Welcome to Gaia! ::

At his comment about needing more people like her, all she could do was smile, blush, gently bite her bottom lip as she looked down at the floor, and tuck the left side of her hair behind her ear. She never expected to get such a compliment from him. She was so flattered that she couldn’t even manage a thank you. He had left her speechless with only a few words.

She looked back up when she heard him speak on the tea and vibes of the shop and followed his gaze as he looked around. “It can be difficult when you work from home. It’s nice that I’m in my own space, but sometimes you want to be around people. Not necessarily office people because good lord their drama,” she gave small chuckle at that as she continued, “But, somewhere nice where it’s not overly loud or crazy.” She wanted to include somewhere nice where she could look at his face and be in his presence all day but she figured that would be coming on too strong. She would save those words for a later date. “Well, not crazy for me. I’m sure it’s a different story from your side of things. Especially being a manager” She gave a smile, remembering the urgent thing from her first visit that required them to close down immediately.

She gave the biggest, most cheerful smile when he agreed to take on her request of him making her a coffee. She reeled back the utter excitement she felt before her bright eyes started to actually glow. It was a dead giveaway of how intense her emotions were. Overly angry? Eye’s light up. Overly happy? Eye’s light up. On the opposite side, when she overly down or depressed, they would lose the glow and instead appear dim like there wasn’t a light behind them at all. She gave a soft laugh, not wanting to interrupt the other customers with her excitement, when he said it would be on him. “Okay, done deal”. She loved hearing him chuckle. She loved seeing him smile. He appeared to be happier than earlier. This made her heart glad as it beat softly just for him. How could anyone do anything wrong to such a creature. Her eyes softened as she thought about how perfect he is. Looks? Yes. Attitude? Yes. Personality? From what she’s seen, yes. Vulnerable? She didn’t too much care about that. She could take care of him in anyway he needed. That thought brought up the issue of Donald again. I do need to take care of him, she thought. But, for right now she would enjoy being around Liam.

When he started working on her coffee, she took a seat on a stool at the counter. She had a hard time taking her eyes off of him as he moved about behind the counter, but she needed to get a little work done at least. Type a sentence, send an email. Something. She had a whole report that was due in a couple of days and she had yet to really work on it due to extra-curricular activities. With a mental sigh, she pulled out her laptop and got to work. It didn’t take much for her to get sucked into answering emails that made no sense at all and having to do other peoples tasks because they were lazy. Sure, they said it was because she was so competent but she learned to see through that nonsense quickly. Before she knew, Liam was there with her cup of coffee. “You can call me Ceecee, or Cee…or whatever you prefer. I’m used to answering to a multitude of nicknames.”[/color] She smiled at this, not minding it at all. Her mind automatically put the voice with the name at this point. There were so many beings in the Unseelie Court. The more powerful ones that ran different sectors called you what they wanted, and you had better answer and not make them say it again. Did it matter that you had heard it for the first time and had no clue of who the hell they were referring to? Nope. How dare you not be able to read their mind. Even if you could, you would get in trouble for reading their mind. It wasn’t a nice or pleasant place to grow up in, but it was that which made her who she was today. One who could manipulate and assassinate with the blink of an eye and not think twice about it. She didn’t need Liam knowing that right now though so she would continue to be the gentle girl he was interacting with. “Thank you,” she said as he slid the mug over. She stirred the mixture as instructed and took a sip. All she could do was pause as she let the liquid soak into every taste bud on her tongue, looking down at it in shock. It was so good! She swallowed what was in her mouth and took another joyous sip. This is when she noticed the number written on the napkin. She picked it up then looked over to Liam, who was heading back to the register. Was this his number? He had given her his number? Play cool. Keep it cool, she thought to herself. She took the napkin and folded it in half before laying it on the keyboard of the computer. “This is really good!” she exclaimed, as she looked in his direction. Not too much of an exclamation, but enough for a compliment. “You, sir, are a master at your craft. First coffee I’ve ever liked. You deserve a medal.” She thought about that for a second before shaking her head. “No, lets be honest. You should have nothing short of a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame.” She gently smiled at him, given her theatrics.

A few minutes had passed and she was more than halfway through the cup when she looked at her laptop, realizing what time it was. Her eyes went wide as she gave a soft “s**t”, said under her breath, at herself, and finished off the coffee. She packed her laptop quickly, removing the napkin before closing it, as she stood, threw it into the bag and hung the strap over her shoulder. “Thank you for the wonderful coffee,” she said to Liam as she started walking backwards toward the door. “I have to go, but I’ll see you later.” She held up the folded napkin that had his number on it. She gave him a big smile as she opened the door by walking backwards to push it open then turning to take her leave.

She rushed to her car and got inside. At this point she allowed herself to lose all of her cool. “OH MY GOD! HE GAVE ME HIS NUMBER!” She kicked her feet before happily sinking down in her seat as she looked over the napkin again. “YES!” She planted her face into the napkin before bringing it to where she could see it again. Now that she got that out of her system, she secured his number in the center console before opening up her trusty magical screen. “Where are you Donald, you little ' I love you' p***k.”

