Catch 22—Aleksei

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA

→ IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDEN
SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ←

Silence, save for the patter of rain, filled the empty terminal. it seemed to be empty on this dreary summer day, but in the distance the clouds started to drift past, the storm moving alone. Stars could be seen on the other end of the clouds, and the moon was hidden for the time being. It was a day away from being full, the night where the streets became the most dangerous. Only a sliver of the moon was missing this night, but it was enough to ruin the night for one man who had been looking for a quick fix.

This man burst through the terminal, eyes wide with fear and breath coming rapidly and frantically as he ran from a beast as it slammed the door open again, teeth bared and thick pelt bristling with rage. It stopped for a second as it tried to find where he was, then it bolted down the tiled floor, claws clicking as its paws hit the ground. It gained quickly on the human prey and didn’t stop when it reached him. The giant hyena cackled loudly as it bowled him over. The man gave a sharp cry as he tumbled for a minute before being layed out on his back. Soon, the skittering of claws could be heard as the beastly hyena turned and came running back to the man.

He pushed himself and started to crawl backwards, begging and pleading for the werehyena to stop, but it was hard to negotiate with an animal. He had ticked her off and now he was paying for it. In reality, he had simply scared the poor girl under the hyena so much that her only defense was to shift. It was made possible by the nearly-full moon. The hyena had to protect itself, and this was the only way it knew how to. This man had picked the wrong girl to attempt to rape and murder.

She was on him in seconds, giant jaws pulled open, rows of sharp teeth glittering in the artificial lighting as she lunged for his throat. His neck snapped under the pressure of her jaws and he went limp instantly as his blood filled her mouth, streaming over her tongue and between her lips as the last few beats of his heart pumped blood through his jugular. The hyena lifted a paw and set it on his chest, and with a twist of her neck, his head rolled slightly and she stepped back, satisfied that justice had been found. Turning, blood soaking her mandible, she started to leave.

A yelp of pain followed a bodily contortion prior to the hyena collapsing on the ground. She twisted and writhed for several seconds before the massive beast was no more, and instead was replaced with a small woman, her blonde hair tangled and matted, demure frame exposed save for a few scraps of clothes that had managed to make it through the transformation. Anastasia pushed herself up with her hands, her legs curling under her, and a hand went to her head. Had she blacked out again? The last thing she remembered was being attacked as she passed by an alleyway. . . . So where was she now? What had happened after all of that? Looking around, she figured out that she was at the bus terminal. . . but why. . . ?

Her body stiffened and her eyes went wide as she recognized the scent of blood in the air; fresh and warm. Slowly, her head turned toward the scent and there it was. . . the body. Her hands went to her mouth as she gasped, and the action made her realize that the taste was on her tongue. Horror swept through her like a wildfire and she let out a piercing scream that echoed through the building. “Not again! Not again not again not again,” she muttered to herself, pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her forehead on her knees as she wrapped her arms around herself.

From inside, a voice was heard, and Anastasia chose to ignore it. This is what you wanted. He was going to do things to you. You weren’t going to do anything about it. . . so I had to, it whispered faintly.

→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ←

→ STARRING Aleksei
→ COUNTING 718
→ LOCATION Inside the terminal
→ WEARING She's kinda sorta naked right now.
→ NOTES ~
→ LYRICS By Martina McBride

[ryn]

Droplets of rain water dripped off of the dark fabric of the trench coat, leaving a trail of rain water on the tiled floor of the terminal. Alek ran his fingers through his wet hair as he looked around cautiously. He had been keeping an eye on the little Russian girl since the night he had dropped her off at the mansion in the woods. It wasn't like him to leave a potentially dangerous were alive. He had been taught better than that. Nikolai surely rolled over his grave that night. Alek had decided to keep an eye on the girl, simply because she was young, and inexperienced just like most of the weres he killed. Why had he let her live, perhaps in some hidden crevice of his soul he felt pity for her. Either way he had made the choice, and would have to live with what happened because of it. That mansion was a nest of things he would readily kill. There was also that man that showed up. He was a wolf he could smell it radiating off of him like a stink that could never be washed away. He also traveled with vampires, no could could come of such a partnership. Alek hadn't seen of smelt the wolf around the mansion in a while. It was unfortunate he was just waiting for a chance to take him out after all.

