The New Arrival [Isabella]

[Urjasz Volkova]

The city lights flickered by the window row after row, road after road. His empty eyes saw past them, as if searching for a soul. One by one, the lights became slower, until one final light pulled up to the window slowly, coming to a stop. Zakhar blinked and awoke from his sleep, clicking his neck. His coach had reached its destination, yet another city for him to leave his mark in. Getting up from his seat, he calmly put on his coat, a heavy duty coat with fur hood, and picked up his hand luggage. Stepping off the coach, he took a quick look about the road, before heading the side of the coach to collect his bigger bag. As he waited for the man before him to collect his bag, Zakhar saw a black Mercedes pull up nearby. So, they are here already he thought to himself, turning to the driver and thanking him for the journey. Taking his bag, he carried it to the nearby seats, placing it on one of them. Sitting next to it, he watched the coach set off on its journey. His attention turned back to the man, who was casually walking into the distance. I wonder what he will make of his life, or what will be made of it, Zakhar smiled as he thought to himself.

Once the man was out of sight, Zakhar arose, stretching once he was up. Leaving the bags on the seat, he headed for the Mercedes. "You men are never far behind are you? Tell me, do you have my new phone? It was the only thing I ordered" he commanded in a friendly tone. Zakhar's voice was heavily Russian, the accent standing out like a sore thumb. A stern looking man turned towards the boot and opened it, saying nothing. Taking out a flip phone, he passed it to Zakhar and in a heavy Russian accent said "No Rules". Taking the phone, Zakhar nodded in acknowledgment, replying "Always the same. The world around us changes, but we do not." Giving them a quick wave, he turned and headed back for the seats.

As he neared them, he looked behind, seeing that they were still there. My shadow hangs onto me less than them. Jumping into the seat, he twisted over to the big bag, unzipping it. Taking out a pair of wristblades, he slid the first onto his left arm, clenching hard. The armwrap tightened and the blades retracked into his sleeve. Taking the other wristblade, he did the same with the right arm. Zipping back up the bag, he opened his smaller bag and took out a box of cigars. Waving to the Mercedes, he chuckled and light his cigar. Arms spread out across the seats, he leaned back and puffed away. Looking at the sky, he thought plenty of time left before sunrise

[aiden]

Isabella Spencer had spent the better part of the last hour walking around the streets of New York, trying to get her bearings in the huge city. Although she hasn'd been living in her small town home for a very long time, she still felt at moments that she was the very definition of a 'small town girl'. Well maybe not in attitude, but she was definately not enjoying the crowded atmosphere as much as her parents seemed to. But she was determined to see the things her parents had always told her and her brother about as children while she was here.

Since she was getting tired of walking around, her feet in their ratty sneakers dragging a little as she walked, Izzy decided to find somewhere to sit. The terminals, she knew, would be out of the way of most foot traffic and had benches and seats that she could use for a while until she decided where to go in the city. So with that in mind she went into the terminal, hoisting her heavy backpack up higher onto her shoulder, thankful that she would be able to put it down soon.

The terminal wasn't overly crowded and Izzy took a deep breath, feeling calmer instantly. She chose a seat that was open along the wall and set her pack down beside her, taking in the various strangers that were here. There were people coming and going on their normal business as far as she could tell, and some people that looked a little lost. She knew that feeling. Resting her head against the wall, she sighed, relaxing the muscles in her neck for the first time since she entered the city. New York was going to be a much harder adventure than she imagined. But she was resiliant, and ready to take any challenge that would meet her.

[Urjasz Volkova]

The smoke first blew up fast, then slowing down, showing off its beauty as it fluttered through the air, disbanding slowly. Zakhar watched the smoke as it drifted away from him, following it with another puff of smoke. Watching the smoke gave him a strange sense of satisfaction, for it made the world around him slow down. It made the voices stop. Took his mind off things. His vision going from the smoke to through the smoke, he thought to the Novosi followers I see you, teasing them in his own way. The Novosi were his guardians, loyal allies of his family's. They dedicate their immortal lives to their masters, looking after them and cleaning up any messes. Some of them are the humans turned by the Gorchakov's, others are simply vampires who wished to serve a cause. Zakhar had grown close to his previous Novosi, a vampire by the name of Alexei, but had lost him to a traitor amongst the Novosi. Since then, the only rule he had was not to get to know the Novosi, for his grief over Alexei had overwhelmed him, for it felt like he'd lost a brother.

