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Post by ryn on Jun 7, 2010 7:02:10 GMT -5
Alek watched as Ana scrambled to get the steaks of the grill. A light plume of smoke drifted into the air as she opened it and got the steaks off. They weren't ruined, but they were well done and would probably be a little tougher than he would have liked. Alek decided to cut his losses, and not request another steak. "It's fine like that" he stated as he pointed towards a counter near where Ana had set up the grill. There was a package of plastic utensils as well as disposable plates sitting on it. Alek never settled down in one place for very long so there was no point in getting anything permanent. He smirked as Ana took a sip of her beer then he finished his own. Opening the second on Alek listened intently to the news as they talked about the number of violent crimes increasing in the state.
"If only they knew..." Alek commented to no one in particular. He sometimes wondered how humanity would react to their existence, but Nikolai had strongly advised against letting anyone that wasn't already a part of this world know anything. Humans were fickle cowardly creatures after all. If they didn't understand it their initial response becomes fear. If they fear something then they will try to destroy it. It was simply the way they were programmed to react. Conditioned you could say by those before them. Alek ran a palm over his short hair. "I'm not forcing you to stay here.....You can go back to your nest of vampires whenever you feel the need....I'm not even sure why I brought you here to begin with....Honestly I don't think you can change...." he commented as he sipped his beer.
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Post by Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova on Jun 7, 2010 9:53:43 GMT -5
ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA → IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDENSHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ← Sighing quietly, Anastasia found what Alek was pointing to and pulled out enough for both of them, taking both plates and carrying them to the tattered couch where the tiger was seated, watching the TV. Quietly, she handed her strange companion the plate with the steak she had deemed as the least done out of the pair and then sat down on the floor, even though there was plenty of space on the couch. Anastasia had a strange habit of picking the lesser of two evils when handling other people: she didn’t know how Aleksei would react with her on the couch, so she thought the floor was the better choice of the two.
Quietly, Anastasia sawed away at her steak with the little knife, managing to succeed after a bit. Her quiet chewing was interrupted when Aleksei said “I'm not forcing you to stay here. . . . You can go back to your nest of vampires whenever you feel the need. . . . I'm not even sure why I brought you here to begin with. . . . Honestly I don't think you can change. . . .” Anastasia turned her head toward him, her brow furrowed. She ignored the last bit for a moment as she contemplated the first part. . . . She could leave? Anastasia had been so used to just being held captive all the time she didn’t think that she had been brought her of her own will. . . . But if she wanted to, she could leave?
Her own lack of confidence in herself was brought back to life in this man’s own reservations on her ability to change. Her head hung slightly and she set her plate in her lap, legs crossed. It was the beginning of a bad habit, but her hand slowly reached toward the beer she had set on the floor and she took a drink, hoping that it would provide her with the same effect that it had for Kyla—an out to the misery she felt. “I don’t want to go back. It’s lonely there,” she muttered quietly. Surrounded by people, Anastasia still felt alone with all the people she knew dead or missing. “I want to change. . . I don’t know how. I want to. . . I don’t want to be afraid anymore. You think I like being useless and. . . well. . . the way I am?”
→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ← → STARRING Aleksei → COUNTING 408 → LOCATION His place → WEARING ~ → NOTES ~ → LYRICS By Martina McBride
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Post by ryn on Jun 7, 2010 12:30:12 GMT -5
Alek didn't much care where she sat. If she felt the need to sit on the floor then sit on the floor she shall. Her mental conditioning gave her what he could only describe as a severe inferiority complex. She reminded him very much of a slave. Her lack of eye contact, willingness for follow instruction,fear of physical, and the host of other small things he'd noticed about her both now , and the short night at the warehouse; only reinforced this comparison. "Spasibo" he uttered as he placed his plastic utensils on the arm of the couch. Alek took the steak in his bare hands, and took a bit out of it. It actually wasn't as bad as he anticipated. He chewed the meat thoroughly and swallowed before taking another large bite.
Resting the steak back on the plate; Alek swallowed the bite he took and stood up. "I can perhaps help you....I was a cub when My father found me...as a cub I was the same as you are now....so I will teach you as if you were a pup. I'm sorry but your gonna have to mature all over again" he stated as he went over to examine the monitor again for a moment. It was clear that he wasn't a very trusting individual. After all who could you trust when everyone was your enemy?
