The Lodge(Reboot) [Inactive]

Ian smirked as he saw Aurora dash into nature's abyss. Looking at the lit skies, Ian took a quick huff before he fled into the woods. He untucked his sweatshirt hood that was under the leather jacket and smiled. It gave just enough shade for him to bypass the glare of the sun. But he didn't think about anything else while he sped past the trees and other thriving plants. He kept his mind completely open so he could listen to his surroundings. Skidding across rocks and dirt, Ian gave a halt to his blazing trail as he listened to the creeks in the forest. Was that a hawk he heard? He thought for a moment and then gave a devilish smile. The hunt was most definitely on.


Ian chased after the creature until it flew into it's nest in fear. Giving a slight grunt in disapproval, Ian looked around the tree for the slightest bit of branch to lift him up. He wanted to catch the bird normally, like a regular person, even if that was a bit boring, but he thought it was quite amusing. Finally he found a limb for him to climb upon and he slowly made his way up the old oak. Of course, the hawk was being smart this fine day and Ian watched as his prey left the nest. "D*mn bird." he replied as he jumped down off the tree. He dusted his jacket off a bit until he tilted his head until he heard a nice pop. Another smile was exposed on his face and he dashed to the north. Maybe he could find a rabbit or something. Anything would suffice, but obviously he was a little rusty due to his languid attitude before. He tried to shake the last of his exhausted feelings and continued to focus on his lunch, um, breakfast? Honestly it didn't matter anymore. Ian felt free, and that was all he ever asked for.


@Jon_14 @Venomarrah @Darth Cinder
 
Azumi's keen hearing, while supposedly under his tight control, inadvertently picked up the voice of the one person that he didn't quite want to interact with at the moment. Still, Aurora's offer to go hunting was... a bit disconcerting to Azumi, as everything he'd learned from being her... roommate indicated that she was not one for active hunting. Not only did this fill him with an ominous sense of dread, but, strangely enough, a sudden impulse to go into the kitchen and rip all the affirmative answerers limb from limb. Brushing all this off, Azumi decided that rather than be couped up in the Lodge, it would do him some good to get out. Subconsciously, he had slightly different reasons that he consciously refused to acknowledge. "Would that I could, but I'm afraid my temperament at the moment wouldn't make for pleasurable company for either of us, I assure you. I'll be taking a stroll through the forest, but perhaps we can speak later, yes?" he said jovially to Ivory. Honestly, Ivory was one of the nicer beings at the Lodge, not to mention that she was a vampire, not a mutt. But, presently, Azumi stuck with what he'd said and egressed out the back door of the Lodge.
 
John grinned at Aurora's eagerness to get started,and he was not too far behind the hyper vampire. It really was the perfect time for hunting too. With it being more warm and nicer out,it was bound to attract critters of all sizes. This should be fun! Once catching up to Aurora when she finally came to a halt. John took that time to check he surroundings and see what was around. Looks like some deer are out. Perfect time to try out some deer meat again. Its been too long. "So Aurora. How good are you at hunting animals?" John's never seen an vampire hunt anything before,or at least not closely. Speaking of which it seemed that was a bit slightly behind,though since it is Ian its nothing to worry about.


@Venomarrah @TheLovelyDead
 
Aurora


Aurora had found herself stopped in a deep set of forest, shades of teal coloring around her, shadows small towards the bright light of the day. Everything was alive around her, she heard every animal and it's call, bugs just buzzed on as they did normally, unaware of the souls that have just stopped there. She sighed gently as John caught up to her, looking lost in thought before asking; "So Aurora. How good are you at hunting animals?" The werewolf seemed eager to know more about the little vampire.


A smile formed over her lips, and perfectly at peace she replied, "I do not know. I've never hunted before." She shrugged slightly and seemed to wisp to a tree, seeming almost dancing. The carefree feeling filled her from head to toe, all nerves diminished.


She heard Ian quick to come, having stopped only a moment before continuing. She heard the grass and brush waver and shiver in their passing, still calming from the fight of such speed disrupting their calm. Her scent of roses and musk seemed to mingle with the wind that floated around her, touching her face in the most gentle of ways, as if welcoming her to the space. "This is a first for me, truthfully." She admitted, glancing to him with an impish smile.


@Jon_14 @TheLovelyDead @Darth Cinder @Zachariah el Morgan
 
Ivory saw a shift in Azumi's expression that made one eye quirk up. She had never witnessed first-hand the odd emotion that flashed through those crimson eyes of his, especially when it was Aurora who was speaking. When he had snapped from his shift, he politely declined her offer, using his mood to explain, and Ivory simply smiled, her hand returning to her lap and her position straightening back forward. She spoke in a soft tone, "Of course. I'll see you later, then, Azumi." He then made his way towards one of the exits out of the Lodge, leaving Ivory in solitude once more. She had to admit, the thought of having some company was enticing, but she rarely, if not ever, allowed disappointment to bog her down and show on her face. With a small sigh, she reached over and fluidly took the glass of crimson next to her and placed it to her lips, tilting her head back and instead of sipping it, took it down in a few swigs.


