When they first met
Arriane walked down the street from the Steaming Beans cafe. Night was falling and she didn't really think about the possible threats that might come with it. She was worn out from her day at work and just wanted to get back to her dorm room so that she could take a shower and go to bed.
Derek found himself once again on a prowl through the city's darkness. His cold blue eyes lazily scanning across the idle gloom of the streets below as he cat walked across the roof tops to avoid any annoying traffic beneath his feet. He was not in a tolerable mood tonight to skim across human touch, and his aggravation was a subtle grain that itched his skin as he continued to settle along the concrete building ledges, only three floors high above the rest of the world
Arriane continued to walk, occasionally looking around her to see if she was alone. She was and she began to get nervous as it got darker. She hoped that it wouldn't get pitch dark.
I should have walked home with one of the others, she thought, thinking about the other people she worked with at the cafe. Gripping the backpack strap that was settled on her shoulder, she sped up and tried to look for the landmarks that would tell her that she was close to the University of Manuka campus.
Derek was about to forgo his attempt to find at least a hint of amusement tonight when a subtle scent drifted to his nose. His footsteps idled as he licked his lips and crouched down to observe the ground below with more scrunity. He narrowed his eyes as his gaze fell upon a woman walking along down the streets. His eyes creased softly as he allowed a slow and gentle smirk to crease his face, curious he wondered in his wary mind.
Suddenly, she felt like she was being watched and looked around, starting to get scared. She let herself look around for a few minutes, not seeing anyone, before she continued to walk again, this time while she tensed up. She listened intently to the sounds around her, feeling sure that someone was around.
Am I making this up? Is something really there or is my mind playing tricks on me? She wondered as she wrapped her arms around her body, trying not to let her fear show.
Derek's smirk only grew as he could almost smell her fear as she hugged her body while walking. He felt his fangs ache in his mouth as he rubbed his jaw to try and soothe the itch that started to creep into his skin, the ripple that urged his stomach into painful cramps and his throat blistered with dryness as he licked his lips. I must have her....His mind wandered as he stood up and simply walked off of the ledge, falling down the side of the building silently, landing gracefully in an elegant crouch farther behind the girl, silently slipping into an alley way to remain hidden from her view as he glanced around the corner to run over her body with will hungered eyes, his fangs trembling as they begged to grow.
Aria thought she had felt a rush of wind behind her and whipped around to look. Yet again, she didn't see anyone.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called in a slightly frightened tone and she hated how she sounded.
It's just my imagination. It has to be, she thought to herself, but felt like she shouldn't turn around, that there was danger lurking nearby. She looked around again, this time to see how far she would have to run to get to a public place if something bad happened. The nearest busy street was about a block or so up ahead and it would take her a while to get there, even if she ran.
Damn it, she thought to herself, wishing she had just taken a cab or bus home.
Derek inhaled heavily and groaned as her lucious scent tickled his nose and made him shiver in hunger. He licked his lips and grinned, his fangs still longing and aching to extend. Shaking, he slipped out from behind the alley way and slowly started to creep his way up behind her, his eyes slitting to predatory slits, licking his lips like a hungry animal.
Turn around, a voice in her head urged her and she instantly did as it said. Whipping around, her brown hair making her scent even stronger, she saw a man approaching her. Shivers ran along her skin as she met his gaze and she froze in place.
"Who-who are you? What do you want?" She asked, her voice cracking at the beginning. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him or even move. It was as if she was a deer caught in a car's headlights.
Derek's hunger only grew harder as the scent bled into his nose, making his stomach quench tightly with starvation. He almost couldn't stand it, it was overpowering. Growling softly, deeply, in his throat, Derek smiled gently to the poor little girl, her fear was delicous.
"Shhhhhh....don't be afraid, my child..." he whispered softly as he offered her a gentle smile.
Her eyes looked over his face, trying to decide whether she should run or not. She thought she heard him growl, but it was so low that she couldn't be sure. At the sound of his voice, she became hypnotized, mesmerized, like she was listening to the sound of a beautiful song or bird. Her eyes found their way into his and she stood there frozen.
