't that young of a vampire. He took a sip of his wine finally allowed to settle with it. "Nice. Gotta love Napa Valley. Australia is their only competition." Alex switched gears on an instant, but Becka would be able to keep up without issue.
"He's human of course. Vampires aren't stupid enough to upset the balance of stock trades, at least not the ones that count. I think World War II was a mess enough for any vampires to cause such disruption again. His name is Aaron Webber. He's inside trading. I'm going to give him a deal he can't refuse. I'm going to explain to him I have a block of stock I have to short sell on futures and that he can buy and sell them at the market price to make a hefty profit. Of course, I don't engage in that sort of business. Theft is bad for everyone and just causes...messes. He needs to go and I'm hungry. It's an open and shut case really. All of the legitimate stock traders will be glad to see him gone so investigation will be light and easy to avoid. The shady nature of our deal will make him do all the cover work for me anyway. I drove and I'll carry his body with me. Frisco will barely know I was here."
Alex's brown eyes met Becka's blues with a twinkle as he sniffed the wine again. His cards were on the table. If Becka was interested in dealing in, she could. If she could care less, well, that was no problem either. It was possible she would help him out just to make him move on. Feeding on men was droll to Alex anyway. He much more preferred women. A full seduction was such fun. "It's really a pity I'm not gay. So many men are so worth dining upon." Alex took a risk at inviting her to the seduction. He practically threw the door wide open to her with that remark though. He was going to pull the cow in for a barbecue and let her feast on the tender parts if she wanted. He would then do the dishes. He took another graceful sip from his glass as if he just mused over the weather.
After taking another sip, she smiled at Alex’s comment. “Mmm, I’ll stick with the Napa Valley I think. Besides, the Master of Buehler Vineyards is an old friend.”
She switched gears easily and listened with interest to Alex and his plan. She wasn’t all that concerned with his presence or his business here in San Francisco. It was one of the few towns where Vampires came and went as they pleased, and other Vampires rarely took notice. Her brows shot up as he all but verbally invited her to join the Hunt, though she did chuckle at the gay comment. “Bi is better actually, that way you get the best of both worlds.”
She settled back studying Alex as she sipped her wine. On the one hand, she hadn’t done a shared Hunt in a very long time, due to various reasons, but the main one being her last Hunt partner. The offer made an itch come that she hadn’t had in a long time, and hadn’t really missed either. On the other hand, she didn’t care to mix herself in the affairs of others, and she couldn’t see how this was overly detrimental to Frisco’s well-being.
She mulled it over. Becka really didn’t know anything about the Stocks, except that people did seem to get rich off of it, but they also seemed to become poor just as easily. She preferred investing in properties and businesses, a lot less complicated in her opinion. Finally, she decided that since he was being open, she would be just as blunt, and damn the consequences. She didn’t really care if he might be older than dirt, and could destroy her without breaking a sweat. San Francisco was her home, and that was where her allegiance lied, not with some old blood that’d just blown into town because his Hunt brought him here. “How does your affairs affect Frisco in the long term? Does it truly require me to bother myself to get involved, for other than the possible fun of it? I will freely admit, Alex, that I do not understand Stocks and Trading, so I am curious if this will hurt San Francisco in the end.”
Her comment on the wine brought a fast reply. "Yes, I can see why." It also instigated him to take another sip and roll it in his mouth though the rolling in his mouth wasn't apparent at all.
Her sexuality comment was very true and brought forth an agreeing comment, "But of course."
Her comment seemed a bit odd to Alex on Frisco's safety. Vampires always were territorial and clannish and she seemed to fit right in there with the rest of the crowd. She was pretty much declining his offer, and that was okay. "Well, while I seriously doubt Frisco is privately owned, I also doubt a man that ruins a few major companies here and there isn't going to ruin Frisco. Frankly, I just though you would enjoy seducing him more than I would. If Terrance was hungry, we could finish him off in one night and I would be on my way sooner. It was supposed to be a win-win all the way around. It's okay that you don't want to get mixed up in the mess of macroeconomics. We aren't going to let the human race blow itself up. You are not required. Aaron will die and the corporate trading system will stay stable. It just all looked so convenient to give you the enjoyment of his seduction while all three of us could finish him off in one feeding. The mess would all be mine. It's pretty much just free blood for the two of you. Nothing required. If you rather go for other pastures, oddly enough, they are more dangerous than this one. As I said earlier, this man isn't going to be missed."
Alex was no con artist when it came to other vampires. There was no need to disrupt anything and he wasn't going to concoct a hair brained story to interest her more than for what it was. If she needed a holy mission to save Frisco to keep from passing up on easy blood that stabilized the U.S. economy, Alex was not going to provide it. Frankly, taking three nights to finish him off was only going to delay him having to feed again at an earlier date. The allure of the business deal he would propose to Aaron would keep him coming back for more until it was too late.
"Is a free meal really a brother, Becka? I'm not asking you to get involved, just get fed if you like. I can lure him out of the convention without you even glancing his way. Vampires are going to know I'm the killer and the ones that count are going to know it was a clean kill."
Alex started to wonder if an ancient vampire had burned her in the past. It was entirely possible her position was not one of back woods mentality, but rather one of complete distrust. A puzzled look crossed Alex's face. "Have you run into a misbehaving ancient vampire? You do seem rather young in appearance. Is there a problem milling about that maybe I should know about?"
If there was one thing Alex could not abide by was an ancient vampire disrupting community relations. Things were nice now that the bad differences were settled. If one of them was misbehaving to cause hostility among vampires, Alex would be very interested in stopping them before a nuclear war erupted. Alex had doubts vampires could survive nuclear blasts. He had yet to meet a vampire that survived the Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts.
“No, San Francisco is not privately owned.” She snapped at him, her eyes flashing. Suddenly she bows her head and pinches the bridge of her nose for a moment, when she looks back up she sighs, but is calm. “Look Alex, I may be young by our Kinds standards, but I am not stupid. I came to Frisco 311 years ago, when it wasn’t even a town yet, let alone the metropolis it currently is. I like the fact that Frisco is free. That Vampires may come and go as they please, with no Ancient breathing down their necks and their noses in others’ business. I work to keep it that way. Why do you think there’s such a high concentration of us in this city? We are free to do as we please, as long as we do not break the Tenants set down. Those who come here know this in some form or another, and if they don’t those who live here regularly are quick to point it out to them or chase them out. We don’t need an Ancient lording over us and dictating what we can and can’t do. We police ourselves and do a right damn fine job of it too.”
She looks away suddenly realizing she’s getting a bit heated again over her pet subject. She sips the wine, using it to calm her as well. She sighs at Alex’s question. “No, a free meal isn’t a bother. I asked only because if your Hunted was in any way upsetting the balance that Frisco has, then I’d have jumped to help and damn the consequences. Most of the Ancients along the Western seaboard know this about me, and have thus far left me alone. My suspicion is that they are allowing Frisco to be as it is as an experiment, in the hopes that we fail, and can become an example. That you Ancients are needed to lord over us younger ones because we are too young and stupid to do what’s right. Granted, there are some like that, they don’t generally last long as a Vampire anyway.”
She looks away once more, only to have the empty wine glass in her hand suddenly shatter. She looks down at her hand in disgust. “Crap.” Methodically she starts pulling shards and chunks out of her hand. At least she didn’t waste the wine that had previously been in the glass. “I am 481, so that makes me young by your standards, yes.” She doesn’t answer his Ancient question though. She came to America to start over, and she tried not to dwell on her life before America. His words though caused them to surface anyway, and she stills, staring at her hand unseeingly.
Alex's eyes popped open in surprise. Not only had he not seen a lot of vampires he rarely saw them get bent out of shape. Apparently politics were getting more out of balance than he though. Her story brought a frown to his face. Something was wrong in the U.S.
"Ancients aren't supposed to be lording, Becka. Who has started that crap up again?" The most intervention ancients were supposed to be getting into was making sure the vampire to human ratio was properly balanced. The fact so many vampires were getting created was a bit disconcerting especially if they were getting dumped in Frisco. A vampire at Becka's age complaining about ancient political intervention was direct evidence that abandoned rules were getting used again. It was foolishness. The French Revolution and World War II had been disasters. Who was playing the old empire game again? There were blood line rights to be sure, but to make vampires just to build factions was silliness.
"I wasn't referring to your real age, I was talking about your conversion age. You seem to have been barely twenty when someone shoved their blood down your throat." Alex wasn't going to give Becka hell for only having three figures to her age. He never gave anyone hell for anything other than bad behavior really. Aaron was a target because he was selfishly destructive. Alex decided there was one fact about him that might help Becka understand him better.
"You know I'm the only one in my blood line?" Alex had not created a vampire in thousands of years. There had been a few attempts after his initial loss, but he gave up entirely after those all ended in failure. At this point, he would have to be very careful anyway. If a human drank his blood they would be second in line and extremely powerful as an infant. Alex wasn't going to let something like that run around on a whim even if it was under his control.
He sipped his wine which was barely a fifth consumed. "I'm very sorry to have upset you so. It seems I haven't been paying proper attention to developments. Maybe I'm more useful to you than you think. I'm over eight thousand years old and some of what you are talking about concerns me greatly." Alex might have to come out of retirement. Becka was probably going to be instrumental on shedding light on whatever this west coast crisis was. He had a bad feeling some vampires were going to need their heads knocked. He just hoped none of his generation was mixed up in this kind of silliness. It would be problematic to clear up.
Becka was brought out of her memories by Alex’s voice. She continued picking the glass out of her hand. She frowned at his words, and looked over at him. “Let’s see…” She ponders thoughtfully “I’d say it started about 250 years ago.” She’d finished picking the last of the glass out and now sat there watching her hand heal.
“I was 19.” Her voice was soft, but nothing else was reviled. It was said as if she had been commenting on the weather. Her hand healed she rose from the chair, and went to a corner and found the broom and dust pan in a hidden closet. She started to clean up the mess, she wasn’t going to leave the mess for her employees, and have to answer questions.
She looked up as he mentioned being the only one in his bloodline. She gave a slight shrug. “I’ve never made another Vampire. Don’t ever plan too.” Her voice is flat and emotionless, and there was no emotion on her face or in her eyes.
She finished cleaning up the mess and sat back down. Her look still unreadable as he discloses his age, proving he was an Ancient. Creatures on her list of ‘avoid to the best of her ability,’ pity she had actually come to like him somewhat in their short time. She also found it hard to believe he cared what happened in this part of the world. He was here because his Hunt led him here, and when it was over, he’d go back to where he came from and his life before the Hunt.
She finally looks at Alex. “Look, if you’d like help with your Hunt, that’s fine. I’ll help, be a nice change of pace. If not, that’s fine too. You can always bring him here.” She waves about the room. “The BoB is primarily set up for our Kind, so there’s no worries about ending him. Or even keeping him here until you finally finish with him.”
Alex didn't think Becka picked up on his last line. She was obviously distracted. It reminded him of his love from his beginning. She was distracted, too. It got her killed. Alex didn't want to see Becka die too. Something about her was profoundly sad and it peaked his interest.
"Yeah, Aaron is no problem. You are in. I snag him and we bring him here after the convention. Three of us drain him and he's done. Not a problem. I am concerned about the two-hundred and fifty year old problem, though. My age is due to due diligence. You are talking about something that is not to be ignored. What is going on here? It sounds like I might have to move out here to fix this one. Who are the ancients behind it and what is their justification? I have friends that I have not seen in a while that are going to be just as unhappy as I am about this news, Becka. The vampire slave states died almost two hundred years ago and you are basically telling me something has survived of that menace. It's not something to ignore."
He thought about her comment about making vampires. "Oh, I have made other vampires. It just didn't end the way that I hoped." He lost them hunting other vampires. If he could even feel fear anymore, he felt something at least akin to it for Becka. He wanted to find out who her maker was. Was he still alive? Would he call her? Something was just seriously out of balance and Becka seemed to think it was him. He took another sip of his wine and marveled at Becka's eyes while she cleaned up the glass.
Becka shook her head. “I don’t know who they are.” She pauses, hesitating while she wrestles with herself on just what to say. Finally she shrugs. “Ancients are creatures on my list to avoid at all costs if possible. They are nothing but arrogant and trouble.” Her voice holds bitterness and much venom. She looks away and folds her arms over herself.
Becka wrestles over the thought of having him move out here. The last thing they needed was an Ancient with his nose in the mess. On the other hand, if he did and she could keep an eye on him and keep the destruction an Ancient tended to cause to a minimum… She had a feeling he’d move out here even if she told him it was fine, and they were maintaining their own so to speak.
She finally looks at him, her mind made up. She would help him and keep an eye on him. She just hoped she was up for keeping his Ancient ways to a minimum. She rises from the chair and pauses. “I will see what I can find out. It might take a few days though. Enjoy your Zinfandel though tonight, and if you need. There are accommodations below The BoB for our Kind.”
Before Becka can leave, the door opens and Terrance slips in. “Sorry Becka, but this might be important. That female, she’s in trouble, and someone told her she might find help here.”
“What kind of trouble?” Becka’s voice is sharp, and it makes Terrance blink in surprise. Terrance shuffles his feet and looks down. “Ancient trouble. Seems she was made over in your birth place.” Terrance peeks up at her from under his bangs. “She fled to the states to get away her Maker. Landed on the Eastern seaboard. Things were fine for a few years, but it seems he followed… her…” Terrance trails off at the look of horror on Becka’s face. “Becka?”
“Bring her here; also, I need you and Max to find out who the Ancients are up and down the Western seaboard. And which are most likely to meddle in the affairs of others of our people.” He asked no questions, Becka wanted to know, they would search out the answers for her. Terrance leaves to carry out both instructions. Leaving Becka to pace back and forth clearly agitated over something to do with the female and her problems.
Alex was curious what Becka was dealing with. Hepitet was a pretty cool, calm, and collect individual. Living hundreds of lives donated vast amounts of perspective, skill, and patience. You saw war and violence for what it was and the sad ends it brought and you learned how to compromise and keep peace. What hell was she talking about? Did Hepitet know this was going on?
Alex was a powerful ally for anyone and Becka was treating him like he was a special liaison from the human military arm. The conversation she had with Terrance did nothing but piss Alex off to high end. The silly young girl was parking him like a sheep at the side of the road when he was the bear that could maul the big bad wolf breathing down her neck. Something was way off here. Becka's arrogance was a huge liability. Alex's countenance didn't break a notch though. He kept a perfect smile on his face as if the wine was his only care in the world.
"You know Becka. Let's say a helicopter is bearing down on you or someone you like. Someone tosses you a ground-to-air missile with five seconds to go. Are you going to toss that missile to the side and open up with your nine millimeter and expect to win? Honestly, I have an ankh. There isn't an ancient vampire I couldn't burn to the far reaches of space. Why you are keeping me in the light is beyond me."
Alex was starting to think Becka was going to be dead before she started telling him anything of what was going on. It was going to be her own damned fault for not using her resources wisely. He guessed it took about two thousand years to learn that lesson though. In the meantime, he sipped his wine and dropped all expression off his face. Going after Aaron might be a bad idea if an ancient vampire was up to no good. There was nothing more dangerous than a fool, thinking they had perspective, using their experience to do bad things. He almost wanted to just walk out and leave, but had a funny feeling Becka would be dead and the Bucket of Blood gone the next time he swung around to check things out.
Becka looked at Alex and blinked owlishly at him, her distress so plain, she looked ready to run into the Light and have it over with. A scowl suddenly drops on her face. “I told you Alex, I don’t know who of your Old Bloods is playing Godlings. I avoid you Ancients as if you are plague carriers.” She waves a hand at him, “your attitude a good example and reminder of why.”
She turns away from him, her fear of who the female was running from, made her feel vulnerable and she hated that, thought she’d left it behind when she came here. Coupled with Alex’s attitude, she was coming down with a real hum dinger of a hissy fit. One she’d dread later for the headache it’d give her. “I told you I’d find out for you, and it is being worked on. I am sorry you are bored, and you can leave at any time, but something a bit more important to me than your Ancients has surfaced and I pray to any God that’s bored enough to listen that I am just over reacting and jumping at shadows.”
About then the door opens back up and Terrance brings the female in. Becka strikes like a cat catching a mouse. “Who is your Sire, woman?”
The sheer anger and fury in her voice terrifies the woman. “N-N- Nicholai of-of the G-G-Green.”
Becka stumbles back, shaking her head at first. She then turns her back and wraps her arms around herself as if to hold herself from flying apart. “Damn you, you’ve killed us both.” Her voice is flat, her shoulders slumped, the fight completely knocked out of her. “Close The BoB Terrance, get everyone out, and then you and Max flee. Take her with you. She can at least live a little while longer. And Terrance, try to find out what I asked you to, and be sure the information gets to Alex there.” She closes her eyes and bows her head.
Nicholai wasn’t an Ancient, but he was close enough to old, that he might as well be. Nicholai also liked to keep his Fledglings close. He would torment and torture them, and when he thought them too powerful, he’d kill them. How she’d escaped him 311 years ago, she couldn’t even say. But she had, and fled to America and what she’d hoped was a new life. But she’d been fooling herself these past centuries.
Terrance stared at Becka dumbfounded. Like most, he didn’t know Becka’s past, had never bothered to ask. He was content in their friendship, but this, this smacked of a goodbye. But like a good employee, he would do as Becka asked; he owed her that much for all she’d done for him. “Come on.” He pulls the female out and closes the door. It doesn’t take long for The BoB to clear out, and soon Becka and Alex were all that was left.
Becka raises her head and looks at Alex finally. A single blood tear had rolled down one cheek. Though her eyes are completely dead now, the concern for his well-being could be heard in her voice. “You should go too. Terrance will get you the information you seek.” A small mirthless smile graces her lips. “Guess no God was bored enough tonight.” She turns and walks out of the room into the bar proper and just sits at a table, facing the door, her posture one of waiting for the inevitable.
Alex stared at Becka in disbelief following her out to the bar. "What is your problem? You just sent all of our help away to kill Nicholai. Not to mention he might go after the woman instead of you. What do they teach you fledglings these days?" Alex had to decide who Nicholai would go after now. He knew about that scum and it was bad news he was still walking the earth. Caucasian vampires were always weaker than Alex though. They were simply the newer race The most powerful vampires were from Africa as it turned out. The funny thing was, they were usually the easiest to deal with as well. They never played silly control games, though Alex had to admit their continent suffered horribly from the lack of care for their humans. They never played the sadistic indulgences of the bad vampires though, at least none that Alex knew. Hepitet was from Africa even. If you had a cool head and negotiated fairly, the oldest were always willing to strike a peace deal.
Alex was not afraid of Nicholai at all. The fact he adorned his name was testament enough to his vanity. The vampire had a nasty history in Europe. Vladd had been far worse, but Nicholai had been on the extermination list. How he avoided it was beyond Alex, but there were ways to set that straight.
"Well, Becka, I'm afraid your lack of insight is only going to get fixed with trust. You sent my cover out the door and gave Nicholai an alternate target. You are going to have to right your wrong by finally trusting me. I have to fade now so Nicholai won't see me and run after the other fledgling. When he can't escape me, I'll reform and get rid of him."
With a speed that would bend the mind of a human he swept to the back room, snapped the broom stick in two and swept up to Becka, handing her a piece of the stick. "Hold this for me. Don't use it. Just hold it for me. Got it?" Alex walked to the bar and stood behind it waiting for Becka's acknowledgment. All he needed was her nod before he turned to mist and his clothes fell to the floor. What was odd was the other half of the broom stick didn't make a sound.
Becka gave a snort. “I see intelligence doesn’t come with age. I did not send my help after Nicholai, I sent them away. Nicholai comes here, following his hound.” She stared at Alex in disgust. “Teach? With a Sire like Nicholai, what do you think I was taught?!” She turns away, her thoughts once again her own. Perhaps, if Luck smiled on her, Nicholai would not come tonight to make her squirm, and she could just stay where she was and let the Light take her. She should have stepped into it the moment she’d been free of him.
She’d tuned Alex out until he returned with a broken broom stick. She blinked at him startled and had a look on her face that clearly said ‘I thought you’d left. Why are you still here?’ She turned as he moved behind the bar and stared at him for many long moments before his words finally sank in. “Yeah, ok, whatever.” She turned back to face the door, not really caring what Alex was attempting. She stared down at the stick waiting; eventually she forgot Alex was still there, again.
She was still, so still, anyone else but a Vampire would think her a manikin arrange there with a broken stick. It was two hours before dawn when Nicholai finally walked through the doors of the bar. He casually looked around and then let his gaze settle on Becka, who still hadn’t moved. “Ah, my sweet little treasure is found at long last.” He looks over the bar again. “Nice little place here, though I would think it would be busier.”
With no reaction from her, he suddenly moves like a striking snake. He grabs her hair and pulls her small frame from it. “You look at me when I’m talking to you, bitch.” Becka makes no sound at his treatment, she has accepted that tonight she dies, and nothing can shake the calm that has come over her. He looks her over and notes the stick in her hand. “Were you thinking to use that on me?” Suddenly he slaps her several times; she flops around like a rag doll and almost drops the stick, but still manages to keep a hold of it, though if asked, she wouldn’t have been able to say why it was important to hold onto. She still doesn’t cry out, and he grows even angrier. He flings her across the bar and she slams into the shelves and glasses behind the bar proper. She feels something painful stab into her belly, but still makes no sound as she lands on the floor, stick miraculously still in her hand.
Nicholai bounded over the bar in flash. He landed straddling Becka's form slumped on the floor with their noses face to face. "Guess you won't be needing this tonight," he sneered.
His left hand caught the broom stick end above Becka's grip while his right hand closed over her hand to start peeling her grip. Alex materialized naked with his legs wrapped around Nicholai's waist and his torso firm against Nicholai's back. His left hand gripped over Nicholai's left hand and his right hand gripped over Nicholai's right. Nicholai was in the middle of taking control of the stick from Becka, but Alex was going to direct a nasty and lightning quick game of tug-of-war that Nicholai had already lost as soon as he decided to take the wood from Becka.
Nicholai's left hand was already pulling the stick forward towards his chest with his left hand as his right hand was going to peel away Becka's grip. Becka's grip was going to be broken by his vastly superior strength. Alex, of course, had an even stronger grip that crushed Nicholai's attempt to break Becka's grip. Nicholai tried a full reverse of the stick away from him but Alex overpowered it all and the stick drove into Nicholai's chest, slipping between his ribs and impaling Nicholai's heart. Nicholai's arms tried to drive the stick on through to exit his back and keep driving into Alex, but Alex stopped the end of the stick as it started to pierce between the ribs of Nicholai's back, holding it firmly with Nicholai's heart skewered by it.
Alex's voice was calm, as if commenting on the weather. "You know, Nicholai, sometimes even a place with an open invitation isn't a good idea to enter if you aren't welcomed. I could go down the laundry list of why you were just executed, but there is no time. Suffice it to say, I just don't like you."
Alex's feet snapped to the floor and his right arm extended into the air after his left hand released Becka's and Nicholai's. Nicholai's body ran out of life as his body slumped forward on the stick and the back of it stabbed out of his back. Nicholai's fangs grew out as the life exited his expired existence. Alex stood up with Nicholai's impaled body caught between gravity and Alex's right hand on the surface of his lifeless chest. Alex's left hand grabbed the other half of the broom lying on his clothes on the way up. He handed it to Becka.
"You will notice a quickening now that your sire is dead. If someone comes to try to rescue his corpse from the dawn, just use the other half on them. Let me know if you need any help, but I think you have control over the situation now. Enjoy your new freedom. Nicholai's looking a bit pale. I think he needs a suntan."
Alex walked towards the front door with the skewered body and exited to the first unshaded dirt near the front door. With a fast graceful motion his arm came around and stuck the end of the stick into the ground, pinning Nicholai's body to the earth. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." His hand did not leave the stick as he crouched over Nicholai's sprawled body and waited for the approaching dawn. There was going to be nothing left of Nicholai soon enough.
"Becka, if you would kindly bring me my clothes you will find a key in my right pocket. Open the trunk of my McLauren. My coffin is there. Take it below as I will be needing it shortly before dawn. Just place my cloths in the coffin for me. It would be nice if you watched over the corpse with me. We need to wait just before daybreak to ensure no one tries to recover his corpse."
Alex was being over cautious really. Nicholai was probably dead and everyone he sired was finding themselves quickened and mentally free. It was possible to bring a vampire back from a stake in the heart though if someone was so foolish as to empty their vampire blood into his stomach. Alex was just going to make sure there was no corpse. If he bothered to kill a vampire, Alex was only going to have to do it once.
Becka was barely aware of what was going on around her, until the death of her Sire hit her. She marveled at how quickly she started to heal, though it was painful in her gut region, the piece of shelf still buried there making it difficult. She was quick to remove it and watched fascinated as she healed. So absorbed was she, she jerked as Alex handed her the broken stick and spoke.
Taking the stick, she just blinked at him a few times. She watched him walk out with Nicholai’s body and pondered. Why had he bothered with helping her? What did an Ancient care about what happened to a Youngling? Alex was an enigma, and one she wasn’t going to solve immediately. He didn’t act like Old Ones she’d come across before, Ancient or just old as dirt, and that puzzled her. His very presence made her feel like she was traversing unstable ground.
She was brought out of her musings by his voice once more. She frowned momentarily, but then grabbed his clothes, her movements were too quick suddenly, and she cursed. Moving gingerly and carefully, she fished the key out of his pocket, then rose with exaggerated care. She felt like a child learning to walk again. Moving carefully, she walked out to where Alex sat watching the corpse. She went to drop the clothes in his lap and missed. They landed just in front of him. She stopped and turned as she thought to thank him, only she again was moving quicker than she was used too, and ended up tumbling right into his lap.
“Hellfire and Damnation, please tell me this will end soon.” She looked up at him, disgust plain on her face for her lack of control. She struggles to get out of his lap, but only makes matters worse. She stills and closes her eyes a pained look on her face. She opens her eyes to look at him. “Um, thank you, and sorry.” She waves her hand to show she means being inn his lap and slaps him by accident. Her eyes widen, and then close once more. “Just shove me off and I’ll crawl into a hole somewhere now.”
At that moment Terrance, Max and the female Vampire that started the whole mess appear. Max is carrying her since she seems to be having similar problems. They take in the scene and Terrance’s expression as he stares at Alex is unreadable. “Becka?”
“Terrance? Oh good.” She carefully and slowly holds out her hand with the key. “McLauren. Coffin. Below. Please.” Terrance takes the key, shooting Alex another strange look and does as she asks.
Max comes over and squats by them, and gives Becka a gentle pat. He then rises back up and speaks. “I am going to take her below to one of the coffins.”
Becka waves an ok, and smacks Alex’s chest this time. With a growl she curls both arms close to her chest. “Damn it!”
Alex's fast reflexes reacted quickly to Becka's weight as she first fell into his naked lap. His bent legs absorbed the new weight and his squat maintained stability to the point of being a shock absorbing chair for Becky. "You'll get used to it. There is no removal of quickening, only a building as time goes on," he answered to her questioning the new speed her body possessed. She was her own vampire now. She had sisters and maybe even brothers, but her parentage lay dead. Nicholai's expired life force soaked back into the earth and the earth turned to face his body to the sun and return it to dust.
Alex paid no mind to his outfit sitting on the ground. There was no way to put it on with Becka in his lap. His neck did a quick give to keep Becka's forceful slap from digging into his face. Her request received a quiet reply. "I'm not in the habit of pushing beautiful women off my naked lap." A wide and sincere smile broke across his face as her red hand print cleared from his cheek.
"Don't worry, Terrance. I'm not stealing your woman. We just need a little rest. The trash had a bit of fight in it tonight." His smile was still alive and fueled.
Alex let out a breath of air from Becka's slap and the smile cleared. "You know that hurts now, right?" Becka could instigate physical feeling in other vampires now that she was head of her own blood line. Her powers of arousal could be shared with another vampire instead of only through another human. The bruise cleared quickly from his chest though.
He crossed his arms over Becka's, and as a kind of demonstration, his right pinky brushed her shirt over her breast to let her feel the new sensation and know she now had the power to do likewise to other vampires. Part of being the head of a blood line meant the ability to feel physical touch from other vampires beyond the limits of human feeling.
Becka groaned as he explained that she was now stuck with this new awkwardness. “You mean, I’m going to be a bumbling idiot for the rest of eternity? You might as well leave me in the Light with the corpse then.” She didn’t believe right now that she’d get used to it in the least bit.
She gave him an odd look at the mention of dumping beautiful women, and an even odder look when he called her Terrance’s woman. “Hold up there Ancient. I’m not Terrance’s woman.” It was clear her spark for living was coming back, despite words that said otherwise. She was just uncertain and awkward with her new found status, and it showed in her eyes and her words.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean--” With a frustrated growl she ducks her head, smacking Alex’s shoulder with her forehead, though not nearly as hard as her hands had hit earlier, showing that she was starting to gain some control, but still a bit hard. “Just leave me in the Light.”
Suddenly she shivered as he brushed her breast, and a soft groan could be heard. “I am going to kill you. Once I have myself sorted out I am going to kill you.” There was no threat or venom behind the words, it almost sounded like a jest.
Becka couldn’t believe her current situation. Her policy was to avoid Ancients at all costs, to the best of her ability. It was the only way she knew to stay under their radar, and keep from getting herself entangled in their affairs. And yet, here she was beyond entangled with an Ancient that she was now indebted to. The real kicker was she found him very appealing. Why, she had no clue.
She’d never been a big Depp fan, and the only time she’d thought Depp cute was when he was his Jack Sparrow character, otherwise, he was just another person. She knew it wasn’t Alex’s similarity to the human that had her attention, but she couldn’t figure out why she’d taken to him almost upon first meeting him. She needed to do something before things got out of hand, mainly before she became more stupid acting then she already was.
“I should probably get up and help Terrance. Check on Max and his new friend. Crap, I need to call repair men for The BoB.” Her voice trails off, but she doesn’t move. Part of her doesn’t want to really, and part of her is afraid she’ll hit him again if she does.
"Alex, not Ancient," Alex calmly corrected. He wasn't into titles though Nicholai was going to be fertilizing that green he added to his name in a little while.
Her threats put a smile back on Alex's face. "If you groan like that doing it at least I can die with a smile on my face." Becka's laundry lists of tasks that would get handled anyway seemed to give promise Becka would get up and give him the time he needed to get dressed again. Shape shifting worked for bodies, but clothes never went. While he was able to turn to mist, his clothes could not. He squatted patiently with her in his naked lap and his arms around hers. His brown eyes lightly enjoyed taking in the details of Becka's blue irises. He really didn't mind the arrangement. "Your company would be nice to make sure no one tries to run off with this corpse. Clothes are optional as it turns out." He gave her a wink to go with his smile.
Alex really didn't have the heart to let go of her or toss her off his lap. He had a kind of inside weakness for women. The human women he destroyed, even though he didn't much like them, usually died in a pleasurable seduction. It occurred to him if she called his bluff, it would be the first real sex he had had in over eight thousand years with someone he actually liked. Luckily he was pretty safe from that. She would see it as a bad joke or dirty ancient man talking. What was odd was he didn't have a reason not to let things happen if she decided 'yes'. His comment to Terrance had been an intensely disguised plea for a reason to not get involved and Becka had crushed that plea in a fell swoop that exceeded her new found power. He left slack in his arms. If Becka wanted to step back, so be it. If she wanted to stay, Alex could accept whatever those terms were for her presence.
In the end, Alex had a body to make sure touched the light of day. There was nowhere else to go to until the sunrise sent him back to his coffin.
She completely ignored his correcting her about his name. If he truly planned to stick around and sort whatever the other Ancients were up to, he’d get used to her using other than his name to keep her distance. Or not, it really didn’t matter at this point. She didn’t blush at his groan comment; she hadn’t fed in the past few days to have enough blood to do so, for one. The recent dance with her former Sire being another reason. Her eyes did dart away though in a shy embarrassment. They snapped back to his though as he joked about a clothing optional vigil. “Um, no. No, clothes off of me isn’t a pretty sight.”
At that she finally moved. While overly careful so she didn’t flail about like an awkward toddler, she was also reluctant to leave the comfort she found sitting in his lap. Finally upright, she notices Terrance had already taken the coffin down. One less thing she had to worry about. “Let me check on Max, and get a call made, then I’ll be back.”
Before she could move though Terrance reappeared, he looked at Becka with concern. “Coffin’s in place, Vessa’s settled and Max is watching over her for now. I’ll call Bakers and get the repairs on order.” As he falls silent he studies Becka and Alex closely. He was clearly worried about Becka. He finally turns and reenters the bar.
With nothing immediate demanding her attention, she squats next to Alex. “Well, guess I’m done. If only all things were that easy.” She looks at Alex with a smirk that quickly drops as she looks away from him. She is too close to him, and all too aware he’s still naked. Her gaze falls on Nicholai and she rises to walk over and look at the corpse. Part of her move was to be polite and let him dress with what privacy he can out on the street, and part to get away from him before she did something she’d probably regret later.
She hadn’t missed the concern and worry from Terrance. They had been friends now for almost a century. He’d learned her ways long ago, and knew she didn’t get close to people, Human or Vampire. He had worked hard and long at the closeness they had, and he still hadn’t known everything, like the scars she carried on her person thanks to the corpse in front of her, never mind the ones to her psyche. He hadn’t even known who her Sire was until now. She gave a sigh, and stared unseeingly at the corpse, wondering what she was going to do with her life now.
Alex put on a show of doubt over his face when Becka tried to be modest. "I doubt that, but I won't put you to the test." She finally got up though, and Alex glanced down at his outfit. There wasn't much time to move on them though as Terrance reappeared. Alex listened to the status of things with a neutral expression on his face. Vessa was the new victim. Oddly enough, she was probably the most powerful vampire at her age, though that didn't mean much to the other vampires. Few fledglings had such an old sire dead to release them from their bloodline.
Becka's decision to squat next to Alex was curious. There was definitely something between them besides the death of Nicholai, but her stepping over to Nicholai told him there was no need to investigate it. Alex grabbed his clothes, minus the shoes and started to dress. His boxers tied with a tie, being devoid of elastic just as his socks were. Despite the tying required he was still dressed inside of twenty seconds because he was feeling lazy about it.
Back to dressed, Alex gazed at Becka looking at her passed sire. She obviously didn't know much about the stable vampire world at all other than it was loose and sloppy to let the creature walk about way too long that was at her feet. What the hell Hepitet had been doing the last two-hundred years was a bit of a mystery to Alex now. The old man would need a visit. Vampires that did not respect the balance of things could create hellish problems. In some ways, Becka was a prime example of that. She had no clue how to gather allies and no perspective on global stability and what each vampire had to do to maintain it. She thought the elders of their community were all butchers like Nicholai without considering there would be no world left if vampires like him decided the pace of things. How Nicholai could live so long so darkly without wisdom finally dawning on him was beyond Alex. Vampires like Nicholai tended to self-destruct early. It was the main advantage Alex counted on these days. If you didn't have character, things just always caught up to you over time.
"Looks like we'll make our dinner date tomorrow. I may have to drive your over though. It wouldn't be good for you to have your first free night spent cleaning up a car wreck." Maybe she would at least consult him in the future for key decisions. She needed to see how responsible vampires herded the cattle and did their family planning.
Becka nodded absently at Alex’s words, her mind elsewhere. Finally she looked up and noticed dawn wasn’t far away. She turned to Alex. “Do you think we can go below now, or do we have to wait longer?” She turned back to gazing at the corpse, she was glad the nightmare was finally over.
Terrance reappeared, he ignored Alex completely and walked up to Becka and placed an arm around her shoulders carefully. “Hey, Boss, you ok?”
Becka looked up at him with a quiet smile. Ever so carefully she patted him on the chest. “Go to bed Terrance, I’ll be down shortly. It’s ok.”
She hadn’t answered his question, and he knew it, but didn’t push her. He turned and headed back into The BoB, throwing over his shoulder as he went. “Bakers will be around about 11to fix the bar.” Becka nodded, but didn’t say anything. She wished she could stay past the dawn and truly see Nicholai burn to a powder. She wrapped her arms around herself, waiting and thinking.
"You go below. No one will save him. I'll see it to the end." Alex was pretty close to a clean kill now. He could step back into the shade of the bar to make sure Nicholai's body was consuming before he would have to go below to his coffin. Alex knew the turn of the earth well, and could time things tight when he needed to.
"Don't worry Terrance. I've got it from here." Alex walked up to Becka and gently laid his left hand on her shoulder to guide her back to the bar. Only one body needed to feel the burn of the sunrise.
"Settle into your coffin. You can see it when we wake in the evening. I'll share it." Once the sunrise came there would be no way to give Becka the vision, but he could certainly share his witness in the evening again when it was time. He had watched a vampire consume in the sun before, but she had been alive when it happened. At least this one was going to be a silent consumption. It would be less than the vampire deserved, but the universe was already making up for that on Nicholai's soul.
Becka looked up at Alex when he touched her. She allowed him to guide her to the bar. If she’d had to move under her own power, she’d probably miss the door completely anyway. She looked uncertain and very young when the light hit her. She had no idea what he meant by ‘sharing’ but figured he’d explain to her when next they rose. “Sleep safe, Alex.”
She moved with care through the bar and down to the cellar. She managed to make it to her rooms with no mishaps. Perhaps Alex was right and she would get used to this sooner rather than later. She looked around her rooms and realized she didn’t really have much to show for her 481 years.
She resided below the bar, in a set of rooms. One her coffin sat in, the other was meant to entertain guests, something she actually didn’t do. She had painted the room her coffin resided in to look like a sunrise/sunset over rolling hills of green. It had been from a memory of her Mortal life. The outer room had been painted to mimic the hills of Ireland during the day, another memory from her Mortal life. Also in the outer room were a few paintings she’d been gifted and hung on the walls. There were a couple of overstuffed chairs and a small end table between them. Other than that, there was nothing else.
She finally moved towards her coffin and raised the lid. She soon settled in, and closed the lid. She quietly waited for the dawn, when she’d go into the stupor like state that came over her Kind with every dawn. While she waited she turned over her situation with Alex. She still didn’t know what she was going to do about him. Finally, tired of her thoughts chasing themselves into useless circles, she decided to just wait and see, leaving it to him to make the moves.
Alex did not go back outside the bar as Becka moved off to her coffin. Instead he turned and watched the body of Nicholai helplessly dead and pinned to the earth. Becka would not know that as a head of her bloodline, the dawn did not strike her stupid anymore. There were serious handicaps, but one could survive outside of their coffin for three days so long as they did not get hit with sunlight.
Alex could feel his ability to shape shift fade. The textures of the room and outdoors seemed to go dull and the world faded to a black and white image without color. Nicholai's corpse started to smoke and Alex's speed and strength faded to mere mortal levels. As the intensity of the sun increased the smoldering image of Nicholai's body seemed to start to white out. His fangs seemed to persist on his disintegrated face and corroding skull, but soon even they started to burn and come apart in ash. Had someone wounded Alex, he would not be able to heal, but no one was there to molest him.
There was nothing more Alex could see of Nicholai's demise. Though the dawn was still dim to human eyes, the outdoors seemed to be suffering from a nuclear flash to Alex's vision. He calmly turned away from the intense light and made his way down to the basement. The call of his grave dirt guided him more than his fuzzed vision. There was no panic for him though. He could feel it pulling him through the correct doors. His vision returned slightly in the dark of the room as he pulled the door closed behind him and he casually walked to his coffin. Opening it with familiar ease he hopped in pulled it closed with grace and no sound, and locked it shut inside.
Nicholai's corpse burned away in the sun. Someone seeing it would have expected white or black ash from the fire, but the residue was just a bland soil. As the fire finished, there was nothing more than a dirt shadow of where there was once a body.
Alex would be the last to awake in his coffin that evening. His first move was to take the car key and place it back in his pocket that Terrance had left in his coffin. He then opened the lock on his coffin before swinging it open and sitting up. Aaron Webber was on the menu this evening and Alex expected a date to ride with him to the convention. He had a memory to give her if she would just take his hand. It was a whited out memory, but it would be clear that it was very real and very fresh, none-the-less.
Becca rose for the night, the night before came rushing back, throwing her slightly off balance mentally. Now with a day between the nights, she finally feels truly free of Nicholai. She exited her coffin and sighed softly. Terrance spoke from the doorway. “Good, you’re finally up. The BoB is fixed and already open, the Humans showed up as usual. Also to remind you, there’s that business convention going right now that you’re supposed to be at. Oh, and Alex has yet to Rise.” ,
Becka sighed in a put upon way at the mention of the convention, and frowned at the mention of Alex. Finally she nods. “Thanks Terrance.” She turns to a chest hidden behind the coffin. She started going through the clothing there. Most of it was dated to her Mortal life time, but she had a few somewhat modern pieces. She hadn’t bought clothes in a long time, not really caring for anything beyond jeans and a shirt of some sort.
She knew Terrance still stood behind her, and finally pulled out a very old dress, with all the frills and layers from her old life, it matched the color of her eyes. She turned holding it up in front of herself. “What do you think?” Seeing Terrance’s eyes nearly fall out of his head, she decides it will do. “Thank you, Terrance.” Amusement is plain in her voice. She turns to set it on top of her coffin and goes back to digging in the chest for the shoes.
“Um, Becka?”
“Yes Terrance?”
“About Alex…” He trials off for a moment, then decides to just rush in. Becka was his dearest friend, and he wasn’t going to let her get hurt. “Are you ok?”
Becka straightens up, shoes in hand and turns to look at Terrance. “I’m ok, Terrance. I’m not sure yet his motives, but I figure to just let him go his own way for now. It’ll be fine.” She smiled gently at him. She knew it wasn’t jealousy on Terrance’s part. Their relationship had developed more into a brother/sister sort of thing, with him usually being the over protective brother, making sure no one messed with his sister.
Terrance nods slowly. “Very well, if you are sure. Oh, and Vessa’s settling down now. She’s taken a place helping serving, and seems to be quite good at it.”
Becka raises her brows at this but then shrugs. “If she wishes to stay, she’s welcome for as long as she wants.” Terrance nods and then leaves, letting Becka get ready. Once Terrance was gone, she shimmied out of her jeans and t-shirt, and then works on getting the dress on. It takes her several moments as she’s still being careful in her movements, not wanting to ruin it. After that she puts the shoes on, and then heads out of her rooms.
She hunts up and shortly finds the room given to Alex. She knocks on the door, hoping he has Risen by now, and waits nervously for him to answer.
Alex gently tapped Becka on the shoulder. "Wrong way," his bright smile came with a wink when he caught the blue of her eyes. "I'm way under dressed." Alex was in what appeared to be the same silk business casual of yesterday, except it was missing the dust from yesterday. His trip had been unprepared for a date with fashion sense, even if it was a bit dated for the time. It was an extremely flattering and beautiful outfit though, and its age was not going to be so obvious considering the wearer was going to inspire much different thoughts in viewers.
Alex offered his arm to Becka to escort her up the stairs. Before he would reach the stairs though, he was going to take her hand. At that point, so long as Becka's will allowed it, he would share the visual memory of Nicholai's funeral pyre. For all Alex knew, the evidence was still sitting on the ground undisturbed. No vampires would be able to mess with anything other than the broom stick that would be sticking out of the ground. If the evidence was not present, it would have had to be human hands that did something to disturb Nicholai's final rest. It was only dirt though. All the labs in the world would not find a trace of DNA in the residue. Sunlight was extremely consuming of vampire bodies.
After that, it would be a simple matter of escorting Becka to the McLauren while opening all of the doors for her. He would have to be a total cad to let a woman dressed up as Becka so much as think of touching a door handle.
Becka turns, too fast since she was startled, and nearly falls into him, she manages to catch her balance and gave him a funny look. She then glances down at his apparel and shrugs. “I guess we’ll be the most talked about odd couple then.” She looks back up at him. She looks like she is about to say more, but doesn’t taking his arm instead and letting him lead her up the stairs.
She pauses with him as he takes her hand and then images flood her brain. She sees Nicholai start burning and eventually turn to dust. As the images fade, she blinks then focuses on Alex’s face. Impulsively, she suddenly hugs him. “Thank you.” Her voice is barely a whisper. An over whelming relief floods her body and her knees nearly buckle. Getting a grip on herself, she hastily moves back. “Shall we go? We’re already late enough.”
As soon as they emerge into The BoB proper, it suddenly stills. She is quick to move through and out the door. She wasn’t comfortable with the stares as they walked through. Perhaps she should serious think about a second exit on the surface that was private for such instances, rare as they were. She settled into the McLauren and waited for him to get in. She glances over to where Nicholai had been staked for the Light, and saw no visible trace of him left.
When Alex takes the driver’s seat and then takes off she turns slightly towards him. “So, how are we going to do this? Are we going to enter together or separate?”
"Aaron has no scruples. We can go in together, even if I am probably going to get confused for a body guard." Alex fired up the engine. Throwing the car into reverse he backed out heavy on the acceleration. Another quick shift put them into drive and he launched them onto the road out of the parking lot.
Alex had a very odd habit of driving way too fast. His keen sight and sharp focus allowed him to keep up with the traffic and anticipate it very well. They were late to the convention anyway and Alex was not even going to slow down for the police. There was a 'do not pursue' order on his license plate due to a messy incident with the former police chief of Oklahoma City and speeding tickets were not going to get very far. The only thing that could slow them down was blocked traffic and Alex had a way of lying off the accelerator and timing his weaves to avoid hard breaking. Despite the heavy acceleration, he did not spin or peel his tires either. With Becka being a vampire herself, Alex left her to her own devices to lean through the turns and feel the fast ride. It did not take too long before parking guards were ushering his vehicle to the VIP parking.
With the car parked, Alex wasted no time getting out and coming around to get Becka's door. He was fast and graceful, but made sure any watching humans would only see normal, albeit fast, movement. When Becka let herself out, his hand glided the door closed and he offered his arm to escort her to the front door. "My fair lady," he smiled at her with his arm out. He took great delight in making whatever woman he was with feel special. Becka was pure delight for him, though, because she really did deserve it in many ways.
Alex made sure Becka did not have to touch any of the doors leading in. By the time they arrived, dinner had concluded and various moneyed people were making speeches. Alex spied Aaron at the head table to the left of the podium near the end of the table. He was making eye contact with one of the women seated at the table in front of him. Alex and Becka were escorted to a sparsely occupied table that had an older couple with a middle aged man sitting next to them.
Alex gave a faint whisper to Becka. "Third seat from the end. Black hair and brown eyes glancing at one of the women seated at the table in front of him." He also took the chair from the usher that pulled out a seat for Becka so he could seat Becka himself. After she was gracefully situated, he took the seat to her left giving her a nod and gentle smile.
It was down to waiting for the formal ceremony to end and then snagging Aaron in the trap Alex had planned.
Becka didn’t drive. She really saw no use when she could generally get there faster on foot, and with less hassles then traffic offered. But that didn’t mean she didn’t know how, or that she’d never been in a vehicle before. She moved easily with the motions of the car, it wasn’t much different than riding a horse after all, and once upon a time, Becka had been a crack shot rider. She rode along watching Alex’s ease at handling the car and enjoyed the brief moment of peace where nothing had to be handled by her.
Once they arrived, Becka had a hard time not reaching for doors herself. She wasn’t used to anyone opening doors for her anymore; it had died out back in the 70s or 80s. Whispers could be heard as they were escorted to their seats. “That’s Becka Ravensdale…” “Who is that she’s with?” “That dress is lovely.” “Yes, I have just got to find out who her designer is.” “Hey is that Johnny Depp with our Becka Ravensdale?” Becka ignored them, as she always did at such functions, though the last almost made her laugh.
Her eyes scanned the room until she found the target in question from Alex’s description. She then turned her attention to those at their table, gracing them all with a quiet smile before turning to Alex. She leaned close to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. It was a cover to whisper, “I see him.” She then turns to the people at their table and strikes up a quiet conversation with them. Though she hates these functions, she learned long ago how to play the game. She keeps her attention evenly divided between the people at their table, the speeches going on, their target, and even Alex. She misses nothing, even the quiet whispers that can still be occasionally heard, though she ignores those due to their irrelevance.
Becka nearly chokes on her sip of water as she hears her name called from the stage. Crap, was she supposed to give a speech? She quickly searched her memory about the invitation she’d received, no there was nothing on it that she recalled. She looked over and saw who the person currently at the mic was and frowned. Philip Monroe stood there with a smirk on his face. He always wanted her to speak at these things when she bothered to attend. She never could quite figure out why.
Becka rose gracefully from her chair and put on her most charming and innocent expression, ready to kindly but firmly excuse herself from speech-making. She stopped just before uttering the words though as she noted Alex’s target looking her over. Grabbing her glass of water, she moved towards the stage with a dancer’s grace. “I’d be happy to accommodate you, Mr. Monroe.”
Philip’s eyes narrowed slightly, Becka never spoke at these things, and she always had a very plausible excuse not to. He respected Becka, but he hated her too. She was the Human’s Golden Child, no matter what generation she currently was at. And the permanent Vampires of San Francisco held her in high respect as well, though she rarely interacted with any not patronizing her bar.
Becka walked past him and gave him a chilly smile, but she was all charm when she turned to face the gathering. She gave a shrug to the crowd and a tinkling laugh. “Honestly, I have no idea why any of you would like to hear what I have to say. I am the inheritor of a single bar in all of San Francisco, not some CEO of a mega corporation. Yes, I have money and wealth, but that is more luck than any work on my part having inherited that as well. But I did listen long and attentively to my Grandmother as she told me stories when I was a child about how our family came to such prominence in Frisco.”
She takes a sip of her water and uses it to check on the target, and sees she has his whole attention. She may make a fool of herself up her, she may not, but she has caught the attention of Alex’s target, now to just sink the hook in so he has no choice but to come. “My ancestress, Rebeckah Ravensdale came to America from Ireland back before Frisco was much of anything. She worked two jobs as a laundress and a serving wench in a saloon. Of the two, she really liked the saloon the best, so she scrimped and saved until she could afford to buy it. She renamed it The Bucket of Blood after a tavern back home. Again she scrimped and saved, and started buying up land around the small town, foresighted enough to know that one day it would be worth more than it was at the time. It is a practice still done in the family. And so is donating to charities, as we all know, those give great tax benefits.” The crowd laughs at her mild joke.
She uses the distraction to look over the crowd and makes eye contact with a few, the last being the target. She holds the eye contact for a few heartbeats longer than one would normally, a small smile playing across her lips. She then continues. “Other than that, I do not see how my standing and experience is all that much help to you. It is why I have never spoke before such as your distinguished personages in the past, but since any time I attend these functions, I am almost nearly called to speak, I figured I probably should to satisfy the curious. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak before you, and for not throwing things at me.”
Her grin is infectious and laughter can be heard as she gives a slight bowing of her head, and exits the podium and stage unhurriedly. Philip watches her closely as another takes her place, but she completely ignores him. She returns to her table and easily slides into the chair Alex already has waiting for her. She looks up at him with a thanking smile, her eyes dancing with a twinkle.
Though Alex knew how to chit chat, he rarely exercised the skill. He returned smiles with mirrors of what was offered him and listened to the words people were saying, but nothing of interest struck his mind. The stock and business talk was very droll to Alex. It was like a supercomputer designer going to a personal computer design convention. The fish Alex had to fry tended to be much larger than the topics discussed.
Alex quickly rose to collect Becka's chair when Phillip called her to the stage. He made sure to beam at Becka and keep the eyes off of him and trained on her. She didn't have to worry about her chair as it was well out of her way when she moved towards the stage. Alex settled back down and noticed Aaron was looking at her with interest. A smirk came to his face and then disappeared in a blank expression.
Alex's brain took a hard recording of Becka's speech. Her history was of interest to him and he noted the facts. His eyes played between Becka and Aaron. She was a great hunter. Aaron was taking the bait without a clue. It probably was going to save him a trip to catch Aaron. Aaron was going to come looking for Becka. Alex would just have to locate whoever the woman was at the table in front of him and intercept her.
Alex's smile was a warm and welcoming one when Becka came back. "Impressive speech. I'm sure Mr. Webber will want to discuss some points with you." He thought to himself how he would have been interested himself. As it turned out, he was in fact already interested.
The speakers wore on for another hour or so and Aaron was now looking at Becka much more than the table in front of him. In fact, Aaron seemed to be having to patronize the table in front of him. His date was getting a little less attention than she was used to. As Philip was closing the convention's formal presentations, Alex leaned over to Becka. "Mr. Webber will most likely come this way. I doubt you'll even have to get up. I'm going to go collect his baggage for him. We'll have to see if they want to come to the bar for a drink and possible dessert. Do you think anyone else will be joining us for a late night dining?" His question was more to the point of finding out how many cattle to bring along. Aaron was certainly coming and his public date was a strong possibility. Alex wasn't sure if there were private dates or businessmen that would be part of the deal Alex would propose to Aaron. Alex felt he could manage the size of the crowd very easily though.
Alex waited for the end of the applause to get up and make his way forward. Sure enough Aaron was heading straight for Becka's table. Two thirds of the way to the front Alex slipped right by Aaron without Aaron even noticing him. Three steps later he was face-to-face with a lady probably half of Aaron's age and about half as beautiful as Becka. He smiled an interested smile at the lady.
"Hello, my name is Alex. Aren't you with Mr. Aaron Webber?" The lady smiled back but irritation was still in her complexion. "Hello, I'm Ms. Stanton. Pleased to meet you. Yes, I'm trying to catch him right now." Alex glanced back at Becka's table and offered Ms. Stanton his arm. "Ah, I think he's talking to Ms. Rivensdale. She's a friend of mine. I'll bring you over to reunite you with your date." Ms. Stanton smiled a reluctant smile back at Alex, but took his arm all the same. Alex reached across and touched her hand. The touch gave him a lot of emotional information about Leslie Stanton. She was irritated and afraid. Alex guessed she was nervous about being in public with Aaron and the fact that Becka might steal his heart. Alex thought she would be well justified in both of those fears, but he could probably remedy her anxiety soon enough.
Alex took his time working Leslie through the crowd. The two person wide path required seemed to run into a lot of unfortunate timing. It was like his driving was in reverse. His smile greeted all hellos with complete greetings and introductions. Leslie tried to hurry things along but somehow felt compelled by his arm to take the lazy pace as it came anyway. Several minutes later, it was time for introductions. Luckily a few of the people on the way knew Leslie by name and Alex was fully armed to introduce her to Becka.
"Ms. Leslie Stanton, I would like you to meet Ms. Becka Rivensdale." Looking at Becka he continued, "Ms. Stanton is with Mr. Webber this evening and it looks like the two of you are already introduced." Alex's smile betrayed nothing but enjoyment of the pleasant gathering.
“Becka smiled at Alex, “Thank you, and no. We are it, dear.” Becka listened to the buzz around her, and the speeches as well. She talked with the people at her table, and once or twice looked Mr. Webber’s way. She wanted him to come to her, so played mostly indifferent, when she did look his way, a faint smile would come to her lips when their eyes met, but then she’d quickly look to whoever was the one speaking at their table, as if their talk was very important.
Becka looked surprised as Alex’s now empty seat was occupied by their target. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you Miss Ravensdale. I’m Aaron Webber and after your speech, I just had to come meet you.”
Becka smiled at him demurely, “Pleased to meet you Mr. Webber, please, call me Becka, Miss Ravensdale was my grandmother.”
Aaron smiles and chuckles. “Only if you call me Aaron… Becka.” He moves to put his hand over hers and Becka makes no move to stop him.
She is startled to feel his emotions through the contact, but hides this new found ability well. The main emotion she senses is lust, impatience is there as well. As the contact continues, she starts to get a sense of his thoughts. He is impatient to try to get her away from the function and back to his room and in his bed. He is willing though to use the lure of business to try to steer her in that direction. She is loath to the idea, and very nearly shudders at the images playing through his mind that he wants to do to her when he gets her alone.
She smiles at him though and answers back. “Very well, Aaron, you have a deal.” She lets him lead the conversation, acting as if interested, and responding properly to his subtle clues, leading him to believe there just might be a chance to get her alone. She very nearly laughed at Aaron’s expression when Alex returned to their table with Aaron’s date.
Becka didn’t correct Alex on his mispronouncing her name; she didn’t find it all that important. Instead she smiled vapidly at Ms. Stanton. “A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Stanton. I am so sorry to monopolize your date. He has such fascinating business ideas, though I must confess, I don’t understand half of them. You must be so smart to keep up with him.” A bit thick she knows, but figured it couldn’t hurt to pander to both egos.
She looks around at the others suddenly. “Could we maybe retire somewhere more private and continue our discussions?” She gets a slight pout, “I feel the beginnings of a headache coming on from all the smoke and noise.” She puts a pleading look on her face.
Leslie smiled at Becka. "Please, call me Leslie. Actually, business is kind of boring talk. How do Alex and you know each other?" Leslie was fishing to get her date back from Aaron, but she was the only one in the four that was entertaining any of that thought.
Alex quickly jumped in at Becka's call to leave. "You know Ms. Ravensdale, I have a very interesting business proposition for Aaron. Maybe we should all pile into my car and let Ms. Stanton and Aaron see your establishment. It would give us a nice break from the crowd and let us get to know each other in a friendly atmosphere. I could always bring them back here to gather their vehicles when the night is over."
Leslie piped up a reply quickly. "Don't be silly, Alex. Aaron can catch us a cab at the end of the evening. His help can take his car back to the hotel. We'll ride over with you and let Becka show us her establishment. You two can talk business and us ladies will show you it's not as good as a nice conversation with the right person. There is no reason for you to go out of your way."
Aaron was feeling caught at this point. Leslie had roped him into a gathering but Becka was going to be there. He had serious doubts that Alex would be able to entice him with any business deals. Salesmen were always trying to part him from his money and only the female ones could get his time. On the balance he decided to give Becka her play. She seemed interested in his time and he was most definitely interested in her assets.
"I don't know, does that sound good to you Becka?" Aaron handed initiative to Becka. It would be nice to get a boy girl boy girl seating with her next to him. Maybe Alex's proposition would reek of money and he could pawn Leslie off on him. Alex still addressing her as Ms. Stanton told him that the young man had not worked much charm on her though. Maybe she would make a play on Alex to inspire jealousy and give him more of an out to pursue Becka. Her young face and blue eyes would look good in lust if he could get his way.
Becka turned her vapid smile on Aaron. “Actually, going to The Bob would be nice. It’s quiet, and we have private rooms… no matter the private needs.” She then turned her smile to Leslie. “Please, call me Becka, it’s easier to remember.” She had sensed Leslie’s tension at her not so subtle remark. “And to be perfectly honest, talking with someone about something other than business would be a nice change of pace.”
She stands, figuring it was decided, and moves towards Leslie. She gives Alex a smile as she passes him and then loops an arm through Leslie’s, and starts heading out. Once more she feels the emotions through the contact, and she can feel the jealousy in the woman. Though it was starting to lessen some as Becka turned her attention away from Aaron and centered on her. “Once we get to The BoB, we’ll leave the men to talk their business. We’ll see what happens from there.” Her smile is wide and inviting, and she feels Leslie relax even more.
After the guys had gallantly opened the required doors for the women, Becka made sure she was seated in the back with Leslie, and settled in the McLauren. Leslie turns to her with a curious look. “Why do you call your establishment The BoB?”
Becka chuckles. Well the full name is, The Bucket of Blood.” She sees Leslie make a face, and smiles. “The BoB has been handed down to the females in my family for generations. While BoB is a shortening with the use of initials, the story goes, that my great three times removed grandmother, felt that The BoB had a presence to it, and she swore it was male.” Seeing Leslie’s frown, she quickly adds, “not a ghost, but just a presence, as if it had gained awareness so to speak.” Becka shrugs, and gives a smile. “Funny how they thought so long ago, I think now it’s more of an easier way to call it.”
Leslie laughs, “yes it is funny how our ancestors used to think. I think it’s rather cute what you call it.” Becka smiles in agreement. It isn’t long with Alex’s driving before they reach The BoB. The women wait patiently for the men to get in gentlemanly mode once more. Leslie leans over and whispers to Becka. “Aaron’s never open doors for me before, your Alex is a good influence.”
Becka nearly howls with laughter at the reference to an Ancient like Alex being hers. She manages to keep it to a more amused laugh. When Leslie gives her a curious look, she whispers back, “Alex isn’t mine, much as I’d like him to be.” She winks at Leslie and then climbs out of the car as Alex opens the door for her. She takes his offered arm, and they all enter The BoB.
This time when they entered, it quieted some, but didn’t go completely silent, for which Becka was deeply grateful. A brow lifts ever so slightly as Terrance spots them and their guests, but he moves smoothly and intercepts the party. “Your private rooms, Ms. Becka?”
“Please Terrance, and could you have some Zinfandel brought as well?” Terrance slightly bows with grace and then smartly turns and leads them to one of the private rooms that had been sound proofed. He opens the door and stands just inside holding it, letting them file past. The room is decorated with plush couches and throw rugs. There are end tables and coffee tables as well. Terrance once more gives a slight bow to Becka and quietly closes the door.
Becka lets go of Alex’s arm and moves to grab Leslie’s. “Come, let us sit over here while the men discuss business.” She leads her to a couch and gracefully sits and kicks off her shoes. With a sigh, she grins at Leslie. “Those things kill my feet. Whoever invented heels had to be a man. No self-respecting woman would torture others so.”
Leslie laughs and also takes her shoes off. “I so agree.” The door opens, and it is Max who enters carrying an opened bottle of Zinfandel and four wine glasses. He sets them all down on a table, and pours each glass. He hands one to each of the guests, then Becka, who he gives a slight nod too, then Alex, who he gives an unreadable blank expression. He then turns and leaves closing the door softly behind him.
Alex shook hands with Aaron, though he didn't have to touch him to know he was in a rut. The smell from his body was a dead giveaway. He wondered how Becka would play him. He realized Becka might not be used to a head of blood line feeding experience. Personal feeling was lost to human touch. You could only feel what the human who touched you felt. Only another vampires could touch you and make you feel something personally without a sire alive. As such, actual sex for a feeding was no longer required. With biting and feeding you could make your victim remember having incredible sex though the fluid in their pants would be confusing for them if you left them clothed. Male victims were not as fun as female victims. Males had limited orgasms and that limited what you felt, thought it was very possible with discipline to fake an orgasm. Alex could fake orgasms and had to for blow jobs. It was also possible to create vivid and remembered dreams in victims. Contact with sexual fluid by the victim was enough to give them all the wet dreams you wanted to give them for three days, while a bit allowed unlimited dream control over the victim. Of course all had to be done at night. During the day, victims were left to their own devices. Alex tended to leave male victims remembering wild sex with a prostitute or intense gay sex depending on their sexuality without actually playing with them. Women he tended to play with as he could use the knowledge of what they were feeling to drive them positively nuts. The excessive cum was difficult to explain at times but they rarely cared at all.
He wasn't so sure how Becka would feel about things in the end. For Alex, sex with food was as natural as chewing and a very unemotional thing. He had not had sex with a vampire in thousands of years. He never really needed the three day dream link it created. Contact was good enough to share mental recordings. Of course, all of this ability was new to her and it was going to come in flashes and surprises. It was weird to not feel any of your victim's touch anymore, but rather what you felt like to them when they touched you. It was a bit like making love to yourself with the body of the victim. Alex had not gotten aroused outside of himself for over eight thousand years.
Alex and Aaron caught up and passed the women. Aaron asked, "What's the business deal?" Alex just smiled. "Let's discuss that where it's a safe place to make more money than you should."
Aaron was confused about Alex opening the door but he followed Alex's lead anyway. When they got to Alex's car, Aaron and Leslie changed their attitudes towards him completely. Alex was moneyed and it was extremely serious money. His car was worth half a million and they both knew it. "Nice car," Aaron commented. Excitement dripped off the two humans like a bad perfume.
In the car, Aaron pressed for details on the business deal. It was very much interesting to him now. "So what's this deal?" Alex still had his smile. "I have six million worth of stocks I need to short sell for three million. It's legitimate enough of a deal if someone with certified funds will buy them." Aaron asked the next legitimate question, "What's the catch?" Alex put on a business expression, "The short sale is against futures. If the buyer talked to the future's owner, it would cause trouble. I need a buyer that knows to take their money and run." Alex smiled at Aaron despite the fact he was driving at break neck speed. Aaron seemed inspired to watch the road for him even though he seemed to grip the seat belt an awful lot.
"So if I have the money, then what?" Alex's reply was smooth and neutral. "Tomorrow my analysts send you the certifications for the deal. Your office supplies certification of funds the next day. On the third day we transfer money and stocks. Pretty routine really. Like I said, if you have the three million in clean funds, it's an easy three million profit for you. We'll be making three and a half of course, but then again, I wouldn't offer this if it wasn't worth something to me to do it now would I?" Aaron gave an understanding and agreeing smile.
As the party pulled into the Bucket of Blood's parking lot, Aaron had so many hooks in him a fishing lure hat looked like formal adornment compared to him. Alex was cool calm and smiling the whole way to the private room. By the time they all settled, Becka and Alex could have just jumped Aaron and Leslie and held them hostage for the three nights worth of feeding before beheading them. Alex wasn't particularly interested in being so direct though. He was more interested in what direction Becka wanted to take with the feeding. He played it cool and kept talking business with Aaron.
"So, if you have the funds, all I really need is an e-mail address to send the certification of stocks and initial deal to."
Aaron replied with an e-mail address that was a little cryptic, but Alex was able to memorize it just fine. Alex didn't even bother writing it down.
Alex raised his glass of wine to Aaron. "To a closed deal then." Aaron replied, "Here, here," as he raised his glass. Alex made sure they both sipped their wine at the same time. Aaron made another compliment, "Wow, very nice wine." Alex just smiled. "Becka has wonderful taste."'
Aaron was feeling like three million bucks. The only thing that could make his night better was getting into Becka's panties.
Leslie and Becka talked while the men concluded their business. Becka was entirely bored with Leslie’s chatter of clothes and fashion, never one of her favorite subjects. She smiled and gushed in the right places though so Leslie wouldn’t know just how bored she was.
This was far from Becka’s favorite mode to Hunt. Another reason why she hadn’t partnered for a Hunt in such a long time. She usually Hunted dockside or the wharf for pimps and other criminals. Ones whose deaths never bothered her, and usually made the world a bit better place.
She took a sip of her wine and idly played with the skirt on her dress. As she played, the skirt rose to reveal the bare calf of one leg. She quietly and carefully tucked the skirt in such a way that it didn’t fall when she removed her hand and started fanning herself as if the room was too warm.
Leslie looked at her oddly and Becka gave a rueful laugh. “I’m afraid the dress’s material is a bit on the warm side. The wine, of course, isn’t helping, as it too is warming me up.” Becka’s mere mention of heat, made sweat break out on Leslie.
Leslie chuckled, “you are so right.” She pauses and studies Becka and her dress. “Here this might help.” Leslie leans forward and fiddles with Becka’s dress. When she was finished she’d pulled the skirt up and tucked it in such a way that both of Becka’s legs were now bare, nearly to the hip. Leslie then did the same with her own dress. Leslie smiled at Becka, ”we’re all friends here now, so we shouldn’t be so worried about modesty.”
Becka nods in agreement. “I am definitely much cooler now. Thank you.” Becka heard the moment the men finished their business, but waited another minute or two before turning to them. “Are you men finally all done with your business?” She pats the couch between her and Leslie, “why don’t you come join us and be more sociable?”
Aaron jumped at Becka's invitation very quickly. He had enjoyed all the female attention that came with wealth and Leslie was a prime example. It didn't bother him that his women were shallow and materialistic, it made for shallow and pleasure centered sex. He could get intimate with them until it no longer suited him and then move on to the next woman. His money kept them coming and he kept his money coming. In three more days, Alex would supply him with even more money, and he felt he was riding high.
Aaron parked himself between both women. He was so brazen as to use both of their thighs like armrests to park himself. His look was directly at Becka, with a big smile on his face as he sat down. When he settled he turned around to smile at Leslie. "Oh my, how did we end up with the two most beautiful women in San Francisco, Alex?" he asked over to Alex as if he had not blocked Alex at all from the couch.
Alex was not worried in the least at this point. Aaron's days of pillaging the corporate system for nothing were over. Leslie and Aaron would be lucky to see the light of day and he could think of no better people to slay than those that used their fellow man to live the high life without giving anything of value in return. Alex used his visibility to take out the big criminals They rarely saw him coming. Aaron had to be one of the easiest targets to date to remove. "I guess we are just both very lucky men, Aaron. It is beyond me how to explain such odd luck."
Alex glided over with grace and ease and stood before the couch as if he was happily inspecting an art display on the wall in front of the three. He gave Becka a wink that neither Aaron or Leslie caught. Aaron was busy making eyes at Becka's legs, as arousal scene rolled off him in waves. Leslie was parking her left hand on Aaron's shoulder as her right hand had newly received her wine glass when Aaron sat down.
