Rain; how Cliche—Alexsei

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

it's hard to see the pain behind the mask bearing the burden
OF A SECRET STORM SOMETIMES SHE WISHES SHE WAS NEVER BORN THROUGH THE WIND AND THE
RAIN SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE BUT HER DREAMS GIVE
HER WINGS AND SHE FLIES TO A PLACE WHERE SHE'S LOVED ---------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------- A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE

“You shouldn’t associate with vampires. . . you can’t trust them,” Aleksei snapped, making Anastasia flinch. With her anger subsided, she reverted back to her introvert personality and she worried her hands together. “I—It wasn’t by choice. My sire was associated with them and I had to do what he said. . . . They’re nice people. . . helpful. Not really servants. . . but they did most of the grunt work I guess,” she explained, thinking that he would be less angry with her if she told him what had been going on. The way she had said the words “I had to do what he said” was weighed down with just what the implications of that sentence were. Because she was a were-hyena, all of her bruises and scars were gone, so she had no outward signs were visible, but the way she acted—her obsequious behavior—was evidence enough. “I promise. . . the Novosi there will behave. . . .”

After a few more minutes of driving—which would have been at least an hour of Anastasia walking at the pace that the car was going—the large mansion came into view. The winding path led to a gate that was already opened, a dark black Mercedes pulled up already. Her friend would have had to get there before the sun rose, so Anastasia wondered how long he had been there—and more importantly, how long he would stay. The Novosi she had called for was a vampire, but now she wondered if it would have been better if she’d asked one of the ravens to come and help. Once the car she was in pulled up, Anastasia unbuckled her seat belt and crawled into the seat a little bit before leaning between the seats and grabbing her bag so that she didn’t forget it. She was just so very glad that the shirt she was wearing was so large on her while she was bent like that. Finally, she pulled herself out of the car and looked at Aleksei in the driver’s seat, trying to be a good host. “Did—did you want to come inside for a little bit?”

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---------STATE Done
---------VOCAB numbers
---------MUSE Fine
---------CHATTER
---------COSTAR Alek
---------WARDROBE
---------STAGE Arrived at the mansion
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Martina McBride

[ryn]

Alek stepped out of the car and surveyed the grounds from his position next to the driver side door. From what he could tell this was the only place for miles around. That meant it was at least a sufficient place to learn how to control your transformation. If you failed then only wild animals would die as a result assuming there weren't any visitors at the time. He really had no need to see any more of the place, but it seemed like regardless of her earlier statements she was not in a hurry to have him leave. Alek nodded in response to her question. It had been a long drive and he needed a drink. A house this size had to have a well stocked bar. However there was the case of the of the bloodsucker inside. Just because he wasn't going to kill Ana didn't mean he had to let it live.

Alek waited for Ana and followed her to the door. He decided he would let the vampire be, if only because he wasn't willing to cause this woman anymore pain than she already felt today. Sure he seemed like a heartless bastard most of the time, but it was what was necessary for his survival. He did have a softer side, but it was guarded and rarely shown. She had gotten hints of it in his actions but everything he said to her contradicted that such a side even existed to him.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

it's hard to see the pain behind the mask bearing the burden
OF A SECRET STORM SOMETIMES SHE WISHES SHE WAS NEVER BORN THROUGH THE WIND AND THE
RAIN SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE BUT HER DREAMS GIVE
HER WINGS AND SHE FLIES TO A PLACE WHERE SHE'S LOVED ---------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------- A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE

Anastasia led Aleksei silently to the front door and searched in her purse for the keychain that held her house key, but checked the door first. Yes, it was locked. She turned the key in the slot and then pushed the door open, tossing the key back into her bag and stepped aside to let Aleksei through before she closed the door behind her. The mansion was nearly pitch-black, the windows blocked up to keep the sun for coming in, since the vampire was there for the day. Anastasia usually kept all of the windows open because she didn’t like how dark it was and because the vampires were usually out or were in Russia again. Her company had probably gone through and opened them all again. She had really only called him to help her figure out how to turn on the security system—as Kyla normally did that because she was savvy like that. Footsteps announced that the Novosi had arrived. Anastasia turned toward him to see the man standing in the living room, looking around suspiciously as if he had thought that someone was breaking into the place. He relaxed when he saw Anastasia.

