A Neighborhood Affair

[Lady March Hare]

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ｍｙ
ｈｅａｒｔ ｈｉｔ ａ ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ { ｅ ａ ｒ ｌ ｙ } ｈｏｕｒｓ,
Ｓｏ Ｉ ｓｔｏｐｐｅｄ ｉｔ ｄｅａｄ ｆｏｒ ａ ｂｅａｔ ｏｒ ｔｗｏ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｂｕｔ Ｉ ＣＵＴ ｓｏｍｅ ｃｏｒｄ (ａｎｄ Ｉ ｓｈｏｕｌｄｎ'ｔ ｈａｖｅ ｄｏｎｅ ｉｔ)
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▇ location: M I S E R ' S iS H O P XXXXX ▇ mood: = 3 = XXXXX ♫ q u i e t m e l o d y ♫XX
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“All right, all right… enough about trying to embarrass me.” Lydia said, pressing her fingers to her lips and clearing her throat at the laughter from the two men she was sharing a room with. Her face a little pink at the continued teasing, the human tried her best to keep the fact that this was good for the ruse at the forefront of her mind and not focus on the fact that she was blushing like a little kid. Really, it was like she couldn’t control her emotions at all! She would have made a face at the thought, but that also would have been failing to control her emotions, and therefore would have made the point moot. She shook herself and glanced at Darius, lifting an eyebrow at his wink. “Clearly, you never knew me from my trick-or-treating days, Darius. You’d regret it almost instantly; I’ve always been rather vindictive when it comes to my sweets. Miser and I might even have to show you this year.”

“I remember those days.” Miser sighed, a slightly drawn look coming to his face. He’d spent a good deal of time arguing with little Lydia just how much ‘treat’ warranted a waiver of the ‘trick’. “That would be fun. I’d go as a businessman – you’d never recognize me, Darius, for I’d look oh-so distinguished—and Lydia, I’ve got a French maid costume that would be just perfect for you.”

“I was thinking something more along the lines of being a ghost.” Lydia answered dryly.

“Nope; you’re being a French maid, and that’s final.”

“I’m not being anything, because we’re being silly and not actually planning anything.” Lydia countered, blinked, then looked at her satyr uncle strangely. “Wait… Uncle… you just keep that sort of costume around? Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Of course not!” Mi bleated. “Your Uncle is a wild and crazy man.”

Lydia stared at Miser for a long moment, opened her mouth as if to ask for elaboration, then snapped her jaw shut with a shudder. No, she really didn’t want to know. Really, really didn’t want to know. Not that her brain didn’t offer up disturbing conjectures anyway, and the gray eyed girl spent a queasy minute battling away the various horrible options. Oh, good! They were talking about werewolves. Nothing like talking about her furry friends to ease to unhealthy twitching above her eye.

“Pup-crush?” Lydia parroted, blinking at Darius a bit blankly. Miser made a disapproving noise as he glanced at Lydia – though she had never elaborated on her feelings about a certain werewolf to Mi, he certainly had his suspicions—and studied her closely. Lydia almost smiled; this was a topic she was so used to denying, she had it down to a science. “Ah, it’s not like that at all. But I do like werewolves in general, if that’s what you mean.” It wasn’t, and Lydia knew that, but she was betting that the vampire wouldn’t elaborate and force her to make herself clear on her stance on werewolves. Miser’s absence wasn’t wasted, and Lydia felt herself relax at Darius’ words. “Good.” she murmured, studying Darius thoughtfully. The vampire always seemed to have something on his mind that made him sigh, something weighty and important, Lydia was sure. She rolled her eyes slightly at the exchange that followed Miser’s return, but it helped her plotting. There was the beginning of an important idea here, and the girl looked forward to the solitude of evening that would allow her to explore it in detail. However, as the conversation turned to books, she studied Darius quietly, then turned her stern gaze to Miser.

“So, Uncle…” she began levelly. “Are you implying that my hands are the wrong hands?”