She watched Donald on her screen for a bit, coming in at the part about getting a camera set up. “God, what a whore,” she said, giving her opinion on the girl who was talking with Donald. Does this guy just surround himself with large breasted women who act like they’re trying to sell their body? Well, she guessed the one at the coffee shop wasn’t his doing. Or maybe she was. She couldn’t really say but also didn’t really care. As for the camera, she was confused by this, her face scrunching up as she tilted her head. His ultimate spank bank? Was he talking about porn? What the ******** was going on here. She continued to be confused until Donal moved closer to the girl as she bit her lip. Her face went from being confused to shocked and surprised. She knew he wasn’t worth the ground he stood on but she figured he has some type of morale. “Really!? You vile ******** dog!” How could he make such a move after what he said to Liam. She closed the screen down as she ran a hand through her hair. “You are ******** slime! You love Liam?” She had to laugh at that as she shook her head. “You wouldn’t know what love was if it fell from a roof and hit you square in your head.” Then she thought about Liam. How sad and disappointed would he be to see Donald acting in such a way. That thought broke her heart. He didn’t deserve to be treated like that. “Oh Liam. I’m so sorry. It will okay. I’ll be there for you…always”

She inhaled a deep breath then let it out slowly as she put her car in gear and headed home. She didn’t have time to take care of Donald right now. But tomorrow was another night. As for now, she needed to get her work done. Once she made it home, she pulled into the garage and closed the door. She went in through the garage entrance which led to the foyer, which then led to the living room. She bypassed it and the kitchen to make her way down to the basement where she had her computers set up. Her gaming computer on one side and her work station on the other. She plugged her laptop in so that it would display on the large monitors and she could use her wireless keyboard and mouse. Just as soon as she sat down, she got a random call over Teams.

“What is it Nathan?” the annoyance could be heard in her voice. She was sick and tired of him riding her back.

“Do you have the report yet?” It was Nathan. She didn’t answer to him but he was a manager…just not hers. He worked in the department that reviewed all of the reports for correctness and completion before having them finalized and filed.

“No, I don’t. It’s not due until end of business tomorrow. Why are you on my a** about this?” she out right asked . This was the third call she had gotten from him.

“It’s one of the company’s biggest ventures. You should know this. They want to know that everything is copacetic”
His annoyed tone matching hers.

They want to know that everything is copacetic, she thought mockingly to herself. “Well they will know once I submit my report. Now if you don’t mind, you’re taking up valuable time that I could be working on it” God, he annoyed her so much. She never turned her camera on unless requested to do so. He wasn’t able to see the agitated face she was making and how she rolled her eyes at his every word.

“Haven’t you already been disciplined about your tone with speaking with coworkers”

Oh, really? He wanted to go that route? “Yea and last I knew that was thrown out of the window when I explained how people were being a pain in the a** for no reason at all just because I wasn’t working to their standards. You know what, Nathan, if you have a problem then take it up with my manager” At that, she ended the call…then waited for her manager to call

Not even a minute later she received a call from Evelyn. “Hi Evelyn” Her tone was much more pleasant than the one she had with Nathan. She liked Evelyn as she also didn’t put up with anyone’s s**t.

“Hi Ceecee, I got a call from Nathan. Is everything okay?”

She rolled her eyes when she mentioned Nathan. “It’s fine. He’s just bugging me and I don’t appreciate it. I told him the report will be submitted on time. He insists that it be returned in right now.”

“I think you have spoiled him with the speed which you usually turn reports around” she gave a small chuckle as Renci usually liked to have her plate clean a free of tasks. “I understand his position, however. They’re on his back about it so he’s just pushing that stress onto you. Unfortunately, this is one that the company is looking forward to so please submit it as soon as possible.”

She didn’t mind the request coming from Evelyn. She always kept it real and Renci appreciated that. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do”, She gave an internal sigh before saying the next part. “If I buckle down, I can have it submitted by tonight.” She wasn't wrong, though. Usually she would have submitted the report by now but she had found herself tied up with something she deemed more important.

“Thank you, Cee. I appreciate your hard work. Let me know if any other obstacles come up.” And with that, the call was over.

She hated that Nathan was getting his way, but she had said the words so she must uphold them. Really she only did that because she wanted to keep the heat off of Evenlyn’s back. That large nosed idiot wouldn’t hesitate to bring Evelyn’s manager in because, to him, she wasn’t doing her job in wrangling Renci in to make her do what he wanted.

She rubbed her temples to get rid of the oncoming headache before walking over to the wall where an iPad was being mounted. She pressed a couple of buttons then music came blaring out of every speaker in the room. She turned it to her work playlist before going back to her desk and getting started.

Five hours later, and a couple of cold calls from coworkers, she was done with the report. She put her hands over her head as she stretched and leaned back in her chair. As she hit submit on the program she used for reports, she got a call on her cell phone. “Hm?” At seeing who it was, she turned down the music and took the call. “Hi Brian. What’s up?”