Leslie was confused as to how to handle the situation. Aaron was definitely into Becka. She didn't know whether to try to hang onto Aaron for the evening or if she was getting dumped. She looked over at Alex and wondered what the possibilities were. She didn't want to lose her lifestyle tonight, and Becka seemed like a threat only Alex might be able to save her from by sweeping Becka away.
Alex was still trying to wait for sign from Becka on how she wanted to play this. Becka could sweep Aaron away and that meant Alex would just take Leslie. She could also throw Aaron and Leslie at each other and after being fed upon, they would remember some of the most incredible sex they had ever had. There was also the option of the orgy, which would allow Becka the most pleasure as Alex's touch was very real for her and Becka could use Leslie to tune further sexual vibes from. Either way, both of them had a three night dining experience ahead of them.
Aaron undid his tie and top two buttons of his shirt after pulling off his jacket and throwing it behind him on the couch back. He spread his arms out wide as well leaving things wide open to the women to move in on him. Aaron piped up, "Heck, maybe we should just make it an underwear party." Alex took another sip of his wine.
Becka smiled as Aaron sat between her and Leslie. She giggled at his comment about beautiful women, and leaned around him to look at Leslie. “Is he always this much of a suck up?” Her voice was teasing, but stopped and she paused to study Leslie. She could tell Leslie was getting upset again at the attention Aaron was giving her, so she decided on another route. She gave Aaron a pat on the leg and then stood, she gave Alex a quick nuzzle and then forced Aaron to scoot over into the place she just vacated. Sitting back down, she lightly placed a hand on Leslie’s shoulder. “Actually Aaron, I’m more interested in Leslie. Though, if she doesn’t mind and wants to let you, I have no problems with you joining in.”
She lightly ran her fingers up Leslie’s shoulder and neck. She remembered how Alex had called forth a reaction in her the night before and attempted the same in Leslie. It seemed she overdid it though as the woman’s scent suddenly filled the room that even the Human could smell it. Add to that that Leslie’s eyes rolled back in her head and she nearly screamed as she had an orgasm just from Becka’s touch, and even the most dense of people could tell. Becka lightly bit her lip at her mess up, then decided, in for a penny, in for a pound.
Becka leans back into Aaron, and gives Alex a slight motion to continue with the stuptified Leslie. She wraps an arm around Aaron’s neck with her hand coming to rest in the crook of his shoulder. Knowing what she did now, she decides to give him the same intensity. Easier if they are mindless. Normally she wouldn’t mind a tumble in the sheets with her prey, but Aaron revolted her with his blatant disregard for female intelligence. She’d rather have Leslie, but knew Alex wasn’t bi by his comments the night before.
Almost instantly, Aaron’s scent filled the room and he too was crying out in pleasure. Becka sighed; Humans were too easy to please now. With her Sire dead and new abilities literally at her fingertips, she sure hoped unlife didn’t start getting boring now, she could see living out however long an eternity she had bored out of her mind. Which she’d always thought was half of the Ancients and Old As Dirt Ones problems, and why they did as they did.
Alex laughed at Leslie's orgasm. Poor Becka was going to have as much trouble learning to play with her food as she had learning not to kick the hell out of Alex last night. At least it was climax instead of a beating though. It would be unfortunate to kill their hapless prey and create a vampire bio hazard of dead blood. "Oh my, Leslie, seems to share out tastes in women, Aaron."
Aaron's eyes were wide. He didn't know Leslie was bisexual. His mind filled with instant jealousy of Leslie. Leslie and he already had an active sexual relationship and he planned on using it to nail her in a kind of revenge sex for stealing Becka from him. His hands started working his shirt buttons to start undressing. Becka had invited him in and Leslie was not a position to say 'no'. She seemed in a position to not say anything.
Becka's contact on Aaron froze him solid. As his cum emptied into his shorts, Alex had to laugh again. He was just going to have to take out Aaron and let Becka practice on Leslie. Becka needed control and Alex was positive Aaron would die of sexual overdose from Becka. Women could take multiples, men couldn't.
Alex leaned into Aaron and Becka. He sent a jolt of relaxation through Aaron that caused Aaron to slump into the chair and grabbed Becka's knee to send her a message.
Becka picked up more meaning from Alex than actual words. Alex basically sent Becka the impression she needed to tune herself to Leslie's body and feel what Leslie was feeling. Use that for control and to enjoy the sex the same as her victim. Properly seduce Leslie and then feed. Alex would feed on the spent Aaron and leave him with false memories of having intense sex with Leslie and Becka. Just before his hand left Becka he sent a message that another vampire was the only way to not have full control anymore. Only another vampire or a dream invasion could level the playing field.
Alex leaned over Aaron and lifted him up off the couch. "You should lie down for a little bit, Aaron. You seem a bit spent." He carried Aaron over to another couch and laid him down. His hands drifted up to Aaron's hair as if to straighten it, but continued past to bare his neck and shoulders from the shirt. Alex's form then leaned down as if to whisper something in Aaron's ear as fangs formed on his canines. Alex's mouth landed on Aaron's shoulder, though. As the four fangs sunk into Aaron's shoulder, Aaron gave a pleasurable moan and his loins dry ejaculated. Alex carefully started sucking a third of his blood out of him. As he did he started planting images in Aaron's brain of sexing Leslie and then sexing Becka.
Becka shrugged and gave Alex a rueful look. But she picked up what Alex was trying to show her. She moved towards Leslie and doing what Alex suggested she was soon tuned into Leslie and her body. It wasn’t too long before she started to bring Leslie to another orgasm. As she did so, Becka’s fangs extended and surfaced.
She leaned in more and nuzzled the hair out of her way on Leslie’s neck and sank her fangs in. She was hungry, almost to the point of ravenous, since she hadn’t eaten in a few days, plus lost blood with the fight with Nicholai. She was careful though not to take more than the third Alex wanted. She didn’t understand why he wanted to extend time with these two so long. Rarely did she play with her food, longer than it took to seduce them so she could feed and be done with it.
Once she’d finished feeding, she sat back and reviewed the night. She pondered the rest of Alex’s images and feelings on her quick lesson to deal with Human’s now. She’d barely after 400 plus years gotten used to the old rules, now she had a whole new set to learn. She sighed in exasperation and turned to Alex. “Now what do we do with them?”
While she waited for a reply, she straightened Leslie out and made her more comfortable. She rose off the couch to do so, and once finished, she straightened out her dress so it hung proper once more. She then walked over towards Alex and looked down at Aaron. She gave snort as she did so, and then looked up at Alex. “Thanks for the pointers by the way.” She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed again, “seems I have a whole new set of rules to learn.” She didn’t look thrilled in the least.
Alex picked up on Becka's impatience. Feeding seemed more a chore to her than anything. Maybe the stress of Nicholai had a lot to do with it. With Becka on a different blood line, Alex did not have a fast way to read her.
"Normally I stretch out feedings. They thrall in three separate bites so I spread out the drawing of their blood over that time to minimize the number of deaths. If you are still hungry, go ahead and indulge yourself on Aaron. It's not going to hurt to kill him early. Normally I can make a solid meal out of one victim and last for about two weeks before having to kill again, but I don't take much damage from others either."
"I also let myself indulge in the sexual reactions of my victims. It lets me into their dreams and usually I just create an intense sexual fantasy to bring them back or instigate them to letting me in their home. Once I cum in a victim, I'm free to create whatever dream I want to in their head in the evening as long as they are asleep. The effect lasts three days. You will have to get them to swallow your nectar or allow for the absorbing of it through their mucus membranes to get the same effect."
"Obviously with these two they aren't going home. I can show you with Leslie how to enjoy the seduction and take full advantage of it. You are blocking yourself from feeling their pleasure. The trick is to douse them with your essence and get into their heads. You have bitten Leslie. You are in her head now. I can take her and we can share sex with her three ways to show you how to enjoy the seduction. You used to feel contact from humans as a child and Nicholai used to force you to feel things. Those days are over with his passing. It's up to you to satisfy yourself now. Knowing where Leslie is sexually allows for extending the pleasure plateau a very long time. It's about the endurance of the victim really. When they've started to get spent, you can put a woman through multiple orgasms. If you open yourself to feeling it with them, you can see just how erotic it is."
"Nicholai needed to make you a vampire so you could feel pain he couldn't. He was a sadist, but putting humans through pain only caused it in himself. I imagine your sexual encounters with him changed dramatically once he made you drink his blood. Being a child of his blood line, he could leave you in pain and prevent you from fully healing without any personal side effects. I'm sure that is why he made so many children."
"Now that you are head of your blood line, you can fully heal. You don't need permission from a sire to use your power. The price is human contact doesn't mean much to your body except to influence the human. If you want to feel touch, you either have to touch another vampire or let yourself feel your victim as you touch them. It's a lot more power really. Control is as intense as it gets now. If we had sex and exchanged fluid, we would be able to send each other dreams and mental messages without touching. We can also block them as well. You share as much or as little as you want with vampires. You have to be careful though. If someone has a sire and you engage them sexually, their sire can gather their thoughts. Whatever you share with a child, you pretty much can assume their sire knows."
"Why don't you have another drink on Aaron. The anemia will pretty much force him to sleep until tomorrow night. We just finish him off then. When you are feeling more fed, we can do some lessons with Leslie. You will be amazed the opportunity you passed up going straight to blood drinking. Aaron just doesn't excite me that much. Men are not as responsive sexually. They can really only cum once every thirty minutes as well. I've already planted memories in him that will make him think he had the night of his life. Leslie will wake up weak and bit confused at this point though. I'll show you how to fix that and leave Leslie positively craving coming back to get sucked on again. We are built to seduce and feed. Nicholai perverted that with you so he could have you to torture. You just don't understand things yet because he was using you instead of teaching you."
Alex was feeling he owed Becka for setting her free. Alex had the support of his first love to discover things. It would be cruel to leave Becka to her own devices to learn things. He didn't want her starting to act like Nicholai and he didn't want to leave her open to getting used by ancients due to ignorance. Something odd was going on with the west coast and it seemed prudent to ensure Becka knew her leverage and limits.
Becka looked up at Alex while he explained things to her; she had a slight frown of concentration and thought on her face. When he was done she looked down at Aaron in thought. While part of her wanted to do thing Alex’s way, another really didn’t like Aaron, and she was still hungry. Finally she decides to go ahead and finish Aaron off; after all, they still had Leslie.
She moves towards Aaron and sits on the edge of the couch. She looks him over as she lets her fangs grow out once more, she leans forward and gently bites his neck and starts feeding. Once she has her fill, nearly draining him dry, she rises from the couch and lightly steps across the room, she’s feeling more like herself. Opening the door, she finds Max standing just outside as she knew she would. She motions him inside, then points at Aaron. “Please dispose of that. We’re still busy in here.”
Max quietly closes the door, and then lightly ruffles Becka’s hair as he passes by her on the way to Aaron. Lifting the man up, he slings him over his shoulder and continues across the room. He pauses at the mural on the wall right in front of a painted archway. Running his hand along the wall up close to the ceiling, he triggers the mechanism, and that part of the wall slides open. He disappears through it and the wall slides back into place.
Becka looks at Alex a bit sheepishly. “Sorry, I was really hungry.” She looks over at Leslie, biting her lower lip, afraid Alex might be angry over what she’d done. She finally looks back at Alex after a few minutes, “a’ight, I’m willing to learn what you are strangely willing to teach.” She motions towards Leslie, looking expectantly at him.
She looked away after a few seconds, uncomfortable with Alex to some degree. She was glad he was willing to teach her things she needed to know, but it was also an alien concept to her. Alex had, for the most part, been right on the money about Nicholai. While Nicholai had made many children, as far a Becka knew there were only two now living. It was rare for any of Nicholai’s children to live beyond a decade as a Vampire, too afraid they’d grow in power and even maybe ban together to destroy their tormentor.
How she had managed to escape him for over four centuries was something she’d never probably know, but Vessa had been created to find her, that she did know. Perhaps later she’d be able to sit with the woman and find out what had happen to have Nicholai make her a Vampire. In the meantime, she currently had an Ancient wanting to play Sire, and she was willing to let him do so as long as he didn’t take it in his head he now owned her. She’d lived too long now on her own without having to turn to a Master for every little thing, and she wasn’t about to start again.
Never mind Alex’s kindness thus far, she still didn’t trust Ancients or Old As Dirt Bloods. A little voice popped up on the heels of that though. But you like this Ancient, so where’s the problem? She gave a snort. The problem is he’s an Ancient. But you like him. And that makes him safe how? Seems the voice didn’t have an answer to that one, and Becka dropped the internal debate with herself.
Alex's eyebrows raised as he waited for Becka to drink of Aaron's blood. A realization hit him shortly after. She was now head of her bloodline. Her body was taking over with Nicholai's blood now belonging to her. She was naturally thirsty. Alex had that little piece of information buried under thousands of years. He was not a sire and the minor details of fledglings becoming their own had been practically useless to Alex up until now.
"Thank you for taking care of the body." Alex usually left some bodies for the authorities to discover. Invariably, they found some crime going on near it and the death was attributed to the foulness found near the body. Other times Alex dropped the bodies off at pig farms to make them disappear. Aaron was definitely a pig farm body. Pigs really were very efficient at disposing of the bodies.
"No need to apologize. To be honest, I almost forgot you would be very hungry. I should have let you finish him off straight away. Don't worry; your hunger will be much more normal again now." Alex walked across to Leslie commenting, "I can't have the world's newest ancient forced to learn the mechanisms of being her own vampire on her own. That would just be rude of me."
Alex took a seat next to Leslie's unconscious form. "I want you to use your link to Leslie and feel what she feels. When I'm done, it will be your turn to feel what she feels while you provide the sensations. No need to ruin high quality meat on fast food burgers when you can have a well done filet mignon."
Alex touched Leslie's cheek. "Wake up beautiful." Leslie roused to take a gentle look at Alex's eyes and smile. Alex smiled right back at her, his eyes alive with a smile that wasn't really real. "Becka is a dream," Leslie mused. "You are very much true there, Leslie." Alex had to agree. Leslie looked about for Aaron. "Where did Aaron go?" Her question put a frown on her face. "Oh, business. It appears my deal got him overexcited. He asked Becka and me to take care of you until he returned. Seeing your beautiful face, I just couldn't deny him his haste. Becka and I both want to make you feel incredibly welcomed." Alex's hand guided her face to his and he gave Leslie a gentle kiss. Her expression changed from a frown to relaxed indulgence. From there, Alex's body gracefully glided to straddle Leslie's lap. "We may as well make you comfortable while you await his return." Alex leaned in and gave Leslie an intensely deep and passionate kiss. Her arms rose to take his shoulders while Alex's hands gracefully and quickly started undoing her dress.
With Leslie's dress unfastened, Alex slipped up to his feet and held out a hand to let Leslie up. Her cheeks were managing a mild blush despite the anemia of her system. She took his hand and stood up before Alex. Alex used his contact with her to keep her steady without trembling. Her muscles obeyed because of her desire to feel what must invariably be coming. Alex smiled as his hands gracefully pushed the dress to fall about Leslie's ankles. He leaned in for another passionate kiss while his hands slipped up her sides and around her bra strap. His fingers unclasped it with death defying skill and as he stepped back the bra came right with him as Leslie cooperatively held her arms forward. Alex's eyes drifted down to her bare chest. "Leslie, your body is as good a female form as there could be to try to keep up with the beauty of your eyes." Leslie smiled despite herself. "Do I get to see you?" she replied, biting her bottom lip., Alex winked and started undoing his shirt after letting Leslie's bra fall to the floor. "Could I honestly deny you a simple request like that?"
Alex slipped off his shirt and tossed it behind him. "You see? I'm not nearly as beautiful as you." He gave Leslie another wink and started undoing his pants. He slipped out of them easily, revealing black silk underwear that matched his shirt and pants. There was no elastic. Draw strings held up both his underwear and his socks. His manhood was aroused just as Leslie's womanhood was aroused. His contact with Leslie allowed his body to tune to Leslie's. Alex slipped out of his shoes and they came off when he leaned over to draw his pants off his feet. His wrist sent all three items behind him on top of his shirt. "I really do think you are going to enjoy your stay with us Leslie." Leslie could not help but return his smile. She looked over to Becka suddenly, though. "Becka, please join us." Alex thought that was the sweetest plea he ever heard a human make.
Becka made a slight strangled sound when Alex called her an Ancient. Gods Above, she wasn’t even close to being an Ancient, maybe in 4000+ years, if she lived that long, and may those same Gods keep her from becoming as asinine as most Ancients she came across. She’d have to take steps to have herself destroyed if she ever did, something she should probably start setting up now, well once this was all over anyway. She quickly dropped the thoughts and brought herself to the task at hand. She was a bit surprised to find the link with Leslie was easy to access. Through Leslie, she felt everything Alex did, touching her, kissing her, straddling her, undressing her even. She found it erotic in and of itself, and it added to the thrill of just also watching Alex and Leslie together.
It had taken Becka nearly 50 years after leaving Nicholai’s grasp to find that sex could actually be pleasurable and not painful or a chore. When she did, she also found that she liked sex with both men and women, and didn’t see the point in limiting herself to just one sex. She was immensely relieved to find that she had a way to still enjoy sex with no Sire now.
She smiled at Leslie when she made her request and walked over to the both of them, more than willing to turn it into a threesome. As she did so, she managed to pull the dress up and off, revealing that she wore absolutely nothing on underneath. She’d never, even in her Human life had much use for the undergarments of a dress, and with her Turning, she’d found her body stayed just as firm as it had been at the time her Human existence ended and her Vampire one began, so she saw no use in bothering with a bra.
With a flick of her wrist, her dress landed close to Alex’s clothes. She reached out to Leslie and lightly caressed her cheek. She’d ‘seen’ how Alex kept Leslie from skyrocketing to the Great Orgasmic Heaven of No Return, and mimicked it. Continued the caress down Leslie’s neck and stepped lightly behind her, letting her hand trail down until she cupped her breast and started kneading it and playing with the hardened nipple. She lightly rained kisses along Leslie’s shoulder and neck, while her other hand trailed down Leslie’s shoulder blade and around and across her ribcage and navel.
Leslie’s eyes drooped and her head went back as she moaned in pleasure. Becka felt everything Leslie was feeling, it was like a warped way of playing with yourself and she liked it, her own heat rising and building. Letting her hand continue on down to Leslie’s mound, she soon found and started teasing the sensitive clit buried within, causing Leslie to moan, and move her hips. Nibbling Leslie’s shoulder, Becka looked at Alex, lust and need stark in her eyes.
Alex undid his underwear and let them fall to the floor. As Becka started on Leslie's face and breasts, Alex leaned over to undo his socks and send his undergarments to the stack of clothes. His erection was strong now. Becka was really pouring on the heat for poor Leslie.
Alex simply ripped the waistband of Leslie's panties apart at each hip and yanked them away. Leslie wouldn't be needing them anymore and he hardly expected a protest. His body stood straight up in front of the two women. Delight played on his eyes. It had been over eight thousand years since he had the pleasure of driving two women at once wild with pleasure. Leslie was breathing deeply to keep pace with the pleasure Becka was putting her through. Alex's right hand slipped around the four female thighs while his left arm wrapped around the center of Becka's back. Becka heard Alex's voice in her mind, "Control, Becka, control. Don't let her orgasm happen until she physically needs it."
His arms gathered the weight of both women and he placed them on the couch laying down. Leslie's eyes were rolling into the back of her head with her body resting on Becka's below. Alex gracefully glided to the top of Leslie. His mouth closed over Leslie's and he used circular breathing to fill her chest up with air and started breathing for her. Leslie's chest heaved, pressing her one breast into Becka's messaging hand and the other breast pressed her free nipple to graze Alex's chest. Becka found her wrist between Leslie's and Alex's stomachs.
Alex's legs forced Leslie's thighs wide open. His hips and ass rolled forward to press his cock into Leslie's drenched canal. His cock didn't take the usual stab though. It curled up to run the head right into Leslie's g-spot and press it aggressively. Leslie would have been hyperventilating at that point, but Alex's lungs kept steady air traveling in and out of her chest. Leslie wanted to scream with ecstasy she never had encountered in her life, but her lungs would not let it happen. Alex started thrusting and grinding her g-spot with his cock head while his shaft seemed to circle her entrance. His right hand came up to tease Leslie's other nipple while his left hand came around and searched out Becka's right nipple. As his fingers pinched Becka's nipple with one hand, his other hand kept grazing and teasing Leslie's other nipple.
"Better let her orgasm." Alex could feel Leslie's body losing complete control and needing its release. Alex wasn't going to let the orgasm stop though. His cock had Leslie's canal captive. Sharing contact with both women, he could read whatever penetration their tunnels desired to continue repeated orgasms. Leslie was going to have her sex drenched in Alex's cum. His vampire body was going to keep pace with them.
At Alex’s insistence, Becka slowed down on Leslie. Becka felt her own pleasure taper off a bit. She both loved and hated that sensation. She loved building up and backing off before orgasm, but sometimes it could get frustrating if it went on too long. Even Alex’s hand on her back added to her pleasure.
Becka felt Leslie’s nipple graze Alex’s chest like it was her own and let out a soft groan. She felt Alex force Leslie’s legs open and her own automatically opened as Leslie’s did. Becka moaned loudly when Alex entered Leslie, she’d never felt such before herself and was lost at how pleasurable it was. The intensity built as Alex played with both hers and Leslie’s nipples, added to her already playing with one of Leslie’s nipples; it was a bizarre sensation that nearly drove her over the edge.
The moment Alex said to release Leslie, Becka let her cum. Her own orgasm coming as well and Becka cried out as Leslie couldn’t. Their joining allowed Becka to share with Alex. Though in the throes of her own pleasure, she shared more than she wanted too, there was no doubt she wanted to know this pleasure first hand instead of through a surrogate. She didn’t let up on Leslie though in the midst of their shared pleasure.
Her hand left off Leslie’s breast to caress Alex’s ribs. She raked her nails back up his ribs, not too hard, but enough to feel. A new ache built in her, she knew what she needed and projected the thought without thinking. Women were fun, but nothing took the place of a nice stiff cock pounding you. Had it just been her and Leslie, she wouldn’t have gotten this urge, but with a male in the mix, it always came about. Becka moaned with want and need.
Leslie now had firm links to both Alex and Becka, though Becka held a slight advantage having actual fed off Leslie. The smell of sex filled the air. The women were producing a lot of nectar and Alex's sensitive smell positively reveled in the scents. Alex actually shuddered when Becka touched him. It had been an extremely long time since a vampire touched him in a way that he had to feel. His own body registering his own pleasure was a shock and surprise. He would have to let Becka in on contact directly between the two of them.
Alex's hands let go of the nipples and took Becka's shoulders in a tight firm grip. His withdraw came completely out of Leslie and with a fast and hard action his hips whipped around Leslie's crotch to stab his cock straight into Becka's canal. Leslie's sex met a hard press from Alex's stomach as Becka's cervix seemed to bounce off Alex's head. What he was going to do, Leslie's body could not handle. Becka's and Alex's bodies would enjoy it just fine.
Determination and concentration filled Alex's face. His thrusts were something no human could do. His withdrawal was a complete pull out and every thrust sent his head through Becka's crevice, entrance, and canal only to get stopped by her cervix. Becka's pussy now felt a fresh perfectly aimed invasion of Alex over and over again with plenty of force. He knew how women craved it, but none of his partners had the physical ability to do it. He now had Becka both craving and able to take it.
Her canal spreading around his shaft sent pleasure though him at a level he had forgotten as much as the touch to his ribs. Alex lost a whole level of control that had been at his beck and call for all of written history twice over. He could not stop the pleasure Becka's canal fired through his divk. He couldn't stop the climax either. His ropes ended up both deep inside Becka and on the surface of her mound. "Becka," he whispered. It was an incredibly loud whisper though, at least to vampires. It echoed off the walls and seemed to carry in the air. Leslie started moaning Becka's name when she heard it and would have done freakish things for Becka had Becka commanded it.
Alex did not want to stop. Memories from long, long ago told him just how wild this could be. If they sucked Leslie dry, Alex would be able to cum at least forty times. If he wanted to pace it, he would have to stop after four or five more. He would let Becka decide. He was leaning towards using Leslie up and his fangs started to grow.
Becka felt Alex’s pleasure through their link, and she released her touch on Leslie completely to let her hands run over Alex’s body roughly. Their shared pleasure was driving Becka insane. And she wanted Leslie out of the way to feel Alex close to her completely. Before she could follow up on that urge, Alex grabbed her shoulders and entered her with such force as to jar her even under Leslie.
Becka went wild, clutching and grabbing at him. She matched his thrusts with equal force in return. Sex just went to a whole new level for her, and there would be no going back from now on. Everything up to this point paled and washed out in comparison. She’d always wondered what it felt like from a man’s perspective, and it blew her mind away to finally find out.
She felt herself tight around his shaft and his head bouncing off her cervix, it drove her nuts. She groans Alex’s name as she has the hardest and most intense orgasm of her life. She feels her walls tighten around him like a vice, and it fuels her orgasm to new heights while in the middle of it. When he cums, her eyes widen as her mind is blown by the feel of it.
Becka sees Alex’s fangs grow, and guesses at what he wants. She gives him a lazy smile in reply, her eyes glittering, wondering at what he’d do next lurking deep within them. She can hear Leslie moaning her name, and to some degree, it sends thrills through her, but Leslie is now an obstacle in her way. Becka is more than willing to let Alex remove her. She conveys these thoughts and feelings through their contact as her hands run idly up and down Alex’s sides and back.
Becka was more than willing to let Alex decide the directions they were going, to teach her new things. That bothersome little voice tried to say something smugly, but she squashed it ruthlessly. Later she might regret this choice, she might not, but right now she was more interested in what else he could show her and teach her. For now, she would ride the high he was giving her with abandon.
Alex had to make a decision. He could teach her more by using control and keeping Leslie alive, but they could explore some very extreme pleasure if he consumed Leslie and shared a whirlwind night with Becka. He couldn't resist the newness of Becka's touch. It was too intense. Besides, there were plenty of humans in the sea and many were in need of dying.
Alex sunk his teeth into Leslie's neck and sunk his cock into Becka's g-spot. His hips did a slow grind as he fed on Leslie's blood. It didn't take long for him to start pumping and teasing her canal. His fingers traced up to Becka's ears and played along the ridges of them artfully.
Alex's voice sounded in Becka's head. "I forgot what it was to be touched." His laugh sounded in her mind though his mouth consumed Leslie's life. It was an honest and embarrassed laugh. Leslie really was in the way of things and it frustrated Alex towards the end. Finally the last of her blood drained out and Alex drew back in his fangs.
His hands moved up from Becka's ears to Leslie's underarms. He slipped her corpse right out from between them and tossed it to the floor a fair distance. He would have to snap Leslie's spinal column at some point to ensure a thrall didn't show up following him around. It was a single night of feeding and the proper method of a thrall was not even close to satisfied, but Alex didn't like taking chances. Life could do weird things at times. Knowing Leslie was not coming back at all would give Alex peace of mind.
Alex now enjoyed close contact with Becka. Their stomachs were in full contact. He used his chest to tickle Becka's nipples while resuming his pumping into her g-spot. His hands started traveling her body, mostly focused on the ears, neck and shoulders. He couldn't resist a kiss. He wanted to feel another tongue on his. His mouth descended on Becka's lips and his tongue went looking for hers.
He realized that oral sex would work both ways now. In his mind, he plotted moving his mouth down to Becka's crevice, but for now, his body hungered for another climax.
Becka could actually feel Alex feeding and it was a strange sensation, one quickly forgotten as Alex started to slowly and pleasurably tease and torture her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensations, only to open them and look at the top of Alex’s head until he finished with Leslie and easily moved her out of their way. She separated a small part of her mind and studied him thoughtfully. She felt his idle concern for Leslie possibly rising and dismissed it. Leslie would be taken care of, even if Alex didn’t take the steps himself. She was surprised though at his honesty and embarrassment, two things she’d never seen or heard an Ancient show, even if they had every reason too.
She let it go though, and emerged herself in the Now. A sharp intake of breath was easily heard as he teased her nipples and once more found and nailed her g-spot. She loosely wrapped her legs around his waist and let the palms of her hands travel up the sides of his ribs and around to his chest, up to and around his neck, running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. As he kissed her, she eagerly and hungrily kissed him back. She moaned softly into his mouth as his hands and tongue played with her.
The feel of his hands on her throat was an odd sensation, one she wasn’t entirely sure if she liked yet. Even though as a Vampire she couldn’t be choked to dead, it was a hold over fear from Nicholai before he’d Turned her. She’d never allowed another to touch her once she’d escaped from Nicholai, except small children who couldn’t harm her anyway. Try as she might, she just couldn’t fully shake the nervousness of having his hands near her throat. She never realized the fear seeped through their link and let Alex know what and why she was bothered.
Subconsciously her hands rand down his shoulders and arms until they found his hands. She interlaced her hands with his then pulled both their arms up over her head as far as she could reach, flattening him against her to some degree. Being shorter than him, her arms weren’t near as long as his. She broke their kiss, and nipped lightly along his jawline to his neck. With the tip of her tongue, she lightly made designs on the side of his neck, pausing now and again to gently blow on the moister left by her tongue.
When she tired of that she grazed her teeth along the muscles in his neck until she reached his ear, and then playfully nipped it. She then kissed him back along his jawline until she found his mouth once more and hungrily kissed him. Up to that point she’d kept in time with his thrusts into her slick pussy, but as she kissed him again, her hips picked up the pace. She wanted more, and she wanted it now.
Alex was simply marveling in the feel of Becka's hands on him. Her legs across his waist in combination with her touch felt all new to him. "Becka, your touch is amazing."
Her dislike of neck contact quickly drove Alex's fingers down to her shoulders. His mind mourned her loss of not being able to enjoy contact to the neck. Her hands were doing such magical things to his. She pulled his hands up and Alex really only had the thrust of his cock into her folds to work. Her tongue and breath on his neck was too delicious to interrupt. His eyes closed to savor her contact and touch. Even the feel of her hands against his palms felt exotic.
Her teeth against his neck sent shivers down him. The loss of control was so foreign. A moan came out of him and surprised him. His body was making decisions without his mind. It was just sending him messages not directed or originated from him. He wondered how he had stayed away from that for so long. The name Sophie echoed in his mind and he shut it off by letting Becka's touch seep into his brain again.
When her kiss came Alex's tongue was more than impatient to get back to doing something to Becka. Sex had been his direction for so long it was an uneasy feeling to have lost the initiative. The change in pace caused his loins to erupt inside of Becka. His hips slipped to a new angle at the command of his brain. His mind didn't go haywire from climax. It was a fairly common occurrence for him. As he came, he drove his cock deep into Becka again, driving at the faster pace. As the climax subsided, Alex shifted his penetration to a dive into her g-spot and a press into her cervix. As complex as the motion was, Alex really didn't have much problem coordinating his muscle movements to do it. It certainly felt intense to him, but with Leslie's fresh blood flowing in him, he had plenty of energy and plenty of ejaculations in his body.
His mind was certain of one thing, after Becka had an orgasm from his drilling in her canal; he was going to explore her crevice with his tongue. To feel the touch of her hot wet folds on his tongue for a change was a treat that he simply did not want to miss.
Becka broke the kiss and arched her head back with a moan as Alex released his seed inside her once more. Her grip on his hands tightened, turning her fingers nearly white. Her body tensed for a heartbeat before shaking violently with her own release. “Oh, Alex, yes, oh yes.” It came out in a long and tortured sounding groan, though through their link, it was clear she was enjoying this experience.
Becka reveled in the feel of Alex’s body against hers, and the orgasm wracking her body. Her nipples were so tight it was painful, and her orgasm seemed to have no end in sight. Finally unable to take anymore, she pulled him close by tightening her legs around his waist and effectively stopping him from pumping in and out of her well lubricated love hole. Her hips though moved in tight circles, making her have small and far less intense orgasms.
Her eyes opened and she looked at him with a slight smile. She was far from done, just needing a moment to regroup herself. Her hands finally loosened and then let go completely. Slowly she brought her palms around to the backs of his hands and ran them up his arms. From his arms she continued up to his shoulders, and then along the back of his shoulders. She then ran them up the back of his neck until her fingers were buried in his hair. Becka pulled his head towards her and gave him a slow and lazy kiss.
As she kissed him, and keeping one leg firmly wrapped around his waist, her other leg relaxed and pulled away from his body. She never once stopped the motion of her hips as her foot rubbed over his rump, and down the back of his thigh and calf. She then reversed the motion, but instead of going over his tight ass once more, she showed just how limber she could be by bringing her foot along his hip and up to the bottom of his rib cage.
Becka returned her leg back to his waist and then relaxed the other leg. It was hard to be flexible with the back of the couch blocking her moves. Instead of repeating what she’d already done, she settled for running her foot along the inside of his thigh and side of his lower leg a few times. She eventually returned her leg to join her other one, and ended the kiss. She looked at him impishly, and released his hair to bring her hands to his face. Lightly she grazed them along his features, over his nose and cheeks, across his lips, and along his brow.
Alex's cock dribbled cum in small spurts as he shared in Becka's orgasms. Her words were vexing to him. Becka's link was starting to get overshadowed with more powerful emotions in Alex's mind and she was going to be able to delve into his memory. Normally Alex would have been very alarmed at this, but in the throes of the intense pleasure Becka's presence on and in him was far more important than any kind of control.
"Becka, you slay me." There was no real way to say just how deeply Becka had seduced him. The touch of another vampire had become such a distant memory for him; he was almost as much of a student to what was happening as Becka was. She was stealing control of the sex and Alex wasn't even paying attention to it.
When Becka's grip halted his thrusts, Alex went along with it. The grip of her legs was more important than the feel of her canal around his cock. Her blue eyes and smile were the most incredible art Alex had seen in a long time. His eyes peered back into hers with longing and thanks. His face reeked of pleasure and desire and though he was happy, the lust ruled his expression instead of returning the smile. It was just more evidence Becka was controlling the situation.
As Becka released Alex's hands, his left hand alighted on her ear and started gliding his fingertips over its ridges and teasing its valleys in a light, fast, and elaborate dance. His right hand started tracing the features of her face. Her jawline, cheeks, lips, nose, brow and hairline all received attention. Her hands up his arms, shoulders, and back of his head created goose bumps on Alex's skin. The anticipation of their lips meeting was as intense as the actual union. The fact it was slow and lazy added to the moment. Alex drank in every moment of the contact.
Her feet ran a magical path over his body. She knew exactly how to use her physical prowess. Alex realized he had gotten lazy only having sex with humans. Becka was the master at this before they started. She didn't know how to milk humans, but she was a master at milking vampires. Alex was going to have to hope she was not hostile. She had unlocked much more in him than what he had originally anticipated.
When Becka released the kiss, Alex's hands jumped to Becka's shoulders and began a trip to her palms. Along the way he danced his fingertips on her skin and followed up their journey with a light graze from the base of his palm. Alex smiled a wide smile full of honest joy as she touched his face. He returned the favor by playing his fingertips on Becka's palms and back of her fingers and hands. Hands were intensely erotic in and of themselves and they received touch with much more sexual response than when they were actively touching.
Alex brought up his thighs and gently grazed them against Becka's lower butt cheeks and upper thighs. The contact was just unbelievable at this point. The only way to increase it would be to stop using his chest to tease Becka's rock hard nipples, but that reaction was so vitally intense and important, Alex was not going to trade it for a full chest press between the two of them. Alex let out a loud moan reflexively as his mind reviewed the contact between them. His cock gushed cum again as the mental review and actual physical touch combined in Alex's body into a critical mass beyond his control.
Becka felt Alex’s emotions and thoughts; she looked at him intently and gently placed her hands on each side of his face and met his rich brown eyes with open honesty in her vivid blue ones. “Alex, we never would have even Hunted together if I was in any way hostile towards you. And we sure wouldn’t be in our current position either.” Her look while still honest grew thoughtful. “Yes, I tend to avoid Ancients and Old As Dirts, until you, I had never met one who could see past their own thoughts and goals. And Max is about as close to Old As Dirt as I’ve allowed close to me.”
She gave him an open smile that even reached her eyes, and gently ran the palms of her hands along his cheekbones to his ears. Her fingers lightly ran along the outer shells and quickly down his neck to dance along his collar bones. Her fingers played intricate patterns across his shoulders and chest. “It is beyond me why I find you as appealing and fascinating as I do, and I truly hope I do not come to regret it in the future.”
Becka had never allowed her Change to affect how she interacted with people. She knew and was friends with Humans of all walks of life, Vampires, and even knew a few Lycans here and there. She had learned quickly working the Saloon when she first came to this land, that the people were the pulse of the town. Knowing and socializing with Humans beyond the thought of them just being Food, was how she kept her fingers on that pulse.
When she’d first discovered that sex wasn’t such a bad thing after all, she’d tried to learn all she could on the subject. She’d talk to the madams and their girls back in the day, even trying it out for a few years. To this day she still would visit with their equivalent, the street walkers. Humans could be oh so creative in their sex games. She’d even tried to learn about the Bondage places that had started cropping up, but those brought back too many all too real and painful memories, though she still would meet and get to know whoever was currently running such places, she’d just not step foot in them.
Becka closed her eyes with a contented sigh as she further enjoyed Alex’s touch. Her legs finally loosened around Alex, releasing him to do as he wished. “Mmmm. Alex, please, more.” The night was already half over, and she really wished Time would stop outside this room so they could enjoy each other until both of them had had more than enough.
Alex had to smile at Becka's 'Old as Dirt' explanation. Hepitet was the oldest vampire Alex knew and he was only about twelve thousand years old. The Earth had been around a staggering long time and dirt was usually impressively old to the ancients.
"Becka, as long as you tell me what you are looking for, I will be your ally. My agenda is peace. There has been too much bad blood. We have to live in harmony." Alex could appreciate Becka's saloon and what it meant. She was trying to carve out peace as well. Just the fact they both searched for a common end like that gave promise. He had as much to learn from her as she did from him, if not more. He had been a hermit for too long. Alex wasn't even aware Lycans had survived.
Becka was very safe from bondage now. Nicholai could no longer force her to stay in bondage and her strength would overpower any item used to trap her. The sun was the only thing that could prevent her from going to a place apart from a few very rare relics. Alex did possess an Ankh that would repel and burn any vampire, but it was not a plaything. It was his secret weapon if he ever faced a vampire older than him hell bent on destruction like Nicholai. Age brought a kind of natural wisdom though. Nicholai had to be the oldest vampire he met yet that was still twisted to the degree Nicholai was.
As his fingers got closer to her crevice, his tongue dipped into her tunnel and fluttered there. In concert, his left hand collapsed and buried into her canal while his tongue pressed a path up to her bud. The outside edges of his tongue teased her inner lips while her valley enjoyed a full press from the tip of his tongue up to just below her clit. His thumb took a quick dip at her nectar and slid the soft wet path down to her sphincter. There it teased and press her muscle without actually going in. His forefinger and pinky curled up into her g-spot to glide over the sensitive bumps and press into the tight cavern while his ring and middle finger reached down to orbit the sides of her cervix and cross over it with pleasing pressure. His palm opened and contracted to press and release his knuckles against the opening of her fully occupied canal. The tip of his tongue lift to just touch the face of her pink skin until it started lazily pressing the surfaces of her bud. His mouth pressed in to surround her clit with his lips. They sealed on the upper part of her valley and his lungs pulled her nerve center into his mouth enough for his incisors to catch her clit and let his tongue play with it.
Alex now had great contact control over Becka's sex. Her hands were free to roam his hair or her breasts. He could feel his loins preparing to unleash as Becka's pussy, uterus, and anus responded to Alex's pressure and touch. Becka's gush of nectar was very close.
Becka’s body responded to Alex’s attentions. Her breathing picked up while her hips curled up to give him better access to her hungry pussy. She moaned as he did things both familiar and unfamiliar. Her hands roamed over her own body, adding to the pleasure he was giving her. Suddenly her hands grabbed him by the hair and held him in place as she was sent once more over the edge. She moaned his name as wave after wave of pleasure assaulted her body.
After several long moments of that, her body settled into a more relaxed position. She pulled him up along her body until she could kiss him again. While deep into the kiss, she shoved up off the couch, rolling them to the floor, her landing on top. Becka then trailed kisses down his chin and throat until she reached his collar bone. With the tip of her tongue she traced one side of his collar bone to the end, and then gently blew back along the wet trail she’d made until she reached her starting point. Her tongue came back out and trailed the other side of Alex’s collar bone and she repeated the process.
Once back to her starting point she wriggled a bit lower and trailed light kisses down the center of his chest. Her tongue came back out to trace a line to a nipple. She swirled her tongue around it a few times, then gently blew air on it. She repeated the process with his other nipple, not wanting to play favorites. Becka then kissed down Alex’s flat stomach until she reached his stiff member.
She took just the tip of his cock in her mouth at first and sucked on it for a few moments, then she slide the rest of it into her mouth. Once his head was firmly in the back of her throat, she pauses for several long moments, just swallowing. Her hands in the meantime had grabbed his balls and were alternating between kneading them gently, and running her nails along them lightly. Finally she started moving up and down his shaft. Occasionally she’d suck just the tip, or swallow when his head was far back in her throat. One hand stayed to tease his balls and the other moved down to rub and tease his sphincter. She was driving herself mad, pleasuring him, and loved it.
Alex felt the cum fire out of his loins when Becka released to his efforts. The control and influence he had at the moment made him feel like himself again. He kept it up, not wanting to let either of them escape the rolling orgasm Becka was able to maintain. He let it break, though, because Becka was up to something new. He could feel her anticipation and had no desire to fight her.
His mouth started trailing up her stomach, forcing his left hand to the side and up to her right breast. His lips grazed her skin in a lazy meander that went between her breasts, up to her collarbone, and then had to make the regretful jump to her chin instead of sending tingles from her neck. He hoped one day Becka would trust him there again so she could enjoy it. The neck was a sensitive spot and could be extremely erotic. His sire had set him off with neck play when he was human. His lips’ meeting hers was a happy reunion though, and his tongue seemed to get lost in entanglement with hers.
The tumble was fun. Neither of them missed a beat. His hands continued to work her nipple and her folds. Becka wanted to land on top and Alex was going to have to give up the reigns again. Her kisses down his throat were a sweet welcome. Maybe that would help Becka relax and let Alex do the same at some point. She set his collarbone off with intense electric pleasure. "Oh, Becka," he moaned feeling her new touches. She was seducing him all over again and the loss of control swept over him in a new wave of feeling.
His hand soaked in Becka's nectar, had to come out of her crevice. His palm traced her juices up the side of her stomach to her right breast and pressed into her globe with his slick fingers rolling over her nipple. The combination of his touches with her tongue traces going off on his chest was mind blowing. "Becka, I'm lucky I can't die," he moaned.
As Becka's mouth continued down his body, he had to abandon her breasts. His hands traced up her shoulders over the sides of her neck and to her ears. His focus was too far gone from the pleasure to even think about skipping over her neck. He totally missed the mistake.
Becka then put a sensation on Alex that was extremely ancient and forgotten to him. Her mouth sucking on the tip of his cock sent a positive jolt from him. It didn't take long before his cock started to throb with cum pumping out of him again. "Becka...can't...control..." he moaned. He could actually hold in his climax response with humans. It hurt and took effort, but he could do it. Actually feeling it with Becka's independent mind doing it created a chemistry that was beyond his control. He would have been ashamed if it weren't for Becka wanting to do it to him. He wasn't going to have to fake an ejaculation, though. Many of his female victims who gave him blow jobs received a load he directed out of his body under force of will instead of bodily pleasure response. Humans didn't orgasm from blow jobs, Becka of course would be riding his orgasm.
Alex thought he had himself pulled back together when Becka took his shaft into her throat. "Becka!" groaned out of his throat. It didn't take long for her swallows to send fresh jolts through his body from his shaft that added his ropes to the experience of swallowing. His hands jumped from her ears and started running through her hair messaging her scalp. Vampires didn't need air and Alex finally pulled himself back together once more.
Her hand work on his ball sack would translate to sensation on her inner lips. The electricity made it difficult to reel his loins back into control, but he managed. He was finding at this point that not ejaculating was requiring positive control and effort from his mind and that Becka could pop that bubble either by touching in an extremely pleasurable way or mentally allowing an orgasm to flow through herself. It was a bit of a game of climax chicken at this point. Who would do something to set the other off uncontrollably and who would let a climax go off in themselves?
When she started going up and down on him with her mouth he almost lost his cum several times. Becka was obviously keeping him at the brink and leaving them both there. It had probably been her intent the whole time; just Alex had forgotten what taking a blow job had been like and went over the edge. Her fingers on his anus caused another jolt, though, and he lost it again. "Becka..." his voice moaned again, "...you are kicking my ass." The uncontrolled sensation was once more outside his typical human interaction. The student was decidedly the master at this point and his statement was more accurate than he wanted to admit.
Each one of Alex’s comments nearly made her grin in delight, but she wouldn’t be side tracked from what she was up to, and with iron will, managed to keep to task. Her amusement though, could be felt through their link, as was her startlement at how easily he came to a few simple teasing’s. Finally she lifted her head one last time, sucked briefly on his tip, and then swirled her tongue around it before leaving off completely to grin up at him. Her nails lightly raked the tops of his thighs up to his hips, where she planted them firmly and pulled herself up to straddle his waist.
Becka sat there looking at him thoughtfully for a bit of time. Their link allowed for him to know she was having an internal debate with herself, but not what it was about. Finally she sighed and shrugged slightly, and her hips started rocking forwards and back, sliding her hot and slick lips up and down his shaft pinned between them. She planted her hands on the carpet between his arms and chest, and then brought her head down and started to kiss and nibble the side of his neck.
Becka continued to rock her hips, letting his head come in contact with her hole, but never entering, as she teased him in new ways. Now and then she’d travel down his neck to his shoulder or collar bone to nip or use her tongue and air. Sometimes she traveled up to his ear, and used her tongue on the outside then blew on it. All of this teased her as well, but she held it back to see how long he would allow her to tease, or if he’d wrestle control from her again.
She didn’t mind how it went, since long ago she’d learned love making was a game of give and take, dominance and submissiveness. She could do either, depending on what her partner was wanting, though she did draw lines at certain things. It was a game she enjoyed playing, though with Alex, it had taken on new rules and new heights, as well as actual unknowns.
All of it excited her and terrified her. She knew no matter how their relationship turned after tonight, even if she came to hate him, she’d come back to him for this. He was the only one safe enough to abandon the carefully constructed walls she’d put up long ago to keep her inner self safe from everyone. To let go and fully enjoy the sex and the moment, and know that no other could reach her through him. She was damned and she knew it, but she would live with it as she lived with the shadow of Nicholai until recently.
Alex was embarrassed by how Becka was startled at his reactions. He should have had more control. Her touch was just like new again though. He was practically virgin to sex with a vampire that was her own person. He had even been the sire of Sophia and as the sire; he had more control over her touch. Becka was a complete free agent and his body really had no choice but to acknowledge her contact. It was extremely odd for him to be so disarmed. He was going to have to dig deep and remember human control methods with Becka.
Alex's cock seemed to mourn the departure of Becka's mouth as she gave it a warm farewell. His face returned a smile to her grin. Alex always got a charge out of pleasing his partners, but Becka was extra special in this regard. Her grin was something precious considering her dark past. The warmth of her thighs and lap was an excellent consolation prize to his shaft. His hands fell down Becka's shoulders and arms to start stroking the back of her hands.
Becka became hard to read. Whatever drove her indecision cleared though when he felt her pedals start moving up and down his cock. His hands continued to stroke and dance on the back of hers even when she relocated them. He offered his neck to her when she came for it and the sensation was a reward for more valuable than the action to receive it.
Alex eventually figured out she was teasing his body. Maybe it was some kind of test, but he didn't much care. The pleasure was intense and she could tease all night if she wanted. They were both enjoying it immensely and there was simply no need to disturb her work. Becka knew her sex well and Alex really wasn't going to be able to trump it in any way. "Becka, you are too good," he whispered.
He had certainly met his match. They both seemed to revel in pleasing each other and feeling the pleasing they gave inside each other. Alex was enjoying the newly rediscovered feeling of touch registered by his own body while Becka was discovering her new ability to feel what her mate did. Becka had made an impression on him and he doubted he would ever stop being interested in being around her and discovering her. He could respect her fire, even if she thought he was too old for her. He couldn't even remember having a mate take charge the way she did, he doubted he could find her equal to do it either.
Becka stopped what she was doing and rose up enough to look at Alex. She cocked her head and looked at him worriedly. “Is that so bad?” She had been enjoying their time together, and could feel that Alex had as well, but there was also his conflicting emotion over how easily she brought him to orgasm. She sat up fully and wrapped her arms around herself; looking away she gnawed on her lower lip.
Her gaze landed on Leslie’s body. She should have never even gotten to know Alex. She’d broken her own cardinal rule and got involved with an Ancient. Unfortunately, from the moment she’d laid eyes on him, she’d been drawn to him. It seemed that the Fates were conspiring against her. In the same night Ancient Alex and Sire Nicholai both decided to step into her life, the first killing the second and making her indebted to him. Then Alex goes and shows her the best sex she’s ever hand in her life, both Human and Vampiric.
Becka’s thoughts and emotions ran circles in her mind, and she realized she was hurt by Alex’s own thoughts and emotions towards her. He had gotten past her walls too easily and too quickly. She suddenly stood up and walked across the room. She stood with her back to him and hunched over herself. Her voice was soft and quiet. “If you wish to end this Alex… I’ll understand. I hold you to nothing, and I still owe you for Nicholai. I’ll still find that information you want. I’m sorry you have gotten tangled up in my mess.”
Alex was shocked at Becka's reaction to him. "It's nothing short of a miracle for me Becka. I'm falling in love with you and it's the most wonderful thing that has happened to me in over eight thousand years." It was the dire truth that he would not have told anyone but Becka. She found her way into him somehow and he wanted entanglement with her past the bounds of the sex they shared.
"Becka, you owe me nothing. Nicholai's death was only for me to set a wrong to hell and allow you to be you. This time together is nothing short of a lesson to me to reject all arrogance and admire truth. I've been away from real relationships too long. Please don't judge me for ignorance that has grown out of age in isolation. Your contact is too valuable to my soul.:"
The only advantage Alex had was that Becka would know the depth of his feeling and how much truth he was pouring into it. She had touched something Alex had buried far too long. Her bravery to touch it was far too important to deny.
"Becka, your mess is probably what it takes to keep me from wasting away to nothing. If I don't get entangled with you, I might never live despite immortality. There is something very special about you Becka. Please join me and let us search it out. My life has been dead without you. Something tells me my future doesn't mean anything without you. I don't know what it is, Becka. I just know it's true."
Sincerity was pouring off him and a dose of panic told all he was in danger of losing a valuable ally. "Submit yourself to me or control me to say yes. Leave me to silence to say no. I ask for your trust in me as an ally. You are free Becka. You decide." Alex felt an important decision was close from her and he had no power to do anything about it.
Becka flinched at his words at first; she then stilled and listened to him. She turned to look at him as he spoke. He didn’t move from where she’d left him, and she cocked her head at him. The sincerity came off him in waves, and she knew what he was saying was truth, least as he felt and knew it.
She took a step towards him, and then stopped. She chewed her lower lip as she studied him. She closed her eyes, and a pained look crossed her face, the war with her instincts plain both there and through their link. Opening her eyes, her painful war stark there, she hesitantly moves towards him, to finally settle next to him on the floor, but not touching him.
She looked at Alex, hurt, pain, anger, disgust, all skipped across her face and danced around. Finally, she takes a breath, and speaks. “You say I’m free. But am I really? I have scars that none can see, I’m so fucked up from my past…” She trails off and looks away.
She was explaining things badly and she hated that. Red tears started trailing down her face. How she wanted to trust Alex, but her instincts, everything she’d done to this point to protect herself from ever being hurt again warred with her want and need. Her turmoil floods their link letting him know just how torn she was over this choice he’d given her.
She turns her head back slightly and reaches out towards Alex, her hand stops and shakes until she curls it into a tight fist. The war with herself still contaminating their link, until finally she finishes the move and finally touches him lightly on the arm. “I want to trust you Alex. Part of me needs too, but…” Fear is stark in her eyes and dominates their link until images suddenly flood his mind.
Alex sees her and another girl, twin in every way to Becka, only they were opposites in personality. Her sister was the girl growing up, while Becka was frustrated with being a girl born in her time and unable to do things that were deemed un-girl-like. How, though their personalities were vastly different, they were inseparable. One always willing to take punishment for the other, that more often than not, both were punished whether both did it or not.
Both grew to the beauty Becka still displayed, her sister being married at the proper age, while Becka didn’t even rate suitors because no man wanted an outspoken wife who didn’t know her place. Which had suited Becka fine, though frustrated her parents to no end. To which she’d just shrug and say she’d have plenty of nieces and nephews to spoil, and she didn’t need anyone to take care of her, being better than most the men in the parish at most things anyway.
The next images to flood Alex’s mind is of her riding down a dark forest path, she had been returning home from visiting her sister, and encounters Nicholai. He quickly overpowers her and steals her away to his lair, where he Turns her into a Vampire. He keeps her chained and rapes her repeatedly, never feeding her for several days, making her feral. Finally he brings a Human to her, and instinct and hunger drive her to feed and kill. As she is finally sated, she can hear her name being screamed over and over in a very familiar voice.
Looking up she sees Nicholai holding her sister, and when she looks down she realizes it is her brother in law she just fed off of and killed. Nicholai hauls Samantha away as Becka cries tears of blood for what she’s done. He returns and repeats everything he has done before, starving her and raping her until she is once more feral. The next victim he brings her is her nephew, though she doesn’t realize it until she kills him. And once again he has her twin watching as she does so.
The last victim Nicholai brings her when he reduces her to a feral state again is her own twin, and like the last two, she never realizes it until she is sated and returned to herself. That third kill broke her for many years. It broke her so bad; Nicholai quickly became bored with her, and created another Fledgling. Why he never destroyed her as was his custom, Becka never knew. Instead he kept her around to serve him and foot like a slave. She had a feeling he kept her around as an object lesson for his Fledglings. Showing them how easily he could crush them and turn them like her.
After 50 years, she started dreaming about her twin. It was as if her twin was physically there and trying to bring her back to how she was before Nicholai, strong willed and determined to do things her way. At first she thought she’d finally started conjuring her out of guilt, but as her sister talked to her and prodded and poked, she came to realize it was truly her spirit returned to help her.
Slowly she started to come back to herself and pay attention to things around her. Nicholai had grown lax with her presence and brokenness. And shortly after being drug back to living she was able to make an escape and flee to America. She drifted around the new world, never staying in one place, afraid Nicholai was right behind her, until finally she came to California a century later, and drifted around it until San Francisco was started, sort of.
At first she kept a low profile and nearly walked into the Light several times when a Vampire drifted through, thinking it was Nicholai at first finally caught up to her. But over the decades she relaxed and started taking an actual interest in the going-ons of the fledgling town. She quickly learned how to adapt, and soon not only had The Bucket of Blood bought, but also much of the surrounding land. To this day she still owned several original tracts of land that were worth a million times plus what she’d originally paid for it. And some of the land she’d sold was once more in her possession, though much developed from its original barren state.
Finally her hand drops from Alex’s arm, and she wraps her arms around, opposite hands holding her shoulders. She was shaking badly from dredging up the memories and sharing them, though tears no longer ran down her face, and she was staring unseeingly at the floor just beyond her knees. She had put the figurative ball back in Alex’s court. She had shared with him something she had never shared with another.
Alex realized that Becka's situation was extremely difficult to deal with him. He wanted to make it easier. The intense emotion she endured to tell him her story was easy to feel. His own heart wrenching joined hers. Tears streamed down his cheeks when he realized just how evil Nicholai had been to her whole family.
Her loss was tremendous and Alex knew there was no way to help her. He was deeply impressed by how much Becka's strength showed through. She was simply amazing. "Let me show you my story. It's not as bad. I want to understand you Becka. I'm never going to trap you like that. It's not physically possible for you to get trapped like that anymore. The chains only held you because Nicholai's Sire will stopped you. You are right, the pain never goes away. It doesn't make you less of a vampire, though. You are an amazing vampire Becka. I think once you see my story, you'll realize just how impressive you are." Alex moved around to sit behind Becka and put his arms around her. He let his body be her seat to comfort her and then the visions of Alex's life started in Becka's mind.
Alex was eight as was Sophia. Their fathers were out fishing who were close friends and their mothers were out in the fields doing spring planting as the two children fixed and patched fishing nets. Alex had a crush on Sophia, but it was a complete personal secret. He would steal glances from time to time. It was Sophia that noticed the ship coming in. It was strange, big, and elaborate with sails having some bird design on it. The Alex in the dream didn't know it was Egyptian, but Becka could readily see that it was. Alex went to the end of the dock to see the strange sight and Sophia followed close on his heels, taking his hand for comfort. They watched as the ship pulled close to the shore and three bare chested men lowered a boat and rowed themselves into shore.
"Greetings fair sirs to our humble land," Alex said in a very ancient Greek as he bowed to the three men. They were wearing paint on their faces and it looked impressive. The men didn't reply though. The one in the middle said something curt that Alex didn't understand and the other two men grabbed the children. Sophia started crying, "Put me down, put me down." Alex didn't struggle though. Something told him to just stay calm and stick with Sophia. In the boat, he saw their mothers running down the hill screaming as the men hoisted them into the big boat. Their feet were already tied though and there was no way to return to Greece.
Egypt was not always a desert and as Alex and Sophia stood on the auction block in the early evening, wealthy citizens went through inspecting the slaves for sale. The two were easily the youngest and a couple took interest in them. "Serpham, these two children could keep the house picked up. Let's buy them," Cephia, the apparent wife of the man, said. The man was important looking, he placed his hand on Alex's shoulder and something felt strange. His other hand was on Sophia's shoulder. "You are right, Cephia, I'll go put in a bid."
Alex wakes up as the sun sets in a room. He is sixteen and dressed in a wool skirt that comes only to his upper thighs. Sophia is now sixteen too. Alex gets off his cot and moves over to Sophia. He speaks in Egyptian, "Sophia, the masters will be up soon, we have to get to work." Sophia wakes up and gives him a kiss, "Oh, Alex, won't you just take me?" She is dressed in a leather bikini. "You know it's forbidden by the masters. Come on, let's get to our chores. You have laundry and I have animals to feed."
Alex is out feed the sheep in the evening. The masters only do things at night. Cephia touches Alex's shoulder causing him to jump. He looks to see his Master and kneels and bows before her. "What is the desire of my master?" Cephia smiles. "Hold still." She bends her legs and runs her hands along Alex's back and over his ass. She reaches up under his skirt. "You have special services to perform." Alex is ashamed and aroused at the same time.
Alex is eating with Sophia on the floor in the corner of a simple kitchen. They are both scared. Voices carry in the night air. "How long Cephia? How long?" The masters are arguing. "He's just a slave, what do you care? You find out for yourself, you should already know anyway." Cephia's voice was indignant. "Fine," Serpham and answers. Serpham sweeps into the kitchen. The back of his hand smacks Alex in the face hard and he falls to the floor with a bloody nose. He grabs Sophia by the wrists and drags her away.
Alex is thrusting Cephia with gusto as a drop of blood falls out of his nose right into her mouth breathing with pleasure. Her canines grow into fangs as Alex's eyes grow wide and then her mouth closes over his shoulder.
Alex wakes up to being encased with dirt. He moves and to his amazement the dirt moves too, but not enough to free him. He heard Cephia in his mind. "I'm coming my sweet boy, you are safe from Serpham now. Sophia will survive too. Don't worry." An hour later the dirt is light from Cephia's digging and Alex wants to drink blood badly. Alex sits up to see Cephia, his fangs are out. "I brought you a treat my pet." They jump out of his grave that is in a cave and a prostitute is bound in dirt. "Go drink her blood, my pet. Fill her pussy for me as well." Alex obeys.
Alex slips into the house of the masters. They are away on a diplomatic trip and will not return until the next night. He finds Sophia in the kitchen. She is naked. Whip stripes cover her bottom and back of her thighs. Her hips are bruised. "Sophia," Alex says with grave worry on his voice. Sophia turns around and runs into Alex's arms. "Alex, they said you were dead." Tears run down her cheeks in streams. "It's horrible, Alex, the master takes me over and over again. It's horrible. You can have me now, They won't know." Alex gets a dark expression. His fangs grow as Sophia cries on his shoulder and his mouth closes on her neck.
Cephia sweeps into Alex's cave in a rage. "What have you done boy?" Sophia looks up from a dead young man with blood dripping off her lips in the corner while Alex faces Cephia. "He was raping her badly. It couldn't go on." Cephia's glare is dark and foreboding. "He's coming to kill you both. Do not remove the cloth from this necklace." Cephia places a gold chain around Alex's neck. He feels an ornament underneath the cloth that is elaborately woven into the bird design from the sail of the ship. The metal beneath is an Ankh from what he can tell. "Don't touch it. Don't do anything but obey Serpham when he comes." Cephia faded to mist.
Sophia comes up and stands next to Alex, taking his hand. Her naked body is no longer damaged. Alex stands with his skirt looking badly mismatched with the necklace about his neck. Serpham sweeps into the cave out of the night wearing a dastardly smile. "You two don't bow to your master anymore?" Sophia and Alex kneel and bow. "What is the desire of my master?" Alex chants. "You stole my slave, that's punishable by death. However, if you both do a very good job entertaining me, I might let you live."
Alex is on the floor in pain. Serpham is raping his ass when the added weight of Cephia forms. The necklace whips around Alex's neck and a burn smell starts filling the air after the soft rip of cloth and the snap of the chain from Alex's neck. Serpham roars in pain and rage as Cephia holds the Ankh to his chest and it burns into his chest. "Enjoying my pet, love?" Serpham tries to grab Cephia's hands from his chest and sling her off, but her legs have an iron grip on his waist and the Ankh has already sapped enough strength from his grip. Nail marks start to heal from Alex's ravaged body.
Alex cums into Cephia with the night sky lightening from the approaching sun. Sophia slips in the cave, "I've fed master," Sophia reports to Cephia. Alex gets up, his cock wet with sex. "You must return home master." Cephia smiles. "Don't worry Alex. I have made a deal with the council that will get you absolved of Serpham's murder." Cephia sweeps away.
Cephia gets to her coffin a mere few seconds before sunrise. She recoils in fear seeing the Ankh bare in the bottom of her coffin. "Alex and Sophia, you will DIE you TRAITOROUS...." The vision fades. Alex awakens quickened and Sophia rushes up to him in the cave. "She's gone, Alex, I can feel it in my blood. The magistrate must have arrested her. I wonder what their reaction was. We need to grab the Ankh back. Serpham has allies and we need to stop them." Alex gave Sophia a kiss. "I love you Sophia. I'm just glad you don't have to be raped anymore and we are free to share each other."
Terimat pulled the stone over the tomb entrance in time before Alex could jam the rock in place. "Sophia, we can get him tomorrow. I'm sorry. We have to go now." Alex pulled on her arm, but Sophia pulled away and ran towards the stone, "No! We finish this now. His pig uncle is horrible and they need a proper family reunion. He's the last one and we are done!" Alex wanted to pull her, but he could never bring himself to command her. "Okay, let's roll this stone, but we have to hurry." Alex and Sophia strained against Terimat to move the stone. Luckily, Terimat had been unable to sleep the day before and was weak. Alex and Sophia were winning the tug of war. As the stone finally rolled free, time was really up though. Alex let go and started flying to the tomb at full speed. He called to Sophia to follow. "No!" Sophia used the opportunity to jam the rock into the stone door and Terimat grabbed her wrist "We will both see the sun this day," he smiled. "Off me you pig. She whipped out the Ankh and burned his hand. Terimat's other hand whipped around and grabbed her hand away. "Is it worth it, Sophia?” he asked her. She broke his grip and started flying. Fear flooded over her more for Alex than for anything. "Alex, I'm coming." She pulled her hand free and started flying to their tomb.
Alex flew into the shade of their tomb and turned around. The sun broke the horizon and Sophia fell out of the air and landed twenty feet away in the grass. Tears flooded his eyes as Sophia lit up in smoldering smoke. "Alex! Sorry!" she screamed before a flame of dust and smoke erupted from her mouth. The vision whited out until he reached his coffin filled with dirt from the cave, climbed in, and fell asleep."
Alex stopped the visions. "You see, Becka. You are so impressive." Becka didn't wallow in revenge the way Sophia had. He was starting to feel love for Becka and he hoped that didn't upset her more. He couldn't hide it from her. They were too linked. "Becka, I love you." He wanted to just say it and be honest. He wasn't fishing and he knew she wouldn't be able to return it. It didn't matter to him now. They had both revealed their beginnings for the first time. Hepitut knew of all the vampires Sophia and Alex killed, but they never shared the moments. Becka had stumbled upon a room in Alex that had been empty forever. She could stay as long or as little as she wanted.
Becka was stiff at first as he held her; slowly she relaxed and molded her body to his. Her eyes closed as she received his images. At some point during the sharing, she turned enough to curl up in Alex’s lap and lay her head on his shoulder. One arm snaked between his arm and ribs to loosely wrap around his waist while the other came up and wrapped lightly around his neck.
When Alex stopped the visions, she raised her head and looked at him. Her hand trailed around his neck to his face to softly lay her palm against his cheek. “No, Alex, you are the impressive one. At least you didn’t disappear into a dark hole inside yourself, denying reality. You found a way to live with what happened to you.” Her eyes drop to stare about where his neck and chest met. “After… After I… killed my twin…” She stops briefly swallowing hard. “During that time until her ghost brought me back to myself, I don’t have any memories of, not any I can remember anyway.” She looks back up at him, respect and envy in her eyes.
Becka can feel his love for her through their bond, and she felt guilty about it. She didn’t love him in return; at least she didn’t think she did. Love was an alien concept to her anymore. The last time she’d known love was from her own twin. Even her parents wondered often how they’d been cursed with a child like her. All these tangled thoughts bled through their link for Alex to know. She had one more thing to share with him, and she opened her memories up to him once more.
This memory was far more recent, it was from last night. She had started to disappear back into that hole she’d mentioned at the knowledge that Nicholai was coming. She’d been on auto pilot by the time The BoB had been cleared and she’d sat at the table to await her Death. She hadn’t even been aware when Alex had given her the broken broom stick, or when Nicholai had finally showed up.
The only reason she’d never let go of the broom stick during Nicholai’s assault had been because her sister’s ghost had grabbed ahold of her hand and kept it firmly there. Her sister pulled her back from the darkness once more as Alex had battled Nicholai. Her voice strong in Becka’s mind.
“Stop this Becka, you have been free of that monster for nearly 400 years. Agathon will destroy him and completely free you now. You have built your life beyond anything we used to dream of. You need to stop this.”
“Mantha, you just don’t understand”
“Becka, I’m dead, I understand far more than you think. You and Agathon need each other. DO NOT ignore me on this. Trust him.” “
I can’t Mantha, I just can’t.”
“Becka!” Her sister went silent as the Quickening happened to Becka with the death of Nicholai.
Becka finally stopped the images, and looked away from Alex. With the sharing of their Beginnings, and this final sharing she’d done, Becka decided she would do her best to be open with Alex, blocking nothing through their link. With the way her mind could get manic, she’d probably drive Alex insane before too long.
Through their link, Alex could feel that even in this short time of knowing him, she’d come to care for him very much. But that care, scared her badly, and she honestly didn’t know if she could love him as he now loved her. She hurt over that and felt a strong guilt that she knew would eventually cause her to drive him away before he was hurt by her, or hurt her. There were other ways to hurt a person besides physical. She’d learned that from Nicholai as well. She finally looked back up at him sadly and apprehensively. She was uncertain how he would take all of this, and that too went through their link.
Alex was very intrigued by Mantha's words. He had never heard words from a soul not possessing a body. He knew souls didn't need bodies, but Mantha was something he was seeing for the first time in his life. Becka had said Alex pressed on, but not that much happened to Alex. Alex was not made to rip his loved ones apart. When he lost Sophia, he kept pretty low key. Becka had encountered much more than he had in her last 400 years. He was out of the loop and the political developments on the west coast were enough to tell him he was not paying attention at all.
Alex's mind pondered on Mantha's words. She was a powerful gift for Becka. She had said his real name and pronounced it properly in ancient Greek. He had not heard his name said for so terribly long. To hear her words in his mind that Becka and Alex needed each other was an impressive prophecy. It told him he would just have to use his patience with Becka and do what he could for her.
"What were your dreams that Mantha spoke of Becka?"