As the cigar got shorter, he began to finish it off, wishing it would just smoke forever, keeping the world at the same pace. His pace. As the last breath disappeared around him, the cigar was dropped from his hand, bouncing once before settling on the ground, burning itself to nothing. Zakhar's gaze stayed focused ahead, a new interest for passing the time had replaced his smoke games. A human girl. Alone. Oh the memories of this situation he thought, leaning forward, resting his right elbow on his knees. Looking around, he decided he would start up a conversation. See what the locals are like he reassured himself, hoping it wasn't the voice inside his head. Focusing on her, he allowed his mind to mix with hers. By simply getting into her mind he could tell she was not some kind of ancient. However, there was something different. Delving into her memories, he found his answer. A werewolf. He found them interesting beings, ever since an encounter with one in the harsh winters of Poland.

Before he moved, he spoke one word in her mind. Smile. Moments later, he had flashed across the terminal to next to her, barely in the blink of an eye. Leaning against the wall beside her, he took out another cigar and lit it. Hoping that alone had got her attention, he spoke softly, trying to avoid his harsh Russian accent. "So tell me, what brings you to this city? I would of thought you would enjoy the woods more" he joked, taking a puff of his cigar. "Isn't it funny how they all walk by us, in their own little worlds, unaware of the immortals that live around them. The name is Zakhar, what might yours be?" he asked politely, holding out his right hand to shake, holding his cigar in his left.

[aiden]

Isabella had been contemplating how to find all of the old places her parents used to talk about, obsessing and overthinking, as she was prone to do, when a strange voice entered her mind. At first she stopped breathing for only a fraction of a second, having no clue where the voice had come from. But then she saw the man that had been smoking across from her and her posture stiffened slightly. Nevertheless, he didn't seem to be threatening her, so she smiled, a little unsure of what the hell was going on.

With the smile turning into a slight smirk, Izzy looked up to him and stood, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. "You know, smoking is very bad for you." She said as she put the pack away. She shook his hand briefly, then turned to look back out over the humans going about with their lives. "Well honestly, I haven't gotten tired of being around humans yet, but I do enjoy knowing that they're oblivious to what I really am. It's like an inside joke or something."

"My name is Isabella, but you can call me Izzy if you want." She had another nickname, Ella, but it was seldom used, and she didn't want to hear it from a stranger. "I'm in New York because it's where my travels took me, really. I'm sort of a wanderer, so to speak. I've been traveling the U.S. for a while now." Yes, New York was where she ended up, but Izzy always knew when she left Colorado that she would end up in this city eventually. So much of her childhood was filled with stories of this city, she had always felt the desire to see the places that were painted in her mind. and now she was here, and had no idea what to do about it. "I'm actually from the middle of nowhere, in the woods, but my family is a little....disjointed. So I'm traveling. What about you?"

[Urjasz Volkova]

The two types of smoke mixed in the air, as Zakhar took his hand back from the shake, placing the cigar into his right hand, his left hand slidding into a pocket. "Humans are funny to me, they think they can change the world, but have so little time to do so. All they can do is leave a mark and that's it. We can leave a fresh mark daily." Looking past the humans, Zakhar watched the Novosi watching him carefully. "Nice to meet you Izzy, I would say call me Zak but the Russian part of me likes the traditional method of names, meaning we like our long names" he laughed softly, as if it was a funny joke yet a pleasant memory.

"As you may or may not of guessed by my accent, I am Russian. My family is a big workforce over there, we do certain jobs for people who pay well. I was sent over here about half a century ago, to keep an eye on the Americans during the cold war. But with the Soviet Union collapse in 1991, there was no need for me to stay on for that reason. However, I was one of the few asked to try expand the family empire here. I've mixed with the underworld since, but I had to take a few years time out. Family tragedy and all that." Zakhar waved over to the Novosi men, shouting wave. The men covered their faces and turned away, some getting into the Mercedes. And those are my babysitters, to make sure I don't give away our species, and to clean up any mess I get into. Or make. Same thing to me really. They're called "The Novosi", they're loyal workers and allies for my family."