“You’re coming tonight, right?” There was nervousness in his voice as if he were afraid she would say no.

She gave a little giggle before confirming. “I’ll be there. In fact, I’m heading over now. Give me about 45 minutes”

“Great! See you then!”

Brian was a sweetheart. Once of the nicest guys she knew. Unfortunately, their drummer was on vacation. It had already been planned before the band knew they would be performing in show. She had agreed to help them out.

She stood up from the computer and turned the music off before making her way back upstairs. She grabbed her keys and turned on the outside lights as it was going to be good and dark before she got back. With that, she left for the club.

Once parked, she made her way down a dark alley to stand in front of a metal door. She knocked three times before someone opened the door. It was the bouncer. He was large..to say the least. At least 6’3” with all the muscles one could have on their body. “Hi Royce”

“Hey Cee. Come on in.”

She thanked him then made her way through the club. It was loud and crowded as usual. Lots of people on the dance floor, lots of people taking seats on the many couches spread around the room. There was feeding, blood letting, lap daces, men with many women, and women with many men. She walked by all of it as she headed to the back of the room and went through another door. Anyone could come in but it was understood that the space was for band practice. The music from the club was muffled by the soundproof walls. She continued to walk deeper into the club, going down a long corridor until she came to a room with her friends. By this time, she couldn't hear the club music at all. She came to a large room and opened the see through glass door. “Hi guys” she said with a cheerful voice as she made her way inside.

“Ceecee!” It was Brian. He was happy to see her. Everyone else gave a ‘hey, how are you’ or standard ‘hey’. The band consisted of two male guitarists, a female base player, Brian the lead singer, and for now, herself on drums. She helped to finish set up they were doing then took her seat on the throne behind the drum set as they decided what to play. They settled on a song by Dethklok and The Ataris for range before going into their originals. The lead singer was extremely talented with his voice. She counted them off and they begin to play. She loved playing the drums and it showed. She had a smile the entire time, being animated with her drumming, as she hit every note perfectly. Having been playing for about 20 years, there was nothing that phased her. She would even take up the challenge of matching her drumming to a song she never heard before.

They played for about three hours before calling it a night as they all had family's or spouses to get home to; except her, she would be the only one going home to an empty house. As for tonight's progress, their original songs still needed tweaking here and there, apparently. Brian had written them and he was a perfectionist so if he didn’t like the sound, he was correcting it. He would have her try it this way or the guitarist try it that way. She was accommodating and had no issue with it at all. It wasn’t her band anymore, she was just a stand in so whatever he wanted is what she did. However, he was more demanding with her because of her experience. She would have to remind that she was better than their usual drummer, hoping he would rein in a bit. She has classes with their drummer and he was a ton better than when she first started working with him, but he wasn't there just yet skill wise for what Brian was asking for.

After all was said and done, everyone packed up and got ready to leave.

Renci looked out to the crowd while she was drumming and saw a face she wasn’t expecting to see, Liam’s. In fact, it made her do a double take while still playing. Her instincts took over automatically, causing her to continue to play perfectly with the band while her eyes were elsewhere for a second or two.What is he doing here? she thought. And with him? She had seen Viktor around here and there in the club but didn’t have any interactions with him. She became very suspicious as a human with a vampire meant bad things for the human. She could only think that he was using Liam as a blood bag and that was not acceptable in any way, shape, or form. She already had Donald on her kill list. Looks like she would be adding a second being to it tonight.

Once the show was over, she helped the band to pack up. As she was doing so, she listened in on the conversation Viktor was having with Liam. Making sure to do so in a way that said she was just minding her own business and didn’t hear anything, but giving them a side eye here and there. She spoke, smiled, and laughed with the band mates as they congratulated each other on another successful performance and talked about life in general. He meant for the greater good, he owes you his life? That one was curious. What did he mean by that, she thought. He can see what you are thinking about? Could he read minds or was he just good at reading Liam. Why was Liam looking so sad? Is every person in your life an a*****e, she thought as the two got up and she watched them leave. She must have zoned out and been looking for a while because Brian approached her. “Is everything okay?” he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking concerned. “Yea, everything is fine,” she said with a smile as she turned to look at him. “Just saw someone I know.” With that she continued with the task at hand.

She helped to load all of the equipment into Brian’s van then bid everyone a good night as they went their separate ways. She, on the other hand, went back into the club to see if Liam was still there. She looked around the room before spotting him at the bar. She smiled to herself; glad he hadn’t left yet. She made her way through the crowd of people, trying not to get bumped into and failing, to end up at the bar where she happily filled the empty spot next to Liam. The bartender walked over and she ordered a tequila sunrise before addressing Liam. “Hey there. Fancy seeing you here,” she said as she turned her body so that she was facing him, a big smile on her face. She tried to reel the smile in but she couldn’t help it. Being this close to him and smelling the coffee shop still on him was a treat for her senses. “Did you enjoy the performance?” She was worried about being caught in a vampire bar, playing a gig with vampires. No doubt he was going to ask a question that would make her reveal her true heritage. She stopped thinking and stressing about it. Mainly because she wasn’t sure if Viktor could read her mind or not and she didn’t dare provide information that wasn’t meant for the general public.