Alex could already guess how he needed Becka. Taking care of himself was empty in so many ways and way too easy. He needed to share himself with someone. Caring for Becka and wanting to learn about her was a vital reawakening for his soul. Sophia's loss had been devastating and his life had been truly undead since then. Becka was a key motivator and drive for him now. His love for her was a good burden. Love really didn't need a two way connection. His patience would supply what Becka couldn't.
Becka had shared very tender and important things with him now. It was obvious she was feeling something for him. He wanted to make that pay dividends for Becka. Mantha's mentioning Becka's previous life goals gave him a sense he needed to learn what they were and get Becka in touch with them again. Hopefully Becka would share those with him. It was his quest to learn them and help Becka find them now.
Mantha's and Becka's link was obviously one born of true love between the two of them. Alex guessed Sophia never called to him because her revenge thirst had tainted her love for him. In many ways, Becka's situation was similar to his old relationship. He had already been conditioned to fight for his love to the bitter end. He wondered what Mantha would have to say to him. Had Sophia just been a preparation to face Becka's demons? Was some kind of fate at work? Maybe the universe just was what it was and Mantha already knew Alex would hear what he needed to hear through Becka's vision. Alex was far past being afraid anymore. Sophia's revenge had pitted them against vampires that would have easily destroyed them if they weren't so caught up in their twisted activities. It had destroyed Sophia in the end. Alex would just have to continue to fight for Becka's trust. Maybe Mantha and Sophia could be restored in some way if he successfully breathed life back into Becka's dreams.
Becka had been watching him closely, feeling his emotions. She blinked at his question as she tried to re-align her thoughts to a life she hadn’t seen in 462 years. Her eyes glazed over as she thought and brought out of storage old memories. A fond smile graced her face and lit up her eyes as she started to remember. She gives a soft chuckle. “They weren’t dreams like when you sleep. They were more like what we thought the future would hold for us, or what we wanted it to hold for us.”
Her face darkens briefly. “Neither of us would have ever dreamed how our lives turned out in actuality.” She sighs and lets her hand finally leave his face to come to rest in her lap and she stares at it, lost in thought. “Mantha. Her full name was Samantha, as mine is Rebeckah. She called me Becka, and I called her Mantha, much to our parent’s disgust. We were identical twins, the only thing allowing people to tell us apart was our personalities. She was very much as a daughter at that time should be and act, where as I should have really been born a boy. It would have probably made things easier for everyone.” She shrugs slightly, and lays her head on his shoulder again. She also wraps her loose arm around his waist.
“She dreamed and talked about the things of that time that all girls seemed to always want, to get married, have a family. Me though, I wanted to learn weapons, and riding, being outdoors working the farm. She had many suitors when she turned 14. We used to laugh about them all when we were alone and couldn’t be overheard. She finally married Angus Ravenswood, and within the year birthed my nephew Patrick. Angus was good to her, and tolerated my oddities. And I adored and spoiled Paddy. I think I knew even then that I’d never have kids of my own.”
She stopped talking and her arms tightened around Alex slightly as she snuggled in closer to him. Through their bond her happiness at the memories could be felt, but it was tainted with sadness and guilt. Intellectual she knew that during those feral states when she’d killed her family, that the Hunger had blinded and drove her to feed and that in truth she wasn’t at fault, but she still felt guilty. Even though she’d been on the other side of that coin recently with Max, and she always tried to comfort him when his own guilt hit him, she couldn’t ever seem to take her own advice. Those thoughts leaked through to Alex, and she didn’t bother to try to stop them.
Finally she speaks again. “My life now is vastly different then that time, but I guess living for 481 years, times change. I own vast amounts of properties and businesses in and around San Francisco. Some I've sold and rebought, vastly different than they had started out. I have watched this town grow and become what it is. I’m overly protective of it, and want nothing to interfere or destroy or ruin it. The BoB is a haven for those who need much like Frisco herself is.”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed that there’s a large population of Vampires here. The more permanent residents, basically those who’ve settled here for 100 plus years, have learned to live together in Harmony and cooperation. I’m not the only one who watches out for Frisco, I’m just the oldest resident, meaning I’ve lived here the longest. There is still a transit population, mostly Younglings needing a break from Constant Human contact and wanting to be in touch with their own Kind, and Fledglings that somehow find out that Frisco is a good place to go until you can sort out your new existence.”
“I’ve already touched on how the Ancients and Old As Dirts on the Western Seaboard act elsewhere, and so far don’t interfere with Frisco’s way. It’s almost like we’re an experiment they’re waiting to fail.” She shrugs. “I have made it a point to avoid you Ancients, and as long as they keep their noses out of Frisco, I was happy for the ignorance. In hindsight, that was not the best decision I’ve made. But I have enough contacts, as do Terrance and Max, through their association with me that I’m sure we can soon find out who they are.”
She finally stops talking, and is content to just lay there in his lap for a moment or two and regroup herself. It had been a wild emotional roller coaster tonight. She realizes said night is almost over, and she grows depressed briefly, then turns apprehensive as she thinks of a way to keep them together through the day. Her coffin is more than big enough to hold both of them, she’d had it designed like that purposely after having to give up her coffin a time or two to help another. She is uncertain though how he’d feel about sleeping in a strange coffin, and hesitates to ask.
Alex, not having been buried in an actual coffin, had grave dirt that he had to sleep with. Cephia's blood that he drank to become a vampire had ran out of his body and straight into the earth. The coffin that he had in the BoB right now held that dirt and was not his normal coffin. He literally could sleep in any coffin that had his grave dirt moved to it. At times, Alex felt sorry for modern vampires that were stuck to a coffin, but he knew many just burned their coffins to create the grave dirt effect with them. Terimat pretty much died because his tomb was built facing the morning sun and he never got around to digging out the rock he had been converted on. At any rate, Alex was not particularly attached to any coffin. He only liked his coffins because they locked from the inside with no way to open them from the outside. If anyone ever locked him out, he could always just break his way back in, but that problem had never come up for Alex. He would have not had a problem residing with Becka at all. He just had no clue Becka's separation anxiety would have been allayed by him staying in her coffin. He also would consider placing his grave dirt with another vampire's coffin pretentious, though Becka would just have to suggest it to end up with a bunk mate during the day.
"We'll be together when we awake, Becka. I could move my grave dirt into that huge coffin you keep if it would make you feel better, but I don't know if you are ready to be that stuck to me." His humor was weak, but he hoped it would give Becka a small mental respite from having to sleep during the day.
Alex mused over Becka's story. Her dreams were there but she was living dreams now. "I'm glad you were not a boy." He smiled and winked at her as his arms gently held her stomach. If the ancients were up to no good it was quite possible they were looking to enslave more people. Why they would do such a thing was beyond him. Maybe Becka just needed him to end the tyranny threat. He wondered how Hepitut missed all of this activity. Maybe because North America just didn't interest him as much with so much of its roots destroyed by colonialism, but that didn't make a lot of sense. Hepitut was about as Buddhist as you could get while realizing Buddha was a good meal as well as a source of wisdom. Sometimes Alex wondered if Buddha was actually instructed by Hepitut. There would be no way Hepitut would let discord like this exist. Someone was hiding things and it had to be someone with pull.
"I think Samantha's message is about protecting Frisco and freeing other places. We'll have to see what the intelligence turns out to be. If Frisco is safe, maybe we need to push on the borders. Something nasty has to be going on and it sounds ominous from what you have told me."
Alex switched gears quickly. "How did you end up with the same surname as your brother-in-law?" That was kind of curious, though cousins did tend to marry a lot. He kissed Becka on the cheek and hugged her in close. Feeling her actual body really was an intense sexual treat. Even Sophia had been his fledgling and her contact had not been as alive as Becka's.
Alex tried to remember if he had met any ancient American vampires. They might be easier to deal with than the displaced European, African, and Asian vampires. Of course, they might be part of the problem. If this was a turf war of some kind between ancient American's and European colonists, things could be tricky to pick out.
Becka gave a weak chuckle at Alex’s joke. “You’re probably right. I think it’s just, well, ah hectic, never mind, I’m being an idiot.” Her sense of self seemed to be righting and sorting itself out and she was becoming more as she was before the whole Nicholai/Aaron adventures started. She withdrew slightly from him mentally. It wasn’t the walls going back up, but more like having him at arm’s length, far enough away to be more herself, but close enough to remind her they shared a bond.
She gave a snort. “Yeah well, if I had been a boy, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Heck, I might not even be a Vampire, thus we’d have never met.” She relaxes fully against him and gives a soft sigh. “Course, I’m rather glad I wasn’t born a boy too. Guys have such hang ups.” She was plainly teasing, her sense of humor finally resurfacing.
“Something nasty is going on, yes, but I don’t think Mantha, was meaning Frisco.” She gives a one shoulder shrug. “I took Ravenswood when I moved to this country. My family name was Locksenly. Coming to America, like so many other immigrants, was supposed to be a new start, a new life. I just couldn’t fully let go of my past, for various reasons, so I compromised.”
Becka finally wriggled for a moment and when done, she was turned around fully facing him, her legs wrapped around his waist along with her arms that sat slightly higher above where her legs settled. Why, she wasn’t quite certain, except she liked the feel of him close to her, and it felt right. She was shorter than most people, standing at 5’4”, but they still seemed to fit like a couple of jigsaw pieces. And she was being an idiot again, and mentally shook the thoughts from her head.
Looking at Alex with a cocked head she asks, “Just who is Hepitut, and why are they so important to you?” Curiosity was all that dominated her thoughts as she asked. She’d never known any Vampire who held another in such high regard as Alex seemed too.
Alex enjoyed looking deep into Becka's blue eyes. They were like icy fire to him. "Hepitut is a vampire about three or four thousand years older than me. He lives in Africa. It looks like humanity really did spring from there, because that's where I always find the oldest vampires. The ancient society I know doesn't behave the way this one does on the west coast. Wars have been running over territory and feeding rights for too long and the older you get, the more you realize that creating problems causes your mortality to catch up on you. The council of the eldest pretty much ensures vampires spread out and don't overfeed. Hepitut oversees that council. Vampires are not supposed to meddle with other vampires anymore and there is not supposed to be wanton siring going on to build forces anymore. Nicholai was pretty much supposed to have been destroyed with Vladd's dark revolution in Europe. What started as a freedom from royalty movement for fledglings was quickly uncovered as a sadist band looking for freedom to inflict as much pain as possible without getting in trouble with the ancients. Fledgling creation is supposed to keep pace with population growth. You pretty much have to move to China, South America, or Africa if you want a fair number of fledglings these days because of the stability of population in the first world human nations. The council is looking for balance. At my age you just want a healthy herd of humans that doesn't need a lot of interference to keep their society running. Hepitut wants balance as does the elder council. The wars have been ugly and it looks like someone is trying to start another one. With nuclear weapons, I'm not so sure vampires can survive a big war anymore. I have yet to meet a vampire that survived the blasts in Japan."
Harmony was the name of the game and Alex believed in it with all of his being. Sadism disgusted Alex. He only used pain for pleasure; all he really had to know was what limits his partner had.
Alex didn't quite get Becka's return joke. "Hang ups? Is that a physical pun?" Alex really had learned to be sexually open. Becka being bisexual was going to see Alex's heterosexuality as bigoted, but Alex could no more switch than a homosexual. His first rape had caused him arousal from Serpham being aroused at his pain. Alex had been humiliated by his erection at the time, but later as a vampire discovered it was generated by his rapist and not him. It was an honest truth that he would take it up the ass just to give Becka pleasure from it. He would have to explore her sexuality more over time, but feeding and their personal relationship would bring it all out.
He finally got to the main item that concerned him though. "What do you think Mantha meant? Do we need to return to Ireland?" Running off to an adventure in Ireland sounded exciting in many ways. In other ways it sounded like a potential honeymoon or a potential struggle. Maybe that was where the demons needed slaying. Maybe Frisco was just a hiding place.
Becka stared at him in dumbfounded shock. A Vampire 4000 years older than Alex? “Wow, that takes Ancient to a whole new level.” She shakes her head boggled. “I think I just hurt my brain.” She once more lays her head on his shoulder and sighs. “Now I’m going to have to come up with another name for Old Assed Vampires.”
She gives a snort at his question. “No it’s not a pun. Males have serious issues. Are they big enough? Are they bigger than the next guy? Can they one up their buddy and win the girl? And can they live with a girl making more money than them. The list goes on and on. Nope, I’d much rather deal with: Am I thin enough? How bad is my hair looking? Wonder if they have that outfit/shoes in my size?” She snorts again. “Though to be honest, those aren’t my concerns anyway, and generally annoys the crap outta me in others.” She gave a slight shake of her head and frowned as she contemplated his questions of Mantha and Ireland. “I do not know, Alex. Maybe, but I’d like to find what we can here first. See where it goes…”
She trails off, lost in thought. She hadn’t been back to Ireland since she’d fled Nicholai. A part of her would like to return and see how much her home had changed, but part of her didn’t want to change the memories she had of the place.
A quiet knock came from the door and her head popped up as it opened. Max walked in once more, he looks over them and then sees Leslie. He moves to the body and picks it up. With a slight nod to Becka, he once more goes to the secret door and takes the body away. Becka gives a snort. “Max deserves better than cleaning up after me. Strange, that one.”
"Give a man a label, you don't have to understand him anymore do you?" Alex smiled at her old jibes. It actually related to her comments about men. She had the same issue as men had. The males were not really necessary. About 10% of the males could keep the females all pregnant if they wanted it or not. This rendered men disposable so the sex race was far more cut throat for them than women. A woman was going to find sex if she wanted it. A man could die without sex if he wasn't willing to rape for it. It made a vicious little cycle.
Becka hated ancients because she watched misbehaving ones fall into the trap of hurt or get hurt. Vampires that really had a hold on reality understood you were already hurt if you were a vampire. The idea was to not hurt others you didn't have to and the resulting peace would reduce the amount of hurt that came your way. Aaron and Leslie died with smiles on their faces. If they accidentally returned, they would come back with smiles instead of revenge. Becka was having trouble dealing with being low on the food chain and being considered disposable because of it. She couldn't have children and she was under the same male problem that was more a function of age than anything. Was she older than the next guy? It didn't matter if you made good friends. She didn't learn the lesson of Nicholai yet. She had a friend that could stop fools like him. You didn't have to say die, all you had to do was ask for help from someone older. Of course, Alex kept that ankh just in case he did run into a problem older than him, but Becka knew how that worked now.
Alex understood he would have to wait for the reports to find out what was going on and how to resist or fix whatever storm loomed. At least he had beautiful company to do that with. Oddly enough, Samantha being dead rendered her older than any vampire. Becka had a powerful ally in her. Samantha probably had access to the wisdom of the universe. Alex had no idea how old the universe was. He heard the humans say they could only see 13 billion light years into the universe and that must be how old it was. Alex knew better than to give such weight to what you see. Alex guessed the universe was infinite.
"Max is a good one. Maybe we can do him a favor for being so helpful. What does he like?" Alex didn't much like being picked up after like that. He was used to cleaning up his own messes and Max doing it for him was unnerving. Alex didn't even get around to snapping Leslie's neck, though he was still certain she would not come back as thrall. It was just an odd quirk in Alex. It was probably a relic of having hunted so many vampires in his time. What he hunted was never good and it was always nasty business. He was glad Samantha helped him out with Nicholai. He needed that wood close to Nicholai so Nicholai could not turn to mist and escape. If Becka had dropped it before Nicholai grabbed the stake, Alex would have only chased him off and then had to deal with whatever mess the vampire could conjure.
Becka had resettled her head against Alex’s shoulder, and one of her hands was idly tracing designs on his lower back, she wasn’t even aware that she was doing it. “Not true Ancient. Just because you label something doesn’t necessarily stop you from trying to understand. If that were the case, you and I wouldn’t be here now. I would have walked away after confirming that you were Ancient. Your clothes and attitude gave me the suspicion, and your card confirmed the rest. I needed to understand why an Ancient was now lurking in Frisco. As I’ve said, Frisco is a town of Younglings and Fledglings. Max is as close to Old Blood as Frisco has.”
Suddenly her head pops up off his shoulder and she looks at him wide eyed, for a second. Her expression turns amused and sly and she softly starts to laugh. “Oh, Ancient, I think you will flush out what we want to know quicker than us trying to ferret the information.” She pauses and her eyes go distant as thoughts start whirling in her mind. She slowly nods. “We’ll do a twofold Hunt. We’ll still fish for the information but let it be known an Ancient’s moved into town.”
Once more she stops, and looks at him with a frown. “That is unless you have your own business to return too. I know you were here just for the Hunt…” She trails off and then switches subjects to answer his other question. “As for Max,” she gives a shrug, “I really can’t say for certain. I found him a few decades back. He was feral and haunting the hills around here. He was killing, but not eating. At first I thought him a Lycan, but the small pack that lives here had told me he wasn’t one of theirs. I finally stepped in to end him when some rather prominent member of Frisco society started turning up dead. That was quickly becoming a nightmare.”
Images flood their link as she remembers that Hunt. The Lycan’s had joined her; there was Terrance and two other Vampires. It had taken several nights for them to corner Max, and when they finally did, it was a horrid fight. The two other Vampires had been killed; several of the Lycans had been sorely wounded, and she and Terrance nearly killed as well. With help, she’d managed to force him to feed, which was what had killed the two Vampires and nearly her and Terrance, but it had brought Max back to himself.
She didn’t mourn the loss of the Vampires, they’d been asking questions that had the permanent residents on edge, and the situation managed to cure two things in one fell swoop. She finally shakes her head. “Max doesn’t talk much, and I’ve never pushed him. Until recently, he’s stayed below The BoB and not been visible. I guess he’s come along enough that he’s willing to play Bouncer. I accept him as he is, and this is home for as long as he wants.”
She shrugs, perhaps not the brightest thing most business savvy people would do, but Becka wasn’t like most. She saw things differently than most Vampires did, and thus far it had not steered her wrong. By owning The BoB and taking part in it, she’d managed to gain back and retain a Human like quality about her. She wasn’t distant and standoffish like most Vampires became, she was quick to laugh and joke and smile. She would listen if someone needed a shoulder, and she helped those who truly needed it. She had an odd empathy with Vampires, Lycans, and Humans, and was probably one of the few who could say she actually had friends in all three circles.
Alex had to smile at Becka accusing him of lurking. Her bigotry was still obvious even in her defense of her position. Every vampire, person, and Lycan was different. They all had stories and all had things that made their existence what is was and what they wanted it to be. Alex never lurked. His business always had a rhyme and reason. His victims had a good reason to die. Whether it was a human with destructive habits or a vampire that feasted on pain instead of blood. The earth did not have any lines on it. Even the ocean rose and sank while the water changed the contours of the shore. It took people to draw lines and those lines were just as fickle as the foolishness it took to draw them. It didn't matter in the end. Becka would see evil resided everywhere from freshly fed fledgling to deeply seasoned ancient.
Becka's investigative statement struck a chord in Alex's mind. For whatever reason, the old vampires on this coast did not enter this territory. Alex was now going to violate their neutrality law with a strong fledgling ally in Becka. One of the fools would probably come to him to explain a piece of the puzzle. It would be interesting to hear them justify themselves. Alex was one to enjoy the heart of the matter, and whoever came was probably going to beat around the bush and get spanked away if not killed depending on how rude and threatening they were. Alex didn't control others and he really had no mercy for others that did. Trying to control him was a recipe for a new suntan for most vampires. "You are right, Becka. That is a good point. We can do our own hunting.." Alex would try a little rebuke to knock some of Becka's prejudice loose. It was dangerous, but they were so close now, it seemed a very valuable tool. "Now, Mantha calls me Agathon. If my old label is necessary, I think that name does better than ancient. Pyramids are ancient. Why objectify me? When you understand me, my friends call me Alex. Considering you know more about my beginning than someone other than myself now, I think you understand the term ancient is just an attempt to demean me." Ancient was not a term he used. You didn't hear Hispanics calling each other spics unless it was in jest. You didn't hear blacks calling each other niggers unless they had an extremely close relationship or they were being very crude to each other. Whites wouldn't even call themselves Caucasian as brutally correct the term was. They tended to call themselves whatever land they took from others, like American, Australian, or Canadian. It was a kind of sad testament to their bigotry. Alex had a feeling Becka was boiling him down with a kind of disdain in calling him ancient. It would be curious to see if she was finally getting a dawn of wisdom with herself. If she really was being endearing with it, he would be happy to know it so the label took on the connotation of 'sweetie' instead of 'foreigner'.
Max's behavior was odd and Alex started guessing he knew more about what was going on more than anyone. He was aiming high and killing hard. He was also the oldest here. Either Becka had brought in a very dark soul, which he doubted. Max was just too cool calm and collect to be a feral fool and he didn't smell of a sadist at all. Max probably had uncovered something that sent him to a psychological hole. There was some key information in his mind as demonstrated by the high end, visible people he killed. Lots of extremely evil people used celebrity to keep themselves alive. Alex would have never come for Aaron if he was actually a renowned CEO of a major corporation. He was just a stock con artist that no one liked or cared about so taking him out was easy and a good move for humanity. "Max knows something key if my instincts serve me right, Becka. It's time to understand him. We need to earn his respect so he knows I am his ally just as he already understands you are. Someone is eating his goat. That's why you had to feed him by force. Whoever is that strong, it's probably going to take Max and me cooperating to trap and destroy them. You will probably be the main pin to give us the extra edge of victory. Teamwork is key and your contacts are more powerful than me. Evil people only count on themselves in the end. The people worth fighting for count on each other to do their part. Just as I had to count on Mantha and you to beat Nicholai, we need to explain to Max his value and how we need to count on him. Sophia and I would be slaves to this day if we didn't count on each other."
Alex gave Becka a kiss. She could feel all the bad feelings she wanted about him. She was good at the core and Alex would suffer her wrath for a chance to dance with her and feel that good part of her over and over again. "The day is approaching. Maybe it's time to retire and we can talk to Max in the evening."
Becka gives Alex a disgusted look. “Fine, Agathon. We shall Hunt together once more.” She looks away and thinks about who she needs to contact that Terrance and Max probably haven’t already. She’ll have to check with the Lycans, both Vampire wouldn’t approach them, Max for obvious reasons, nor Terrance, and with Terrance one didn’t always know the reasons why. She didn’t mind though, since she actually enjoyed hanging with the Lycans and now that she thought about it, it had been a while. She’d also have to approach the elite circles; she knew they looked down on both her friends as her lackeys, though that wasn’t the case. She’d probably better take Alex along for those meetings, though she wasn’t entirely sure about taking him to the Lycans.
Her thoughts moved so quick in sorting things, that all Alex received was images of Lycans, Upper Crust Society Vampires, Terrance, Max, herself and himself. He did get solid impressions that he’d have to rub elbows with the elite Vampires with Becka though. Amusement flooded through their bond intensely as flickering images of him meeting the local pack flashed through her mind.
Becka finally shook her head coming to the decision that she should probably introduce the Ancient Vampire to the local pack. They too knew that the city was absent Old Bloods, and to avoid any trouble, she’d better let them know Alex wasn’t a target. She then gave a sigh as she turned her thoughts to Max with Alex’s change of the subject.
“We can try, but I doubt we’ll get very far. Yeah, I don’t pry, on important things. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t tried on lesser things. Like which of his many books are his favorite. I got a shrug, nothing else. Even when I asked him something as simple as what he was reading, I didn’t get an answer, so I backed off and left him alone, in respect.”
Becka kisses Alex back and then easily and gracefully rises to a standing position and walks over to their clothes. Bending at the waist she grabs her dress, and throws it over her shoulder. She then grabs his and tosses them at him. “You are right. We should retire. While I sleep, I can sort more of who to contact, and maybe Mantha will come along for a visit as well.” She walks across the room to the painted arch and standing on her tiptoes, she reaches up to release the catch that opens the door there. “Come, this will take us below.” She disappears through the doorway, and waits for him on the other side to close the door behind him.
Alex caught his clothes and tucked them under his left arm. His analyst could run his business for now. He had more pressing attention to give the west coast.
As they walked across the room Alex had bad news to give Becka. "Becka, you are head vampire in your line now. Dreams during the day is human. While you can now be awake during the day, your sleep will be very dead. Samantha may be able to interact with you, but it will be at her call, not yours. Don't tarry long in the shadows during the day though. You have to sleep three times as long to recover from it and you are rendered human in power until you do. Three days without sleep is fatal and you would be feral to awake from such a long slumber for much more than a day. You know how bad a price that is." Alex had only missed one day of sleep at a time and that only happened twice. Both times had been a nightmare and taught him to always stay close to his grave dirt. The first time he was with Sophia. They had to make a long trek back to their tomb that should have been an easy flight for them. They were tired and sore when they arrived only a few hours before dawn. Had the vampires that wanted them dead found them that night, they would have been powerless to prevent their own deaths. It was the first night without sex as well. Three days later they had had to feed quickly. Their kills had been without bravado. They had simply found two hapless men wandering out late and drunken and devoured them after a very short chase full of terror for the humans. Neither of them could draw their fangs in and the hunger had been powerful. Their sex immediately following had been pretty vicious as well. They had tussled like two mad Lycans and had some pretty nasty gashes and bruises to recover from. The second time was against Vlad's revolution. Alex had been cut off from his coffin and had to hide in the sewers of Paris. The rats had actually been hunting him to his horror. They seemed to know he was vulnerable and had some kind of rabid hunger to feast on his vulnerable flesh. He could not recall the number of rats he had to kill and he was a fairly chewed up mess when he finally reached his coffin the next night. The feeding had been more controlled for him, but it was still straight forward and his victim ran in horror just from the site of a man that looked like he had been mauled by rats.
It was going to be interesting to see the reaction of the Frisco elite when they discovered Alex was the CEO of AVAMP. His commodity business was very well known and respected in the upper tiers of vampire society. Humans ran the day-to-day aspects of it these days. Alex took care of special projects like Aaron. Even the mob knew of his company as it was a cash cow elite traders liked to ally with. He could probably buy Bill Gates out of Microsoft, but that would be a stupid move. Alex learned to lay low to survive and he never mentioned he was the CEO of AVAMP. Usually just saying he was an employee was enough. Most vampires didn't know he was the only vampire in the company and it was so old from running stocks at the beginning that vampires didn't think twice about Alex being an employee. It usually got him all the respect he needed to get the job done as well. Becka was a certain oddity in that respect. He supposed that was why he loved her. She respected him for something she was seeing that wasn't his money or age.
As Alex stepped through the arch he closed the door behind him. He was well experienced with doors from the ancient elaborate to the modern technological wonders of security. While the basement of his manner used the old ones, the vaults of his company used the cutting edge stuff.
"I'll just have to find out what Max wants and give it to him to hope he talks. He's key in this business somehow. He has taken to you, so I’m guessing he's on the right team."
Alex hoped the locals didn't try to rip him to shreds. It was probably going to take Becka to keep them from his throat. They had all seemed to suffer from the younger and worst of vampires and somehow the level headed ones had not found them yet. Alex was starting to wonder if the truly old were just getting too sleepy. How could such hate have been allowed to build for so long?
Becka shuddered as he mentioned what her life could become now that she didn’t have a Sire. Feral was a state she never wanted to visit again, and thus far she’d managed to avoid it. She led him down to the Sleeping areas below and turned a corner. Soon they stood before the door that his coffin hid behind.
She turned to look at Alex. “I suppose you can try. Should I just leave you then to try to speak with him alone tomorrow?” While she waited for his reply, she fiddled with the dress on her shoulder. With the help of Alex’s arm and chest and various parts of her own body, she soon has the dress wrinkle free and folded into a flat parcel, ready to be put back in the chest she’d pulled it from.
Suddenly she realizes she left their shoes back in the room. “Crap. We forgot our shoes.” At that moment hers are now dangling in front of her eyes, which grow wide in surprise briefly. Snatching the shoes out of the air she whirls around. “Max, would you please stop that! Damnit man, you don’t need to be picking up after me.”
Max gives her an indulgent smile, ruffles her hair and then gently turns her to face down the hall and gives her a slight push. “Go to sleep Rebeckah, I need to speak with your… friend a moment.” She stops and looks at him over her shoulder, but then shrugs and leaves, not about to argue with the look he’d just given her.
“Morning Alex, Max, I’ll see you tonight then.” Soon her figure disappears into another room. Max’s face is unreadable as he turns back to Alex. He waves to the door, “may we?”
"Sure, maybe we can connect." Alex wanted to learn what was bothering Max. It was important.
He gave Becka another kiss as she worked her dress flat.
"Morning, Becka, sleep well." Alex bid Becka her sleep and gave Max a thoughtful expression. There was no need to play poker with Max.
"Absolutely, Max." Alex opened the door and let Max through. He was all ears for whatever Max was going to offer and was fine about answering whatever questions Max might have. "Something tells me you know a lot and I don't know much right now."
Max followed Alex into his room. He quietly stood there as Alex closed the door and spoke. His expression never changes, and when he speaks his voice has respect, but not groveling respect. "I know many things Ancient One; I have been around for a while. What I do not know, is why you are here, and why you are messing with Rebeckah.” His voice doesn’t lose the respect, but it does take on protective steel.
Studying Alex for many long moments, he seems to clearly come to a decision. “I do not know if Rebeckah has told you about San Francisco’s lack of Old Bloods, but they do not seem to come here. At all. You are the first since this city has been founded. Younger Vampires and Fledglings though do seem to flock to this place, seeing it as a sort of refuge. Rebeckah has lived in this same area the longest than any other Vampire. I think only the Lycans precede her on who lived here first.”
“Because of this, the Vampires that have chosen this place as their permanent residence look to her for guidance and leadership. She is the glue that holds the Community here together, and if you ever tell her that, she will depart to places unknown. She only sees herself as a small fish in the larger pond of life, and to know that many look to her would have her running more scared than she had been of her Sire. Rebecka is strong, but she is fragile too. Do not hurt her; otherwise the whole Community here will rise up against you, including Humans and Lycans.”
“As for her request to find the Ancients for you, Terrance and I have been busy tonight. There is an Ancient One in Los Angeles and Sacramento here in California, Eugene and Ashland, oddly enough in Oregon, Spokane in Washington, Reno and Carson City in Nevada. But after we’d conferred and cross-referenced our informations, we have come to the realization, that they aren’t what are driving the oddities here on the West Coast. For that you may have to go further. Have Rebeckah talk to the Lycans, they have the longest memories of this area. They should know when exactly this festering started. In the meantime, if you care to double check us, here is our gathered information.”
He hands Alex a folder filled with loose leaf papers and moves to the door. Once there, he pauses and looks back at Alex. “I do not threaten you Ancient One, I just want to warn you, Rebeckah has taken to you, and my own respect for her compels me to do what I must to protect her to the best of my abilities.” With that he leaves Alex to his rest and seeks his own.
It was very disappointing to watch Max miss the mark and not even bother to check that he had. Alex had come to get rid of a bad person and happened upon a fellow vampire in need. He wasn't 'messing' with Rebeckah. Something was linked about them and he was just following it.
Max's insight on the Lycans was something to go off of. Maybe they had struck an accord with the vampires and that's why none of them bothered coming here. Maybe Lycans were going to hunt him down and find out why he violated some political agreement. Alex wasn't going to be very happy about being treated different than any other vampire. People in this place were losing respect from him quickly by rushing to judgment.
Max's assessment of the community only was a reflection of the bigotry they harbored. It was a complete misjudgment of him without inquiry yet again. Becka was not someone he was looking to hurt. It was quite opposite. If this community chose him as an enemy, he would be happy to undo their evil just as swiftly as he undid Nicholai. If there was one thing Alex did, he tried to make sure killing him was a step in the wrong direction. This community did not understand that choosing your enemies was just as defining as choosing your friends. It was a young mistake and pretty much sunk them as a whole. He would just have to bear with the unpleasantness to get to the real bad part of what was going on.
Alex would love to know how Samantha felt about Rebeckah's place in Frisco and lack of it in Ireland. It was something beyond him though. He just had to explore the rabbit hole on his own.
Alex took the information with a "Thank you." There was no need to double check it. While they were unable to trust him without imparting warnings, Alex was very comfortable trusting them to do what they thought was right. Rebeckah had given the order and they had done a wonderful job.
Max had revealed nothing of what put him where he was or what was closing him up. A key issue was lost for now. The only step to go from here was the Lycans. It was amusing Alex had not even been aware of their survival past the Vlad Revolt. Many had pitched in with Vlad and had almost become synonymous with sadistic behavior as a result of their poor choice of friends and enemies. The bad news was Alex had no silvered weapons. He bet they had wood. It was a recipe for disaster if they wanted to kill him. Becka was going to have to lead that investigation. Alex might not even be able to go. Alex lay down in his coffin and pulled it closed. It would be nice to see Rebeckah in the evening.
As Max started to pass by her room, Becka popped her head out and then stepped out more. She was dressed back in her usual jeans and t-shirt preference. Max looked at her with a mild rebuke. “You should sleep.”
She gave him a sour look. “Max, you are neither my Father, nor my older brother. And never mind you are older than me, and thus my Elder, but quit acting like my nurse maid suddenly.” She studied him for just a moment, “something about Alex bothers you.”
It wasn’t a question and Max debated continuing the conversation, or just blocking her like he usual did. He had a deep respect for Becka, and it had nothing to do with her bringing him back from his feral state, or that she was the longest residing resident of San Francisco. No, it was the fact that while she’d poke, she wouldn’t pry, respecting boundaries others set forth. He’d learned this near three quarters of a century living with her that her pokes were more for her own curiosity then actually searching for information to hold over another. She just wasn’t wired that way.
Strangely, though he chose not to share with this woman, he still trusted her unconditionally. What had started as a test had over the decades turned into a game of sorts. He refused to even answer her mundane and trivial questions at first, seeing how she’d react. When she’d backed off with a shrug, he’d been fascinated, and leery, thinking she’d try from another angle. He knew Vampires could be patient, though not generally a trait in Younger Ones, and he was truly surprised that as the years turned to decades, that she really wasn’t concerned over him virtually telling her nothing about himself. He eventually learned she was content with just the fact that he was himself again, and delighted one as old as him thought The BoB was a good place to live.
He’d also made quiet inquires on her, and that was how he’d discovered how the Vampires of San Francisco viewed her. Oh, there were those few who disliked or hated her, after all not everyone in the world was meant to get along, otherwise there’d never be wars. But even those few respected her in an odd sort of way. And Max eventually came to the conclusion that those who actually hated or disliked her were in fact envious of her.
Becka’s bent on life was odd to say the least. She ran a bar that catered on the surface to Humans, but was in truth a Haven for Vampires if needed. Her employers knew what she was, she refused to hide that fact, and she had strict rules about her Human employees mingling with Vampires in general. She also made sure to teach them how to tell the two apart, wanting no mistakes. He didn’t know her reasoning for this, but had a feeling it had to do with her original days in San Francisco.
Another rule she had was that no Vampire could feast of the regulars of The BoB. That though he could understand, too many deaths linked back to The BoB and there’d be too much prodding into their affairs. Both he and Terrance made sure that rule was followed to the letter. Though they usually only had to warn new Vampires that had blown into San Francisco.
Finally, he comes out of his musings and carefully pushes her back into her room. Closing the door with his heel, he looks at her and decides it is now time to let this woman inside a bit. “Not exactly, more I am bothered with the two of you.” He watches Becka cock a brow and knowing her like he does; he cuts her off before she can say anything. “You are moving too fast Ice Eyes. You don’t even know him.”
The use of a name he’d called her back at the beginning of their relationship made her smile. “Max, calm my friend. Everything will be alright in the end, regardless of where he and I end up, or don’t end up.” She walks up and gives him a hug. “Thank you though for your concern.”
“I have never told you why I became feral or more properly how.” She starts to step back, but he holds her in the hug she’d initiated. “Let me finish Rebeckah, I know you’ve never pushed for information from me, and I appreciate that, but now you need to know things you didn’t before. I am old Rebeckah, and I too no longer have a Sire. The Ancients here made me feral. They helped anyway. I am too old and powerful as my own Vampire for even a handful of Ancient Ones to have any control over. No there was an even older One behind them, I felt the Age.”
“Something from my time as their captive though, stuck with me. They do not come to this area because of the Lycans. Something about this being Sacred Ground. No Vampire is supposed to be here, not even us Younger Ones and Newly Made. They can’t come here and put us all down as long as we don’t leave the Bay Area. They don’t understand why the Lycans have allowed us to live here.”
Becka let him go and turned away to plop into a chair. “Wow…” She is stunned and not sure what to say. She looks up at him, a bit lost and it hurts him to have to so bluntly tell her how it is. He moves over to her. “He’s an Old Blood, Rebeckah, he shouldn’t have even been able to step foot in this area. Something about it is supposed to repel Old Bloods, and should they ignore that, this place will drive them insane.” Dropping to a knee to look up into her face as she’d bowed her head, he speaks softly. “Just watch yourself with him, do not let yourself get hurt. And always be wary, he may do things he won’t have any control over. I’m not sure how this all works, it’s all New World magicks.”
He pats her knee and rises. “Get some sleep; you do not want to stay up past the sunrise so new into your powers. Trust me on this.” He turns to leave and hears her soft reply before he shuts the door.
“I understand. Thank you.” Becka rises automatically at his order and goes to her coffin for the day.
Alex woke up in the evening and rose from his coffin. It didn't take long to get dressed. He had a very bad habit of using seven different copies of the same outfit. With Max being a dead end, he was going to have to get Becka's help to approach the Lycans. Alex was going to have to be very careful about getting close to them because he had no real way to combat them while they had means to dispatch him if they could get wood into his heart.
He wondered where those two bottles of Merlot had got off to that had been left behind from the intensity of the last two nights. Certainly no one would throw them away. He figured he would go upstairs, inquire around, and see if he could locate the missing bottles. If someone had enjoyed them already, that was fine, but he didn't want them tossed without being enjoyed. The activity would give him something to do while he waited for Becka and explained how Max told him the Lycans might know something. The vampires were a dead end including Max. He slipped up to the bar in a good mood.
Becka had long ago trained herself to rise with the setting of the sun to start her night early at The BoB. She was already upstairs and talking to Terrance and Max. She was going over the dealings of The BoB for the night since she’d be away, again. She was dressed in skin tight jeans, and a slinky and silky half top with spaghetti straps. Her feet were covered in knee high moccasins. All of it was in varying shades of grey.
She notices Max and Terrance both look over her head at something behind her, turning she spots Alex. She frowns and shakes her head walking up to him. “You aren’t seriously planning on wearing that tonight are you?” Her hand smacks her face and then runs down it, while she sighs. Suddenly she grabs him and starts dragging him out of the bar towards his car. “Look, any other time, I wouldn’t care, but for tonight, you need something that says, well, that you aren’t old.”
Once at the car she leaves him at the driver’s side and quick steps to the passenger side and gets in. Once he’s in the car, she starts giving him directions and soon they are in front of a store. “Come on, they should have something you can tolerate wearing.” She gets out of the car and waits on him. The shop was run by a Lycan, and tended to clothes of more natural materials than synthetic.
Alex had to hand it to Becka, she sure knew how to dress sexy. He was about to ask about the Lycans, but she was obviously upset at seeing Alex, which was rather a shock to him. When he explained he always wore the outfit her reaction was not a good one. Why what he was wearing was a big deal was a bit beyond him. It worked at nightclubs where the food was, where else was dress really required? He was surprised the outfit said 'old' to anyone. You would really have to know your dress to know just how old it was and it looked rather business casual to him.
When the trip to the car was completed with Alex carrying a surprised look, mostly because he wasn't even bothering to watch his facial expression, he asked, "What are we doing tonight? I was wanting to see about talking to the Lycans. There is a rub there though. I'm a bit short on silver for protection."
It was nice to get to drive and Alex definitely did not hold back again. He did slow down spotting a policeman on the horizon at one point. "Sorry I'm not into the fashion scene, Becka. I just have never needed it for anything but night clubs really. The business community has to put up with me and I don't tend to do much else past reading." He honestly felt bad for being out of touch with the dress requirements for a night he didn't know what was going to happen in.
Alex wasn't used to not opening the doors for his dates. Becka was far past the title of date and not opening the doors for her was almost sacrilegious. He bit his tongue though. It might be considered too old fashioned for her or something. He just never knew a woman that didn't appreciate it and he was more than happy to help someone out with as simple of a thing as opening a door. When it came to the store door, Becka was just going to have to go through the door opened by Alex. He was a lot older and faster to make sure he could open it first.
Alex stepped into the store. Stepping into a store was odd for him in the first place. Stepping into a clothes store was even odder. Intending to buy something was absolutely outlandish. His analysts were going to think he went mad when they saw the bill come in on the computer. "I'm fine wearing anything. It is just this silk feels so good. Nothing can top it." There was also no sense in looking particularly appealing to someone outside the night club scene until now. He would wear a leather thong if he thought it would help Becka out.
As it were, he wasn't sure what the look needed to be for whatever the meeting was. He would pretty much have to take Becka's lead. He did have some odd things. Buttons were preferable to zippers, but the less metal in his clothes, the happier he seemed to be with them. The material did not matter at all to him beyond how smooth it felt on the skin. Solid colors tending toward black were preferable over any kind of design. He knew they needed some kind of look for him though, so he went with what she suggested in the end.
Becka gave him a charming smile as he opened the door for her. She was no longer used to such courtesies as they became outdated with the whole feminine movement that happened a few decades back. She looped an arm through his as she led him deeper into the store. She looked up at him. “Look, normally your dress will pass anywhere, but tonight, where we need to go, it will cause… difficulties. And we don’t need that for what we’re trying to Hunt up.” Becka always loved the smell of the place when she came in, leather was the strongest odor, but underlying that was the smell of green growing things, even the dyes here were natural made.
“BECKA!”
Becka let go of Alex and whirled around as she was practically tackled by a larger female. The woman gave her a bear hug then held her back at arm’s length to look her over. Becka was up on tip toes as she was given the once over. “You going to the Gather tonight?”
“Yes, Litha.”
The woman snorts. “Not in that you aren’t. Though the mocs can stay.” She then lets Becka go and looks over her companion. “And who’s your--” Litha’s eyes narrow slightly.
Becka is quick to step between Alex and Litha. “Litha please, Alex is a friend. And needs something else to wear.”
Litha’s glare drops from Alex to Becka. “There is a reason the Old Ones of your Kind are not here, Little Sister. It is not safe for him.”
“So I’ve recently found out. I don’t suppose you can save us the possible mess of the Gather to tell me why exactly?” Through their link, Alex can feel a faint hope, but a stronger more practical not expecting the help feeling.
Litha shakes her head, and the regret is plain on her face. “I can’t, but I can at least cut down on possible troubles for you. Come.” She links an arm through Becka’s and drags her off. Becka is quick to grab Alex’s hand and have him drug along with her. Litha takes them to a private changing room.
Once there she drops Becka’s arm and looks Alex up and down. She circles him a few times as she studies him. “By your clothes I’d say you prefer less modern apparel.” She starts to leave, but stops at the door. “Please, don’t leave. I love my store and don’t care to have it trashed.” And with that she disappears out the door.
Becka drops her head back with her eyes closed. “Damn, I’d hoped she’d been off to the Gather already.” Opening her eyes she lifts her head and turns to Alex. “Sorry about that.” Suddenly she smirks. “At least you’re not alone, seems I’m not dressed proper either, least by Litha’s standards.”
Before she can say or do anything else, Litha returns with clothes draped over her arm and a pair of low moccasins in her hand. Dropping the moccasins, she pulls a couple items off her arm and hands them to Becka. “Put those on. As for you, let’s see how these look on you.” She hands him a pair of black leather pants with ties where zippers would be on normal pants, and a brown vest like shirt that matched the color of his eyes perfectly. There were sharp V’s down the front as well as up, two finger’s width of leather joined the hide together just at his sternum.
Litha stepped back and gave him a good look; she grins slightly and tosses him the black moccasins. “Here these will complete the outfit.” She then turns to Becka and whistles. “I knew you could pull that off.” Becka just arched a brow at her.
Becka’s outfit was the moccasin boots she’d already been wearing along with charcoal grey leather pants much like Alex’s, hers though had missing leather along the outer sides right about where her knee caps started and around to the back of her knee in straight lines from hip to possibly foot and was laced back together. Her top though was the more startling piece. It was the same shade as her eyes, and there wasn’t a whole lot to it. A band of leather that covered her chest and tapered to ties in the back, at the top of her breasts leather thinned out to tie around her neck, while along the bottom it had short jags, the longest piece being dead center of the top and coming to the bottom of her sternum.
Becka peered past Litha to get a look at Alex and her eyes widened appreciatively. She sidled past the woman to stand right in front of Alex. Her hands lightly came to rest on his stomach and then slid slowly up and under the shirt and along his lower rib cage. “I think I really like this shirt.” She looks at Litha over her shoulder with a grin.
Litha chuckles. “I’ll send the bill to The BoB then. Now go, and you’ll want to talk to Narkel. I’ll catch you there later.”
Becka nods and grabs Alex’s hand and leads him out of the store. They get looks and cat calls as they exit the store; a few though turn hostile as they realize just what Alex is. Becka actually laughs once they clear the store and are back in the car. “Oh, leave it to Litha.” She shakes her head. “If nothing else the pause we’ll cause may give us the needed time to ask after Narkel before they decide to try to run you out.”
She then gives him directions on getting to the Gather. It is outside of San Francisco proper, more along the coast, in one of the few wild areas still left in the area, and funny enough, one of her own properties. She tells him this, and then proceeds to explain that it had been one of the first properties she’d bought. Deciding to check it out one night, she’d discovered the Lycan pack holding a Gather there. She’d watched up in a tree fascinated.
At some point in the night, the wind had shifted on her, and they’d caught her scent. It hadn’t been long before they actually ‘treed’ her, basically surrounding it. After much yelling and screaming for her death had finally subsided, one of them had stepped up and asked what she wanted. She’d fortunately picked a comfortable tree and was happy to stay put until they calmed down. She explained she’d bought the property recently, and was out checking it over when she’d stumbled upon them. Curious, she’d climbed up and watched.
After more demands for her death she’d finally told them she really didn’t care if they were there. She had no plans for the land, and was working on buying up as much around the area as she could get ahold of. The one she’d been talking with finally convinced her to come out of the tree after telling her that deaths were forbidden at a Gather and considered bad luck. So, she’d spent her first Gather learning of the Lycans, and finding out that they’d known the moment she’d arrived and had watched her closely ever since. But since the Land seemed to accept her presence there, they’d left her alone.
Alex definitely preferred the green smell over the leather. The green still had the scent of the sun in it. The leather smelled dead somehow. The tanning process killed it like an old bottle of wine tended to lose its grape flavor. "No worries." Alex replied to Becka's fashion review as she led him through the store.
Alex was a little startled that they were going to meet the Lycans on one of their holy nights. He was a vampire and was not in the least wanting to disrupt such a holy gathering of the Lycans. He wanted to offer up a respectful 'Of course not, would not dream of disrupting something like that' when he realized Becka had an open invitation to the thing. He was shocked beyond shocked but his face maintained a very pleasant demeanor. Litha's presence was more than enough to put him on full guard.
Alex took a half step back and gently nodded at Litha's narrowing eyes, but his eyes did not lose track of where Litha's feet and hands were. It was not a problem at all to let Becka step between them to prevent any aggression for him. If Becka wasn't completely comfortable he would have switched places though. It was only her full confidence that kept him from yanking her behind him.
Alex's face did not twitch at all but his mind mulled over Litha's words that it wasn't safe for him. Was the land paved with ankhs or was the populace so hostile they would try to mob him out? He wasn't sure. The fact that Litha felt it wasn't safe for him but didn't know why was truly bizarre. He could not enter a private home without invitation. He knew this clearly. He burned his hand on mere wood intending to enter uninvited to a home once in search of one of Serpham's cousins. This land had not burned him though and vampires were crawling all over it. What could not be safe for him? It didn't make sense.
In the private dressing room it struck him that Litha knew how old his clothes were. There were too many trained eyes in Frisco. It was bad not being able to keep cover. Litha's reinforcement that the locals were indeed hostile didn't help. Apparently Vlad's revolt had life to it still. It was disappointing. He was going to have to start a silver collection again. It was such a pain to keep the metal from rusting.
Alex enjoyed the chance to look into Becka's eyes as she commented on her dress. Alex could not guess what would be wrong with it unless they needed more cover and that should have made Alex's dress more appropriate. Becka looked stunning in many respects.
Alex quickly discovered they needed to cover less and it needed to be in leather. At least it wasn't a thong and Becka liked it a lot. Alex had to admit Becka did a boatload more than 'pull it off'. It was going to be criminal to have her walking next to him looking that intensely sexy.
As Becky inspected him his eyes watched hers and his hands alighted on her hips. Her touch on his stomach caused his muscles to tense and he remembered all too well the amazing things she did to him last night. Mercifully the leather held his arousal in check. He wasn't able to suck it down until her touch left his skin. It was exotically unnerving for him. He could not deny loving it.
Alex scooped up the clothes and shoes before letting Becka guide them out of the store. Max wasn't going to be dropping by here to pick them up by Alex's guess.
The trip out of the store was kind of fun at first and then turned unpleasant. The hostility was annoying. Humans were food. They could be naturally hostile and it wouldn't bother Alex a bit, but for Lycans to get upset was just keeping bad blood alive when it was unnecessary.
When Alex opened the door to the car to let Becka in, he didn't bother going to the other side but merely flew in past her to the driver's seat while pulling the door shut behind him. There was no need for extra exposure to the crowd. How Becka was going to prevent them from running him out immediately was beyond him. They had wood and he had nothing. He would have to run.
Becka's story at least explained why they couldn't kill him. That was nice. Required civility was one of Alex's strong suites. Offer respect to disrespect when the hater could not do what they said and you won. Of course, depending on the stubbornness of the Lycans they might not give the required information after all. It could be another case of Max. Another dead end. At least it looked like the other ancients knew why they couldn't enter. Alex could simply ask them outright if this didn't work. Certainly they would know what repelled them.
The drive was a fun drive. The California coasts always offered twists and turns that forced him to pay a little attention to. Alex was having a lot of hope of getting to the bottom of what Frisco was about on top of it all. When he pulled up to the best place to park for the Gathering he was in a good mood despite being deeply alert to attacks. "I'll get out behind you, Becka. I have a feeling they are allowed to gut me here." It was silly having to let Becka out first and crawl out behind her, but he was a target and she wasn't. Pride was a silly and lost cause. "Good heavens you are ridiculously hot in that outfit." He bet in silk it would be even hotter.
Becka chuckled at his comment about her appearance¸ and shook her head at his other comments. “Relax Alex, we are on Sacred Land, no one’s going to attack you. That opportunity is now long past with our arriving here.” After climbing out of the car, she waited for Alex to emerge. By the time he does, she’s starting to lose patience with the emotions she can feel coming from him.
She leads him off towards where the Gathers were held and after several minutes finally snaps and turns on him. “You have some nerve Agathon. You want to reprimand me for calling you Ancient, and yet here you are already making assumptions about my Family. And yes, there are my Family, as are Max and Terrance, Jimmy, Sara and Maxine.” Suddenly she whips around and stalks off. “Come on.” It came out a growl more than words.
One did not enter a Gather upset, and she was struggling to banish her anger. This was as close as she would get to introducing Alex to the proverbial parents, and she was already nervous enough over that. His attitude was only making her trepidation worse, turning her waspish and cranky. She was starting to second guess everything, from Mantha’s demands, to bringing him here, even getting involved with him.
Suddenly she halts again and closes her eyes. Breathing deep even breaths, she lets everything go, her hurt, anger, confusion, nervousness, hopes, fears, possible dreams. She visualizes them all draining out of her body through her feet, giving them to Mother Earth to change and shape as She saw fit. It isn’t long before she feels peace and balance return to her and she opens her eyes and grabs Alex’s hand. “Come, we’re nearly there.”
When she stops them again, they have come just inside a large clearing. She loops her arm around his waist and snuggles close, watching what goes on in the clearing with a grin. The Gather looks something like a cross between a PowWow and a New Age Rave. It is bright, colorful and full of movement, laughter and music. The beat of the drums could be felt to vibrate the body even here at the edge. She strengthened the bond between her and Alex, wanting to see how it affected him through his eyes and emotions for the first time.
Alex had not had to worry about anyone being able to kill him for a while. It was a relief to know he was in the Lycan 'no kill zone', but he could not feel any change himself. It was a complete unknown to him whether a Lycan could break their own law and kill him anyway or if something actually would prevent them from killing him much like the universe would not let him walk into someone's house and kill them. During the Vlad revolt in Europe, Alex had a silvered dagger to prevent defenselessness in the presence of Lycans. The ankh had been his defense against other vampires in Egypt when he was still young. This was American territory though. While the vampires here were probably younger than him and didn't pose a threat, the Lycan ages were unknown as well. It was unsafe and the attitudes at the store had proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. There was also nothing in the information given that demonstrated any kind of safety beyond a religious obedience to laws set forth by unknown entities. The last thing he needed was for Becka to die to some rogue force or to die himself for not paying proper attention to potential threats. This was not the elder vampire council interested in balance and stability. This was a Lycan gathering of people that would assume see him a pile of dust than look at him. He could not just relax. Becka grossly underestimated her importance in expecting it of him. All he could do was pull back and put on his poker face. Apparently Becka needed to see his poker face as well. It was extremely cool, calm, and collect and that is what he tried to do. Hiding entirely from Becka was impossible though. Their contact and link was way too intimate for that, but he would do what he could.
"Sorry, Rebeckah. Your family has a vested interest in my death for whatever reason." If she didn't understand the difference, he hoped they didn't have a lesson for her to send it home. This wasn't a select group of people. This was a community. There was a Nicholai in every community that meant a community was never family. Alex wasn't worried about her friends in the community. He was worried about the people that might not be friends. Even the people that were supposed to be family had to list veiled and obtuse threats against him including Max.
His worry was putting doubt into Becka and that brought about sadness in him. Love came with concern. There was no way to break that bond. It was a bond more sacred than whatever the land held here. It was odd she could put so much faith into the land and fail to see the intense bond of spirit and see it for what it was. There was nothing to do for it though. They needed answers and potential answers lay ahead. A philosophical debate over how the spirit of the Earth pulled its strength from all the spiritual love bonds between all living things on it was pointless at this point.
When Becka took his hand with calm that was encouraging. He followed on to the clearing. Becka's touch felt magical. Before them was an American ritual. It had timelessness to it that Alex could inherently feel. The music would have been extremely easy for Alex to dance to and he could already feel it in his essence. If the bigotry of the participants wasn't present, he would have drifted right into the dance and blended seamlessly to it. His dance would have been more precise and true than all except an ancient and well-practiced Lycan or vampire. He knew the call to spirit and had danced the dance across the world with many ancient flavors to it. It was too bad he could not join this one. He hugged Becka in close and sighed at the cost of hostility. This dance was supposed to bring harmony, not harbor hatred against someone because they had been around longer. He had to laugh he could out dance most, if not all of them in the ritual to which he was not welcome. His link to Becka was so strong, he could even make her move with him to dance like a true shaman master of the Earth with a partner. She would just have to let him influence her movements, but he wondered if she would just fight the influence out of fear or let him have the control to do it and learn from it. He sighed again at the loss of it all. Despite the desires in the throng to kill him, the deeper ancient melody behind the corruption called to him to join. It was almost as if the Earth was telling the eldest brother to show the wayward youngsters fear and hostility were empty causes. Alex tried to argue back that it would just upset her children and something deeper said it was their fault and not his. If they could not recognize a fellow follower that had followed longer than they had, they were not children worth keeping. Her true children would follow his lead just as he would follow the dance lead of anyone older and truer than he was to the cause.
Alex eyes looked down at Becka searching for hers. "Will you dance with me? It's time to dance." He hoped Becka would follow but he would have to dance if she didn't anyway.
Becka looked up at him with wide and shocked eyes. While she’d hoped to dance with him tonight, she hadn’t planned for it to be until after initial reactions were taken care of. She could tell through their bond though that he felt the call of the music and Mother Earth, and the widest, most delighted grin blossoms on her face. Impulsively, she suddenly hugs him. “I love you, Alex.”
She hastily steps back and nods. “Yes, let’s dance.” The light in her eyes is almost bright enough to rival the sun they could no longer enjoy, and she grabs his hand and leads him to the dance circle. She is already moving in step to the music, letting it wash through her as she always does at Gathers, when she participates. Soon her focus narrows drastically, leaving her to only hear the music and see her dance partner.
“There they are, Uncle, I told you they’d be coming.” Litha narrows her eyes thoughtfully watching her friend and the Elder with her. She has danced with, and watched, Becka dance many times in the past. Something was different about this dance though. As the other Lycans start to realize just what is in their midst, they start to back off. “Uncle, do not let the music stop. Something is going on.”
The man standing with her nods, “So it would seem.” He speaks briefly to another who stands with them, and that one runs to tell the musicians to not stop playing by orders of the Pack Leader. Soon, all eyes are on the only two Vampires at the Gather. It is plain that the two don’t dance to the music, but seem to be the music manifested in material form. The fact that one of the Vampires is an Elder of that race makes many nervous and wary, but that doesn’t stop the Lycans from appreciating the show. “Your thoughts, Little Niece?”
“Oh, he’s very much an Elder of their race. He’s got the attitude, arrogance, and detached distance about him, except…” Litha had paused as she watched the two make an especially beautiful and difficult dance step.
“Except?”
Prompted to return to the conversation at hand,, she finishes. “Except when it comes to Little Sister, he seems to lose much of it and seems… well, more Human.”
“An act?”
Litha shakes her head, and laughs. “No, no act, you didn’t see the way he reacted to her just touching him. If it weren’t for the tight leather incasing his fine ass, he would have saluted her instantly.”
The man raises brows at this, and turns thoughtful eyes on the two. The music finally comes to end, and he steps towards them. “Little Sister To Lycan Hearts, you have an Elder of your race in the Bay Area. This is dangerous to him.”
The true peace and joy Becka had just found was shattered instantly when the man spoke. Her temper flared and she’d finally had enough. As much as she loved him, in her way, she was now seriously pissed at him. She whirled and glared at him. “Yes, so Max has told me, Litha as well, and now you, Foster Father. I want answers and I want to know why is it dangerous for Old As Dirts, Ancients, and… Beyond Olds to come to this area. Just how far does this extend, why did no one bother to tell me these things before too while we’re at it.”
Unphased by her outburst, he still calmly walks towards her and then folds her into a fatherly embrace. He looks at Alex, and the expression on his face is more a request not to hurt her or bring her suffering, like any father over a daughter. “Peace, Child of my Heart.” He steps back and gives her a smile. “Come, sit with me, your friend too.” As he leads them away he raises his voice. “This is a Gather, Brothers and Sisters, so get back to it.”
The Gather is shortly back in full swing as they settle off to the side. Becka makes it a point to sit close to Alex. The man studies the two of them together, and then sighs. “It’s not us Daughter, it’s the Land. It doesn’t accept your race.” Becka frowned and started to speak, he holds up a hand and she stops. “You are the first the Land accepted in many centuries. Have you ever wondered why some of your race comes to San Francisco and then quickly move on?”
At her nod he continues, “It’s the Land rejecting them. It will drive them mad eventually, making them dangerous to all. An Elder of your race, is even worse, and far, far more dangerous.” He looks to Alex and asks him questions. “Elder, you are obviously your own Vampire, but have you felt strange since being in this area? Thoughts and concepts foreign to your normal ways of thinking? Urges hard to control that normally you can?” Becka frowns at the line of questioning.
Becka's hug and words were beyond anything he could hope for to enter the dance. "I love you, Becka." As they moved to the circle the sky appeared to have the sun dawning in it. It was an illusion, but it seemed real in Alex's eyes as their bodies started joining the music. Becka danced the sacred dance but others did not join. As light started to fill the air the others backed off. Images of others seemed to rise from the ground they emptied. Arabs, Asians, Europeans, Africans, and Americans danced with them in perfect coordination but were all wearing very old and ornate clothing. There were spirits but appeared solid like the sun in the sky that rose abnormally fast.
The music seemed to perfect in some way. The timing of it became true as if played by intensely in tune and practiced musicians. The sun seemed to hang at high noon. The dance was very much alive and very much at peace despite the joyous tunes it made. Alex was oblivious to the happenings of anyone but Becka, the spirits, the sun, and the earth with the crackling fires. The melody that moved them was beyond them and explained where the body was to go. Alex had only to obey.
The song started to close and the sun started to drop from the sky. The dancers all aged and even Becka and Alex started to age. There was no alarm or shock. It was very natural cycle and fully expected and welcomed. Peace and cycle embraced themselves hand-in-hand. The ending of the song called for a kneel and the kneel called for Alex and Becka to press their palms together and they moved towards the earth. Their obedient kneel seemed to send their aging back in reverse while the spirits seemed to turn slowly to dust in dance moves that brought them to the ground. The sun set in a blaze of fading glory. When the last ray fell over the west, the night suddenly washed over the sky and the dust seemed to blow away instantly into the air of the spirit dancers. Alex and Becka were kneeling full prone pressed to the ground with their palms pressed together in between.
Awareness of the night flooded back into them both. Alex and Becka rose with the exact same movements except Alex looked around and frowned that no one had joined them. Did the Earth have no followers here? It was not good to have so few participants with Earth song.
Alex was puzzled at the elder saying this place was dangerous to him. Not joining the dance was far more dangerous than joining it and only Becka had joined it. None of Vlad's minions had been able to join it nor would want to. The Earth knew exactly how to separate the wheat from the chaff. Hepitut had taught him this long ago.
Becka's rage echoed through Alex as an alarm threatening to shatter his own peace. The dance had called forth a strong peace, though, and his mind only listened rather than join in her protest.
The Elder's request immediately told Alex he was not in tune as a true Patron of the Earth. It was that underlying suspicion and hostility. Maybe he was not accepted because they were not true brothers and sisters yet. They still anticipated war when only the hunt for food ruled the animals of this place. Becka was not food, nor was the Elder. The Elder's request for no harm would have only held meaning if Becka were human. Alex just understood in peace this time though. The Earth still held enough sway that there was no fight here. Alex followed the procession. A great leader was always a great follower. It didn't matter as long as you kept tune to reality.
Becka sitting next to him was very much appreciated. He wondered if he died whether his spirit might call back to her like Samantha's could. He knew it would not be a strong call like Samantha's but he wondered if he could at least whisper. Sophia and Alex never danced that dance together. Hepitut didn't teach Alex the ways of spirit until their meeting after Sophia's death.
Alex listened to Becka and the Elder struggle in their conversation. The Elder's peace won of course. The Elder started asking him questions and with the last one the Earth was ready for him to speak.
"I have only felt hostility and contention from others that brings destruction. I have felt isolation as those that do not accept the harmony of peace run back to their fear. I am concerned that only two danced. What Gathering is that that only two will Gather? The Earth only rejects and punishes fear and disorder. It is only dangerous to selfish will. It is not the Earth rejecting vampires, it is vampires rejecting Earth. My sleep hugs the Earth. It takes a house to repel me or a manufactured relic to burn me. So long as my sustenance is for life, why would I fear this place? The only urge I've felt that is stronger than me is the urge to love. That is born of the Earth and dispels fear. If love is madness, let it come and take me. Love is not foreign; it is my maker as it has made us all."
Normally a peace pipe would be lit or gathered food shared at this point, but then again, normally all would join the dance as well. Alex merely relaxed and tried to send his peace to Becka. Something with two legs had lost its way and important lessons from the past had been lost. This Gathering had gone racial and Alex would do what he could to end that lie. Whoever had forgotten the dance could very well be old and possibly older than him. Alex sensed it was probably a vampire that embraced war instead of peace. He would need help to stop something like that and right now it appeared Becka was the only one brave enough to do it. Why the Elder Council wasn't aware of this was even more puzzling.
Alex decided to take a chance and learn more. "Where is the former keeper of this place?" If that being was still alive, it was probably the whole problem. Lessons had been cut short here.
The man studied Alex through his little speech and a disappointed look quickly crossed his face, to be replaced by sadness as his eyes drifted to Becka. He looked back at Alex sharply when he asked about a Keeper. He shook his head briefly before replying. “There has never been a Keeper, of your race or mine here, Elder. If any could have been called Keeper, it would have been the Native Peoples of this Land, before the arrival of Columbus, Magellan, and their entire ilk.”
He went back to studying Becka, something was different about her, and it took him a long moment to realize that the shadow and fear that normally enveloped her was gone. Now the scattered reports made more sense, her Sire was dead, and the Elder Vampire sitting next to her was to be thanked. Becka was far stronger than she knew, unfortunately, her conditioning and fears kept her from realizing this, and that made her fragile.
He looks back to Alex. “Look, Elder, you have none here that personally are your enemies. The Vlad War stayed in Europe, it never spilled over to here. Anywhere else in this country, you would come across a Lycan and they’d care less you were a Vampire, and you might very well have without realizing it. It is just the rules are different in this small pocket of the Land for some reason. We have watched this Land turn a Vampire in to a horrible monster, worse than being in a feral state like Max was. It is a sickening and frightening thing to experience. It is worse to have to destroy them because they never seem to come back to themselves, even driven from the pocket that affects them.”
He is interrupted by Litha bounding up and speaking. “Uncle, there’s someone I think you’d better see. He’s over at the edge of the clearing, where Little Cousin and her beau entered. Oh, and he’s still within the trees. Oh, yeah, it’s my other Uncle.”
At her words he is first stunned, then is up like a shot, though he pauses long enough to say a hasty excuse me. He then is moving quickly in the direction Litha indicated. Litha pursed her lips at his departing backside then settled in with Becka and Alex. “I’m sorry Becka about earlier, I wasn’t allowed to tell you what you wanted to know.”
Becka gives an exasperated sigh, “Yeah, I kinda figured.”
“Are you going to join the Women’s Dance tonight?” A purely mischievous look crossed Becka’s face. “I was planning to, if something doesn’t get in the way first.”
Litha gives Alex an almost sympathetic look, but then turns serious as she addresses him personally. “I know Becka’s feelings about the Elders of your race, and you being one, and her liking you as much as she does must make you very special. Do not teach her any of your ‘I’ve lived far too long’ bad habits, instead, do me a favor, and learn from her. I think it could do you a world of good, and give you a new outlook on life.” With that she rises and gives him a quick peck on the cheek and Becka a quick hug. “I gotta go find out who else will be in the Women’s Dance tonight.” With that she is quickly gone.
Becka gives a snorted chuckle and then wriggles under Alex’s arm and wraps her own around his waist. “Well, you just got Litha’s stamp of approval. A hard thing to gain. Congratulations.” Amusement dances through their link as she gives a quiet sigh. The night was turning out strange, and she was still no closer to really understanding anything. It was nice though to share the Gather with Alex, even if he was being a bit of a snobbish ass.
Alex had to give a hard ponder to the words that were said. He had not been to many of the sacred places on the Earth, but the ones he had been to all had keepers watching over them. Why this one didn't was odd. It was sad there were no American vampires around at all. Vlad's rebellion may have been in Europe, but it was obvious his cause had caused damage in America. He wondered if something would actually happen to him that was bad. Maybe this piece of land was going to devour him. Why would such a secret be kept though? Sadly, the Americans had not kept writings around the way the Asians and Europeans had. There was no way to know what the history of this place was to understand it better. What would happen to him and what would be the warning signs? He would just have to watch for the things the Elder had asked about. If they started, he would have to return to Oklahoma. Something told him Max knew though. Why the hell Max would hold something like that back was bizarre. Maybe Max's brain died so fast there was nothing to remember. There just no answers anymore.
The women were obviously excited about their dance coming up. Why they thought Alex would be upset about it was beyond him. Earth rituals were full of sex and Alex had seen some pretty provocative stuff, all the way from the perverted and horrible to the artistic and beautiful. It would be fun for them and Alex wasn't going to ruin it for them. He didn't think anything terrible was going to happen to Becka.
Alex's eyes paid close attention to Lithia's when she spoke. Lithia could only imagine how much Becka was already teaching him. He just wished Lithia had more to teach him on land induced vampire madness. Was this spot marred somehow against a species? It would be like cursing a piece of land from deer to where only squirrels could occupy it. Maybe this was the birthplace of Lycan, but most deep roots seemed to spring forth from Africa and Southeast Asia. None of the other holy spots seemed to exclude anyone willing to honor the Earth.
Alex took Rebeckah into his embrace. His face stayed thoughtful. He gave her a kiss at her congratulations for him. "Thank you." His mind would not come up with an answer. "Something is wrong Becka. I'm not going to be able to figure it out. What if this place does devour me?" As badly as he wanted to share in Becka's joy, this piece of land might force him out of her life in Frisco. That would be really bad and was no cause for celebration. It was almost like finally winning her trust and then losing her.