Alek had followed the wolf that had shown up at the park too. That one was a weakling, he wondered if he could be dangerous even if the moon was full. What was his name, he had her her say it....Trey was it? It seemed that he too had disappeared. Alek mind stopped wandering as the thick, coppery scent of blood reached his sensitive nose. He began to follow it to the source. He could have saved this human had he wanted too. However humans like that were more monsters than they things he hunted. He would not save the life of a monster especially if being a monster is a choice. Alek walked around the corner and noticed the body right away. The head had been removed,and not in a clean way as was evident by the ragged edges of flesh and crushed bone.

Aleks eyes settled on the small girl. She was hugging her knees, and looked to all points that she was regretting what had happened. He knew this bastard deserved it, but what if next time its a child, or some innocent woman? His hand moved to his weapon, but he didn't remove it. He let his hand fall back to his side as he strode intently towards her. His steps eerily made no sound even with his large size, years of training made him a very efficient hunter. Alek's large hands gripped the girls biceps firmly, as he lifted her to eye level. He noticed she was naked, but it didn't phase him at all. "A bad thing you do....I watch you since that night you keep bad company. I should kill you, but I have better idea" he stated his English was a lot better. He put her down and removed his trench coat draping it over her shoulders to cover her nakedness. "come, people find body soon, not wanna be here when they do" he stated as he began to walk back the way he had came.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA

→ IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDEN
SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ←

Horrow at her own actions and regret for not telling Daktari just to kill her was all she felt right then. It was always like this when she killed. This time, though, she wasn’t rocking back and forth like she did other times. If she had just told Daktari to kill her, she wouldn’t be this monster. Draven would still be here. She never would have been raped and beaten. Kyla never would have died to protect her. . . . None of it seemed worth it. What did she have to show for it? A big mansion with no one in it, money she didn’t have anything to spend on, and she was the same person she had been a year and a half ago. . . . Measly, meek, and worthless.

Anastasia was wrenched from her own pity-party when she felt a strong hand grab her arm. She let out a short shriek and looked up at who was grabbing her, struggling slightly. Then, she recognized the man, and her eyes went wide. It was that tiger, Aleksei. Her mouth fell open as if to say something—probably close to the lines “you’re going to kill me now”—but he beat her to the punch. “A bad thing you do. . . . I watch you since that night you keep bad company. I should kill you, but I have better idea,” he said in his broken accent.

When he set her down, Anastasia lost her balance and fell over. He had lifted her quite a ways off the ground to get her to eye-level, and she wasn’t really that coordinated to begin with most of the time. It had gotten better since she had been turned, but she was a wreck right then. However, she got herself back on her feet rather quickly, her face a healthy shade of red as she remembered that she was naked now. That was remedied by the man, and though her head was bowed with embarrassment, the weight of his coat over her shoulders was not missed. She looked up at him, confused. He had said he had a better idea than killing her, and she wondered what that was.

“Come, people find body soon, not want to be here when they do,” he commanded, turning and walking off. Anastasia merely stared at him for a few seconds, dumbfounded into silence, not that she was a very talkative person in the first place. Before he got too far ahead, Anastasia buttoned the coat up from her knees to the collar and gathered the rest of it in her hands so she didn’t trip—he was a hell of a lot taller than her and she felt like she was going to drown his jacket. The small hyena took a quick look at the dead man, shuddered, then ran after the tiger, her bare feet patting as he jogged across the concrete.

→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ←

→ STARRING Aleksei
→ COUNTING 490
→ LOCATION The terminal
→ WEARING His coat
→ NOTES ~
→ LYRICS By Martina McBride

[ryn]

As he left the terminal Alek didn't bother to check if she was following him or not. He was certain that she was simply based on the fact that that was simply who she was. She seemed to be the type to follow orders without much complaint. He figured that she was conditioned that way probably by the one that changed her, or maybe she had been kept as a pet at some point. Alek looked up at the cloudy sky blinking slowing as a droplet of water hit his eye. It was a very gloomy night to say they least. The fog rising off of the hot street only served to emphasize this fact.