“Viktor, right?” she said to the vampire who was with him. “I’ve seen you around the club here and there,” she explained. I hope you aren’t using him as a food source…, she thought, trying to test to see if he knew what she was thinking. Her outer appearance remind friendly as ever, and even her thought was pleasant though it definitely had a threatening undertone.

“Yea, mild mannered office worker by day and a drummer by night,”[/color] she said with a smile before elaborating. “Technically, I'm not in a band. I'm just helping out because their drummer is away on vacation. They didn't get word of this show until after he was gone so they asked if I could stand in.” She gave a shrug of her shoulders as if to say what could she do. She used to be a member of the team a long time ago but that was nothing worth bringing up, else she would just complain about how she and Brian would butt heads all the time. “Thank you,” she said as she glanced at the ground and pushed her back behind her left ear. It made her happy that he had enjoyed the show. She would be more than happy to drum for him anytime he wanted, all he had to do was ask. As for how long she had been playing, “A long, long, loooong time.” She couldn't tell him about 20 years as she only appeared to be 22. I mean, she very well could have started as a baby banging on pots and pans but she would rather not lie to him where it could be helped.

Liam's what girl? This caused her to raise a brow in confusion. “Napkin girl?” She then remembered how he had written his number on a napkin for her. “Oh! Right. The number on the napkin,” she said with a laugh. “Yes, I'm Renci.”

“I wouldn't say know each other, per se. We've only seen each other in passing.” She put her eyes on the vampire, “Hi Viktor. Nice to officially meet you.” She watched the interaction between the two. It was wholesome. She liked that. It was good to know he had such people in his life and that she wouldn't have to take out everyone on his friends list. Well, unless they started to encroach on her time with him, but she doubted that would be a problem as he came to know her.

She was beside herself when he blushed. It was ******** adorable. How could one being be so cute. She couldn't help to stare and smile at the pink hue on cheeks. Would it give away that she's interested in him? Maybe. Did she care? Absolutely not. As for wanting to heal, she wondered what he was healing from. Obliviously something big if he's getting drunk over it. She didn't take him as one to drink his sorrows away at a bar, but maybe she was wrong. Or, it could be that Viktor was here with him. There's something to be said about drinking with your friend, let alone best friend. “I guess you could say I'm a regular here. But, I do have a few other spots I like to visit.” Maybe he could join her one day and she would show him what the underground was really like. Yea, they were mostly mean and couldn't stand humans but they also threw some pretty good parties. Beside, Kelsey would come with her all the time. She didn't see anything different being for Liam.

She pointed at Viktor with a nod of her head, agreeing that most of the beings in the building right now would love nothing more than to sink their fangs into him. “Viktor has a good point. I've spotted at least ten out on the dance floor who have been looking in your direction. I'm glad you have him here to protect you from the nasties.” Of course, she had memorized each face that dared put their eyes on Liam. Did Viktor have that much sway in the vampire world? No one was testing his ability to protect his friend. She found this to be interesting.

When the shots came, she cheered with them and downed them like a pro. She may be many things but a light weight wasn't one of them. When he got to the part about Donald, everything fell into place. Their conversation earlier and the healing aspect. Ahhh, I see. Still going to kill him though, she thought to herself as she joined in on the cheer. “Don't worry, he's in good hands,” she said to him then watched him walk off.

Nothing but us humans now he said. She felt bad, like she was leading him on somehow, pretending to be human. She had worked HARD to come off as human; it had taken many years to get it right. On being able to completely mask her power and come up with excuses for her appearance. She was using glamour a lot at first but it became tiresome to use it day and night every day and the amount of power used gave her away to the supernatural so she found realistic excuses instead. She met his eyes as he stared at her, her face already warm but then it turned hot as he reached out to touch her hair. She loved being so close to him with no one to interfere. She listened to him compliment her hair and eyes, before stumbling off the stool. Her reflexes were quick as she reached out for him, but he caught himself on the bar instead. She could feel the heat continuing to creep up her face the closer he got to her. When he asked what brand her contacts were, she couldn't hold it in any longer. “Liam, I'm--” Not human is what she was going to say but instead she found her lips meeting his as he stumbled into her. Her eyes went wide and she stiffened up from the unexpected surprise. If she wasn't red before, she was looking like a lobster right now. She was just enjoying being in his presence and now she was feeling his soft, supple lips against her own. Being in shock, she didn't respond at first but then decided to cash in on the situation. Was he kissing her because he meant to? She didn't know. Was he drunk and doing drunk person things? Definitely. She probably should have ended the kiss, guessing he would apologize for it or regret it when he sobered up, but she couldn't muster the will to do so. Instead, she kissed him back. When he grabbed her waist, she moved in closer, ready to wrap her arms around his neck and deepen the kiss into what his tongue was asking for but...Viktor came back. She had totally forgotten about him in the whirlwind of...passion? Lust? Whatever it would be called that was going on between her and Liam before he got pulled away.