Becka pondered his words for a moment. When she spoke, it was slow, as if she was feeling her way along blindly. “I don’t think so. You seem to puzzle Narkel. If I’m reading him right, you should be already affected.” She pauses and when she speaks again, her voice is distant and slightly changed. “We won’t be here much longer anyway for it to matter.” She blinks then seems to shake herself a bit. She starts to look up at Alex, but a movement catches her eye. “Max? What the hell… Max avoids the Lycans as if they carry the plague.”
As the two men approach, Becka is floored. With the two together side by side, she can’t believe she ever missed their resemblance to each other. “Litha’s other Uncle? How-- What-- But-- What the fuck?!” No link was needed to know she was confused and flustered.
Before Narkel can speak, Max holds up his hand and then walks over to squat in front of Becka and Alex. “You have always had a dark shadow and fear surrounding you Rebeckah for as long as I’ve known you. According to my brother, for as long as he’s known you as well. With the death of your Sire,” He gives a respectful nod to Alex here, “This has lifted. Your strengths have never been in being a Vampire; it has been in your Humanism. That is the reason behind your dislike of our Ancient Ones. As our Kind grows older and the centuries pass, we distance ourselves from all things. We become aloof and self-centered. We forget what it was to be Human.”
“You, dear Child of Our Race, you have not forgotten this. The Bucket of Blood, voluntarily being at a Lycan Gather, the things you do for the Human community, all these things show as proof of this. You mistakenly think I stay at The Bucket of Blood because you think I feel beholden to you, and while somewhat true, it is not the actual reason. I stay to learn from you, Terrance does as well.”
“The Land here accepts you, because you accept things as they are. Yes, you have a deep seated distrust of all things old in our race, but that is more conditioning, than your true feelings.” He looks square at Alex as he continues. “If it were your true feelings, then Ancient One here would never have even met you. You would have had Terrance or me try to find out why he was here.”
He looks back at Becka. “The Land here knows what’s in your heart, and knows that deep down you strive for Harmony between all things. You have very unorthodox ways of going about it, but that too is part of the Humanism now in you. Those Vampires that are our permanent residents have seen something in you as well, and try their best to imitate it, that is why they can still be here without fear of becoming insane.”
Litha darts up and grabs Becka, “Come on, you still have to get ready. All this profound talk can wait, or continue on without you for the moment.” With Becka only half protesting, Litha proceeds to drag her off to a hut not far away.
Max watches the two women as he turns his talk to Alex. “You too are learning from her, I have seen the minute changes already. But then you two were brought together for a purpose anyway. You will be taking her from us soon to far places. The only thing I wish you to remember form our talk last night, is that she is strong but fragile. Watch her, keep her from harm. If anything happens to her, our race will have lost its most precious possession.”
“I must go Brother, Terrance is in charge of The Bucket of Blood, if left alone too long, he’ll have half the staff and patrons trying to kill him, while the other half will be fighting each other to tear his clothes off. Enjoy this night with your adopted daughter. It is uncertain when next we will see her again.” Max then strides off.
Alex was concerned about Becka's prophecy when he first heard it. Was the land affecting her? Max showing up was strange as well. Alex paid close attention to his words. He gave a grave nod of agreement and understanding. The only thing that hit him as out of place was Max calling Becka an adapted daughter. Becka was above the title of daughter to him. She was a peer and lover. It was shocking to know they would be leaving soon. Alex wasn't comfortable with taking Becka from this place with so many roots in it for her. What other place would need her more was a puzzle. Alex would just have to watch and learn. He wondered if Max's conferred title of daughter on Becka meant she was going to fall in love with a different person. That would be rough, but understandable as well. He hoped not, but there was no denying time its due. Time had robbed him once. There was no reason to think it might not rob him twice.
Narkel looked at Alex. “You love her.” It wasn’t really a question, and he didn’t really need a reply back. “I am the closest thing she now has to a father, and like any father, I worry over her happiness, I would hate to see her heart broken.”
He catches a signal he’d been waiting for. “Excuse me a moment.” He stands and the Gather suddenly quiets down. He gives a hearty laugh in the silence. “One can always tell when the Women’s Dance is about to start, it is the only time a Leader is paid the least bit of attention at a Gather.” The laughs that answered were just as heartfelt. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. As you all know our participants tonight are ready to choose their mate for the next year. So, I’ll shut up and let them get to it.”
He sits back down to more laughter that quickly dies as the music starts up slow and easy going. The women start to file out of the hut to the beat of the music. Each woman was dressed in filmy gauze like material; it really left nothing to the imagination. Becka’s matched her eyes and hair and she moved with a grace that truly put the other women to shame. She moved with a slow seductiveness that had many eyes on her.
The women came to a slow stop in the center of spectators that waited to see who they’d choose for a year to mate with. The music suddenly picks up in tempo, and the women become a flurry of dancing. They move and mingle with the crowd, teasing many and building hopes. Litha actually dances up to Alex, she moves with a very snake like action and is soon in his lap, and her hands caress his face. A twinkle is in her eye and she smiles at him, only to suddenly rise with a spin and dance off.
It opened some door, because for the next hour that the women danced, others came up to him as well, though never Becka. Finally at some signal only the women knew, they all converged back to the center again. The music stops for just three heart beats, and then starts back up slow like when it first started. Each woman made a slow dance to the men they’d chosen. Becka moves in easy steps, no show of any strain from her past hour’s exertions.
She approaches Alex and stands just before him. Making a half turn she dances back until she straddles his lap, then slowly lowers herself in a sensuous movement that places her firmly in his lap. Her hands slide up the side of his neck, careful not to touch his throat, and come to rest on the back of his head. Looking up at him, she pulls his head down and gives him a solid and firm kiss.
Alex might have thought to laugh at Narkel if it wasn't so dead serious. Alex was certain his heart was in greater jeopardy than Becka's. His loyalty was fierce for Becka and there was no denying the call. Somehow the universe had chosen his heart to follow her and the matter was beyond his heart, thought his heart was fine with the universe's choice. He made a simple reply to Narkel. "She is the only one that could do that. I cannot enter a house uninvited."
Alex's heart raced a moment. Becka had joined this one and holy ceremonies were binding unless one was looking for the dark ways. Not even Alex could deny one. His commitments had been binding for over eight thousand years. He was even bound to ceremonies not on holy ground. Breaking one from holy ground could easily send him mad. Time was going to give him a fast answer to at least a year.
Alex's eyes were on Becka not because she was easily the most attractive dancer, but because his heart really already belonged to her. Lithia was the first to actually force him to break visual. It was beyond rude to not take proper attention to a woman that approached you and dishonoring Lithia would have been wrong on several different levels, including with Becka. His mind pretended she was Becka to put a smile on his face and keep his eyes searching her body. Lithia would be family if things went well and it would be important that the memories were good for this night.
The continuing hour was tough suspense on Alex. Lithia's approach put him in the lottery. Being vampire and not Lycan might have been a limit on his eligibility prior to that, but her approach had dispelled doubts. However, other Lycans approached him in the dance. How to read that was impossible really. The Women's Dance was specifically designed to not have any male influence on the rules. In fact, men could not influence the decisions at all and could not have any inside knowledge of what the women had decided upon or might decide upon during the dance. Unless you knew the woman, it was dangerous to be the subject of one depending on how the dance was structured unless the woman was one you wanted. Alex did not get the woman he wanted paying attention to him. Lithia's attention was a good sign as Becka's family, the Lycan he didn't know were a potential obligation in a wrong direction for him. He thought the only danger was losing Becka. This signified an even tougher situation in that he could lose Becka and have an obligation to someone he didn't love. He understood the sympathy offered earlier and he had to work hard to keep his poker face and smiles to the women that approached. Had he been human, he would have looked green as opposed to a pleased male getting attention.
A pause in the dance seemed to imply some kind of finality, but these dances could go on for a long time in Lycan and Vampire circles. Finally, Becka approached him and he didn't have to cover up anything but the fear that this phase of the dance was another tease. Her contact was delicious and his body rippled with her touch. Her strong kiss sent a shudder that was visible to anyone watching them. Alex prayed it was the conclusion and the kiss was the choice. His heart seemed to plead with the universe reviewing all the prophecy of the evening. His body called to the Earth and begged for this to be an answer. Hope mingled with desperation in his eyes.
As their kiss ended, Becka smiled at him. She squirmed around until she faced him and kissed him again. When that kiss broke, she whispered to him. “It’s only a year. I am sorry to put you in this kind of spot, but it seemed best at the time.” She searched his face with a mix of hope and uncertainty.
The music had ended and various couples were happily wandering off, while the unchosen while disappointed, continued the Gather as was custom. The newly formed couples would or would not return later as was their choice. Becka didn’t notice, time was currently at a standstill while she waited for Alex to decide one way or another how they’d move from here.
Narkel watched the Vampiric couple closely. Becka needed someone in her life that she could trust and turn too, someone she didn’t see as a father. In his own way he liked the Elder Vampire. The man had willingly danced at a Lycan Gather, that could say a lot about an Old World Vampire. Across the Big Pond, Narkel knew none of his Kind existed any longer. Vlad and his war had seen to that.
"Want to know a secret Becka? You could have gotten ten thousand without batting an eyelash." Alex smiled wide and gave her a big kiss. He bet the year was going to be tougher on her than him. He wasn't lying about the ten thousand. He wasn't certain Becka had not captured his heart for as long as he kept it from the sun.
Alex picked her up to move off with her to the woods. "We will consummate this on the sacred ground, Becka. I've made oaths that I have to keep to the Earth. It's going to be awfully easy to meet this one. I love you too much and you are way too sexy for your own good. You have a dirty old vampire in your bed now." Alex's smile was bright. He didn't go very far into the woods. There was no secret about how he felt and the Gathering knew the ritual. He took the first spot that was grassy and comfortable.
Alex let Becka's feet down so she could stand and he could undress her. His hands moved slowly while his eyes trailed over her body. He didn't touch her, but rather let the transparent cloth tease along her body. His own body strained against his leather around his crotch, but he was going to let Becka undress her chosen mate for the year. Alex had few details he needed to know about the commitment. He was uncertain as to details. This was the first time he had actually been chosen, not that he had been to many Women's Dances at all.
"I'm pretty sure we will meet all the obligations of this choice, but if you could go over the particulars of this ceremony, it will help. Different regions have different obligations. Some require monogamy, others require frequency. Sometimes the man sets certain things while the woman sets others. Sometimes it's just a personal exchange of commitments sealed with a consummation. I can tell you already I can meet whatever they are." Alex did not have a problem with monogamy. Food could have dreams implanted or could just be consumed immediately. It was really to local custom. He could come up with personal commitments as well very easily. He would have given Becka a blank check at that moment. It was elation to him to have been chosen by her.
Seeing her outfit come off slowly definitely motivated him strongly. Her body was striking and Alex's emotion filled his mind with desire. He found his nose sniffing the air for her scent, his ears catching every breath and movement of the cloth over her skin, and his eyes searching out every goose bump and feature on her skin. When she was finally naked, it was almost a disappointment. He had her whole front side completely committed to memory when it was done. The good news was it was her turn to uncover her prize. He could only hope she would be half as pleased as he was with his.
Becka blinked at him shocked. She didn’t know about ten thousand years with one person. Might get a bit old or predictable. The Lycan way of mating always had made more sense to her. That way, if you did grow bored, at least you only had to put up with a year, and then you could always choose another. But those thoughts quickly disappeared as she realized he wasn’t upset over the situation. She answered his kiss with a joy all her own.
Being picked up and carried off was a bit discerning. She had him for the next year, and she was going to have to re-get used to chivalry again. She laughed at him, though. “Silly Old Vampire, haven’t you yet realized all of Frisco is Sacred Ground? This part of it though is one of the few untouched still.” She made a bit of a face at the rest of his words, but laughed again. “And you have a curious Young Vampire now in your bed. One who refuses to give up on Life, even if she is undead.”
She let the feel of the silky fabric tease her body and loved it. Her eyes closed, and a smile played across her lips as she let him undress her however he wished. She didn’t answer his questions right away. Instead she chose to revel in the moment and the havoc he was causing her body. It was almost anti climatic when he finally finished, and part of her was disappointed it was over. Her eyes opened though and her desire for him was prominent within and her scent permeated the glade he’d chosen.
She slowly reached out to him and brought her hands to rest on his stomach, much like she had in Litha’s shop. Her hands glided over the lower part of his body and up under the shirt he wore. She worked it up slowly, and had to stand on tiptoe to get it off of him, and almost didn’t succeed. She was going to have to talk to Litha about altering the dratted thing to make it easier to get off him. As the shirt hit the ground, her hands were already skimming down his body and coming to rest just above his pants.
While her hands played their own dance on his flesh, she finally answered his questions. “This pack is a combination of Native and Old World Ways. The closest I can come to how simple this is, is the old Pagan version of a Handfasting. In simplest terms it is a time to see just how compatible two people are with each other. The couple is completely free to decide the course of the time together. We are Vampires, even the Lycans realize that monogamy is a Human concept that we are not obligated to adhere to.”
She giggled. “I’m just happy you aren’t upset with me for putting you on the spot like that. And that you aren’t upset with Litha. It had been her idea to dance before you, and have a few of the other women as well. Normally, I am the only Vampire present here, and she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see if she could make you squirm. Her only regret was that Narkel had deemed long ago that the Women’s Dance could take no longer than an hour. It seems emotions can run overly high at such dances and could cause a lot of issues when someone wasn’t Chosen in the end.”
Becka’s hand went to work untying his breeches and soon was sliding them down his hips and thighs. She crouched down to remove his shoes which were thankfully low mocs and finish removing his pants. Starting midway at his inner thigh, she trailed kisses up his leg. When she drew level with his erect manhood, she transferred over easily, and gave it teasing licks and kisses before continuing up his belly to his chest. Her fingers trailed along his sides up to his shoulders and along the sides of his neck until they were firmly clasped behind his head. Tilting her head up to him, she again pulls him towards her to kiss him passionately.
Alex was very unused to personally needing to make an impression. With Sophia, things had been familiar in many ways having grown up together. The history they had made the mating right from the beginning. Becka was still a person needing more exploration to understand. Her sexuality was among the many things to explore. Their coupling was critical for him and yet there were still many things to discover. How rough was rough enough without being too rough? What were the cues for gentle and rough? He guessed this act was going to need tenderness. His body was telling him to just bond without struggle. It should be a peaceful mating and more complex things were for later.
Alex had a hard time incorporating buildings into the mix of sacred ground. Stonehenge even seemed a bit polluted with the stones to him, but they were at least mostly natural. Structures somehow seemed to steal ground. A house being able to repel seemed an abomination to sacred ground and it was a wonder the universe had not sent a tidal wave to claim its spot back. There was a pyramid no one knew about in Egypt that had been built on a sacred spot and the meteor that obliterated it caused a few decades of hardship.
Alex's face beamed a smile at Becka's smiles. She was full of life and her happiness mixed with his to create a whole new level past the desire of the moment. Her scent showed that the desire was just as intense from anyone who would care to sample downwind. Alex didn't have to guess at all though. It almost felt like his dick would rip right through the leather.
Becka's removal of his shirt mixed with memories of the past night and just how electric her touch was to his body. He almost had to help her take the shirt off, but she did manage it in the end. It was obvious Becka liked the outfit and it was going to be a permanent addition to his wardrobe. It wasn't going to work at business meetings, but Becka was not business, she was life.
Alex noted that the choosing here was probably as lax as they came. Over the ages, they always changed to meet the needs of the time and place of their passing. In these times, there was plenty of sex to go around and plenty of variety as well. Stipulations were not required as a result. Humans were the most sensitive to stipulations anyway and they tended to have the most rules for obvious reasons.
Alex laughed at the plot of the dance and the frustration in having to end it. It was so very female. Men could not put together something like that without gutting each other and it was also the men that had forced the time constraint. Vampire meetings did tend to run the longest because male violence for competition was so frowned upon. If you couldn't wait your turn, you just were not worthy of your species. "You did cook me well. My hat is off to the ladies and you. What was it like being the star of the show anyway?"
Becka's dancing had been amazing and would have driven men wild in a mediocre body. With her body it would have started a war in the wrong crowd. Troy would have backed Alex up on that one as well. "Let's hope the Lycans don't lay siege to the Bucket of Blood or whatever city the wind might be blowing us to." He was joking of course, but if the group had been more mixed it would not have surprised Alex to have to deal with stalkers.
When Becka finally disrobed him the cool night air seemed to bounce right off his warm body getting warmer from her touch. Her saliva sent shivers up his spine that were visible. "Becka, you do things to me that are beyond my control." His hands traced around to Becka's back as she worked her way up to the kiss. When the kiss came it seemed to chain their souls together through their mouths. The stars and the Earth all seemed to be watching to bear witness.
A feeling swept over Alex to touch and meld into Becka as much as he could. His body leaned into hers to bring her feet off the ground and lay her naked body on the Earth. His arms curled around hers holding her hands to the back of his neck freely but firmly. His chest and stomach settled into hers, pressing her breasts between his muscles and her ribs while their flat midsections breathed in tight contact with each other. His legs came on top of hers, and only his feet caught her enough by the inside to spread her legs beneath his. His hips and ass only pulled back enough to aim his cock into her, and a moan muffled in their deep kiss he couldn't release bled air through their nostrils as his shaft pressed into her interior warmth and wetness.
Alex's full weight was on Becka's body and the energy of the Earth seemed to stream through her to connect them both. For a few minutes his body could only settle into hers completely as their mouths and tongues pressed together fervently at the connection. If someone had asked him to get up and move, it would have been an empty statement. The energy and spirits that endorsed the union were not going to break the link and they would have been the only things that Alex could have listened to in those precious moments of union.
Slowly Alex did start to grind his pelvis against hers and move his cock from the deepest penetration of her to move against her silk and start teasing her nerves. His chest and stomach started to play muscle tension games with her muscles and soft skin. His arms and legs started to travel hers and create cool tingly spots with goose bumps rather than the warm intense connection of the stillness before. The pressing kiss continued with more energy now, but Becka could hear his voice clearly in her head. "Rebeckah, with Earth as my witness, I love you with my all. I will do all I can to further you and our Earth home." A few moments later his grinds became gentle thrusts in her lap. How his body had not erupted yet was beyond him the plateau of pleasure with the emotion and energy of the moment had him lit up like he had never been lit up before.
When Alex lifted her and laid her on the ground, she felt a surge of power building. As he entered her, her body tightened around him, legs wrapping around his waist, it was as if she was trying to pull him into her and merge them as one. The power released as well at that very moment. She groaned into their kiss as the link they shared suddenly strengthened and became a permanent bonding. Even when their year commitment was up, they would forever be linked and know where the other was anywhere in the world, the only way to break it was by one of their deaths.
Having grown up with a twin, Becka had been used to such a bond, and that experience was the only reasons she’d never balked at the link forged between her and Alex. It wasn’t until this precise moment that she realized how much she’d missed the self without that she’d had with Samantha. While this new bond wasn’t exactly the same, it was so close that it was a welcomed thing by her. Why Mother Earth had chosen to permanently link her to an Ancient of her race was beyond Becka’s abilities to fathom, considering her views on them. She couldn’t argue with it though, it felt to right, as if she’d just found a part of herself she never realized was missing, and it made her almost whole and complete.
Alex’s declaration sent a shudder through her body, but she wasn’t able to reply back. She was suddenly shoved to the background of her own mind as another presence filled her consciousness. She recognized it and didn’t fight the takeover, whatever reasons her twin needed to suddenly possess her, she would not deny. Another link was added to their bond, ghostly and faint, but just as permanent. Becka mused over this as her awareness faded from the moment.
Samantha blocked Becka’s mind from what she was about to do. What she had to say was for Agathon only; Becka would just throw up walls and fight if she was aware. The voice that filled Alex’s mind was the same one Becka had used to prophesy their soon leave taking. “I beg of you Agathon, to teach her how to love as you love her. The only love she has ever known was my own, but I am just a sister. The Universe has brought you together because you two are needed. Your age and wisdom will temper her curiosity and sense of rightness, but in order for such a balance to be achieved, you must learn from her as well as teach her. Learn from her how to regain the Humanity that you once had before you became old and wise. Now, I must set you on your journey. Take her home Agathon, the answers you seek to the festering of your race start there. Far thee well… Brother-in-law.” With that, Samantha released Becka’s awareness and retreated. Samantha had made the choice at her death to stay and watch over Becka until one would come and take the task from her. She hoped with what was left of her being that Agathon was up for the job.
As she came back to herself, Becka forgot that she’d been possessed by her twin, and replied to Alex’s proclamation. “Agathon, all I want is for you to let me trust you. I want to know that I once more have someone I can share all my hopes and dreams, fears and joys. I need that someone to be you. I need to know that no matter how silly, stupid, or idiotic I can get, that you won’t turn away from me. I accept you, Agathon, as you are.”
With the last words, she opens herself up completely to him. What she says is true, she no longer sees him as an Ancient, but as Agathon. The one she wanted to try to spend the rest of her life with. Becka suddenly broke their kiss and grabbed his hands. Tilting her head back, she guided his hands to her throat. Through the open connection; he could feel her trepidation, and her wrestling with it. But it didn’t stop her from bringing his hands to rest upon her throat and then running her own along his arms, leaving him in complete control.
Alex felt the reach of their bond going past the ceremony and reaching into the far beyond. Rebeckah's love was blossoming past anything Agathon had hoped for and it was a humbling experience. In all his time on Earth, there had never been an inkling in his soul that something like this could happen. It was all very new, profound, peaceful, and hopeful.
Samatha's call was a welcome shock in the moment. Hearing the bond between Rebeckah and him called from her loving spirit was extremely profound to him. His mind listened and knew Ireland was the next place to go. A wave a gratitude swept over him to mix with all of the love and pleasure flowing. Why dark beings ran from such energy and life was puzzling and his resolve to champion Rebeckah intensified even after he thought there was no way to do it. The universe was moving and they needed to move with it. It was clear he had been sleeping for too long and Rebeckah's soul was providing his with a sorely needed alarm clock.
Rebeckah's proclamation burned firmly into his mind. Though it seemed an easy charge, the universe tended to challenge those kinds. It was vitally important to remember and the illusion of ease to it gave him an impression to protect and honor that charge with his dying heartbeat if needed. Something terrible needed to be faced in Ireland and to keep the balance of things; they would most likely have to sacrifice their comfort and security to strengthen their bond even more.
Rebeckah's move to place his hands on her throat was incredibly honoring for Alex. The level of trust and the power of it were obvious. His fingers slowly glided over the skin to give them the outside warmth and tenderness of his fingertips. The echo of the touch resounded in his own throat while the feeling of the intensity of trust and love Rebeckah was offering seemed stronger than the sunlight in his eyes. It felt like touching a virgin to him. The innocent pure trust put shudders through his body. His hands parted and his lips tenderly hugged her throat. The whole reaction was more erotic than any other sexual act in his memory and his whole body seemed to tingle as goose bumps rose in his pours. His teeth separated to allow his tongue to comfort the tender skin. As it pressed gently with moist warmness his body tensed in a wave. His loins released deep into her folds to consummate. The ejaculation was intense and it shocked him to feel his muscles fire his essence with more power than he had ever asked them on their own without his bidding.
His lungs could not move air from the intensity of the moment. His mind could only tell her, "Rebeckah, I'm yours." The moment was a defining point in his life that seemed as profound as his birth. It was also an incredible learning experience. Rebeckah was going to be the only person able to walk him out of that spot. There was no one else he could trust enough to leave the magic of the place and go back to Ireland.
An odd thing happened to Alex past that point. His body started to wind down. His muscles had to relax and his desire had to abate. The love and emotion stayed in full brilliance and intensity and put a bright smile on his face full of joy and contentment, but his body moved to a relaxed state that he had only felt as a young teen from when he was human. His victims had felt it and he knew the feeling of it from them, but his body had not done it itself as a vampire. He was able to speak again and his voice came out quietly and breathlessly as he lifted his head to look deep into Rebeckah's icy blue eyes.
"Rebeckah, I love you. I'm yours."
Becka very nearly drowned in the sensations of Alex exploring her throat. The sheer exoticness of him touching her in a place she’d long considered taboo was highly erotic for her. She was completely unprepared when her body bucked under his to add her release to his. “Agathon!” the intensity of their coupling rendered her speechless and almost thoughtless, his name being all she could cry out in their minds.
As their bodies relaxed and Alex spoke to her once again, she felt something deep within her soul suddenly break as something took root. A deep contentment and peace settled over her as she looked into his rich brown eyes, and she gave him a quiet smile. “Mmm, I think it is more we are each other’s now.” Her hand comes up and lightly caresses his face. “Love is such a funny thing. It means something different to each person. Show me what it means to you, Agathon, I want to understand.” While she waited to see how Alex would answer, her hands idly ran over the parts of his body she could easily reach.
A scene shows up in Rebeckah's head. Sophia is seven and swimming in the water. The light is glistening of the waves and a cool breeze is blowing. She delights in the water, swimming on her back as her arms pulling her through the gentle swells. Her lips are turning a bit blue and there is a shiver on her jaw. She flips over and starts swimming. Her eyes peer at the dock and she realizes once again she has forgotten her blanket because the dock is empty. She sighs and swims to the ladder. She climbs up the ladder to find her blanket unfurled in the sun with two feet at its base. She curls up and turns around with a big smile on her face as a seven year old Alex wraps her blanket around her shivering body and hugs her until she is warm in the sun, both of them looking over the water. He finally releases her seeing her shivering has stopped and her lips have reddened and says in ancient Greek, "Come on, let's get some soup."
The two children take the hike up the windy hill to the house. They burst through the door towards the fireplace. Alex's mother is sitting by the fire with a cross look on her face. "Agathon, did you finish hanging up the laundry?" Alex looks at his mother. "No, Mom." "No lunch for you. Go finish your work." "Yes, Mom." He goes off to finish hanging clothes with a smile on his face.
Alex hoped the scene fit. Love was about giving someone priority over yourself. It was understanding them, seeing their needs, and then delivering them without worrying about yourself. It was one of his earliest memories of first encountering it in himself.
Becka stills as she receives Alex’s images. It is cute and precious; she had known several moments like that herself with her sister. She frowned slightly; she’d loved her sister, hell, still loved her sister, but had never once wanted to mate with her. She gave a soft sigh and gave up trying to sort it right now.
She looked at Alex and suddenly grinned. She had been debating having another round with him, or heading back to the Gather. She decided the Gather could wait, the night was still young. She moves one side of her body, effectively rolling them until she is on top. Her grin turns mischievous as she slowly lowers her head and starts to softly kiss along his collar bones.
Having enough of teasing him, she slowly rises up until she is straddling him. Slowly she starts to ride his shaft. She grabs his hands and brings them up to her breasts. Bringing her own hands down to his chest, she softly rakes her nails along his flesh. She smiles down at him before her eyes close and her head falls back in pleasure. “Mmm, Agathon, I sure hope things never get boring between us.”
Alex sensed some confusion in Becka slightly after digesting his vision. He wondered if she realized all the different things they were doing out of love. They shared each other’s' origins to help understand one another. Becka helped him on his hunt rather than turned away. She touched him and helped him discover this moment. She shared her family and trusted him. When she needed a blanket, she let him put one over her. She dressed him to come to this place. It would have been a disaster to come here in ancient Chinese silk. There was so much going on having to do with love. Part of him realized he left the trust part out of love. Her throat was a prime example of that, though.
Her grin combined in a rebound with his arousal caused him to grin as well. "I know what you are up to," he teased. Now on bottom, Alex's hands ran up Becka's sides. Her touch on him was delicious. She really was a talented lover. He felt her silk engulf him as her thighs warmed and comforted his hips. The touch of her hands on his as she pulled his hand from her ribs to her globes sent more tingles up his arms as his hips started working with hers and his cock started jumping inside her folds. Alex added his nails on her breasts to her nails on his chest for a double dose of the reaction. Vampire sex had been something else, but sex with another head of bloodline who wasn't your fledgling was something he never would have guessed. Becka's talent took it absolutely over the top and made his mind feel like there was no tomorrow.
"Rebeckah, sex has not gotten old in over eight thousand years and I have never, ever met someone as good as you." For Alex it was a foregone conclusion. Hopefully he kept up and didn't get left behind. His right hand let go of her breast and traveled down her stomach to the tip of her crevice. He slipped his middle finger into her valley to find her bud and start teasing and prodding it as she rode him. His left hand kept working her right breast though, giving it pinches with his finger pads and running fingernail tip circles around and over it. Without thinking, he started tracing a Celtic knot over her nipple and areola, basking in her riding. She was going to be able to bring him again. Her canal had the initiative on it, though.
At some point they were going to have to have some blocked link sex, but that was really only possible sharing a dream in the evening. Alex enjoyed giving orgasms without having an ejaculation and that would be fun to do for Becka.
If Becka had challenged Alex on her mating question, Alex could have explained that mating signified a lot of trust, especially for humans. While the touch and pleasure could be selfish, it could also be giving. Loving sex focused on pleasing your mate and letting your mate please you. Evil sex focused on rape by stealing personal pleasure while denying your mate. It came in all shades and most sex had elements of both, though some instances were relatively extreme.
Becka moaned with the double pleasures hitting her body. She didn’t bother with speaking out loud anymore. “Agathon, life can get predictable if you let it. That is what I don’t want to happen.” Her words were a bit disjoined as his left hand moved down and found her overly sensitive bud. Her body tilted back slightly to give his finger easier access. Loosing contact with his chest, she brought her hands back and settled them on his thighs to hold her balance.
Old world magic melded with new world magic when he started tracing the Celtic knot on her breast. She felt something physical change inside her, but didn’t know what as she suddenly gushed her pleasure all over the place. Words flooded his mind. “Damn it Agathon, you play me too well.” There was no anger; it was more of a lament that he’s brought her to an orgasm so quick. “It’s not fair.”
As she rode the waves of pleasure, she still moved up and down his hard cock, but she also started circling her hips causing a corkscrew sensation. She moaned as the affect intensified her own joy. “Crap. That was not what I was going for. I seem to be at a serious disadvantage here.” There was amusement to her mental voice, as if she was laughing at herself and her predicament.
"Rebeckah, predictability isn't going to be in the cards for us." Shortly afterward, her physical reaction seemed to confirm it for them. His cock started pumping her full as her crevice emptied nectar over his pubic hair. His lungs let out a moan as the pleasure ran through and washed over him. "Mmm, you are worth playing. I'm going to have to take you to Ireland for our honeymoon." He realized he was tracing a Celtic knot on her nipple. He wondered if that had something to do with things.
He had an old friend in Ireland that could keep them, but he was someone Becka would not like. He was a recluse and very proud of his age. Old world vampires were like that a lot though. He wasn't a particularly strong friend of Alex's either, but Europe had its limits with Alex. Most of his trusted friends were in Northern Africa.
Her opening up her seating on him allowed him to start catching her g-spot as she corkscrewed him. His thumb gave him more control over his base to add to unnaturally controlled stomach and cock muscles. His hand moved over to her other breast and he decided to trace the Celtic knot on it consciously this time with his fingernail tip. He could not deny extreme mirth in setting her off and his grin was the impish one now. He was even considering tracing the knot on her bud. Throwing caution to the wind, the tip of his middle finger backed off and he set his other fingernail to work as well. He could always go back to the fingertip if it had no effect on her.
Becka groaned as he traced more symbols upon her body. A fresh wave of cum exploded from her body before the first had even stopped. “Oh… Agathon… Yes…” Her body moved quicker of its own accord. It kept wave after wave of pleasure coming from her and she couldn’t bring herself to stop, even if she wanted to, and at the moment she didn’t want to.
If this was what the next year with him was going to be like, she might have to find a way to keep him more permanently. She knew sex wasn’t a good enough reason for any kind of relationship, but by all that was Holy and Unholy, with Alex she could easily make an exception. During their initial meeting, she’d felt some connection to him but only time would tell if they had a deeper connection then great sex.
Samantha hovered watching her twin and her brother-in-law consummate something far deeper than a Lycan ritual. The Universe had chosen Her Champions, and Samantha prayed to long dead Gods that the two of them could come to terms with each other to survive what the Universe had planned for them. They had a long and tough journey ahead of them, Ireland being the first of many stops along the road.
Her eyes widened and she drew closer as she realized Agathon was tracing a Celtic Fertility Knot upon her sister’s right breast. She was stunned as she felt the Universe answer Agathon’s request. Was he even aware of what he was doing? She watched as he moved to Becka’s other breast and even upon her womanhood. Watching, she noted that ever so briefly Becka had noticed the change within herself, but it was quickly overshadowed by her lover’s skill.
She sat back watching as the magic of Old and New Worlds finished working on her twin’s body. She wondered just exactly what the Universe was up too. Becka had long ago came to terms with the fact that she’d never have children back when she was Human, would she be able to handle having one now as a Vampire? And a child at this time, when they had a difficult task to complete?
Alex found himself emptying into her at a quick rate at well. Having fed so deeply on a full body of blood last night and the euphoria of the intense emotion of the evening didn't cause him to bat an eyelash. Becka deserved some great sex and he was giving her it. Something seemed to be going on with the knot pattern he drew. It was one totally ignored by the vampire race. It was only used for humans and Lycans. Alex figured it had to do with the sun or something. It was a particularly beautiful knot to him though and the beauty of their joining had just made a kind of odd link in his mind to subconsciously draw it in the first place. Maybe in Ireland he could find out what it was. He would certainly enjoy using it on Becka a lot. What he didn't know was the universe was changing vampire history and turning it on its head.
Hepitut had found Agathon the night after Sophia died. He was ridiculously young to not be a fledgling and the source of the missing vampire line Hepitut had come to investigate. It didn't take too long to discover that Agathon was not the source of imbalance. The imbalance was gone and what he found was a vampire that seemed to have his soul drained from the experience. Hepitut introduced him later that night to the Spirit of the Earth at a holy place in Egypt and started a chain of events leading to Rebeckah. Rebeckah's tragedy had placed her with the Lycan in the New World, and having learned of the Spirit of the Earth as well, created a collision course for the two. A parasitic race had dared to honor life and the Earth was going to give it a chance that would be forged in challenge.
What neither vampire knew was their blood would not sire by consumption anymore. Neither vampire would realize it either. Their conviction had been true enough to not spawn other vampires from their own blood and the New World Holy Ground would not reject them for this very reason. The universe took their unused curse and flipped it to bestow a blessing and awesome responsibility.
The multiple ejaculations had given Alex the sense he had his vampire strength again for sex. He was once again overcome by aftershocks and loss of lust again. "Rebeckah,I keep getting sexually spent. What is this?" The new gift had a drawback. Seed was not unlimited anymore. It took time to regenerate. It wasn't a lot of time for a vampire, but it could not flow continuously anymore.
Samantha perked up and paid close attention as Agathon’s seed enter her twin’s body. She fell back in shock as she watched the magic within her sister changed it, made it alive and extremely fertile. She blinked as two eggs, not one, were released within her twin. Shaking her head, she prayed to long, lost Gods, as well as new ones, that the Universe knew what it was doing.
Becka felt his release hot and hard inside her and it made her gasp. It seemed though that with his release, she was finally free of her own and nearly collapsed backwards at the suddenness of it. Struggling, she managed to get herself more upright only to finally collapse on top of him. “Wow, now that was intense. Too much more of that and we may have to start rationing ourselves.”
She gave a slight shake of her head against Alex’s shoulder at his question. “I don’t know. Agathon. I’m damned near exhausted myself.” She pauses to think. “We have not partaken of any food or drink, so nothing has been spiked. And yes, this side of my family is nothing but practical jokers, so they would do something such. Especially after Litha first talked to you and kissed your cheek. She had essentially told every Lycan at the Gather that you were acceptable, considering your age.”
She lay against him, content and with no urge to re-join the Gather at the moment, not that she had the strength to do so if she had wanted. “I can’t say I’m overly worried about it at the moment though. It just means I get you to myself a bit longer before we return to the Gather. You, dear lover, are going to be in for an interesting rest of the night when we return. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Father has already arranged an impromptu adoption ceremony.” She gives an exasperated sigh on the heels of those words. “Fuck! I hope he doesn’t. I might have to hurt him.” A flash of fear and possible jealousy suddenly surges through their bond at her words.
Samantha watches as the two components within Becka’s body finally meet and join. There was no turning back now. Her sister would now carry and later birth twins of her own. While both were originally Human, they were now something completely different, and the Universe was also creating something new with them as the templates. Would gestation be shorter or longer than a Human one? What differences would there be between parents and children. In a way, Samantha couldn’t wait to see how the Universes newest experiment would turn out.
Alex hugged Becka close to him as she collapsed on him. While his body's desire was fulfilled, the emotional bond was still actively craving body contact, sexual or not. Alex kissed her with a very loving and tender kiss. "I love you." Why the words came out of his mouth at that point was a surprise to him, but his mind told him it was important to say while emotions were riding so strong and lust had ebbed as much as it could for Becka inside of him.
Alex knew the event was physical, but there was no physical way to explain the event. If Lithia had done something to them as a prank or a lesson, it would have to have been something spiritual. It was extremely unlikely it was a prank. Spirits might give hard lessons and there might be a profound amount of humor in those lessons, but they always had intense wisdom that was never a prank but consistently a much needed insight. It was lot of work for spirits to interact with the living and they didn't waste their time with pranks. "It can't be a prank. The only substance I'm aware of that could spike us is blood of a dead person or Lycan blood. We haven't met anyone against us like that. The spirits are trying to teach us something. Our bond seems something more than the ceremony. It's something entirely new in my life so there is nothing to go off of. You reacted wonderfully to a design my mind pulled out of memory from Ireland. It's a Celtic knot I saw. Maybe that knot will tell us something. We'll have to research it in Ireland unless Narkel knows the knots. I've only been taught the vampire ones and the one I drew was about the sun or something. Vampires all but ignored it. It just looked so beautiful and always stuck in my mind." Alex had an inherent trust that the Earth's symbols were not a threat. He had used the symbol out of appreciate for love and beauty and not tried to corrupt it in any way. It couldn't be wrong and never really passed his thoughts consciously. If he had considered it consciously, he would have concluded it was a perfectly correct thing to do. Touching your mate's body with beauty to please her would have been expected by the Earth and extremely right.
Alex was shocked at Becka's jealousy of an adoption ceremony. It confused him. Their bond seemed so intense it felt like a family type of bond akin to marriage, but more pure. With Becka already adopted, Alex would take his adoption as a gift to him for having taken a bond of love to Becka. Narkel and Lithia were parent-in-laws and then he remembered Samantha calling him brother-in-law. His eyes grew wide with a smile. The Earth had married them. He had been so enmeshed with the love of the relationship; he missed the detail of the responsibility of the relationship. Samantha had entrusted that detail to him and not shared it with Rebeckah. A wave of panic spread over him. What if Rebeckah sensed his realization that they were, in fact, married on a very binding level? He would sooner try to enter a house uninvited than violate a declaration of the spirits and his heart had wanted her for a mate anyway. He shifted his thoughts quickly to something more humorous to cover the panic. It was going to be funny to see old friends as married. No one was going to believe it and any awareness of Earth law was going to force everyone to know the truth of it. Trying to say they weren't married was like trying to argue the sun wasn't going to rise in the morning.
Alex pulled Rebeckah in very close and gave her a very loving and deep kiss. "Rebeckah, love never gets bored of loving. Anyway, it's going to take all of eternity to show you just how important you are and it is going to be my honor to work towards you knowing that." Curiosity crossed his brow. He wondered if Narkel and Lithia knew. Was it just a secret to keep from Rebeckah until she was ready? He didn't know how to keep that kind of secret from her. She was so deep in his being and his being was in such celebration of it.
The thing that took root within her soul suddenly starts to grow and bloom. Snuggling close to Alex, Becka responds to his love. “I love you.” She starts to realize this is very true. It’s not like the love of a family member that would be wrong on so many levels, not to mention gross and weird. But a different kind of love she didn’t have a name for or any prior experience of.
She pushes the contemplations aside as he mentions Ireland and Celtic Knots. “Draw it for me; after all you are with a descendant of the Celts. I probably know what it is.” She points to a patch of dirt within easy reach. “Narkel wouldn’t know it, he’s not Irish. He comes from somewhere in the mid-east I think, or maybe it’s the Russian steppes. I’ve never really paid it that much attention, he’s immersed himself in the ways of his adopted home, and pretty much left his native roots behind.”
Becka felt his confusion and panic briefly, and she felt him try to cover it up. She looked at him with narrowed eyes. It didn’t sit well with her, and it hurt that he felt he had to keep something from her. She didn’t want a secretive relationship with him; she’d watch such relationships destroy the people involved on levels that were more emotional than physical. Before she could do or say anything though, he was kissing her again. And while she enjoyed the kiss, it didn’t ease the hurt within her.
Once the kiss ended she rose and went to her clothes, she found her other clothes folded and waiting not far. She changed course and went to them to start dressing. “We’ll see, Agathon.” She didn’t bother hiding her pain from him; she couldn’t really even if she wanted too. She’d already fallen back into the old habits of her bond with Mantha. Though long dormant, it was too ingrained into her psyche for her to even really think to hide from the connection.
She turns back to Alex. “Draw the symbol for me, I’ll tell you what it is, and then we should get back to the Gather.”
Samantha watched as true love finally started to grow in her twin. She frowned though when it suddenly seemed to wither slightly. She quickly checked her link with both Vampires, and soon sorted out what had happened. If Agathon was going to start such nonsense so soon in their relationship, they were doomed. She’d only told him without Becka’s knowledge due to the fact that she would not have listened to her at that moment in time. Also by providing him with the information first, he could use it to bring her twin closer to him. Instead he went the opposite way with it. She became sad at this, but there was nothing else she could do. She couldn’t interfere anymore. She was hoping though she’d be able bend the rules once more tonight, if the conditions manifested.
Alex felt Becka's anger. It wasn't right. She knew he knew something and he was going to have to share it with her. Lies were somehow wrong and the marriage had crossed the threshold of secret to lie if he didn't act. "Rebeckah, I don't know if you were supposed to know this now or not. I don't know if my feelings told more than they were supposed to, but you are aware of them and you may as well know what Samantha told me. We are married by the Earth, Rebeckah. My heart is just singing with knowing it." His finger drew the knot in the dirt. "Samantha said it was for me and not for you so I got confused on her intent. She had called me brother-in-law and I missed it earlier, but the meaning is clear. She knows and has wisdom far beyond mine." He completed the knot and looked Rebeckah in the eyes with full love and sincerity. "Please don't be angry, Rebeckah. It was a mistake and I'm trying to reconcile it with you now. When I felt your anger over my adoption my mind thought Samantha didn't want you to know our marriage until you were ready. I didn't realize it. It's as much of a surprise to me as you. For me it's an extremely happy surprise. I'm not sure how you will feel. I wasn't trying to dishonor you, Rebeckah. I was trying to be true to your sister and in doing that be true to you as well. For all I knew, I wasn't supposed to share this until you would be happy about it as well. Truth be told, my heart is telling me it needed to be out. The weight that was in knowing it without you knowing it is gone now. I'm just a vampire like you Rebeckah. Samantha has wisdom I don't possess. I ask your forgiveness and hope the Earth understands I know my mistake now. You will know all I can share without betraying the ones that love you Rebeckah. I'm supposed to learn from you and you just taught me more. Samantha explained that to me as well. My age isn't immunity from mistakes. Confront me when I make them. Don't let anger simmer. You will find I want to put them right for us. Don't assume I know just because your emotion is there. Add the information part of it. The mind and heart are both working with spirit. Both are necessary to learn."
He rose to get dressed. "See your mate, Rebeckah. I love you and we really do belong to each other. Don't be surprised if we have to do a marriage dance tonight. Part of my mistake is that Narkel and Lithia might already know and might already think I did my duty and told you. Maybe they don't know and my mistake still somehow lies in telling you, but it doesn't feel like it. This is new for me Rebeckah. We will have to share patience. It will be funny coming back married already." Alex started laughing at the surprise of the Gather when a freshly mated couple came out the woods from an annual Handfast recognizing marriage already. Narkel was either going to think madness had indeed taken them or be very, very happy for them.
He had laid it all out. He spilled the milk, knew it, and did his best to clean it up and refill the cup. Rebeckah would now have to decide what to think and feel about it.
Becka was too stunned at first to think, feel, or even say anything as Alex spilled forth everything. She stared at him for many long moments blinking owlishly, and looking like the preverbal deer caught in headlights. Eventually her eyes slowly closed and she appeared to be communing with something. What she was doing in truth was searching her own soul, hoping her sister would maybe make an appearance so she could give her what for, and on another deeper level pleading with Mother Earth that he spoke truth.
Her twin made no appearance though, and instead she felt a rightness and suddenly as if she’d finally found her place in the world. A smile lit her face full of joy and peace, only to disappear as her eyes flew open and she gave Alex a hesitant look. “Wait. You mean to tell me you are all right being married for Eternity, or there’s abouts, to a Young Blood, that in truth has no love for Old Bloods? Present company excluded naturally.”
She moves towards him slowly. “And by the way, being Earth Married means an Adoption Ceremony isn’t so bad now. By adopting you into the pack, it would have made you eligible next year for any woman to Claim as a mate for a year.” She finishes walking up to him, and slowly puts her arms around him and looks up into his face. “I think… I think I am starting to understand what love is in truth, Agathon.”
She idly looks at the Knot he drew and she freezes. “Um, Agathon… That is no Sun Knot.” She looks back up at him. “That is a Fertility Knot. It was used long ago for crops, animals, and people. That would also be why the Vampires mainly ignore it, since we can’t reproduce like other living creatures.” She looks back down at it, her head cocked slightly. “It is interesting that you’ve had such a strong memory of it.”
Samantha gives a ghostly chuckle at the scene before her. Both are learning, good. Now if they’d just get back to the Gather.
"Rebeckah, spirits are forever. It's love for you that decides my decision to be married to you. In the Earth's eyes, we are both extremely young children. You are my spiritual mate. It doesn't matter our age. My love for you is real and it would be foolish to deny it its peace."
Alex started getting dressed and laughed again once more when he saw why Becka was upset about the adoption. She was going through the same torture he had endured during the dance. The fear of not getting chosen by the one you chose, but rather another had hit him and Rebeckah was dealing with the fear of someone else choosing her chosen and stealing him away. "Lithia is going to be laughing at us Rebeckah. We are two newlyweds discovering each other so innocently in her eyes. Let's hope Narkel and Max don't have shotguns to chase me back into the woods for our eloping." He winked at her. Narkel and Max seemed to have already known so much. He had a feeling the marriage already had their blessing and that his joke was simply an academic one.
"A fertility knot? No wonder it gave you so much pleasure. Why would my hand just trace something like that without me thinking about it though? It was just so beautiful looking. No wonder..." Alex's mind drifted to something he wished he could have shared with Becka. The haunt of no children was a sharp pain though. He had to let it pass when something outside of him told him peace was already balancing things anyway. It wasn't a reality or concern anymore. It passed from his mind as if waking from a nightmare and realizing it was a dream and that his wife and children were safely sleeping in the room with the sun shining. It was some odd feeling of good with a lot of might and power beyond his ability to understand. "Well, you are not getting out of our honeymoon in Ireland just because you solved the mystery so fast."
Alex walked up to Becka and hugged her and kissed her in full joy. "Let's tell Mom and Dad about their son-in-law." He didn't offer his arm this time. Instead he interlocked hands. One of his arms held the small of her back to take her one hand with the other crossed his stomach to take the other. He was happy about something else he didn't know and his mind was telling him it was his new family. While Narkel, Lithia, and Max were his new family, his mind was fooled about why his heart was singing even louder.
Becka looks back up at Alex and smiles, “perhaps, but people don’t usually look at things from the Universe’s perspective.” She moved back from him to allow him to dress. Her gaze going back to the Knot and staring absently until he spoke again.
She laughed at him. “Nah, shotguns are too noisy, they’d use a bow.” She laughs some more. “As for Litha, she won’t be laughing so much as relieved I think. Now she can quit worrying about finding me a permanent mate and turn her attentions to someone else. My refusal to accept a possibility of her choosing has been a bone of contention with her for many decades now.”
Becka willingly entered Alex’s embrace and kissed him back. As they walk back towards the Gather she smirks. “You haven’t met Dancing Water yet. That will be fun. She is Narkel’s mate. Litha is his neice, actual neice, like it seems Max is his actual brother.” She frowns briefly at that. If they were actual brothers, it was strange Max avoided the Lycans as he did.
When they return to Narkel’s platform, there is an extremely gorgeous woman clearly of Native decent with him. Becka speaks mentally to Alex. “That is Dancing Water.” Out loud she addresses the two. “Mother, Father, this is Alex.” She grins sheepishly at the rather late formal introduction.
Dancing Water smiles at Becka, it is full of love and gentleness. “Daughter, it is good to--” She cuts off as her gaze falls to Alex, a surprised look that turns very thoughtful on her face. The same expression is mirrored on Narkel’s face.
Litha bounds up at that moment. “It’s about--” She comes to a sudden stop clearly stunned for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth between the two. Suddenly she squeals in pure joy and rushes up to hug both Vampires. “Sweet Mother Earth! Finally!” She stands back from hugging Alex and holds him at arm’s length cocking her head. “Not sure about adopting this one now, Uncle, he’s already Family.” She gets an impish smirk and looks side long at Becka. “At least now we don’t have to wait a year to make Little Cousin realize he’s a keeper.” She looks back at Alex. “Welcome to the Family, Cousin. Now I need to steal your wife and show you why we didn’t join your dance of the Old World.” Once more she drags Becka off leaving Alex with his new inlaws.
Soon dancers are assembled and music plays, it is clearly Native American in origin. The dancers move in time easily and as one. Becka and Litha are center most in the performance. Their eyes are closed and they move as if they are the music and not just an extension, as does every dancer there. It is easily felt that these dancers are calling to the Land with its own music, and the Land is listening. As the dancing continues on, the Land finally joins in. Spirits can be seen to manifest, each and every one is Native in dress, with a few sprinklings of people of European decent, but dressed as the trappers of old. Both dancers current and past intermingle, dancing to the music sharing in their love for and of the Land, and receiving Her Love in return.
As the music comes to an end, something changes, the Land’s spirits vanish, and those living depart the dance floor, except Becka. She holds a flute in her hands and starts to play. She turns the Native dance to join with the music she plays, and at first a spirit forms. The spirit goes from a ghostly form to more and more solid, dressed in old Irish dress, it is an exact replica of Becka. It too plays a flute; her dance is of the Irish though. The women play and dance with eyes closed, lost in the music. It is beautiful to see the two dances performed together, Old and New blend in perfect harmony to create something new. When they come to the end of their song, both stand before Alex and open their eyes.
It is clear that the Irish girl is Samantha, Rebeckah’s twin. She slowly fades now that the music is over, but her voice is clear as a chiming bell. “I love you both, may the Universe Bless you both always.”
Becka closes her eyes and pain briefly flashes across it, to be replaced by acceptance and love for her sister. “Good bye Samantha, peace to you at long last.” She moves to Alex and hugs him, needing him close as she receives one final image she shares with Alex. They see Samantha reunited with her husband and son at long last. They all three look back at them and smile. “We will always be with you sister, but I can only watch now. You no longer need me. You have Agathon now.” And with that the image fades.
Alex watched Becka introduce him to his new family. Oddly the land seemed to belong to the Lycan. Hepitut had always frowned on vampires crossing to the Americas and that had always puzzled him. It seemed to make more sense. Dancing Water was impressive to see. He had not had the privilege of meeting many Americans and it was good to see they still held positions of authority in their land which had been so brutally stolen away.
Alex nodded, dropping his eyes, at her gaze upon him. He was very junior in this meeting and knew his was to be spoken to before speaking. It was also not his place to block inspection with his own gaze here.
Lithia's arrival was a nice relief. Her hug was genuine and friendly and they were practically friends despite her disapproval of his fashion sense. Her fashion sense had seemed a bit off to him, but Becka had loved it, and that was more than enough to get his endorsement. The Chinese silk probably would see a lot fewer days of service. His body had a particular person to please and his current wardrobe wasn't acceptable.
Alex gave his thanks to Lithia's warm welcome but definitely wished Becka wasn't being stolen away. He turned to Narkel and Dancing Water waiting for a prompt, but the music started and a wave of relief took him. He turned to give the dancers his attention, not having to face his new parents alone.
Alex watched the dance closely. He was visually memorizing it while feeling the music as well. Hepitut would have laughed uncontrollably at Alex for having jumped into a New World Gathering with an Old World Gathering dance. Alex would have blushed in shame if the dance wasn't so important to know to him. Hepitut would have been laughing even harder than Alex even knew, though. Alex had always danced Old World dance single. Becka and he had danced the dance as married and Alex was not even aware of it. Hepitut would have been able to point it all out to him, but for now, Alex was just keenly aware that Earth dances were not all as familiar with each other as he thought they were. He had a nice steaming bowl of crow to eat.
Rebeckah and Samantha danced with some Irish style and Alex was very familiar with that it was obviously their own dance though. Alex visually memorized it as well. He wasn't very prepared to see Samantha, but she was a welcome sight.
The song ended a bit soon it seemed though it had run its course. Alex hugged her close and shared the departure of her sister and family. It hurt badly to have never met them alive, but he was grateful Becka had shared it all the same. "I love you, Rebeckah. You have given me a dear family in your choosing of me." He sealed it all with a kiss of simple love that he let linger on his lips.
When the moment passed he sent his voice in Becka's mind. "I dragged us into the gathering with the wrong dance. I owe your father a big apology. I thought they were all similar. It was beautiful." He flashed a few images of her dancing at some of his favorite moves of her that had particular emotion. Alex could not deny he was very thankful to have Becka back in his arms.
Becka had felt all of Alex’s turmoil before the dancing, but hadn’t been able to do much for him, but send him comfort through their link. Then the music had taken her over until now. She looked up at his as he spoke. She smiled at him and answers him back in the same manner. “That’s one of the many reasons I don’t care for you Old Bloods. So arrogant and thinking you know everything.” She is serious, but it is said in a teasing manner. Then her expression changes and she smiles at him with love. “But the dance was beautiful, and that alone redeems you.”
Narkel looks between the two a moment, and then shakes his head. “So, Old World is now joined with New. Though of the Old World yourself, Little Sister To Lycan Hearts, you took to this Land’s ways and were fully accepted and adopted. And you Alex, firmly of the Old World, you have come and the Land seems to approve of you and this union.”
He quiets as his mate steps up. “Alex, your dance when you first arrived was beautiful. Some of the Lycans are of the Old World; it was nice to see one of their dances danced here. Though most have left that World behind and embraced this one, it was good of you to remind them that the Earth is really One.” She turns to Becka. “Daughter, you danced beautifully. I especially liked how you blended my People’s dance with one of your own. But tell me, who was the girl with you? She looked just like you.”
Becka ducked her head briefly then looked back to her adopted mother. “That was Mantha, she was my twin sister, but has been gone for 462 years now.” Becka moves closer into Alex’s arms, her pain over her sister’s death surfacing.
Seeming to sense this Dancing Water just nods. “I see.” She comes up to both and hugs them. “Welcome to the Family, Alex, and congratulations to the both of you.”
Litha approaches. “You know Cousin, you have made many a male envious here, and you, Little Cousin, have just positively broke too many hearts. I don’t think our males are going to recover.”
Becka snorts. “Yes they will, at the next Gather.” The pain has disappeared at Litha’s teasing.
Alex was starting to realize that the parasitic nature of vampires was their downfall. He remembered words Hepitut had shared with him. 'We don't add life, Agathon. We can only persist to gather wisdom and knowledge and share it. The day will come we are not needed anymore and the Earth will replace us. Until then, we can only aide life by culling the forces of destruction within it. There are ancient prophecies I keep that show even that will not save us in the end. Life has its own wisdom in the Earth and our service will be at an end when its enemies dwindle.' Alex had a feeling the only thing that redeemed him was his love of Becka. What wisdom and knowledge he held did not bear fruit in the end that he was aware of at the time past becoming Becka's mate. He was eternally grateful for that fruit.
Narkel seemed to have hit the nail on the head to Alex. Alex's intended apology seemed useless. They all knew what he was and he was only just discovering what they were. Everyone knew he was wrong including him now. That was apology enough.
Dancing Water's grace was unmistakable and undeniable. She seemed to have heard his apology and accepted it all in one fell swoop without him saying anything. Alex let Becka into his arms when the subject of Samantha came up.
"Thank you so very much," was all Alex knew to say to Dancing Water's welcome and congratulations. It was easy to return her hug. Lithia's skill at comforting Becka was impressive and again Alex could only feel thanks for the new family.
Alex contemplated Max's wishes that Becka continue the Bucket of Blood's mission and how the Earth had something entirely different for her that started in Ireland. Max's fate seemed a tortured one. He needed to talk with Becka and find out how she wanted to deal with it. Max was obviously going to be running the Bucket of Blood for a while and without the glue that Becka was to do it. Uncertainty reigned there and Alex's call was to ensure Becka went to Ireland.
With a sigh, Becka rises from what she is doing and steps out to see what the fuss was all about. One of the Vampire bouncers greeted her just on the other side of the office door. He rolled his eyes and then grinned at her. “Nothing to worry about Becka. One of those look-alike fellows just came in is all.”
Becka cocked her head at Terrance. She knew he meant that one of the actor impersonators was in The BoB. They cropped up now and again, she was just thankful it hadn’t been on a busier night. “Which one?”
Terrance sighed, “Johnny Depp.”
Now Becka rolled her eyes. She’d seen all the Pirate movies, and some of his others, but personally didn’t see what the big deal was about the man. She supposed he was cute-ish, and he was a good actor, but other than that, she wasn’t impressed. And she supposed the poor impersonator couldn’t really help who he looked like. “Very well, treat him as if he really is, and try to keep people from killing each other trying to monopolize his time.”
Terrance nodded as she turned back to finish up the last two people on the payroll. Becka figured by the time she finished that, things will have settled enough for her to see this impersonator. She wasn’t in any rush, but it would be interesting to see just how close he came to the actor he looked like. It’d also be interesting to see if he was one of those impersonators that even tried to be like the one they looked like in every way, right down to mannerisms and speech.
Alexander was a bit bothered at being so noticed. Going outside of his own territory was always so messy. His travel coffin was sitting in the back of his McLauren making him feel exposed to a degree he really didn't appreciate. The business required his presence though. There was a problem that needed proper digesting and Alex had an appetite for fixing those kinds of problems.
Alex didn't travel heavy at all. His dress was the typical black silk outfit he wore. The shirt and pants looked almost business casual, but were actually a very exotic item few tailors would be able to identify and even fewer know the origins of as they came from China about three thousand years ago. There was not a stitch of synthetic on him. Even his underwear and socks used silk tie ropes to hold themselves up while his black leather shoes were the most modern thing on him. Shoes just wore out, but Alex always made sure he got genuine leather and cotton to replace them when they did.
His pilot, Steve Trillian, had recommended the Bucket of Blood for this evening despite not coming along for the trip. Alex felt better driving himself than flying and when stuff happened in the states, he was all too happy to take himself to the functions. Alex felt the name was very cute. He really liked red wine, blood, and sex and the name positively dripped with all three as the initials that shared 'Battery Operated Buddy' did not escape him.
The entrance did not give Alex a good feeling at all. Too many Depp fans apparently frequented the bar and his dimming seemed to not have much effect at all with the number of vampires at the place. The bar had a fairly large density of vampires the likes of which he wasn't used to. It was a tribute to humanity that they could feed such a dense population of vampires, but Alex felt something was up. With the vampire presence he couldn't do his low key stalking that he so enjoyed to do. He wondered how his pilot had learned of the place and survived it, but quickly realized the vampires would not be dumb enough to hunt from the bar. In fact, Steve had probably recommended it since Alex already had a target in mind and would not be hunting otherwise.
"No, I'm sorry, my name is Alex, not Johnny Depp. So sorry to disappoint you." He might have used his whisper to suggest to the crowd he was just someone who looked like Depp, but with vampires in attendance, it would be rude to do. He struggled his way to the bar shaking too many hands and greeting too many people. The whole affair made him wish he was back home.
Finally reaching the bar he asked the bartender, "You wouldn't happen to have a younger Shiraz or Amarone would you?" Wine had a scent of life in it that Alex appreciated. Other drinks seemed so dead they did not particularly interest him as much. He wasn't drinking for getting drunk. Drugs didn't affect him. He drank for social appearances and to smell the labor of the sun basking beneath his nose despite the fact it was night outside.
The bartender gave the newcomer a slight nod just before he turned away to get his order. “Give me a minute, sir. It is downstairs.”
As he leaves another slides behind the bar to take care of other customers suddenly wanting to be at the bar too. After serving several rather quickly, he finally shoos the lingerers. “Come now, let the man breath. This is not how patrons of The BoB treat newcomers.” Many actually looked guilty and shuffled off. As they do he turns to the new arrival and speaks quietly to him, “If you must, do what you have to, to keep your space, but do not cause a panic. The Owner frowns on that. Oh, and I’m Terrance.” He doesn’t hold out his hand to shake, instead he turns to serve another patron.
By that time the original fella comes back with two bottles, one each of what was asked for. He sets them down before the gentleman, “Which would you like first?” It is obvious that multiple requests are common here. Terrance sees that the bartender is back and with a nod, walks out from behind the bar and back towards the door. He is surrounded almost immediately by patrons, and whispered questions could be heard.
Becka finally finished the last of the payroll and figured it was time to go checkout their pseudo-celebrity. She steps out of the office and takes the three paces that is the extent of the hallway to the bar proper. She pauses and looks around; it doesn’t take her long to spot the guy all the fuss is about. She frowns as she studies him and realizes he’s a vampire. She was going to hurt Terrance for not giving her a heads up on that little tidbit. She glares in his direction, and gets an innocent look in return. She can’t help but give a faint chuckle.
She moves quietly and slides in behind the bar. “Go ahead and take a break, Jimmy.” Jimmy grins and gives her a quick hug and thank you before darting off. A slight smile graces her lips as she watches him, it is still there as she turns and looks at the bottles set before the new arrival. She finally looks at him, “So, which will it be?”
Alex had to just smile at the throng thinking he was the actor he bore so much semblance to. "No, my name is Alex, not Johnny." He wondered if changing into a wolf would help, but Terrance seemed to think it was a bad idea. Terrance also seemed to think Alex turning into a wolf would upset the owner, who Alex guessed was a vampire since Terrance was. He wondered if any of them were 8741 and head of their blood line. His smile widened. He could probably move faster than any of them. They would probably be shocked. Alex couldn't be too cocky. There were a few vampires even older than him, but they were not the kind to threaten other vampires. Terrance gave away his lack of ancient membership just saying what he said. Alex would never be so bold to allude to threat like that despite the fact he was probably far more qualified to hand out punishment.
Alex's hands gracefully took each bottle by the body and tilted them up. A fast scan of the labels explained all he needed to know and he let the bottles rest again. He tells Jimmy, "The Shiraz". Things from Europe tended to taste dead. He could try the other later anyway. When another vampire came up and hugged the bartender and sent him away, Alex just smiled instead of sighing. There was a whole vampire community that would have been shocked at how Alex was being neglected, but Alex avoided that crowd on purpose. He expected to be unknown and not the center of attention unless he was busy seducing a meal. The unknown was kind of working here, except the unseen wasn't. How did the vampire population get so dense here? Alex could go years without seeing another vampire. Of course, his territory was well known and others tended to not hunt it due to his age.
"The Amarone is from Italy, and while that is the correct geography, Italian wines tend to be a little...dead. It will be nice to try it later because they surprise you sometimes, but it would be nice to start with the Australian first. The grapes there are so much more alive and there is no telling when my appearance is going to get me chased out of your establishment." He smiled at the vampire. Her blue eyes were interesting and her dark hair magnificent. Her hair made his outfit look a little droll. It was odd to see vampires running a bar. Drinks were kind of an oddity with vampires. The alcohol was meaningless to them. Yes, human blood flocked to it, but it tended to be more fun to pluck them away from bars run by fellow food than serve them yourselves. It was a bit like tossing chicken feed to chickens when there were chickens perfectly willing to feed the others.
Alex would just wait for his wine. "I like the decor here. None of those annoying mirrors." It was cheap talk, but it was an honest sentiment.
Becka’s smile grew as the newcomer spoke, though it didn’t reach her eyes. It was professional, showing she was willing to listen and be polite, but she did not consider him to be close enough for her to be friendly with. She plucked the Shiraz off the bar without even looking to see if she had the correct bottle, and turned away. She fiddled with the bottle a brief moment and the cork could be heard to pop. After reaching for a glass on a higher shelf, she turned back to the guy, pouring the wine into the glass as she went. She then set both down in front of him.
“Cheers. I leave the smoke and mirrors for the Goths who think they know what is.” She gives a shrug as if to say ‘whatever, it’s their fantasy.’ Just then a male human stumbled up to the bar, and her polite smile turned a bit forced.
“Becka, Becka, Becka. Do you know you are the spitting image of your Grandmother?” The human doesn’t sound drunk, but his swaying when he wasn’t leaning across the bar, said otherwise.
Becka shakes her head, “as you’ve told me a bazillion times, Eric, I guess I have to believe that I am.”
Eric gives her a leer, “so when are you going to go out with me? I know your Grandmother would love for us to.”
Becka snorts, “Eric, I’ve told you time and time again. I do not date my customers.”
“Your Grandmother said the same thing.” His look is sour and unhappy.
“Of course she did. Who do you think I learned it from?” She eyes him thoughtfully. “Do I need to call you a cab?”
Eric sighs and nods. “I suppose you should.” And with that his head drops and in no time he is snoring, passed out. Becka shakes her head and makes a motion at Terrance, who in turn nods and picks up a phone mounted by the door. Becka turns back to the vampire and apologizes. “Sorry about that.” Amusement lurks deep in her eyes, before it fades completely. “So what blows you into The BoB, Stranger?” While she talks to him, she does as every bartender across the world has always done. She picks up a towel and starts cleaning glasses.
Alex could easily sense the boredom off the bartender. He was a master at poker after 8,741 years of living. His expression and his emotion never had to remotely match. His smile always looked full. The bartender had betrayed her lack of interest and Alex's went with it.
"Cheers." Alex returned her lack of interest with a bright smile. It was almost as if to say 'here's how it's done' but it was too good to not be genuine happiness. His hand glided down with easy grace and lifted the glass. His nose sampled the liquid and his hand glided into his pocket. Cash came out because Alex did not want to be traced or recognized for who he really was. He slipped ten twenty dollar bills to the bartender. His whisper was very slight. The bartender would hear it but no one else. "For my tab." As the conversation droned on with Eric, Alex stole a sip out of his glass.
Alex almost wanted to say, 'no real need to patronize me', but held his tongue. Terrance had enough sass for all of them and even though the bartender was bored and making it obvious, she was at least being polite. "I'm Alex, I'm here for the business convention tomorrow night." Annoyingly it had been scheduled to start at 6 PM. He had to wait for the sun to fall so he was going to be late. Frankly, he wasn't going for the presentation. He had a business nuisance to dine on. The problem was it was a male. They were not as much fun for Alex to kill. There could be no seduction before the feeding and sometimes they ran after the first feeding to make the second and third a problem. The chases could be fun sometimes. The thought crossed his mind that the bartender might be hungry, but then again, would she really want to get mixed up with the money Alex was mixed up in if she was running a bar? She might be a lesbian anyway and no more happy about seducing his target than he would be.
He sniffed his wine again before giving it another sample. He could nurse the glass for a good hour if he wanted to. It was not the stuff he really liked though. To get that he would have to disclose who he was and that was not considered in his best interest right now. He would just mull through her mid shelf stuff tonight and hope for something somewhat nice to pop out. His current glass was going to die in twenty minutes or so. A change of heart made him change his mind. Wine was the only thing he would find for his time here tonight. It was senseless boring himself just to stay completely low key, especially since he was in the company of vampires, "Say, you wouldn't happen to have some really full bodied young wines out of California or Australia would you? I'd even settle for a really good Malbec out of Argentina if you had it on stock. I have a credit card you can pre-charge."
“Pleased ta meetcha Alex. I’m Becka.” She made a face at the mention of the business convention. She had taken his ‘tab’ money and tucked it away in the cash drawer below the bar as they spoke. “Crap, that’s tomorrow night?” She sighs in disgust for having lost track of time. Not unusual when it came to something like the convention. Being a business owner, she could go, being one of the Elite of San Francisco, she was obligated to go.
Becka quirked a brow at Alex as he requested better wine than what he currently had. She grabs the unopened bottle and placed it on a shelf. She then took the opened bottle and poured it out into glasses for others sitting close by, wanting to be near to Alex. Turning back to Alex, she speaks. “Hang on, I’ll get what you want.” She motioned to Terrance, who came to take her place as she disappeared elsewhere in the bar.