“Most certainly.” Miser answered back without pause. “Humans almost always are. But you in particular… I can just see you using these books to take down your competitors in business, if you could make out the text and figure out what to do with it.”

“Don’t be absurd. Competition is good for the economy.” Lydia replied automatically, but there was no denying she was studying the books curiously. More because Darius was clearly knowledgeable about them then anything like Miser had suggested, of course. Her eyes widened slightly as Darius continued, then narrowed in thought; the brunette stayed perfectly silent, a frown wrinkling her brow. She might have lost herself in her own thoughts had not another vampire suddenly made an appearance. Lydia started and toppled off the arm rest to splay across Darius’ recently abandoned seat at the sudden appearance, a testament to such things having happened before in the way that she was able to keep her tea from spilling from the delicate china cup between her fingers. Gray eyes stayed on the tea cup for a second, daring it to even consider spilling before she looked at the new arrival from her awkward position. She didn’t recognize him, but that wasn’t a real surprise. Lifting an eyebrow inquisitively, the human wiggled herself into a proper seated position in Darius’ chair, crossing her legs and trying to give off the air that she hadn’t been completely caught off guard by vampiric abilities. Psh.

Wait, what was being discussed? Lydia frowned; was someone in trouble? It sure seemed that way, and Lydia subtly shifted to catch her uncle’s eye. The sly eyed satyr looked just as in the dark, and the two shared a brief glance before Lydia’s attention was snapped back to Darius.

“Nothing to apologize for, Darius.” she replied coolly, sipping from her tea to maintain a casual, disinterested front. Such a response always served her well in business, and allowed her a wonderful platform to snoop while appearing to be distant, detached, and careless. Really, it was great fun. And useful; she was able to suppress a sigh at Darius’ next words. So much for rubbing her invulnerability in the Board’s face on this particular day. Oh well; delights must be strung throughout the week, she supposed. She blinked as his lips pressed to her cheek, looking up at him quietly with a nod. “That’s perfectly fine. I know where to find you.” she said with a small smile… an expression that instantly soured at his instance that Edward accompany her. “That… very thoughtful, but completely unnecessary.” she began, but was unable to object with the intensity that she felt, for Darius was gone in a flash. “………..ugh.” She sighed, lifting a hand to massage the bridge of her nose, and looked at Edward’s face in a nonplussed sort of way. What was she, five? But she was just being pouty, she scolded herself; acting like that, Edward reminded her of Clyde, if she squinted. The similarities calmed her a bit, and she tilted her head to the side. “With Jacob?” she glanced at the door, and continued in a murmur. “So… it must be something to do with... hm.”

“Hush, Lydia.” Miser shifted a bit nervously, moving to snap the locks on the box that held the books shut firmly. The satyr shifted his attention to Edward, and then made a face. “You did what?! Lost my book?! And here I was, just braggin’ my head off about how amazing vampires were! I’ll tell Tammy, alright… if my book doesn’t show up! And you’ll be in the doghouse for double, Edward!”

“Hmm.” Lydia stayed silently thoughtful for a minute, then shook her head. She didn’t have time to waste with conjecture, especially when said conjecture was tied to… The businesswoman made a face and slid to her feet. Lifting the cup to her lips to drain the last few drops, the human made her way to Miser’s desk and placed the cup on it. Usually she would stay to wash up and banter with Miser, but she wasn’t quite in the mood. Besides, she had a vampire to ditch. Turning to Edward, Lydia studied him for a long minute, then smiled. “I recognize you, I think.” she said with a sudden small smile. “From before; you work in Darius’ restaurant, correct?” she asked as she moved to stand before him. “I think so… it’s nice to see you again. And, really, thank you for being willing to walk me home. I appreciate it. But it’s not at all necessary. I’m perfectly capable of getting home on my own.”

“Hold on a sec, Lydia.” Miser interrupted her, giving her a meaningful look. “Things being what they are now, it’s safest for you to not be walking alone. You’ve ruffled quite a few feathers of late.”