“Ah, Ms. Marisova,” he greeted her, eying the tiger warily for a minute. Anastasia smiled and nodded her head in greeting. “Morning, Iakov. . . This is Aleksei. He probably won’t stay very long. . . then I’ll tell you why I asked you here,” Anastasia said—still speaking in Russian as the man was worse at English than Aleksei—smiling sheepishly at the Russian vampire as if she hated putting him out like this. Iakov just nodded, but didn’t seem very happy to see Aleksei. “Pleasure,” he said to Aleksei before nodding his head to Anastasia and disappearing down the hall, probably to do some more check-ups. It had been a while since any of the Novosi had been to the place, so he probably wanted to make sure everything was still in working order. Anastasia turned back to Aleksei and hunched her shoulders slightly before indicating toward another room. “There’s. . . a bar through that room. . . third door on your right. . . or I could get you something else if you prefer. . . .”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------STATE Done
---------VOCAB numbers
---------MUSE Alright
---------CHATTER
---------COSTAR Aleksei
---------WARDROBE
---------STAGE Gorchakov Mansion
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Martina McBride

[ryn]

The arrival of the vampire caused the hair on the back of Aleksei's neck to prickle briefly. He really couldn't stand them, and it was taking all his will power to simply keep his weapon hidden rather than drawing it and sending this bastard to hell where he belonged. The vamp nodded to him briefly then left the room. Ana mentioned something about a bar and Alek beamed as she told him the location. He ruffled her hair gently and then headed off in the direction she had indicated. He didn't really like this place. It had the stink of vampire everywhere. This made it hard to keep tabs on the one vamp he knew was actually there by scent. For all he knew there could be others. He wouldn't be letting his guard down. He found the bar exactly where she said it was. After he examined the general area for traps, and hidden personel he searched the rows of liquor.

Alek eventually found what he was looking for. A bottle of BALKAN - Vodka 176 proof. It had the highest concentration of alcohol which was great because hit was hard for him to feel any of the effects from drinking weaker proofed liquor because of how quickly his body burned the stuff. He grabbed a class and poured himself a shot. Alek downed the shot and immediately downed another. He smirked deciding that he would probably take a bottle or two of the stuff as payment. He sat down at the bar and poured another shot, as he wondered what sort of business the people that owned this place were in.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

it's hard to see the pain behind the mask bearing the burden
OF A SECRET STORM SOMETIMES SHE WISHES SHE WAS NEVER BORN THROUGH THE WIND AND THE
RAIN SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE BUT HER DREAMS GIVE
HER WINGS AND SHE FLIES TO A PLACE WHERE SHE'S LOVED ---------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------- A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE

Anastasia smiled brightly when Aleksei beamed and ruffled up her hair. She always loved knowing that she had done something right and had made someone happy. Aleksei hadn’t seemed at all happy since she’d met him, and to see him smile like that just because she had told him where the bar was. . . well, it made the people-pleaser exceptionally happy. Grinning happily, she left Aleksei for a moment to change out of the shirt that she was wearing and into something that didn’t leave her so. . . naked. The familiar path to her room was saddening. Kyla should have been with her. . . not six feet under. By the time she reached her room, her smile had completely gone and she was head down and trudging into her room. Slowly, she began to strip and search through her drawers for something to wear. She just threw the first outfit she found on and then headed back down the stairs to play good hostess and found him in the bar where she had left him. “Is there anything else I can get you?” she asked, standing in the doorway.

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---------STATE Done
---------VOCAB 192
---------MUSE Fine
---------CHATTER
---------COSTAR Aleksei
---------WARDROBE Here
---------STAGE The mansion
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Martina McBride

[ryn]

Alek looked over his shoulder at her he had finished quarter of a bottle of vodka already and was in a fairly good mood. "Come have drink with me" he said tapping the seat besides him as he filled a second shot glass for her. He hadn't had anything strong in quite a while and was clearly taking advantage of it. After all who knew when the next time he'd be able to get a nice strong drink would be. He downed another shot while he waited for her answer. He surely expected her to say no since she didn't seem like the type that took a shining to alcohol, but then again she was Russian same as him, and Russians were natural drinkers.