She drained the glass and tilted her head back down, eyes bright, senses prickling. With a small, pleasurable shiver, she allowed her feet to touch the hardwood floor and rose from her spot to her rather unimpressive height. Her plan was to go wash out the glass before the blood could dry on it's surface, and after she had captured her full attention and control, she took a deep breath and turned, approaching the entrance to the kitchen where only a few of the scents she had previously detected remained.


She had heard Aurora's offer, but decided not to follow after it. She usually didn't find hunting in a large group as fun, mostly taking interest in a simple two-person or solo hunt. But she did chuckle when she heard a jumble of people start their ways after Aurora to join her. Group hunting seemed fun for everyone else, but then again, Ivory wasn't a normal vampire in any standard.


She strode into the kitchen and went towards the sink, finding Preston to be leaning next to it. She had taken a liking to the werewolf. He seemed a bit . . . kinder than the others. More open to the thought of interacting with a 'bloodsucker', as her kind was normally called by them. As she turned the tap and placed the wine glass underneath the stream of water to fill and turn a light shade of pink, she smiled, his scent more potent where she stood - a familiarly woodsy tinge, yet with a sweeter edge rather than tangy or fiery. As she cleaned out her glass, she decided to greet him, and did so in her usual voice of tranquility, "Hello, Preston, how are you this morning?" He didn't seem busy with anything in particular, so she hoped she'd be alright to talk with him a bit, unless he didn't desire it.


@oOBubblesOo
 
As Azumi stepped onto the porch, he was glad that he'd quickly grabbed his black sweats, hoodie, and hat. Although it made him look like a wannabe serial killer, the garments protected him from the sun, so he didn't care. Besides, more than anyone else at the Lodge, he really did deserve to be called a serial killer. After taking a deep breath, Azumi dashed from the porch into the forest. Here, outside, away from everyone's eyes, he could be free. The trees whipped past, their branches seemingly innumerable. However, not a single one touched Azumi, as if his feet had a mind of their own, having mapped out the perfect course so as not to hit a single leaf. While it was true that werewolves were, in fact, stronger than vampires in their wolf forms, nothing was faster than a vampire, and as Azumi was the oldest and only pureblood vampire of the lot at the Lodge, he was, accordingly, the fastest. His movements were like an eerie shadow in the daylight.
 
Preston kept his eyes on Dahlia for a moment before shifting them to his bottle of water. He picked it up again, taking a few sips just as Ivory wandered in. At first, Preston didn't pay too much attention to her. He wasn't meaning to be rude but he was just thinking about various other things at the moment. Preston set his water bottle back on the counter behind him as he watched Ivory fill up her wine glass. He wasn't truly sure what she was doing so it was intriguing to him. Preston could smell blood from many different directions of the lodge, in fact, it was almost as overpowering as the smell of the other werewolves. He was taken back by hearing Ivory address him and that was when he realized he was still watching her.


Rather than making up excuses for watching her so intensely, he just smiled. Preston rubbed the back of his neck as he responded. "Pretty good, so far. And you?" Preston had learned a long time ago that he was really terrible at conversation. As much as he liked talking to people; it wasn't one of his strong suits. He quit rubbing the back of his neck after he had spoken, letting his hand rest back down at his side. Preston wasn't truly shocked that Ivory had spoken to him. She had seemed like a kind person but he was more curious as to why nobody else seemed a bit weird about it. Despite the fact that they were all here to try to get along and survive together, most of the others here were still more about the separation of their kinds than the combination of them.
 
Ivory was quite delighted to here a good response from Preston; it showed in her expression as it lifted into something more content. She let the water spill out of the glass down the drain and turned the tap off as she responded in a cheerful tone, "I'm doing lovely! Thank you for asking." She let her gaze flicker over to him momentarily with a smile before she lifted the glass up a tad more to examine it, make sure all the blood was off and wouldn't stick to the sides. It looked clean, and so she nodded once to herself and took a small step back to lean towards the dishwasher. As she did, she spoke again, her tone softened, "It's just a bit difficult to find something to do right now." She opened the dishwasher door and pulled out the top shelf, setting the glass gingerly inside.


Hm. Her gaze swept over the dirty dishes stacked in the dishwasher, and she decided it was a good time to wash a load. She meandered to a cabinet below the sink, crouching down and opening it up to search for some dishwashing soap as she spoke again in a more playful tone, "Being immortal can be rather boring sometimes, if you can't find interesting things to do with all the free time." She glanced up at him briefly as she spoke with a lopsided grin before back into the cabinet, grabbing a bottle of dishwashing soap and standing, letting the door close softly behind her. She stepped back towards the dishwasher as she fell silent, hopefully waiting for a reply from the werewolf.
 
Preston smiled when she responded happily. He continued to watch her periodically as she cleaned the glass. Preston tried to remain focused on her but the noise of the water was a big distracting. He nodded, trying to be as understanding as he could when she mentioned the difficulty in finding things to do at the moment. Preston figured it must be hard to vampire to be confined to doing things at certain times of the day, or rather, the night, for the most part. Though he himself wasn't a vampire, he had once experienced the same issues, well, kind of. When he and Dahlia were together, she was always stuck at home and he was usually stuck there with her. Not that it really bother him it was just a bit boring and he knew that must be how vampires feel every day, all the time.


