No freakin Way(Anastasia, Elliot)

[Calliope Serrano]

Calliope ran down the street as fast as her feet would take her. She had her backpack on her back as the wind blasted her face. She didn't stop, not once. she had to get somewhere important and for now she was late. Why didn't I leave earlier? she thought to herself as she tried to calm herself down. Don't freak out, just make it to the shop and we'll take it from there... the voice in her head spoke to her as she seemed reassured.

So as she rounded the corner she made it to the beautiful and new Malt shop called Humble Beginnings called Humbeg for short. She took a deep breath and walked through the door. She glanced around slightly as her eyes scanned over the shop. It was beautiful and quaint; she knew she would like it here. Too bad Calliope had been too busy taking in the sights that she hadn't watched where she was going. Next thing she knew she slammed into someone as her bag flew to the ground as did she. She rubbed her head and closed her eyes; wishing and willing the pain away.

"Ow," she mumbled as she opened her eyes slightly. Her eyes widened when she saw who she had run into. She had run into this attractive boy who looked a few years older then she was. "Oh crap, I'm sorry" she spoke as she rubbed her head again and blushed like an idiot

[elliot]

-Just let the good times roll-

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---

Today was amazing, business was brilliant as usual. For now, Elliot was happily filling the orders of a few malt-style shakes; he carried a tray with the two colorfully delightfully pink shakes with that must have cherry and whipped cream on top. Whenever someone came into Humbeg, they were usually the returning customers who simply loved the dark haired man charming his way into the hearts of everyone from the young to the old. The jukebox played a merry tune, “I believe in Miracles”, it was a lovely song truly reminds you of the 70’s. The entirety of Humbeg was mostly of red and white, though it did not blare at the eyes and was rather nice, to the checkered red and white tiles floor, to the counter that was made of marble with a mixture of shiny chrome. It really brought out the jubilee of the 60’s which he wanted so much and finally succeeded.

Elliot happily waltzed to the table that desired the two shakes, happily moving and dancing like an educated, happy dancer that need to vent out his musical creativity with his body. He did this all with a smile on his face, as the customers happily clapped and shouted with glee and happiness. Smiles were infectious it seemed. With a twirl and without losing the balance of the tray and the cups upon them he delivered them to the two with a skillful slide and then tipped his hat which put a smile on the mother and a laugh from the child. He walked off with a step to his stride, putting the tray down, he felt someone had run into him on accident, though he did not budge too much, he found it to be a girl and he arched his eyebrows quizzically.

The jukebox gave a happy chirp to the tune it was playing as he knelt down to help her.

“Oh, I saw you standin’ on the street, I wanted to meet you for so long awhile, you made me smile, and you said hello~! You’re everything, so good inside, that I realized, that I couldn’t hide, we’re playing the game and we’ll feel the same!”

“Hello? You alright? I’m sorry…I was probably in your way, hah.” He picked up her bag and handed it to her kindly, then reached to her as he stood up to take her hand. He was a gentlemen that was certain.

“…oh, right you’re the girl that wanted to apply here if I recall…right?” He flashed a smile her way, his dark eyes shone a bit with his typical radiance that attracted so many people.

[Calliope Serrano]

Calliope just looked at him in shock as the blush burned her cheeks and literally made her breath catch in her throat. She took the man's hand and her bag from his grip. When he asked if she was here to apply for a job here she nodded like an idiot. "Uh, yeah." she spoke as she literally shook her head. She did this to break her from the trance she was in and to metnally make her stop acting like a complete and utter idiot.

"Yes, I'm here to apply. My name is Calliope, its nice to meet you" she spoke as she held out her hand and smiled at him genuinely

[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

Urjasz had said that Anastasia needed to find something to do distract her. It wasn’t good for someone who was depressed to just mope around the home, was it? No. If she did that, she would never get over Kyla’s death. She needed to stop staring out the window at Kyla’s grave in the back of her mansion. . . the headstone that marked her resting place was incredibly depressing amid the garden. Right now it was covered in snow and leaves, but in the spring and summer there would be flowers and lush grass everywhere. . . how out of place would the grave of her best friend be? However, it was much better than the abandoned lot she had originally had her friend in. She felt horrible for putting Kyla there, but she hadn’t been thinking and didn’t know of any other options. . . . Word traveled fast, and the Novosi always seemed to be in the know. They had told her of some old-time malt shop run by an immortal, and that they were hiring. Anastasia had no real skills of her own, she had decided to check it out. How hard could it be?