Alek walked up to a black audi A8 parked next to an out of time meter, and opened the door. Getting inside Alek hit the switch to unlock the passenger side door, and waited for ana to get in as well. He had never been much a of a gentleman or he may have held the door for her. Giving her his coat was probably the the only gentleman-like thing he would do for her. He could have cared less if she had to follow him around naked. He only gave her his coat so that she didn't draw attention to herself.

The engine reved to life silently, it was so quiet that it was masked by the sound of the falling rain. Alek shifted the Car into gear and waited a bit longer for Ana. The girl was much smaller than him, and had fallen behind due to his pace. Once she was finally in the car Alek pulled out of the space, and began to drive, staying just under the speedlimit just in case. He hated killing humans, but if he was pulled over that would be the result. This was an unregistered vehicle after all. If he obeyed the laws of the road there was less of a chance of drawing attention to them.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA

→ IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDEN
SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ←

Neither of them said much on the way to wherever it was the tiger was taking them. Anastasia didn’t know what to say, and Aleksei seemed to talk about as much as she did, but for different reasons. Keeping her head down, Anastasia jogged until she caught up to him, then slowed to an easier pace. His gait was longer than hers, and much faster, though. She kept falling behind, but soon enough she had fallen behind. Nothing too unmanageable, though: she could still see Aleksei, so she just jogged every now and again to keep him in sight. He probably didn’t want to be crowded, anyway.

A car came into view and Anastasia kept walking, not thinking that it was his until he unlocked the doors and climbed in. Oh right. Sighing, she scurried to catch up so she wouldn’t keep him waiting, even though she hadn’t the slightest idea about what he wanted with her. Maybe take her to a more secure location to kill her. . . would he eat her too? Anastasia shuddered at the thought—and the cold—and slowed as she reached the car. Slowly, the rain was starting to slow down and the clouds were passing by overhead. It wouldn’t be too much longer before the rain stopped for the night.

Climbing inside, Anastasia closed the door behind her after making herself comfortable in the seat and the giant circus tent she was wearing. Buckling up as custom dictated, and Aleksei headed out. For a few minutes, Anastasia just stared at her laps, her hands folded neatly. Finally, after a little while, she looked over at the bigger were and opened her mouth to say something, but decided not to. It took a few more minutes, but she finally found her voice. “Ah. . . I didn’t—I didn’t mean to. . . . I was scared. . . I didn’t w-want to. . . kill him. . . . I j-just. . . wanted him to go away. . . . And then I—I woke up. . . after shifting. . . . I don’t even r-remember,” she began, tears welling in her eyes.

Anastasia knew this guy wasn’t the type to be moved by waterworks or some sad story, but it made her feel better to have told him. At least she could tell herself that she had tried not to be a monster. That she had attempted to keep her humanity, and that it wasn’t her fault that she was like this. Then she could tell herself it was better for her to be killed by someone who was just looking out for people.

→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ←

→ STARRING Aleksei
→ COUNTING 445
→ LOCATION Driving
→ WEARING Giant coat
→ NOTES ~
→ LYRICS By Martina McBride

[ryn]

The ride was deathly quiet for a bit before the girl blurted out her excuses. He didn't pay much attention after all he had witnessed the entire event up until she chased the man into the terminal. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what went down in there. If she was looking for someone to comfort her,and tell everything was okay; she should look somewhere else. Alek's gaze never even shifted in her direction, and his expression remained as stoic and emotionless as ever.

The stopped at a red light, and Alek pushed in the cigarette lighter. He reached over and stuck his hand into the nearest side pocket of his coat which Ana was wearing, and after shuffling around a bit he pulled out a pack of cigs. Almost as if on queue the lighter popped out, and Alek lit the cig against the red-hot metal coils. He placed the cig gently between his lips, and began to drive once the light changed again. They turned another corner, into what seemed like a much poorer part of the city.