"I've heard that it can get pretty boring... But there's always something you could find to do." Preston wasn't really sure where he was going with this but he was trying to lead a decent conversation. "I mean you could always just talk to the lonely werewolf in the kitchen if that's what you're into." Preston smirked, shrugging slightly as he did. He reached behind him and grabbed his bottle of water. Preston uncapped the bottle and raised it to his lip to take a gulp. He brought the bottle back down and simply held it as he looked down at the soap in her hand then back to Ivory.
 
As Ivory knelt down to reach the still-opened dishwasher door, she paused for the shortest of moments when he spoke again, and felt an entertained smile break across her lips. She chuckled lightly, popping open the lid of the soap and opening the soap compartment of the washer as she spoke again, "Well, to tell you the truth, that sounds better than anything else I could conjure to do." She filled the compartment and closed it, standing and closing the dishwasher door as she did, setting the wash to how it should be out of habit and starting it up with a sudden noise of swishing water and a clunk of machinery from within. It felt like she had set the dishwasher hundreds of times in her lifetime, which was honestly rather true. It had become habit for her, as many other small, menial little tasks had become.


She took the dishwashing soap from the floor and stepped back towards the sink, crouching to put the soap back in it's place as she spoke again, "In all seriousness, though, I'd much . . . " She paused as she set the soap back and stood back up, closing the cabinet door and continuing, " . . . much rather speak to the lonely, nice werewolf in the kitchen than one of the, erm . . . " Her gaze flickered towards the back door and back to Preston as she spoke a tad softer, as if she was afraid the others might overhear her from the distance they had traveled outside, " . . . the more . . . prejudiced ones?" She spoke in a questioning tone, glancing up at Preston and then back forward with a shrug. "Is that the right word? Or just the less friendly ones? I'm not sure what to call it, really." She glanced up at him again, a pursed grin on her lips.
 
Preston took another sip of his water, finishing it off completely and crumpling it in his hands. He held onto it as he listened closely to Ivory's response. Preston smiled, looking around the lodge to see if anyone else was listening in but they didn't seem to be. He turned his gaze back on Ivory just as she finished setting the dishwasher. It was kind of amusing to see someone other than Preston doing the dishes. He seemed to be the one who usually cleaned up after everyone else since he was usually up the earliest. Preston waited for her to return from the cabinets before he said anything in response. He didn't want to interrupt her or throw her off her cleaning duties.


Preston chuckled a bit. "Well, that seems pretty understandable. I know most of us werewolves tend to be dicks given the chance to be. Then again, most of you vampires aren't the greatest company either... Though not all of you dreaded bloodsuckers are the worst to be around." Preston smiled a bit, speaking at an average level and putting extra sarcastic emphasis on dreaded bloodsuckers. He wasn't exactly worried about anyone hearing him considering the fact that nobody ever really tried to hurt him before. Preston thought for a moment about why exactly some of the others hated each other so much. Honestly, he couldn't think of anything. Sure, werewolves could kill a vampire with one bite but at the same time vampires could just as easily rip out a werewolf's heart. Basically, they were all on equal playing fields and that just seemed like nature's balance to him rather than competition.
 
Another crooked little grin appeared on Ivory's lips, a feeling of relief washing over her. It was impeccably refreshing to hear a werewolf talking some true sense about vampires. Ivory's personal views on the whole cultural rivalry and such between werewolves and vampires were far, far more different from whatever other beliefs the vampires of the Lodge probably had, which set her apart from the rest of her species greatly. It all never made sense to her. She nodded in agreement to his words, her hands intertwining in front of her as she leaned back against the counter in a leisurely manner. There was something that was clawing it's way through her mind and towards her mouth for her to say, and before she could stop or counter it, she spoke, her tone softer and very genuine.


" . . . Thank you. It's . . . it's nice to know someone else thinks that way." Her gaze turned up towards him for a moment before back forward. Though she was a bit surprised to hear those words come from herself, she couldn't do much to take them back, and decided to just roll with it. Her thoughts began forging themselves into her voice and she spoke again, her tone more thoughtful than before as the air around the two unlikely people turned a bit more peaceful, " . . . It's really just all silly, though, isn't it?" She took a pause before continuing, "What point could there be to such an intense hatred? Why keep bickering when something sensible could come out of allying instead of fighting?" She shook her head before finishing her little ramble, "It's . . . childish. To me, at least."
 
Preston simply smiled. He was beginning to feel like nobody else in this place ever had the same viewpoints as him. Then again, Dahlia once did but something changed inside of her to make her become just like most of the others. The only werewolf Dahlia ever spoke to was Preston and that was really only when she needed something from him. Otherwise, more often than not, the two species didn't speak civilly. "Honestly? I'm glad I can talk to someone about this, too. Anyone else would've either walked away or tried to fight me by now," Preston chuckled at the thought, "I don't think there is any point whatsoever. I mean, sure, we have our differences but so do humans compared to each other and they don't hate each and every other person for that."