"So tell me, what are your plans for this city then? From what I've heard it's underground life is quite unique. We are not alone in this city, if you get what I mean. And might I enquire about how you came about your immortality. Were you born or bitten?"

[aiden]

Isabella could tell that this conversation was going to be interesting already. A russian vampire in the middle of New York? We she really didn't know if that was rare or not, but she imagned it was. "Zakhar it is then?" The name was deifnately foreign and would take some getting used to, but it suited him. "Sadly, I've never been out of the U.S. Maybe someday though. I like to travel a lot, and I want to see every place I can in my lifetime." It was a silly desire, but Izzy wanted to see the world, and maybe something that would change it forever.

A smirk came onto her lips when she saw the Novosi. "You have babysitters? That's terrible. I would go crazy." She shook her head, still smiling. "I'm a little too independant to like that idea. But maybe that's me being young and rebellious." Izzy could tell the vampire was older than she was. Probably a lot older, but that wasn't saying much. "I feel very young in this city, but it seems like the kind of place that would make you old fast." Izzy took one last drag off her cigarette and dropped it to the ground, stomping it out with the toe of one ratty sneaker.

"Well....I'm actually here, in a way, because of my parents." This conversation was a little embarassing, the tales of childhood sparking a life adventure...riiight. "They met here for the first time. Lots of stories from my youth have a stage here in New York. I got curious to actually see it." She shrugged. "I haven't met any onther...'creatures' of the night yet, but I've only been here for a few hours. I know they exist though." She looked around the terminal, wondering if those 'creatures' frequented this place. "I was born a werewolf, actually. Both of my parent were, and so my twin brother and I inherited the same condition." Yeah, Izzy knew she was definately a lot younger than this guy, but she didn't care. "And you? Were you bitten in some dark alley on a cold lonely night? Like a typical horror movie?" She was smiling again, her good nature coming out as she got more comfortable with him.

[Urjasz Volkova]

Despite the cold night air, the warmth between the pair sent a rush of warmth through Zakhar's body, warming him up instantly. It was such a nice feeling, it made him feel very snug. "Ah you should travel while you can, you are only young. You have plenty of time to see the world, but it does become small very fast, especially with these humans and their planes. I wasn't even aware a vampire could suffer jet lag until I got in one of them!" Zakhar moved closer to Izzy, sitting beside her, his left hand still in the pocket.

He laughed when she misunderstood why he had babysitters. But he guessed that the answer she had given was a more obvious one. "Ah, they are only here because I am too independent and rebellious. Let's just say I've left a stain or two across the world's landscapes. They're more like cleaners actually, and a "have whatever you need" shop. For example -" Zakhar took his left hand out his pocket, clenching his fist, flicked his arm once, the three blades slidding out through the sleeve. You guys can't have all the fun with you claws" he laughed, flicking them back up into his sleeve, his hand returning to the pocket. Taking a long puff of his cigar, he added "this is why I smoke cigars, they last longer. And I've got no worries about cancers, I never lived."

Listening to her story, he turned slightly towards her, resting his right elbow on the bench, taking puffs every now and then. "Ah it's good to have a goal, a dream of such to follow. And no, I wasn't the subject of the horror style biting. I was also born into this species, however I have never got to know my parents. There is over 500 of us, we are all born and age up till 30 or 40 and then stay like that till whenever we cease to be. It is a family rule that parents do not reveal themselves, for that would bring grief should they die. I did not understand the rule until Alexei died. Grief did some bad things to me, and I did bad things for no reason. I do bad things all the time, but I always need a reason. It was a time of regret, that I can assure you." Zakhar took a breath, allowing time for her to take it all in, taking a few more puffs of the shortening cigar. "Here's a good question, any powers that make you different to the others? Or any powers in general you're proud of? Being pure blood must mean you have something I'd assume."