He pulled up to a large building it was boarded up, and didn't look very safe. The faded sign on the front said Gio's Auto repair. Alek hit a small button on his steering wheel, and the garage door opened. Inside of the building was almost surgically clean, and organized despite the outside appearance. The lights were on, but could not be seen from outside because of the black tape used to cover all the windows and such. Alek pulled the car inside, and the door closed behind them.

This was another of Alek's Safe-houses. This one was actually smaller than the one Ana had seen before. However it was just as, if not more stocked with equipment. There were no extra cars this time, but the walls had just as many guns, and bladed weapons as the last place. Alek turned off the car, and stepped out. "get out" he ordered as he walked over to a pile of neatly folded clothing and picked out a t-shirt and a pair of boxers. He held them out to Ana, they would be more comfortable than the coat, and they were dry too. They would still be very big but not as intimidatingly so.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA

→ IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDEN
SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ←

She got no response, and Anastasia wondered why she had even tried in the first place. The small girl merely hung her head slightly and stared at her hands in her lap, twisting the imaginary ring on her finger that she no longer wore. Even though it was gone, she rubbed her middle finger as if it was there: Anastasia had stopped wearing it because she didn’t think she deserved to wear something a human she had loved gave to her. . . . It gave her father a bad name.

From the corner of her eyes, Anastasia saw a flash of movement and realized that Aleksei was reaching for her. She gasped quietly and flinched as if he had hit her, curling her legs up slightly and tensing all of her muscles, preparing for some sort of strike, but his hand went into one of the pockets of his jacket. However, she remained hunched and tense like a little spring ball until he had pulled out a pack of cigarettes and receded back to his own space. Slowly, Anastasia uncoiled, now certain that the gesture hadn’t been anything threatening and an embarrassed flush spread across her cheeks, and she hung her head, shame-faced. Why was she so jumpy all the time?

The car pulled forward. Because you’re a small, meek little girl who doesn’t know how to stand up for yourself? Sound about right? Anastasia closed her eyes and pushed those thoughts aside—though they weren’t technically hers—and pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly against her body and resting her chin against her knee caps. She remained like that for the duration of the ride, moving only when the were-tiger commanded her to get out. Used to following the orders barked at her, she uncurled from her little ball and removed her seatbelt before exiting the vehicle and closing the door behind her.

How many places did this guy own? And were they all this clean? Though notable smaller than the warehouse she’d stayed at last time, that just made it less open and empty, and she felt a little more at ease with the walls closer together. . . . For some reason it made her feel secure. She took a quick look around, and then jumped violently when Aleksei showed up near her with a set of clothes. She looked up at him for a moment while her heart stopped trying to beat its way out of her chest cavity before she took the clothes: Anastasia was still convinced that the tiger was going to try to kill her. Well, not try. There would be no “trying” to kill her, he just would.

The clothes he had were just a t-shirt and a pair of boxers, and she looked at them for a moment before murmuring a grateful “Thank you.” Slowly, she turned around so her back was to him and pulled the boxers up while still wearing the jacket. Sighing, content that that was at least semi-covered, she let the large coat drop from around her shoulders before Anastasia scrambled to get the shirt on over her head. Both articles of clothing were large on her, but at least she wasn’t drowning in that coat now. She had to pull the boxers up every few seconds, but it was fine. Turning back to Aleksei, she just stood there, her head down obediently while she waited for him to give her some other order or at least a sign that she could relax for a little while.

However, the question that burned inside her would not be silenced much longer and she looked up slightly, still avoiding eye-contact, and fidgeted with the hem of the large t-shirt covering her demure frame. “Ah. . . you—you’re not going to k-kill me?”