She was enjoying the moment, be it accident or not, until Viktor mentioned Donald and how it was affecting Liam's feelings. She cleared her throat and straightened her shirt, though it didn't need it, as she nodded at Viktor. “It's no worries. Things happen,” she said in an understanding tone of voice. Though when Liam said he wasn't sorry, she smiled on the inside.

When she was invited to his place, she found herself in a real dilemma. She really wanted to go and be around him more, and see his place. She knew where he lived but she didn't know what apartment number or anything. However, she had already made plans for the night. She was afraid that if she canceled them she would have to wait another night or two to carry them out. But then with Liam being this broken up about it when the ******** was still alive, would she send him down a path of no return? Would he be so heartbroken that he would turn Donald into a idol and pretend like he was nothing but good? Or, worse yet, admit that he had faults but make excuses for them. Would it hinder him from moving on? She guessed she better get an understanding of that situation before making a move and who better to talk about it than Viktor...given Liam's current state. “Sure, I'd love to come over and chill,” she said as she caught up to them. “Or at least help out with this one. I've been around my fair share of inebriated friends.”

(made a small edit at the end)

She giggled on the inside at Viktor. He was definitely the parental type. She wondered if he had any kids of his own. As for the nose trick, she gave a soft chuckle out loud as she got settled in next to Liam. “I think we'll be okay,” she said as she put her eyes on Liam. He didn't have to apologize for bumping into her or for trying to kiss her, or for anything really. She was so lucky to be able to be in his presence for this long. It's nothing she would have traded for the world. She was happy she decided to tag along. Donald could wait until later. Right now she had an adorable Liam leaning against her. She wished she could just wrap him around her like a warm blanket. She wanted to tell Viktor to just drop them both off at her place. She was more than capable of taking care of him and giving him what he needed, but that wouldn't happen. One can dream, she thought to herself as she listened to what Liam had to say about Viktor. “Really, you don't say,” she said in relation to Viktor having been well, a typical vampire back in the day. She glanced up, looking at him through the rear view mirror for a second before returning her attention to Liam. “I'm glad he's become such a good friend to you. It's rare that vampires do. Only the most elite with an iron will could make such a change and stick to it.” So she was right concerning Liam's protection at the club. Once you made a name for yourself in the community, that name tended to stick. Thought from what she learned, all it took was the right situation for a good vampire to revert to their old ways. Maybe not fully but if that happened then someone was likely going to die. She had seen it too many times growing up in the council. She did wonder what his power level was like. Was he good at hiding it like she was? Must have been if she couldn't get a real read on him without using some of her power, which she wasn't going to do. It wasn't a question that needed to be answered right now.



“Yea, I, um…” Why was it so difficult to say she wasn’t human. It’s not like she’s never admitted it before. She had to think for a minute, admitting to what she was really afraid of. She was afraid of rejection. She just couldn’t get over the fact that it might make Liam see her in a different light, a negative light. Sure he has a vampire friend but it didn’t mean that tolerance would spread to her. What if he found her revolting. Half vampire and half fae? How did she even explain how that happened in a way that made sense. She knew of her parent’s and some information on her conception and birth. She had never seen her father. When she was a child, she spotted her mother a couple of times in the Unseelie court but her mother didn’t acknowledge her presence at all. She walk right by as if Renci didn’t exist so everything she knew was hearsay. I mean, she trust Angelica and what she was told but it was still through a third party. It took her a while to accept that she was different from the beings around her and to realize she was being mistreated more than others because of her heritage. She had pulled herself out from those depths, doing whatever needed to be done to find favor with as many beings around her as possible. Showing that she would be trusted, that her word was binding, and that she was more than trash. Her life had been hard, to say the least. And yet, here she was now, having made a name for herself that was spread around by those who had less than polite ways of handling certain business. Dame de la Morte, the Lady of Death is what they called her, knowing that she would not disappoint. And yet, here she was…worried about what a human would think about her. But he wasn’t just any human. It was Liam and she valued his opinion of her. So, someone who killed for a living without blinking an eye sat there concerned and worried about how she would be perceived by him.

Him tracing her features with his finger made her heart speed up. His skin was soft as he gently traced down her nose to her lips. It was so difficult to not place his finger in her mouth and slowly pull it out, caressing it with her lips. Her fangs almost elongated at the thought, but she pushed the feeling back. She wouldn’t want to bite him anyway. She wasn’t able to turn people into vampires, but opposite of your regular vampire, her bite hurt…a lot. There was nothing pleasurable about it. She didn’t need blood to live but she did enjoy the taste of it. She would only bite those who she deemed deserved it. Mainly assholes who were mistreating people for no reason. It didn’t matter if they were human or not, child, woman, or man. She was an equal opportunist when it came to her skills and bite. When he questioned her make-up, she stumbled again, only giving an "Um” in reply. Truth was, she wasn’t wearing any make-up at that time. She preferred the natural look but her natural look was beyond most humans. It was thanks to the fae in her that she came off as naturally pretty. That’s not to say she didn’t wear make-up from time to time, mainly for a more gothic look, but as for tonight she had left the black lipstick at home.