[aiden]

Izzy laughed quietly. Planes had been around long before she was born, it was a normal method of travel to her. But not one that she used often. "Well humans are always trying to find ways to do everything faster. Travel, work, eating, you name it. It's all sort of normal to me, but being immortal after a while probably would take away your desire to rush, wouldn't it?" Izzy shifted slightly so there was a comfortable amout of room on the seats for both of them.

Her eyes lit up when she saw the blades flash out of his sleve and away again. A smirk came across her face for a moment as visions of the comic book character Wolverine appeared in her mind. Then her eyes got sad for a moment, but she carefully set her features back to normal. "My father used something similar on occasion." He'd also used many more weapons, and taught his children a thing or two about them.

She tried to imagine what it would be like to never know her parents. Never see them together on a cold winter day, teaching her and her brother about what they were. Her and her brother Kaleb had always been close to thier parents. She couldn't even begin to see a life where they hadn't been in her life. But the grief of loosing a parent was very severe, she knew that very well. Izzy didn't like to talk about it though. So instead she focused on his question. "Special powers? Well I really don't know. I've never been compared to any other werewolves except for my brother and my parents. My father was an ancient though, so maybe there is something special about me. I'll let you know if I ever find out." She smirked. "What about you? Do vampires get any 'special abilities' with age? Or do you have to be born with them? And...do all 500 of you live in the same place? That seems crowded."

[Urjasz Volkova]

The cigar burnt to stop, Zakhar holding it till it burnt out, the burnt skin healing back to perfection. Wiping the burnt skin off, he looked Izzy in the eyes and stated calmly "With age, I don't know, I've had to learn some skills over the time. I guess there's vampire ancients around the world, but in my family we don't make it that far, the lines of business we end up in. But you're right in both cases, we can be born with some, and learn new ones. Oh, and the Wolverine creator based him on me."Zakhar smiled, tapping his head three times slowly. "My natural born power, the power of thought, also known as telepathy. I can communicate with vampires through the mind alone and I can look into the minds of others to see their darkest fears. But don't worry, I'll try not to look into yours." He could not help laugh, trying to hold it off.

"I'm sorry but some people freak out when I can do that. It's like seeing someone naked in the shower, they feel exposed. But it's something that comes naturally to me, and as far as I know, there's only a few vampires with it. I could be wrong, but least the humans don't have it. Imagine them, they'd waste their lives over it. Speaking of which, another power born with -" He disappeared, appearing over by the Novosi, tapping one on the head and appearing back next to Izzy. The man looked up, and looking over at Zakhar, Zakhar simply shrugged back. Giggling slightly, he turned back to Izzy. "I can move quite fast, but there are times I like to take it slow. In bed with a woman would be one of them" he flirted, giving a cheeky grin. "The only power I've had to learn that I consider a big power is the ability to defy gravity, like running up walls and arising from the floor with no effort. That doesn't mean I can fly though, it's like gliding I guess."

"My family is a big one, but it's a family business, we spread ourselves across the world. America is a fairly new country and we've only recenty, well I say recently, in the last hundred years moved people over here to expand. Originally it was only a small family, a few hundred, but since expanding into the western world, we have had alot of problems with people being turned. I try to respect my food, even if I do devour them viciously, but I always have to sever the spine. It's the brutal honesty of life, but it's the life I have to live. Either that or kill myself."

[aiden]

Izzy made a mental not to keep her thoughts a little more quiet, and then wondered if he had heard her thinking that to herself. But that was giving her a headache, so she stopped thinking about it. She had heard of telepathy before, b ut never met anyone that could actually use it. She wondered what that would be like. Izzy had suspected that her parents could communicate mentally, but she never knew for sure.

She watched, barely able to keep track of his movements as he flashed across the terminal and back. "Well with a power like that, you don't have to worry about rushing or being late anywhere." She laughed. But when he flirted a blush came to her cheeks and she stared down at the torn hem of her jeans. Izzy didn't have a lot of experiance with relationships or males in general. she had lived a pretty secluded life with her family, and had been traveling too often to form a relationship with anyone.