Even though he was drinking he still didn't let his guard down. There was still at least one vampire on site that he was aware of, and ever since Nikolai was killed he could never bring himself to trust them. Not that he trusted them before his death. The event simply amplified his already negative feelings towards them. Ana seemed to trust these creatures for some reason, but he was not naive the were worse than lycans typically. Mainly because of the fact that they treated other existences around them as property. Taking pets and slaves. He despised them.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

it's hard to see the pain behind the mask bearing the burden
OF A SECRET STORM SOMETIMES SHE WISHES SHE WAS NEVER BORN THROUGH THE WIND AND THE
RAIN SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE BUT HER DREAMS GIVE
HER WINGS AND SHE FLIES TO A PLACE WHERE SHE'S LOVED ---------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------- A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE

“Come have drink with me,” Aleksei requested, though the way he said it, Anastasia almost felt as if she had no other choice. She preferred not to have any alcohol, but he was her guest now, and he seemed like he was in a good mood. Anastasia wanted nothing more than to make sure that he remained that way. Hesitating a moment, she gave a quick little nod and slowly sat down on the seat that the tiger indicated to. He poured her a shot of vodka and Anastasia looked at it warily for a few long seconds, watching how Aleksei drank his shots, then she picked up the small glass and mimicked his actions, tipping her head back and taking it all in one swallow. Glass still in her hand, she coughed and made a small choking noise, her hand by her mouth as she tried to cope with the burn in her throat as the vodka went down. She sat there for a second as she waited for it to subside, and then she set the glass down on the table and slid it away from her, looking at it with disdain. “It doesn’t taste very good. . . does it. . . ?”

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---------STATE Done
---------VOCAB 206
---------MUSE Fine
---------CHATTER
---------COSTAR Aleksei
---------WARDROBE Here
---------STAGE The mansion
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Martina McBride

[ryn]

Alek downed another shot at the same time that she took hers and smiled at her attempt, and patted her on the back firmly. "I am surprised, maybe you not as soft as I thought, Here have another" He stated as he filled her glass again and beamed at her as he filled his glass once more. He held the shot up in the air and began to sing a Russian drinking song that he knew.

"When you hear a Russian song do you tremble
Does your heart beat loudly in your chest
If so, then come to the Kretchma
It costs plenty, but it is the best

And there is singing, and dancing, and the Russian vodka is all right
Come to the Kretchma, that’s where they’ll get ya
Drinking vodka every night!"

He wanted to continue singing the rest of the song but it was no fun singing it alone. He looked at Ana expectantly hoping that she would chime in and join him. However from the way she had taken her shot it seemed like she definitely wasn't a drinker, and as such probably didn't know any drinking songs. He downed his shot A stood up leaving the empty bottle on the bar. The big man swayed a little and smirked. He missed this feeling. "I will take my leave now Ana Thank you for the Vodka" he stated indicating the second bottle of vodka sticking out of his coat pocket. Then he began to make his way towards the front door to take his leave.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

it's hard to see the pain behind the mask bearing the burden
OF A SECRET STORM SOMETIMES SHE WISHES SHE WAS NEVER BORN THROUGH THE WIND AND THE
RAIN SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE BUT HER DREAMS GIVE
HER WINGS AND SHE FLIES TO A PLACE WHERE SHE'S LOVED ---------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------- A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE

Anastasia lurched slightly when he hit her back, but it didn’t hurt, it had just surprised her, really. Before she knew it, her glass was full again and he was commenting something about how she wasn’t as soft as he had initially thought she was. Anastasia was fairly certain she was still pretty soft. She picked up the glass slowly and with excess disdain. It was so bitter and actually hurt when it went down. . . . Were drinks supposed to burn when they weren’t hot? However, she sighed and chewed on her lip for a second before slamming the thing down again and coughing once more as the burn came as another surprise. Setting down the glass this time, she fought to keep from coughing the liquid up, and managed to swallow a little bit afterwards. She pushed the glass away again, hoping that he wouldn’t fill it up again and expect her to drink any of it. However, he seemed a tad distracted by singing some Russian drinking song. She hoped he didn’t expect her to sing along, and she blushed slightly, trying to hide her smile. She wasn’t particularly embarrassed herself, but for Aleksei.