Nearby, a hunter walked. When he looked down a street, he saw a girl and what he thought was a vampire. He began to approach them, keeping himself to the shadows.
Derek allowed his smile to soften for the precious thing, his soul reaching to hers as his mind crepts its way into her sub conscious, gently breaking down her fragile barriers and making his way into her core, slipping his own tedious mind gently over hers like a lovely caress, encouraging her to relax even more as he pulled her into his sway. And yet, though he had her in his grasp, he found that, though he was starving, his eyes were drinking in her own. He felt...strange in front of this girl...
"Aria...." he whispered, feeling her name against his skin as he shivered and almost let his eyes fall closed as he lifted his left hand up to caress her skin.
Aria remained frozen, a soft smile slowly finding its way to her lips. She was safe, of course she was. She wondered why she had thought otherwise. He wasn't here to hurt her. They were just talking. She didn't even find it strange that he knew her name. She just stood there frozen, lost in the compulsion.
Derek felt a silent chill roll down his spine as he felt a few tremors roll down his skin like waves, he felt nervous and he wished he hadn't jumped down from the roof. Suddenly, he felt powerless to this girl even though he had absolute control over her mind.
~Relax Aria...I'm Derek~ He whispered into her mind, not able to find words to his mouth as he allowed his blue eyes to drift into hers. His surroundings were lost to him as he just locked their gazes together.
She watched in curiosity as he seemed to take a moment to compose himself and she thought she saw him shiver, but couldn't be sure. She returned her gaze to his blue eyes and as she did they locked again and she heard his voice in her mind. She thought he said it out loud, because she didn't believe in things that could read her thoughts or put thoughts into her mind. So she said,
"Hi, Derek."From a couple of feet away, the hunter noticed that the two people didn't look away from one another and that the girl seemed to have heard something before she spoke.
He's a vampire, the hunter thought, wondering how long it would take before the vampire tried to kill Aria. He knew that he should do something and soon, but he remained where he was, hoping that he was wrong.
Derek felt his resolve growing weaker, his hunger growing stronger, and yet, as much as it was starvation of blood that ached him, it was something more, something deeper that ripped at his soul and made him crave her touch for more than just food. He shivered again and licked his teeth.
~Aria....You are not afraid of me....~ he whispered into her thoughts as he stepped forward and reached out, stroking her face with a finger tip as he growled softly, his fangs lengthening to pointed tips as he growled again. He wanted her, he needed her, but he couldn't figure out how or why.
She didn't take her eyes away from his as she heard him say that she wasn't afraid of him and she said,
"No, I'm not." She knew that she should be, especially as he stepped towards her and stroked her face, but she just leaned into his touch, enjoying the feel of his skin. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, she saw that he had grown fangs and was growling again. She screamed as she stepped away from him and ended up tripping over her feet. She fell to the ground, but didn't stop trying to get away. As she was doing so, the hunter that had been watching came out from his hiding spot and charged at Derek, a wooden stake in his hand.
Derek hadn't wanted to scare her, that much he decided as he gasped when she fell. He felt horrible for making her fall, but he felt stupid for feeling such things. He growled softly and took a step back, trying to curve his hunger as he shook, shaking his head.
"Whats wrong with me?" he hissed under his breath as he shuddered again, rubbing his eyes. He turned, however, when he heard a noise and growled when he realized it was a hunter. Snarling, he leapt back and hissed in the hunters face.
The hunter seemed unfazed when Derek hissed in his face. He was there to kill him and that was the only thing he was concentrating on. He aimed the stake towards the vampire's heart, about to drive it through. Meanwhile, Aria watched in shock and horror as the two men went at it.
I must be dreaming, she thought to herself.
Wake up, wake up! She screamed in her mind as she hugged her knees while she occasionally looked up at Derek and the hunter.