So now she was sat in the little shop, having already called in and asked to meet with the owner about possibly getting a job. All she had to do was wait for the man to have some free time. The shop seemed to be the perfect place for her. . . she herself hadn’t been in a good mood lately so she wasn’t as vibrant as the other customers. . . . Anastasia didn’t join in with the singing and clapping and cheering that the owner seemed to engender in everyone. . . . For once the small girl that was like a chameleon—taking on any trait of the people around her in order to be more readily accepted—remained in her dark place. Over time this place would do her good. A happy atmosphere. . . it was only a matter of time before she adopted the persona and became herself happy again. Perhaps not dance-happy like the owner—who was as the rumors had said, and Anastasia thought he smelled of the forest. . . humid air, damp leaves, sod. . . . Some sort of tropic-dwelling animal? She herself would smell of dry air and dirt. . . desert scents for the desert-dwelling hyenas.

The shop seemed busy. However, Anastasia caught a break when she saw him chatting with someone. Her back was to her, so she didn’t recognize the girl right away. Anastasia hated to interrupt people, but she wanted to talk to the owner and see about that help wanted sign. . . . She got up and left her bag at the table and strode over, her hands by her chest and fingers worrying each other as she tried to keep her nerves in check. Anastasia had had a few jobs before—a hotel, Blockbuster—and so she knew the drill, but she still couldn’t help but be a little nervous as she approached the man. At least she seemed very nice, and perhaps he would be more keen to hire her since they were kindred. “Ah. . . excuse me, I called earlier about. . . .” She droned off of whatever she was going to say when she walked around next to the two, and her heart dropped. This girl was. . . the girl from. . . who had. . . . Calliope. Anastasia’s eyes went wide with fear and she took a step back, then looked up at Elliot desperately, hoping that if he saw another were in distress, he would catch on that this girl was perhaps dangerous. “Y-you!” Anastasia gasped, her voice strangled as she indicated to the dark-haired woman.

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---------STATE Done
---------VOCAB 643
---------MUSE Fine
---------CHATTER POSTING ORDER: Calli, Me, Elliot
---------COSTAR Calliope, Elliot
---------WARDROBE Here
---------STAGE His shop
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Martina McBride

[elliot]

-Just let the good times roll-

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---

And so the stage was set for a dilemma most…interesting indeed. So there stood, a capable, gentle male with the guise of a ferociously beautiful tropical animal, supposedly a princely figure and here were two women, setting the background with their unspoken apparent hatred for each other, at least that’s the vibe he had gotten when that woman walked over and immediately looked at him with urgency. His dark eyes looked upon her, absolutely confused in every aspect of the word. He thumped one of the pens in his front pocket and his lips formed a small almost invisible frown. He wasn’t sad or mad, just like ‘what do you want me to do?’ Still, he helped the girl up, whom he already knew was quite human, but his senses alerted him that the blonde girl was indeed of his kind…though she smelt more…dirty, no, not like a trash can or anything just…different. Perhaps he wasn’t used to desert origins of a Were, at least of their animal they were bound to. Despite what he was, he really was just a big furry fur ball that loved to put a smile on your face…along with cuddle when the time called for it.

He shook her hand with a smile, her telling him her name. “My name is Elliot Turner; I own Humbeg…nice to meet you.” He gave a ‘sorry…?’ look to the blonde girl, as if apologizing if he had done something wrong. Still, since she and he had a connection in a simpler way, he was a tad more nervous. Could she be a hunter? Was that why she was so tense about this situation? It wasn’t like his ‘happy’ nature was going to get him out of this one, and it wasn’t necessarily that he was so happy that dancing was his only event. It was just fun, a refreshing experience from all of the serious business outside. He was just a proud man, of whom showed his joy more openly then others. His customers appreciated that of course, it was fun seeing him dancing with others if they had asked, and also to allow a request on their birthday.

“So, you’re here for the same reason right? I’m…terribly sorry that I kept you waiting.” He gave her a smile, feeling the nervousness ebb away slowly. “If you don’t mind, I could interview one of you at a time or if you want…at the same time. It doesn’t matter to me, but you both seem capable…”

‘If you don’t kill each other in the process…women are frightening sometimes…’

He felt like if he asked about it she might chew his head off for it, and he hated just the idea of it, so he kept his yap shut and hopefully this would be resolved peacefully without a big mess in his beloved shop.