However, that hope was misguided, as soon he looked to her, as if he thought she was going to pick up where he left off. Anastasia just gave him a blank look, then dropped her eyes to the side sheepishly. She didn’t recognize the lyrics or even the tune in which he sang, and that was probably due to the fact that she hadn’t been in an American bar, let alone a Russian one. There was no way she would know even part of a verse. Kyla herself hadn’t ever sang when she was drinking. She just drank and then went and hit on guys. . . . Aleksei stood up after a few more seconds and Anastasia stood up as well, frowning with concern as he staggered a bit, but he seemed quite fine with it. Anastasia sighed to herself. “I will take my leave now Ana Thank you for the Vodka,” he said, indicating that he was taking another bottle for himself. Anastasia didn’t particularly care and indicated to the racks behind her. “You can have more,” she offered half-heartedly. She started to lead him back to the door and sighed quietly. “You and Kyla would have gotten along, I think.”

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---------STATE Done
---------VOCAB 401
---------MUSE Fine
---------CHATTER
---------COSTAR Aleksei
---------WARDROBE
---------STAGE The mansion
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Martina McBride

[ryn]

Alek smirked, and nodded at the idea of taking as much as he wanted. He declined however. Two bottles were enough. She mentioned that he and Kyla would have gotten along. He doubted it. he didn't get along well with anyone especially their kind. He was a lot more open and accommodating while he was drunk, but that only temporary his body burned through the stuff so fast that he would sober up again within an hour. He smiled at Ana and walked out to the car. He wasn't sure about leaving her here along especially not with a vamp but it seemed like she trusted these bloodsucking bastards, and as such it was none of his concern.

He sat in the car and waited for a moment for his vision to steady. It was already getting much better. He figured he should wait a while for the effects of the vodka to wear off, but he had things to do. He had to setup a new safe house, contact the people he used to to supply his weapons. He couldn't get that done sitting here. After all he had lost everything today, but he was not attached to any of it. such things were easily replaced when you had the right contacts after all. Though the thought had crossed his mind that someone had betrayed him. If those hunters had simply followed them to the safe-house they would have killed them before they entered. Hell he'd have smelt of heard em...though the rain could have been masking their scent. No someone had to have tipped em off. It was a priority to find out who it was.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

it's hard to see the pain behind the mask bearing the burden
OF A SECRET STORM SOMETIMES SHE WISHES SHE WAS NEVER BORN THROUGH THE WIND AND THE
RAIN SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE BUT HER DREAMS GIVE
HER WINGS AND SHE FLIES TO A PLACE WHERE SHE'S LOVED ---------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------- A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE

Anastasia led Aleksei to the door like a good little hostess and held the door open for a few seconds while he walked toward his car without a single word. “Bye. . . ,” Anastasia called half-heartedly, knowing that she probably wouldn’t get a response. She waited until he was in his car, then closed the door and locked it behind her like she was always taught to do. Even though no one ever broke in or anything, some habits died hard. Kyla had always gotten so mad because Anastasia would accidentally lock her out every now and again; Kyla always seemed to forget her keys. Slowly, Anastasia headed up the stairs toward her room. She was incredibly tired, as she hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. It had been cold and despite what the tiger had told her, Anastasia had in the back of her mind the thought of him just killing her in her sleep. She could be extremely paranoid sometimes. She made it upstairs and stopped at Kyla’s room. The door was closed and Anastasia just stood there in front of it for a minute, not facing it or looking at it, just standing in front of it. After several seconds she lifted her hand and knocked on the door a couple times. She waited the mandatory twenty seconds, then hung her head and kept walking to her room, where she crashed, too tired to even start crying again.

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---------STATE Done
---------VOCAB 243
---------MUSE Meh
---------CHATTER End
---------COSTAR Aleksei
---------WARDROBE
---------STAGE The mansion
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Martina McBride