→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ←

→ STARRING Aleksei
→ COUNTING 639
→ LOCATION His "home"
→ WEARING T-shirt and boxers. Secksay.
→ NOTES Jumpy little squirrel, ain't she?
→ LYRICS By Martina McBride

[ryn]

Her words danced around in Alek's head for a moment. Everything Nikolai had taught him dictated that he kill this girl here, and now. She had just a while ago killed a human being. The man had deserved to die, but next time it could easily be someone innocent. If Niko were still alive this girl would have been dispatched on their first meeting. Not to mention her werewolf friend, and nest of blood sucking leeches. Alek was soft compared to that man. Even when he tried so simply walk in the same footsteps as Niko he seemed to fall short. Niko wasn't heartless however. After all he didn't kill Alek.

Alek shrugged his shoulders. "for now I not feel like killing you, maybe it stay this way, maybe not eh?" he stated as he picked up his trench coat and hunt it from a nail on the wall to dry. Alek walked over to a large desk in the corner it had a desktop and 3 flat screen monitors. One was used for the computer itself. The other two contained an image consisting of several smaller screens that were being transmitted by security camera's around the area. Alek looked over his shoulder at Ana, then shifted his gaze to the fridge.

Alek made his way over to the fridge and opened it. He gestured Ana over. The fridge was stocked full of steaks of all shapes and sizes as well as beer, and a few vegetables. " you can cook yes?" he asked as he gestured to the meat. "more meat on your bones help you perhaps" he stated. By his gesture it would seem that he wanted her to cook. He pointed towards the stove, then walked through a door into a dark room. The light in the room turned on, and the sound of shuffling and things being moved could be heard.

Alek emerged from the room after about five minutes. He had straightened it up a bit. There was a full sized bed and even a dresser in there. There was a bunch of useless junk too, but it had all been pushed against the wall out of the way. "There you can sleep, until I teach you control, or I kill you" he stated as he sat down in front of the computer, and examined the security screens.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA

→ IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDEN
SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ←

That wasn’t an answer at all. Anastasia hung her head, feeling neither comforted nor scared about whether or not he was going to kill her. It seemed he still didn’t know what to think about her, or what he wanted to do with her, but she found a little solace in the fact that she was going to at least be kept alive for a little while. Why that made her feel any better she didn’t know. . . . For all she knew she was his captive now until she decided whether or not to kill her, and if she didn’t die, what he was going to do with her.

So, she stood there in the middle of the little abode, watching Aleksei move about his little home to a desk of computers. There wasn’t much else for her to do. This wasn’t her home and she didn’t know how welcome she was in his home, even if he did bring her there in the first place. She looked around, holding her hands by her chest and fidgeting with her fingers, wondering if she should sit down, or just stay standing there until he told her otherwise. Mentally, she was back in the situation with Daktari, only she was less scared and upset and it was her who had killed someone instead of the other party. However, she was uncertain about her fate and wanted nothing more than to do what this man wanted to secure her own survival.

A few minutes later, Aleksei was meandering toward the kitchen and motioned for Anastasia to join him. Like a well-trained dog, she jumped slightly and skittered over to him, her bare feet pattering over the floor semi-silently until she was standing next to him, her hands together, unsure. Then, he asked if she cooked, mentioning that she could use some “meat on her bones.” Anastasia actually wasn’t sure what that meant. She gave herself a quick glance, confused. She was at a healthy weight for her height. . . wasn’t she? Her hands pulled the oversized boxers up a little ways and she frowned, blushing slightly. It wasn’t her fault he was bigger than her. . . .

Nonetheless, Anastasia nodded her head; sure, she knew how to cook. She hadn’t ever made steak before, but it couldn’t have been much harder than anything else. She sighed quietly to herself, wondering how this man could survive on nothing but beer to drink. . . . The small girl was falling back on the hope that there was at least tap water to drink, though she could have used some milk or something. . . . Well, beggers can’t be choosers. “Y-yes. I can. . . ,” she murmured, watching Aleksei walk off into a room, her mouth hanging open as a question died in her throat as he disappeared. It sounded like he was rummaging through some stuff, and she just stood there by the open fridge, the cold hair making her blonde hair wave slightly as it met with the warmer, outside air.