Before she could question who this Yasmine was, Viktor piped in and explained. She nodded in understanding of Liam’s band mates. When he mentioned Donald, his face was classic. She wanted to smile but kept a straight face, as she was supposed to have only seen Donald once and therefore didn’t really know who he was. But Viktor’s reaction had her feeling better about him being on her kill list. His reaction and tone in his voice for that brief moment said enough. It sounded like who would get to him first, herself or Viktor. Liam didn’t seem upset about Viktor’s attitude towards Donald or his threat. It was good to know that if something did happen to him, Viktor would be there for him to help him cope with the situation. All the time, she never stopped being aware of Liam and his touch. When he turned her head and went in for a kiss, she was all for it. She closed her eyes when he did, their lips brushing before he pulled away due to Viktor’s announcement. “All was good and dandy. Nothing to worry about,” she said in a cheerful tone to Viktor as she got out of the car. She gave a soft laugh at Viktor telling him to wait up and to hold the door. She sped walked and jogged up the stairs so as to catch up with the two. “Well thank you,” she said to Liam, being playful and giving a small curtsey before entering his apartment. When she was asked to turn the lights on, she easily found the switch thanks to Viktor’s direction. The bulbs came on and softly illuminated the room. She took in the layout of his apartment as she looked around from where she stood by the light switch. It very roomy for being a studio and the lights were complementary of the space. She smiled as she looked around, liking how he had it set up. As for food, “Noodles sound good,” she said, in agreement with Liam. What type of noddles? She had no clue, but whatever he wanted is what she would get as well. She went into her pocket and pulled out a card holder. After going through it for a second, she pulled out a green credit card and handed it to Viktor. “Put it on that. You already paid for the drinks.” She gave a smile and insisted on paying for the meal, not accepting any declines from Viktor.

When beckoned, she went over and sat beside Liam on the couch, facing him and being able to see Viktor in the background. “Whichever you prefer,” she said in reply to playing games or watching tv. “But first.” God, she was about to ruin the entire mood but she had to get it out in the open. “I’ve been trying to tell you that I’m not human.” She winced at the confession, watching Liam’s face to see how he reacted. “I’m a mix of vampire and fae.” She gently bit her bottom lip out of worry before letting it go and lowering her guard, allowing some of her power to fill the room. It was a gently wash of power, warm and welcoming. It was nice. Something that someone could bathe in for a long time, making them feel at ease and comfortable. Usually her power was the opposite of that as she was going against someone that needed to be taken care of. At that point it was suffocating, making it hard to breathe as it felt like thousands of pins were being stuck into them all at the same time. But, that wasn’t the situation and she wanted it to at least not cause anyone fear or concern. She then opened her mouth and let her teeth elongate into fangs so that he could see them; they were dainty compared to a full blooded vampire...or even one who had been turned. Her heart was trying to beat through her chest the entire time. She would leave the display at this for now. She could have put on an entire show for him by floating into the air, changing into a butterfly, creating fire in her hands, the list went on and on, but this was a good start. She even looked beyond Liam to see Viktor’s reaction. Would he be upset as well that she was pretending to be human? She didn’t know but she got the idea that whatever his opinion was could possibly spread to Liam. And so she waited, with baited breath for their reaction. Would he still want to watch a movie or something or play a game with her? She put her attention back on Liam, searching his face trying to gauge his reaction. She licked her lips in nervousness as she continued, “I’m sorry if I led you on. I’m used to pretending to be human to interact with the world, but…” She removed one of the contacts to show that her eye color didn’t change. “My eyes are actually purple. The contacts are just a reason I can give to people. My hair is naturally purple, and I’m not wearing any make-up.” She believed that covered all of the questions he had about her appearance.

She watched as he opened his mouth a bit, being on pins and needles about what words he was about to speak. But then, he closed it. She wasn’t sure if this was a good sign or bad one. He eased her anxiety by confirming that she had no reason to freak out as he had other supers that he had befriended. Renci let out a nervous laugh, letting go of a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. Most supernatural’s didn’t care about trying to hide too much. Sure, they might put on airs when interacting with humans but just enough so the human wouldn’t know. Except lycanthropes. She still hadn’t figured out why many of them were ashamed of what they had become. Though perhaps it wasn’t for her to understand. She had never been a human that was changed into something else.

She gave a nod of her head as she drew her power back in, the room going back to the stillness before she flooded it. Her going back to pretending to be human as she put her contact back in. As for her being the first mixed breed he had met, it didn’t surprise her. She knew there weren’t many mixed breeds in the city. You might come across a vampire/human half breed here and there if one got lucky, but as far as she knew she was the only vampire/fae mix. Not only in the city but maybe ever. Her conception had been something of miracles. Even more so that she was alive today as her mother had apparently tried to terminate the pregnancy. The reasons around that differ depending on who you hear it from. If he wanted to know more, she would tell him all that she knew, but that would be a conversation for a different day. For now, the argument was over noodles.