"You can run up walls?" Now that was interesting. Izzy could jump really high, as was natural to her species, but litterally running up a wall was something she hadn't seen. "The closest thing I have to a special power at this point is probably my singing voice...and that's really nothing spectacular. A human could learn to sing as well as I can. It just takes practice." That was thanks to her mother really. Kaos had loved to sing, and she was a lot like her mother.

A shiver went down her spine involutarily at the talk of killing people and feeding off of them. She was glad that she wasn't like a lot of the reckless werewolves her father had always told her about. Izzy had never killed a human before, and that was the only thing about vampires that ever bothered her. Well unless they hated werewolves and tried to hurt her. She understood the necessity, but would hate to be put in that position herself. "In all honesty, I think I'm too much of a gentle soul to be able to do something like that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging you or anything. It's something you have to do to live, right? That's ok. I just don't think I could do it myself."

[Urjasz Volkova]

"Ah I don't think you're judging me anyway, back in Russia it's kill or die kind of thing. It's a habit I won't loose, purely because I go back every now and then. But I must confess, I do kill humans a lot. Back in Russia they nicknamed me "The Hunger", because my hunger for blood is never happy. I can control it, just like the others, just sometimes I let it loose. Think Jekyll and Hyde. You're talking to Jekyll." Zakhar looked over at the Novosi, his face now serious. "When I said they are here to clean up, I meant clean up the mess that side of me leaves. I do not regret what I am, only what it is that I must kill to feel satisfied. Sure there's rules what I can eat and what I can't, but I have tasted every species' blood. Your species included."

He put his face in his hands, taking a deep breath before sitting upright again. "One day you will kill someone. Though looking at you, I think self defence, but kill none the less. It's our nature. I respect you for lasting so long." Jumping up onto his feet suddenly, he turned around, facing the wall. "Right, wall climbing, it's easy enough, though took me half century to get it. Watch and learn." With that, he ran straight at the wall and run up it, stopping as he reached the top, his head carrying on till his feet were on the rooftops. Turning around and looking down, he smiled and took a step into the air. Landing before her, his knees bent down, taking the force and he stood up, unharmed. Taking a bow, he noticed a passerby looking in amazement. "Parkour my friend, some French idea. Advanced running of course" he lied to the man, giving a cheeky smile. Twisting back to Izzy, he held his hand out and said in excitement "Your go!"

[aiden]

Izzy looked interested, and like she was thinking very hard. "Kill or die? that doesn't sound like a very good situation. Must be so different from living around here. Well that's what I assume at least. I suppose that sort of situation could come up anywhere." She shook her head. "I never had to worry about anything like that when I lived with my parents. They taught me how to defend myself, but I was never in a situation to need it." She knew her mother had been though, and it had been to no luck.

Izzy was also grateful that she didn't have to drink blood to survive. "I sort of have a tendancy to pass out at the sight of a lot of blood." She said shyly, embarassed by the fact due to years of her brother's teasing. "I guess it's good i'm not a vampire then." she smirked. The most she ever hunted was various animals, and usually small ones. "I'll take a good burger any day though. If the day comes when I do kill someone...I hope it's for a good reason."

Izzy's eyes widened as she stared at the wall. "You want me to do that?" She didn't know if that was physically possible. But she had another idea. Waiting a few seconds, Izzy made sure there were no humans in the immediate area as she walked up to the wall. She concentrated very hard and made her fingers stretch and reform themselves into the claws that were part of her wolf form. Turning, she smiled widely at Zakhar before jumping up very high and pushing her claws into the thick wall with her werewolf strength. She climbed the wall this way quickly, using only her arms and claws, until she reached the top. Then she pushed away from it, kicking with her feet and doing a flip backwards to land on her feet, slightly crouched, a few feet away from him. "That is what makes me a REALLY good rock climber." She laughed.