It wasn’t long before he returned again, signifying that he had made up a room for her to stay in. Anastasia lowered her head and tried her best to smile in gratitude, but she found it difficult. He was going to try to teach her control? She didn’t know what to think about that. “I—th-thank you. Ah. . . you ah. . . want me to make something. . . for you, too?” she asked quietly, sure that she was going to be reprimanded for asking such a dumb question. Her shoulders hunched in preparation for some sort of lash.

→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ←

→ STARRING Alek
→ COUNTING 615
→ LOCATION His place
→ WEARING T-shirt and boxers.
→ NOTES ~
→ LYRICS By Martina McBride

[ryn]

Alek pondered her question for a moment as if it wasn't obvious from the beginning. He just nodded without even looking away from the screen. He like to monitor surveillance for at least an hour after arriving at the safe house. You never knew if you had been followed after all. So far it seemed pretty quiet so he decided he'd cut it short. Besides it wasn't like anyone could get very close to this place without one of the two weres inside noticing. Alek stood up and stretched luxuriously. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a beer. Having bad human habits didn't matter when your body recovered from the damage almost instantly.

Alek opened the beer and took a sip. Removing a second bottle from the fridge he offered it to Ana, but he figured the girl would decline, she didn't seem like a drinker, but she was Russian too. Being a drinker was hardwired somewhere in her DNA. "You are afraid of me?" He asked his English suddenly much better than it had been moments before, which made it a tad obvious that he could feign being bad at the language when the situation required. His English still wasn't perfect but it was definitely easier to understand.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA

→ IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDEN
SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ←

Anastasia noted his nod and relaxed a little more when that was all she got. She had to stop doing that, assuming she was going to get hurt every time she opened her mouth. Aleksei hadn’t done anything to hurt her yet, and he didn’t seem like someone who batter her for next to reason. She had known her question was stupid, but she had a habit of double- and triple-checking things just to be sure. “How. . . how do you want it cooked?” she asked quietly, knowing that he’d be able to hear her.

When she got his response, she nodded and scurried to the inside of the little fridge, pulling out a couple stakes before rummaging through the supplies before she sighed with relief. The guy a lot of junk lying around, and she didn’t bother to wonder how he got a hold of it. But at least there was a cheap version of one of those Coleman grills. . . . That would make her life easier, as she was assuming that he didn’t have a normal grill. People would notice him outside grilling. She plugged the thing in and slapped the steaks on before closing the grill. At least this thing would cook them by itself. . . . She wouldn’t know the first thing about when to flip.

Just after she finished, she turned around, aware that Aleksei was behind her. She still started, however, when she saw him. He had a beer for her, and Anastasia sighed, slowly reaching out and taking the cold can in her hand. Anastasia didn’t open it, but merely set it on the counter for future use—possibly. Kyla would have told her to just suck it up and drink it, that it wasn’t that bad, and she was pretty much only taking it because she didn’t want to be rude. Whether or not she drank it depended on how thirsty she got.

His question surprised her. Anastasia stared up at him, wondering why he was asking and if it really wasn’t that obvious, and she hung her head slightly, fidgeting with her fingers again. “Yes. . . ,” she murmured quietly. However, she quickly amended the situation—or figured she’d try to—by adding “I’m afraid of. . . a lot of things.” She didn’t know if he would get offended by the fact that she was scared of him or if it would make him feel better about his charity. Yes, he was being nice, but she didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing for a person who killed immortals, so maybe he’d feel better that at least he was still scary.

Not looking at him, Anastasia turned to watch the machine cook the steaks. He’d probably picked it up in the black market or something. . . it was definitely a rip-off to the ones she’d seen before.

→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ←

→ STARRING Aleksei
→ COUNTING 488
→ LOCATION His home
→ WEARING ~
→ NOTES ~
→ LYRICS By Martina McBride

[ryn]

Alek nodded at her response. "I see...I wonder why? Being what you are, knowing what your capable of....why are you so afraid?" he asked curiously. An Idea as to why had already planted itself in his head, all the signs were there after all. The nervousness, fidgeting, and constant recoiling away from potential physical contact. Either way It wasn't his business. He was already pushing it by involving himself with this mutt. He couldn't help it that he saw a little of himself in her. However the implications of allowing her to live may very well come back to bite him quite literally in the end.