Terrance gave a nod to Alex, and looked at Eric with a shake of his head. He went about serving those who now sat at the bar. At one point he looks up to see someone enter. “Ah, Jake. Your fare’s over here.” He points to the passed out Eric. The cabby nods, and with the help of some others, gets the man out of the bar. Terrance gives a sigh as they leave. “I don’t understand why Becka puts up with that one.”
A low chuckle could be heard, “I put up with him, because he amuses me most times. I see Max is at the door, take a break if you need.” She slips in behind the bar and hands Alex the bottle. “Will this do?” It is a Zinfandel of the red variety from Buehler Vineyards in Napa Valley. “Oh, and Terrance, I won’t be here tomorrow night.”
Terrance drops an arm across her shoulders. “I know, that business thing.”
Becka nods, “yeah, something our new friend here reminded me of.” She gives Terrance a side long look. “Perhaps I should hire him, and can you?”
“Nah, I amuse you too much. And I would have said something before you retired. As it is, I’ll still have to anyway, and when you rise tomorrow. You hate those things. You have an uncanny knack of ‘conveniently’ forgetting that you have to attend them.” With that he ruffles her hair lightly and then leaves.
Becka turns back to Alex with an unreadable expression on her face. “So, have you been to Frisco before?”
Alex gave Becka a blank look at remembering the convention. She owned the bar and he knew it as obvious as Orion in the winter sky. There would be no other reason for a bartender to know about it. His target was a high profile one. Aaron Webbers had been inside trading and his AVAMP analysts had noticed the large amount of profit taking going on. The short sales were blind robbery really and continued in a very brash fashion. Alex didn't know if Aaron's final affairs were taken care of, but he had three business days to finalize them before it was going to be too late. The business convention was very uppity. Alex had avoided it like the plague for that reason. High profile kills got you noticed. Once you were noticed, trouble came looking for you. Aaron had rendered himself a sleazebag at this point though. The major powers were going to be happy to see him gone so Alex was going to get away with this one without much bother at all. The only way Becka would be going is if this was her bar. In fact, Alex would not have been surprised if she had multiple bars or businesses.
Alex nodded to add to his statement of reply in acknowledgment to Becka's offer to fill his request. "Thank you." He continued to nurse his current glass along. It really wasn't bad and Alex was never one to abuse a glass of wine. Australia Shiraz almost always had redeeming qualities to it. His nose seemed to enjoy the liquid more than his mouth did. His moves were so smooth as he sampled the glass aromatically and directly, and artist would have wanted to film it; yet, it was extremely low key and nonchalant as if he was thoroughly enjoying his breakfast orange juice. A wine connoisseur might have mistaken him for enjoying a thoroughly high quality wine in private.
Alex returned Terrance's nod with a low key smile. It was very friendly despite the fact Alex didn't trust him at all. The earlier rudeness had given him the impression of disdain behind his mannerisms. Terrance was obviously in his own world and didn't care much for the world picture. Alex had a bit of reverse bigotry when it came to that sort of thing. The southeastern end of the U.S. was the worst for it.
Alex liked Napa valley wines very much. His hand effortlessly glided past his pocket to pull a completely black card with a magnetic strip and red hologram like numbers for the account code. It looked more like a special member club card than a VISA credit card, but oddly enough it would work on money systems outside the human network just fine. It was between his fingers as he cradled the bottle in his hands a moment. His eyes gave a quick glance at the label. "That's very nice." He gently tilted the bottle back to Becka and his card evenly tilted out from his fingers in perfect concert with the motion.
Alex had to wonder if Becka and Terrance were married or not. They certainly were an item if anything. The three of them could consume Aaron in one night. If he had a date or his wife with him, it would only take two nights and practically be a full feeding. If Aaron was tasteless enough, he might even have two dates and that would be a full feeding for all three of them. It would only be a matter of how hungry Terrance and Becka where and how much of an idiot Aaron really was. Alex could not deny it would be positively delicious if Aaron was truly tasteless. It would be better than eating Hugh Hefner and his trophy wives.
A big smile crossed Alex's face when Becka mentioned hiring. No one could afford to hire him and few could afford to trade with him. Just how deep her joke ran was an unknown though. Alex had learned to never be presumptuous. Becka might already know exactly who he was despite the fact Terrance had no clue. When the card ran Becka was going to know a great deal anyway. Hell, the card itself was a dead giveaway in upper circles and Becka could have easily seen the thing before. She was practically running a haunted house with the name to go exactly with it.
Her question was obviously still patronizing him. As annoying as it was Alex kept his dumb and happy expression on his face. It at least was very polite and he felt it was wise to count your blessings. If you didn't at least have patience at his age, you really should just go out for a nice suntan to get in touch with the universe again. How a vampire could avoid Frisco that had been around long was impossible to fathom. Maybe she mistook him for new blood, but that didn't add up to the convention. Maybe she thought he just stuck to his own territory. Maybe she recognized the ancient oriental silk of his outfit and was just trying to toy with his mind. None of it really added up and he concluded it was just game playing time. Alex didn't mind beating around the bush. Most likely she was just deciding if Alex should be in her territory or not.
"I've been here a few times. I try to stay in my little corner of Oklahoma City." A few times was a mild understatement in vampire terms, but a gross lie in human terms. Alex's stock deals took him to all the major cities at least ten or more times. He had been working stocks since shortly after the things were invented and he was well schooled in the U.S. stocks. Computers had allowed him to leave New York and centrally locate himself in Oklahoma. It made traveling meals easier to reach in North America. "Sadly some bad blood needs taken care of tomorrow night. You know how short sighted some people are with their business dealings. Sometimes someone with longer term goals has to set things straight. I'm a little hungry for action anyway." Alex really did not care about tipping off another vampire as to what he was up to. Becka needed to know he wasn't crowding her territory or going to be sticking around to feed on locals. She would know he was after a moving target and his presence was temporary. He was even alluding to letting her in on the action in a very, very subtle way. Targets had dates at times and knowing a kill was going down anyway provided for collateral opportunities to feed. Vampires knew to stay out of each other’s' business these days. He didn't want to give the impression he was starting a grazing rights war. There was no need to piss off another vampire. For some odd reason Terrance didn't know that yet, or, at least, mistook Alex for someone that didn't know it already.
At the very least, if Becka had any particulars about taking down a high profile target in her territory, she would know to let him know now. Bucket of Blood had turned out to be a good stop after all, if for anything but the Zinfandel. He was still curious about the density of vampires, but it really was trivial for now. Maybe there were just too many people and a kind of open season had been called. At any rate, it made him grateful for the quietness of Oklahoma City.
Becka took the bottle and glanced at the card with a slight nod, as if her question had been answered to her satisfaction. Her smile returns much warmer than before. “Don’t worry. This is from my private stock.” She turns and pops the cork gently, and then grabs a glass from the upper shelf and pours. She turns back and sets the glass and the bottle before him.
As he talks, she listens while serving other patrons to The BoB. She is never far, and it is plain she is interested in what he has to say, but she is also working. Her movements are graceful, and one can tell by looking that she’s had a long familiarity working behind the bar.
By the time Alex is done, Jimmy returns and wraps his arms around Becka. “Have I told you how much lately I love working for you? And that you are the best Boss ever?”
Becka rolls her eyes in amusement and winks at Alex with a grin. “And what is it you are wanting now Jimmy?”
Before Jimmy can answer, a human serving girl approaches the bar and answers for him. “He’s met this girl, from your people Becka, and he is smitten.”
Becka’s face turns stern and she turns within Jimmy’s arms. “No.” Her voice holds steel within it.
Jimmy shoots the female a dark look and then turns pleading eyes on Becka. “But Becka--”
“I said no Jimmy. You know my rules. If you wish to quit, then do so. But as long as you work for me, you will not date my people.” Jimmy looks crestfallen, and his arms drop to his side. He turns and starts working the bar. His movements slow, and his smile forced as he does so. Becka sighs and looks after him sadly, and then she seems to shake herself and looks to the female. The female in turn points to another female sitting by herself, and then goes on about her business.
Becka looks towards the female vampire and studies her thoughtfully. It wasn’t a regular patron of The BoB. She spots Terrance and catches his eye, with a few quick motions, she has conveyed what she wants and Terrance gives a slight nod before getting up and walking over to the vampire, striking up a conversation. Becka turns back to Alex. “If you wish, there are more private accommodations we can continue our talk.” She knows Terrance will get all the needed information.
Alex downed the remains of the original glass instinctively. It was a silly act among vampires, but humans got suspicious if you left alcohol lying around out of complete loss of interest. He had learned to just down it to keep a low profile and all it really took was the humans running around to instigate the habit.
The new glass was much better. It had that body he so loved. It was something touched by the sun and now before him for his amusement. It was the closest he could get to the sun, even closer than human blood. The tinge of death on it allowed it to seep into his system without having to do something disgusting like vomiting it up or letting it pass through his system undigested. It was the perfect thing to have that wasn't blood in his mind. This new glass received a lot of scent sampling. In fact, when Becka's proposal came to him, he had not even gone for his first sip. He could nurse a glass of wine like that for an hour just out of habit.
Alex smiled at Becka's invitation. He had been musing over the fact Becka was so entrenched at the bar. It had to make feeding difficult as she really couldn't pick off her own patrons. Maybe she would be more interested in helping him on a kill than he had hoped.
"I'm okay with that if you are okay helping me with my wine. Drinking alone is kind of droll." If Becka was going to be gracious enough to entertain his business, he would certainly offer her the chance to share his new purchase. Of course, he might just be going back to get a lecture on how business was done in her neck of the woods, but that would still be immensely entertaining. Any vampire that gave Alex those kinds of lines and tried to enforce them were going to be woefully shocked at just how fast Alex could move and quickly discover he had no seniors in his blood line to stop him. They would also discover his detente with the other vampires that could ruin his day. One of the advantages of being his age was that silly squabbles had been resolved over a thousand years ago. Only a young one would be stupid enough to think Alex would refuse to negotiate. Unless vampires were over feeding, Alex just didn't care to get involved in vampire squabbles.
Becka smiled at Alex. “Very well, I’d be happy to. I just received that shipment, and have as yet to try some.” She grabs a glass off the upper shelf and then steps out from behind the bar. She gives Jimmy one more glance and then sighs and leads Alex to a private room in the back. Once in the room, she closes the door and pours herself a glass of the Zinfandel. She breathed deep of the wine, her thoughts momentarily elsewhere.
She worried over Jimmy. She’d hate to see him go, but while she was up front with her help that she was a Night Walker, she did not condone them dating her kind. She made that mistake long ago, and didn’t like the whole, had to defend her territory, avenge the death of one of her human thralls sort of thing. And unfortunately, vampires outside of The Bucket of Blood employment never realized she didn’t thrall her human help. She’d made that mistake long ago as well, and learned that humans worked better of their own free will. Instead, she’d custom tailored the interview process to find those humans most suitable to work The Bucket of Blood, and thus who she could be up front with on what she was. It was hard to explain why the Owner wouldn’t be there for shipments and inventory and other things during the day otherwise.
Her eyes shifted to look at Alex. Unfortunately, with Alex’s presence she couldn’t deal with Jimmy. By his clothes alone, he was evidently old. But the black card he’d tried to hand her, was proof that he was beyond old. He was an Elite of their Kind, unlike Becka, who was just an Elite of the Human world, mainly due to her heavy donations to San Francisco. She herself had cut off most ties to the Vampire community, oh she catered to them here in Frisco, but she usually didn’t bother with getting into the affairs of the Vampires as a whole.
There was a large Vampiric community here in San Francisco, it fluctuated often depending on who was coming and who had decided to move on. But all knew that while they were welcome at The BoB, do not tangle her up in their petty affairs. Rumors reached her though, for it was also known that if something was vital to the continuance of Frisco, and its wellbeing, she’d step in and help. It was rare though, and no one could exactly pin point what it was she considered vital and detrimental.
Finally she pulls herself out of her own thoughts and takes a sip of the wine. After that she finally speaks. “Is your bad blood Human or otherwise?”
Alex smiled. It was an odd question to be sure. Becka was either out of the loop or young, but her mixing with humans and vampires so easily told him she wasn't that young of a vampire. He took a sip of his wine finally allowed to settle with it. "Nice. Gotta love Napa Valley. Australia is their only competition." Alex switched gears on an instant, but Becka would be able to keep up without issue.
"He's human of course. Vampires aren't stupid enough to upset the balance of stock trades, at least not the ones that count. I think World War II was a mess enough for any vampires to cause such disruption again. His name is Aaron Webber. He's inside trading. I'm going to give him a deal he can't refuse. I'm going to explain to him I have a block of stock I have to short sell on futures and that he can buy and sell them at the market price to make a hefty profit. Of course, I don't engage in that sort of business. Theft is bad for everyone and just causes...messes. He needs to go and I'm hungry. It's an open and shut case really. All of the legitimate stock traders will be glad to see him gone so investigation will be light and easy to avoid. The shady nature of our deal will make him do all the cover work for me anyway. I drove and I'll carry his body with me. Frisco will barely know I was here."
Alex's brown eyes met Becka's blues with a twinkle as he sniffed the wine again. His cards were on the table. If Becka was interested in dealing in, she could. If she could care less, well, that was no problem either. It was possible she would help him out just to make him move on. Feeding on men was droll to Alex anyway. He much more preferred women. A full seduction was such fun. "It's really a pity I'm not gay. So many men are so worth dining upon." Alex took a risk at inviting her to the seduction. He practically threw the door wide open to her with that remark though. He was going to pull the cow in for a barbecue and let her feast on the tender parts if she wanted. He would then do the dishes. He took another graceful sip from his glass as if he just mused over the weather.
After taking another sip, she smiled at Alex’s comment. “Mmm, I’ll stick with the Napa Valley I think. Besides, the Master of Buehler Vineyards is an old friend.”
She switched gears easily and listened with interest to Alex and his plan. She wasn’t all that concerned with his presence or his business here in San Francisco. It was one of the few towns where Vampires came and went as they pleased, and other Vampires rarely took notice. Her brows shot up as he all but verbally invited her to join the Hunt, though she did chuckle at the gay comment. “Bi is better actually, that way you get the best of both worlds.”
She settled back studying Alex as she sipped her wine. On the one hand, she hadn’t done a shared Hunt in a very long time, due to various reasons, but the main one being her last Hunt partner. The offer made an itch come that she hadn’t had in a long time, and hadn’t really missed either. On the other hand, she didn’t care to mix herself in the affairs of others, and she couldn’t see how this was overly detrimental to Frisco’s well-being.
She mulled it over. Becka really didn’t know anything about the Stocks, except that people did seem to get rich off of it, but they also seemed to become poor just as easily. She preferred investing in properties and businesses, a lot less complicated in her opinion. Finally, she decided that since he was being open, she would be just as blunt, and damn the consequences. She didn’t really care if he might be older than dirt, and could destroy her without breaking a sweat. San Francisco was her home, and that was where her allegiance lied, not with some old blood that’d just blown into town because his Hunt brought him here. “How does your affairs affect Frisco in the long term? Does it truly require me to bother myself to get involved, for other than the possible fun of it? I will freely admit, Alex, that I do not understand Stocks and Trading, so I am curious if this will hurt San Francisco in the end.”
Her comment on the wine brought a fast reply. "Yes, I can see why." It also instigated him to take another sip and roll it in his mouth though the rolling in his mouth wasn't apparent at all.
Her sexuality comment was very true and brought forth an agreeing comment, "But of course."
Her comment seemed a bit odd to Alex on Frisco's safety. Vampires always were territorial and clannish and she seemed to fit right in there with the rest of the crowd. She was pretty much declining his offer, and that was okay. "Well, while I seriously doubt Frisco is privately owned, I also doubt a man that ruins a few major companies here and there isn't going to ruin Frisco. Frankly, I just though you would enjoy seducing him more than I would. If Terrance was hungry, we could finish him off in one night and I would be on my way sooner. It was supposed to be a win-win all the way around. It's okay that you don't want to get mixed up in the mess of macroeconomics. We aren't going to let the human race blow itself up. You are not required. Aaron will die and the corporate trading system will stay stable. It just all looked so convenient to give you the enjoyment of his seduction while all three of us could finish him off in one feeding. The mess would all be mine. It's pretty much just free blood for the two of you. Nothing required. If you rather go for other pastures, oddly enough, they are more dangerous than this one. As I said earlier, this man isn't going to be missed."
Alex was no con artist when it came to other vampires. There was no need to disrupt anything and he wasn't going to concoct a hair brained story to interest her more than for what it was. If she needed a holy mission to save Frisco to keep from passing up on easy blood that stabilized the U.S. economy, Alex was not going to provide it. Frankly, taking three nights to finish him off was only going to delay him having to feed again at an earlier date. The allure of the business deal he would propose to Aaron would keep him coming back for more until it was too late.
"Is a free meal really a brother, Becka? I'm not asking you to get involved, just get fed if you like. I can lure him out of the convention without you even glancing his way. Vampires are going to know I'm the killer and the ones that count are going to know it was a clean kill."
Alex started to wonder if an ancient vampire had burned her in the past. It was entirely possible her position was not one of back woods mentality, but rather one of complete distrust. A puzzled look crossed Alex's face. "Have you run into a misbehaving ancient vampire? You do seem rather young in appearance. Is there a problem milling about that maybe I should know about?"
If there was one thing Alex could not abide by was an ancient vampire disrupting community relations. Things were nice now that the bad differences were settled. If one of them was misbehaving to cause hostility among vampires, Alex would be very interested in stopping them before a nuclear war erupted. Alex had doubts vampires could survive nuclear blasts. He had yet to meet a vampire that survived the Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts.
“No, San Francisco is not privately owned.” She snapped at him, her eyes flashing. Suddenly she bows her head and pinches the bridge of her nose for a moment, when she looks back up she sighs, but is calm. “Look Alex, I may be young by our Kinds standards, but I am not stupid. I came to Frisco 311 years ago, when it wasn’t even a town yet, let alone the metropolis it currently is. I like the fact that Frisco is free. That Vampires may come and go as they please, with no Ancient breathing down their necks and their noses in others’ business. I work to keep it that way. Why do you think there’s such a high concentration of us in this city? We are free to do as we please, as long as we do not break the Tenants set down. Those who come here know this in some form or another, and if they don’t those who live here regularly are quick to point it out to them or chase them out. We don’t need an Ancient lording over us and dictating what we can and can’t do. We police ourselves and do a right damn fine job of it too.”
She looks away suddenly realizing she’s getting a bit heated again over her pet subject. She sips the wine, using it to calm her as well. She sighs at Alex’s question. “No, a free meal isn’t a bother. I asked only because if your Hunted was in any way upsetting the balance that Frisco has, then I’d have jumped to help and damn the consequences. Most of the Ancients along the Western seaboard know this about me, and have thus far left me alone. My suspicion is that they are allowing Frisco to be as it is as an experiment, in the hopes that we fail, and can become an example. That you Ancients are needed to lord over us younger ones because we are too young and stupid to do what’s right. Granted, there are some like that, they don’t generally last long as a Vampire anyway.”
She looks away once more, only to have the empty wine glass in her hand suddenly shatter. She looks down at her hand in disgust. “Crap.” Methodically she starts pulling shards and chunks out of her hand. At least she didn’t waste the wine that had previously been in the glass. “I am 481, so that makes me young by your standards, yes.” She doesn’t answer his Ancient question though. She came to America to start over, and she tried not to dwell on her life before America. His words though caused them to surface anyway, and she stills, staring at her hand unseeingly.
Alex's eyes popped open in surprise. Not only had he not seen a lot of vampires he rarely saw them get bent out of shape. Apparently politics were getting more out of balance than he though. Her story brought a frown to his face. Something was wrong in the U.S.
"Ancients aren't supposed to be lording, Becka. Who has started that crap up again?" The most intervention ancients were supposed to be getting into was making sure the vampire to human ratio was properly balanced. The fact so many vampires were getting created was a bit disconcerting especially if they were getting dumped in Frisco. A vampire at Becka's age complaining about ancient political intervention was direct evidence that abandoned rules were getting used again. It was foolishness. The French Revolution and World War II had been disasters. Who was playing the old empire game again? There were blood line rights to be sure, but to make vampires just to build factions was silliness.
"I wasn't referring to your real age, I was talking about your conversion age. You seem to have been barely twenty when someone shoved their blood down your throat." Alex wasn't going to give Becka hell for only having three figures to her age. He never gave anyone hell for anything other than bad behavior really. Aaron was a target because he was selfishly destructive. Alex decided there was one fact about him that might help Becka understand him better.
"You know I'm the only one in my blood line?" Alex had not created a vampire in thousands of years. There had been a few attempts after his initial loss, but he gave up entirely after those all ended in failure. At this point, he would have to be very careful anyway. If a human drank his blood they would be second in line and extremely powerful as an infant. Alex wasn't going to let something like that run around on a whim even if it was under his control.
He sipped his wine which was barely a fifth consumed. "I'm very sorry to have upset you so. It seems I haven't been paying proper attention to developments. Maybe I'm more useful to you than you think. I'm over eight thousand years old and some of what you are talking about concerns me greatly." Alex might have to come out of retirement. Becka was probably going to be instrumental on shedding light on whatever this west coast crisis was. He had a bad feeling some vampires were going to need their heads knocked. He just hoped none of his generation was mixed up in this kind of silliness. It would be problematic to clear up.
Becka was brought out of her memories by Alex’s voice. She continued picking the glass out of her hand. She frowned at his words, and looked over at him. “Let’s see…” She ponders thoughtfully “I’d say it started about 250 years ago.” She’d finished picking the last of the glass out and now sat there watching her hand heal.
“I was 19.” Her voice was soft, but nothing else was reviled. It was said as if she had been commenting on the weather. Her hand healed she rose from the chair, and went to a corner and found the broom and dust pan in a hidden closet. She started to clean up the mess, she wasn’t going to leave the mess for her employees, and have to answer questions.
She looked up as he mentioned being the only one in his bloodline. She gave a slight shrug. “I’ve never made another Vampire. Don’t ever plan too.” Her voice is flat and emotionless, and there was no emotion on her face or in her eyes.
She finished cleaning up the mess and sat back down. Her look still unreadable as he discloses his age, proving he was an Ancient. Creatures on her list of ‘avoid to the best of her ability,’ pity she had actually come to like him somewhat in their short time. She also found it hard to believe he cared what happened in this part of the world. He was here because his Hunt led him here, and when it was over, he’d go back to where he came from and his life before the Hunt.
She finally looks at Alex. “Look, if you’d like help with your Hunt, that’s fine. I’ll help, be a nice change of pace. If not, that’s fine too. You can always bring him here.” She waves about the room. “The BoB is primarily set up for our Kind, so there’s no worries about ending him. Or even keeping him here until you finally finish with him.”
Alex didn't think Becka picked up on his last line. She was obviously distracted. It reminded him of his love from his beginning. She was distracted, too. It got her killed. Alex didn't want to see Becka die too. Something about her was profoundly sad and it peaked his interest.
"Yeah, Aaron is no problem. You are in. I snag him and we bring him here after the convention. Three of us drain him and he's done. Not a problem. I am concerned about the two-hundred and fifty year old problem, though. My age is due to due diligence. You are talking about something that is not to be ignored. What is going on here? It sounds like I might have to move out here to fix this one. Who are the ancients behind it and what is their justification? I have friends that I have not seen in a while that are going to be just as unhappy as I am about this news, Becka. The vampire slave states died almost two hundred years ago and you are basically telling me something has survived of that menace. It's not something to ignore."
He thought about her comment about making vampires. "Oh, I have made other vampires. It just didn't end the way that I hoped." He lost them hunting other vampires. If he could even feel fear anymore, he felt something at least akin to it for Becka. He wanted to find out who her maker was. Was he still alive? Would he call her? Something was just seriously out of balance and Becka seemed to think it was him. He took another sip of his wine and marveled at Becka's eyes while she cleaned up the glass.
Becka shook her head. “I don’t know who they are.” She pauses, hesitating while she wrestles with herself on just what to say. Finally she shrugs. “Ancients are creatures on my list to avoid at all costs if possible. They are nothing but arrogant and trouble.” Her voice holds bitterness and much venom. She looks away and folds her arms over herself.
Becka wrestles over the thought of having him move out here. The last thing they needed was an Ancient with his nose in the mess. On the other hand, if he did and she could keep an eye on him and keep the destruction an Ancient tended to cause to a minimum… She had a feeling he’d move out here even if she told him it was fine, and they were maintaining their own so to speak.
She finally looks at him, her mind made up. She would help him and keep an eye on him. She just hoped she was up for keeping his Ancient ways to a minimum. She rises from the chair and pauses. “I will see what I can find out. It might take a few days though. Enjoy your Zinfandel though tonight, and if you need. There are accommodations below The BoB for our Kind.”
Before Becka can leave, the door opens and Terrance slips in. “Sorry Becka, but this might be important. That female, she’s in trouble, and someone told her she might find help here.”
“What kind of trouble?” Becka’s voice is sharp, and it makes Terrance blink in surprise. Terrance shuffles his feet and looks down. “Ancient trouble. Seems she was made over in your birth place.” Terrance peeks up at her from under his bangs. “She fled to the states to get away her Maker. Landed on the Eastern seaboard. Things were fine for a few years, but it seems he followed… her…” Terrance trails off at the look of horror on Becka’s face. “Becka?”
“Bring her here; also, I need you and Max to find out who the Ancients are up and down the Western seaboard. And which are most likely to meddle in the affairs of others of our people.” He asked no questions, Becka wanted to know, they would search out the answers for her. Terrance leaves to carry out both instructions. Leaving Becka to pace back and forth clearly agitated over something to do with the female and her problems.
Alex was curious what Becka was dealing with. Hepitet was a pretty cool, calm, and collect individual. Living hundreds of lives donated vast amounts of perspective, skill, and patience. You saw war and violence for what it was and the sad ends it brought and you learned how to compromise and keep peace. What hell was she talking about? Did Hepitet know this was going on?
Alex was a powerful ally for anyone and Becka was treating him like he was a special liaison from the human military arm. The conversation she had with Terrance did nothing but piss Alex off to high end. The silly young girl was parking him like a sheep at the side of the road when he was the bear that could maul the big bad wolf breathing down her neck. Something was way off here. Becka's arrogance was a huge liability. Alex's countenance didn't break a notch though. He kept a perfect smile on his face as if the wine was his only care in the world.
"You know Becka. Let's say a helicopter is bearing down on you or someone you like. Someone tosses you a ground-to-air missile with five seconds to go. Are you going to toss that missile to the side and open up with your nine millimeter and expect to win? Honestly, I have an ankh. There isn't an ancient vampire I couldn't burn to the far reaches of space. Why you are keeping me in the light is beyond me."
Alex was starting to think Becka was going to be dead before she started telling him anything of what was going on. It was going to be her own damned fault for not using her resources wisely. He guessed it took about two thousand years to learn that lesson though. In the meantime, he sipped his wine and dropped all expression off his face. Going after Aaron might be a bad idea if an ancient vampire was up to no good. There was nothing more dangerous than a fool, thinking they had perspective, using their experience to do bad things. He almost wanted to just walk out and leave, but had a funny feeling Becka would be dead and the Bucket of Blood gone the next time he swung around to check things out.
Becka looked at Alex and blinked owlishly at him, her distress so plain, she looked ready to run into the Light and have it over with. A scowl suddenly drops on her face. “I told you Alex, I don’t know who of your Old Bloods is playing Godlings. I avoid you Ancients as if you are plague carriers.” She waves a hand at him, “your attitude a good example and reminder of why.”
She turns away from him, her fear of who the female was running from, made her feel vulnerable and she hated that, thought she’d left it behind when she came here. Coupled with Alex’s attitude, she was coming down with a real hum dinger of a hissy fit. One she’d dread later for the headache it’d give her. “I told you I’d find out for you, and it is being worked on. I am sorry you are bored, and you can leave at any time, but something a bit more important to me than your Ancients has surfaced and I pray to any God that’s bored enough to listen that I am just over reacting and jumping at shadows.”
About then the door opens back up and Terrance brings the female in. Becka strikes like a cat catching a mouse. “Who is your Sire, woman?”
The sheer anger and fury in her voice terrifies the woman. “N-N- Nicholai of-of the G-G-Green.”
Becka stumbles back, shaking her head at first. She then turns her back and wraps her arms around herself as if to hold herself from flying apart. “Damn you, you’ve killed us both.” Her voice is flat, her shoulders slumped, the fight completely knocked out of her. “Close The BoB Terrance, get everyone out, and then you and Max flee. Take her with you. She can at least live a little while longer. And Terrance, try to find out what I asked you to, and be sure the information gets to Alex there.” She closes her eyes and bows her head.
Nicholai wasn’t an Ancient, but he was close enough to old, that he might as well be. Nicholai also liked to keep his Fledglings close. He would torment and torture them, and when he thought them too powerful, he’d kill them. How she’d escaped him 311 years ago, she couldn’t even say. But she had, and fled to America and what she’d hoped was a new life. But she’d been fooling herself these past centuries.
Terrance stared at Becka dumbfounded. Like most, he didn’t know Becka’s past, had never bothered to ask. He was content in their friendship, but this, this smacked of a goodbye. But like a good employee, he would do as Becka asked; he owed her that much for all she’d done for him. “Come on.” He pulls the female out and closes the door. It doesn’t take long for The BoB to clear out, and soon Becka and Alex were all that was left.
Becka raises her head and looks at Alex finally. A single blood tear had rolled down one cheek. Though her eyes are completely dead now, the concern for his well-being could be heard in her voice. “You should go too. Terrance will get you the information you seek.” A small mirthless smile graces her lips. “Guess no God was bored enough tonight.” She turns and walks out of the room into the bar proper and just sits at a table, facing the door, her posture one of waiting for the inevitable.
Alex stared at Becka in disbelief following her out to the bar. "What is your problem? You just sent all of our help away to kill Nicholai. Not to mention he might go after the woman instead of you. What do they teach you fledglings these days?" Alex had to decide who Nicholai would go after now. He knew about that scum and it was bad news he was still walking the earth. Caucasian vampires were always weaker than Alex though. They were simply the newer race The most powerful vampires were from Africa as it turned out. The funny thing was, they were usually the easiest to deal with as well. They never played silly control games, though Alex had to admit their continent suffered horribly from the lack of care for their humans. They never played the sadistic indulgences of the bad vampires though, at least none that Alex knew. Hepitet was from Africa even. If you had a cool head and negotiated fairly, the oldest were always willing to strike a peace deal.
Alex was not afraid of Nicholai at all. The fact he adorned his name was testament enough to his vanity. The vampire had a nasty history in Europe. Vladd had been far worse, but Nicholai had been on the extermination list. How he avoided it was beyond Alex, but there were ways to set that straight.
"Well, Becka, I'm afraid your lack of insight is only going to get fixed with trust. You sent my cover out the door and gave Nicholai an alternate target. You are going to have to right your wrong by finally trusting me. I have to fade now so Nicholai won't see me and run after the other fledgling. When he can't escape me, I'll reform and get rid of him."
With a speed that would bend the mind of a human he swept to the back room, snapped the broom stick in two and swept up to Becka, handing her a piece of the stick. "Hold this for me. Don't use it. Just hold it for me. Got it?" Alex walked to the bar and stood behind it waiting for Becka's acknowledgment. All he needed was her nod before he turned to mist and his clothes fell to the floor. What was odd was the other half of the broom stick didn't make a sound.
Becka gave a snort. “I see intelligence doesn’t come with age. I did not send my help after Nicholai, I sent them away. Nicholai comes here, following his hound.” She stared at Alex in disgust. “Teach? With a Sire like Nicholai, what do you think I was taught?!” She turns away, her thoughts once again her own. Perhaps, if Luck smiled on her, Nicholai would not come tonight to make her squirm, and she could just stay where she was and let the Light take her. She should have stepped into it the moment she’d been free of him.
She’d tuned Alex out until he returned with a broken broom stick. She blinked at him startled and had a look on her face that clearly said ‘I thought you’d left. Why are you still here?’ She turned as he moved behind the bar and stared at him for many long moments before his words finally sank in. “Yeah, ok, whatever.” She turned back to face the door, not really caring what Alex was attempting. She stared down at the stick waiting; eventually she forgot Alex was still there, again.
She was still, so still, anyone else but a Vampire would think her a manikin arrange there with a broken stick. It was two hours before dawn when Nicholai finally walked through the doors of the bar. He casually looked around and then let his gaze settle on Becka, who still hadn’t moved. “Ah, my sweet little treasure is found at long last.” He looks over the bar again. “Nice little place here, though I would think it would be busier.”
With no reaction from her, he suddenly moves like a striking snake. He grabs her hair and pulls her small frame from it. “You look at me when I’m talking to you, bitch.” Becka makes no sound at his treatment, she has accepted that tonight she dies, and nothing can shake the calm that has come over her. He looks her over and notes the stick in her hand. “Were you thinking to use that on me?” Suddenly he slaps her several times; she flops around like a rag doll and almost drops the stick, but still manages to keep a hold of it, though if asked, she wouldn’t have been able to say why it was important to hold onto. She still doesn’t cry out, and he grows even angrier. He flings her across the bar and she slams into the shelves and glasses behind the bar proper. She feels something painful stab into her belly, but still makes no sound as she lands on the floor, stick miraculously still in her hand.
Nicholai bounded over the bar in flash. He landed straddling Becka's form slumped on the floor with their noses face to face. "Guess you won't be needing this tonight," he sneered.
His left hand caught the broom stick end above Becka's grip while his right hand closed over her hand to start peeling her grip. Alex materialized naked with his legs wrapped around Nicholai's waist and his torso firm against Nicholai's back. His left hand gripped over Nicholai's left hand and his right hand gripped over Nicholai's right. Nicholai was in the middle of taking control of the stick from Becka, but Alex was going to direct a nasty and lightning quick game of tug-of-war that Nicholai had already lost as soon as he decided to take the wood from Becka.
Nicholai's left hand was already pulling the stick forward towards his chest with his left hand as his right hand was going to peel away Becka's grip. Becka's grip was going to be broken by his vastly superior strength. Alex, of course, had an even stronger grip that crushed Nicholai's attempt to break Becka's grip. Nicholai tried a full reverse of the stick away from him but Alex overpowered it all and the stick drove into Nicholai's chest, slipping between his ribs and impaling Nicholai's heart. Nicholai's arms tried to drive the stick on through to exit his back and keep driving into Alex, but Alex stopped the end of the stick as it started to pierce between the ribs of Nicholai's back, holding it firmly with Nicholai's heart skewered by it.
Alex's voice was calm, as if commenting on the weather. "You know, Nicholai, sometimes even a place with an open invitation isn't a good idea to enter if you aren't welcomed. I could go down the laundry list of why you were just executed, but there is no time. Suffice it to say, I just don't like you."
Alex's feet snapped to the floor and his right arm extended into the air after his left hand released Becka's and Nicholai's. Nicholai's body ran out of life as his body slumped forward on the stick and the back of it stabbed out of his back. Nicholai's fangs grew out as the life exited his expired existence. Alex stood up with Nicholai's impaled body caught between gravity and Alex's right hand on the surface of his lifeless chest. Alex's left hand grabbed the other half of the broom lying on his clothes on the way up. He handed it to Becka.
"You will notice a quickening now that your sire is dead. If someone comes to try to rescue his corpse from the dawn, just use the other half on them. Let me know if you need any help, but I think you have control over the situation now. Enjoy your new freedom. Nicholai's looking a bit pale. I think he needs a suntan."
Alex walked towards the front door with the skewered body and exited to the first unshaded dirt near the front door. With a fast graceful motion his arm came around and stuck the end of the stick into the ground, pinning Nicholai's body to the earth. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." His hand did not leave the stick as he crouched over Nicholai's sprawled body and waited for the approaching dawn. There was going to be nothing left of Nicholai soon enough.
"Becka, if you would kindly bring me my clothes you will find a key in my right pocket. Open the trunk of my McLauren. My coffin is there. Take it below as I will be needing it shortly before dawn. Just place my cloths in the coffin for me. It would be nice if you watched over the corpse with me. We need to wait just before daybreak to ensure no one tries to recover his corpse."
Alex was being over cautious really. Nicholai was probably dead and everyone he sired was finding themselves quickened and mentally free. It was possible to bring a vampire back from a stake in the heart though if someone was so foolish as to empty their vampire blood into his stomach. Alex was just going to make sure there was no corpse. If he bothered to kill a vampire, Alex was only going to have to do it once.
Becka was barely aware of what was going on around her, until the death of her Sire hit her. She marveled at how quickly she started to heal, though it was painful in her gut region, the piece of shelf still buried there making it difficult. She was quick to remove it and watched fascinated as she healed. So absorbed was she, she jerked as Alex handed her the broken stick and spoke.
Taking the stick, she just blinked at him a few times. She watched him walk out with Nicholai’s body and pondered. Why had he bothered with helping her? What did an Ancient care about what happened to a Youngling? Alex was an enigma, and one she wasn’t going to solve immediately. He didn’t act like Old Ones she’d come across before, Ancient or just old as dirt, and that puzzled her. His very presence made her feel like she was traversing unstable ground.
She was brought out of her musings by his voice once more. She frowned momentarily, but then grabbed his clothes, her movements were too quick suddenly, and she cursed. Moving gingerly and carefully, she fished the key out of his pocket, then rose with exaggerated care. She felt like a child learning to walk again. Moving carefully, she walked out to where Alex sat watching the corpse. She went to drop the clothes in his lap and missed. They landed just in front of him. She stopped and turned as she thought to thank him, only she again was moving quicker than she was used too, and ended up tumbling right into his lap.
“Hellfire and Damnation, please tell me this will end soon.” She looked up at him, disgust plain on her face for her lack of control. She struggles to get out of his lap, but only makes matters worse. She stills and closes her eyes a pained look on her face. She opens her eyes to look at him. “Um, thank you, and sorry.” She waves her hand to show she means being inn his lap and slaps him by accident. Her eyes widen, and then close once more. “Just shove me off and I’ll crawl into a hole somewhere now.”
At that moment Terrance, Max and the female Vampire that started the whole mess appear. Max is carrying her since she seems to be having similar problems. They take in the scene and Terrance’s expression as he stares at Alex is unreadable. “Becka?”
“Terrance? Oh good.” She carefully and slowly holds out her hand with the key. “McLauren. Coffin. Below. Please.” Terrance takes the key, shooting Alex another strange look and does as she asks.
Max comes over and squats by them, and gives Becka a gentle pat. He then rises back up and speaks. “I am going to take her below to one of the coffins.”
Becka waves an ok, and smacks Alex’s chest this time. With a growl she curls both arms close to her chest. “Damn it!”
Alex's fast reflexes reacted quickly to Becka's weight as she first fell into his naked lap. His bent legs absorbed the new weight and his squat maintained stability to the point of being a shock absorbing chair for Becky. "You'll get used to it. There is no removal of quickening, only a building as time goes on," he answered to her questioning the new speed her body possessed. She was her own vampire now. She had sisters and maybe even brothers, but her parentage lay dead. Nicholai's expired life force soaked back into the earth and the earth turned to face his body to the sun and return it to dust.
Alex paid no mind to his outfit sitting on the ground. There was no way to put it on with Becka in his lap. His neck did a quick give to keep Becka's forceful slap from digging into his face. Her request received a quiet reply. "I'm not in the habit of pushing beautiful women off my naked lap." A wide and sincere smile broke across his face as her red hand print cleared from his cheek.
"Don't worry, Terrance. I'm not stealing your woman. We just need a little rest. The trash had a bit of fight in it tonight." His smile was still alive and fueled.
Alex let out a breath of air from Becka's slap and the smile cleared. "You know that hurts now, right?" Becka could instigate physical feeling in other vampires now that she was head of her own blood line. Her powers of arousal could be shared with another vampire instead of only through another human. The bruise cleared quickly from his chest though.
He crossed his arms over Becka's, and as a kind of demonstration, his right pinky brushed her shirt over her breast to let her feel the new sensation and know she now had the power to do likewise to other vampires. Part of being the head of a blood line meant the ability to feel physical touch from other vampires beyond the limits of human feeling.
Becka groaned as he explained that she was now stuck with this new awkwardness. “You mean, I’m going to be a bumbling idiot for the rest of eternity? You might as well leave me in the Light with the corpse then.” She didn’t believe right now that she’d get used to it in the least bit.
She gave him an odd look at the mention of dumping beautiful women, and an even odder look when he called her Terrance’s woman. “Hold up there Ancient. I’m not Terrance’s woman.” It was clear her spark for living was coming back, despite words that said otherwise. She was just uncertain and awkward with her new found status, and it showed in her eyes and her words.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean--” With a frustrated growl she ducks her head, smacking Alex’s shoulder with her forehead, though not nearly as hard as her hands had hit earlier, showing that she was starting to gain some control, but still a bit hard. “Just leave me in the Light.”
Suddenly she shivered as he brushed her breast, and a soft groan could be heard. “I am going to kill you. Once I have myself sorted out I am going to kill you.” There was no threat or venom behind the words, it almost sounded like a jest.
Becka couldn’t believe her current situation. Her policy was to avoid Ancients at all costs, to the best of her ability. It was the only way she knew to stay under their radar, and keep from getting herself entangled in their affairs. And yet, here she was beyond entangled with an Ancient that she was now indebted to. The real kicker was she found him very appealing. Why, she had no clue.
She’d never been a big Depp fan, and the only time she’d thought Depp cute was when he was his Jack Sparrow character, otherwise, he was just another person. She knew it wasn’t Alex’s similarity to the human that had her attention, but she couldn’t figure out why she’d taken to him almost upon first meeting him. She needed to do something before things got out of hand, mainly before she became more stupid acting then she already was.
“I should probably get up and help Terrance. Check on Max and his new friend. Crap, I need to call repair men for The BoB.” Her voice trails off, but she doesn’t move. Part of her doesn’t want to really, and part of her is afraid she’ll hit him again if she does.
"Alex, not Ancient," Alex calmly corrected. He wasn't into titles though Nicholai was going to be fertilizing that green he added to his name in a little while.
Her threats put a smile back on Alex's face. "If you groan like that doing it at least I can die with a smile on my face." Becka's laundry lists of tasks that would get handled anyway seemed to give promise Becka would get up and give him the time he needed to get dressed again. Shape shifting worked for bodies, but clothes never went. While he was able to turn to mist, his clothes could not. He squatted patiently with her in his naked lap and his arms around hers. His brown eyes lightly enjoyed taking in the details of Becka's blue irises. He really didn't mind the arrangement. "Your company would be nice to make sure no one tries to run off with this corpse. Clothes are optional as it turns out." He gave her a wink to go with his smile.
Alex really didn't have the heart to let go of her or toss her off his lap. He had a kind of inside weakness for women. The human women he destroyed, even though he didn't much like them, usually died in a pleasurable seduction. It occurred to him if she called his bluff, it would be the first real sex he had had in over eight thousand years with someone he actually liked. Luckily he was pretty safe from that. She would see it as a bad joke or dirty ancient man talking. What was odd was he didn't have a reason not to let things happen if she decided 'yes'. His comment to Terrance had been an intensely disguised plea for a reason to not get involved and Becka had crushed that plea in a fell swoop that exceeded her new found power. He left slack in his arms. If Becka wanted to step back, so be it. If she wanted to stay, Alex could accept whatever those terms were for her presence.
In the end, Alex had a body to make sure touched the light of day. There was nowhere else to go to until the sunrise sent him back to his coffin.
She completely ignored his correcting her about his name. If he truly planned to stick around and sort whatever the other Ancients were up to, he’d get used to her using other than his name to keep her distance. Or not, it really didn’t matter at this point. She didn’t blush at his groan comment; she hadn’t fed in the past few days to have enough blood to do so, for one. The recent dance with her former Sire being another reason. Her eyes did dart away though in a shy embarrassment. They snapped back to his though as he joked about a clothing optional vigil. “Um, no. No, clothes off of me isn’t a pretty sight.”
At that she finally moved. While overly careful so she didn’t flail about like an awkward toddler, she was also reluctant to leave the comfort she found sitting in his lap. Finally upright, she notices Terrance had already taken the coffin down. One less thing she had to worry about. “Let me check on Max, and get a call made, then I’ll be back.”
Before she could move though Terrance reappeared, he looked at Becka with concern. “Coffin’s in place, Vessa’s settled and Max is watching over her for now. I’ll call Bakers and get the repairs on order.” As he falls silent he studies Becka and Alex closely. He was clearly worried about Becka. He finally turns and reenters the bar.
With nothing immediate demanding her attention, she squats next to Alex. “Well, guess I’m done. If only all things were that easy.” She looks at Alex with a smirk that quickly drops as she looks away from him. She is too close to him, and all too aware he’s still naked. Her gaze falls on Nicholai and she rises to walk over and look at the corpse. Part of her move was to be polite and let him dress with what privacy he can out on the street, and part to get away from him before she did something she’d probably regret later.
She hadn’t missed the concern and worry from Terrance. They had been friends now for almost a century. He’d learned her ways long ago, and knew she didn’t get close to people, Human or Vampire. He had worked hard and long at the closeness they had, and he still hadn’t known everything, like the scars she carried on her person thanks to the corpse in front of her, never mind the ones to her psyche. He hadn’t even known who her Sire was until now. She gave a sigh, and stared unseeingly at the corpse, wondering what she was going to do with her life now.
Alex put on a show of doubt over his face when Becka tried to be modest. "I doubt that, but I won't put you to the test." She finally got up though, and Alex glanced down at his outfit. There wasn't much time to move on them though as Terrance reappeared. Alex listened to the status of things with a neutral expression on his face. Vessa was the new victim. Oddly enough, she was probably the most powerful vampire at her age, though that didn't mean much to the other vampires. Few fledglings had such an old sire dead to release them from their bloodline.
Becka's decision to squat next to Alex was curious. There was definitely something between them besides the death of Nicholai, but her stepping over to Nicholai told him there was no need to investigate it. Alex grabbed his clothes, minus the shoes and started to dress. His boxers tied with a tie, being devoid of elastic just as his socks were. Despite the tying required he was still dressed inside of twenty seconds because he was feeling lazy about it.
Back to dressed, Alex gazed at Becka looking at her passed sire. She obviously didn't know much about the stable vampire world at all other than it was loose and sloppy to let the creature walk about way too long that was at her feet. What the hell Hepitet had been doing the last two-hundred years was a bit of a mystery to Alex now. The old man would need a visit. Vampires that did not respect the balance of things could create hellish problems. In some ways, Becka was a prime example of that. She had no clue how to gather allies and no perspective on global stability and what each vampire had to do to maintain it. She thought the elders of their community were all butchers like Nicholai without considering there would be no world left if vampires like him decided the pace of things. How Nicholai could live so long so darkly without wisdom finally dawning on him was beyond Alex. Vampires like Nicholai tended to self-destruct early. It was the main advantage Alex counted on these days. If you didn't have character, things just always caught up to you over time.
"Looks like we'll make our dinner date tomorrow. I may have to drive your over though. It wouldn't be good for you to have your first free night spent cleaning up a car wreck." Maybe she would at least consult him in the future for key decisions. She needed to see how responsible vampires herded the cattle and did their family planning.
Becka nodded absently at Alex’s words, her mind elsewhere. Finally she looked up and noticed dawn wasn’t far away. She turned to Alex. “Do you think we can go below now, or do we have to wait longer?” She turned back to gazing at the corpse, she was glad the nightmare was finally over.
Terrance reappeared, he ignored Alex completely and walked up to Becka and placed an arm around her shoulders carefully. “Hey, Boss, you ok?”
Becka looked up at him with a quiet smile. Ever so carefully she patted him on the chest. “Go to bed Terrance, I’ll be down shortly. It’s ok.”
She hadn’t answered his question, and he knew it, but didn’t push her. He turned and headed back into The BoB, throwing over his shoulder as he went. “Bakers will be around about 11to fix the bar.” Becka nodded, but didn’t say anything. She wished she could stay past the dawn and truly see Nicholai burn to a powder. She wrapped her arms around herself, waiting and thinking.
"You go below. No one will save him. I'll see it to the end." Alex was pretty close to a clean kill now. He could step back into the shade of the bar to make sure Nicholai's body was consuming before he would have to go below to his coffin. Alex knew the turn of the earth well, and could time things tight when he needed to.
"Don't worry Terrance. I've got it from here." Alex walked up to Becka and gently laid his left hand on her shoulder to guide her back to the bar. Only one body needed to feel the burn of the sunrise.
"Settle into your coffin. You can see it when we wake in the evening. I'll share it." Once the sunrise came there would be no way to give Becka the vision, but he could certainly share his witness in the evening again when it was time. He had watched a vampire consume in the sun before, but she had been alive when it happened. At least this one was going to be a silent consumption. It would be less than the vampire deserved, but the universe was already making up for that on Nicholai's soul.
Becka looked up at Alex when he touched her. She allowed him to guide her to the bar. If she’d had to move under her own power, she’d probably miss the door completely anyway. She looked uncertain and very young when the light hit her. She had no idea what he meant by ‘sharing’ but figured he’d explain to her when next they rose. “Sleep safe, Alex.”
She moved with care through the bar and down to the cellar. She managed to make it to her rooms with no mishaps. Perhaps Alex was right and she would get used to this sooner rather than later. She looked around her rooms and realized she didn’t really have much to show for her 481 years.
She resided below the bar, in a set of rooms. One her coffin sat in, the other was meant to entertain guests, something she actually didn’t do. She had painted the room her coffin resided in to look like a sunrise/sunset over rolling hills of green. It had been from a memory of her Mortal life. The outer room had been painted to mimic the hills of Ireland during the day, another memory from her Mortal life. Also in the outer room were a few paintings she’d been gifted and hung on the walls. There were a couple of overstuffed chairs and a small end table between them. Other than that, there was nothing else.
She finally moved towards her coffin and raised the lid. She soon settled in, and closed the lid. She quietly waited for the dawn, when she’d go into the stupor like state that came over her Kind with every dawn. While she waited she turned over her situation with Alex. She still didn’t know what she was going to do about him. Finally, tired of her thoughts chasing themselves into useless circles, she decided to just wait and see, leaving it to him to make the moves.
Alex did not go back outside the bar as Becka moved off to her coffin. Instead he turned and watched the body of Nicholai helplessly dead and pinned to the earth. Becka would not know that as a head of her bloodline, the dawn did not strike her stupid anymore. There were serious handicaps, but one could survive outside of their coffin for three days so long as they did not get hit with sunlight.
Alex could feel his ability to shape shift fade. The textures of the room and outdoors seemed to go dull and the world faded to a black and white image without color. Nicholai's corpse started to smoke and Alex's speed and strength faded to mere mortal levels. As the intensity of the sun increased the smoldering image of Nicholai's body seemed to start to white out. His fangs seemed to persist on his disintegrated face and corroding skull, but soon even they started to burn and come apart in ash. Had someone wounded Alex, he would not be able to heal, but no one was there to molest him.
There was nothing more Alex could see of Nicholai's demise. Though the dawn was still dim to human eyes, the outdoors seemed to be suffering from a nuclear flash to Alex's vision. He calmly turned away from the intense light and made his way down to the basement. The call of his grave dirt guided him more than his fuzzed vision. There was no panic for him though. He could feel it pulling him through the correct doors. His vision returned slightly in the dark of the room as he pulled the door closed behind him and he casually walked to his coffin. Opening it with familiar ease he hopped in pulled it closed with grace and no sound, and locked it shut inside.
Nicholai's corpse burned away in the sun. Someone seeing it would have expected white or black ash from the fire, but the residue was just a bland soil. As the fire finished, there was nothing more than a dirt shadow of where there was once a body.
Alex would be the last to awake in his coffin that evening. His first move was to take the car key and place it back in his pocket that Terrance had left in his coffin. He then opened the lock on his coffin before swinging it open and sitting up. Aaron Webber was on the menu this evening and Alex expected a date to ride with him to the convention. He had a memory to give her if she would just take his hand. It was a whited out memory, but it would be clear that it was very real and very fresh, none-the-less.
Becca rose for the night, the night before came rushing back, throwing her slightly off balance mentally. Now with a day between the nights, she finally feels truly free of Nicholai. She exited her coffin and sighed softly. Terrance spoke from the doorway. “Good, you’re finally up. The BoB is fixed and already open, the Humans showed up as usual. Also to remind you, there’s that business convention going right now that you’re supposed to be at. Oh, and Alex has yet to Rise.” ,
Becka sighed in a put upon way at the mention of the convention, and frowned at the mention of Alex. Finally she nods. “Thanks Terrance.” She turns to a chest hidden behind the coffin. She started going through the clothing there. Most of it was dated to her Mortal life time, but she had a few somewhat modern pieces. She hadn’t bought clothes in a long time, not really caring for anything beyond jeans and a shirt of some sort.
She knew Terrance still stood behind her, and finally pulled out a very old dress, with all the frills and layers from her old life, it matched the color of her eyes. She turned holding it up in front of herself. “What do you think?” Seeing Terrance’s eyes nearly fall out of his head, she decides it will do. “Thank you, Terrance.” Amusement is plain in her voice. She turns to set it on top of her coffin and goes back to digging in the chest for the shoes.
“Um, Becka?”
“Yes Terrance?”
“About Alex…” He trials off for a moment, then decides to just rush in. Becka was his dearest friend, and he wasn’t going to let her get hurt. “Are you ok?”
Becka straightens up, shoes in hand and turns to look at Terrance. “I’m ok, Terrance. I’m not sure yet his motives, but I figure to just let him go his own way for now. It’ll be fine.” She smiled gently at him. She knew it wasn’t jealousy on Terrance’s part. Their relationship had developed more into a brother/sister sort of thing, with him usually being the over protective brother, making sure no one messed with his sister.
Terrance nods slowly. “Very well, if you are sure. Oh, and Vessa’s settling down now. She’s taken a place helping serving, and seems to be quite good at it.”
Becka raises her brows at this but then shrugs. “If she wishes to stay, she’s welcome for as long as she wants.” Terrance nods and then leaves, letting Becka get ready. Once Terrance was gone, she shimmied out of her jeans and t-shirt, and then works on getting the dress on. It takes her several moments as she’s still being careful in her movements, not wanting to ruin it. After that she puts the shoes on, and then heads out of her rooms.
She hunts up and shortly finds the room given to Alex. She knocks on the door, hoping he has Risen by now, and waits nervously for him to answer.
Alex gently tapped Becka on the shoulder. "Wrong way," his bright smile came with a wink when he caught the blue of her eyes. "I'm way under dressed." Alex was in what appeared to be the same silk business casual of yesterday, except it was missing the dust from yesterday. His trip had been unprepared for a date with fashion sense, even if it was a bit dated for the time. It was an extremely flattering and beautiful outfit though, and its age was not going to be so obvious considering the wearer was going to inspire much different thoughts in viewers.
Alex offered his arm to Becka to escort her up the stairs. Before he would reach the stairs though, he was going to take her hand. At that point, so long as Becka's will allowed it, he would share the visual memory of Nicholai's funeral pyre. For all Alex knew, the evidence was still sitting on the ground undisturbed. No vampires would be able to mess with anything other than the broom stick that would be sticking out of the ground. If the evidence was not present, it would have had to be human hands that did something to disturb Nicholai's final rest. It was only dirt though. All the labs in the world would not find a trace of DNA in the residue. Sunlight was extremely consuming of vampire bodies.
After that, it would be a simple matter of escorting Becka to the McLauren while opening all of the doors for her. He would have to be a total cad to let a woman dressed up as Becka so much as think of touching a door handle.
Becka turns, too fast since she was startled, and nearly falls into him, she manages to catch her balance and gave him a funny look. She then glances down at his apparel and shrugs. “I guess we’ll be the most talked about odd couple then.” She looks back up at him. She looks like she is about to say more, but doesn’t taking his arm instead and letting him lead her up the stairs.
She pauses with him as he takes her hand and then images flood her brain. She sees Nicholai start burning and eventually turn to dust. As the images fade, she blinks then focuses on Alex’s face. Impulsively, she suddenly hugs him. “Thank you.” Her voice is barely a whisper. An over whelming relief floods her body and her knees nearly buckle. Getting a grip on herself, she hastily moves back. “Shall we go? We’re already late enough.”
As soon as they emerge into The BoB proper, it suddenly stills. She is quick to move through and out the door. She wasn’t comfortable with the stares as they walked through. Perhaps she should serious think about a second exit on the surface that was private for such instances, rare as they were. She settled into the McLauren and waited for him to get in. She glances over to where Nicholai had been staked for the Light, and saw no visible trace of him left.
When Alex takes the driver’s seat and then takes off she turns slightly towards him. “So, how are we going to do this? Are we going to enter together or separate?”
"Aaron has no scruples. We can go in together, even if I am probably going to get confused for a body guard." Alex fired up the engine. Throwing the car into reverse he backed out heavy on the acceleration. Another quick shift put them into drive and he launched them onto the road out of the parking lot.
Alex had a very odd habit of driving way too fast. His keen sight and sharp focus allowed him to keep up with the traffic and anticipate it very well. They were late to the convention anyway and Alex was not even going to slow down for the police. There was a 'do not pursue' order on his license plate due to a messy incident with the former police chief of Oklahoma City and speeding tickets were not going to get very far. The only thing that could slow them down was blocked traffic and Alex had a way of lying off the accelerator and timing his weaves to avoid hard breaking. Despite the heavy acceleration, he did not spin or peel his tires either. With Becka being a vampire herself, Alex left her to her own devices to lean through the turns and feel the fast ride. It did not take too long before parking guards were ushering his vehicle to the VIP parking.
With the car parked, Alex wasted no time getting out and coming around to get Becka's door. He was fast and graceful, but made sure any watching humans would only see normal, albeit fast, movement. When Becka let herself out, his hand glided the door closed and he offered his arm to escort her to the front door. "My fair lady," he smiled at her with his arm out. He took great delight in making whatever woman he was with feel special. Becka was pure delight for him, though, because she really did deserve it in many ways.
Alex made sure Becka did not have to touch any of the doors leading in. By the time they arrived, dinner had concluded and various moneyed people were making speeches. Alex spied Aaron at the head table to the left of the podium near the end of the table. He was making eye contact with one of the women seated at the table in front of him. Alex and Becka were escorted to a sparsely occupied table that had an older couple with a middle aged man sitting next to them.
Alex gave a faint whisper to Becka. "Third seat from the end. Black hair and brown eyes glancing at one of the women seated at the table in front of him." He also took the chair from the usher that pulled out a seat for Becka so he could seat Becka himself. After she was gracefully situated, he took the seat to her left giving her a nod and gentle smile.
It was down to waiting for the formal ceremony to end and then snagging Aaron in the trap Alex had planned.
Becka didn’t drive. She really saw no use when she could generally get there faster on foot, and with less hassles then traffic offered. But that didn’t mean she didn’t know how, or that she’d never been in a vehicle before. She moved easily with the motions of the car, it wasn’t much different than riding a horse after all, and once upon a time, Becka had been a crack shot rider. She rode along watching Alex’s ease at handling the car and enjoyed the brief moment of peace where nothing had to be handled by her.
Once they arrived, Becka had a hard time not reaching for doors herself. She wasn’t used to anyone opening doors for her anymore; it had died out back in the 70s or 80s. Whispers could be heard as they were escorted to their seats. “That’s Becka Ravensdale…” “Who is that she’s with?” “That dress is lovely.” “Yes, I have just got to find out who her designer is.” “Hey is that Johnny Depp with our Becka Ravensdale?” Becka ignored them, as she always did at such functions, though the last almost made her laugh.
Her eyes scanned the room until she found the target in question from Alex’s description. She then turned her attention to those at their table, gracing them all with a quiet smile before turning to Alex. She leaned close to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. It was a cover to whisper, “I see him.” She then turns to the people at their table and strikes up a quiet conversation with them. Though she hates these functions, she learned long ago how to play the game. She keeps her attention evenly divided between the people at their table, the speeches going on, their target, and even Alex. She misses nothing, even the quiet whispers that can still be occasionally heard, though she ignores those due to their irrelevance.
Becka nearly chokes on her sip of water as she hears her name called from the stage. Crap, was she supposed to give a speech? She quickly searched her memory about the invitation she’d received, no there was nothing on it that she recalled. She looked over and saw who the person currently at the mic was and frowned. Philip Monroe stood there with a smirk on his face. He always wanted her to speak at these things when she bothered to attend. She never could quite figure out why.
Becka rose gracefully from her chair and put on her most charming and innocent expression, ready to kindly but firmly excuse herself from speech-making. She stopped just before uttering the words though as she noted Alex’s target looking her over. Grabbing her glass of water, she moved towards the stage with a dancer’s grace. “I’d be happy to accommodate you, Mr. Monroe.”
Philip’s eyes narrowed slightly, Becka never spoke at these things, and she always had a very plausible excuse not to. He respected Becka, but he hated her too. She was the Human’s Golden Child, no matter what generation she currently was at. And the permanent Vampires of San Francisco held her in high respect as well, though she rarely interacted with any not patronizing her bar.
Becka walked past him and gave him a chilly smile, but she was all charm when she turned to face the gathering. She gave a shrug to the crowd and a tinkling laugh. “Honestly, I have no idea why any of you would like to hear what I have to say. I am the inheritor of a single bar in all of San Francisco, not some CEO of a mega corporation. Yes, I have money and wealth, but that is more luck than any work on my part having inherited that as well. But I did listen long and attentively to my Grandmother as she told me stories when I was a child about how our family came to such prominence in Frisco.”
She takes a sip of her water and uses it to check on the target, and sees she has his whole attention. She may make a fool of herself up her, she may not, but she has caught the attention of Alex’s target, now to just sink the hook in so he has no choice but to come. “My ancestress, Rebeckah Ravensdale came to America from Ireland back before Frisco was much of anything. She worked two jobs as a laundress and a serving wench in a saloon. Of the two, she really liked the saloon the best, so she scrimped and saved until she could afford to buy it. She renamed it The Bucket of Blood after a tavern back home. Again she scrimped and saved, and started buying up land around the small town, foresighted enough to know that one day it would be worth more than it was at the time. It is a practice still done in the family. And so is donating to charities, as we all know, those give great tax benefits.” The crowd laughs at her mild joke.
She uses the distraction to look over the crowd and makes eye contact with a few, the last being the target. She holds the eye contact for a few heartbeats longer than one would normally, a small smile playing across her lips. She then continues. “Other than that, I do not see how my standing and experience is all that much help to you. It is why I have never spoke before such as your distinguished personages in the past, but since any time I attend these functions, I am almost nearly called to speak, I figured I probably should to satisfy the curious. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak before you, and for not throwing things at me.”
Her grin is infectious and laughter can be heard as she gives a slight bowing of her head, and exits the podium and stage unhurriedly. Philip watches her closely as another takes her place, but she completely ignores him. She returns to her table and easily slides into the chair Alex already has waiting for her. She looks up at him with a thanking smile, her eyes dancing with a twinkle.
Though Alex knew how to chit chat, he rarely exercised the skill. He returned smiles with mirrors of what was offered him and listened to the words people were saying, but nothing of interest struck his mind. The stock and business talk was very droll to Alex. It was like a supercomputer designer going to a personal computer design convention. The fish Alex had to fry tended to be much larger than the topics discussed.
Alex quickly rose to collect Becka's chair when Phillip called her to the stage. He made sure to beam at Becka and keep the eyes off of him and trained on her. She didn't have to worry about her chair as it was well out of her way when she moved towards the stage. Alex settled back down and noticed Aaron was looking at her with interest. A smirk came to his face and then disappeared in a blank expression.
Alex's brain took a hard recording of Becka's speech. Her history was of interest to him and he noted the facts. His eyes played between Becka and Aaron. She was a great hunter. Aaron was taking the bait without a clue. It probably was going to save him a trip to catch Aaron. Aaron was going to come looking for Becka. Alex would just have to locate whoever the woman was at the table in front of him and intercept her.
Alex's smile was a warm and welcoming one when Becka came back. "Impressive speech. I'm sure Mr. Webber will want to discuss some points with you." He thought to himself how he would have been interested himself. As it turned out, he was in fact already interested.
The speakers wore on for another hour or so and Aaron was now looking at Becka much more than the table in front of him. In fact, Aaron seemed to be having to patronize the table in front of him. His date was getting a little less attention than she was used to. As Philip was closing the convention's formal presentations, Alex leaned over to Becka. "Mr. Webber will most likely come this way. I doubt you'll even have to get up. I'm going to go collect his baggage for him. We'll have to see if they want to come to the bar for a drink and possible dessert. Do you think anyone else will be joining us for a late night dining?" His question was more to the point of finding out how many cattle to bring along. Aaron was certainly coming and his public date was a strong possibility. Alex wasn't sure if there were private dates or businessmen that would be part of the deal Alex would propose to Aaron. Alex felt he could manage the size of the crowd very easily though.
Alex waited for the end of the applause to get up and make his way forward. Sure enough Aaron was heading straight for Becka's table. Two thirds of the way to the front Alex slipped right by Aaron without Aaron even noticing him. Three steps later he was face-to-face with a lady probably half of Aaron's age and about half as beautiful as Becka. He smiled an interested smile at the lady.
"Hello, my name is Alex. Aren't you with Mr. Aaron Webber?" The lady smiled back but irritation was still in her complexion. "Hello, I'm Ms. Stanton. Pleased to meet you. Yes, I'm trying to catch him right now." Alex glanced back at Becka's table and offered Ms. Stanton his arm. "Ah, I think he's talking to Ms. Rivensdale. She's a friend of mine. I'll bring you over to reunite you with your date." Ms. Stanton smiled a reluctant smile back at Alex, but took his arm all the same. Alex reached across and touched her hand. The touch gave him a lot of emotional information about Leslie Stanton. She was irritated and afraid. Alex guessed she was nervous about being in public with Aaron and the fact that Becka might steal his heart. Alex thought she would be well justified in both of those fears, but he could probably remedy her anxiety soon enough.
Alex took his time working Leslie through the crowd. The two person wide path required seemed to run into a lot of unfortunate timing. It was like his driving was in reverse. His smile greeted all hellos with complete greetings and introductions. Leslie tried to hurry things along but somehow felt compelled by his arm to take the lazy pace as it came anyway. Several minutes later, it was time for introductions. Luckily a few of the people on the way knew Leslie by name and Alex was fully armed to introduce her to Becka.
"Ms. Leslie Stanton, I would like you to meet Ms. Becka Rivensdale." Looking at Becka he continued, "Ms. Stanton is with Mr. Webber this evening and it looks like the two of you are already introduced." Alex's smile betrayed nothing but enjoyment of the pleasant gathering.
“Becka smiled at Alex, “Thank you, and no. We are it, dear.” Becka listened to the buzz around her, and the speeches as well. She talked with the people at her table, and once or twice looked Mr. Webber’s way. She wanted him to come to her, so played mostly indifferent, when she did look his way, a faint smile would come to her lips when their eyes met, but then she’d quickly look to whoever was the one speaking at their table, as if their talk was very important.
Becka looked surprised as Alex’s now empty seat was occupied by their target. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you Miss Ravensdale. I’m Aaron Webber and after your speech, I just had to come meet you.”
Becka smiled at him demurely, “Pleased to meet you Mr. Webber, please, call me Becka, Miss Ravensdale was my grandmother.”
Aaron smiles and chuckles. “Only if you call me Aaron… Becka.” He moves to put his hand over hers and Becka makes no move to stop him.
She is startled to feel his emotions through the contact, but hides this new found ability well. The main emotion she senses is lust, impatience is there as well. As the contact continues, she starts to get a sense of his thoughts. He is impatient to try to get her away from the function and back to his room and in his bed. He is willing though to use the lure of business to try to steer her in that direction. She is loath to the idea, and very nearly shudders at the images playing through his mind that he wants to do to her when he gets her alone.
She smiles at him though and answers back. “Very well, Aaron, you have a deal.” She lets him lead the conversation, acting as if interested, and responding properly to his subtle clues, leading him to believe there just might be a chance to get her alone. She very nearly laughed at Aaron’s expression when Alex returned to their table with Aaron’s date.
Becka didn’t correct Alex on his mispronouncing her name; she didn’t find it all that important. Instead she smiled vapidly at Ms. Stanton. “A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Stanton. I am so sorry to monopolize your date. He has such fascinating business ideas, though I must confess, I don’t understand half of them. You must be so smart to keep up with him.” A bit thick she knows, but figured it couldn’t hurt to pander to both egos.
She looks around at the others suddenly. “Could we maybe retire somewhere more private and continue our discussions?” She gets a slight pout, “I feel the beginnings of a headache coming on from all the smoke and noise.” She puts a pleading look on her face.
Leslie smiled at Becka. "Please, call me Leslie. Actually, business is kind of boring talk. How do Alex and you know each other?" Leslie was fishing to get her date back from Aaron, but she was the only one in the four that was entertaining any of that thought.