She sat there and smiled, happy that things naturally went back to the way they were before her little confession. She listened as they spoke about a place they had visited before. The part about him getting the waitresses number is what stood out to her; a frown forming on her internal face. Was he still in contact with this person? He said it had been a few months back but that didn’t mean they no longer communicated. Sure, the one he was getting over at the moment was Donald, but would this person be someone he called on to fill part of that void? Even just for a night? She didn’t like the thought of this at all. She would have to investigate further.

She couldn’t help but laugh at his ramen experience. Just when it couldn’t get any worse, it kept getting worse. “Geez, that was some kind of experience for you, huh? I take it lessons were learned,” she said with a giggle.

When she was passed the remote, she just gave an “Okay” as she watched the two walk to the bathroom. She heard the word ‘drink’ from Liam. So Viktor was feeding off of him. She didn’t like that at all. Why did he have to feed from Liam instead of getting a bag of blood from the local blood bank. There was one in particular that serviced vampires in secret. They had more than enough business from human’s in the area that they could donate a ton of blood and still have a lot leftover. She wasn’t worried about Liam being turned, per se. Her best friend Kelsey was a human bag of blood for the vampire she serviced, and had been for years. Renci had tried to get to her to walk away many times over but she refused to leave him. Sure his bite was intoxicating but it was more than that. For whatever reason, she actually had feelings for the jerk. Did Viktor and Liam have the same relationship? She doubted it. Liam was allowed to get too close to her for Viktor to own him and Viktor didn’t seem phased by it in that way. So what was their deal? As she let the thoughts flow through her head, she mindlessly clicked the buttons on the remote, not wanting them to know that she could clearly hear them. Given they now knew what she was, they probably assumed that anyway but by now she was just used to covering her tracks.

She did get concerned with she heard Viktor call out Liam’s name. What had gone wrong? Did he need assistance? This caused her to look over toward the bathroom in worry, ready to come running if Viktor called out for help or if it sounded like an emergency. It would be hell or high water before she let anything happen to Liam. Who was she kidding, hell nor high water had anything on her iron will to protect him at any cost. She was in motion to stand up from the couch when she heard Liam’s voice. This put her greatly at ease as she sat back down. As for what went wrong? The answer came from Viktor’s explanation of her power and his feeding. Thinking about it, it was a lot to put a human though. She found it comical that Liam was the one apologizing when none of it was his fault. She would have to remember to keep her power controlled around him, for now. She could get him used to it over time, release a little here and a little there until he could handle it naturally.

She positioned herself on the couch as she had been when they both came walking out. She had actually picked a movie in all of her clicking…two in fact. She was at a toss up of which to present. They were both horror classified in their own way but didn’t have any jump scares or anything. It was a conceptual horror, something to give you to think about horror. The Substance was female based and spoke on the weight put onto women to look good and how they are phased out when they get too old. When one tries to revert back to their youth and the problems it can cause. The Ritual was about a group of guys and the guilt felt by one of them and resentment from his remaining friends when he let a friend die out of cowardness. Both powerful in their own right. Oh, or they could watch The Wailing. That was a good one too. All of sudden the two movies turned into five and then ten as her mind became flooded with potential pictures. Nope, stick to the two and go from there, she thought.

She smiled big when Liam sat down beside her and asked what they were watching. On the screen she had pulled up the more female centered movie. She kind of felt like she was putting herself into the ‘females like female stuff’ role but she also knew it wasn’t just any type of chick flick and it had body horror. Any other day she wouldn’t have cared but she wondered what Liam would think of it. Only one way to find out. “Well, I think we can give The Substance a try. If you don’t like it then we can skip over to The Ritual. I think both are good movies in their own right. They are both classified as horror but it’s more conceptual than having jump scares every two seconds.” There, two options. Ugh, should she had given the option of a good jump scare movie? Maybe he liked that more than think about it movies or how did it make you feel movies...even if they weren’t drama’s, per se. And with that she was fighting with herself again. She gently bit down on her bottom lip as she wrestled with her thoughts. Nope, no, this is fine and good. If he wants something else then he will say it, she reassured herself. With everyone in the room and seated, she let go of her bottom lip and started up the movie.

As she sat there, she couldn’t help but to smell the blood on Liam. She was sure Viktor sealed up the wound but the fragrance of blood was still in the air. It had been a while since she had any. She didn’t need it to live but she did like the taste of it. And for some reason, Liam’s blood smelled extra good. Like, REALLY good. Was her need for blood that strong? No. She had stopped being a slave to blood. She had been forced to drink it growing up, which is why she had an attraction to it but she hadn’t felt the urge, the need to drink in almost what…50 years now? But sitting next to Liam was becoming difficult. She looked at him and smiled before putting her attention back on the screen. Is this why Viktor feeds off of him? Was Viktor the one being enticed, being under the control of Liam’s blood instead of Liam being the one addicted to his bite? That would be interesting. Maybe that was the relationship. They were both enticed by the other.