“You mean the Board.” Lydia snorted slightly, flicking her hair over her shoulder. “They don’t worry me in the slightest. I’m sitting in on a briefing of their latest little plot tonight.”

“I don’t mean the Board at all.” Miser snapped, looking at the girl pointedly. “Olivia happened to mention that you’d been getting phone calls from your father again.”

“Olivia’s fired.” Lydia grumbled. Her father…… That was a completely different headache, one she didn’t want to deal with right now. Or ever, but that was childish and therefore besides the point.

“You say that at least once a day.” Miser suddenly grinned before looking back to Edward. “Just ignore her, Edward. Being told what do to do irritates her; having to do what others tell her to do makes her downright disagreeable.”

“Shut up, Miser.” Lydia said, the venom gone from her voice. Oh well, she supposed she should try to stay positive; making a good impression on a vampire was always a good idea. So she smiled, a tired sort of smile, but a smile nonetheless, at Edward. “Edward, I’d keep quiet if you would but, if you insist, I suppose we’d better be going.” Lydia gestured to the door. “After you.” she said as she turned to Miser, ducking slightly to plant a kiss on the satyr’s forehead. “See you soon, Uncle.”

“Of course, of course. Have a safe trip home.” Miser said as Lydia ducked out of his door. A scowl warped his features and he hurried forward to stab a finger after them. “And I mean it, Edward! You’d better find that book… or else!”

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Ｉ ｓａｉｄ ｎｏ, ｎｏ ｙｏｕ'ｒｅ ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ ｏｎｅ ｆｏｒ ｍｅ!
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▇ location: T H E iW O L F ' S iB A N E XXXXX ▇ mood: u 3 u XXXXX ♫ u p b e a t m e l o d y ♫XX
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“‘Was’..?” Mary murmured, a frown puckering her brow at the use of the past tense. Teeth closed over her bottom lip and she shot an inquiring glance at Abram; the younger werewolf grimaced slightly, but shook his head quickly. It wasn’t an issue to discuss now. Mary understood and looked back to Cassey, her mommy instincts out in full force. “Well, thank you for saying so, dear. It really lightens the heart to hear you say that.” she added kindly. “Ah, teacher? Are you still in school of some sort, then?”

At the name Enzo, Jacob shifted to study the little witch a bit more intently then he had in moments before. It was a subtle shift, especially difficult to detect since Jacob was just so darn unreadable, but werewolves were used to reading body language, so Abram looked at the more stoic of their group curiously. Jacob’s eyes shifted to meet Abram’s for a long moment, then looked pointedly back to his cake. Abram felt a flickering of curiosity, then dismissed it; perhaps it had just been his imagination.

“Ah…” Abram dragged his gaze from his biggest packmate to Cassey, slightly distracted. He studied the girl for a second, then winked at her teasingly. “I’m pretty sure. We covered it on my very important first day at work. You wanted me to pay attention, right?”

“Work?” Clyde snickered. “Taking all bets! Taking all bets here!” The scrawny werewolf dropped his hands from his mouth and studied Cassey from the corner of his eyes, his lips twitching into a grin. “Haha, oh snap; that sure backfired on you, didn’t Abram?” he snickered

“Huh?” Abram answered him, staring at Cassey’s matching puppy dog eyes in surprise. It was amazing how much more effective they were when the witch utilized them… but still, not swayed; the werewolf shook himself and deadpanned at Cassey’s casual dismissal.

“I’m sure he doesn’t mind at all if you’re the one calling him cute, Cassey.” Clyde tossed an arm around Cassey’s shoulders so that he could lean across her and tweak her nose playfully. The werewolf flung his arm off of her and spun in a lazy circle, his teasing grin back on Abram as he shot him a thumbs up. “I’ve got your back, good buddy!” he called out before promptly tripping over his own bare feet.