[Urjasz Volkova]

Standing back to watch, he watched her climb up the wall and drop back down from the top. Looking straight at her, he pointed out "That's cheating", following it with a great big cheeky smile. "Well I guess I can count that as it, you did get there after all. However -" he said walking towards the wall, touching some of the claw marks left "-You have left a trail. Now should someone be hunting you, they'd find you through these. Mind you, in this place, I swear half the population is immortal. This is my 4th visit to the city, but this is my first holiday type trip. I'm here to settle down for a bit, before I sort all the expansion stuff out. I've worked all my life, I deserve a break of such. Not to say I don't work still, but means I get to go look for the work, instead of being sent the work. Works for me, works for the family, they say it's still early days for this place, so taking it easy at first is a good move."

Zakhar sat back down on the bench, and laughed to himself breifly. "Tell me, have you heard about this Twilight film? Some vampire film where a human falls in love with a vampire. Stupid I know. I wasn't aware we could even be that soppy. I'm only asking because I just spent a whole two days travelling by coach with three teenage girls screeching on about it all the time. I swear my IQ must of dropped by 10 listening to them. Anyhow, do you ever watch horror films? I'd assume it's the done thing for you, you don't look too old, even by immortal standards, you're no doubt used to all this modern technology."

Zakhar had a couple of centuries already, and the world around him had changed so much. Most of history was defined by the centuries, and that is how Zakhar saw it at first. But after the first world war, nearly every decade was different to the first. One minute girls would have long skirts, the next they'd be wearing what could only described as a belt in the middle of Russian winter! The human world had changed so much, and not for the best. With politicians in charge of the world, he feared his food source would kill itself. Before, the strongest man would lead. Now, whoever made up the best lie got in.

[aiden]

Isabella mad a face. "I wasn't cheating! Like you said, I got up there, didn't I?" Although she hadn't considered the fact that is would leave a trail behind. Once again she felt very young for a moment. but Zakhar was also right, she could tell there were a lot of immortals here and it would be hard for a hunter to find her simply by her claw marks in a wall. "So...you're here to relax from working...but you're working anyways? Well at least you get to decide what to do. I really don't have a specific job. I prefer to do random jobs for people instead of being tied to one job for a long time. I guess I just get bored easily." She shrugged.

Izzy laughed about the Twilight movie. Of course she had heard of it. Anyone under the age of 40 hd heard of it and was thrilled about it. "Well I heard about the movie and decided to read the book first. It wasn't so bad, but if vampires were really like that...then your kind would be more like fairy tale princes, instead of the feared creatures of the night that vampires are usually made out to be." She smirked, soon little girls would be dreaming of vampires instead of knights in shining armor. "I think I prefer traditional horror movies by far. I like to be scared, but only if it's because of a movie or something. Controlled fear haha. I wonder who even came up with some of the ideas for the horror movies out now. Some people are a little demented in the mind I guess." It was true, a lot of the recent horror movies were about torture and killing people for fun. "I don't like watching people being hurt for no reason. I prefer the scary monsters to the creepy serial killers any day."

[Urjasz Volkova]

"The image of the vampire has changed in exactly the same way as the old fairy tales have. They were never happy ever after stories, they were the old bogeymen stories to frighten children. In the original stories the main character, the good guy as it were, would usually end up either dead or badly hurt. For example, Cinderella had her foot cut off, Sleepy Beauty was raped in her sleep and the three little piggies never made it. It is much the same with the image of the vampire. For centuries, we were seen as foul beasts, things that bring only death. But in these modern times, we have been made into sex symbols. I can not imagine why they would find feeding on humans a sexual thing. If I am to have sex, it is sex. I never mix the two together. I'm not into that kind of stuff."

He realised how much he'd been talking and stopped for a moment. Checking his watch, he leaned back, knowing he still had ages till sinrise. As he paused, he contacted the Novosi by thought, asking them to bring the van around. Where ever he travelled, he always tried to have a backup home system, should his outpost be compromised. "I tend to find these human horror films quite tame, I've seen much worse in my time. Done much worse. But like you said, I have work I can do. There will always be bad people in the world, and even badder people who'll pay for them to be killed. I get what I want, they get what they want. Plus, I get a free meal" he said, slightly serious, but a hint of retelling of a tale in his voice. As he finished speaking, a black van was driven around the corner, parking up by his bags. The windows were all tinted, to stop sun getting in. A Novosi got out, threw the keys to Zakhar and headed to the Mercedes. "My new toy."