Preston paused for a moment. He began remembering what it was like to be just the average human. He missed that, no doubt about it. Maybe that was the reason why he was so against the fighting between the two species. Maybe his humanity was the sliver of hope he held onto that something in this new life could be normal. Preston brought himself back after a moment, "Maybe we're not as superior to humans as we all seem to believe." Preston cut himself off from going any further. His focus had already shifted and he quickly went to the fridge for another bottle of water. "Or maybe I'm thinking too deeply into this and need to shut up," He spoke more softly to himself as he began to retreat from the fridge. In the process, he hit his head on the upper shelf in the fridge. Preston cursed and stumbled back a bit on impact.
 
"Fight? Oh, heavens no, not me." She glanced at him with an eyebrow quirked up, an incredulous expression on her face. She nearly laughed at the very thought of her fighting one of the members of the Lodge. It honestly amused her. A little thing like her? Nah, that didn't seem right. But she quickly silenced herself as she listened on to his words, feeling her heart beginning to lift with a newer sense of hope. Yes, it was odd to be feeling hope, but it was also one of the most rare phenomenon in the world to find a werewolf with such equal standing and correct opinions on the subject, the very idea, of vampires and werewolves allying. It made her heart feel warmer, almost. She hadn't realized how much better of company it suddenly was to be with a werewolf than it usually was.


She was silent for a full few seconds before smiling in a fulfilled manner, as if her year was completed by what he had said. She nodded slowly in agreement with him, deciding to remain quiet and let the moment feel good. After a long pause of silence, Preston came up with a random observation that struck Ivory meaningfully. She felt her gaze move from Preston to the floor as she began thinking about that, pondering it. He said something quietly at the fridge about shutting himself up, which made the corners of Ivory's lips twitch momentarily with a grin before returning back to normal.


When she heard a distinct clonk noise from where Preston was, her head quickly turned up to find him stumbling back a bit. She realized that he must have hit something, with the pained curse he added under his breath, and the suddenness of the moment made her freeze briefly, blinking once in surprise. And then, just as suddenly, she smiled widely and laughed, feeling guilty for doing so, but not being able to help it.


"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh at that. It's just, you were in such a deep subject, a-and then that happens and -" She tried explaining herself, but quickly stifled her laughter into giggles until it faded off, finally bringing her normal voice back lined underneath with amusement, "I'm sorry, are you alright, dear?" She was sure he was, but she just felt like asking for compensation. She felt rude laughing at that.
 
Preston rubbed the back of his head, sliding down against the counter behind him with defeat. He put his head down, still holding his head on the back of his head. Preston looked up at Ivory for a moment, an emotionless expression on his face. He shook his head, "I guess that's what I get for trying to be too serious for once," Preston smiled faintly, chuckling a little bit. "I'm fine, thanks... But can I just say... OW," Preston began laughing a bit more now. "I don't suggest you ever do that unless you want to lose your vision for a good few moments."





Preston looked at Ivory oddly for a moment, shaking his head before pushing himself up off the ground. He maintained a smile on his face on the way up. Preston closed the fridge door after he stood before he leaned down to pick up the bottle of water that he had lost in the process. He shook his head again and looked over at Ivory, a slight smirk still on his face. "I can't believe you just laughed at me." Preston walked over to his original spot and leaned back against the counter.


Of course, he knew he would have healed quickly no matter what slight injury he had gotten but he still was a bit hurt. Preston hadn't been a werewolf for very long yet and was still getting used to dealing with minor pain as well as major pain. When he is angry, though, that's a completely different story.


Preston drank a bit of his water, looking down at the ground before looking back up at Ivory. He bit his lip gently before taking another sip of the water. Preston glanced over to the living room to see if anyone else had noticed the incident. It seemed to him like most everyone was engaged in conversation or simply not around anyways so it was significantly less embarrassing than it could have been. Although, he still felt like a complete dunce seeing as how he managed to make a fool of himself in front of Ivory after speaking to her for only a few minutes.


(Armageddon)
 
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"First time eh? Well watch and learn Though you'll really have to watch cause you won't be able to understand me." Funny that a werewolf is teaching a vampire to hunt. John threw off his backpack that he had towards a tree. Then at his will he changed into his wolf form. Yeah bringing those spare clothes were a good idea. First John observed his prey. He noticed a nice looking deer that would be a nice grab. Its the nice size. Not too big,but not too small. Slowly he crawled towards the deer.


You don't want to scare the prey away so stealth is key. John hoped that Aurora was able to pick up on what he was doing easily. Once close enough to the prey without being seen he waited for the right moment to strike. It seemed that the deer didn't notice John's presence yet so this would be an easy kill. One three! One...two...three! John then charged at the deer with a fierce look in his eye. His teeth sunk into the deer's body as he knocked it down on the ground. With a couple of fierce bites John wounded the deer gravely to the point of not being able to move. Soon the deer laid dead and John successfully hunted his prey. John moved his head toward Aurora,and cocked his head over to signal that she could come over now.


(Mentions @Venomarrah )
 
Aurora


"First time eh? Well watch and learn Though you'll really have to watch cause you won't be able to understand me." Aurora's shoulders relaxed a bit of weight at his nonchalant reply, with no criticism or care. She smiled to him before he morphed before her bright blue eyes.