Alex quickly jumped in at Becka's call to leave. "You know Ms. Ravensdale, I have a very interesting business proposition for Aaron. Maybe we should all pile into my car and let Ms. Stanton and Aaron see your establishment. It would give us a nice break from the crowd and let us get to know each other in a friendly atmosphere. I could always bring them back here to gather their vehicles when the night is over."
Leslie piped up a reply quickly. "Don't be silly, Alex. Aaron can catch us a cab at the end of the evening. His help can take his car back to the hotel. We'll ride over with you and let Becka show us her establishment. You two can talk business and us ladies will show you it's not as good as a nice conversation with the right person. There is no reason for you to go out of your way."
Aaron was feeling caught at this point. Leslie had roped him into a gathering but Becka was going to be there. He had serious doubts that Alex would be able to entice him with any business deals. Salesmen were always trying to part him from his money and only the female ones could get his time. On the balance he decided to give Becka her play. She seemed interested in his time and he was most definitely interested in her assets.
"I don't know, does that sound good to you Becka?" Aaron handed initiative to Becka. It would be nice to get a boy girl boy girl seating with her next to him. Maybe Alex's proposition would reek of money and he could pawn Leslie off on him. Alex still addressing her as Ms. Stanton told him that the young man had not worked much charm on her though. Maybe she would make a play on Alex to inspire jealousy and give him more of an out to pursue Becka. Her young face and blue eyes would look good in lust if he could get his way.
Becka turned her vapid smile on Aaron. “Actually, going to The Bob would be nice. It’s quiet, and we have private rooms… no matter the private needs.” She then turned her smile to Leslie. “Please, call me Becka, it’s easier to remember.” She had sensed Leslie’s tension at her not so subtle remark. “And to be perfectly honest, talking with someone about something other than business would be a nice change of pace.”
She stands, figuring it was decided, and moves towards Leslie. She gives Alex a smile as she passes him and then loops an arm through Leslie’s, and starts heading out. Once more she feels the emotions through the contact, and she can feel the jealousy in the woman. Though it was starting to lessen some as Becka turned her attention away from Aaron and centered on her. “Once we get to The BoB, we’ll leave the men to talk their business. We’ll see what happens from there.” Her smile is wide and inviting, and she feels Leslie relax even more.
After the guys had gallantly opened the required doors for the women, Becka made sure she was seated in the back with Leslie, and settled in the McLauren. Leslie turns to her with a curious look. “Why do you call your establishment The BoB?”
Becka chuckles. Well the full name is, The Bucket of Blood.” She sees Leslie make a face, and smiles. “The BoB has been handed down to the females in my family for generations. While BoB is a shortening with the use of initials, the story goes, that my great three times removed grandmother, felt that The BoB had a presence to it, and she swore it was male.” Seeing Leslie’s frown, she quickly adds, “not a ghost, but just a presence, as if it had gained awareness so to speak.” Becka shrugs, and gives a smile. “Funny how they thought so long ago, I think now it’s more of an easier way to call it.”
Leslie laughs, “yes it is funny how our ancestors used to think. I think it’s rather cute what you call it.” Becka smiles in agreement. It isn’t long with Alex’s driving before they reach The BoB. The women wait patiently for the men to get in gentlemanly mode once more. Leslie leans over and whispers to Becka. “Aaron’s never open doors for me before, your Alex is a good influence.”
Becka nearly howls with laughter at the reference to an Ancient like Alex being hers. She manages to keep it to a more amused laugh. When Leslie gives her a curious look, she whispers back, “Alex isn’t mine, much as I’d like him to be.” She winks at Leslie and then climbs out of the car as Alex opens the door for her. She takes his offered arm, and they all enter The BoB.
This time when they entered, it quieted some, but didn’t go completely silent, for which Becka was deeply grateful. A brow lifts ever so slightly as Terrance spots them and their guests, but he moves smoothly and intercepts the party. “Your private rooms, Ms. Becka?”
“Please Terrance, and could you have some Zinfandel brought as well?” Terrance slightly bows with grace and then smartly turns and leads them to one of the private rooms that had been sound proofed. He opens the door and stands just inside holding it, letting them file past. The room is decorated with plush couches and throw rugs. There are end tables and coffee tables as well. Terrance once more gives a slight bow to Becka and quietly closes the door.
Becka lets go of Alex’s arm and moves to grab Leslie’s. “Come, let us sit over here while the men discuss business.” She leads her to a couch and gracefully sits and kicks off her shoes. With a sigh, she grins at Leslie. “Those things kill my feet. Whoever invented heels had to be a man. No self-respecting woman would torture others so.”
Leslie laughs and also takes her shoes off. “I so agree.” The door opens, and it is Max who enters carrying an opened bottle of Zinfandel and four wine glasses. He sets them all down on a table, and pours each glass. He hands one to each of the guests, then Becka, who he gives a slight nod too, then Alex, who he gives an unreadable blank expression. He then turns and leaves closing the door softly behind him.
Alex shook hands with Aaron, though he didn't have to touch him to know he was in a rut. The smell from his body was a dead giveaway. He wondered how Becka would play him. He realized Becka might not be used to a head of blood line feeding experience. Personal feeling was lost to human touch. You could only feel what the human who touched you felt. Only another vampires could touch you and make you feel something personally without a sire alive. As such, actual sex for a feeding was no longer required. With biting and feeding you could make your victim remember having incredible sex though the fluid in their pants would be confusing for them if you left them clothed. Male victims were not as fun as female victims. Males had limited orgasms and that limited what you felt, thought it was very possible with discipline to fake an orgasm. Alex could fake orgasms and had to for blow jobs. It was also possible to create vivid and remembered dreams in victims. Contact with sexual fluid by the victim was enough to give them all the wet dreams you wanted to give them for three days, while a bit allowed unlimited dream control over the victim. Of course all had to be done at night. During the day, victims were left to their own devices. Alex tended to leave male victims remembering wild sex with a prostitute or intense gay sex depending on their sexuality without actually playing with them. Women he tended to play with as he could use the knowledge of what they were feeling to drive them positively nuts. The excessive cum was difficult to explain at times but they rarely cared at all.
He wasn't so sure how Becka would feel about things in the end. For Alex, sex with food was as natural as chewing and a very unemotional thing. He had not had sex with a vampire in thousands of years. He never really needed the three day dream link it created. Contact was good enough to share mental recordings. Of course, all of this ability was new to her and it was going to come in flashes and surprises. It was weird to not feel any of your victim's touch anymore, but rather what you felt like to them when they touched you. It was a bit like making love to yourself with the body of the victim. Alex had not gotten aroused outside of himself for over eight thousand years.
Alex and Aaron caught up and passed the women. Aaron asked, "What's the business deal?" Alex just smiled. "Let's discuss that where it's a safe place to make more money than you should."
Aaron was confused about Alex opening the door but he followed Alex's lead anyway. When they got to Alex's car, Aaron and Leslie changed their attitudes towards him completely. Alex was moneyed and it was extremely serious money. His car was worth half a million and they both knew it. "Nice car," Aaron commented. Excitement dripped off the two humans like a bad perfume.
In the car, Aaron pressed for details on the business deal. It was very much interesting to him now. "So what's this deal?" Alex still had his smile. "I have six million worth of stocks I need to short sell for three million. It's legitimate enough of a deal if someone with certified funds will buy them." Aaron asked the next legitimate question, "What's the catch?" Alex put on a business expression, "The short sale is against futures. If the buyer talked to the future's owner, it would cause trouble. I need a buyer that knows to take their money and run." Alex smiled at Aaron despite the fact he was driving at break neck speed. Aaron seemed inspired to watch the road for him even though he seemed to grip the seat belt an awful lot.
"So if I have the money, then what?" Alex's reply was smooth and neutral. "Tomorrow my analysts send you the certifications for the deal. Your office supplies certification of funds the next day. On the third day we transfer money and stocks. Pretty routine really. Like I said, if you have the three million in clean funds, it's an easy three million profit for you. We'll be making three and a half of course, but then again, I wouldn't offer this if it wasn't worth something to me to do it now would I?" Aaron gave an understanding and agreeing smile.
As the party pulled into the Bucket of Blood's parking lot, Aaron had so many hooks in him a fishing lure hat looked like formal adornment compared to him. Alex was cool calm and smiling the whole way to the private room. By the time they all settled, Becka and Alex could have just jumped Aaron and Leslie and held them hostage for the three nights worth of feeding before beheading them. Alex wasn't particularly interested in being so direct though. He was more interested in what direction Becka wanted to take with the feeding. He played it cool and kept talking business with Aaron.
"So, if you have the funds, all I really need is an e-mail address to send the certification of stocks and initial deal to."
Aaron replied with an e-mail address that was a little cryptic, but Alex was able to memorize it just fine. Alex didn't even bother writing it down.
Alex raised his glass of wine to Aaron. "To a closed deal then." Aaron replied, "Here, here," as he raised his glass. Alex made sure they both sipped their wine at the same time. Aaron made another compliment, "Wow, very nice wine." Alex just smiled. "Becka has wonderful taste."'
Aaron was feeling like three million bucks. The only thing that could make his night better was getting into Becka's panties.
Leslie and Becka talked while the men concluded their business. Becka was entirely bored with Leslie’s chatter of clothes and fashion, never one of her favorite subjects. She smiled and gushed in the right places though so Leslie wouldn’t know just how bored she was.
This was far from Becka’s favorite mode to Hunt. Another reason why she hadn’t partnered for a Hunt in such a long time. She usually Hunted dockside or the wharf for pimps and other criminals. Ones whose deaths never bothered her, and usually made the world a bit better place.
She took a sip of her wine and idly played with the skirt on her dress. As she played, the skirt rose to reveal the bare calf of one leg. She quietly and carefully tucked the skirt in such a way that it didn’t fall when she removed her hand and started fanning herself as if the room was too warm.
Leslie looked at her oddly and Becka gave a rueful laugh. “I’m afraid the dress’s material is a bit on the warm side. The wine, of course, isn’t helping, as it too is warming me up.” Becka’s mere mention of heat, made sweat break out on Leslie.
Leslie chuckled, “you are so right.” She pauses and studies Becka and her dress. “Here this might help.” Leslie leans forward and fiddles with Becka’s dress. When she was finished she’d pulled the skirt up and tucked it in such a way that both of Becka’s legs were now bare, nearly to the hip. Leslie then did the same with her own dress. Leslie smiled at Becka, ”we’re all friends here now, so we shouldn’t be so worried about modesty.”
Becka nods in agreement. “I am definitely much cooler now. Thank you.” Becka heard the moment the men finished their business, but waited another minute or two before turning to them. “Are you men finally all done with your business?” She pats the couch between her and Leslie, “why don’t you come join us and be more sociable?”
Aaron jumped at Becka's invitation very quickly. He had enjoyed all the female attention that came with wealth and Leslie was a prime example. It didn't bother him that his women were shallow and materialistic, it made for shallow and pleasure centered sex. He could get intimate with them until it no longer suited him and then move on to the next woman. His money kept them coming and he kept his money coming. In three more days, Alex would supply him with even more money, and he felt he was riding high.
Aaron parked himself between both women. He was so brazen as to use both of their thighs like armrests to park himself. His look was directly at Becka, with a big smile on his face as he sat down. When he settled he turned around to smile at Leslie. "Oh my, how did we end up with the two most beautiful women in San Francisco, Alex?" he asked over to Alex as if he had not blocked Alex at all from the couch.
Alex was not worried in the least at this point. Aaron's days of pillaging the corporate system for nothing were over. Leslie and Aaron would be lucky to see the light of day and he could think of no better people to slay than those that used their fellow man to live the high life without giving anything of value in return. Alex used his visibility to take out the big criminals They rarely saw him coming. Aaron had to be one of the easiest targets to date to remove. "I guess we are just both very lucky men, Aaron. It is beyond me how to explain such odd luck."
Alex glided over with grace and ease and stood before the couch as if he was happily inspecting an art display on the wall in front of the three. He gave Becka a wink that neither Aaron or Leslie caught. Aaron was busy making eyes at Becka's legs, as arousal scene rolled off him in waves. Leslie was parking her left hand on Aaron's shoulder as her right hand had newly received her wine glass when Aaron sat down.
Leslie was confused as to how to handle the situation. Aaron was definitely into Becka. She didn't know whether to try to hang onto Aaron for the evening or if she was getting dumped. She looked over at Alex and wondered what the possibilities were. She didn't want to lose her lifestyle tonight, and Becka seemed like a threat only Alex might be able to save her from by sweeping Becka away.
Alex was still trying to wait for sign from Becka on how she wanted to play this. Becka could sweep Aaron away and that meant Alex would just take Leslie. She could also throw Aaron and Leslie at each other and after being fed upon, they would remember some of the most incredible sex they had ever had. There was also the option of the orgy, which would allow Becka the most pleasure as Alex's touch was very real for her and Becka could use Leslie to tune further sexual vibes from. Either way, both of them had a three night dining experience ahead of them.
Aaron undid his tie and top two buttons of his shirt after pulling off his jacket and throwing it behind him on the couch back. He spread his arms out wide as well leaving things wide open to the women to move in on him. Aaron piped up, "Heck, maybe we should just make it an underwear party." Alex took another sip of his wine.
Becka smiled as Aaron sat between her and Leslie. She giggled at his comment about beautiful women, and leaned around him to look at Leslie. “Is he always this much of a suck up?” Her voice was teasing, but stopped and she paused to study Leslie. She could tell Leslie was getting upset again at the attention Aaron was giving her, so she decided on another route. She gave Aaron a pat on the leg and then stood, she gave Alex a quick nuzzle and then forced Aaron to scoot over into the place she just vacated. Sitting back down, she lightly placed a hand on Leslie’s shoulder. “Actually Aaron, I’m more interested in Leslie. Though, if she doesn’t mind and wants to let you, I have no problems with you joining in.”
She lightly ran her fingers up Leslie’s shoulder and neck. She remembered how Alex had called forth a reaction in her the night before and attempted the same in Leslie. It seemed she overdid it though as the woman’s scent suddenly filled the room that even the Human could smell it. Add to that that Leslie’s eyes rolled back in her head and she nearly screamed as she had an orgasm just from Becka’s touch, and even the most dense of people could tell. Becka lightly bit her lip at her mess up, then decided, in for a penny, in for a pound.
Becka leans back into Aaron, and gives Alex a slight motion to continue with the stuptified Leslie. She wraps an arm around Aaron’s neck with her hand coming to rest in the crook of his shoulder. Knowing what she did now, she decides to give him the same intensity. Easier if they are mindless. Normally she wouldn’t mind a tumble in the sheets with her prey, but Aaron revolted her with his blatant disregard for female intelligence. She’d rather have Leslie, but knew Alex wasn’t bi by his comments the night before.
Almost instantly, Aaron’s scent filled the room and he too was crying out in pleasure. Becka sighed; Humans were too easy to please now. With her Sire dead and new abilities literally at her fingertips, she sure hoped unlife didn’t start getting boring now, she could see living out however long an eternity she had bored out of her mind. Which she’d always thought was half of the Ancients and Old As Dirt Ones problems, and why they did as they did.
Alex laughed at Leslie's orgasm. Poor Becka was going to have as much trouble learning to play with her food as she had learning not to kick the hell out of Alex last night. At least it was climax instead of a beating though. It would be unfortunate to kill their hapless prey and create a vampire bio hazard of dead blood. "Oh my, Leslie, seems to share out tastes in women, Aaron."
Aaron's eyes were wide. He didn't know Leslie was bisexual. His mind filled with instant jealousy of Leslie. Leslie and he already had an active sexual relationship and he planned on using it to nail her in a kind of revenge sex for stealing Becka from him. His hands started working his shirt buttons to start undressing. Becka had invited him in and Leslie was not a position to say 'no'. She seemed in a position to not say anything.
Becka's contact on Aaron froze him solid. As his cum emptied into his shorts, Alex had to laugh again. He was just going to have to take out Aaron and let Becka practice on Leslie. Becka needed control and Alex was positive Aaron would die of sexual overdose from Becka. Women could take multiples, men couldn't.
Alex leaned into Aaron and Becka. He sent a jolt of relaxation through Aaron that caused Aaron to slump into the chair and grabbed Becka's knee to send her a message.
Becka picked up more meaning from Alex than actual words. Alex basically sent Becka the impression she needed to tune herself to Leslie's body and feel what Leslie was feeling. Use that for control and to enjoy the sex the same as her victim. Properly seduce Leslie and then feed. Alex would feed on the spent Aaron and leave him with false memories of having intense sex with Leslie and Becka. Just before his hand left Becka he sent a message that another vampire was the only way to not have full control anymore. Only another vampire or a dream invasion could level the playing field.
Alex leaned over Aaron and lifted him up off the couch. "You should lie down for a little bit, Aaron. You seem a bit spent." He carried Aaron over to another couch and laid him down. His hands drifted up to Aaron's hair as if to straighten it, but continued past to bare his neck and shoulders from the shirt. Alex's form then leaned down as if to whisper something in Aaron's ear as fangs formed on his canines. Alex's mouth landed on Aaron's shoulder, though. As the four fangs sunk into Aaron's shoulder, Aaron gave a pleasurable moan and his loins dry ejaculated. Alex carefully started sucking a third of his blood out of him. As he did he started planting images in Aaron's brain of sexing Leslie and then sexing Becka.
Becka shrugged and gave Alex a rueful look. But she picked up what Alex was trying to show her. She moved towards Leslie and doing what Alex suggested she was soon tuned into Leslie and her body. It wasn’t too long before she started to bring Leslie to another orgasm. As she did so, Becka’s fangs extended and surfaced.
She leaned in more and nuzzled the hair out of her way on Leslie’s neck and sank her fangs in. She was hungry, almost to the point of ravenous, since she hadn’t eaten in a few days, plus lost blood with the fight with Nicholai. She was careful though not to take more than the third Alex wanted. She didn’t understand why he wanted to extend time with these two so long. Rarely did she play with her food, longer than it took to seduce them so she could feed and be done with it.
Once she’d finished feeding, she sat back and reviewed the night. She pondered the rest of Alex’s images and feelings on her quick lesson to deal with Human’s now. She’d barely after 400 plus years gotten used to the old rules, now she had a whole new set to learn. She sighed in exasperation and turned to Alex. “Now what do we do with them?”
While she waited for a reply, she straightened Leslie out and made her more comfortable. She rose off the couch to do so, and once finished, she straightened out her dress so it hung proper once more. She then walked over towards Alex and looked down at Aaron. She gave snort as she did so, and then looked up at Alex. “Thanks for the pointers by the way.” She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed again, “seems I have a whole new set of rules to learn.” She didn’t look thrilled in the least.
Alex picked up on Becka's impatience. Feeding seemed more a chore to her than anything. Maybe the stress of Nicholai had a lot to do with it. With Becka on a different blood line, Alex did not have a fast way to read her.
"Normally I stretch out feedings. They thrall in three separate bites so I spread out the drawing of their blood over that time to minimize the number of deaths. If you are still hungry, go ahead and indulge yourself on Aaron. It's not going to hurt to kill him early. Normally I can make a solid meal out of one victim and last for about two weeks before having to kill again, but I don't take much damage from others either."
"I also let myself indulge in the sexual reactions of my victims. It lets me into their dreams and usually I just create an intense sexual fantasy to bring them back or instigate them to letting me in their home. Once I cum in a victim, I'm free to create whatever dream I want to in their head in the evening as long as they are asleep. The effect lasts three days. You will have to get them to swallow your nectar or allow for the absorbing of it through their mucus membranes to get the same effect."
"Obviously with these two they aren't going home. I can show you with Leslie how to enjoy the seduction and take full advantage of it. You are blocking yourself from feeling their pleasure. The trick is to douse them with your essence and get into their heads. You have bitten Leslie. You are in her head now. I can take her and we can share sex with her three ways to show you how to enjoy the seduction. You used to feel contact from humans as a child and Nicholai used to force you to feel things. Those days are over with his passing. It's up to you to satisfy yourself now. Knowing where Leslie is sexually allows for extending the pleasure plateau a very long time. It's about the endurance of the victim really. When they've started to get spent, you can put a woman through multiple orgasms. If you open yourself to feeling it with them, you can see just how erotic it is."
"Nicholai needed to make you a vampire so you could feel pain he couldn't. He was a sadist, but putting humans through pain only caused it in himself. I imagine your sexual encounters with him changed dramatically once he made you drink his blood. Being a child of his blood line, he could leave you in pain and prevent you from fully healing without any personal side effects. I'm sure that is why he made so many children."
"Now that you are head of your blood line, you can fully heal. You don't need permission from a sire to use your power. The price is human contact doesn't mean much to your body except to influence the human. If you want to feel touch, you either have to touch another vampire or let yourself feel your victim as you touch them. It's a lot more power really. Control is as intense as it gets now. If we had sex and exchanged fluid, we would be able to send each other dreams and mental messages without touching. We can also block them as well. You share as much or as little as you want with vampires. You have to be careful though. If someone has a sire and you engage them sexually, their sire can gather their thoughts. Whatever you share with a child, you pretty much can assume their sire knows."
"Why don't you have another drink on Aaron. The anemia will pretty much force him to sleep until tomorrow night. We just finish him off then. When you are feeling more fed, we can do some lessons with Leslie. You will be amazed the opportunity you passed up going straight to blood drinking. Aaron just doesn't excite me that much. Men are not as responsive sexually. They can really only cum once every thirty minutes as well. I've already planted memories in him that will make him think he had the night of his life. Leslie will wake up weak and bit confused at this point though. I'll show you how to fix that and leave Leslie positively craving coming back to get sucked on again. We are built to seduce and feed. Nicholai perverted that with you so he could have you to torture. You just don't understand things yet because he was using you instead of teaching you."
Alex was feeling he owed Becka for setting her free. Alex had the support of his first love to discover things. It would be cruel to leave Becka to her own devices to learn things. He didn't want her starting to act like Nicholai and he didn't want to leave her open to getting used by ancients due to ignorance. Something odd was going on with the west coast and it seemed prudent to ensure Becka knew her leverage and limits.
Becka looked up at Alex while he explained things to her; she had a slight frown of concentration and thought on her face. When he was done she looked down at Aaron in thought. While part of her wanted to do thing Alex’s way, another really didn’t like Aaron, and she was still hungry. Finally she decides to go ahead and finish Aaron off; after all, they still had Leslie.
She moves towards Aaron and sits on the edge of the couch. She looks him over as she lets her fangs grow out once more, she leans forward and gently bites his neck and starts feeding. Once she has her fill, nearly draining him dry, she rises from the couch and lightly steps across the room, she’s feeling more like herself. Opening the door, she finds Max standing just outside as she knew she would. She motions him inside, then points at Aaron. “Please dispose of that. We’re still busy in here.”
Max quietly closes the door, and then lightly ruffles Becka’s hair as he passes by her on the way to Aaron. Lifting the man up, he slings him over his shoulder and continues across the room. He pauses at the mural on the wall right in front of a painted archway. Running his hand along the wall up close to the ceiling, he triggers the mechanism, and that part of the wall slides open. He disappears through it and the wall slides back into place.
Becka looks at Alex a bit sheepishly. “Sorry, I was really hungry.” She looks over at Leslie, biting her lower lip, afraid Alex might be angry over what she’d done. She finally looks back at Alex after a few minutes, “a’ight, I’m willing to learn what you are strangely willing to teach.” She motions towards Leslie, looking expectantly at him.
She looked away after a few seconds, uncomfortable with Alex to some degree. She was glad he was willing to teach her things she needed to know, but it was also an alien concept to her. Alex had, for the most part, been right on the money about Nicholai. While Nicholai had made many children, as far a Becka knew there were only two now living. It was rare for any of Nicholai’s children to live beyond a decade as a Vampire, too afraid they’d grow in power and even maybe ban together to destroy their tormentor.
How she had managed to escape him for over four centuries was something she’d never probably know, but Vessa had been created to find her, that she did know. Perhaps later she’d be able to sit with the woman and find out what had happen to have Nicholai make her a Vampire. In the meantime, she currently had an Ancient wanting to play Sire, and she was willing to let him do so as long as he didn’t take it in his head he now owned her. She’d lived too long now on her own without having to turn to a Master for every little thing, and she wasn’t about to start again.
Never mind Alex’s kindness thus far, she still didn’t trust Ancients or Old As Dirt Bloods. A little voice popped up on the heels of that though. But you like this Ancient, so where’s the problem? She gave a snort. The problem is he’s an Ancient. But you like him. And that makes him safe how? Seems the voice didn’t have an answer to that one, and Becka dropped the internal debate with herself.
Alex's eyebrows raised as he waited for Becka to drink of Aaron's blood. A realization hit him shortly after. She was now head of her bloodline. Her body was taking over with Nicholai's blood now belonging to her. She was naturally thirsty. Alex had that little piece of information buried under thousands of years. He was not a sire and the minor details of fledglings becoming their own had been practically useless to Alex up until now.
"Thank you for taking care of the body." Alex usually left some bodies for the authorities to discover. Invariably, they found some crime going on near it and the death was attributed to the foulness found near the body. Other times Alex dropped the bodies off at pig farms to make them disappear. Aaron was definitely a pig farm body. Pigs really were very efficient at disposing of the bodies.
"No need to apologize. To be honest, I almost forgot you would be very hungry. I should have let you finish him off straight away. Don't worry; your hunger will be much more normal again now." Alex walked across to Leslie commenting, "I can't have the world's newest ancient forced to learn the mechanisms of being her own vampire on her own. That would just be rude of me."
Alex took a seat next to Leslie's unconscious form. "I want you to use your link to Leslie and feel what she feels. When I'm done, it will be your turn to feel what she feels while you provide the sensations. No need to ruin high quality meat on fast food burgers when you can have a well done filet mignon."
Alex touched Leslie's cheek. "Wake up beautiful." Leslie roused to take a gentle look at Alex's eyes and smile. Alex smiled right back at her, his eyes alive with a smile that wasn't really real. "Becka is a dream," Leslie mused. "You are very much true there, Leslie." Alex had to agree. Leslie looked about for Aaron. "Where did Aaron go?" Her question put a frown on her face. "Oh, business. It appears my deal got him overexcited. He asked Becka and me to take care of you until he returned. Seeing your beautiful face, I just couldn't deny him his haste. Becka and I both want to make you feel incredibly welcomed." Alex's hand guided her face to his and he gave Leslie a gentle kiss. Her expression changed from a frown to relaxed indulgence. From there, Alex's body gracefully glided to straddle Leslie's lap. "We may as well make you comfortable while you await his return." Alex leaned in and gave Leslie an intensely deep and passionate kiss. Her arms rose to take his shoulders while Alex's hands gracefully and quickly started undoing her dress.
With Leslie's dress unfastened, Alex slipped up to his feet and held out a hand to let Leslie up. Her cheeks were managing a mild blush despite the anemia of her system. She took his hand and stood up before Alex. Alex used his contact with her to keep her steady without trembling. Her muscles obeyed because of her desire to feel what must invariably be coming. Alex smiled as his hands gracefully pushed the dress to fall about Leslie's ankles. He leaned in for another passionate kiss while his hands slipped up her sides and around her bra strap. His fingers unclasped it with death defying skill and as he stepped back the bra came right with him as Leslie cooperatively held her arms forward. Alex's eyes drifted down to her bare chest. "Leslie, your body is as good a female form as there could be to try to keep up with the beauty of your eyes." Leslie smiled despite herself. "Do I get to see you?" she replied, biting her bottom lip., Alex winked and started undoing his shirt after letting Leslie's bra fall to the floor. "Could I honestly deny you a simple request like that?"
Alex slipped off his shirt and tossed it behind him. "You see? I'm not nearly as beautiful as you." He gave Leslie another wink and started undoing his pants. He slipped out of them easily, revealing black silk underwear that matched his shirt and pants. There was no elastic. Draw strings held up both his underwear and his socks. His manhood was aroused just as Leslie's womanhood was aroused. His contact with Leslie allowed his body to tune to Leslie's. Alex slipped out of his shoes and they came off when he leaned over to draw his pants off his feet. His wrist sent all three items behind him on top of his shirt. "I really do think you are going to enjoy your stay with us Leslie." Leslie could not help but return his smile. She looked over to Becka suddenly, though. "Becka, please join us." Alex thought that was the sweetest plea he ever heard a human make.
Becka made a slight strangled sound when Alex called her an Ancient. Gods Above, she wasn’t even close to being an Ancient, maybe in 4000+ years, if she lived that long, and may those same Gods keep her from becoming as asinine as most Ancients she came across. She’d have to take steps to have herself destroyed if she ever did, something she should probably start setting up now, well once this was all over anyway. She quickly dropped the thoughts and brought herself to the task at hand. She was a bit surprised to find the link with Leslie was easy to access. Through Leslie, she felt everything Alex did, touching her, kissing her, straddling her, undressing her even. She found it erotic in and of itself, and it added to the thrill of just also watching Alex and Leslie together.
It had taken Becka nearly 50 years after leaving Nicholai’s grasp to find that sex could actually be pleasurable and not painful or a chore. When she did, she also found that she liked sex with both men and women, and didn’t see the point in limiting herself to just one sex. She was immensely relieved to find that she had a way to still enjoy sex with no Sire now.
She smiled at Leslie when she made her request and walked over to the both of them, more than willing to turn it into a threesome. As she did so, she managed to pull the dress up and off, revealing that she wore absolutely nothing on underneath. She’d never, even in her Human life had much use for the undergarments of a dress, and with her Turning, she’d found her body stayed just as firm as it had been at the time her Human existence ended and her Vampire one began, so she saw no use in bothering with a bra.
With a flick of her wrist, her dress landed close to Alex’s clothes. She reached out to Leslie and lightly caressed her cheek. She’d ‘seen’ how Alex kept Leslie from skyrocketing to the Great Orgasmic Heaven of No Return, and mimicked it. Continued the caress down Leslie’s neck and stepped lightly behind her, letting her hand trail down until she cupped her breast and started kneading it and playing with the hardened nipple. She lightly rained kisses along Leslie’s shoulder and neck, while her other hand trailed down Leslie’s shoulder blade and around and across her ribcage and navel.
Leslie’s eyes drooped and her head went back as she moaned in pleasure. Becka felt everything Leslie was feeling, it was like a warped way of playing with yourself and she liked it, her own heat rising and building. Letting her hand continue on down to Leslie’s mound, she soon found and started teasing the sensitive clit buried within, causing Leslie to moan, and move her hips. Nibbling Leslie’s shoulder, Becka looked at Alex, lust and need stark in her eyes.
Alex undid his underwear and let them fall to the floor. As Becka started on Leslie's face and breasts, Alex leaned over to undo his socks and send his undergarments to the stack of clothes. His erection was strong now. Becka was really pouring on the heat for poor Leslie.
Alex simply ripped the waistband of Leslie's panties apart at each hip and yanked them away. Leslie wouldn't be needing them anymore and he hardly expected a protest. His body stood straight up in front of the two women. Delight played on his eyes. It had been over eight thousand years since he had the pleasure of driving two women at once wild with pleasure. Leslie was breathing deeply to keep pace with the pleasure Becka was putting her through. Alex's right hand slipped around the four female thighs while his left arm wrapped around the center of Becka's back. Becka heard Alex's voice in her mind, "Control, Becka, control. Don't let her orgasm happen until she physically needs it."
His arms gathered the weight of both women and he placed them on the couch laying down. Leslie's eyes were rolling into the back of her head with her body resting on Becka's below. Alex gracefully glided to the top of Leslie. His mouth closed over Leslie's and he used circular breathing to fill her chest up with air and started breathing for her. Leslie's chest heaved, pressing her one breast into Becka's messaging hand and the other breast pressed her free nipple to graze Alex's chest. Becka found her wrist between Leslie's and Alex's stomachs.
Alex's legs forced Leslie's thighs wide open. His hips and ass rolled forward to press his cock into Leslie's drenched canal. His cock didn't take the usual stab though. It curled up to run the head right into Leslie's g-spot and press it aggressively. Leslie would have been hyperventilating at that point, but Alex's lungs kept steady air traveling in and out of her chest. Leslie wanted to scream with ecstasy she never had encountered in her life, but her lungs would not let it happen. Alex started thrusting and grinding her g-spot with his cock head while his shaft seemed to circle her entrance. His right hand came up to tease Leslie's other nipple while his left hand came around and searched out Becka's right nipple. As his fingers pinched Becka's nipple with one hand, his other hand kept grazing and teasing Leslie's other nipple.
"Better let her orgasm." Alex could feel Leslie's body losing complete control and needing its release. Alex wasn't going to let the orgasm stop though. His cock had Leslie's canal captive. Sharing contact with both women, he could read whatever penetration their tunnels desired to continue repeated orgasms. Leslie was going to have her sex drenched in Alex's cum. His vampire body was going to keep pace with them.
At Alex’s insistence, Becka slowed down on Leslie. Becka felt her own pleasure taper off a bit. She both loved and hated that sensation. She loved building up and backing off before orgasm, but sometimes it could get frustrating if it went on too long. Even Alex’s hand on her back added to her pleasure.
Becka felt Leslie’s nipple graze Alex’s chest like it was her own and let out a soft groan. She felt Alex force Leslie’s legs open and her own automatically opened as Leslie’s did. Becka moaned loudly when Alex entered Leslie, she’d never felt such before herself and was lost at how pleasurable it was. The intensity built as Alex played with both hers and Leslie’s nipples, added to her already playing with one of Leslie’s nipples; it was a bizarre sensation that nearly drove her over the edge.
The moment Alex said to release Leslie, Becka let her cum. Her own orgasm coming as well and Becka cried out as Leslie couldn’t. Their joining allowed Becka to share with Alex. Though in the throes of her own pleasure, she shared more than she wanted too, there was no doubt she wanted to know this pleasure first hand instead of through a surrogate. She didn’t let up on Leslie though in the midst of their shared pleasure.
Her hand left off Leslie’s breast to caress Alex’s ribs. She raked her nails back up his ribs, not too hard, but enough to feel. A new ache built in her, she knew what she needed and projected the thought without thinking. Women were fun, but nothing took the place of a nice stiff cock pounding you. Had it just been her and Leslie, she wouldn’t have gotten this urge, but with a male in the mix, it always came about. Becka moaned with want and need.
Leslie now had firm links to both Alex and Becka, though Becka held a slight advantage having actual fed off Leslie. The smell of sex filled the air. The women were producing a lot of nectar and Alex's sensitive smell positively reveled in the scents. Alex actually shuddered when Becka touched him. It had been an extremely long time since a vampire touched him in a way that he had to feel. His own body registering his own pleasure was a shock and surprise. He would have to let Becka in on contact directly between the two of them.
Alex's hands let go of the nipples and took Becka's shoulders in a tight firm grip. His withdraw came completely out of Leslie and with a fast and hard action his hips whipped around Leslie's crotch to stab his cock straight into Becka's canal. Leslie's sex met a hard press from Alex's stomach as Becka's cervix seemed to bounce off Alex's head. What he was going to do, Leslie's body could not handle. Becka's and Alex's bodies would enjoy it just fine.
Determination and concentration filled Alex's face. His thrusts were something no human could do. His withdrawal was a complete pull out and every thrust sent his head through Becka's crevice, entrance, and canal only to get stopped by her cervix. Becka's pussy now felt a fresh perfectly aimed invasion of Alex over and over again with plenty of force. He knew how women craved it, but none of his partners had the physical ability to do it. He now had Becka both craving and able to take it.
Her canal spreading around his shaft sent pleasure though him at a level he had forgotten as much as the touch to his ribs. Alex lost a whole level of control that had been at his beck and call for all of written history twice over. He could not stop the pleasure Becka's canal fired through his divk. He couldn't stop the climax either. His ropes ended up both deep inside Becka and on the surface of her mound. "Becka," he whispered. It was an incredibly loud whisper though, at least to vampires. It echoed off the walls and seemed to carry in the air. Leslie started moaning Becka's name when she heard it and would have done freakish things for Becka had Becka commanded it.
Alex did not want to stop. Memories from long, long ago told him just how wild this could be. If they sucked Leslie dry, Alex would be able to cum at least forty times. If he wanted to pace it, he would have to stop after four or five more. He would let Becka decide. He was leaning towards using Leslie up and his fangs started to grow.
Becka felt Alex’s pleasure through their link, and she released her touch on Leslie completely to let her hands run over Alex’s body roughly. Their shared pleasure was driving Becka insane. And she wanted Leslie out of the way to feel Alex close to her completely. Before she could follow up on that urge, Alex grabbed her shoulders and entered her with such force as to jar her even under Leslie.
Becka went wild, clutching and grabbing at him. She matched his thrusts with equal force in return. Sex just went to a whole new level for her, and there would be no going back from now on. Everything up to this point paled and washed out in comparison. She’d always wondered what it felt like from a man’s perspective, and it blew her mind away to finally find out.
She felt herself tight around his shaft and his head bouncing off her cervix, it drove her nuts. She groans Alex’s name as she has the hardest and most intense orgasm of her life. She feels her walls tighten around him like a vice, and it fuels her orgasm to new heights while in the middle of it. When he cums, her eyes widen as her mind is blown by the feel of it.
Becka sees Alex’s fangs grow, and guesses at what he wants. She gives him a lazy smile in reply, her eyes glittering, wondering at what he’d do next lurking deep within them. She can hear Leslie moaning her name, and to some degree, it sends thrills through her, but Leslie is now an obstacle in her way. Becka is more than willing to let Alex remove her. She conveys these thoughts and feelings through their contact as her hands run idly up and down Alex’s sides and back.
Becka was more than willing to let Alex decide the directions they were going, to teach her new things. That bothersome little voice tried to say something smugly, but she squashed it ruthlessly. Later she might regret this choice, she might not, but right now she was more interested in what else he could show her and teach her. For now, she would ride the high he was giving her with abandon.
Alex had to make a decision. He could teach her more by using control and keeping Leslie alive, but they could explore some very extreme pleasure if he consumed Leslie and shared a whirlwind night with Becka. He couldn't resist the newness of Becka's touch. It was too intense. Besides, there were plenty of humans in the sea and many were in need of dying.
Alex sunk his teeth into Leslie's neck and sunk his cock into Becka's g-spot. His hips did a slow grind as he fed on Leslie's blood. It didn't take long for him to start pumping and teasing her canal. His fingers traced up to Becka's ears and played along the ridges of them artfully.
Alex's voice sounded in Becka's head. "I forgot what it was to be touched." His laugh sounded in her mind though his mouth consumed Leslie's life. It was an honest and embarrassed laugh. Leslie really was in the way of things and it frustrated Alex towards the end. Finally the last of her blood drained out and Alex drew back in his fangs.
His hands moved up from Becka's ears to Leslie's underarms. He slipped her corpse right out from between them and tossed it to the floor a fair distance. He would have to snap Leslie's spinal column at some point to ensure a thrall didn't show up following him around. It was a single night of feeding and the proper method of a thrall was not even close to satisfied, but Alex didn't like taking chances. Life could do weird things at times. Knowing Leslie was not coming back at all would give Alex peace of mind.
Alex now enjoyed close contact with Becka. Their stomachs were in full contact. He used his chest to tickle Becka's nipples while resuming his pumping into her g-spot. His hands started traveling her body, mostly focused on the ears, neck and shoulders. He couldn't resist a kiss. He wanted to feel another tongue on his. His mouth descended on Becka's lips and his tongue went looking for hers.
He realized that oral sex would work both ways now. In his mind, he plotted moving his mouth down to Becka's crevice, but for now, his body hungered for another climax.
Becka could actually feel Alex feeding and it was a strange sensation, one quickly forgotten as Alex started to slowly and pleasurably tease and torture her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensations, only to open them and look at the top of Alex’s head until he finished with Leslie and easily moved her out of their way. She separated a small part of her mind and studied him thoughtfully. She felt his idle concern for Leslie possibly rising and dismissed it. Leslie would be taken care of, even if Alex didn’t take the steps himself. She was surprised though at his honesty and embarrassment, two things she’d never seen or heard an Ancient show, even if they had every reason too.
She let it go though, and emerged herself in the Now. A sharp intake of breath was easily heard as he teased her nipples and once more found and nailed her g-spot. She loosely wrapped her legs around his waist and let the palms of her hands travel up the sides of his ribs and around to his chest, up to and around his neck, running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. As he kissed her, she eagerly and hungrily kissed him back. She moaned softly into his mouth as his hands and tongue played with her.
The feel of his hands on her throat was an odd sensation, one she wasn’t entirely sure if she liked yet. Even though as a Vampire she couldn’t be choked to dead, it was a hold over fear from Nicholai before he’d Turned her. She’d never allowed another to touch her once she’d escaped from Nicholai, except small children who couldn’t harm her anyway. Try as she might, she just couldn’t fully shake the nervousness of having his hands near her throat. She never realized the fear seeped through their link and let Alex know what and why she was bothered.
Subconsciously her hands rand down his shoulders and arms until they found his hands. She interlaced her hands with his then pulled both their arms up over her head as far as she could reach, flattening him against her to some degree. Being shorter than him, her arms weren’t near as long as his. She broke their kiss, and nipped lightly along his jawline to his neck. With the tip of her tongue, she lightly made designs on the side of his neck, pausing now and again to gently blow on the moister left by her tongue.
When she tired of that she grazed her teeth along the muscles in his neck until she reached his ear, and then playfully nipped it. She then kissed him back along his jawline until she found his mouth once more and hungrily kissed him. Up to that point she’d kept in time with his thrusts into her slick pussy, but as she kissed him again, her hips picked up the pace. She wanted more, and she wanted it now.
Alex was simply marveling in the feel of Becka's hands on him. Her legs across his waist in combination with her touch felt all new to him. "Becka, your touch is amazing."
Her dislike of neck contact quickly drove Alex's fingers down to her shoulders. His mind mourned her loss of not being able to enjoy contact to the neck. Her hands were doing such magical things to his. She pulled his hands up and Alex really only had the thrust of his cock into her folds to work. Her tongue and breath on his neck was too delicious to interrupt. His eyes closed to savor her contact and touch. Even the feel of her hands against his palms felt exotic.
Her teeth against his neck sent shivers down him. The loss of control was so foreign. A moan came out of him and surprised him. His body was making decisions without his mind. It was just sending him messages not directed or originated from him. He wondered how he had stayed away from that for so long. The name Sophie echoed in his mind and he shut it off by letting Becka's touch seep into his brain again.
When her kiss came Alex's tongue was more than impatient to get back to doing something to Becka. Sex had been his direction for so long it was an uneasy feeling to have lost the initiative. The change in pace caused his loins to erupt inside of Becka. His hips slipped to a new angle at the command of his brain. His mind didn't go haywire from climax. It was a fairly common occurrence for him. As he came, he drove his cock deep into Becka again, driving at the faster pace. As the climax subsided, Alex shifted his penetration to a dive into her g-spot and a press into her cervix. As complex as the motion was, Alex really didn't have much problem coordinating his muscle movements to do it. It certainly felt intense to him, but with Leslie's fresh blood flowing in him, he had plenty of energy and plenty of ejaculations in his body.
His mind was certain of one thing, after Becka had an orgasm from his drilling in her canal; he was going to explore her crevice with his tongue. To feel the touch of her hot wet folds on his tongue for a change was a treat that he simply did not want to miss.
Becka broke the kiss and arched her head back with a moan as Alex released his seed inside her once more. Her grip on his hands tightened, turning her fingers nearly white. Her body tensed for a heartbeat before shaking violently with her own release. “Oh, Alex, yes, oh yes.” It came out in a long and tortured sounding groan, though through their link, it was clear she was enjoying this experience.
Becka reveled in the feel of Alex’s body against hers, and the orgasm wracking her body. Her nipples were so tight it was painful, and her orgasm seemed to have no end in sight. Finally unable to take anymore, she pulled him close by tightening her legs around his waist and effectively stopping him from pumping in and out of her well lubricated love hole. Her hips though moved in tight circles, making her have small and far less intense orgasms.
Her eyes opened and she looked at him with a slight smile. She was far from done, just needing a moment to regroup herself. Her hands finally loosened and then let go completely. Slowly she brought her palms around to the backs of his hands and ran them up his arms. From his arms she continued up to his shoulders, and then along the back of his shoulders. She then ran them up the back of his neck until her fingers were buried in his hair. Becka pulled his head towards her and gave him a slow and lazy kiss.
As she kissed him, and keeping one leg firmly wrapped around his waist, her other leg relaxed and pulled away from his body. She never once stopped the motion of her hips as her foot rubbed over his rump, and down the back of his thigh and calf. She then reversed the motion, but instead of going over his tight ass once more, she showed just how limber she could be by bringing her foot along his hip and up to the bottom of his rib cage.
Becka returned her leg back to his waist and then relaxed the other leg. It was hard to be flexible with the back of the couch blocking her moves. Instead of repeating what she’d already done, she settled for running her foot along the inside of his thigh and side of his lower leg a few times. She eventually returned her leg to join her other one, and ended the kiss. She looked at him impishly, and released his hair to bring her hands to his face. Lightly she grazed them along his features, over his nose and cheeks, across his lips, and along his brow.
Alex's cock dribbled cum in small spurts as he shared in Becka's orgasms. Her words were vexing to him. Becka's link was starting to get overshadowed with more powerful emotions in Alex's mind and she was going to be able to delve into his memory. Normally Alex would have been very alarmed at this, but in the throes of the intense pleasure Becka's presence on and in him was far more important than any kind of control.
"Becka, you slay me." There was no real way to say just how deeply Becka had seduced him. The touch of another vampire had become such a distant memory for him; he was almost as much of a student to what was happening as Becka was. She was stealing control of the sex and Alex wasn't even paying attention to it.
When Becka's grip halted his thrusts, Alex went along with it. The grip of her legs was more important than the feel of her canal around his cock. Her blue eyes and smile were the most incredible art Alex had seen in a long time. His eyes peered back into hers with longing and thanks. His face reeked of pleasure and desire and though he was happy, the lust ruled his expression instead of returning the smile. It was just more evidence Becka was controlling the situation.
As Becka released Alex's hands, his left hand alighted on her ear and started gliding his fingertips over its ridges and teasing its valleys in a light, fast, and elaborate dance. His right hand started tracing the features of her face. Her jawline, cheeks, lips, nose, brow and hairline all received attention. Her hands up his arms, shoulders, and back of his head created goose bumps on Alex's skin. The anticipation of their lips meeting was as intense as the actual union. The fact it was slow and lazy added to the moment. Alex drank in every moment of the contact.
Her feet ran a magical path over his body. She knew exactly how to use her physical prowess. Alex realized he had gotten lazy only having sex with humans. Becka was the master at this before they started. She didn't know how to milk humans, but she was a master at milking vampires. Alex was going to have to hope she was not hostile. She had unlocked much more in him than what he had originally anticipated.
When Becka released the kiss, Alex's hands jumped to Becka's shoulders and began a trip to her palms. Along the way he danced his fingertips on her skin and followed up their journey with a light graze from the base of his palm. Alex smiled a wide smile full of honest joy as she touched his face. He returned the favor by playing his fingertips on Becka's palms and back of her fingers and hands. Hands were intensely erotic in and of themselves and they received touch with much more sexual response than when they were actively touching.
Alex brought up his thighs and gently grazed them against Becka's lower butt cheeks and upper thighs. The contact was just unbelievable at this point. The only way to increase it would be to stop using his chest to tease Becka's rock hard nipples, but that reaction was so vitally intense and important, Alex was not going to trade it for a full chest press between the two of them. Alex let out a loud moan reflexively as his mind reviewed the contact between them. His cock gushed cum again as the mental review and actual physical touch combined in Alex's body into a critical mass beyond his control.
Becka felt Alex’s emotions and thoughts; she looked at him intently and gently placed her hands on each side of his face and met his rich brown eyes with open honesty in her vivid blue ones. “Alex, we never would have even Hunted together if I was in any way hostile towards you. And we sure wouldn’t be in our current position either.” Her look while still honest grew thoughtful. “Yes, I tend to avoid Ancients and Old As Dirts, until you, I had never met one who could see past their own thoughts and goals. And Max is about as close to Old As Dirt as I’ve allowed close to me.”
She gave him an open smile that even reached her eyes, and gently ran the palms of her hands along his cheekbones to his ears. Her fingers lightly ran along the outer shells and quickly down his neck to dance along his collar bones. Her fingers played intricate patterns across his shoulders and chest. “It is beyond me why I find you as appealing and fascinating as I do, and I truly hope I do not come to regret it in the future.”
Becka had never allowed her Change to affect how she interacted with people. She knew and was friends with Humans of all walks of life, Vampires, and even knew a few Lycans here and there. She had learned quickly working the Saloon when she first came to this land, that the people were the pulse of the town. Knowing and socializing with Humans beyond the thought of them just being Food, was how she kept her fingers on that pulse.
When she’d first discovered that sex wasn’t such a bad thing after all, she’d tried to learn all she could on the subject. She’d talk to the madams and their girls back in the day, even trying it out for a few years. To this day she still would visit with their equivalent, the street walkers. Humans could be oh so creative in their sex games. She’d even tried to learn about the Bondage places that had started cropping up, but those brought back too many all too real and painful memories, though she still would meet and get to know whoever was currently running such places, she’d just not step foot in them.
Becka closed her eyes with a contented sigh as she further enjoyed Alex’s touch. Her legs finally loosened around Alex, releasing him to do as he wished. “Mmmm. Alex, please, more.” The night was already half over, and she really wished Time would stop outside this room so they could enjoy each other until both of them had had more than enough.
Alex had to smile at Becka's 'Old as Dirt' explanation. Hepitet was the oldest vampire Alex knew and he was only about twelve thousand years old. The Earth had been around a staggering long time and dirt was usually impressively old to the ancients.
"Becka, as long as you tell me what you are looking for, I will be your ally. My agenda is peace. There has been too much bad blood. We have to live in harmony." Alex could appreciate Becka's saloon and what it meant. She was trying to carve out peace as well. Just the fact they both searched for a common end like that gave promise. He had as much to learn from her as she did from him, if not more. He had been a hermit for too long. Alex wasn't even aware Lycans had survived.
Becka was very safe from bondage now. Nicholai could no longer force her to stay in bondage and her strength would overpower any item used to trap her. The sun was the only thing that could prevent her from going to a place apart from a few very rare relics. Alex did possess an Ankh that would repel and burn any vampire, but it was not a plaything. It was his secret weapon if he ever faced a vampire older than him hell bent on destruction like Nicholai. Age brought a kind of natural wisdom though. Nicholai had to be the oldest vampire he met yet that was still twisted to the degree Nicholai was.
As his fingers got closer to her crevice, his tongue dipped into her tunnel and fluttered there. In concert, his left hand collapsed and buried into her canal while his tongue pressed a path up to her bud. The outside edges of his tongue teased her inner lips while her valley enjoyed a full press from the tip of his tongue up to just below her clit. His thumb took a quick dip at her nectar and slid the soft wet path down to her sphincter. There it teased and press her muscle without actually going in. His forefinger and pinky curled up into her g-spot to glide over the sensitive bumps and press into the tight cavern while his ring and middle finger reached down to orbit the sides of her cervix and cross over it with pleasing pressure. His palm opened and contracted to press and release his knuckles against the opening of her fully occupied canal. The tip of his tongue lift to just touch the face of her pink skin until it started lazily pressing the surfaces of her bud. His mouth pressed in to surround her clit with his lips. They sealed on the upper part of her valley and his lungs pulled her nerve center into his mouth enough for his incisors to catch her clit and let his tongue play with it.
Alex now had great contact control over Becka's sex. Her hands were free to roam his hair or her breasts. He could feel his loins preparing to unleash as Becka's pussy, uterus, and anus responded to Alex's pressure and touch. Becka's gush of nectar was very close.
Becka’s body responded to Alex’s attentions. Her breathing picked up while her hips curled up to give him better access to her hungry pussy. She moaned as he did things both familiar and unfamiliar. Her hands roamed over her own body, adding to the pleasure he was giving her. Suddenly her hands grabbed him by the hair and held him in place as she was sent once more over the edge. She moaned his name as wave after wave of pleasure assaulted her body.
After several long moments of that, her body settled into a more relaxed position. She pulled him up along her body until she could kiss him again. While deep into the kiss, she shoved up off the couch, rolling them to the floor, her landing on top. Becka then trailed kisses down his chin and throat until she reached his collar bone. With the tip of her tongue she traced one side of his collar bone to the end, and then gently blew back along the wet trail she’d made until she reached her starting point. Her tongue came back out and trailed the other side of Alex’s collar bone and she repeated the process.
Once back to her starting point she wriggled a bit lower and trailed light kisses down the center of his chest. Her tongue came back out to trace a line to a nipple. She swirled her tongue around it a few times, then gently blew air on it. She repeated the process with his other nipple, not wanting to play favorites. Becka then kissed down Alex’s flat stomach until she reached his stiff member.
She took just the tip of his cock in her mouth at first and sucked on it for a few moments, then she slide the rest of it into her mouth. Once his head was firmly in the back of her throat, she pauses for several long moments, just swallowing. Her hands in the meantime had grabbed his balls and were alternating between kneading them gently, and running her nails along them lightly. Finally she started moving up and down his shaft. Occasionally she’d suck just the tip, or swallow when his head was far back in her throat. One hand stayed to tease his balls and the other moved down to rub and tease his sphincter. She was driving herself mad, pleasuring him, and loved it.
Alex felt the cum fire out of his loins when Becka released to his efforts. The control and influence he had at the moment made him feel like himself again. He kept it up, not wanting to let either of them escape the rolling orgasm Becka was able to maintain. He let it break, though, because Becka was up to something new. He could feel her anticipation and had no desire to fight her.
His mouth started trailing up her stomach, forcing his left hand to the side and up to her right breast. His lips grazed her skin in a lazy meander that went between her breasts, up to her collarbone, and then had to make the regretful jump to her chin instead of sending tingles from her neck. He hoped one day Becka would trust him there again so she could enjoy it. The neck was a sensitive spot and could be extremely erotic. His sire had set him off with neck play when he was human. His lips’ meeting hers was a happy reunion though, and his tongue seemed to get lost in entanglement with hers.
The tumble was fun. Neither of them missed a beat. His hands continued to work her nipple and her folds. Becka wanted to land on top and Alex was going to have to give up the reigns again. Her kisses down his throat were a sweet welcome. Maybe that would help Becka relax and let Alex do the same at some point. She set his collarbone off with intense electric pleasure. "Oh, Becka," he moaned feeling her new touches. She was seducing him all over again and the loss of control swept over him in a new wave of feeling.
His hand soaked in Becka's nectar, had to come out of her crevice. His palm traced her juices up the side of her stomach to her right breast and pressed into her globe with his slick fingers rolling over her nipple. The combination of his touches with her tongue traces going off on his chest was mind blowing. "Becka, I'm lucky I can't die," he moaned.
As Becka's mouth continued down his body, he had to abandon her breasts. His hands traced up her shoulders over the sides of her neck and to her ears. His focus was too far gone from the pleasure to even think about skipping over her neck. He totally missed the mistake.
Becka then put a sensation on Alex that was extremely ancient and forgotten to him. Her mouth sucking on the tip of his cock sent a positive jolt from him. It didn't take long before his cock started to throb with cum pumping out of him again. "Becka...can't...control..." he moaned. He could actually hold in his climax response with humans. It hurt and took effort, but he could do it. Actually feeling it with Becka's independent mind doing it created a chemistry that was beyond his control. He would have been ashamed if it weren't for Becka wanting to do it to him. He wasn't going to have to fake an ejaculation, though. Many of his female victims who gave him blow jobs received a load he directed out of his body under force of will instead of bodily pleasure response. Humans didn't orgasm from blow jobs, Becka of course would be riding his orgasm.
Alex thought he had himself pulled back together when Becka took his shaft into her throat. "Becka!" groaned out of his throat. It didn't take long for her swallows to send fresh jolts through his body from his shaft that added his ropes to the experience of swallowing. His hands jumped from her ears and started running through her hair messaging her scalp. Vampires didn't need air and Alex finally pulled himself back together once more.
Her hand work on his ball sack would translate to sensation on her inner lips. The electricity made it difficult to reel his loins back into control, but he managed. He was finding at this point that not ejaculating was requiring positive control and effort from his mind and that Becka could pop that bubble either by touching in an extremely pleasurable way or mentally allowing an orgasm to flow through herself. It was a bit of a game of climax chicken at this point. Who would do something to set the other off uncontrollably and who would let a climax go off in themselves?
When she started going up and down on him with her mouth he almost lost his cum several times. Becka was obviously keeping him at the brink and leaving them both there. It had probably been her intent the whole time; just Alex had forgotten what taking a blow job had been like and went over the edge. Her fingers on his anus caused another jolt, though, and he lost it again. "Becka..." his voice moaned again, "...you are kicking my ass." The uncontrolled sensation was once more outside his typical human interaction. The student was decidedly the master at this point and his statement was more accurate than he wanted to admit.
Each one of Alex’s comments nearly made her grin in delight, but she wouldn’t be side tracked from what she was up to, and with iron will, managed to keep to task. Her amusement though, could be felt through their link, as was her startlement at how easily he came to a few simple teasing’s. Finally she lifted her head one last time, sucked briefly on his tip, and then swirled her tongue around it before leaving off completely to grin up at him. Her nails lightly raked the tops of his thighs up to his hips, where she planted them firmly and pulled herself up to straddle his waist.
Becka sat there looking at him thoughtfully for a bit of time. Their link allowed for him to know she was having an internal debate with herself, but not what it was about. Finally she sighed and shrugged slightly, and her hips started rocking forwards and back, sliding her hot and slick lips up and down his shaft pinned between them. She planted her hands on the carpet between his arms and chest, and then brought her head down and started to kiss and nibble the side of his neck.
Becka continued to rock her hips, letting his head come in contact with her hole, but never entering, as she teased him in new ways. Now and then she’d travel down his neck to his shoulder or collar bone to nip or use her tongue and air. Sometimes she traveled up to his ear, and used her tongue on the outside then blew on it. All of this teased her as well, but she held it back to see how long he would allow her to tease, or if he’d wrestle control from her again.
She didn’t mind how it went, since long ago she’d learned love making was a game of give and take, dominance and submissiveness. She could do either, depending on what her partner was wanting, though she did draw lines at certain things. It was a game she enjoyed playing, though with Alex, it had taken on new rules and new heights, as well as actual unknowns.
All of it excited her and terrified her. She knew no matter how their relationship turned after tonight, even if she came to hate him, she’d come back to him for this. He was the only one safe enough to abandon the carefully constructed walls she’d put up long ago to keep her inner self safe from everyone. To let go and fully enjoy the sex and the moment, and know that no other could reach her through him. She was damned and she knew it, but she would live with it as she lived with the shadow of Nicholai until recently.
Alex was embarrassed by how Becka was startled at his reactions. He should have had more control. Her touch was just like new again though. He was practically virgin to sex with a vampire that was her own person. He had even been the sire of Sophia and as the sire; he had more control over her touch. Becka was a complete free agent and his body really had no choice but to acknowledge her contact. It was extremely odd for him to be so disarmed. He was going to have to dig deep and remember human control methods with Becka.
Alex's cock seemed to mourn the departure of Becka's mouth as she gave it a warm farewell. His face returned a smile to her grin. Alex always got a charge out of pleasing his partners, but Becka was extra special in this regard. Her grin was something precious considering her dark past. The warmth of her thighs and lap was an excellent consolation prize to his shaft. His hands fell down Becka's shoulders and arms to start stroking the back of her hands.
Becka became hard to read. Whatever drove her indecision cleared though when he felt her pedals start moving up and down his cock. His hands continued to stroke and dance on the back of hers even when she relocated them. He offered his neck to her when she came for it and the sensation was a reward for more valuable than the action to receive it.
Alex eventually figured out she was teasing his body. Maybe it was some kind of test, but he didn't much care. The pleasure was intense and she could tease all night if she wanted. They were both enjoying it immensely and there was simply no need to disturb her work. Becka knew her sex well and Alex really wasn't going to be able to trump it in any way. "Becka, you are too good," he whispered.
He had certainly met his match. They both seemed to revel in pleasing each other and feeling the pleasing they gave inside each other. Alex was enjoying the newly rediscovered feeling of touch registered by his own body while Becka was discovering her new ability to feel what her mate did. Becka had made an impression on him and he doubted he would ever stop being interested in being around her and discovering her. He could respect her fire, even if she thought he was too old for her. He couldn't even remember having a mate take charge the way she did, he doubted he could find her equal to do it either.
Becka stopped what she was doing and rose up enough to look at Alex. She cocked her head and looked at him worriedly. “Is that so bad?” She had been enjoying their time together, and could feel that Alex had as well, but there was also his conflicting emotion over how easily she brought him to orgasm. She sat up fully and wrapped her arms around herself; looking away she gnawed on her lower lip.
Her gaze landed on Leslie’s body. She should have never even gotten to know Alex. She’d broken her own cardinal rule and got involved with an Ancient. Unfortunately, from the moment she’d laid eyes on him, she’d been drawn to him. It seemed that the Fates were conspiring against her. In the same night Ancient Alex and Sire Nicholai both decided to step into her life, the first killing the second and making her indebted to him. Then Alex goes and shows her the best sex she’s ever hand in her life, both Human and Vampiric.
Becka’s thoughts and emotions ran circles in her mind, and she realized she was hurt by Alex’s own thoughts and emotions towards her. He had gotten past her walls too easily and too quickly. She suddenly stood up and walked across the room. She stood with her back to him and hunched over herself. Her voice was soft and quiet. “If you wish to end this Alex… I’ll understand. I hold you to nothing, and I still owe you for Nicholai. I’ll still find that information you want. I’m sorry you have gotten tangled up in my mess.”
Alex was shocked at Becka's reaction to him. "It's nothing short of a miracle for me Becka. I'm falling in love with you and it's the most wonderful thing that has happened to me in over eight thousand years." It was the dire truth that he would not have told anyone but Becka. She found her way into him somehow and he wanted entanglement with her past the bounds of the sex they shared.
"Becka, you owe me nothing. Nicholai's death was only for me to set a wrong to hell and allow you to be you. This time together is nothing short of a lesson to me to reject all arrogance and admire truth. I've been away from real relationships too long. Please don't judge me for ignorance that has grown out of age in isolation. Your contact is too valuable to my soul.:"
The only advantage Alex had was that Becka would know the depth of his feeling and how much truth he was pouring into it. She had touched something Alex had buried far too long. Her bravery to touch it was far too important to deny.
"Becka, your mess is probably what it takes to keep me from wasting away to nothing. If I don't get entangled with you, I might never live despite immortality. There is something very special about you Becka. Please join me and let us search it out. My life has been dead without you. Something tells me my future doesn't mean anything without you. I don't know what it is, Becka. I just know it's true."
Sincerity was pouring off him and a dose of panic told all he was in danger of losing a valuable ally. "Submit yourself to me or control me to say yes. Leave me to silence to say no. I ask for your trust in me as an ally. You are free Becka. You decide." Alex felt an important decision was close from her and he had no power to do anything about it.
Becka flinched at his words at first; she then stilled and listened to him. She turned to look at him as he spoke. He didn’t move from where she’d left him, and she cocked her head at him. The sincerity came off him in waves, and she knew what he was saying was truth, least as he felt and knew it.
She took a step towards him, and then stopped. She chewed her lower lip as she studied him. She closed her eyes, and a pained look crossed her face, the war with her instincts plain both there and through their link. Opening her eyes, her painful war stark there, she hesitantly moves towards him, to finally settle next to him on the floor, but not touching him.
She looked at Alex, hurt, pain, anger, disgust, all skipped across her face and danced around. Finally, she takes a breath, and speaks. “You say I’m free. But am I really? I have scars that none can see, I’m so fucked up from my past…” She trails off and looks away.
She was explaining things badly and she hated that. Red tears started trailing down her face. How she wanted to trust Alex, but her instincts, everything she’d done to this point to protect herself from ever being hurt again warred with her want and need. Her turmoil floods their link letting him know just how torn she was over this choice he’d given her.
She turns her head back slightly and reaches out towards Alex, her hand stops and shakes until she curls it into a tight fist. The war with herself still contaminating their link, until finally she finishes the move and finally touches him lightly on the arm. “I want to trust you Alex. Part of me needs too, but…” Fear is stark in her eyes and dominates their link until images suddenly flood his mind.
Alex sees her and another girl, twin in every way to Becka, only they were opposites in personality. Her sister was the girl growing up, while Becka was frustrated with being a girl born in her time and unable to do things that were deemed un-girl-like. How, though their personalities were vastly different, they were inseparable. One always willing to take punishment for the other, that more often than not, both were punished whether both did it or not.
Both grew to the beauty Becka still displayed, her sister being married at the proper age, while Becka didn’t even rate suitors because no man wanted an outspoken wife who didn’t know her place. Which had suited Becka fine, though frustrated her parents to no end. To which she’d just shrug and say she’d have plenty of nieces and nephews to spoil, and she didn’t need anyone to take care of her, being better than most the men in the parish at most things anyway.
The next images to flood Alex’s mind is of her riding down a dark forest path, she had been returning home from visiting her sister, and encounters Nicholai. He quickly overpowers her and steals her away to his lair, where he Turns her into a Vampire. He keeps her chained and rapes her repeatedly, never feeding her for several days, making her feral. Finally he brings a Human to her, and instinct and hunger drive her to feed and kill. As she is finally sated, she can hear her name being screamed over and over in a very familiar voice.
Looking up she sees Nicholai holding her sister, and when she looks down she realizes it is her brother in law she just fed off of and killed. Nicholai hauls Samantha away as Becka cries tears of blood for what she’s done. He returns and repeats everything he has done before, starving her and raping her until she is once more feral. The next victim he brings her is her nephew, though she doesn’t realize it until she kills him. And once again he has her twin watching as she does so.
The last victim Nicholai brings her when he reduces her to a feral state again is her own twin, and like the last two, she never realizes it until she is sated and returned to herself. That third kill broke her for many years. It broke her so bad; Nicholai quickly became bored with her, and created another Fledgling. Why he never destroyed her as was his custom, Becka never knew. Instead he kept her around to serve him and foot like a slave. She had a feeling he kept her around as an object lesson for his Fledglings. Showing them how easily he could crush them and turn them like her.
After 50 years, she started dreaming about her twin. It was as if her twin was physically there and trying to bring her back to how she was before Nicholai, strong willed and determined to do things her way. At first she thought she’d finally started conjuring her out of guilt, but as her sister talked to her and prodded and poked, she came to realize it was truly her spirit returned to help her.
Slowly she started to come back to herself and pay attention to things around her. Nicholai had grown lax with her presence and brokenness. And shortly after being drug back to living she was able to make an escape and flee to America. She drifted around the new world, never staying in one place, afraid Nicholai was right behind her, until finally she came to California a century later, and drifted around it until San Francisco was started, sort of.
At first she kept a low profile and nearly walked into the Light several times when a Vampire drifted through, thinking it was Nicholai at first finally caught up to her. But over the decades she relaxed and started taking an actual interest in the going-ons of the fledgling town. She quickly learned how to adapt, and soon not only had The Bucket of Blood bought, but also much of the surrounding land. To this day she still owned several original tracts of land that were worth a million times plus what she’d originally paid for it. And some of the land she’d sold was once more in her possession, though much developed from its original barren state.
Finally her hand drops from Alex’s arm, and she wraps her arms around, opposite hands holding her shoulders. She was shaking badly from dredging up the memories and sharing them, though tears no longer ran down her face, and she was staring unseeingly at the floor just beyond her knees. She had put the figurative ball back in Alex’s court. She had shared with him something she had never shared with another.
Alex realized that Becka's situation was extremely difficult to deal with him. He wanted to make it easier. The intense emotion she endured to tell him her story was easy to feel. His own heart wrenching joined hers. Tears streamed down his cheeks when he realized just how evil Nicholai had been to her whole family.
Her loss was tremendous and Alex knew there was no way to help her. He was deeply impressed by how much Becka's strength showed through. She was simply amazing. "Let me show you my story. It's not as bad. I want to understand you Becka. I'm never going to trap you like that. It's not physically possible for you to get trapped like that anymore. The chains only held you because Nicholai's Sire will stopped you. You are right, the pain never goes away. It doesn't make you less of a vampire, though. You are an amazing vampire Becka. I think once you see my story, you'll realize just how impressive you are." Alex moved around to sit behind Becka and put his arms around her. He let his body be her seat to comfort her and then the visions of Alex's life started in Becka's mind.
Alex was eight as was Sophia. Their fathers were out fishing who were close friends and their mothers were out in the fields doing spring planting as the two children fixed and patched fishing nets. Alex had a crush on Sophia, but it was a complete personal secret. He would steal glances from time to time. It was Sophia that noticed the ship coming in. It was strange, big, and elaborate with sails having some bird design on it. The Alex in the dream didn't know it was Egyptian, but Becka could readily see that it was. Alex went to the end of the dock to see the strange sight and Sophia followed close on his heels, taking his hand for comfort. They watched as the ship pulled close to the shore and three bare chested men lowered a boat and rowed themselves into shore.