[Calliope Serrano]

Calliope smiled as he introduced himself to her. But her smile quickly faded when she looked to see who had spoken to her. Her eyes widened in shock and horror when she saw the girl. She was the were-hyena that had been spared that night she had accidentally killed that girl named Kyla. Calliope hadn't been sleeping right ever since that night so she had cut out sleeping all together. Though Calliope was scared of what she would do she didn't dare show it.

She glanced over at the girl with a look of pure sadness and guilt. She had kept the last wish that Kyla had asked of her. It was to spare Anastasia's life and make sure that Ra and her didn't kill her. She had kept that promise but what was going to happen now that they were in each others presence? Were they going to fight? Were they going to get along? Calli began to shake slightly from all the adrenaline that began pumping through her veins. She wanted to apologize but no words came out of her mouth.

[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’s resolve fell and she let her shoulders drop as she looked to Calliope. She was here. . . to get a job? What? Instant suspicion ran through Anastasia. She was a hunter. . . and this shop was owned by a were. Anastasia wasn’t normally a suspicious person, but how could she not be in this case? This woman had killed her friend for absolutely no reason. Her brother had attacked them while they were minding their own business. . . . What if she was just staking out the place and then later her brother would come and kill the owner? Anastasia didn’t want her to do this to another immortal who was just trying to get by in life. Yet, this Elliot didn’t seem aware of her warning. Anastasia didn’t particularly want to yell out that she was a hunter and would probably try to kill both of them. That would have caused some problems for the other customers, and Anastasia didn’t want to ruin this guy’s business. “I—I’m Anastasia,” she introduced herself again, taking his hand to shake it.

Her red-violet eyes wouldn’t leave Calliope. The woman seemed a little horrified to see her there, too. Anastasia very nearly decided to tell Elliot that she had made a mistake and that she was sorry for wasting his time, but she remembered that Urjasz was back. Oh, how very happy he would be to know exactly where Calliope was working. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad working here. Anastasia wasn’t a particularly vengeful person, but this woman had killed her best friend. What exactly was wrong with wanting to see her friend’s death brought some justice? She herself couldn’t do herself. . . she was no fighter and even Calliope who seemed under trained and uninterested in fighting would be able to kill her. Urjasz was close to Kyla—sort of. They had at least been friendly—and he was a vengeful person. And he could take justice for Kyla’s death. Maybe Anastasia would be able to help her friend after all. “Ah. . . can we. . . interview separately?” Anastasia asked quietly, every bit the mousy and submissive girl she was.

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---------STATE Done
---------VOCAB 367
---------MUSE Fine
---------CHATTER Lol no fighting for Ana!
---------COSTAR Calliope, Elliot
---------WARDROBE
---------STAGE Humbeg
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Martina McBride

[elliot]

-Just let the good times roll-

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---

And now here it was, the moment he had waited for. When the other girl, Calliope looked at the girl with shock, he smelt…fear and guilt. She didn’t look pleased at all, while the blonde of whom he gathered was named Anastasia still seemed shocked and utterly uncomfortable. Still, she quieted down, and Elliot was glad that she had done so. She didn’t seem the type to lash out, which made his heart be pulled into solace. Anastasia introduced herself to him, and he shook her hand with a nod. Hopefully they’d get along, he wouldn’t know what to do if they didn’t, but he didn’t want to think of that. For now, he would interview them as best as he could possibly know how. He remembered Phoebe giving him a lecture during his first time hiring her, and how to interview correctly; of course he didn’t keep a memo on what questions to ask, just questions that seemed important if that person wanted to join the ‘family’ so to speak. “Alright, I’ll ask Anastasia to go first.” He gave her a reassuring smile, and a pat to her shoulder. She looked nervous, though he knew it wasn’t about him.