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Post by Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova on Jun 7, 2010 12:40:13 GMT -5
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Post by ryn on Jun 7, 2010 12:58:13 GMT -5
Alek pondered her question before coming up with an appropriate response. He sat back down on the couch and looked over at her. "Is conditioning yes? Like if you ruffle a bag of dog food eventually the dog will associate the ruffling of any bad with food. That is pretty much what you do now. If we change your conditioning we have fixed most of your problem" he stated as he picked up his steak again and took another bite. This time he kept at it until the entire steak was gone then he finished his beer, and tossed everything in the trash. Alek went into the bathroom to wash his hands. "I is curious, your friend the wulf. Where is he? He's difficult to find alone, always has blood suckers nearby." he commented over the sound of the running water before turning the faucet off and drying his hands. Alek made his way back to the couch, and watched Ana curiously as she ate. There was also a faint scent of that wolf coming from her. Which is what peaked his curiosity in the first place. That guy was on the top of his list, of insects he needed to step on.
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Post by Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova on Jun 7, 2010 13:37:46 GMT -5
ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA → IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDENSHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ← What Aleksei said was making more than a little sense. Daktari had said he had been conditioned to fear mistletoe, be hurt by it, even. She had inevitably conditioned to be the obedient little girl she was after being threatened with injury for nearly a year of her life every time she did something wrong. Kyla had received the same threats, but she just hadn’t cared. “How can you do that? Re-train me, I mean. . . . Because that’s. . . ah, what it sounds like you’re saying. That I needed to be. . . trained differently?” she interpreted, trying to phrase her question delicately so he didn’t think she was being rude or affronted. He might not have cared, but Anastasia cared entirely too much.
His question about Urjasz—the only wolf Anastasia really hung out with now—surprised her. Why would he be asking about that, let alone care? Anastasia swallowed another bite of steak and stared down at her lap. “I don’t know. He gets sent away on business to Russia sometimes. Sometimes it’s other areas, too. . . . He normally just leaves. I’m never told when he’ll be back or where he’s going. Why do you ask?” she responded quietly, unconsciously trying to sound unthreatening. She didn’t look up at him at all and merely sat there, her hands clasping each other tightly as if it was a sore subject, but she didn’t want to say that out loud. He’d disappeared again, and without so much of a good-bye, even after getting intimate. Was that what she was worth to people?
→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ← → STARRING Aleksei → COUNTING 267 → LOCATION His place → WEARING ~ → NOTES ~ → LYRICS By Martina McBride
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Post by ryn on Jun 8, 2010 12:30:47 GMT -5
Alek shrugged at her first question. "Reconditioning isn't so difficult as one may think. Military training all over the world focus on it. Especially us" he stated referring to the Russian military. He and Niko had been independent contractors during world WWII. He'd seen meek little boys not much different than Ana in many ways transformed into elite soldiers. His methods might be a tad different but he was sure he'd get the same results. Well maybe she wouldn't become an elite soldier, or much of a fighter at all, but if she developed the will to fight without having to lose control to her other side. Then he would have surely made large strides in terms of progress.
"I see" Alek responded when she told him about the wolf. "That mansion, and its inhabitants have been a target of mine for a long time. Then your little group self destructed much like I thought it would if I let it sit and fester long enough. Now theres just you...and the wulf. I don't see a need to kill you....at the moment." he stated in response not even considering her feelings. He didn't care how she felt about it. He had intended to kill them all. Her, her little friend, the wulf, the other mutt, and the countless blood suckers. All of them. The fact that they did it themselves was very satisfying indeed.
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Post by Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova on Jun 8, 2010 14:34:13 GMT -5
ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA → IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDENSHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ← Anastasia tensed slightly at the mention of military training. Was that what he planned to do to her? Some sort of military regimen or something? Suppressing a shudder, she finished her steak and downed the last of the beer, scrunching her nose at the scent and the taste before slowly standing and walking back to the kitchen to throw away the plastic kitchen ware and can. Hopefully she could avoid drinking another one the rest of the night: she wasn’t human so her tolerance was higher than normal, but she wasn’t an avid drinker so one or two more and she might be completely inebriated. “If you think so,” she murmured.