"Your fear is what makes you dangerous, that man at the terminal.....why did you kill him? Why did you shift? Even in this form you should have been able to easily over power him....." He continued before he reached into the fridge for another beer, and made his way over the the ratty couch in front of the Television. He turned the TV on to the news. The reporter was talking about some ritual beheading that happened that night. "looks like you made the news" he commented, as the reporter interviewed the homeless man that came across the body. After the interview the reporter commented that the police aren't speculating on who or what was responsible until they get the facts. The weather man pop onto the screen next. "Well at least you weren't seen" he stated as he sipped his beer.

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA

→ IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDEN
SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ←

“I see. . . . I wonder why? Being what you are, knowing what your capable of. . . why are you so afraid?” he asked her, and with good reason. Anastasia was aware that it was an odd thing, a person capable of doing a lot more than the average human, being better in every way, being almost too afraid to leave the place she lived in. She had no real reason to be afraid anymore, but she was. Whether or not it was because she was afraid of being hurt or afraid of other people that made her so timid was hard to tell.

Shrugging her shoulders, Anastasia hung her head slightly and continued her nervous fidgeting. She hadn’t always been this timid. Earlier, before she’d met Daktari—yes, she was still afraid, but of the things normal people would be afraid of—she was a lot more adventurous. That was probably the center of this new meekness. “My sire wasn’t kind to me,” she explained, trying to pass it off as no big deal. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, either. I’ve always. . . been a bit of a pacifist. . . . I don’t even know. . . if I’m capable of. . . hurting someone outside of my hyena form.” Anastasia didn’t know if Aleksei really cared, but she had always had a habit of divulging a bit more information than was probably necessary, depending on the question.

Anastasaia might have been an incredibly quiet person, but that was only when she wasn’t spoken to first. Again, mostly because she had always been almost afraid to do anything out of turn around Daktari. Or even Urjasz for a while. “I guess. . . you live in fear enough. . . and it just sticks with you,” she added, hoping that she was doing a good job of answering his question so he wouldn’t get annoyed with her later. Turning slightly, Anastasia checked on the steaks and sighed. Just a few more minutes or so and they’d be ready. . . . She stared at the unopened beer for a moment, and sighed again.

When she turned, Aleksei was on his way to the tattered couch centered in front of an old-looking TV, another beer in hand. "Your fear is what makes you dangerous, that man at the terminal. . . why did you kill him? Why did you shift? Even in this form you should have been able to easily over power him. . . .” he mentioned, settling down and flicking on the TV. Anastasia heard the unmistakable sound of the news, and she just though back to that moment in the terminal, when she’d first been grabbed and man-handled and he’d attempted to get her shirt over her head. She’d barely had the time to think about what was happening let alone what she was going to do about it. . . .

“I don’t. . . know. . . . I was scared. It was all. . . just happening so fast. . . . I don’t. . . I don’t know how to fight. . . or defend myself. . . . I just wanted it to stop. Then. . . I woke up on the floor of the terminal. . . staring at his dead body. . . . I don’t. . . know how. . . I don’t know why. . . . I didn’t want. . . to kill him. I just wanted him to stop,” she expressed, her eyes closed and tears threatening to fall over. They didn’t affect Aleksei she had come to realize, but that didn’t mean that she could stop them. She didn’t cry for attention or comfort, she cried because that was what she did. . . cry.

Oh shut up you know why it happened. You weren’t going to do shit to help yourself so I had to help you! I didn’t have to kill him, but it’s a hell of a lot more fun than just scaring them and making them go away, the voice responded. Anastasia closed her eyes tighter. That was something Daktari would have said. Was she never going to get away from him? Even when he was dead? “My sire. . . was a murderous and violent creature. . . . I don’t want to be like him. . . even if it means my own injury,” she muttered, unsure if it was to Aleksei, the voice in her head, or herself. She figured she was just saying it to whoever was willing to listen to her. “But. . . that’s all I do. . . . Hurt people. . . and kill on accident. . . .”