She absent mindedly started to swirl her hair around her index finger, looking a bit uncomfortable. It was one of the many things she did as a child to self-comfort but tried to rid herself of as an adult. She was really only prone to it now when she was in deep concentration. She realized what she was doing and stopped. There’s no way she was going to let such a minuscule thing control her right now. She had no will to want to feed off of Liam. She knew what her bite did and in no way shape or form would she put him through that. But goddam his blood smelled good. She got her mind off of by thinking of something funny. She recalled the 'free smells' sign on the side of every Jimmy John’s restaurant. She smiled to herself as that was what she was getting now, free smells. It helped and she was able to relax and go back to concentrating on the movie. Besides, there was a more important matter at hand. Were they one's to laugh out loud and express themselves during movies, at home at least, or did they watch in silence? The question was important.

Renci couldn’t help but to softly chuckle at the long, hard stare Viktor gave to Liam after inquiring about the food. His reply was even better. “It's no problem at all,” she said in response to Liam about pausing the movie for food. When the movie started she got into her movie watching pose, lounging on the couch with her body slightly twisted so that one arm rested on the back of the couch with her head resting in that hand with one leg crossed over the other . She was well aware that Liam’s knee was right there, barely touching her but she was in the position to mimic the way he was sitting when she found it time to change sitting positions. At which point maximum knee contact would be made.

When Viktor shot up from his chair, Renci looked over at him concerned. When he made his exclaimation, she looked down at Liam’s leg to see the blood. “Oh god!” she said as she suddnely stood up. “Where is your first aid kit?” she asked, ready to quickly retrieve it. Although, Liam didn’t seem stressed about the issue. In fact, he put all of his faith in Viktor being able to close the wound. She doubted Viktor had hit anything serious during his drink but that was a lot of blood. Would his saliva be sufficient? She still thought it called for a good cleaning and at least some gauze and medical tape. Maybe super glue to close it first. Even if he didn’t have a medical kit, she had what she called instant bandages in the trunk of her car. They came in little cylindrical cans. Pop the top and this foaming goo would shoot out to cover the wound and stop the bleeding. Once it set, it was a beast for doctor’s to remove but it would keep you alive long enough to get to a doctor. It would take her less than two seconds to get one from her car. But, the boys didn’t seem like it was needed. As such, she cooled her jets and let them handle it. “It’s fine. I conquered my lust for blood some years ago. I still drink it. I just don’t crave it like a typical vampire”…. “I would say no offense Viktor but you’re not a typical vampire, now are you”, she said with a smile. Viktor was old blood, not one of these new blood crazy things that like to stalk the street. Seemed like he had great control over himself as to not jump Liam with him bleeding like that. As for her mastery of blood lust, what she said would have been the whole truth until a few moments ago with Liam’s blood driving her crazy.

“Go ahead, I’ll grab the food,” she said to Viktor as she shoo’ed him into the bathroom to help Liam. She grabbed the order with no problem at all and placed the bag on a counter in the kitchen. With the two still being in the bathroom, she then got a wet paper towel and a dry one to clean up the spilled blood. She walked over to the spots, the smell tantalizing to her senses. She stood over them, looking down at them as she fought with herself to refuse the allure of taking a taste. The fight didn’t go for long and she lost to her urge. She looked back to make sure neither Viktor nor Liam could see her as she got on all fours and licked up the droplets. It tasted as divine as it smelled. She had never tasted anything so good. It was like eating a decadent piece of chocolate for the first time. Something you savor with your eyes closed so as to focus on the sense of taste. She let the blood linger on her tongue, taking in every sweet and metallic note before swallowing. Oh my god, that’s so good, she thought to herself. Having given in to her most basic of instincts, she now proceeded with cleaning the floor of her saliva. I can’t believe I just did that, she thought to herself. Now who is acting like a typical vampire. Though truth be told, if she could have gotten away with soiling a paper towel with the blood to take with her for later admiration, she would have done so. But, she was quite sure Viktor would pick up on the smell of what she would try to hide in her pocket. No, she would just have to live on with the memory.

Having cleaned the floor, she washed her hands and rinsed her mouth out with water. For sure Viktor would smell the blood on her breath and she couldn’t have that. Having cleaned herself up, she worked on finding bowls and silver wear, going through cabinets and drawers. Having found what she needed, she plated the noodles for everyone as she wasn’t a fan of eating out of to-go containers. “Noodles are all ready,” she said, calling out to both of them. The bowls were put in a straight line going across the counter top, with a fork sticking out of each of them, and a folded napkin beside each bowl. “What would you like to drink?” she asked as she opened the fridge to see what the options were. And at that she had made herself at home in Liam’s apartment. It wasn’t something hard for her to do. She naturally took on the role of host wherever she was.