“Huh; I’ll bet he was.” Alexis said, her tone still suspicious even though the smallest of smirks seemed stuck on her lips. Her confrontational initial reaction that she reserved for all first meetings was cooling rather fast, considering. She pointed a finger at Cassey, speaking with confidence. “He does it because it pisses me off, and he likes to see me mad. The man needs a hobby.”

“I suggested stamp collecting. He didn’t seem to down with the idea.” Clyde sighed.

“Gluing stamps to his face while he’s sleeping isn’t ‘suggesting’, Clyde.” Abram chuckled.

“Huh? But it was your idea!”

“Oh yeah? Prove it.”

“I was there!”

“We’re getting married whenever I can drag the b*****d to the alter.” Alexis talked over her wolf brothers, her eye twitching slightly. “He can try and put it off for as long as it amuses him, but I’m having my damn ceremony.”

“Why waste time with that? If you’re going to be dragging him anywhere, just head to Vegas. We’ll be here when you get back.” Matty suggested, grinning a bit sheepishly when Alexis shot him a pouty glare.

“Ah?” Abram looked at Cassey with slightly widened eyes, his expression a bit disbelieving. His wolf brothers laughed lightly at the witch’s words, but the knowledge that Odin was this girl’s father seemed to suddenly weigh heavily on Abram’s shoulders. He wasn’t sure if Cassey was joking or not, but it felt like erring on the side of caution to assume that she wasn’t. She looked pretty serious, after all. “Cassey…” he started slowly, then stopped himself with a shake of his head. He would probably be happier without seeking confirmation. Abram said a silent prayer of thanks for Cassey’s mysterious mother on behalf of the human race and did his best to banish the mental picture of a Cassey-esque woman battling an ogre-like wizard shrouded in darkness from his head.

“Sure.” Dog scoffed at Cassey’s opinion of the name.

“That’s a nice positive attitude.” Matty said encouragingly.

“Burned goat cheese and what!?” Alexis looked a little queasy. “Er… guess not…”

“I’m glad.” Jacob admitted, face still flushed with a shy blush.

“Oh, nothing, kid. Nothing at all.” Alexis answered with a knowing smirk.

“Hmmm…” Jacob’s massive brow wrinkled slightly in thought, and he nodded slowly. “Alright… I think I have an idea about payment. I’ll discuss it with you when you come to pick up your order. It’s just writing something for me.” the gigantic werewolf said with a nod of his head. “I’m in need of a description of this place from a witch’s point of view to avoid any bias… it would be of great help.”

If he said that he wasn’t disappointed with the bright little witch’s sudden instance on leaving, Abram would have been lying. It was nice having her around, and his siblings had adapted to their natural, relaxed personas (well, except Dog, but he was always like that) with relative ease. It felt like she belonged there already; why not, when she already seemed to fit in so well? Ah, but he should have been expected for there to be a moment when the realization that she would be going home at the end of the day would hit him. Cassey was a witch, not a puppy; he didn’t get to keep her just because she followed him home. The boy shook himself with a wry grin; he certainly had gotten attached quickly, and he had to poke his ears out of their instinctive folding at the idea. Silly expressive ears; he remembered now, again, why he never went around with the things out for people to see while he was in human mode. Too easy to read.

“Well, alright.” he sighed. “Well, at least let me walk you home, Cass.” Abram would have elaborated, but suddenly something very peculiar was happening to the floor. All of the werewolves in the establishment started at the noise, ears and eyes all flicking towards the source of the disturbance. Jaws dropped.

“Oh my!”

“M-My floor…”

“Oh god, it’s Cthulhu!!”

“What the hell?!?”

“W-What the..?!”

“Why the hell do I smell cat?!”

“Enzo…” Abram recognized the wizard with a sigh, then quickly turned to his packmates. “Easy, guys… it’s okay. He’s a friend of Cassey. Everyone, just calm down… is that you over there, Earl? Stop changing, Earl; nobody’s in danger. Honest, it’s fine… everything’s okay!”