Slowly, Anastasia wandered back into the living room and cautiously sat down on the couch instead of the floor this time, pushing herself all the way back in the corner with her knees against her body, arms around her legs and chin resting on her kneecaps. It was a little chilly, but nothing that she couldn’t manage with a higher body temperature. She was tired, but she didn’t want to go to bed quite yet. It was still early for her, and Anastasia still had a lot of trouble getting to sleep at night. Tonight she could only imagine that she wouldn’t get a whole lot again, if any at all.
“That mansion and its inhabitants have been a target of mine for a long time. Then your little group self destructed much like I thought it would if I let it sit and fester long enough. Now there’s just you. . . and the wulf. I don't see a need to kill you. . . at the moment,” Aleksei responded coldly, causing Anastasia to hold her legs even tighter against herself. Though she might not have known it at the time, that little voice in the back of her head knew this was good for her; this cold dose of reality. For the longest time she had been coddled and doted on by all but Daktari and she had gotten used to the attention. Draven, Jack, Trey, Zakhar, and more recently Urjasz. It was about time someone productively—instead of Daktari’s approach of just beating her for the hell of it—disciplined and taught her.
Her head tilted up slightly to look at the tiger and pressed herself closer to the couch. His brazen approach was making her subconsciously want nothing more than to make him happy so he wouldn’t have to kill her. Whether that was following his orders or doing her best during. . . whatever it was he might make her go through—or even both—she wasn’t sure, but she’d be damned if she upset him somehow. “I don’t understand. . . . We weren’t doing anything to expose ourselves. . . . Was it just because of how many there were living in one place? Or. . . do you just not like our kind. . . ?” she asked, avoiding eye contact like she normally did.
→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ← → STARRING Aleksei → COUNTING 504 → LOCATION His place → WEARING Some of his clothes → NOTES ~ → LYRICS By Martina McBride
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Post by ryn on Jun 13, 2010 23:11:20 GMT -5
Alek looked at the TV for a moment before responding to her question. "You didn't ask to be what you are yes? Unlike me you are not born this way. you are naive if you think the worse thing to be done by that place is turning you." he stated. He had told her before didn't he, that they were all killers. Him even her, she had just killed someone hadn't she? Surely that wasn't her fist kill. No she'd have killed before. Hence the not agains that she was uttering when he found her. It was inevitable they killed it was their nature. Humans, Vampires, other weres even dogs, and cats; depending on the immortal one or more of those would die at it's hand. Alek like many weres had killed humans not because he loss control. He was born this way he was as controlled as he was gonna get from day one. Not for food, not even for fun, but because wars required such acts.
He had been a mercenary with his adoptive father. The served in the Russian military for a while. Niko had taught him that it was only okay to kill if it would save lives, and that a single life was not worth more than many. It was a rule he was breaking by not killing Ana. The same rule Niko had broken by not killing Alek. Like father like son it would seem. "I don't like YOUR kind. Humans that have been turned into what we are. you should stay as what you are born....your dangerous enough as is without our power and abilities" he commented.
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Post by Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova on Jun 14, 2010 20:30:23 GMT -5
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Post by ryn on Jun 19, 2010 1:51:52 GMT -5
Alek pondered her question long and hard. This was not the first time he'd had this train of thought. He had asked himself this same question several times since the night he had found her weeping over the corpse of her friend. He really had no idea why he didn't simply put her out of her misery. It would have been the best course of action for both of them. She wasn't right for this life no matter what he taught her. That is what his logic said anyways, but for some reason he was compelled to try. It may have been the simple fact that she was Russian like him, and like him she had watched the person closest to her killed. Though he had not been present for Nikolai's death; the scene that found was more horrendous than witnessing it happen could ever be.
"I don't know" he simply replied He seemed slightly taken aback by the question. Alek walked over to the PC once again to check the security. The cameras themselves were pretty redundant, since he would be able to hear, smell, or feel anyone that came nearby anyways, and vampires didn't show up in video feeds, or so the rumors said, he'd never had a vampire approach one of his safe houses before so he had no idea if that was actually true or not to be honest.