It was about the human girl instead, perhaps during the interview he’d muster up his courage and ask. “Calliope, if you please, could you take seat to wait for a little bit?” He too flashed a smile at her, so as not to let her be any nervous as Anastasia was. And so with a spin on his heel, he led Anastasia to the kitchen, opening it quickly since the door was the swinging type, easy to walk in and out of when he’s carrying dishes to hungry customers. He grabbed a stool for her, and for himself, taking a seat on it, the kitchen was impeccably clean, shiny chrome making it inviting and yet also as durable and dependable as a good waitress. His once smiling face now grew serious, well not entirely so, but it was his ‘Elliot shall listen’ mode.

“Anastasia, before I begin. I know…what you are. That isn’t the problem though.” He waved his hands a little. “What I’m worried about is Calliope. We both know she’s human, sure, but what about her bothers you? Is she a…?” He didn’t want to finish the sentence; she’d know what he was going to say. That’s right a hunter, he was curious.

“If things are personal or a past personal matter between you two, then…I can’t really help. It’s not like I hadn’t sensed what you were trying to tell me, but she looks like she really wants this job and you too…I hope?” He arched his shoulders, giving her that smile that was so cute fully persuasive in his own way, like a child would to convince you to buy him a toy or telling a comical fib.

“If you can’t get along then…I don’t know what to say.” He frowned slightly, looking now like a kicked, sad puppy. “…but, if things do come to that direction that she is indeed a hunter then…” He paused, looking down slowly. “I may have to…rid myself of her. I’m sure you know what that means.”

[Calliope Serrano]

Calliope continued to look at Anastasia as she heard Elliot speak to her. She smiled when he told her to just take a seat and he would be with her when he was done with interviewing Anastasia. "Ok" she spoke softly as she sat down at the table. She sat down and played with her necklace in her hands. It was a mosaic necklace with glass beads in in as she fiddled with it.

All of a sudden she couldn't stop thinking of that night where she had met and killed Kyla. She knew she would never forget that night as long as she lived. She had since made it her mission to become a better hunter then her brother and then kill him for making her go through the hell she had that night. He had made her kill an innocent creature and she would never forgive him for that. She just hoped that nothing would happen between Anastasia and her. Because even thought she hates fighting and conflict if Anastasia came at her she would kill her without any hesitation. Calliope prayed that it wouldn't have to come to this

[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

Quietly, with a meek glance back at Calliope, Anastasia turned to follow after Elliot into the kitchen area. She took up her seat and set her hands neatly in her lap. It smelled nice in the kitchen, and it made Anastasia’s stomach stir with the first sign of hunger. Maybe after the interview she would buy herself something to chew on for a little bit. “Anastasia, before I begin. I know…what you are. That isn’t the problem though. What I’m worried about is Calliope. We both know she’s human, sure, but what about her bothers you? Is she a. . .?” Elliot started with concern. It made sense that he would want to figure out the problem to see if hiring them was going to cause any issues in his shop. The last thing she wanted was to make business bad for him or to even start a fight. Anastasia was the last person to start a fight with anyone, though, even if she didn’t particularly like a person. It was too much effort, and she never won. “Yes. . . her and her brother. . . though. . . ah, she doesn’t seem to like it. . . very much. . . . The only real problem. . . is that she killed my friend,” Anastasia revealed solemnly, unable to meet Elliot’s gaze.

Anastasia looked up at Elliot to see him smiling, and it made her feel a little more secure. “I do. . . I do want this job. I don’t need the money. . . but I need to do something. . . . I won’t fuss about her. . . and I’m sure if. . . if we weren’t working the same shifts, things would be fine,” Anastasia continued with a nod of her head, wringing her hands nervously. She had been through interviews before, but she’d never done one since she had been turned, and she hadn’t ever tried to get a job working for a place that might hire the woman who had killed her best friend. And so recently. Sure, Calliope could apologize and then Anastasia would act like they were friends, but this was one thing the small girl was never going to be able to let go. After Trey had disappeared, Kyla had been all she had besides the small pack of hyenas that Zakhar had gotten with her. Things were better now that Urjasz had shown up again from his extended stay in Russia. However, Anastasia wasn’t sure about this job now. She wanted it to distract her from Kyla’s death, but now the woman who killed her might be working there, too.

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---------STATE Done
---------VOCAB 443
---------MUSE Fine
---------CHATTER Fuuuuuuck! I completely forgot about this thread.
---------COSTAR Calliope, Elliot
---------WARDROBE
---------STAGE Humbeg
---------CREDIT coding/banner by yours truly. lyrics by Martina McBride