While Abram soothed the spooked werewolves, a role he fell into as obvious proof that he was often in charge of such things while Jacob studied their guest. No recognition was visible on his face, but he ducked his head in an almost imperceptible nod, but made no effort to speak. Apparently the connection between them was regarded with mutual desire for silence.

“Eh?” Alexis twitched back from the ‘grand wizard’, her eye twitching. “That had better have been your wand in your pocket, kitty boy. Now, get off of me before I rearrange your internal organs.” she added, cracking her knuckled ominously. “I will destroy you, old man.”

“Deep, calming breaths, Alexis.” Abram reminded her. “You can’t afford a third strike.”

“Whoaaaa… a real live wizard? For me? You shouldn’t have, Cassey!” Clyde yelped excitedly, instantly going in for some inappropriate Enzo sniffing. “He doesn’t look old, Cassey!”

“T-That’s your teacher?” Mary asked, looking concerned as she studied the perverted wizard. “Is he… I mean… does he… well, I mean…” the woman was trying to find a way to ask her question delicately. “He’s… very… friendly, isn’t he?”

“Hey, look… he froze.” Clyde pointed out. “Why is he sweating?”

“Hey, Enzo.” Abram said from where he stood behind Cassey’s teacher, his eye twitching slightly. “Think you can try to be a little les obvious, Teach?” He crossed his arms over his chest, and then lifted an eyebrow as Enzo turned on him. “I would have, if you’d asked.” he answered matter-of-factly. His green eyes narrowed, and he rubbed at the back of his neck tentatively with a frown. “What are you talking about? She’s safe with me. Hell, she’s safer here then she was walking around on the streets on her own.”

“Safe?” Clyde cocked his head to the side, then howled in laughter rather loudly near Enzo. “Hey, that’s not true at all! We’re elites! We could take care of Cassey, no sweat!” His wide, dopey grin stayed on his features even as he continued. “Protect her from what, again?”

“Great…” Abram muttered, unable to resist making a face as the vampire was mentioned by name. He’d been having fun pretending that particular bloodsucker didn’t exist. Enzo said a name that sounded familiar, and the werewolf frowned, leaning a bit closer to the witch and his cat. “Wait a minute... who’s what, now?” he asked, but was quickly distracted by Enzo’s glare, which he returned with a small one of his own. “Relax, will you? I wouldn’t have taken her anywhere where she’d be in danger. And where the heck was I supposed to take her? To a vampire potluck?”

“H-Hold on a moment!” Mary started, looking rather against a grown man dragging off the doe eyed young witch. It clashed with her delicate sensibilities of what was proper.

“Blood cake...” Jacob might have sounded thoughtful if he weren’t so busy sounding badass.

“Hey, wait a…” the door slammed shut, and Abram sighed. “Minute…” he finished despite himself.

For a long second, there was perfect silence in the Wolf’s Bane bar. Perfect, uninterrupted silence, a relative rarity in any establishment frequented by werewolves in search of a good time. The stunned, disbelieving silence lasted for almost a minute before Clyde spoke.

“Should… should we go rescue her?”

No one answered, but all of the werewolves looked at Abram; the blonde cringed slightly under all of the penetrating stares. Clearly, an explanation was in order.

“I think an explanation is in order, Abram.” Dog felt the need to point out verbally. The cousin padded over to sit in the stool next to Abram, sparing only a long, suspicious glance to the floor before settling himself. His dark jade eyes scanned the face so similar to his own, and his frown increased. “What the hell just happened?”