Whether or not the tiger cared or was even paying attention Anastasia didn’t know. She didn’t care much, either. It made her feel better to say it out aloud, at least.

Aleksei mentioned she was on the news, and Anastasia hadn’t mentioned the rather short story about the beheading, and before she knew it, she was on her knees, her arms around herself. She wasn’t sobbing yet, but her cheeks were wet with tears that shimmered when she moved in the light the right way. “I’m sorry. . . . I’m sorry. . . . I’ve caused so many problems. . . even though I try so hard. . . not to. . . . I’m so pathetic. . . so worthless. . . .” She was speaking quietly, though her apologies had been loud. She didn’t know if Aleksei could hear her self-pitying words, but they didn’t help her ego at all.

→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ←

→ STARRING Aleksei
→ COUNTING 945
→ LOCATION His place
→ WEARING ~
→ NOTES ~
→ LYRICS By Martina McBride

[ryn]

Alek looked over his shoulder at the girl who had since fell to her knees babbling about being sorry and what not. Turning such a person was a waste. She should have been left as a human, some people simply weren't cut out to be a part of this world. As far as Alek was concerned this world of monsters was breathing it's last breaths, much like the humans they used to be Immortals destroyed each other as well as the humanity they were derived from. If Alek had his way every last one of them including himself would cease to exist. He didn't have much faith in humanity either, not only were they destroying each other, but also the planet which they called home. Some times Alek thinks he hears the cries of the earth as humanity continues to rape her.

"Stop it!...stop being a victim. You didn't choose this live...whatever its the only life you have now. If you don't want it then I told you before didn't I? End it! If you won't at least do that much then suck it up and adapt" Alek stated he noted the tears on her cheek. To him they were nothing more than a bodies reaction to distress. They didn't affect him at all. Perhaps his lack of empathy made him a bigger monster than most, but it wasn't something he believed in. "The world is a cruel place...this world of immortals is even crueler than that of humans. If you want to survive then you can't keep pretending to be weak and innocent or I guarantee you will be killed. I'm still amazed you made it this far **sniff**.......the steaks are burning"

[Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova]

ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA

→ IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDEN
SHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ←

Anastasia was used to hard words and brash truths. She looked up and quickly wiped the tears away. See this is what I keep telling you. The exact same thing! Suck it up, the voice chirped with a strange little glee. Obviously someone liked this tiger. End it? Anastasia couldn’t imagine killing herself. Death was the one thing she feared more than anything else in the world. Adapting. . . was it really as easy as that? No. . . it had to be easier said than done. She wasn’t right for this world, and she didn’t know what made Daktari think she would be. Kyla was more suited for this life, and she had died not even a year into it. Didn’t that say something?

“The steaks are burning,” Aleksei announced without missing a beat in his little speech. Anastasia’s eyes widened and immediately dried, as if a switch had flicked inside her. She scrambled to her feet and quickly switched off the miniature grille, popping it open and searching frantically for some plates. She found one and slapped the two steaks on it, sighing. They weren’t completely ruined, just well done. Which, she preferred them to be, though they were a little more done than she normally enjoyed. Sighing, she stood over the counter, staring at the two steaks. God she was just a failure all around, wasn’t she?

“Do you want me to make another for you?” she asked quietly, unabashedly looking for some sort of approval from the tiger. Her gaze shifted to the beer sitting on the counter that she hadn’t touched yet, and the young girl took a deep breath, then reached out and quickly popped the tag, the beer hissing to life before she took a good long draw from the can. It was bitter and tasted awful, but she needed it, she figured. Maybe it would calm her nerves and loosen her up a little bit. Anastasia didn’t know how long he was going to keep her there tonight, or the day after, or the day after that, and she figured he—as well as herself—might need her to be less whiny.

→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ←

→ STARRING Aleksei
→ COUNTING 361
→ LOCATION His place
→ WEARING ~
→ NOTES So much shorter than the last one. XD
→ LYRICS By Martina McBride