His wolf form was very majestic indeed, all muscle and fur. His eyes sparked with a wild essence, but Aurora could still see his humanity in his movements, his thoughtful pause as if thinking before pouncing or stalking forward. Aurora stood silent as she watched the wolf hunt, her eyebrows knotting in what seemed to be some form of unhappiness. She felt wrong to watch such a sin, allowing and even asking for this to happen. What an odd feeling, so out of place in her mind; A small voice that seemed to nag at her.


She fought back the need to call out as he snuck up to a well grown deer, and held back a yelp as he bit down upon it's neck, hearing the bones breaking under his sharp teeth.


The little vampire's plush lips formed a small 'o' as a life whisked away before her eyes, seeing the soul vanish from the deer's eyes. Aurora was too shocked to have any other initial reaction. She didn't even seem to be looking at the wolf as he tilted his head to the side at her.
 
Ivory couldn't contain the wide smile that was now taking over her expression, making it beam bright with her entertainment - not in him hurting himself, oh no. Just because of the circumstances. She rolled her eyes when Preston offered her the obvious advice, saying in a tone edged with the smallest tinge of sarcasm that she could muster, "I promise I won't be doing that anytime soon, honey." It was funny to watch him slide onto the ground and just sit there for a moment, and one hand rose to cover her mouth, trying to hide her smile with fruitless effort as she allowed small, quiet chuckles to escape her.


When he stood himself back up with a smirk on his lips, and spoke in a tone of mock disbelief, she couldn't help but feel her cheeks flush into a pinker color in slight embarrassment with herself. Though she knew he was joking, she felt a pinch of guilt for laughing when he had legitimately hurt himself. It was just Ivory's timid nature kicking in again, but to cover it up somewhat, she did a short, soft chuckle in an agreeable manner to his words.


When he came back to his spot, Ivory felt silence filling the area, besides the occasional crinkle of the water bottle Preston was holding. The silence allowed Ivory to tune in to the more subtle feelings that surrounded her, and she also caught a quip of something from Preston - something that felt suspiciously like an embarrassment similar to what Ivory had been feeling a moment or so ago. Her gaze flickered up towards him to find him glancing around casually, his gaze scanning over the living room. For a moment, Ivory felt an odd sense of fascination come over her. Werewolves and vampires each were different in their own ways, some ways rather drastic compared to the other, and some far more subtle. Yet here, she didn't see any difference in the way he moved compared to how the vampires moved, how his and how their emotions came and went. Werewolves and vampires were similar in more ways than she would have thought.


She blinked, snapping from these thoughts and glancing back forward, having to work to rip her eyes away from Preston. The silence was drawing on, and she suddenly realized that it might be a little awkward for them both. It was then that she began filing through her thoughts to find something to say. Her eyes were focused, but there was something creeping towards her tongue that she didn't notice was coming. All too fast, she felt a question pop up in her thoughts and lunge forward to come through her mouth. She couldn't stop it as she said in a thoughtful and immersed, yet quite aware tone of voice:


"What is it like being a werewolf, Preston?"


A beat of silence passed before Ivory locked up, taken aback by her own words. Why would you ever ask something like that, idiot? Ivory had no idea where that had come from - maybe it was her wandering thoughts about the similarities and differences between werewolves and vampires. Whatever it was, she felt completely flustered and embarrassed for asking it, feeling something like that could be a very personal topic. She quickly began to explain in an apologetic, quick tone, "I-I mean, you don't have to tell me if you'd prefer not to, that kind of just slipped out, I'm sorry. I just - I'm sorry." Her gaze flickered up to him for a brief second before turning back to the floor, feeling ashamed of herself quite suddenly, her hands now wringing each other behind her back nervously. The last thing she'd want was the only nice werewolf in the Lodge to dislike her, or hate her, even.
 
Preston let his eyes wander around the room for a long while. He didn't really know what else to say to Ivory. He was still feeling a bit embarrassed about what just happened but he knew silence would only make this sort of situation worse. Preston tried to think of various things to say but nothing was coming to mind. I wonder if she's going to say something...I don't want to say something and end up interrupting her. I really wish this werewolf deal came with mind-reading or something useful like that. Preston moved his gaze back to Ivory, gently smiling at her before turning his gaze to the floor. His lips parted ever so slightly as he almost spoke but then he quickly closed them and refrained from speaking. Preston looked up to Ivory again just as she spoke. His eyes widened a bit, his eyebrows raising as well. Preston processed this question for a moment, listening to her apologize. He let his eyes fall back to their normal state, along with his eyebrows.


"You don't have to apologize," Preston said kindly, hoping that it would help her relax. The question didn't bother him too much. "Well, honestly? It's not too much different from being a human. I mean, it is... But not really." Preston tried to think of how to continue this response, biting his lip for a minute before continuing on. "I can hear more things that I could never hear before... Like people talking in the other room or even quite a distance away. Also, if another member of my pack howls, no matter the distance, I can hear it as clearly as I hear you speaking right now." Preston hesitated for a moment, thinking about what else he could say to explain what it's like. What is it really like? Don't sugarcoat it. She's a vampire. I think she'll understand if it generally sucks. He shook his head, looking down at the floor then back up to Ivory.