Derek snarled deeply as the sound vibrated through his chest almost like a chainsaw. A savage and angrily sated hiss erupted through his lips as he dodged the strike and lashed out with sharp nails, cutting the hunter across the face as he rounded a kick into his ribs, hard enough to snap them as he ducked down and undercut to swipe him off of his feet, duck rolling to the side to leap up and attack his exposed stomach as he landed on his back. Derek was angry, no he was more than angry, he was enraged. He felt that he was somehow doing more than just protecting himself. Somehow he felt as though he were trying to protect Aria when he knew that to be foolish. There was no need to protect her. Hunters protected humans, and yet a strong possessive streak rippled into his chest like an outraged panther as he wrestled with the hunter on the ground after removing the stake. He slammed his head heavily into the man's skull, screaming at him to remain still long enough for him to rip out his throat
The hunter fought back as best he could, but he was slowly losing the fight. He could feel his mind slowly blacking out, but knew that he had to protect the human from this monster. In one last desperate attempt, he punched the vampire in the face repeatedly and tried to reach for the stake, leaving his neck exposed.
Seizing his chance and blinded by an unspeakable rage that he could not even begin to understand, Derek lunged for the exposed throat and tore his fangs into the delicously soft skin of the man's flesh. He groaned in bliss as blood dripped like honey onto his soft lips and he sank his nails into the man's sides as he yanked him to his body and demanded that he yield and fall to his mercy. He growled unmercifully as he closed his eyes and drank, his blood pumping as the man's life, fear, and blood fed into Derek's soul
The hunter shrieked as he felt the sharp teeth go into his throat, but he was too weak to fight back. Exhausted, he closed his eyes and within minutes, he was dead. Aria had watched the whole thing and couldn't believe what she had seen.
Oh, my God, is he going to kill me next? She wondered as she began to try to get to her feet, but her body wasn't cooperating with the things her mind told it to do. She looked back at where Derek was at, wondering how much time she had before he finished his meal and came for her.
Derek didn't know how long he fed, but he didn't care, it felt so good to be sated, to be full and warm by the life of the fallen. He couldn't believe the power he felt every single time he claimed yet another victim. His eyes however did open as he pulled away and dropped the body to the ground as he stood, wiping the blood from his lips with the sleeve of his leather jacket. Slowly and painfully his fangs shortened until missing from view as he turned to Aria and walked towards her, his eyes blood drunken and hazed as he reached out to her and crouched down over her.
Shaking as a tear rolled down his face, an ache in his chest, she was terrified, and that somehow made him sad. Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes and leaned down,
~Don't struggle, lay still.~ He murmured as he kissed her forehead, and let his will take over her own.
~Sleep my precious thing...and forget all the things you have seen....Rest now in my arms and know that you are safe...For I Derek William Night, shall never slay you with my fangs...~ He felt his sub conscious caress hers as he urged her to sleep. With trembling arms he scooped her up into his body and laid her gentle head against his chest and sighed heavily. Shifting through her mind, he found where she lived and darted to take her home. Knowing that from this night, he felt an urge to investigate this silly little girl...brave enough to wander alone into the hunters night were Derek Night himself had now laid his eyes upon her....
Too soon, she saw him drop the body of the hunter and looked towards her. She froze for a moment as he stood up and began to walk towards her. She saw that his eyes were drunken and hazy. When she noticed him reach out for her, she said out of instinct and fear,
"Please don't kill me." She looked up at him as he crouched over her and was confused when she saw a tear run down his face before she saw him close his eyes.
What happened to the monster he had become before? She wondered before she heard him say don't struggle, lay still. She closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead.
Then she felt herself go limp as he began to use compulsion on her again. She listened to the things he said in her mind and relaxed as she grew sleepy. Her eyes began to close as he scooped her up into his arms and laid her against his chest gently. She felt his chest rise and fall as he sighed heavily. By the time he had reached her home, she was asleep and was forgetting everything she had seen. Too bad she would remember it later on, that she would dream about that night over and over again and think that she was going crazy, because of it, but for now, everything was okay. She was safe.