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Post by Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova on Jun 21, 2010 0:13:09 GMT -5
ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA → IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDENSHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ← She got the same answer that she had the first time she asked him. He didn’t know why he hadn’t just killed her. Was there something about her? Something that made people not want to hurt her? Or kill her, at least. A lot of people hurt her. But no one had ever actually tried to kill her. Maybe she was just meant to stay alive and suffer for the rest of time. People she knew kept leaving. People she cared about kept dying around her. Happiness wasn’t supposed to be hers, was it?
Even now, though Aleksei said that she could leave whenever she wanted, she wondered if that was really true. He had been watching her since he’d found her that night, mourning Kyla’s death. If she left, she would still be under scrutiny. He would be there, lurking and making sure that she didn’t do anything bad. Watching the Novosi she shared a house with. Maybe even staking the place out to find a perfect time to raid and destroy everyone to rid the world of an entire house full of vampires. Of course, none of them would go down easily. He was but one man and they were a house full of well-trained vampires. He wouldn’t kill all of them, and even if he managed to get most of them, he might not leave alive, either, unless he brought reinforcements and intimately knew how to bypass their security.
Just as Anastasia’s eyes started to get heavy and her mind started to drift, she heard the sound of talons on the roof. Her eyes opened slowly, and she lifted her head. Crowing sounded outside, clear as day even through the roof. Anastasia’s eyes widened and she looked up at the ceiling. It was too late for crows. Or. . . . Ravens. And that crow was one that had been rehearsed a couple times. Anastasia sighed quietly and looked over at Aleksei, wondering if he’d notice. She couldn’t smell the raven, only hear it. Perhaps he couldn’t either. . . . One of the Novosi was on the roof, making sure that Anastasia was safe.
Climbing off the couch, Anastasia slowly walked toward the kitchen, her eyes on Aleksei, and then she made her way into the kitchen, moving like a child trying to keep her parents from noticing. Once in the kitchen, she started to dig through the cupboards until she found a clean-looking glass. She filled it with water from the tap, drank it, then set it down somewhere. Glancing around, she heard the raven crow again and she wandered around for a moment, skirting the place Aleksei was until she found another door. Sighing with relief, she pushed it open and stuck her head out, looking around for a moment.
Nothing. Keeping the door open a little bit, just enough to keep her hand around the stop without hurting herself, and then she made a quiet “Pssst” sound. With a flutter of feathers, the raven was in front of her. She smiled at him and kneeled down, pulling her hand from the door. It clicked shut and she glanced at it for a moment, then looked back at the raven. He cocked his head to the side and looked her over. “I’m okay. . . . I’m just gonna stay here for a little while. Keep the mansion clean and stuff. . . . If Urjasz comes back, don’t tell him I’m with this tiger,” she whispered to him.
With a nod of his head, the raven turned and took off in flight, flapping his wings he quickly gained altitude. Anastasia turned back to the door and stared at it. Where was the knob. . . ? Or the handle. . . ? She ran her hand along the surface and found a little latch. Pulling on it, she realized that it was now locked tight. A mild curse left her lips and tears of frustration sprang to her eyes before she wiped them away. Now she had to walk all the way to the front. Sighing, she figured she’d start making up excuses for when the tiger asked.
→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ← → STARRING Aleksei → COUNTING 695 → LOCATION Auto repair shop → WEARING ~ → NOTES Thought I'd try something different. → LYRICS By Martina McBride
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Post by ryn on Jun 21, 2010 1:15:14 GMT -5
Alek pretend not to notice Ana's rather unskilled attempt at sneaking around. He wondered if she had forgotten what he was. He could hear here heart beating in her chest if he wanted to focus on it so of course if she was gonna whisper she should have just spoke in her normal tone. The result would be the same regardless. He also wondered if she realized that that particular door couldn't be opened from the outside. The quiet click of the locking mechanism assured him that it was a firm no. Alek got up and approached the door. He heard here mention the name Urjasz. Then he heard what sounded like flapping, a bird perhaps he had heard on one the roof before.