"The biggest thing that I had to adapt to was the changing. At first, it's extremely excruciating. It feels like every single bone in your body breaks, pops, bends, and twists... Because... that's exactly what happens," His eyes squinted a bit, deep in thought, zoning out a bit while he still looked at Ivory. "But... eventually it gets better. Now, I can barely even tell when it happens. It's quite easy to do after years go by and your body adjusts. I can even control when I change now; I'm not just completely reliant on the full moon. I still can't control my change during the full moon but I can make myself shift at other times. All in all... Being a werewolf is pretty shitty."





Preston blinked, hard, trying to refocus his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking back down at the floor. He realized he had gotten a bit carried away and Ivory was probably annoyed with all of his rambling. Preston took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He laughed softly at himself and looked up to Ivory. "Was that what you were expecting to hear?" Preston almost wanted to ask her what being a vampire was like but he held that question in for the time being. He didn't want to let his ADHD set in so he tried to hold back from fidgeting and jumping from question to question as much as he wanted to.
 
Ivory felt a wave of relief crash over her when he answered so calmly, and reassured her that she needn't apologize. You could see her expression relax and her eyes, bright with embarrassment, dim back down to their usual color. She allowed her lips to form a soft, shy smile as she glanced back forward, listening attentively as Preston began to launch into his response for her curiosity.


Ivory couldn't help but feel a nagging sense of deep intrigue pull at her stomach. As he spoke, her head slowly tilted higher, taking in each bit of information, fascinated. When he began explaining the shifting detail of a werewolf, she felt a shiver roll down her spine and her shoulders do a small roll backwards, eyes closing. That definitely did sound painful - just hearing it made her shudder. Her gaze flickered towards him to find him staring at her, and his gaze managed to capture hers and lock with it.


She felt her expression fall into her fascinated one again, feeling impressed that any person could get used to such a painful experience. Though 'practice makes perfect' was a term she heard and knew all too well, even she couldn't imagine blocking out such an excruciating feeling after any number of years. It was remarkable to her. When he finished off his explanation with his generalization, he blinked, snapping Ivory out of her stare just as much as he snapped himself out of his. She glanced down towards the floor, blinking once herself. Hearing details like that straight from the source was very fulfilling for her; she loved learning and gaining a better knowledge of certain topics. She heard Preston breath in deeply and release slowly, followed by a quiet chuckle and a slightly hopeful question.


After a beat of silence, Ivory's head tilted up, and then back down a few times in nods, her gaze turning and meeting Preston's again. She couldn't help but smile again. Even his expressions were sweet. They just held a kindness within all the other emotions he'd project. It was so refreshing to see. She spoke in a soft tone, "That was exactly what I was expecting, thank you." Her gaze returned to the floor, fingers still holding on to each other behind her back. After another moment of silence, she spoke again, her tone thoughtful, " . . . The pack order of werewolves is something that deeply interests me. Usually, vampires are lone hunters, sustaining themselves and themselves only, unless they have a family to feed." She shrugged slowly. "The idea of setting ranks of power among certain beings is just . . . fascinating." The word 'fascinating' brought a delighted smile to her lips, staring forward wistfully.


[ oOBubblesOo ]
 
Preston gently smiled at her, thinking deeply about her comment. "The way vampires always hunt alone without having to worry about anyone but themselves always fascinated me." Preston looked up at Ivory, genuine interest and curiosity both clear on his face. He bit his lip slightly, trying to think of what else to say before continuing on. "What is it like? ... To hunt alone? Not really having a pack?" Preston wanted to simply say family but after he thought about how that might come across he quickly changed the term to pack. He smiled faintly before looking down at the floor again.


He could remember when he was just a human and he did most things alone, well, usually. Sometimes, he had his best friend there to help him do things and they were there for each other always. Now, Preston was off and alone with just his pack that had been created of a mixture of various werewolves; most of which Preston didn't truly know. He felt like he could handle being alone as a werewolf, too but the other members of his pack convinced him otherwise. The changing was terrifying and it only got worse but with his pack member's support he made it through strong.


Preston began wondering how it was for vampires to crave blood and try to control those cravings. He knew some vampires who couldn't control them almost at all but there were others who did it well. Preston as curious if they relied on other vampires to help them practice or if they simply did it alone. He realized then that his success as a werewolf was due to the other pack members but now he wondered what or who Ivory's success was due to.
 
Ivory grinned lopsidedly at his comment. A wonder for a wonder. She felt Preston's gaze move up to her again, and her eyes flickered towards him, finding a look of curiosity on her face that could have made her laugh. He looked like a fascinated puppy with that expression, and he head turned a tad more towards him, her smile growing wider as she held back a chuckle. After a beat of silence, Preston came out with a question that made her blink once, her expression melting from subtly amused to deeply thoughtful in the blink of an eye. When he had finished his question, she kept herself silent, staring at him blankly as she process the question in her mind.