"Greetings fair sirs to our humble land," Alex said in a very ancient Greek as he bowed to the three men. They were wearing paint on their faces and it looked impressive. The men didn't reply though. The one in the middle said something curt that Alex didn't understand and the other two men grabbed the children. Sophia started crying, "Put me down, put me down." Alex didn't struggle though. Something told him to just stay calm and stick with Sophia. In the boat, he saw their mothers running down the hill screaming as the men hoisted them into the big boat. Their feet were already tied though and there was no way to return to Greece.
Egypt was not always a desert and as Alex and Sophia stood on the auction block in the early evening, wealthy citizens went through inspecting the slaves for sale. The two were easily the youngest and a couple took interest in them. "Serpham, these two children could keep the house picked up. Let's buy them," Cephia, the apparent wife of the man, said. The man was important looking, he placed his hand on Alex's shoulder and something felt strange. His other hand was on Sophia's shoulder. "You are right, Cephia, I'll go put in a bid."
Alex wakes up as the sun sets in a room. He is sixteen and dressed in a wool skirt that comes only to his upper thighs. Sophia is now sixteen too. Alex gets off his cot and moves over to Sophia. He speaks in Egyptian, "Sophia, the masters will be up soon, we have to get to work." Sophia wakes up and gives him a kiss, "Oh, Alex, won't you just take me?" She is dressed in a leather bikini. "You know it's forbidden by the masters. Come on, let's get to our chores. You have laundry and I have animals to feed."
Alex is out feed the sheep in the evening. The masters only do things at night. Cephia touches Alex's shoulder causing him to jump. He looks to see his Master and kneels and bows before her. "What is the desire of my master?" Cephia smiles. "Hold still." She bends her legs and runs her hands along Alex's back and over his ass. She reaches up under his skirt. "You have special services to perform." Alex is ashamed and aroused at the same time.
Alex is eating with Sophia on the floor in the corner of a simple kitchen. They are both scared. Voices carry in the night air. "How long Cephia? How long?" The masters are arguing. "He's just a slave, what do you care? You find out for yourself, you should already know anyway." Cephia's voice was indignant. "Fine," Serpham and answers. Serpham sweeps into the kitchen. The back of his hand smacks Alex in the face hard and he falls to the floor with a bloody nose. He grabs Sophia by the wrists and drags her away.
Alex is thrusting Cephia with gusto as a drop of blood falls out of his nose right into her mouth breathing with pleasure. Her canines grow into fangs as Alex's eyes grow wide and then her mouth closes over his shoulder.
Alex wakes up to being encased with dirt. He moves and to his amazement the dirt moves too, but not enough to free him. He heard Cephia in his mind. "I'm coming my sweet boy, you are safe from Serpham now. Sophia will survive too. Don't worry." An hour later the dirt is light from Cephia's digging and Alex wants to drink blood badly. Alex sits up to see Cephia, his fangs are out. "I brought you a treat my pet." They jump out of his grave that is in a cave and a prostitute is bound in dirt. "Go drink her blood, my pet. Fill her pussy for me as well." Alex obeys.
Alex slips into the house of the masters. They are away on a diplomatic trip and will not return until the next night. He finds Sophia in the kitchen. She is naked. Whip stripes cover her bottom and back of her thighs. Her hips are bruised. "Sophia," Alex says with grave worry on his voice. Sophia turns around and runs into Alex's arms. "Alex, they said you were dead." Tears run down her cheeks in streams. "It's horrible, Alex, the master takes me over and over again. It's horrible. You can have me now, They won't know." Alex gets a dark expression. His fangs grow as Sophia cries on his shoulder and his mouth closes on her neck.
Cephia sweeps into Alex's cave in a rage. "What have you done boy?" Sophia looks up from a dead young man with blood dripping off her lips in the corner while Alex faces Cephia. "He was raping her badly. It couldn't go on." Cephia's glare is dark and foreboding. "He's coming to kill you both. Do not remove the cloth from this necklace." Cephia places a gold chain around Alex's neck. He feels an ornament underneath the cloth that is elaborately woven into the bird design from the sail of the ship. The metal beneath is an Ankh from what he can tell. "Don't touch it. Don't do anything but obey Serpham when he comes." Cephia faded to mist.
Sophia comes up and stands next to Alex, taking his hand. Her naked body is no longer damaged. Alex stands with his skirt looking badly mismatched with the necklace about his neck. Serpham sweeps into the cave out of the night wearing a dastardly smile. "You two don't bow to your master anymore?" Sophia and Alex kneel and bow. "What is the desire of my master?" Alex chants. "You stole my slave, that's punishable by death. However, if you both do a very good job entertaining me, I might let you live."
Alex is on the floor in pain. Serpham is raping his ass when the added weight of Cephia forms. The necklace whips around Alex's neck and a burn smell starts filling the air after the soft rip of cloth and the snap of the chain from Alex's neck. Serpham roars in pain and rage as Cephia holds the Ankh to his chest and it burns into his chest. "Enjoying my pet, love?" Serpham tries to grab Cephia's hands from his chest and sling her off, but her legs have an iron grip on his waist and the Ankh has already sapped enough strength from his grip. Nail marks start to heal from Alex's ravaged body.
Alex cums into Cephia with the night sky lightening from the approaching sun. Sophia slips in the cave, "I've fed master," Sophia reports to Cephia. Alex gets up, his cock wet with sex. "You must return home master." Cephia smiles. "Don't worry Alex. I have made a deal with the council that will get you absolved of Serpham's murder." Cephia sweeps away.
Cephia gets to her coffin a mere few seconds before sunrise. She recoils in fear seeing the Ankh bare in the bottom of her coffin. "Alex and Sophia, you will DIE you TRAITOROUS...." The vision fades. Alex awakens quickened and Sophia rushes up to him in the cave. "She's gone, Alex, I can feel it in my blood. The magistrate must have arrested her. I wonder what their reaction was. We need to grab the Ankh back. Serpham has allies and we need to stop them." Alex gave Sophia a kiss. "I love you Sophia. I'm just glad you don't have to be raped anymore and we are free to share each other."
Terimat pulled the stone over the tomb entrance in time before Alex could jam the rock in place. "Sophia, we can get him tomorrow. I'm sorry. We have to go now." Alex pulled on her arm, but Sophia pulled away and ran towards the stone, "No! We finish this now. His pig uncle is horrible and they need a proper family reunion. He's the last one and we are done!" Alex wanted to pull her, but he could never bring himself to command her. "Okay, let's roll this stone, but we have to hurry." Alex and Sophia strained against Terimat to move the stone. Luckily, Terimat had been unable to sleep the day before and was weak. Alex and Sophia were winning the tug of war. As the stone finally rolled free, time was really up though. Alex let go and started flying to the tomb at full speed. He called to Sophia to follow. "No!" Sophia used the opportunity to jam the rock into the stone door and Terimat grabbed her wrist "We will both see the sun this day," he smiled. "Off me you pig. She whipped out the Ankh and burned his hand. Terimat's other hand whipped around and grabbed her hand away. "Is it worth it, Sophia?” he asked her. She broke his grip and started flying. Fear flooded over her more for Alex than for anything. "Alex, I'm coming." She pulled her hand free and started flying to their tomb.
Alex flew into the shade of their tomb and turned around. The sun broke the horizon and Sophia fell out of the air and landed twenty feet away in the grass. Tears flooded his eyes as Sophia lit up in smoldering smoke. "Alex! Sorry!" she screamed before a flame of dust and smoke erupted from her mouth. The vision whited out until he reached his coffin filled with dirt from the cave, climbed in, and fell asleep."
Alex stopped the visions. "You see, Becka. You are so impressive." Becka didn't wallow in revenge the way Sophia had. He was starting to feel love for Becka and he hoped that didn't upset her more. He couldn't hide it from her. They were too linked. "Becka, I love you." He wanted to just say it and be honest. He wasn't fishing and he knew she wouldn't be able to return it. It didn't matter to him now. They had both revealed their beginnings for the first time. Hepitut knew of all the vampires Sophia and Alex killed, but they never shared the moments. Becka had stumbled upon a room in Alex that had been empty forever. She could stay as long or as little as she wanted.
Becka was stiff at first as he held her; slowly she relaxed and molded her body to his. Her eyes closed as she received his images. At some point during the sharing, she turned enough to curl up in Alex’s lap and lay her head on his shoulder. One arm snaked between his arm and ribs to loosely wrap around his waist while the other came up and wrapped lightly around his neck.
When Alex stopped the visions, she raised her head and looked at him. Her hand trailed around his neck to his face to softly lay her palm against his cheek. “No, Alex, you are the impressive one. At least you didn’t disappear into a dark hole inside yourself, denying reality. You found a way to live with what happened to you.” Her eyes drop to stare about where his neck and chest met. “After… After I… killed my twin…” She stops briefly swallowing hard. “During that time until her ghost brought me back to myself, I don’t have any memories of, not any I can remember anyway.” She looks back up at him, respect and envy in her eyes.
Becka can feel his love for her through their bond, and she felt guilty about it. She didn’t love him in return; at least she didn’t think she did. Love was an alien concept to her anymore. The last time she’d known love was from her own twin. Even her parents wondered often how they’d been cursed with a child like her. All these tangled thoughts bled through their link for Alex to know. She had one more thing to share with him, and she opened her memories up to him once more.
This memory was far more recent, it was from last night. She had started to disappear back into that hole she’d mentioned at the knowledge that Nicholai was coming. She’d been on auto pilot by the time The BoB had been cleared and she’d sat at the table to await her Death. She hadn’t even been aware when Alex had given her the broken broom stick, or when Nicholai had finally showed up.
The only reason she’d never let go of the broom stick during Nicholai’s assault had been because her sister’s ghost had grabbed ahold of her hand and kept it firmly there. Her sister pulled her back from the darkness once more as Alex had battled Nicholai. Her voice strong in Becka’s mind.
“Stop this Becka, you have been free of that monster for nearly 400 years. Agathon will destroy him and completely free you now. You have built your life beyond anything we used to dream of. You need to stop this.”
“Mantha, you just don’t understand”
“Becka, I’m dead, I understand far more than you think. You and Agathon need each other. DO NOT ignore me on this. Trust him.” “
I can’t Mantha, I just can’t.”
“Becka!” Her sister went silent as the Quickening happened to Becka with the death of Nicholai.
Becka finally stopped the images, and looked away from Alex. With the sharing of their Beginnings, and this final sharing she’d done, Becka decided she would do her best to be open with Alex, blocking nothing through their link. With the way her mind could get manic, she’d probably drive Alex insane before too long.
Through their link, Alex could feel that even in this short time of knowing him, she’d come to care for him very much. But that care, scared her badly, and she honestly didn’t know if she could love him as he now loved her. She hurt over that and felt a strong guilt that she knew would eventually cause her to drive him away before he was hurt by her, or hurt her. There were other ways to hurt a person besides physical. She’d learned that from Nicholai as well. She finally looked back up at him sadly and apprehensively. She was uncertain how he would take all of this, and that too went through their link.
Alex was very intrigued by Mantha's words. He had never heard words from a soul not possessing a body. He knew souls didn't need bodies, but Mantha was something he was seeing for the first time in his life. Becka had said Alex pressed on, but not that much happened to Alex. Alex was not made to rip his loved ones apart. When he lost Sophia, he kept pretty low key. Becka had encountered much more than he had in her last 400 years. He was out of the loop and the political developments on the west coast were enough to tell him he was not paying attention at all.
Alex's mind pondered on Mantha's words. She was a powerful gift for Becka. She had said his real name and pronounced it properly in ancient Greek. He had not heard his name said for so terribly long. To hear her words in his mind that Becka and Alex needed each other was an impressive prophecy. It told him he would just have to use his patience with Becka and do what he could for her.
"What were your dreams that Mantha spoke of Becka?"
Alex could already guess how he needed Becka. Taking care of himself was empty in so many ways and way too easy. He needed to share himself with someone. Caring for Becka and wanting to learn about her was a vital reawakening for his soul. Sophia's loss had been devastating and his life had been truly undead since then. Becka was a key motivator and drive for him now. His love for her was a good burden. Love really didn't need a two way connection. His patience would supply what Becka couldn't.
Becka had shared very tender and important things with him now. It was obvious she was feeling something for him. He wanted to make that pay dividends for Becka. Mantha's mentioning Becka's previous life goals gave him a sense he needed to learn what they were and get Becka in touch with them again. Hopefully Becka would share those with him. It was his quest to learn them and help Becka find them now.
Mantha's and Becka's link was obviously one born of true love between the two of them. Alex guessed Sophia never called to him because her revenge thirst had tainted her love for him. In many ways, Becka's situation was similar to his old relationship. He had already been conditioned to fight for his love to the bitter end. He wondered what Mantha would have to say to him. Had Sophia just been a preparation to face Becka's demons? Was some kind of fate at work? Maybe the universe just was what it was and Mantha already knew Alex would hear what he needed to hear through Becka's vision. Alex was far past being afraid anymore. Sophia's revenge had pitted them against vampires that would have easily destroyed them if they weren't so caught up in their twisted activities. It had destroyed Sophia in the end. Alex would just have to continue to fight for Becka's trust. Maybe Mantha and Sophia could be restored in some way if he successfully breathed life back into Becka's dreams.
Becka had been watching him closely, feeling his emotions. She blinked at his question as she tried to re-align her thoughts to a life she hadn’t seen in 462 years. Her eyes glazed over as she thought and brought out of storage old memories. A fond smile graced her face and lit up her eyes as she started to remember. She gives a soft chuckle. “They weren’t dreams like when you sleep. They were more like what we thought the future would hold for us, or what we wanted it to hold for us.”
Her face darkens briefly. “Neither of us would have ever dreamed how our lives turned out in actuality.” She sighs and lets her hand finally leave his face to come to rest in her lap and she stares at it, lost in thought. “Mantha. Her full name was Samantha, as mine is Rebeckah. She called me Becka, and I called her Mantha, much to our parent’s disgust. We were identical twins, the only thing allowing people to tell us apart was our personalities. She was very much as a daughter at that time should be and act, where as I should have really been born a boy. It would have probably made things easier for everyone.” She shrugs slightly, and lays her head on his shoulder again. She also wraps her loose arm around his waist.
“She dreamed and talked about the things of that time that all girls seemed to always want, to get married, have a family. Me though, I wanted to learn weapons, and riding, being outdoors working the farm. She had many suitors when she turned 14. We used to laugh about them all when we were alone and couldn’t be overheard. She finally married Angus Ravenswood, and within the year birthed my nephew Patrick. Angus was good to her, and tolerated my oddities. And I adored and spoiled Paddy. I think I knew even then that I’d never have kids of my own.”
She stopped talking and her arms tightened around Alex slightly as she snuggled in closer to him. Through their bond her happiness at the memories could be felt, but it was tainted with sadness and guilt. Intellectual she knew that during those feral states when she’d killed her family, that the Hunger had blinded and drove her to feed and that in truth she wasn’t at fault, but she still felt guilty. Even though she’d been on the other side of that coin recently with Max, and she always tried to comfort him when his own guilt hit him, she couldn’t ever seem to take her own advice. Those thoughts leaked through to Alex, and she didn’t bother to try to stop them.
Finally she speaks again. “My life now is vastly different then that time, but I guess living for 481 years, times change. I own vast amounts of properties and businesses in and around San Francisco. Some I've sold and rebought, vastly different than they had started out. I have watched this town grow and become what it is. I’m overly protective of it, and want nothing to interfere or destroy or ruin it. The BoB is a haven for those who need much like Frisco herself is.”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed that there’s a large population of Vampires here. The more permanent residents, basically those who’ve settled here for 100 plus years, have learned to live together in Harmony and cooperation. I’m not the only one who watches out for Frisco, I’m just the oldest resident, meaning I’ve lived here the longest. There is still a transit population, mostly Younglings needing a break from Constant Human contact and wanting to be in touch with their own Kind, and Fledglings that somehow find out that Frisco is a good place to go until you can sort out your new existence.”
“I’ve already touched on how the Ancients and Old As Dirts on the Western Seaboard act elsewhere, and so far don’t interfere with Frisco’s way. It’s almost like we’re an experiment they’re waiting to fail.” She shrugs. “I have made it a point to avoid you Ancients, and as long as they keep their noses out of Frisco, I was happy for the ignorance. In hindsight, that was not the best decision I’ve made. But I have enough contacts, as do Terrance and Max, through their association with me that I’m sure we can soon find out who they are.”
She finally stops talking, and is content to just lay there in his lap for a moment or two and regroup herself. It had been a wild emotional roller coaster tonight. She realizes said night is almost over, and she grows depressed briefly, then turns apprehensive as she thinks of a way to keep them together through the day. Her coffin is more than big enough to hold both of them, she’d had it designed like that purposely after having to give up her coffin a time or two to help another. She is uncertain though how he’d feel about sleeping in a strange coffin, and hesitates to ask.
Alex, not having been buried in an actual coffin, had grave dirt that he had to sleep with. Cephia's blood that he drank to become a vampire had ran out of his body and straight into the earth. The coffin that he had in the BoB right now held that dirt and was not his normal coffin. He literally could sleep in any coffin that had his grave dirt moved to it. At times, Alex felt sorry for modern vampires that were stuck to a coffin, but he knew many just burned their coffins to create the grave dirt effect with them. Terimat pretty much died because his tomb was built facing the morning sun and he never got around to digging out the rock he had been converted on. At any rate, Alex was not particularly attached to any coffin. He only liked his coffins because they locked from the inside with no way to open them from the outside. If anyone ever locked him out, he could always just break his way back in, but that problem had never come up for Alex. He would have not had a problem residing with Becka at all. He just had no clue Becka's separation anxiety would have been allayed by him staying in her coffin. He also would consider placing his grave dirt with another vampire's coffin pretentious, though Becka would just have to suggest it to end up with a bunk mate during the day.
"We'll be together when we awake, Becka. I could move my grave dirt into that huge coffin you keep if it would make you feel better, but I don't know if you are ready to be that stuck to me." His humor was weak, but he hoped it would give Becka a small mental respite from having to sleep during the day.
Alex mused over Becka's story. Her dreams were there but she was living dreams now. "I'm glad you were not a boy." He smiled and winked at her as his arms gently held her stomach. If the ancients were up to no good it was quite possible they were looking to enslave more people. Why they would do such a thing was beyond him. Maybe Becka just needed him to end the tyranny threat. He wondered how Hepitut missed all of this activity. Maybe because North America just didn't interest him as much with so much of its roots destroyed by colonialism, but that didn't make a lot of sense. Hepitut was about as Buddhist as you could get while realizing Buddha was a good meal as well as a source of wisdom. Sometimes Alex wondered if Buddha was actually instructed by Hepitut. There would be no way Hepitut would let discord like this exist. Someone was hiding things and it had to be someone with pull.
"I think Samantha's message is about protecting Frisco and freeing other places. We'll have to see what the intelligence turns out to be. If Frisco is safe, maybe we need to push on the borders. Something nasty has to be going on and it sounds ominous from what you have told me."
Alex switched gears quickly. "How did you end up with the same surname as your brother-in-law?" That was kind of curious, though cousins did tend to marry a lot. He kissed Becka on the cheek and hugged her in close. Feeling her actual body really was an intense sexual treat. Even Sophia had been his fledgling and her contact had not been as alive as Becka's.
Alex tried to remember if he had met any ancient American vampires. They might be easier to deal with than the displaced European, African, and Asian vampires. Of course, they might be part of the problem. If this was a turf war of some kind between ancient American's and European colonists, things could be tricky to pick out.
Becka gave a weak chuckle at Alex’s joke. “You’re probably right. I think it’s just, well, ah hectic, never mind, I’m being an idiot.” Her sense of self seemed to be righting and sorting itself out and she was becoming more as she was before the whole Nicholai/Aaron adventures started. She withdrew slightly from him mentally. It wasn’t the walls going back up, but more like having him at arm’s length, far enough away to be more herself, but close enough to remind her they shared a bond.
She gave a snort. “Yeah well, if I had been a boy, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Heck, I might not even be a Vampire, thus we’d have never met.” She relaxes fully against him and gives a soft sigh. “Course, I’m rather glad I wasn’t born a boy too. Guys have such hang ups.” She was plainly teasing, her sense of humor finally resurfacing.
“Something nasty is going on, yes, but I don’t think Mantha, was meaning Frisco.” She gives a one shoulder shrug. “I took Ravenswood when I moved to this country. My family name was Locksenly. Coming to America, like so many other immigrants, was supposed to be a new start, a new life. I just couldn’t fully let go of my past, for various reasons, so I compromised.”
Becka finally wriggled for a moment and when done, she was turned around fully facing him, her legs wrapped around his waist along with her arms that sat slightly higher above where her legs settled. Why, she wasn’t quite certain, except she liked the feel of him close to her, and it felt right. She was shorter than most people, standing at 5’4”, but they still seemed to fit like a couple of jigsaw pieces. And she was being an idiot again, and mentally shook the thoughts from her head.
Looking at Alex with a cocked head she asks, “Just who is Hepitut, and why are they so important to you?” Curiosity was all that dominated her thoughts as she asked. She’d never known any Vampire who held another in such high regard as Alex seemed too.
Alex enjoyed looking deep into Becka's blue eyes. They were like icy fire to him. "Hepitut is a vampire about three or four thousand years older than me. He lives in Africa. It looks like humanity really did spring from there, because that's where I always find the oldest vampires. The ancient society I know doesn't behave the way this one does on the west coast. Wars have been running over territory and feeding rights for too long and the older you get, the more you realize that creating problems causes your mortality to catch up on you. The council of the eldest pretty much ensures vampires spread out and don't overfeed. Hepitut oversees that council. Vampires are not supposed to meddle with other vampires anymore and there is not supposed to be wanton siring going on to build forces anymore. Nicholai was pretty much supposed to have been destroyed with Vladd's dark revolution in Europe. What started as a freedom from royalty movement for fledglings was quickly uncovered as a sadist band looking for freedom to inflict as much pain as possible without getting in trouble with the ancients. Fledgling creation is supposed to keep pace with population growth. You pretty much have to move to China, South America, or Africa if you want a fair number of fledglings these days because of the stability of population in the first world human nations. The council is looking for balance. At my age you just want a healthy herd of humans that doesn't need a lot of interference to keep their society running. Hepitut wants balance as does the elder council. The wars have been ugly and it looks like someone is trying to start another one. With nuclear weapons, I'm not so sure vampires can survive a big war anymore. I have yet to meet a vampire that survived the blasts in Japan."
Harmony was the name of the game and Alex believed in it with all of his being. Sadism disgusted Alex. He only used pain for pleasure; all he really had to know was what limits his partner had.
Alex didn't quite get Becka's return joke. "Hang ups? Is that a physical pun?" Alex really had learned to be sexually open. Becka being bisexual was going to see Alex's heterosexuality as bigoted, but Alex could no more switch than a homosexual. His first rape had caused him arousal from Serpham being aroused at his pain. Alex had been humiliated by his erection at the time, but later as a vampire discovered it was generated by his rapist and not him. It was an honest truth that he would take it up the ass just to give Becka pleasure from it. He would have to explore her sexuality more over time, but feeding and their personal relationship would bring it all out.
He finally got to the main item that concerned him though. "What do you think Mantha meant? Do we need to return to Ireland?" Running off to an adventure in Ireland sounded exciting in many ways. In other ways it sounded like a potential honeymoon or a potential struggle. Maybe that was where the demons needed slaying. Maybe Frisco was just a hiding place.
Becka stared at him in dumbfounded shock. A Vampire 4000 years older than Alex? “Wow, that takes Ancient to a whole new level.” She shakes her head boggled. “I think I just hurt my brain.” She once more lays her head on his shoulder and sighs. “Now I’m going to have to come up with another name for Old Assed Vampires.”
She gives a snort at his question. “No it’s not a pun. Males have serious issues. Are they big enough? Are they bigger than the next guy? Can they one up their buddy and win the girl? And can they live with a girl making more money than them. The list goes on and on. Nope, I’d much rather deal with: Am I thin enough? How bad is my hair looking? Wonder if they have that outfit/shoes in my size?” She snorts again. “Though to be honest, those aren’t my concerns anyway, and generally annoys the crap outta me in others.” She gave a slight shake of her head and frowned as she contemplated his questions of Mantha and Ireland. “I do not know, Alex. Maybe, but I’d like to find what we can here first. See where it goes…”
She trails off, lost in thought. She hadn’t been back to Ireland since she’d fled Nicholai. A part of her would like to return and see how much her home had changed, but part of her didn’t want to change the memories she had of the place.
A quiet knock came from the door and her head popped up as it opened. Max walked in once more, he looks over them and then sees Leslie. He moves to the body and picks it up. With a slight nod to Becka, he once more goes to the secret door and takes the body away. Becka gives a snort. “Max deserves better than cleaning up after me. Strange, that one.”
"Give a man a label, you don't have to understand him anymore do you?" Alex smiled at her old jibes. It actually related to her comments about men. She had the same issue as men had. The males were not really necessary. About 10% of the males could keep the females all pregnant if they wanted it or not. This rendered men disposable so the sex race was far more cut throat for them than women. A woman was going to find sex if she wanted it. A man could die without sex if he wasn't willing to rape for it. It made a vicious little cycle.
Becka hated ancients because she watched misbehaving ones fall into the trap of hurt or get hurt. Vampires that really had a hold on reality understood you were already hurt if you were a vampire. The idea was to not hurt others you didn't have to and the resulting peace would reduce the amount of hurt that came your way. Aaron and Leslie died with smiles on their faces. If they accidentally returned, they would come back with smiles instead of revenge. Becka was having trouble dealing with being low on the food chain and being considered disposable because of it. She couldn't have children and she was under the same male problem that was more a function of age than anything. Was she older than the next guy? It didn't matter if you made good friends. She didn't learn the lesson of Nicholai yet. She had a friend that could stop fools like him. You didn't have to say die, all you had to do was ask for help from someone older. Of course, Alex kept that ankh just in case he did run into a problem older than him, but Becka knew how that worked now.
Alex understood he would have to wait for the reports to find out what was going on and how to resist or fix whatever storm loomed. At least he had beautiful company to do that with. Oddly enough, Samantha being dead rendered her older than any vampire. Becka had a powerful ally in her. Samantha probably had access to the wisdom of the universe. Alex had no idea how old the universe was. He heard the humans say they could only see 13 billion light years into the universe and that must be how old it was. Alex knew better than to give such weight to what you see. Alex guessed the universe was infinite.
"Max is a good one. Maybe we can do him a favor for being so helpful. What does he like?" Alex didn't much like being picked up after like that. He was used to cleaning up his own messes and Max doing it for him was unnerving. Alex didn't even get around to snapping Leslie's neck, though he was still certain she would not come back as thrall. It was just an odd quirk in Alex. It was probably a relic of having hunted so many vampires in his time. What he hunted was never good and it was always nasty business. He was glad Samantha helped him out with Nicholai. He needed that wood close to Nicholai so Nicholai could not turn to mist and escape. If Becka had dropped it before Nicholai grabbed the stake, Alex would have only chased him off and then had to deal with whatever mess the vampire could conjure.
Becka had resettled her head against Alex’s shoulder, and one of her hands was idly tracing designs on his lower back, she wasn’t even aware that she was doing it. “Not true Ancient. Just because you label something doesn’t necessarily stop you from trying to understand. If that were the case, you and I wouldn’t be here now. I would have walked away after confirming that you were Ancient. Your clothes and attitude gave me the suspicion, and your card confirmed the rest. I needed to understand why an Ancient was now lurking in Frisco. As I’ve said, Frisco is a town of Younglings and Fledglings. Max is as close to Old Blood as Frisco has.”
Suddenly her head pops up off his shoulder and she looks at him wide eyed, for a second. Her expression turns amused and sly and she softly starts to laugh. “Oh, Ancient, I think you will flush out what we want to know quicker than us trying to ferret the information.” She pauses and her eyes go distant as thoughts start whirling in her mind. She slowly nods. “We’ll do a twofold Hunt. We’ll still fish for the information but let it be known an Ancient’s moved into town.”
Once more she stops, and looks at him with a frown. “That is unless you have your own business to return too. I know you were here just for the Hunt…” She trails off and then switches subjects to answer his other question. “As for Max,” she gives a shrug, “I really can’t say for certain. I found him a few decades back. He was feral and haunting the hills around here. He was killing, but not eating. At first I thought him a Lycan, but the small pack that lives here had told me he wasn’t one of theirs. I finally stepped in to end him when some rather prominent member of Frisco society started turning up dead. That was quickly becoming a nightmare.”
Images flood their link as she remembers that Hunt. The Lycan’s had joined her; there was Terrance and two other Vampires. It had taken several nights for them to corner Max, and when they finally did, it was a horrid fight. The two other Vampires had been killed; several of the Lycans had been sorely wounded, and she and Terrance nearly killed as well. With help, she’d managed to force him to feed, which was what had killed the two Vampires and nearly her and Terrance, but it had brought Max back to himself.
She didn’t mourn the loss of the Vampires, they’d been asking questions that had the permanent residents on edge, and the situation managed to cure two things in one fell swoop. She finally shakes her head. “Max doesn’t talk much, and I’ve never pushed him. Until recently, he’s stayed below The BoB and not been visible. I guess he’s come along enough that he’s willing to play Bouncer. I accept him as he is, and this is home for as long as he wants.”
She shrugs, perhaps not the brightest thing most business savvy people would do, but Becka wasn’t like most. She saw things differently than most Vampires did, and thus far it had not steered her wrong. By owning The BoB and taking part in it, she’d managed to gain back and retain a Human like quality about her. She wasn’t distant and standoffish like most Vampires became, she was quick to laugh and joke and smile. She would listen if someone needed a shoulder, and she helped those who truly needed it. She had an odd empathy with Vampires, Lycans, and Humans, and was probably one of the few who could say she actually had friends in all three circles.
Alex had to smile at Becka accusing him of lurking. Her bigotry was still obvious even in her defense of her position. Every vampire, person, and Lycan was different. They all had stories and all had things that made their existence what is was and what they wanted it to be. Alex never lurked. His business always had a rhyme and reason. His victims had a good reason to die. Whether it was a human with destructive habits or a vampire that feasted on pain instead of blood. The earth did not have any lines on it. Even the ocean rose and sank while the water changed the contours of the shore. It took people to draw lines and those lines were just as fickle as the foolishness it took to draw them. It didn't matter in the end. Becka would see evil resided everywhere from freshly fed fledgling to deeply seasoned ancient.
Becka's investigative statement struck a chord in Alex's mind. For whatever reason, the old vampires on this coast did not enter this territory. Alex was now going to violate their neutrality law with a strong fledgling ally in Becka. One of the fools would probably come to him to explain a piece of the puzzle. It would be interesting to hear them justify themselves. Alex was one to enjoy the heart of the matter, and whoever came was probably going to beat around the bush and get spanked away if not killed depending on how rude and threatening they were. Alex didn't control others and he really had no mercy for others that did. Trying to control him was a recipe for a new suntan for most vampires. "You are right, Becka. That is a good point. We can do our own hunting.." Alex would try a little rebuke to knock some of Becka's prejudice loose. It was dangerous, but they were so close now, it seemed a very valuable tool. "Now, Mantha calls me Agathon. If my old label is necessary, I think that name does better than ancient. Pyramids are ancient. Why objectify me? When you understand me, my friends call me Alex. Considering you know more about my beginning than someone other than myself now, I think you understand the term ancient is just an attempt to demean me." Ancient was not a term he used. You didn't hear Hispanics calling each other spics unless it was in jest. You didn't hear blacks calling each other niggers unless they had an extremely close relationship or they were being very crude to each other. Whites wouldn't even call themselves Caucasian as brutally correct the term was. They tended to call themselves whatever land they took from others, like American, Australian, or Canadian. It was a kind of sad testament to their bigotry. Alex had a feeling Becka was boiling him down with a kind of disdain in calling him ancient. It would be curious to see if she was finally getting a dawn of wisdom with herself. If she really was being endearing with it, he would be happy to know it so the label took on the connotation of 'sweetie' instead of 'foreigner'.
Max's behavior was odd and Alex started guessing he knew more about what was going on more than anyone. He was aiming high and killing hard. He was also the oldest here. Either Becka had brought in a very dark soul, which he doubted. Max was just too cool calm and collect to be a feral fool and he didn't smell of a sadist at all. Max probably had uncovered something that sent him to a psychological hole. There was some key information in his mind as demonstrated by the high end, visible people he killed. Lots of extremely evil people used celebrity to keep themselves alive. Alex would have never come for Aaron if he was actually a renowned CEO of a major corporation. He was just a stock con artist that no one liked or cared about so taking him out was easy and a good move for humanity. "Max knows something key if my instincts serve me right, Becka. It's time to understand him. We need to earn his respect so he knows I am his ally just as he already understands you are. Someone is eating his goat. That's why you had to feed him by force. Whoever is that strong, it's probably going to take Max and me cooperating to trap and destroy them. You will probably be the main pin to give us the extra edge of victory. Teamwork is key and your contacts are more powerful than me. Evil people only count on themselves in the end. The people worth fighting for count on each other to do their part. Just as I had to count on Mantha and you to beat Nicholai, we need to explain to Max his value and how we need to count on him. Sophia and I would be slaves to this day if we didn't count on each other."
Alex gave Becka a kiss. She could feel all the bad feelings she wanted about him. She was good at the core and Alex would suffer her wrath for a chance to dance with her and feel that good part of her over and over again. "The day is approaching. Maybe it's time to retire and we can talk to Max in the evening."
Becka gives Alex a disgusted look. “Fine, Agathon. We shall Hunt together once more.” She looks away and thinks about who she needs to contact that Terrance and Max probably haven’t already. She’ll have to check with the Lycans, both Vampire wouldn’t approach them, Max for obvious reasons, nor Terrance, and with Terrance one didn’t always know the reasons why. She didn’t mind though, since she actually enjoyed hanging with the Lycans and now that she thought about it, it had been a while. She’d also have to approach the elite circles; she knew they looked down on both her friends as her lackeys, though that wasn’t the case. She’d probably better take Alex along for those meetings, though she wasn’t entirely sure about taking him to the Lycans.
Her thoughts moved so quick in sorting things, that all Alex received was images of Lycans, Upper Crust Society Vampires, Terrance, Max, herself and himself. He did get solid impressions that he’d have to rub elbows with the elite Vampires with Becka though. Amusement flooded through their bond intensely as flickering images of him meeting the local pack flashed through her mind.
Becka finally shook her head coming to the decision that she should probably introduce the Ancient Vampire to the local pack. They too knew that the city was absent Old Bloods, and to avoid any trouble, she’d better let them know Alex wasn’t a target. She then gave a sigh as she turned her thoughts to Max with Alex’s change of the subject.
“We can try, but I doubt we’ll get very far. Yeah, I don’t pry, on important things. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t tried on lesser things. Like which of his many books are his favorite. I got a shrug, nothing else. Even when I asked him something as simple as what he was reading, I didn’t get an answer, so I backed off and left him alone, in respect.”
Becka kisses Alex back and then easily and gracefully rises to a standing position and walks over to their clothes. Bending at the waist she grabs her dress, and throws it over her shoulder. She then grabs his and tosses them at him. “You are right. We should retire. While I sleep, I can sort more of who to contact, and maybe Mantha will come along for a visit as well.” She walks across the room to the painted arch and standing on her tiptoes, she reaches up to release the catch that opens the door there. “Come, this will take us below.” She disappears through the doorway, and waits for him on the other side to close the door behind him.
Alex caught his clothes and tucked them under his left arm. His analyst could run his business for now. He had more pressing attention to give the west coast.
As they walked across the room Alex had bad news to give Becka. "Becka, you are head vampire in your line now. Dreams during the day is human. While you can now be awake during the day, your sleep will be very dead. Samantha may be able to interact with you, but it will be at her call, not yours. Don't tarry long in the shadows during the day though. You have to sleep three times as long to recover from it and you are rendered human in power until you do. Three days without sleep is fatal and you would be feral to awake from such a long slumber for much more than a day. You know how bad a price that is." Alex had only missed one day of sleep at a time and that only happened twice. Both times had been a nightmare and taught him to always stay close to his grave dirt. The first time he was with Sophia. They had to make a long trek back to their tomb that should have been an easy flight for them. They were tired and sore when they arrived only a few hours before dawn. Had the vampires that wanted them dead found them that night, they would have been powerless to prevent their own deaths. It was the first night without sex as well. Three days later they had had to feed quickly. Their kills had been without bravado. They had simply found two hapless men wandering out late and drunken and devoured them after a very short chase full of terror for the humans. Neither of them could draw their fangs in and the hunger had been powerful. Their sex immediately following had been pretty vicious as well. They had tussled like two mad Lycans and had some pretty nasty gashes and bruises to recover from. The second time was against Vlad's revolution. Alex had been cut off from his coffin and had to hide in the sewers of Paris. The rats had actually been hunting him to his horror. They seemed to know he was vulnerable and had some kind of rabid hunger to feast on his vulnerable flesh. He could not recall the number of rats he had to kill and he was a fairly chewed up mess when he finally reached his coffin the next night. The feeding had been more controlled for him, but it was still straight forward and his victim ran in horror just from the site of a man that looked like he had been mauled by rats.
It was going to be interesting to see the reaction of the Frisco elite when they discovered Alex was the CEO of AVAMP. His commodity business was very well known and respected in the upper tiers of vampire society. Humans ran the day-to-day aspects of it these days. Alex took care of special projects like Aaron. Even the mob knew of his company as it was a cash cow elite traders liked to ally with. He could probably buy Bill Gates out of Microsoft, but that would be a stupid move. Alex learned to lay low to survive and he never mentioned he was the CEO of AVAMP. Usually just saying he was an employee was enough. Most vampires didn't know he was the only vampire in the company and it was so old from running stocks at the beginning that vampires didn't think twice about Alex being an employee. It usually got him all the respect he needed to get the job done as well. Becka was a certain oddity in that respect. He supposed that was why he loved her. She respected him for something she was seeing that wasn't his money or age.
As Alex stepped through the arch he closed the door behind him. He was well experienced with doors from the ancient elaborate to the modern technological wonders of security. While the basement of his manner used the old ones, the vaults of his company used the cutting edge stuff.
"I'll just have to find out what Max wants and give it to him to hope he talks. He's key in this business somehow. He has taken to you, so I’m guessing he's on the right team."
Alex hoped the locals didn't try to rip him to shreds. It was probably going to take Becka to keep them from his throat. They had all seemed to suffer from the younger and worst of vampires and somehow the level headed ones had not found them yet. Alex was starting to wonder if the truly old were just getting too sleepy. How could such hate have been allowed to build for so long?
Becka shuddered as he mentioned what her life could become now that she didn’t have a Sire. Feral was a state she never wanted to visit again, and thus far she’d managed to avoid it. She led him down to the Sleeping areas below and turned a corner. Soon they stood before the door that his coffin hid behind.
She turned to look at Alex. “I suppose you can try. Should I just leave you then to try to speak with him alone tomorrow?” While she waited for his reply, she fiddled with the dress on her shoulder. With the help of Alex’s arm and chest and various parts of her own body, she soon has the dress wrinkle free and folded into a flat parcel, ready to be put back in the chest she’d pulled it from.
Suddenly she realizes she left their shoes back in the room. “Crap. We forgot our shoes.” At that moment hers are now dangling in front of her eyes, which grow wide in surprise briefly. Snatching the shoes out of the air she whirls around. “Max, would you please stop that! Damnit man, you don’t need to be picking up after me.”
Max gives her an indulgent smile, ruffles her hair and then gently turns her to face down the hall and gives her a slight push. “Go to sleep Rebeckah, I need to speak with your… friend a moment.” She stops and looks at him over her shoulder, but then shrugs and leaves, not about to argue with the look he’d just given her.
“Morning Alex, Max, I’ll see you tonight then.” Soon her figure disappears into another room. Max’s face is unreadable as he turns back to Alex. He waves to the door, “may we?”
"Sure, maybe we can connect." Alex wanted to learn what was bothering Max. It was important.
He gave Becka another kiss as she worked her dress flat.
"Morning, Becka, sleep well." Alex bid Becka her sleep and gave Max a thoughtful expression. There was no need to play poker with Max.
"Absolutely, Max." Alex opened the door and let Max through. He was all ears for whatever Max was going to offer and was fine about answering whatever questions Max might have. "Something tells me you know a lot and I don't know much right now."
Max followed Alex into his room. He quietly stood there as Alex closed the door and spoke. His expression never changes, and when he speaks his voice has respect, but not groveling respect. "I know many things Ancient One; I have been around for a while. What I do not know, is why you are here, and why you are messing with Rebeckah.” His voice doesn’t lose the respect, but it does take on protective steel.
Studying Alex for many long moments, he seems to clearly come to a decision. “I do not know if Rebeckah has told you about San Francisco’s lack of Old Bloods, but they do not seem to come here. At all. You are the first since this city has been founded. Younger Vampires and Fledglings though do seem to flock to this place, seeing it as a sort of refuge. Rebeckah has lived in this same area the longest than any other Vampire. I think only the Lycans precede her on who lived here first.”
“Because of this, the Vampires that have chosen this place as their permanent residence look to her for guidance and leadership. She is the glue that holds the Community here together, and if you ever tell her that, she will depart to places unknown. She only sees herself as a small fish in the larger pond of life, and to know that many look to her would have her running more scared than she had been of her Sire. Rebecka is strong, but she is fragile too. Do not hurt her; otherwise the whole Community here will rise up against you, including Humans and Lycans.”
“As for her request to find the Ancients for you, Terrance and I have been busy tonight. There is an Ancient One in Los Angeles and Sacramento here in California, Eugene and Ashland, oddly enough in Oregon, Spokane in Washington, Reno and Carson City in Nevada. But after we’d conferred and cross-referenced our informations, we have come to the realization, that they aren’t what are driving the oddities here on the West Coast. For that you may have to go further. Have Rebeckah talk to the Lycans, they have the longest memories of this area. They should know when exactly this festering started. In the meantime, if you care to double check us, here is our gathered information.”
He hands Alex a folder filled with loose leaf papers and moves to the door. Once there, he pauses and looks back at Alex. “I do not threaten you Ancient One, I just want to warn you, Rebeckah has taken to you, and my own respect for her compels me to do what I must to protect her to the best of my abilities.” With that he leaves Alex to his rest and seeks his own.
It was very disappointing to watch Max miss the mark and not even bother to check that he had. Alex had come to get rid of a bad person and happened upon a fellow vampire in need. He wasn't 'messing' with Rebeckah. Something was linked about them and he was just following it.
Max's insight on the Lycans was something to go off of. Maybe they had struck an accord with the vampires and that's why none of them bothered coming here. Maybe Lycans were going to hunt him down and find out why he violated some political agreement. Alex wasn't going to be very happy about being treated different than any other vampire. People in this place were losing respect from him quickly by rushing to judgment.
Max's assessment of the community only was a reflection of the bigotry they harbored. It was a complete misjudgment of him without inquiry yet again. Becka was not someone he was looking to hurt. It was quite opposite. If this community chose him as an enemy, he would be happy to undo their evil just as swiftly as he undid Nicholai. If there was one thing Alex did, he tried to make sure killing him was a step in the wrong direction. This community did not understand that choosing your enemies was just as defining as choosing your friends. It was a young mistake and pretty much sunk them as a whole. He would just have to bear with the unpleasantness to get to the real bad part of what was going on.
Alex would love to know how Samantha felt about Rebeckah's place in Frisco and lack of it in Ireland. It was something beyond him though. He just had to explore the rabbit hole on his own.
Alex took the information with a "Thank you." There was no need to double check it. While they were unable to trust him without imparting warnings, Alex was very comfortable trusting them to do what they thought was right. Rebeckah had given the order and they had done a wonderful job.
Max had revealed nothing of what put him where he was or what was closing him up. A key issue was lost for now. The only step to go from here was the Lycans. It was amusing Alex had not even been aware of their survival past the Vlad Revolt. Many had pitched in with Vlad and had almost become synonymous with sadistic behavior as a result of their poor choice of friends and enemies. The bad news was Alex had no silvered weapons. He bet they had wood. It was a recipe for disaster if they wanted to kill him. Becka was going to have to lead that investigation. Alex might not even be able to go. Alex lay down in his coffin and pulled it closed. It would be nice to see Rebeckah in the evening.
As Max started to pass by her room, Becka popped her head out and then stepped out more. She was dressed back in her usual jeans and t-shirt preference. Max looked at her with a mild rebuke. “You should sleep.”
She gave him a sour look. “Max, you are neither my Father, nor my older brother. And never mind you are older than me, and thus my Elder, but quit acting like my nurse maid suddenly.” She studied him for just a moment, “something about Alex bothers you.”
It wasn’t a question and Max debated continuing the conversation, or just blocking her like he usual did. He had a deep respect for Becka, and it had nothing to do with her bringing him back from his feral state, or that she was the longest residing resident of San Francisco. No, it was the fact that while she’d poke, she wouldn’t pry, respecting boundaries others set forth. He’d learned this near three quarters of a century living with her that her pokes were more for her own curiosity then actually searching for information to hold over another. She just wasn’t wired that way.
Strangely, though he chose not to share with this woman, he still trusted her unconditionally. What had started as a test had over the decades turned into a game of sorts. He refused to even answer her mundane and trivial questions at first, seeing how she’d react. When she’d backed off with a shrug, he’d been fascinated, and leery, thinking she’d try from another angle. He knew Vampires could be patient, though not generally a trait in Younger Ones, and he was truly surprised that as the years turned to decades, that she really wasn’t concerned over him virtually telling her nothing about himself. He eventually learned she was content with just the fact that he was himself again, and delighted one as old as him thought The BoB was a good place to live.
He’d also made quiet inquires on her, and that was how he’d discovered how the Vampires of San Francisco viewed her. Oh, there were those few who disliked or hated her, after all not everyone in the world was meant to get along, otherwise there’d never be wars. But even those few respected her in an odd sort of way. And Max eventually came to the conclusion that those who actually hated or disliked her were in fact envious of her.
Becka’s bent on life was odd to say the least. She ran a bar that catered on the surface to Humans, but was in truth a Haven for Vampires if needed. Her employers knew what she was, she refused to hide that fact, and she had strict rules about her Human employees mingling with Vampires in general. She also made sure to teach them how to tell the two apart, wanting no mistakes. He didn’t know her reasoning for this, but had a feeling it had to do with her original days in San Francisco.
Another rule she had was that no Vampire could feast of the regulars of The BoB. That though he could understand, too many deaths linked back to The BoB and there’d be too much prodding into their affairs. Both he and Terrance made sure that rule was followed to the letter. Though they usually only had to warn new Vampires that had blown into San Francisco.
Finally, he comes out of his musings and carefully pushes her back into her room. Closing the door with his heel, he looks at her and decides it is now time to let this woman inside a bit. “Not exactly, more I am bothered with the two of you.” He watches Becka cock a brow and knowing her like he does; he cuts her off before she can say anything. “You are moving too fast Ice Eyes. You don’t even know him.”
The use of a name he’d called her back at the beginning of their relationship made her smile. “Max, calm my friend. Everything will be alright in the end, regardless of where he and I end up, or don’t end up.” She walks up and gives him a hug. “Thank you though for your concern.”
“I have never told you why I became feral or more properly how.” She starts to step back, but he holds her in the hug she’d initiated. “Let me finish Rebeckah, I know you’ve never pushed for information from me, and I appreciate that, but now you need to know things you didn’t before. I am old Rebeckah, and I too no longer have a Sire. The Ancients here made me feral. They helped anyway. I am too old and powerful as my own Vampire for even a handful of Ancient Ones to have any control over. No there was an even older One behind them, I felt the Age.”
“Something from my time as their captive though, stuck with me. They do not come to this area because of the Lycans. Something about this being Sacred Ground. No Vampire is supposed to be here, not even us Younger Ones and Newly Made. They can’t come here and put us all down as long as we don’t leave the Bay Area. They don’t understand why the Lycans have allowed us to live here.”
Becka let him go and turned away to plop into a chair. “Wow…” She is stunned and not sure what to say. She looks up at him, a bit lost and it hurts him to have to so bluntly tell her how it is. He moves over to her. “He’s an Old Blood, Rebeckah, he shouldn’t have even been able to step foot in this area. Something about it is supposed to repel Old Bloods, and should they ignore that, this place will drive them insane.” Dropping to a knee to look up into her face as she’d bowed her head, he speaks softly. “Just watch yourself with him, do not let yourself get hurt. And always be wary, he may do things he won’t have any control over. I’m not sure how this all works, it’s all New World magicks.”
He pats her knee and rises. “Get some sleep; you do not want to stay up past the sunrise so new into your powers. Trust me on this.” He turns to leave and hears her soft reply before he shuts the door.
“I understand. Thank you.” Becka rises automatically at his order and goes to her coffin for the day.
Alex woke up in the evening and rose from his coffin. It didn't take long to get dressed. He had a very bad habit of using seven different copies of the same outfit. With Max being a dead end, he was going to have to get Becka's help to approach the Lycans. Alex was going to have to be very careful about getting close to them because he had no real way to combat them while they had means to dispatch him if they could get wood into his heart.
He wondered where those two bottles of Merlot had got off to that had been left behind from the intensity of the last two nights. Certainly no one would throw them away. He figured he would go upstairs, inquire around, and see if he could locate the missing bottles. If someone had enjoyed them already, that was fine, but he didn't want them tossed without being enjoyed. The activity would give him something to do while he waited for Becka and explained how Max told him the Lycans might know something. The vampires were a dead end including Max. He slipped up to the bar in a good mood.
Becka had long ago trained herself to rise with the setting of the sun to start her night early at The BoB. She was already upstairs and talking to Terrance and Max. She was going over the dealings of The BoB for the night since she’d be away, again. She was dressed in skin tight jeans, and a slinky and silky half top with spaghetti straps. Her feet were covered in knee high moccasins. All of it was in varying shades of grey.
She notices Max and Terrance both look over her head at something behind her, turning she spots Alex. She frowns and shakes her head walking up to him. “You aren’t seriously planning on wearing that tonight are you?” Her hand smacks her face and then runs down it, while she sighs. Suddenly she grabs him and starts dragging him out of the bar towards his car. “Look, any other time, I wouldn’t care, but for tonight, you need something that says, well, that you aren’t old.”
Once at the car she leaves him at the driver’s side and quick steps to the passenger side and gets in. Once he’s in the car, she starts giving him directions and soon they are in front of a store. “Come on, they should have something you can tolerate wearing.” She gets out of the car and waits on him. The shop was run by a Lycan, and tended to clothes of more natural materials than synthetic.
Alex had to hand it to Becka, she sure knew how to dress sexy. He was about to ask about the Lycans, but she was obviously upset at seeing Alex, which was rather a shock to him. When he explained he always wore the outfit her reaction was not a good one. Why what he was wearing was a big deal was a bit beyond him. It worked at nightclubs where the food was, where else was dress really required? He was surprised the outfit said 'old' to anyone. You would really have to know your dress to know just how old it was and it looked rather business casual to him.
When the trip to the car was completed with Alex carrying a surprised look, mostly because he wasn't even bothering to watch his facial expression, he asked, "What are we doing tonight? I was wanting to see about talking to the Lycans. There is a rub there though. I'm a bit short on silver for protection."
It was nice to get to drive and Alex definitely did not hold back again. He did slow down spotting a policeman on the horizon at one point. "Sorry I'm not into the fashion scene, Becka. I just have never needed it for anything but night clubs really. The business community has to put up with me and I don't tend to do much else past reading." He honestly felt bad for being out of touch with the dress requirements for a night he didn't know what was going to happen in.
Alex wasn't used to not opening the doors for his dates. Becka was far past the title of date and not opening the doors for her was almost sacrilegious. He bit his tongue though. It might be considered too old fashioned for her or something. He just never knew a woman that didn't appreciate it and he was more than happy to help someone out with as simple of a thing as opening a door. When it came to the store door, Becka was just going to have to go through the door opened by Alex. He was a lot older and faster to make sure he could open it first.
Alex stepped into the store. Stepping into a store was odd for him in the first place. Stepping into a clothes store was even odder. Intending to buy something was absolutely outlandish. His analysts were going to think he went mad when they saw the bill come in on the computer. "I'm fine wearing anything. It is just this silk feels so good. Nothing can top it." There was also no sense in looking particularly appealing to someone outside the night club scene until now. He would wear a leather thong if he thought it would help Becka out.
As it were, he wasn't sure what the look needed to be for whatever the meeting was. He would pretty much have to take Becka's lead. He did have some odd things. Buttons were preferable to zippers, but the less metal in his clothes, the happier he seemed to be with them. The material did not matter at all to him beyond how smooth it felt on the skin. Solid colors tending toward black were preferable over any kind of design. He knew they needed some kind of look for him though, so he went with what she suggested in the end.
Becka gave him a charming smile as he opened the door for her. She was no longer used to such courtesies as they became outdated with the whole feminine movement that happened a few decades back. She looped an arm through his as she led him deeper into the store. She looked up at him. “Look, normally your dress will pass anywhere, but tonight, where we need to go, it will cause… difficulties. And we don’t need that for what we’re trying to Hunt up.” Becka always loved the smell of the place when she came in, leather was the strongest odor, but underlying that was the smell of green growing things, even the dyes here were natural made.
“BECKA!”
Becka let go of Alex and whirled around as she was practically tackled by a larger female. The woman gave her a bear hug then held her back at arm’s length to look her over. Becka was up on tip toes as she was given the once over. “You going to the Gather tonight?”
“Yes, Litha.”
The woman snorts. “Not in that you aren’t. Though the mocs can stay.” She then lets Becka go and looks over her companion. “And who’s your--” Litha’s eyes narrow slightly.
Becka is quick to step between Alex and Litha. “Litha please, Alex is a friend. And needs something else to wear.”
Litha’s glare drops from Alex to Becka. “There is a reason the Old Ones of your Kind are not here, Little Sister. It is not safe for him.”
“So I’ve recently found out. I don’t suppose you can save us the possible mess of the Gather to tell me why exactly?” Through their link, Alex can feel a faint hope, but a stronger more practical not expecting the help feeling.
Litha shakes her head, and the regret is plain on her face. “I can’t, but I can at least cut down on possible troubles for you. Come.” She links an arm through Becka’s and drags her off. Becka is quick to grab Alex’s hand and have him drug along with her. Litha takes them to a private changing room.
Once there she drops Becka’s arm and looks Alex up and down. She circles him a few times as she studies him. “By your clothes I’d say you prefer less modern apparel.” She starts to leave, but stops at the door. “Please, don’t leave. I love my store and don’t care to have it trashed.” And with that she disappears out the door.
Becka drops her head back with her eyes closed. “Damn, I’d hoped she’d been off to the Gather already.” Opening her eyes she lifts her head and turns to Alex. “Sorry about that.” Suddenly she smirks. “At least you’re not alone, seems I’m not dressed proper either, least by Litha’s standards.”
Before she can say or do anything else, Litha returns with clothes draped over her arm and a pair of low moccasins in her hand. Dropping the moccasins, she pulls a couple items off her arm and hands them to Becka. “Put those on. As for you, let’s see how these look on you.” She hands him a pair of black leather pants with ties where zippers would be on normal pants, and a brown vest like shirt that matched the color of his eyes perfectly. There were sharp V’s down the front as well as up, two finger’s width of leather joined the hide together just at his sternum.
Litha stepped back and gave him a good look; she grins slightly and tosses him the black moccasins. “Here these will complete the outfit.” She then turns to Becka and whistles. “I knew you could pull that off.” Becka just arched a brow at her.
Becka’s outfit was the moccasin boots she’d already been wearing along with charcoal grey leather pants much like Alex’s, hers though had missing leather along the outer sides right about where her knee caps started and around to the back of her knee in straight lines from hip to possibly foot and was laced back together. Her top though was the more startling piece. It was the same shade as her eyes, and there wasn’t a whole lot to it. A band of leather that covered her chest and tapered to ties in the back, at the top of her breasts leather thinned out to tie around her neck, while along the bottom it had short jags, the longest piece being dead center of the top and coming to the bottom of her sternum.
Becka peered past Litha to get a look at Alex and her eyes widened appreciatively. She sidled past the woman to stand right in front of Alex. Her hands lightly came to rest on his stomach and then slid slowly up and under the shirt and along his lower rib cage. “I think I really like this shirt.” She looks at Litha over her shoulder with a grin.
Litha chuckles. “I’ll send the bill to The BoB then. Now go, and you’ll want to talk to Narkel. I’ll catch you there later.”
Becka nods and grabs Alex’s hand and leads him out of the store. They get looks and cat calls as they exit the store; a few though turn hostile as they realize just what Alex is. Becka actually laughs once they clear the store and are back in the car. “Oh, leave it to Litha.” She shakes her head. “If nothing else the pause we’ll cause may give us the needed time to ask after Narkel before they decide to try to run you out.”
She then gives him directions on getting to the Gather. It is outside of San Francisco proper, more along the coast, in one of the few wild areas still left in the area, and funny enough, one of her own properties. She tells him this, and then proceeds to explain that it had been one of the first properties she’d bought. Deciding to check it out one night, she’d discovered the Lycan pack holding a Gather there. She’d watched up in a tree fascinated.
At some point in the night, the wind had shifted on her, and they’d caught her scent. It hadn’t been long before they actually ‘treed’ her, basically surrounding it. After much yelling and screaming for her death had finally subsided, one of them had stepped up and asked what she wanted. She’d fortunately picked a comfortable tree and was happy to stay put until they calmed down. She explained she’d bought the property recently, and was out checking it over when she’d stumbled upon them. Curious, she’d climbed up and watched.
After more demands for her death she’d finally told them she really didn’t care if they were there. She had no plans for the land, and was working on buying up as much around the area as she could get ahold of. The one she’d been talking with finally convinced her to come out of the tree after telling her that deaths were forbidden at a Gather and considered bad luck. So, she’d spent her first Gather learning of the Lycans, and finding out that they’d known the moment she’d arrived and had watched her closely ever since. But since the Land seemed to accept her presence there, they’d left her alone.
Alex definitely preferred the green smell over the leather. The green still had the scent of the sun in it. The leather smelled dead somehow. The tanning process killed it like an old bottle of wine tended to lose its grape flavor. "No worries." Alex replied to Becka's fashion review as she led him through the store.
Alex was a little startled that they were going to meet the Lycans on one of their holy nights. He was a vampire and was not in the least wanting to disrupt such a holy gathering of the Lycans. He wanted to offer up a respectful 'Of course not, would not dream of disrupting something like that' when he realized Becka had an open invitation to the thing. He was shocked beyond shocked but his face maintained a very pleasant demeanor. Litha's presence was more than enough to put him on full guard.
Alex took a half step back and gently nodded at Litha's narrowing eyes, but his eyes did not lose track of where Litha's feet and hands were. It was not a problem at all to let Becka step between them to prevent any aggression for him. If Becka wasn't completely comfortable he would have switched places though. It was only her full confidence that kept him from yanking her behind him.
Alex's face did not twitch at all but his mind mulled over Litha's words that it wasn't safe for him. Was the land paved with ankhs or was the populace so hostile they would try to mob him out? He wasn't sure. The fact that Litha felt it wasn't safe for him but didn't know why was truly bizarre. He could not enter a private home without invitation. He knew this clearly. He burned his hand on mere wood intending to enter uninvited to a home once in search of one of Serpham's cousins. This land had not burned him though and vampires were crawling all over it. What could not be safe for him? It didn't make sense.
In the private dressing room it struck him that Litha knew how old his clothes were. There were too many trained eyes in Frisco. It was bad not being able to keep cover. Litha's reinforcement that the locals were indeed hostile didn't help. Apparently Vlad's revolt had life to it still. It was disappointing. He was going to have to start a silver collection again. It was such a pain to keep the metal from rusting.
Alex enjoyed the chance to look into Becka's eyes as she commented on her dress. Alex could not guess what would be wrong with it unless they needed more cover and that should have made Alex's dress more appropriate. Becka looked stunning in many respects.
Alex quickly discovered they needed to cover less and it needed to be in leather. At least it wasn't a thong and Becka liked it a lot. Alex had to admit Becka did a boatload more than 'pull it off'. It was going to be criminal to have her walking next to him looking that intensely sexy.
As Becky inspected him his eyes watched hers and his hands alighted on her hips. Her touch on his stomach caused his muscles to tense and he remembered all too well the amazing things she did to him last night. Mercifully the leather held his arousal in check. He wasn't able to suck it down until her touch left his skin. It was exotically unnerving for him. He could not deny loving it.
Alex scooped up the clothes and shoes before letting Becka guide them out of the store. Max wasn't going to be dropping by here to pick them up by Alex's guess.
The trip out of the store was kind of fun at first and then turned unpleasant. The hostility was annoying. Humans were food. They could be naturally hostile and it wouldn't bother Alex a bit, but for Lycans to get upset was just keeping bad blood alive when it was unnecessary.
When Alex opened the door to the car to let Becka in, he didn't bother going to the other side but merely flew in past her to the driver's seat while pulling the door shut behind him. There was no need for extra exposure to the crowd. How Becka was going to prevent them from running him out immediately was beyond him. They had wood and he had nothing. He would have to run.
Becka's story at least explained why they couldn't kill him. That was nice. Required civility was one of Alex's strong suites. Offer respect to disrespect when the hater could not do what they said and you won. Of course, depending on the stubbornness of the Lycans they might not give the required information after all. It could be another case of Max. Another dead end. At least it looked like the other ancients knew why they couldn't enter. Alex could simply ask them outright if this didn't work. Certainly they would know what repelled them.
The drive was a fun drive. The California coasts always offered twists and turns that forced him to pay a little attention to. Alex was having a lot of hope of getting to the bottom of what Frisco was about on top of it all. When he pulled up to the best place to park for the Gathering he was in a good mood despite being deeply alert to attacks. "I'll get out behind you, Becka. I have a feeling they are allowed to gut me here." It was silly having to let Becka out first and crawl out behind her, but he was a target and she wasn't. Pride was a silly and lost cause. "Good heavens you are ridiculously hot in that outfit." He bet in silk it would be even hotter.
Becka chuckled at his comment about her appearance¸ and shook her head at his other comments. “Relax Alex, we are on Sacred Land, no one’s going to attack you. That opportunity is now long past with our arriving here.” After climbing out of the car, she waited for Alex to emerge. By the time he does, she’s starting to lose patience with the emotions she can feel coming from him.
She leads him off towards where the Gathers were held and after several minutes finally snaps and turns on him. “You have some nerve Agathon. You want to reprimand me for calling you Ancient, and yet here you are already making assumptions about my Family. And yes, there are my Family, as are Max and Terrance, Jimmy, Sara and Maxine.” Suddenly she whips around and stalks off. “Come on.” It came out a growl more than words.
One did not enter a Gather upset, and she was struggling to banish her anger. This was as close as she would get to introducing Alex to the proverbial parents, and she was already nervous enough over that. His attitude was only making her trepidation worse, turning her waspish and cranky. She was starting to second guess everything, from Mantha’s demands, to bringing him here, even getting involved with him.
Suddenly she halts again and closes her eyes. Breathing deep even breaths, she lets everything go, her hurt, anger, confusion, nervousness, hopes, fears, possible dreams. She visualizes them all draining out of her body through her feet, giving them to Mother Earth to change and shape as She saw fit. It isn’t long before she feels peace and balance return to her and she opens her eyes and grabs Alex’s hand. “Come, we’re nearly there.”
When she stops them again, they have come just inside a large clearing. She loops her arm around his waist and snuggles close, watching what goes on in the clearing with a grin. The Gather looks something like a cross between a PowWow and a New Age Rave. It is bright, colorful and full of movement, laughter and music. The beat of the drums could be felt to vibrate the body even here at the edge. She strengthened the bond between her and Alex, wanting to see how it affected him through his eyes and emotions for the first time.
Alex had not had to worry about anyone being able to kill him for a while. It was a relief to know he was in the Lycan 'no kill zone', but he could not feel any change himself. It was a complete unknown to him whether a Lycan could break their own law and kill him anyway or if something actually would prevent them from killing him much like the universe would not let him walk into someone's house and kill them. During the Vlad revolt in Europe, Alex had a silvered dagger to prevent defenselessness in the presence of Lycans. The ankh had been his defense against other vampires in Egypt when he was still young. This was American territory though. While the vampires here were probably younger than him and didn't pose a threat, the Lycan ages were unknown as well. It was unsafe and the attitudes at the store had proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. There was also nothing in the information given that demonstrated any kind of safety beyond a religious obedience to laws set forth by unknown entities. The last thing he needed was for Becka to die to some rogue force or to die himself for not paying proper attention to potential threats. This was not the elder vampire council interested in balance and stability. This was a Lycan gathering of people that would assume see him a pile of dust than look at him. He could not just relax. Becka grossly underestimated her importance in expecting it of him. All he could do was pull back and put on his poker face. Apparently Becka needed to see his poker face as well. It was extremely cool, calm, and collect and that is what he tried to do. Hiding entirely from Becka was impossible though. Their contact and link was way too intimate for that, but he would do what he could.
"Sorry, Rebeckah. Your family has a vested interest in my death for whatever reason." If she didn't understand the difference, he hoped they didn't have a lesson for her to send it home. This wasn't a select group of people. This was a community. There was a Nicholai in every community that meant a community was never family. Alex wasn't worried about her friends in the community. He was worried about the people that might not be friends. Even the people that were supposed to be family had to list veiled and obtuse threats against him including Max.
His worry was putting doubt into Becka and that brought about sadness in him. Love came with concern. There was no way to break that bond. It was a bond more sacred than whatever the land held here. It was odd she could put so much faith into the land and fail to see the intense bond of spirit and see it for what it was. There was nothing to do for it though. They needed answers and potential answers lay ahead. A philosophical debate over how the spirit of the Earth pulled its strength from all the spiritual love bonds between all living things on it was pointless at this point.
When Becka took his hand with calm that was encouraging. He followed on to the clearing. Becka's touch felt magical. Before them was an American ritual. It had timelessness to it that Alex could inherently feel. The music would have been extremely easy for Alex to dance to and he could already feel it in his essence. If the bigotry of the participants wasn't present, he would have drifted right into the dance and blended seamlessly to it. His dance would have been more precise and true than all except an ancient and well-practiced Lycan or vampire. He knew the call to spirit and had danced the dance across the world with many ancient flavors to it. It was too bad he could not join this one. He hugged Becka in close and sighed at the cost of hostility. This dance was supposed to bring harmony, not harbor hatred against someone because they had been around longer. He had to laugh he could out dance most, if not all of them in the ritual to which he was not welcome. His link to Becka was so strong, he could even make her move with him to dance like a true shaman master of the Earth with a partner. She would just have to let him influence her movements, but he wondered if she would just fight the influence out of fear or let him have the control to do it and learn from it. He sighed again at the loss of it all. Despite the desires in the throng to kill him, the deeper ancient melody behind the corruption called to him to join. It was almost as if the Earth was telling the eldest brother to show the wayward youngsters fear and hostility were empty causes. Alex tried to argue back that it would just upset her children and something deeper said it was their fault and not his. If they could not recognize a fellow follower that had followed longer than they had, they were not children worth keeping. Her true children would follow his lead just as he would follow the dance lead of anyone older and truer than he was to the cause.
Alex eyes looked down at Becka searching for hers. "Will you dance with me? It's time to dance." He hoped Becka would follow but he would have to dance if she didn't anyway.
Becka looked up at him with wide and shocked eyes. While she’d hoped to dance with him tonight, she hadn’t planned for it to be until after initial reactions were taken care of. She could tell through their bond though that he felt the call of the music and Mother Earth, and the widest, most delighted grin blossoms on her face. Impulsively, she suddenly hugs him. “I love you, Alex.”
She hastily steps back and nods. “Yes, let’s dance.” The light in her eyes is almost bright enough to rival the sun they could no longer enjoy, and she grabs his hand and leads him to the dance circle. She is already moving in step to the music, letting it wash through her as she always does at Gathers, when she participates. Soon her focus narrows drastically, leaving her to only hear the music and see her dance partner.
“There they are, Uncle, I told you they’d be coming.” Litha narrows her eyes thoughtfully watching her friend and the Elder with her. She has danced with, and watched, Becka dance many times in the past. Something was different about this dance though. As the other Lycans start to realize just what is in their midst, they start to back off. “Uncle, do not let the music stop. Something is going on.”