The door clicked gently against the metal frame as she attempted to open it. This was of course to no avail. Alek opened the door and peered out at her. his expression darkened as he caught a whiff of the lingering scent out there. A vampire he could never mistake that scent regardless of form they took. He just looked at her for a moment trying to decided on an appropriate response for this situation. "Are you leaving?" he asked curiously. She wasn't his prisoner or anything of the sort. She could leave if she wanted. He knew she wasn't leaving he could see it in her eyes. Alek stepped back and held the door open for her.
"anyone ever tell you that you are judged by the company you keep?" He stated as he waited for to enter. Once she was inside he let the door close behind her and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms while giving her a look of obvious disapproval. The vamps new where he was staying now he would have to bump up security. How very agitating.
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Post by Anastasia Kirilovna Marisova on Jun 21, 2010 1:43:27 GMT -5
ANASTASIA KIRILOVNA MARISOVA → IT'S HARD TO SEE THE PAIN BEHIND THE MASK BEARING THE BURDENSHE STANDS HARD AS A STONE IN A WORLD THAT SHE CAN'T RISE ABOVE ← It seemed as if she wasn’t going to have to come up with an excuse or even have to walk around the building to get to the front door. The door started to creak open and she jumped back letting out a short scream. She managed to keep her balance and not fall over in surprise, but she was soon faced with a dubious Aleksei. Her head hung slightly in what could be shame. Shame at being caught like this, even though she hadn’t been trying to escape. She hadn’t really been trying to sneak around, either. Just not bother Aleksei.
He asked if she was leaving, and Anastasia shook her head. “No. . . . I was just. . . well. . . I’m sure you know,” she murmured quietly, fidgeting with her fingers as if she expected to get scolded or in trouble. Anastasia very much looked like a child who had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar after being explicitly told not to eat any of them before she’d had her dinner. Of course, under Aleksei’s revelation, she was free to do as she wished, to leave when she wanted. But Anastasia didn’t feel like that was true. Quietly, she walked back into the building, shoulders hunched and hands together—chagrined.
Anastasia didn’t look up at him as he mentioned the company she was staying in, though she felt a little insulted and obligated to stand up for the Novosi. “There isn’t anything wrong with the Novosi. . . . Or the people I hang out with. . . . I can’t hang out with humans because they don’t know about our kind. . . . And the Novosi are always there, at least. . . everyone else just runs off or dies. . . . There’s always at least the vampires or were-ravens to look after me. . . . That one was just making sure that I was safe,” she explained quietly. Her words were defensive, but she was too soft-spoken for it to sound that way.
Once inside, she scurried to the couch and sat on it as if she were going to be sent there anyway. Her knees were brought to her chest and she held them there with her arms around them, watching Aleksei and wondering what he was going to do with her. He definitely had some sort of project ahead of him if he was serious about reconditioning her. The way she carried herself, the way she spoke. . . . Anastasia doubted that she was going to be able to change. The voice in her head had been silent for quite some time, and Anastasia felt a little more lonely.
→ A FRAGILE SOUL CAUGHT IN THE HANDS OF FATE ← → STARRING Aleksei → COUNTING 454 → LOCATION The place → WEARING ~ → NOTES ~ → LYRICS By Martina McBride
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Post by ryn on Jun 21, 2010 2:02:02 GMT -5
"You should get some sleep...we have a long trip ahead of us" Alek finally stated. Her training would start at the most basic need of all survival. Unlike him she was born a human and had probably never been in the wilderness. It was the edge he had against most weres. They were just too soft and only suited for this life among humans. Take that away and they were as useless as a newborn pup, unless of course they shifted and let instinct take over, but that had its downside as well. "If you want to go back to your vampires do so.....but if you get into the car with me in the morning, you will no longer have a choice" he stated as he finally uncrossed his arms and grabbed another beer from the fridge.
Alek sat on the couch opening the beer and took a sip. "The white mountains? ever heard of them? They are tame compared Siberian wilderness.....but for you they should suffice" he stated before taking another sip. He wasn't about to disclose what this training would entail, but one thing was for sure she'd probably never endured anything like it in her lifetime.
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