When it came to her awareness, she felt a flood of memories return to her, and her now smaller smile began to fade. Her bright eyes dimmed and flickered back forward, bringing her memories to control her mouth as she began to speak. She kept her gaze trained forward while she explained in a note of soft, very subtle sadness:


" . . . It's . . . lonely. It's not a good feeling. I've never preferred hunting humans, simply for the reason that I always feel like a -" Her breath caught in her throat for a small moment before she exhaled and continued, " . . . a murderer. That's what vampires were made to be - killers, monsters. It's normal for a vampire to stay solitary rather than group up with other vampires, and that's . . . " She paused. " . . . that's for their own reasons. We all have felt like monsters at some point, let that wretched feeling consume us. Many vampires can't trust anybody, not even one another, to confide in and form bonds with, the way you form bonds with your pack members. The solitary way of living grows on many vampires, and any needs or wants for camaraderie just . . . fade away." Her tone had fallen into a quiet, broken tone before she paused, letting it sink in slightly before continuing, "It's no dream, being a vampire. Though physical pain isn't endured quite as often as a werewolf might encounter it . . . " She glanced towards Preston, eyes dim, before back forward. " . . . emotional turmoil, and the pain of being forced to murder to live, resides in us every single day." A long pause ensued before she went on, "Some vampires enjoy hunting, enjoy the thrill of it, the feeling of power you gain from it. Some, like me, can barely, if not at all stand hunting humans. It depends on how you are, how you shifted and how you were in your past life. So many factors can change what hunting feels like to each individual vampire."


She took a minute to stay quiet before she drew in a trembling, deep breath and released it, finishing her rambling sentences, "Overall, it's . . . it's not very fun. Though it is unique to each and every vampire, only the coldest, most merciless, ruthless vampires can completely block out that feeling of guilt and pain twisting in their stomachs when they hunt and kill."


And with that, she fell completely, utterly silent. Her gaze was trained at the ground, her expression saddened, eyes stinging. With a long blink, she let out a dry chuckle, saying, "Ah, I'm so sorry, I ruined the mood, didn't I?" One arm came up to wipe her eyes, sniffling quietly. She glanced quickly towards Preston before back to the floor and asked quietly, "I'm . . . hoping that will suffice as an answer?" She felt like she couldn't bring herself to look up at the werewolf for any longer than a second, and so kept her stare forward, listening for a response. She wasn't one to ramble, but she had the feeling she just did, and was slightly embarrassed with herself that she had drawn on for so long.
 
Preston watched Ivory as she began speaking again. He was becoming more fascinated with her than the story. Preston looked at her kindly, curiously looking her up and down as she spoke. He was beginning to sense that she was sad - another lovely perk of being a werewolf. He could hear in her voice the deep emotion towards the subject and he wanted badly to comfort her. Peter's expression turned slowly from delight to sorrow as she continued. He knew about all of the horrible things people said about vampires but he would never be able to picture Ivory as any of those things.


Preston waited until she finished her explanation before he did or said anything. He looked at the ground then back up to her worriedly. Preston heard her sniffle a bit and he watched as she wiped her eyes. He hated seeing people sad and he felt like he had brought on her sadness. Preston walked over slowly, almost cautiously, to Ivory. He stood in front of her and looked down at her. Preston put his hand on her arm and kept his eyes trained on Ivory as he spoke. "No, you didn't ruin any mood. I'm sorry for asking and causing you to feel so upset." He fought the urge to hug her as he continued on, "I don't think you are a monster. I wouldn't even be able to picture you hurting someone. But, even if you did, I wouldn't think less of you as a person." Preston sighed lightly. "I know you must feel lonely and like you have nobody... But... I'm here," He paused momentarily to force out a faint smile, "Now, whether you decide if you want a smelly, awkward werewolf as your friend or not that's entirely up to you... I just want you to know that I am here and if you ever feel the need to do something maybe you just don't want to or you need moral support... I'll be there if you want to talk."





Preston hoped his attempt at comfort was working. He always sucked at normal conversation but usually getting people to feel somewhat better seemed to be a lot easier on him. Preston looked over at his hand, realizing it was still resting on Ivory's arm. He moved it away swiftly, rubbing the back of his neck with it as his cheeks turned a slight pink color. Preston looked dimly at the ground, moving his eyes around a bit as he began counting tiles as an attempt to get his cheeks to calm again. Once the little bit of warmth had left his cheeks, he looked back up at Ivory more hopeful and brightly this time.
 
Ivory was, to say the least, surprised when she felt a gentle, warm hand rest on her arm. Her eyes widened a tad, and her gaze tilted up to find Preston standing before her. The physical contact was something she didn't get often at all, not from a werewolf, at least. Hell, she didn't get physical contact from werewolves at all around the Lodge. It was surprising, but . . . strangely, it also felt very calming to her. Maybe it was the warmth of his hand that got to her, since werewolves had higher body temperatures than vampires, or maybe it was just the thought of a werewolf, of all things, willingly touching her. Whatever it was, it made her gaze soften in an ever-growing sense of content. It was when Preston began to speak that she came to attention.