Abram, staring forlornly at the door that Cassey had been dragged through, looked away with a small sigh. Since there was no getting around it, he supposed that he might as well explain and get it all over with. His body language clearly signaled his intentions, and his brothers and sisters huddled closer, eyes alight with curiosity and stealing occasional glances towards the door, just in case the witch returned unexpectedly. There were few secrets in a wolf pack, so Abram had no qualms in starting from the beginning. He told them how he had gone to Lydia’s place and dragged her out for lunch in hopes of getting her mind off of business and sadness, and how the witch they had all just met had fallen from the sky. He told them of the strange twist of fate that had he and Lydia eating at the very restaurant that the little witch worked at, a twist of fate that had resulted in more personal hardships. He mentioned his uniform, the reaction of the restaurant guests, and the offhanded offering of a job, which he’d accepted. While Alexis and Mary traded disbelieving looks, Abram went on to explain about Cassey’s efforts to train him, his first customers being the Evans (every werewolf within hearing range cringed at this particular show of bad fortune), and Lydia’s sudden, alarming admission that she was dating, yes, dating his vampire boss. Even the talkative Clyde was struck dumb for several long minutes after that. Leaving out only the identity of Cassey’s father, the werewolf even elaborated on his new mission to woo Cassey away from a certain vampire, for which Cassey was head over heels.

“So when she was talking about her love… she didn’t mean you?” Mary asked, sounding pretty darn heartbroken.

“No… not yet.” Abram said reassuringly, stealing and sipping at Alexis’ sangria. It went to show how rocked the whole of his little family was that he actually got away with such a move without a bite. “But I’ll win her over in the end. I’ve just got to get through the wizards and the witches and the vampires to do it.”

“N-No sweat, right?” Clyde chuckled nervously.

“No sweat.” Abram repeated with more confidence then he felt. That last parting jab involving the cake had left his inner puppy whimpering in the corner.

“Speaking of vampires…” Matty, the tracker of the group, spoke up suddenly, his nose twitching. “One’s coming this way, and fast.”

“They wouldn’t dare.” Alexis argued even as they all looked warily at the door, snatching her colorful drink back from Abram when he was distracted. “What about the agreement?”

“I’m in a vampire crushin’ mood!” Clyde proclaimed. “Let’s get ‘em!”

“Hold it.” Jacob’s grumbling voice was low, but every werewolf that had been about to move for the door froze in their tracks. “I know that scent.”

“What, like a friend? Since when are you chummy with vampires?” Dog asked in a growl of his own. Though the wolves stood down at Jacob’s request, it was clear that they did so reluctantly.

There was no time for an answer to be given, for in literally the next second Darius was there before them. The air was suddenly tense, with his brothers and sisters trading disbelieving looks; Abram frowned and hopped down from his barstool to get a better look at the vampire he detested. What was he doing here, in a clearly werewolf part of town. And where was Lydia? Something in Abram went cold when he noticed the brunette was nowhere to be seen. Her absence could be a very good thing… or a very bad thing. Had she come to her senses and ditched the bloodsucker, and was at this very moment in her office firing incompetent people? Or had the fiend murdered her and dumped her body somewhere, never to be seen again? Not knowing filled the werewolf with dread. He wanted to ask immediately, but held himself back. If Lydia had come to her senses and gone home, bringing her up might be a bad idea. Abram curled his hands into fists and struggled to stay silent.

“Cassey. She really did have a similar scent.” Jacob answered flatly, his attention only half on the vampire that addressed him. And really, who could claim him, since the other half was on that magnificent cake that had to be sliced into equal pieces. He laid the cake cutter down carefully, finally directing his full attention to Darius. “She’s a good kid. She liked my cake.”

“Odin’s… daughter…” Mary, unlike Abram at his discovery of Cassey’s heritage, looked a little sick. Her blue eyes darted to the wand tip hung ominously on the wall, and her thin frame shook in a small shudder, a new sort of sympathy washing across her features. “Oh dear…”

“Why would I tell her that?” Abram asked when the vampire turned his attention on him. Really, being directly addressed was doing nothing to help the werewolf keep his temper. “She’d just take it the wrong way, just like she always does. Nobody would be that stupid.” At Darius’ continuation, Abram’s still-visible ears laid flat back against his head, growling despite himself. “I should be the one saying that to you. We werewolves, we don't hunt and eat Cassey's kind. Really, given the circumstances, she's a LOT safer here, huh?”