The man standing with her nods, “So it would seem.” He speaks briefly to another who stands with them, and that one runs to tell the musicians to not stop playing by orders of the Pack Leader. Soon, all eyes are on the only two Vampires at the Gather. It is plain that the two don’t dance to the music, but seem to be the music manifested in material form. The fact that one of the Vampires is an Elder of that race makes many nervous and wary, but that doesn’t stop the Lycans from appreciating the show. “Your thoughts, Little Niece?”
“Oh, he’s very much an Elder of their race. He’s got the attitude, arrogance, and detached distance about him, except…” Litha had paused as she watched the two make an especially beautiful and difficult dance step.
“Except?”
Prompted to return to the conversation at hand,, she finishes. “Except when it comes to Little Sister, he seems to lose much of it and seems… well, more Human.”
“An act?”
Litha shakes her head, and laughs. “No, no act, you didn’t see the way he reacted to her just touching him. If it weren’t for the tight leather incasing his fine ass, he would have saluted her instantly.”
The man raises brows at this, and turns thoughtful eyes on the two. The music finally comes to end, and he steps towards them. “Little Sister To Lycan Hearts, you have an Elder of your race in the Bay Area. This is dangerous to him.”
The true peace and joy Becka had just found was shattered instantly when the man spoke. Her temper flared and she’d finally had enough. As much as she loved him, in her way, she was now seriously pissed at him. She whirled and glared at him. “Yes, so Max has told me, Litha as well, and now you, Foster Father. I want answers and I want to know why is it dangerous for Old As Dirts, Ancients, and… Beyond Olds to come to this area. Just how far does this extend, why did no one bother to tell me these things before too while we’re at it.”
Unphased by her outburst, he still calmly walks towards her and then folds her into a fatherly embrace. He looks at Alex, and the expression on his face is more a request not to hurt her or bring her suffering, like any father over a daughter. “Peace, Child of my Heart.” He steps back and gives her a smile. “Come, sit with me, your friend too.” As he leads them away he raises his voice. “This is a Gather, Brothers and Sisters, so get back to it.”
The Gather is shortly back in full swing as they settle off to the side. Becka makes it a point to sit close to Alex. The man studies the two of them together, and then sighs. “It’s not us Daughter, it’s the Land. It doesn’t accept your race.” Becka frowned and started to speak, he holds up a hand and she stops. “You are the first the Land accepted in many centuries. Have you ever wondered why some of your race comes to San Francisco and then quickly move on?”
At her nod he continues, “It’s the Land rejecting them. It will drive them mad eventually, making them dangerous to all. An Elder of your race, is even worse, and far, far more dangerous.” He looks to Alex and asks him questions. “Elder, you are obviously your own Vampire, but have you felt strange since being in this area? Thoughts and concepts foreign to your normal ways of thinking? Urges hard to control that normally you can?” Becka frowns at the line of questioning.
Becka's hug and words were beyond anything he could hope for to enter the dance. "I love you, Becka." As they moved to the circle the sky appeared to have the sun dawning in it. It was an illusion, but it seemed real in Alex's eyes as their bodies started joining the music. Becka danced the sacred dance but others did not join. As light started to fill the air the others backed off. Images of others seemed to rise from the ground they emptied. Arabs, Asians, Europeans, Africans, and Americans danced with them in perfect coordination but were all wearing very old and ornate clothing. There were spirits but appeared solid like the sun in the sky that rose abnormally fast.
The music seemed to perfect in some way. The timing of it became true as if played by intensely in tune and practiced musicians. The sun seemed to hang at high noon. The dance was very much alive and very much at peace despite the joyous tunes it made. Alex was oblivious to the happenings of anyone but Becka, the spirits, the sun, and the earth with the crackling fires. The melody that moved them was beyond them and explained where the body was to go. Alex had only to obey.
The song started to close and the sun started to drop from the sky. The dancers all aged and even Becka and Alex started to age. There was no alarm or shock. It was very natural cycle and fully expected and welcomed. Peace and cycle embraced themselves hand-in-hand. The ending of the song called for a kneel and the kneel called for Alex and Becka to press their palms together and they moved towards the earth. Their obedient kneel seemed to send their aging back in reverse while the spirits seemed to turn slowly to dust in dance moves that brought them to the ground. The sun set in a blaze of fading glory. When the last ray fell over the west, the night suddenly washed over the sky and the dust seemed to blow away instantly into the air of the spirit dancers. Alex and Becka were kneeling full prone pressed to the ground with their palms pressed together in between.
Awareness of the night flooded back into them both. Alex and Becka rose with the exact same movements except Alex looked around and frowned that no one had joined them. Did the Earth have no followers here? It was not good to have so few participants with Earth song.
Alex was puzzled at the elder saying this place was dangerous to him. Not joining the dance was far more dangerous than joining it and only Becka had joined it. None of Vlad's minions had been able to join it nor would want to. The Earth knew exactly how to separate the wheat from the chaff. Hepitut had taught him this long ago.
Becka's rage echoed through Alex as an alarm threatening to shatter his own peace. The dance had called forth a strong peace, though, and his mind only listened rather than join in her protest.
The Elder's request immediately told Alex he was not in tune as a true Patron of the Earth. It was that underlying suspicion and hostility. Maybe he was not accepted because they were not true brothers and sisters yet. They still anticipated war when only the hunt for food ruled the animals of this place. Becka was not food, nor was the Elder. The Elder's request for no harm would have only held meaning if Becka were human. Alex just understood in peace this time though. The Earth still held enough sway that there was no fight here. Alex followed the procession. A great leader was always a great follower. It didn't matter as long as you kept tune to reality.
Becka sitting next to him was very much appreciated. He wondered if he died whether his spirit might call back to her like Samantha's could. He knew it would not be a strong call like Samantha's but he wondered if he could at least whisper. Sophia and Alex never danced that dance together. Hepitut didn't teach Alex the ways of spirit until their meeting after Sophia's death.
Alex listened to Becka and the Elder struggle in their conversation. The Elder's peace won of course. The Elder started asking him questions and with the last one the Earth was ready for him to speak.
"I have only felt hostility and contention from others that brings destruction. I have felt isolation as those that do not accept the harmony of peace run back to their fear. I am concerned that only two danced. What Gathering is that that only two will Gather? The Earth only rejects and punishes fear and disorder. It is only dangerous to selfish will. It is not the Earth rejecting vampires, it is vampires rejecting Earth. My sleep hugs the Earth. It takes a house to repel me or a manufactured relic to burn me. So long as my sustenance is for life, why would I fear this place? The only urge I've felt that is stronger than me is the urge to love. That is born of the Earth and dispels fear. If love is madness, let it come and take me. Love is not foreign; it is my maker as it has made us all."
Normally a peace pipe would be lit or gathered food shared at this point, but then again, normally all would join the dance as well. Alex merely relaxed and tried to send his peace to Becka. Something with two legs had lost its way and important lessons from the past had been lost. This Gathering had gone racial and Alex would do what he could to end that lie. Whoever had forgotten the dance could very well be old and possibly older than him. Alex sensed it was probably a vampire that embraced war instead of peace. He would need help to stop something like that and right now it appeared Becka was the only one brave enough to do it. Why the Elder Council wasn't aware of this was even more puzzling.
Alex decided to take a chance and learn more. "Where is the former keeper of this place?" If that being was still alive, it was probably the whole problem. Lessons had been cut short here.
The man studied Alex through his little speech and a disappointed look quickly crossed his face, to be replaced by sadness as his eyes drifted to Becka. He looked back at Alex sharply when he asked about a Keeper. He shook his head briefly before replying. “There has never been a Keeper, of your race or mine here, Elder. If any could have been called Keeper, it would have been the Native Peoples of this Land, before the arrival of Columbus, Magellan, and their entire ilk.”
He went back to studying Becka, something was different about her, and it took him a long moment to realize that the shadow and fear that normally enveloped her was gone. Now the scattered reports made more sense, her Sire was dead, and the Elder Vampire sitting next to her was to be thanked. Becka was far stronger than she knew, unfortunately, her conditioning and fears kept her from realizing this, and that made her fragile.
He looks back to Alex. “Look, Elder, you have none here that personally are your enemies. The Vlad War stayed in Europe, it never spilled over to here. Anywhere else in this country, you would come across a Lycan and they’d care less you were a Vampire, and you might very well have without realizing it. It is just the rules are different in this small pocket of the Land for some reason. We have watched this Land turn a Vampire in to a horrible monster, worse than being in a feral state like Max was. It is a sickening and frightening thing to experience. It is worse to have to destroy them because they never seem to come back to themselves, even driven from the pocket that affects them.”
He is interrupted by Litha bounding up and speaking. “Uncle, there’s someone I think you’d better see. He’s over at the edge of the clearing, where Little Cousin and her beau entered. Oh, and he’s still within the trees. Oh, yeah, it’s my other Uncle.”
At her words he is first stunned, then is up like a shot, though he pauses long enough to say a hasty excuse me. He then is moving quickly in the direction Litha indicated. Litha pursed her lips at his departing backside then settled in with Becka and Alex. “I’m sorry Becka about earlier, I wasn’t allowed to tell you what you wanted to know.”
Becka gives an exasperated sigh, “Yeah, I kinda figured.”
“Are you going to join the Women’s Dance tonight?” A purely mischievous look crossed Becka’s face. “I was planning to, if something doesn’t get in the way first.”
Litha gives Alex an almost sympathetic look, but then turns serious as she addresses him personally. “I know Becka’s feelings about the Elders of your race, and you being one, and her liking you as much as she does must make you very special. Do not teach her any of your ‘I’ve lived far too long’ bad habits, instead, do me a favor, and learn from her. I think it could do you a world of good, and give you a new outlook on life.” With that she rises and gives him a quick peck on the cheek and Becka a quick hug. “I gotta go find out who else will be in the Women’s Dance tonight.” With that she is quickly gone.
Becka gives a snorted chuckle and then wriggles under Alex’s arm and wraps her own around his waist. “Well, you just got Litha’s stamp of approval. A hard thing to gain. Congratulations.” Amusement dances through their link as she gives a quiet sigh. The night was turning out strange, and she was still no closer to really understanding anything. It was nice though to share the Gather with Alex, even if he was being a bit of a snobbish ass.
Alex had to give a hard ponder to the words that were said. He had not been to many of the sacred places on the Earth, but the ones he had been to all had keepers watching over them. Why this one didn't was odd. It was sad there were no American vampires around at all. Vlad's rebellion may have been in Europe, but it was obvious his cause had caused damage in America. He wondered if something would actually happen to him that was bad. Maybe this piece of land was going to devour him. Why would such a secret be kept though? Sadly, the Americans had not kept writings around the way the Asians and Europeans had. There was no way to know what the history of this place was to understand it better. What would happen to him and what would be the warning signs? He would just have to watch for the things the Elder had asked about. If they started, he would have to return to Oklahoma. Something told him Max knew though. Why the hell Max would hold something like that back was bizarre. Maybe Max's brain died so fast there was nothing to remember. There just no answers anymore.
The women were obviously excited about their dance coming up. Why they thought Alex would be upset about it was beyond him. Earth rituals were full of sex and Alex had seen some pretty provocative stuff, all the way from the perverted and horrible to the artistic and beautiful. It would be fun for them and Alex wasn't going to ruin it for them. He didn't think anything terrible was going to happen to Becka.
Alex's eyes paid close attention to Lithia's when she spoke. Lithia could only imagine how much Becka was already teaching him. He just wished Lithia had more to teach him on land induced vampire madness. Was this spot marred somehow against a species? It would be like cursing a piece of land from deer to where only squirrels could occupy it. Maybe this was the birthplace of Lycan, but most deep roots seemed to spring forth from Africa and Southeast Asia. None of the other holy spots seemed to exclude anyone willing to honor the Earth.
Alex took Rebeckah into his embrace. His face stayed thoughtful. He gave her a kiss at her congratulations for him. "Thank you." His mind would not come up with an answer. "Something is wrong Becka. I'm not going to be able to figure it out. What if this place does devour me?" As badly as he wanted to share in Becka's joy, this piece of land might force him out of her life in Frisco. That would be really bad and was no cause for celebration. It was almost like finally winning her trust and then losing her.
Becka pondered his words for a moment. When she spoke, it was slow, as if she was feeling her way along blindly. “I don’t think so. You seem to puzzle Narkel. If I’m reading him right, you should be already affected.” She pauses and when she speaks again, her voice is distant and slightly changed. “We won’t be here much longer anyway for it to matter.” She blinks then seems to shake herself a bit. She starts to look up at Alex, but a movement catches her eye. “Max? What the hell… Max avoids the Lycans as if they carry the plague.”
As the two men approach, Becka is floored. With the two together side by side, she can’t believe she ever missed their resemblance to each other. “Litha’s other Uncle? How-- What-- But-- What the fuck?!” No link was needed to know she was confused and flustered.
Before Narkel can speak, Max holds up his hand and then walks over to squat in front of Becka and Alex. “You have always had a dark shadow and fear surrounding you Rebeckah for as long as I’ve known you. According to my brother, for as long as he’s known you as well. With the death of your Sire,” He gives a respectful nod to Alex here, “This has lifted. Your strengths have never been in being a Vampire; it has been in your Humanism. That is the reason behind your dislike of our Ancient Ones. As our Kind grows older and the centuries pass, we distance ourselves from all things. We become aloof and self-centered. We forget what it was to be Human.”
“You, dear Child of Our Race, you have not forgotten this. The Bucket of Blood, voluntarily being at a Lycan Gather, the things you do for the Human community, all these things show as proof of this. You mistakenly think I stay at The Bucket of Blood because you think I feel beholden to you, and while somewhat true, it is not the actual reason. I stay to learn from you, Terrance does as well.”
“The Land here accepts you, because you accept things as they are. Yes, you have a deep seated distrust of all things old in our race, but that is more conditioning, than your true feelings.” He looks square at Alex as he continues. “If it were your true feelings, then Ancient One here would never have even met you. You would have had Terrance or me try to find out why he was here.”
He looks back at Becka. “The Land here knows what’s in your heart, and knows that deep down you strive for Harmony between all things. You have very unorthodox ways of going about it, but that too is part of the Humanism now in you. Those Vampires that are our permanent residents have seen something in you as well, and try their best to imitate it, that is why they can still be here without fear of becoming insane.”
Litha darts up and grabs Becka, “Come on, you still have to get ready. All this profound talk can wait, or continue on without you for the moment.” With Becka only half protesting, Litha proceeds to drag her off to a hut not far away.
Max watches the two women as he turns his talk to Alex. “You too are learning from her, I have seen the minute changes already. But then you two were brought together for a purpose anyway. You will be taking her from us soon to far places. The only thing I wish you to remember form our talk last night, is that she is strong but fragile. Watch her, keep her from harm. If anything happens to her, our race will have lost its most precious possession.”
“I must go Brother, Terrance is in charge of The Bucket of Blood, if left alone too long, he’ll have half the staff and patrons trying to kill him, while the other half will be fighting each other to tear his clothes off. Enjoy this night with your adopted daughter. It is uncertain when next we will see her again.” Max then strides off.
Alex was concerned about Becka's prophecy when he first heard it. Was the land affecting her? Max showing up was strange as well. Alex paid close attention to his words. He gave a grave nod of agreement and understanding. The only thing that hit him as out of place was Max calling Becka an adapted daughter. Becka was above the title of daughter to him. She was a peer and lover. It was shocking to know they would be leaving soon. Alex wasn't comfortable with taking Becka from this place with so many roots in it for her. What other place would need her more was a puzzle. Alex would just have to watch and learn. He wondered if Max's conferred title of daughter on Becka meant she was going to fall in love with a different person. That would be rough, but understandable as well. He hoped not, but there was no denying time its due. Time had robbed him once. There was no reason to think it might not rob him twice.
Narkel looked at Alex. “You love her.” It wasn’t really a question, and he didn’t really need a reply back. “I am the closest thing she now has to a father, and like any father, I worry over her happiness, I would hate to see her heart broken.”
He catches a signal he’d been waiting for. “Excuse me a moment.” He stands and the Gather suddenly quiets down. He gives a hearty laugh in the silence. “One can always tell when the Women’s Dance is about to start, it is the only time a Leader is paid the least bit of attention at a Gather.” The laughs that answered were just as heartfelt. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. As you all know our participants tonight are ready to choose their mate for the next year. So, I’ll shut up and let them get to it.”
He sits back down to more laughter that quickly dies as the music starts up slow and easy going. The women start to file out of the hut to the beat of the music. Each woman was dressed in filmy gauze like material; it really left nothing to the imagination. Becka’s matched her eyes and hair and she moved with a grace that truly put the other women to shame. She moved with a slow seductiveness that had many eyes on her.
The women came to a slow stop in the center of spectators that waited to see who they’d choose for a year to mate with. The music suddenly picks up in tempo, and the women become a flurry of dancing. They move and mingle with the crowd, teasing many and building hopes. Litha actually dances up to Alex, she moves with a very snake like action and is soon in his lap, and her hands caress his face. A twinkle is in her eye and she smiles at him, only to suddenly rise with a spin and dance off.
It opened some door, because for the next hour that the women danced, others came up to him as well, though never Becka. Finally at some signal only the women knew, they all converged back to the center again. The music stops for just three heart beats, and then starts back up slow like when it first started. Each woman made a slow dance to the men they’d chosen. Becka moves in easy steps, no show of any strain from her past hour’s exertions.
She approaches Alex and stands just before him. Making a half turn she dances back until she straddles his lap, then slowly lowers herself in a sensuous movement that places her firmly in his lap. Her hands slide up the side of his neck, careful not to touch his throat, and come to rest on the back of his head. Looking up at him, she pulls his head down and gives him a solid and firm kiss.
Alex might have thought to laugh at Narkel if it wasn't so dead serious. Alex was certain his heart was in greater jeopardy than Becka's. His loyalty was fierce for Becka and there was no denying the call. Somehow the universe had chosen his heart to follow her and the matter was beyond his heart, thought his heart was fine with the universe's choice. He made a simple reply to Narkel. "She is the only one that could do that. I cannot enter a house uninvited."
Alex's heart raced a moment. Becka had joined this one and holy ceremonies were binding unless one was looking for the dark ways. Not even Alex could deny one. His commitments had been binding for over eight thousand years. He was even bound to ceremonies not on holy ground. Breaking one from holy ground could easily send him mad. Time was going to give him a fast answer to at least a year.
Alex's eyes were on Becka not because she was easily the most attractive dancer, but because his heart really already belonged to her. Lithia was the first to actually force him to break visual. It was beyond rude to not take proper attention to a woman that approached you and dishonoring Lithia would have been wrong on several different levels, including with Becka. His mind pretended she was Becka to put a smile on his face and keep his eyes searching her body. Lithia would be family if things went well and it would be important that the memories were good for this night.
The continuing hour was tough suspense on Alex. Lithia's approach put him in the lottery. Being vampire and not Lycan might have been a limit on his eligibility prior to that, but her approach had dispelled doubts. However, other Lycans approached him in the dance. How to read that was impossible really. The Women's Dance was specifically designed to not have any male influence on the rules. In fact, men could not influence the decisions at all and could not have any inside knowledge of what the women had decided upon or might decide upon during the dance. Unless you knew the woman, it was dangerous to be the subject of one depending on how the dance was structured unless the woman was one you wanted. Alex did not get the woman he wanted paying attention to him. Lithia's attention was a good sign as Becka's family, the Lycan he didn't know were a potential obligation in a wrong direction for him. He thought the only danger was losing Becka. This signified an even tougher situation in that he could lose Becka and have an obligation to someone he didn't love. He understood the sympathy offered earlier and he had to work hard to keep his poker face and smiles to the women that approached. Had he been human, he would have looked green as opposed to a pleased male getting attention.
A pause in the dance seemed to imply some kind of finality, but these dances could go on for a long time in Lycan and Vampire circles. Finally, Becka approached him and he didn't have to cover up anything but the fear that this phase of the dance was another tease. Her contact was delicious and his body rippled with her touch. Her strong kiss sent a shudder that was visible to anyone watching them. Alex prayed it was the conclusion and the kiss was the choice. His heart seemed to plead with the universe reviewing all the prophecy of the evening. His body called to the Earth and begged for this to be an answer. Hope mingled with desperation in his eyes.
As their kiss ended, Becka smiled at him. She squirmed around until she faced him and kissed him again. When that kiss broke, she whispered to him. “It’s only a year. I am sorry to put you in this kind of spot, but it seemed best at the time.” She searched his face with a mix of hope and uncertainty.
The music had ended and various couples were happily wandering off, while the unchosen while disappointed, continued the Gather as was custom. The newly formed couples would or would not return later as was their choice. Becka didn’t notice, time was currently at a standstill while she waited for Alex to decide one way or another how they’d move from here.
Narkel watched the Vampiric couple closely. Becka needed someone in her life that she could trust and turn too, someone she didn’t see as a father. In his own way he liked the Elder Vampire. The man had willingly danced at a Lycan Gather, that could say a lot about an Old World Vampire. Across the Big Pond, Narkel knew none of his Kind existed any longer. Vlad and his war had seen to that.
"Want to know a secret Becka? You could have gotten ten thousand without batting an eyelash." Alex smiled wide and gave her a big kiss. He bet the year was going to be tougher on her than him. He wasn't lying about the ten thousand. He wasn't certain Becka had not captured his heart for as long as he kept it from the sun.
Alex picked her up to move off with her to the woods. "We will consummate this on the sacred ground, Becka. I've made oaths that I have to keep to the Earth. It's going to be awfully easy to meet this one. I love you too much and you are way too sexy for your own good. You have a dirty old vampire in your bed now." Alex's smile was bright. He didn't go very far into the woods. There was no secret about how he felt and the Gathering knew the ritual. He took the first spot that was grassy and comfortable.
Alex let Becka's feet down so she could stand and he could undress her. His hands moved slowly while his eyes trailed over her body. He didn't touch her, but rather let the transparent cloth tease along her body. His own body strained against his leather around his crotch, but he was going to let Becka undress her chosen mate for the year. Alex had few details he needed to know about the commitment. He was uncertain as to details. This was the first time he had actually been chosen, not that he had been to many Women's Dances at all.
"I'm pretty sure we will meet all the obligations of this choice, but if you could go over the particulars of this ceremony, it will help. Different regions have different obligations. Some require monogamy, others require frequency. Sometimes the man sets certain things while the woman sets others. Sometimes it's just a personal exchange of commitments sealed with a consummation. I can tell you already I can meet whatever they are." Alex did not have a problem with monogamy. Food could have dreams implanted or could just be consumed immediately. It was really to local custom. He could come up with personal commitments as well very easily. He would have given Becka a blank check at that moment. It was elation to him to have been chosen by her.
Seeing her outfit come off slowly definitely motivated him strongly. Her body was striking and Alex's emotion filled his mind with desire. He found his nose sniffing the air for her scent, his ears catching every breath and movement of the cloth over her skin, and his eyes searching out every goose bump and feature on her skin. When she was finally naked, it was almost a disappointment. He had her whole front side completely committed to memory when it was done. The good news was it was her turn to uncover her prize. He could only hope she would be half as pleased as he was with his.
Becka blinked at him shocked. She didn’t know about ten thousand years with one person. Might get a bit old or predictable. The Lycan way of mating always had made more sense to her. That way, if you did grow bored, at least you only had to put up with a year, and then you could always choose another. But those thoughts quickly disappeared as she realized he wasn’t upset over the situation. She answered his kiss with a joy all her own.
Being picked up and carried off was a bit discerning. She had him for the next year, and she was going to have to re-get used to chivalry again. She laughed at him, though. “Silly Old Vampire, haven’t you yet realized all of Frisco is Sacred Ground? This part of it though is one of the few untouched still.” She made a bit of a face at the rest of his words, but laughed again. “And you have a curious Young Vampire now in your bed. One who refuses to give up on Life, even if she is undead.”
She let the feel of the silky fabric tease her body and loved it. Her eyes closed, and a smile played across her lips as she let him undress her however he wished. She didn’t answer his questions right away. Instead she chose to revel in the moment and the havoc he was causing her body. It was almost anti climatic when he finally finished, and part of her was disappointed it was over. Her eyes opened though and her desire for him was prominent within and her scent permeated the glade he’d chosen.
She slowly reached out to him and brought her hands to rest on his stomach, much like she had in Litha’s shop. Her hands glided over the lower part of his body and up under the shirt he wore. She worked it up slowly, and had to stand on tiptoe to get it off of him, and almost didn’t succeed. She was going to have to talk to Litha about altering the dratted thing to make it easier to get off him. As the shirt hit the ground, her hands were already skimming down his body and coming to rest just above his pants.
While her hands played their own dance on his flesh, she finally answered his questions. “This pack is a combination of Native and Old World Ways. The closest I can come to how simple this is, is the old Pagan version of a Handfasting. In simplest terms it is a time to see just how compatible two people are with each other. The couple is completely free to decide the course of the time together. We are Vampires, even the Lycans realize that monogamy is a Human concept that we are not obligated to adhere to.”
She giggled. “I’m just happy you aren’t upset with me for putting you on the spot like that. And that you aren’t upset with Litha. It had been her idea to dance before you, and have a few of the other women as well. Normally, I am the only Vampire present here, and she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see if she could make you squirm. Her only regret was that Narkel had deemed long ago that the Women’s Dance could take no longer than an hour. It seems emotions can run overly high at such dances and could cause a lot of issues when someone wasn’t Chosen in the end.”
Becka’s hand went to work untying his breeches and soon was sliding them down his hips and thighs. She crouched down to remove his shoes which were thankfully low mocs and finish removing his pants. Starting midway at his inner thigh, she trailed kisses up his leg. When she drew level with his erect manhood, she transferred over easily, and gave it teasing licks and kisses before continuing up his belly to his chest. Her fingers trailed along his sides up to his shoulders and along the sides of his neck until they were firmly clasped behind his head. Tilting her head up to him, she again pulls him towards her to kiss him passionately.
Alex was very unused to personally needing to make an impression. With Sophia, things had been familiar in many ways having grown up together. The history they had made the mating right from the beginning. Becka was still a person needing more exploration to understand. Her sexuality was among the many things to explore. Their coupling was critical for him and yet there were still many things to discover. How rough was rough enough without being too rough? What were the cues for gentle and rough? He guessed this act was going to need tenderness. His body was telling him to just bond without struggle. It should be a peaceful mating and more complex things were for later.
Alex had a hard time incorporating buildings into the mix of sacred ground. Stonehenge even seemed a bit polluted with the stones to him, but they were at least mostly natural. Structures somehow seemed to steal ground. A house being able to repel seemed an abomination to sacred ground and it was a wonder the universe had not sent a tidal wave to claim its spot back. There was a pyramid no one knew about in Egypt that had been built on a sacred spot and the meteor that obliterated it caused a few decades of hardship.
Alex's face beamed a smile at Becka's smiles. She was full of life and her happiness mixed with his to create a whole new level past the desire of the moment. Her scent showed that the desire was just as intense from anyone who would care to sample downwind. Alex didn't have to guess at all though. It almost felt like his dick would rip right through the leather.
Becka's removal of his shirt mixed with memories of the past night and just how electric her touch was to his body. He almost had to help her take the shirt off, but she did manage it in the end. It was obvious Becka liked the outfit and it was going to be a permanent addition to his wardrobe. It wasn't going to work at business meetings, but Becka was not business, she was life.
Alex noted that the choosing here was probably as lax as they came. Over the ages, they always changed to meet the needs of the time and place of their passing. In these times, there was plenty of sex to go around and plenty of variety as well. Stipulations were not required as a result. Humans were the most sensitive to stipulations anyway and they tended to have the most rules for obvious reasons.
Alex laughed at the plot of the dance and the frustration in having to end it. It was so very female. Men could not put together something like that without gutting each other and it was also the men that had forced the time constraint. Vampire meetings did tend to run the longest because male violence for competition was so frowned upon. If you couldn't wait your turn, you just were not worthy of your species. "You did cook me well. My hat is off to the ladies and you. What was it like being the star of the show anyway?"
Becka's dancing had been amazing and would have driven men wild in a mediocre body. With her body it would have started a war in the wrong crowd. Troy would have backed Alex up on that one as well. "Let's hope the Lycans don't lay siege to the Bucket of Blood or whatever city the wind might be blowing us to." He was joking of course, but if the group had been more mixed it would not have surprised Alex to have to deal with stalkers.
When Becka finally disrobed him the cool night air seemed to bounce right off his warm body getting warmer from her touch. Her saliva sent shivers up his spine that were visible. "Becka, you do things to me that are beyond my control." His hands traced around to Becka's back as she worked her way up to the kiss. When the kiss came it seemed to chain their souls together through their mouths. The stars and the Earth all seemed to be watching to bear witness.
A feeling swept over Alex to touch and meld into Becka as much as he could. His body leaned into hers to bring her feet off the ground and lay her naked body on the Earth. His arms curled around hers holding her hands to the back of his neck freely but firmly. His chest and stomach settled into hers, pressing her breasts between his muscles and her ribs while their flat midsections breathed in tight contact with each other. His legs came on top of hers, and only his feet caught her enough by the inside to spread her legs beneath his. His hips and ass only pulled back enough to aim his cock into her, and a moan muffled in their deep kiss he couldn't release bled air through their nostrils as his shaft pressed into her interior warmth and wetness.
Alex's full weight was on Becka's body and the energy of the Earth seemed to stream through her to connect them both. For a few minutes his body could only settle into hers completely as their mouths and tongues pressed together fervently at the connection. If someone had asked him to get up and move, it would have been an empty statement. The energy and spirits that endorsed the union were not going to break the link and they would have been the only things that Alex could have listened to in those precious moments of union.
Slowly Alex did start to grind his pelvis against hers and move his cock from the deepest penetration of her to move against her silk and start teasing her nerves. His chest and stomach started to play muscle tension games with her muscles and soft skin. His arms and legs started to travel hers and create cool tingly spots with goose bumps rather than the warm intense connection of the stillness before. The pressing kiss continued with more energy now, but Becka could hear his voice clearly in her head. "Rebeckah, with Earth as my witness, I love you with my all. I will do all I can to further you and our Earth home." A few moments later his grinds became gentle thrusts in her lap. How his body had not erupted yet was beyond him the plateau of pleasure with the emotion and energy of the moment had him lit up like he had never been lit up before.
When Alex lifted her and laid her on the ground, she felt a surge of power building. As he entered her, her body tightened around him, legs wrapping around his waist, it was as if she was trying to pull him into her and merge them as one. The power released as well at that very moment. She groaned into their kiss as the link they shared suddenly strengthened and became a permanent bonding. Even when their year commitment was up, they would forever be linked and know where the other was anywhere in the world, the only way to break it was by one of their deaths.
Having grown up with a twin, Becka had been used to such a bond, and that experience was the only reasons she’d never balked at the link forged between her and Alex. It wasn’t until this precise moment that she realized how much she’d missed the self without that she’d had with Samantha. While this new bond wasn’t exactly the same, it was so close that it was a welcomed thing by her. Why Mother Earth had chosen to permanently link her to an Ancient of her race was beyond Becka’s abilities to fathom, considering her views on them. She couldn’t argue with it though, it felt to right, as if she’d just found a part of herself she never realized was missing, and it made her almost whole and complete.
Alex’s declaration sent a shudder through her body, but she wasn’t able to reply back. She was suddenly shoved to the background of her own mind as another presence filled her consciousness. She recognized it and didn’t fight the takeover, whatever reasons her twin needed to suddenly possess her, she would not deny. Another link was added to their bond, ghostly and faint, but just as permanent. Becka mused over this as her awareness faded from the moment.
Samantha blocked Becka’s mind from what she was about to do. What she had to say was for Agathon only; Becka would just throw up walls and fight if she was aware. The voice that filled Alex’s mind was the same one Becka had used to prophesy their soon leave taking. “I beg of you Agathon, to teach her how to love as you love her. The only love she has ever known was my own, but I am just a sister. The Universe has brought you together because you two are needed. Your age and wisdom will temper her curiosity and sense of rightness, but in order for such a balance to be achieved, you must learn from her as well as teach her. Learn from her how to regain the Humanity that you once had before you became old and wise. Now, I must set you on your journey. Take her home Agathon, the answers you seek to the festering of your race start there. Far thee well… Brother-in-law.” With that, Samantha released Becka’s awareness and retreated. Samantha had made the choice at her death to stay and watch over Becka until one would come and take the task from her. She hoped with what was left of her being that Agathon was up for the job.
As she came back to herself, Becka forgot that she’d been possessed by her twin, and replied to Alex’s proclamation. “Agathon, all I want is for you to let me trust you. I want to know that I once more have someone I can share all my hopes and dreams, fears and joys. I need that someone to be you. I need to know that no matter how silly, stupid, or idiotic I can get, that you won’t turn away from me. I accept you, Agathon, as you are.”
With the last words, she opens herself up completely to him. What she says is true, she no longer sees him as an Ancient, but as Agathon. The one she wanted to try to spend the rest of her life with. Becka suddenly broke their kiss and grabbed his hands. Tilting her head back, she guided his hands to her throat. Through the open connection; he could feel her trepidation, and her wrestling with it. But it didn’t stop her from bringing his hands to rest upon her throat and then running her own along his arms, leaving him in complete control.
Alex felt the reach of their bond going past the ceremony and reaching into the far beyond. Rebeckah's love was blossoming past anything Agathon had hoped for and it was a humbling experience. In all his time on Earth, there had never been an inkling in his soul that something like this could happen. It was all very new, profound, peaceful, and hopeful.
Samatha's call was a welcome shock in the moment. Hearing the bond between Rebeckah and him called from her loving spirit was extremely profound to him. His mind listened and knew Ireland was the next place to go. A wave a gratitude swept over him to mix with all of the love and pleasure flowing. Why dark beings ran from such energy and life was puzzling and his resolve to champion Rebeckah intensified even after he thought there was no way to do it. The universe was moving and they needed to move with it. It was clear he had been sleeping for too long and Rebeckah's soul was providing his with a sorely needed alarm clock.
Rebeckah's proclamation burned firmly into his mind. Though it seemed an easy charge, the universe tended to challenge those kinds. It was vitally important to remember and the illusion of ease to it gave him an impression to protect and honor that charge with his dying heartbeat if needed. Something terrible needed to be faced in Ireland and to keep the balance of things; they would most likely have to sacrifice their comfort and security to strengthen their bond even more.
Rebeckah's move to place his hands on her throat was incredibly honoring for Alex. The level of trust and the power of it were obvious. His fingers slowly glided over the skin to give them the outside warmth and tenderness of his fingertips. The echo of the touch resounded in his own throat while the feeling of the intensity of trust and love Rebeckah was offering seemed stronger than the sunlight in his eyes. It felt like touching a virgin to him. The innocent pure trust put shudders through his body. His hands parted and his lips tenderly hugged her throat. The whole reaction was more erotic than any other sexual act in his memory and his whole body seemed to tingle as goose bumps rose in his pours. His teeth separated to allow his tongue to comfort the tender skin. As it pressed gently with moist warmness his body tensed in a wave. His loins released deep into her folds to consummate. The ejaculation was intense and it shocked him to feel his muscles fire his essence with more power than he had ever asked them on their own without his bidding.
His lungs could not move air from the intensity of the moment. His mind could only tell her, "Rebeckah, I'm yours." The moment was a defining point in his life that seemed as profound as his birth. It was also an incredible learning experience. Rebeckah was going to be the only person able to walk him out of that spot. There was no one else he could trust enough to leave the magic of the place and go back to Ireland.
An odd thing happened to Alex past that point. His body started to wind down. His muscles had to relax and his desire had to abate. The love and emotion stayed in full brilliance and intensity and put a bright smile on his face full of joy and contentment, but his body moved to a relaxed state that he had only felt as a young teen from when he was human. His victims had felt it and he knew the feeling of it from them, but his body had not done it itself as a vampire. He was able to speak again and his voice came out quietly and breathlessly as he lifted his head to look deep into Rebeckah's icy blue eyes.
"Rebeckah, I love you. I'm yours."
Becka very nearly drowned in the sensations of Alex exploring her throat. The sheer exoticness of him touching her in a place she’d long considered taboo was highly erotic for her. She was completely unprepared when her body bucked under his to add her release to his. “Agathon!” the intensity of their coupling rendered her speechless and almost thoughtless, his name being all she could cry out in their minds.
As their bodies relaxed and Alex spoke to her once again, she felt something deep within her soul suddenly break as something took root. A deep contentment and peace settled over her as she looked into his rich brown eyes, and she gave him a quiet smile. “Mmm, I think it is more we are each other’s now.” Her hand comes up and lightly caresses his face. “Love is such a funny thing. It means something different to each person. Show me what it means to you, Agathon, I want to understand.” While she waited to see how Alex would answer, her hands idly ran over the parts of his body she could easily reach.
A scene shows up in Rebeckah's head. Sophia is seven and swimming in the water. The light is glistening of the waves and a cool breeze is blowing. She delights in the water, swimming on her back as her arms pulling her through the gentle swells. Her lips are turning a bit blue and there is a shiver on her jaw. She flips over and starts swimming. Her eyes peer at the dock and she realizes once again she has forgotten her blanket because the dock is empty. She sighs and swims to the ladder. She climbs up the ladder to find her blanket unfurled in the sun with two feet at its base. She curls up and turns around with a big smile on her face as a seven year old Alex wraps her blanket around her shivering body and hugs her until she is warm in the sun, both of them looking over the water. He finally releases her seeing her shivering has stopped and her lips have reddened and says in ancient Greek, "Come on, let's get some soup."
The two children take the hike up the windy hill to the house. They burst through the door towards the fireplace. Alex's mother is sitting by the fire with a cross look on her face. "Agathon, did you finish hanging up the laundry?" Alex looks at his mother. "No, Mom." "No lunch for you. Go finish your work." "Yes, Mom." He goes off to finish hanging clothes with a smile on his face.
Alex hoped the scene fit. Love was about giving someone priority over yourself. It was understanding them, seeing their needs, and then delivering them without worrying about yourself. It was one of his earliest memories of first encountering it in himself.
Becka stills as she receives Alex’s images. It is cute and precious; she had known several moments like that herself with her sister. She frowned slightly; she’d loved her sister, hell, still loved her sister, but had never once wanted to mate with her. She gave a soft sigh and gave up trying to sort it right now.
She looked at Alex and suddenly grinned. She had been debating having another round with him, or heading back to the Gather. She decided the Gather could wait, the night was still young. She moves one side of her body, effectively rolling them until she is on top. Her grin turns mischievous as she slowly lowers her head and starts to softly kiss along his collar bones.
Having enough of teasing him, she slowly rises up until she is straddling him. Slowly she starts to ride his shaft. She grabs his hands and brings them up to her breasts. Bringing her own hands down to his chest, she softly rakes her nails along his flesh. She smiles down at him before her eyes close and her head falls back in pleasure. “Mmm, Agathon, I sure hope things never get boring between us.”
Alex sensed some confusion in Becka slightly after digesting his vision. He wondered if she realized all the different things they were doing out of love. They shared each other’s' origins to help understand one another. Becka helped him on his hunt rather than turned away. She touched him and helped him discover this moment. She shared her family and trusted him. When she needed a blanket, she let him put one over her. She dressed him to come to this place. It would have been a disaster to come here in ancient Chinese silk. There was so much going on having to do with love. Part of him realized he left the trust part out of love. Her throat was a prime example of that, though.
Her grin combined in a rebound with his arousal caused him to grin as well. "I know what you are up to," he teased. Now on bottom, Alex's hands ran up Becka's sides. Her touch on him was delicious. She really was a talented lover. He felt her silk engulf him as her thighs warmed and comforted his hips. The touch of her hands on his as she pulled his hand from her ribs to her globes sent more tingles up his arms as his hips started working with hers and his cock started jumping inside her folds. Alex added his nails on her breasts to her nails on his chest for a double dose of the reaction. Vampire sex had been something else, but sex with another head of bloodline who wasn't your fledgling was something he never would have guessed. Becka's talent took it absolutely over the top and made his mind feel like there was no tomorrow.
"Rebeckah, sex has not gotten old in over eight thousand years and I have never, ever met someone as good as you." For Alex it was a foregone conclusion. Hopefully he kept up and didn't get left behind. His right hand let go of her breast and traveled down her stomach to the tip of her crevice. He slipped his middle finger into her valley to find her bud and start teasing and prodding it as she rode him. His left hand kept working her right breast though, giving it pinches with his finger pads and running fingernail tip circles around and over it. Without thinking, he started tracing a Celtic knot over her nipple and areola, basking in her riding. She was going to be able to bring him again. Her canal had the initiative on it, though.
At some point they were going to have to have some blocked link sex, but that was really only possible sharing a dream in the evening. Alex enjoyed giving orgasms without having an ejaculation and that would be fun to do for Becka.
If Becka had challenged Alex on her mating question, Alex could have explained that mating signified a lot of trust, especially for humans. While the touch and pleasure could be selfish, it could also be giving. Loving sex focused on pleasing your mate and letting your mate please you. Evil sex focused on rape by stealing personal pleasure while denying your mate. It came in all shades and most sex had elements of both, though some instances were relatively extreme.
Becka moaned with the double pleasures hitting her body. She didn’t bother with speaking out loud anymore. “Agathon, life can get predictable if you let it. That is what I don’t want to happen.” Her words were a bit disjoined as his left hand moved down and found her overly sensitive bud. Her body tilted back slightly to give his finger easier access. Loosing contact with his chest, she brought her hands back and settled them on his thighs to hold her balance.
Old world magic melded with new world magic when he started tracing the Celtic knot on her breast. She felt something physical change inside her, but didn’t know what as she suddenly gushed her pleasure all over the place. Words flooded his mind. “Damn it Agathon, you play me too well.” There was no anger; it was more of a lament that he’s brought her to an orgasm so quick. “It’s not fair.”
As she rode the waves of pleasure, she still moved up and down his hard cock, but she also started circling her hips causing a corkscrew sensation. She moaned as the affect intensified her own joy. “Crap. That was not what I was going for. I seem to be at a serious disadvantage here.” There was amusement to her mental voice, as if she was laughing at herself and her predicament.
"Rebeckah, predictability isn't going to be in the cards for us." Shortly afterward, her physical reaction seemed to confirm it for them. His cock started pumping her full as her crevice emptied nectar over his pubic hair. His lungs let out a moan as the pleasure ran through and washed over him. "Mmm, you are worth playing. I'm going to have to take you to Ireland for our honeymoon." He realized he was tracing a Celtic knot on her nipple. He wondered if that had something to do with things.
He had an old friend in Ireland that could keep them, but he was someone Becka would not like. He was a recluse and very proud of his age. Old world vampires were like that a lot though. He wasn't a particularly strong friend of Alex's either, but Europe had its limits with Alex. Most of his trusted friends were in Northern Africa.
Her opening up her seating on him allowed him to start catching her g-spot as she corkscrewed him. His thumb gave him more control over his base to add to unnaturally controlled stomach and cock muscles. His hand moved over to her other breast and he decided to trace the Celtic knot on it consciously this time with his fingernail tip. He could not deny extreme mirth in setting her off and his grin was the impish one now. He was even considering tracing the knot on her bud. Throwing caution to the wind, the tip of his middle finger backed off and he set his other fingernail to work as well. He could always go back to the fingertip if it had no effect on her.
Becka groaned as he traced more symbols upon her body. A fresh wave of cum exploded from her body before the first had even stopped. “Oh… Agathon… Yes…” Her body moved quicker of its own accord. It kept wave after wave of pleasure coming from her and she couldn’t bring herself to stop, even if she wanted to, and at the moment she didn’t want to.
If this was what the next year with him was going to be like, she might have to find a way to keep him more permanently. She knew sex wasn’t a good enough reason for any kind of relationship, but by all that was Holy and Unholy, with Alex she could easily make an exception. During their initial meeting, she’d felt some connection to him but only time would tell if they had a deeper connection then great sex.
Samantha hovered watching her twin and her brother-in-law consummate something far deeper than a Lycan ritual. The Universe had chosen Her Champions, and Samantha prayed to long dead Gods that the two of them could come to terms with each other to survive what the Universe had planned for them. They had a long and tough journey ahead of them, Ireland being the first of many stops along the road.
Her eyes widened and she drew closer as she realized Agathon was tracing a Celtic Fertility Knot upon her sister’s right breast. She was stunned as she felt the Universe answer Agathon’s request. Was he even aware of what he was doing? She watched as he moved to Becka’s other breast and even upon her womanhood. Watching, she noted that ever so briefly Becka had noticed the change within herself, but it was quickly overshadowed by her lover’s skill.
She sat back watching as the magic of Old and New Worlds finished working on her twin’s body. She wondered just exactly what the Universe was up too. Becka had long ago came to terms with the fact that she’d never have children back when she was Human, would she be able to handle having one now as a Vampire? And a child at this time, when they had a difficult task to complete?
Alex found himself emptying into her at a quick rate at well. Having fed so deeply on a full body of blood last night and the euphoria of the intense emotion of the evening didn't cause him to bat an eyelash. Becka deserved some great sex and he was giving her it. Something seemed to be going on with the knot pattern he drew. It was one totally ignored by the vampire race. It was only used for humans and Lycans. Alex figured it had to do with the sun or something. It was a particularly beautiful knot to him though and the beauty of their joining had just made a kind of odd link in his mind to subconsciously draw it in the first place. Maybe in Ireland he could find out what it was. He would certainly enjoy using it on Becka a lot. What he didn't know was the universe was changing vampire history and turning it on its head.
Hepitut had found Agathon the night after Sophia died. He was ridiculously young to not be a fledgling and the source of the missing vampire line Hepitut had come to investigate. It didn't take too long to discover that Agathon was not the source of imbalance. The imbalance was gone and what he found was a vampire that seemed to have his soul drained from the experience. Hepitut introduced him later that night to the Spirit of the Earth at a holy place in Egypt and started a chain of events leading to Rebeckah. Rebeckah's tragedy had placed her with the Lycan in the New World, and having learned of the Spirit of the Earth as well, created a collision course for the two. A parasitic race had dared to honor life and the Earth was going to give it a chance that would be forged in challenge.
What neither vampire knew was their blood would not sire by consumption anymore. Neither vampire would realize it either. Their conviction had been true enough to not spawn other vampires from their own blood and the New World Holy Ground would not reject them for this very reason. The universe took their unused curse and flipped it to bestow a blessing and awesome responsibility.
The multiple ejaculations had given Alex the sense he had his vampire strength again for sex. He was once again overcome by aftershocks and loss of lust again. "Rebeckah,I keep getting sexually spent. What is this?" The new gift had a drawback. Seed was not unlimited anymore. It took time to regenerate. It wasn't a lot of time for a vampire, but it could not flow continuously anymore.
Samantha perked up and paid close attention as Agathon’s seed enter her twin’s body. She fell back in shock as she watched the magic within her sister changed it, made it alive and extremely fertile. She blinked as two eggs, not one, were released within her twin. Shaking her head, she prayed to long, lost Gods, as well as new ones, that the Universe knew what it was doing.
Becka felt his release hot and hard inside her and it made her gasp. It seemed though that with his release, she was finally free of her own and nearly collapsed backwards at the suddenness of it. Struggling, she managed to get herself more upright only to finally collapse on top of him. “Wow, now that was intense. Too much more of that and we may have to start rationing ourselves.”
She gave a slight shake of her head against Alex’s shoulder at his question. “I don’t know. Agathon. I’m damned near exhausted myself.” She pauses to think. “We have not partaken of any food or drink, so nothing has been spiked. And yes, this side of my family is nothing but practical jokers, so they would do something such. Especially after Litha first talked to you and kissed your cheek. She had essentially told every Lycan at the Gather that you were acceptable, considering your age.”
She lay against him, content and with no urge to re-join the Gather at the moment, not that she had the strength to do so if she had wanted. “I can’t say I’m overly worried about it at the moment though. It just means I get you to myself a bit longer before we return to the Gather. You, dear lover, are going to be in for an interesting rest of the night when we return. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Father has already arranged an impromptu adoption ceremony.” She gives an exasperated sigh on the heels of those words. “Fuck! I hope he doesn’t. I might have to hurt him.” A flash of fear and possible jealousy suddenly surges through their bond at her words.
Samantha watches as the two components within Becka’s body finally meet and join. There was no turning back now. Her sister would now carry and later birth twins of her own. While both were originally Human, they were now something completely different, and the Universe was also creating something new with them as the templates. Would gestation be shorter or longer than a Human one? What differences would there be between parents and children. In a way, Samantha couldn’t wait to see how the Universes newest experiment would turn out.
Alex hugged Becka close to him as she collapsed on him. While his body's desire was fulfilled, the emotional bond was still actively craving body contact, sexual or not. Alex kissed her with a very loving and tender kiss. "I love you." Why the words came out of his mouth at that point was a surprise to him, but his mind told him it was important to say while emotions were riding so strong and lust had ebbed as much as it could for Becka inside of him.
Alex knew the event was physical, but there was no physical way to explain the event. If Lithia had done something to them as a prank or a lesson, it would have to have been something spiritual. It was extremely unlikely it was a prank. Spirits might give hard lessons and there might be a profound amount of humor in those lessons, but they always had intense wisdom that was never a prank but consistently a much needed insight. It was lot of work for spirits to interact with the living and they didn't waste their time with pranks. "It can't be a prank. The only substance I'm aware of that could spike us is blood of a dead person or Lycan blood. We haven't met anyone against us like that. The spirits are trying to teach us something. Our bond seems something more than the ceremony. It's something entirely new in my life so there is nothing to go off of. You reacted wonderfully to a design my mind pulled out of memory from Ireland. It's a Celtic knot I saw. Maybe that knot will tell us something. We'll have to research it in Ireland unless Narkel knows the knots. I've only been taught the vampire ones and the one I drew was about the sun or something. Vampires all but ignored it. It just looked so beautiful and always stuck in my mind." Alex had an inherent trust that the Earth's symbols were not a threat. He had used the symbol out of appreciate for love and beauty and not tried to corrupt it in any way. It couldn't be wrong and never really passed his thoughts consciously. If he had considered it consciously, he would have concluded it was a perfectly correct thing to do. Touching your mate's body with beauty to please her would have been expected by the Earth and extremely right.
Alex was shocked at Becka's jealousy of an adoption ceremony. It confused him. Their bond seemed so intense it felt like a family type of bond akin to marriage, but more pure. With Becka already adopted, Alex would take his adoption as a gift to him for having taken a bond of love to Becka. Narkel and Lithia were parent-in-laws and then he remembered Samantha calling him brother-in-law. His eyes grew wide with a smile. The Earth had married them. He had been so enmeshed with the love of the relationship; he missed the detail of the responsibility of the relationship. Samantha had entrusted that detail to him and not shared it with Rebeckah. A wave of panic spread over him. What if Rebeckah sensed his realization that they were, in fact, married on a very binding level? He would sooner try to enter a house uninvited than violate a declaration of the spirits and his heart had wanted her for a mate anyway. He shifted his thoughts quickly to something more humorous to cover the panic. It was going to be funny to see old friends as married. No one was going to believe it and any awareness of Earth law was going to force everyone to know the truth of it. Trying to say they weren't married was like trying to argue the sun wasn't going to rise in the morning.
Alex pulled Rebeckah in very close and gave her a very loving and deep kiss. "Rebeckah, love never gets bored of loving. Anyway, it's going to take all of eternity to show you just how important you are and it is going to be my honor to work towards you knowing that." Curiosity crossed his brow. He wondered if Narkel and Lithia knew. Was it just a secret to keep from Rebeckah until she was ready? He didn't know how to keep that kind of secret from her. She was so deep in his being and his being was in such celebration of it.
The thing that took root within her soul suddenly starts to grow and bloom. Snuggling close to Alex, Becka responds to his love. “I love you.” She starts to realize this is very true. It’s not like the love of a family member that would be wrong on so many levels, not to mention gross and weird. But a different kind of love she didn’t have a name for or any prior experience of.
She pushes the contemplations aside as he mentions Ireland and Celtic Knots. “Draw it for me; after all you are with a descendant of the Celts. I probably know what it is.” She points to a patch of dirt within easy reach. “Narkel wouldn’t know it, he’s not Irish. He comes from somewhere in the mid-east I think, or maybe it’s the Russian steppes. I’ve never really paid it that much attention, he’s immersed himself in the ways of his adopted home, and pretty much left his native roots behind.”
Becka felt his confusion and panic briefly, and she felt him try to cover it up. She looked at him with narrowed eyes. It didn’t sit well with her, and it hurt that he felt he had to keep something from her. She didn’t want a secretive relationship with him; she’d watch such relationships destroy the people involved on levels that were more emotional than physical. Before she could do or say anything though, he was kissing her again. And while she enjoyed the kiss, it didn’t ease the hurt within her.
Once the kiss ended she rose and went to her clothes, she found her other clothes folded and waiting not far. She changed course and went to them to start dressing. “We’ll see, Agathon.” She didn’t bother hiding her pain from him; she couldn’t really even if she wanted too. She’d already fallen back into the old habits of her bond with Mantha. Though long dormant, it was too ingrained into her psyche for her to even really think to hide from the connection.
She turns back to Alex. “Draw the symbol for me, I’ll tell you what it is, and then we should get back to the Gather.”
Samantha watched as true love finally started to grow in her twin. She frowned though when it suddenly seemed to wither slightly. She quickly checked her link with both Vampires, and soon sorted out what had happened. If Agathon was going to start such nonsense so soon in their relationship, they were doomed. She’d only told him without Becka’s knowledge due to the fact that she would not have listened to her at that moment in time. Also by providing him with the information first, he could use it to bring her twin closer to him. Instead he went the opposite way with it. She became sad at this, but there was nothing else she could do. She couldn’t interfere anymore. She was hoping though she’d be able bend the rules once more tonight, if the conditions manifested.
Alex felt Becka's anger. It wasn't right. She knew he knew something and he was going to have to share it with her. Lies were somehow wrong and the marriage had crossed the threshold of secret to lie if he didn't act. "Rebeckah, I don't know if you were supposed to know this now or not. I don't know if my feelings told more than they were supposed to, but you are aware of them and you may as well know what Samantha told me. We are married by the Earth, Rebeckah. My heart is just singing with knowing it." His finger drew the knot in the dirt. "Samantha said it was for me and not for you so I got confused on her intent. She had called me brother-in-law and I missed it earlier, but the meaning is clear. She knows and has wisdom far beyond mine." He completed the knot and looked Rebeckah in the eyes with full love and sincerity. "Please don't be angry, Rebeckah. It was a mistake and I'm trying to reconcile it with you now. When I felt your anger over my adoption my mind thought Samantha didn't want you to know our marriage until you were ready. I didn't realize it. It's as much of a surprise to me as you. For me it's an extremely happy surprise. I'm not sure how you will feel. I wasn't trying to dishonor you, Rebeckah. I was trying to be true to your sister and in doing that be true to you as well. For all I knew, I wasn't supposed to share this until you would be happy about it as well. Truth be told, my heart is telling me it needed to be out. The weight that was in knowing it without you knowing it is gone now. I'm just a vampire like you Rebeckah. Samantha has wisdom I don't possess. I ask your forgiveness and hope the Earth understands I know my mistake now. You will know all I can share without betraying the ones that love you Rebeckah. I'm supposed to learn from you and you just taught me more. Samantha explained that to me as well. My age isn't immunity from mistakes. Confront me when I make them. Don't let anger simmer. You will find I want to put them right for us. Don't assume I know just because your emotion is there. Add the information part of it. The mind and heart are both working with spirit. Both are necessary to learn."
He rose to get dressed. "See your mate, Rebeckah. I love you and we really do belong to each other. Don't be surprised if we have to do a marriage dance tonight. Part of my mistake is that Narkel and Lithia might already know and might already think I did my duty and told you. Maybe they don't know and my mistake still somehow lies in telling you, but it doesn't feel like it. This is new for me Rebeckah. We will have to share patience. It will be funny coming back married already." Alex started laughing at the surprise of the Gather when a freshly mated couple came out the woods from an annual Handfast recognizing marriage already. Narkel was either going to think madness had indeed taken them or be very, very happy for them.
He had laid it all out. He spilled the milk, knew it, and did his best to clean it up and refill the cup. Rebeckah would now have to decide what to think and feel about it.
Becka was too stunned at first to think, feel, or even say anything as Alex spilled forth everything. She stared at him for many long moments blinking owlishly, and looking like the preverbal deer caught in headlights. Eventually her eyes slowly closed and she appeared to be communing with something. What she was doing in truth was searching her own soul, hoping her sister would maybe make an appearance so she could give her what for, and on another deeper level pleading with Mother Earth that he spoke truth.
Her twin made no appearance though, and instead she felt a rightness and suddenly as if she’d finally found her place in the world. A smile lit her face full of joy and peace, only to disappear as her eyes flew open and she gave Alex a hesitant look. “Wait. You mean to tell me you are all right being married for Eternity, or there’s abouts, to a Young Blood, that in truth has no love for Old Bloods? Present company excluded naturally.”
She moves towards him slowly. “And by the way, being Earth Married means an Adoption Ceremony isn’t so bad now. By adopting you into the pack, it would have made you eligible next year for any woman to Claim as a mate for a year.” She finishes walking up to him, and slowly puts her arms around him and looks up into his face. “I think… I think I am starting to understand what love is in truth, Agathon.”
She idly looks at the Knot he drew and she freezes. “Um, Agathon… That is no Sun Knot.” She looks back up at him. “That is a Fertility Knot. It was used long ago for crops, animals, and people. That would also be why the Vampires mainly ignore it, since we can’t reproduce like other living creatures.” She looks back down at it, her head cocked slightly. “It is interesting that you’ve had such a strong memory of it.”
Samantha gives a ghostly chuckle at the scene before her. Both are learning, good. Now if they’d just get back to the Gather.
"Rebeckah, spirits are forever. It's love for you that decides my decision to be married to you. In the Earth's eyes, we are both extremely young children. You are my spiritual mate. It doesn't matter our age. My love for you is real and it would be foolish to deny it its peace."
Alex started getting dressed and laughed again once more when he saw why Becka was upset about the adoption. She was going through the same torture he had endured during the dance. The fear of not getting chosen by the one you chose, but rather another had hit him and Rebeckah was dealing with the fear of someone else choosing her chosen and stealing him away. "Lithia is going to be laughing at us Rebeckah. We are two newlyweds discovering each other so innocently in her eyes. Let's hope Narkel and Max don't have shotguns to chase me back into the woods for our eloping." He winked at her. Narkel and Max seemed to have already known so much. He had a feeling the marriage already had their blessing and that his joke was simply an academic one.
"A fertility knot? No wonder it gave you so much pleasure. Why would my hand just trace something like that without me thinking about it though? It was just so beautiful looking. No wonder..." Alex's mind drifted to something he wished he could have shared with Becka. The haunt of no children was a sharp pain though. He had to let it pass when something outside of him told him peace was already balancing things anyway. It wasn't a reality or concern anymore. It passed from his mind as if waking from a nightmare and realizing it was a dream and that his wife and children were safely sleeping in the room with the sun shining. It was some odd feeling of good with a lot of might and power beyond his ability to understand. "Well, you are not getting out of our honeymoon in Ireland just because you solved the mystery so fast."
Alex walked up to Becka and hugged her and kissed her in full joy. "Let's tell Mom and Dad about their son-in-law." He didn't offer his arm this time. Instead he interlocked hands. One of his arms held the small of her back to take her one hand with the other crossed his stomach to take the other. He was happy about something else he didn't know and his mind was telling him it was his new family. While Narkel, Lithia, and Max were his new family, his mind was fooled about why his heart was singing even louder.
Becka looks back up at Alex and smiles, “perhaps, but people don’t usually look at things from the Universe’s perspective.” She moved back from him to allow him to dress. Her gaze going back to the Knot and staring absently until he spoke again.
She laughed at him. “Nah, shotguns are too noisy, they’d use a bow.” She laughs some more. “As for Litha, she won’t be laughing so much as relieved I think. Now she can quit worrying about finding me a permanent mate and turn her attentions to someone else. My refusal to accept a possibility of her choosing has been a bone of contention with her for many decades now.”
Becka willingly entered Alex’s embrace and kissed him back. As they walk back towards the Gather she smirks. “You haven’t met Dancing Water yet. That will be fun. She is Narkel’s mate. Litha is his neice, actual neice, like it seems Max is his actual brother.” She frowns briefly at that. If they were actual brothers, it was strange Max avoided the Lycans as he did.
When they return to Narkel’s platform, there is an extremely gorgeous woman clearly of Native decent with him. Becka speaks mentally to Alex. “That is Dancing Water.” Out loud she addresses the two. “Mother, Father, this is Alex.” She grins sheepishly at the rather late formal introduction.
Dancing Water smiles at Becka, it is full of love and gentleness. “Daughter, it is good to--” She cuts off as her gaze falls to Alex, a surprised look that turns very thoughtful on her face. The same expression is mirrored on Narkel’s face.
Litha bounds up at that moment. “It’s about--” She comes to a sudden stop clearly stunned for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth between the two. Suddenly she squeals in pure joy and rushes up to hug both Vampires. “Sweet Mother Earth! Finally!” She stands back from hugging Alex and holds him at arm’s length cocking her head. “Not sure about adopting this one now, Uncle, he’s already Family.” She gets an impish smirk and looks side long at Becka. “At least now we don’t have to wait a year to make Little Cousin realize he’s a keeper.” She looks back at Alex. “Welcome to the Family, Cousin. Now I need to steal your wife and show you why we didn’t join your dance of the Old World.” Once more she drags Becka off leaving Alex with his new inlaws.
Soon dancers are assembled and music plays, it is clearly Native American in origin. The dancers move in time easily and as one. Becka and Litha are center most in the performance. Their eyes are closed and they move as if they are the music and not just an extension, as does every dancer there. It is easily felt that these dancers are calling to the Land with its own music, and the Land is listening. As the dancing continues on, the Land finally joins in. Spirits can be seen to manifest, each and every one is Native in dress, with a few sprinklings of people of European decent, but dressed as the trappers of old. Both dancers current and past intermingle, dancing to the music sharing in their love for and of the Land, and receiving Her Love in return.
As the music comes to an end, something changes, the Land’s spirits vanish, and those living depart the dance floor, except Becka. She holds a flute in her hands and starts to play. She turns the Native dance to join with the music she plays, and at first a spirit forms. The spirit goes from a ghostly form to more and more solid, dressed in old Irish dress, it is an exact replica of Becka. It too plays a flute; her dance is of the Irish though. The women play and dance with eyes closed, lost in the music. It is beautiful to see the two dances performed together, Old and New blend in perfect harmony to create something new. When they come to the end of their song, both stand before Alex and open their eyes.
It is clear that the Irish girl is Samantha, Rebeckah’s twin. She slowly fades now that the music is over, but her voice is clear as a chiming bell. “I love you both, may the Universe Bless you both always.”
Becka closes her eyes and pain briefly flashes across it, to be replaced by acceptance and love for her sister. “Good bye Samantha, peace to you at long last.” She moves to Alex and hugs him, needing him close as she receives one final image she shares with Alex. They see Samantha reunited with her husband and son at long last. They all three look back at them and smile. “We will always be with you sister, but I can only watch now. You no longer need me. You have Agathon now.” And with that the image fades.
Alex watched Becka introduce him to his new family. Oddly the land seemed to belong to the Lycan. Hepitut had always frowned on vampires crossing to the Americas and that had always puzzled him. It seemed to make more sense. Dancing Water was impressive to see. He had not had the privilege of meeting many Americans and it was good to see they still held positions of authority in their land which had been so brutally stolen away.
Alex nodded, dropping his eyes, at her gaze upon him. He was very junior in this meeting and knew his was to be spoken to before speaking. It was also not his place to block inspection with his own gaze here.
Lithia's arrival was a nice relief. Her hug was genuine and friendly and they were practically friends despite her disapproval of his fashion sense. Her fashion sense had seemed a bit off to him, but Becka had loved it, and that was more than enough to get his endorsement. The Chinese silk probably would see a lot fewer days of service. His body had a particular person to please and his current wardrobe wasn't acceptable.
Alex gave his thanks to Lithia's warm welcome but definitely wished Becka wasn't being stolen away. He turned to Narkel and Dancing Water waiting for a prompt, but the music started and a wave of relief took him. He turned to give the dancers his attention, not having to face his new parents alone.
Alex watched the dance closely. He was visually memorizing it while feeling the music as well. Hepitut would have laughed uncontrollably at Alex for having jumped into a New World Gathering with an Old World Gathering dance. Alex would have blushed in shame if the dance wasn't so important to know to him. Hepitut would have been laughing even harder than Alex even knew, though. Alex had always danced Old World dance single. Becka and he had danced the dance as married and Alex was not even aware of it. Hepitut would have been able to point it all out to him, but for now, Alex was just keenly aware that Earth dances were not all as familiar with each other as he thought they were. He had a nice steaming bowl of crow to eat.
Rebeckah and Samantha danced with some Irish style and Alex was very familiar with that it was obviously their own dance though. Alex visually memorized it as well. He wasn't very prepared to see Samantha, but she was a welcome sight.
The song ended a bit soon it seemed though it had run its course. Alex hugged her close and shared the departure of her sister and family. It hurt badly to have never met them alive, but he was grateful Becka had shared it all the same. "I love you, Rebeckah. You have given me a dear family in your choosing of me." He sealed it all with a kiss of simple love that he let linger on his lips.
When the moment passed he sent his voice in Becka's mind. "I dragged us into the gathering with the wrong dance. I owe your father a big apology. I thought they were all similar. It was beautiful." He flashed a few images of her dancing at some of his favorite moves of her that had particular emotion. Alex could not deny he was very thankful to have Becka back in his arms.
Becka had felt all of Alex’s turmoil before the dancing, but hadn’t been able to do much for him, but send him comfort through their link. Then the music had taken her over until now. She looked up at his as he spoke. She smiled at him and answers him back in the same manner. “That’s one of the many reasons I don’t care for you Old Bloods. So arrogant and thinking you know everything.” She is serious, but it is said in a teasing manner. Then her expression changes and she smiles at him with love. “But the dance was beautiful, and that alone redeems you.”
Narkel looks between the two a moment, and then shakes his head. “So, Old World is now joined with New. Though of the Old World yourself, Little Sister To Lycan Hearts, you took to this Land’s ways and were fully accepted and adopted. And you Alex, firmly of the Old World, you have come and the Land seems to approve of you and this union.”
He quiets as his mate steps up. “Alex, your dance when you first arrived was beautiful. Some of the Lycans are of the Old World; it was nice to see one of their dances danced here. Though most have left that World behind and embraced this one, it was good of you to remind them that the Earth is really One.” She turns to Becka. “Daughter, you danced beautifully. I especially liked how you blended my People’s dance with one of your own. But tell me, who was the girl with you? She looked just like you.”
Becka ducked her head briefly then looked back to her adopted mother. “That was Mantha, she was my twin sister, but has been gone for 462 years now.” Becka moves closer into Alex’s arms, her pain over her sister’s death surfacing.
Seeming to sense this Dancing Water just nods. “I see.” She comes up to both and hugs them. “Welcome to the Family, Alex, and congratulations to the both of you.”
Litha approaches. “You know Cousin, you have made many a male envious here, and you, Little Cousin, have just positively broke too many hearts. I don’t think our males are going to recover.”
Becka snorts. “Yes they will, at the next Gather.” The pain has disappeared at Litha’s teasing.
Alex was starting to realize that the parasitic nature of vampires was their downfall. He remembered words Hepitut had shared with him. 'We don't add life, Agathon. We can only persist to gather wisdom and knowledge and share it. The day will come we are not needed anymore and the Earth will replace us. Until then, we can only aide life by culling the forces of destruction within it. There are ancient prophecies I keep that show even that will not save us in the end. Life has its own wisdom in the Earth and our service will be at an end when its enemies dwindle.' Alex had a feeling the only thing that redeemed him was his love of Becka. What wisdom and knowledge he held did not bear fruit in the end that he was aware of at the time past becoming Becka's mate. He was eternally grateful for that fruit.
Narkel seemed to have hit the nail on the head to Alex. Alex's intended apology seemed useless. They all knew what he was and he was only just discovering what they were. Everyone knew he was wrong including him now. That was apology enough.
Dancing Water's grace was unmistakable and undeniable. She seemed to have heard his apology and accepted it all in one fell swoop without him saying anything. Alex let Becka into his arms when the subject of Samantha came up.
"Thank you so very much," was all Alex knew to say to Dancing Water's welcome and congratulations. It was easy to return her hug. Lithia's skill at comforting Becka was impressive and again Alex could only feel thanks for the new family.
Alex contemplated Max's wishes that Becka continue the Bucket of Blood's mission and how the Earth had something entirely different for her that started in Ireland. Max's fate seemed a tortured one. He needed to talk with Becka and find out how she wanted to deal with it. Max was obviously going to be running the Bucket of Blood for a while and without the glue that Becka was to do it. Uncertainty reigned there and Alex's call was to ensure Becka went to Ireland.