Throughout the entirety of his speech, Ivory was silent. At first, her silence was curious, calculating to his reasons for resting his hand on her arm. Slowly, the curiosity began to melt into surprise. She was touched at his small speech to her, his offers of comfort in times of need to her. She was actually extremely flattered to hear these words, not to mention overtaken with fulfillment. She had never had such a calm and understanding conversation with a werewolf, and now here he was, offering himself to her whenever she needed a person to talk to. Not even the vampires had ever offered something as wonderful as that to her, an option so relieving to her mind. Even if she didn't know Preston well, it was then that she came to realize just how wonderful of a heart he had.


When he had finished, and removed his hand from her shoulder quickly, she just stood there, staring at him in slight awe. Her eyes were stinging harder, shining with gathering tears. A slow smile began to form on her lips, watching him look away in a sense of embarrassment briefly before back up at her with a happier smile.


Now, Ivory usually wasn't one to purposefully invade personal space, especially that of a werewolf. But at that moment, she just couldn't help herself. She stepped forward and gave Preston a hug, having no care about his scent {which she personally wasn't bothered by} or his species. He was a person, just like her, and it made her feel so refreshed that she could consciously think that way. Her eyes closed, and she spoke up to him in a quiet voice, "Thank you. Thank you, Preston." He definitely was warmer than she first had thought - the observation passed through her mind casually, nearly making her chuckle. The hug lasted for a moment before she opened her eyes, realizing what she was doing and how uncomfortable Preston must have been feeling.


She unlatched her arms from around him and stepped back, clearing her throat with a bright tinge of pink coming to her cheeks as she said shyly, "I, ehm, I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me there." Her gaze flickered from the werewolf to the floor and back again quickly, her apology as sincere as her abashed attitude would allow.
 
(Guess I'm just going to go on with Dahlia since Sock hasn't replied in so long... :/ )





Preston began thinking more deeply into what he had just done. He kept his gaze mostly on Ivory but it drifted off occasionally as he tried not to creep her out. Preston was worried she might have tried to kill him for touching her, and, although she would have lost the battle anyways; she didn't. No, that didn't exactly surprise Preston but the fact that she almost seemed happy he had been willing to console her did. He watched her expressions change slightly, dramatically, and even oddly before him. Preston felt himself growing more and more anxious by the minute as he waited for her reaction.


Was she really okay with that? I mean, I was a bit weirded out myself for what just happened but she seems totally okay with it... This is either really good or really bad but either way I'm going to have to wait this one out to see. Preston smiled faintly at Ivory, at first, but once she hugged him he smiled quite brightly. He felt himself almost start to laugh as she did, too. Not the normal 'that was funny laugh' but the one that's more like 'well that was awkward' or 'holy sh*t I'm just going to laugh that one off' type of laugh. He tried to catch himself and he did successfully, hoping Ivory didn't hear that.


Preston heard her thank you shortly after and he just nodded his head lightly, trying not to disrupt their hugging. After hearing her laugh slightly, he allowed himself to laugh a bit too. "You're welcome," he said softly just before she tensed up and pulled away. Preston watched her cheeks get a bit pink and he just smiled softly. He had never really seen a vampire blush before and on Ivory it was actually really cute. Preston choked back laughter as he shook his head intensely. "Ivory, it's okay. It's not like you committed a crime, here." He spoke sincerely, smiling kindly.


Tilting his head to the side a bit like a puppy might upon hearing it's name, Preston shrugged, moving his head back to it's normal position. "Granted, that was a bit uncomfortable but it wasn't that bad." Preston smirked, looking over at Ivory intently. It felt good to be sharing a moment like this with a vampire and even better for that vampire to be someone as sweet as Ivory. He would ave never guessed he'd actually meet a vampire around here he might actually get along with.

-

​



Dahlia stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and began looking around. She stopped her gaze on Preston and Ivory talking and then hugging in the kitchen for a moment. Dahlia let herself zone into their conversation to pick up bits here and there but soon turned away. She smirked slightly, letting it fade before turning around and heading in the direction of the kitchen.


Dahlia smiled brightly as she walked towards the kitchen, keeping her eyes in front of her. As soon as she reached the counter, she leaned against it and trained her eyes on the two before her. She smiled brightly, mischievously at Ivory and Preston as she rested her head in her hands. "Look at you two; bonding away like this conversation could go in a good direction." Dahlia smirked once more then let it fade away. She leaned back away from the counter and walked around it to the fridge. Dahlia opened the fridge and took out a bag of blood, closing the door quickly and turning to face Preston. She had been watching his expressions as she wandered around the kitchen by them, trying to figure out how he was feeling about her actions which was actually pretty easy.





After walking over casually next to Preston, she leaned in slightly towards him. "I think we both know how these type of things go between vampires and werewolves," she spoke bitterly yet a smile appeared on her face as she turned and winked at Ivory. "You can give it a go, though, if you want. Don't let my pessimism deter you." And with that, she left the kitchen. She tossed the bag of liquid back and forth in her hands as she headed for the door and out onto the porch. Dahlia closed the door behind her nonchalantly and stood in the center of the porch as she looked out into the land before her. She sank her fangs into the bag and drained it in under a minute. 
{ Armageddon }
 
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