“Threaten on your own turf, vampire…” Dog growled, close behind Abram and standing tense.

“The witchling’s safe enough here. You, on the other hand…” Alexis started, her eyes flashing.

“Stop it! All of you!” Mary snapped at them suddenly, baring her teeth. “You don’t know all of the facts about this particular issue, so please! Keep your tempers!”

“You worried for nothing, Darius.” Jacob spoke up slowly. “I have never had an issue with any witch or wizard. Just him, and just because his power began to threaten those I cared for.” he continued, casting an eye at Mary. He kept his gaze on her as he continued. “Your oath will be continued here. No hair on Cassandra’s head will ever be harmed while she is under my roof.”

Abram looked at Jacob in surprise. He knew a lot about the big guy, but this caught him by surprise. He shifted to stare at the vampire openly; what was going on? How did Darius know Jacob? Clearly, Abram wasn’t the only one with some ‘splainin’ to do.

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{ ｓ ｅ ｎ ｔ } ｉｔ ｔｏ ａ ｐｌａｃｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｍｉｄｄｌｅ ｏｆ ｎｏｗｈｅｒｅ
Ｗｉｔｈ ａ ＢＩＧ ＢＬＡＣＫ ＨＯＲＳＥ ａｎｄ ａ ｃｈｅｒｒｙ ｔｒｅｅ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｎｏｗ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｃｏｍｅ ｂａｃｋ, 'ｃａｕｓｅ ｉｔ'ｓ ｏｈ ｓｏ ｈａｐｐｙ
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｎｏｗ Ｉ'ｖｅ ｇｏｔ ａ ｈｏｌｅ ｆｏr ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｌｄ ｔｏ ｓｅｅ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

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”Well, witches don’t exactly grow on trees.” said the witch to Mary repeating what she had told Abram earlier that day. ”We have to learn our magic just like…well like werewolves learn how to shift. Granted, some witches and wizards are more blessed than others, but even the blessed ones have to learn a thing or two.” the girl explained with a thoughtful expression. ”I am actually my teacher’s last student. After I am fully trained, Enzo is planning on retiring.” she said with a girlish giggle placing her hand over her lips as she laughed. Poor Enzo. The old wizard must have upset the wrong person to be left in charge of such an airy and curious child. Her spirit was free meaning that it was hard to tame her. Which meant, a lot of running around for the perverted old man.

The hat-wearing girl shifted slightly as she studied Clyde’s reaction to Abram holding a steady job. This was the second person she had come across who snickered at the idea of Abram working. The curious kitty-cat could not help herself as she leaned against her barstool. She was just about to inquire as to why everyone seemed to laugh at the idea of Abram having a job, when a more important manner surfaced. ”May I ask you something Abram? Why don’t you like being called cute? I mean it’s a compliment isn’t it?” she asked her tone featuring an assortment of sugarcanes and lollipops. She delicately jumped off of the barstool showing more grace than she had that entire day. She waited for the werewolf’s reaction before feeling Clyde’s arm around her shoulder.

Cassey’s eyes became slightly crossed as she looked at Clyde’s fingertips as they tweaked her nose. After he moved away, the girl let her own fingers press against her nose as if to make sure it was still there. Clyde’s words seemed to only confuse the young woman all the more, but before she had time to question what he meant her attention was diverted. She watched in interest as the wolves discussed the situation between Dio and Alexis. They were like a real family. This settled it. Cassey wanted to have a large family! She would have to discuss this manner with Darius, but she was sure (once Darius figured out that he was madly and truly in love with her) he would willingly agree to her demands. ”Oh you should have a ceremony!” Cassey encouraged her eyebrows frowning in disapproval of Dio’s reluctant behavior. ”A person as beautiful as you needs to have an equally beautiful wedding dress.” she said her small hands grabbing Alexis.

The witch glared at Matty as she shook her head no, although Cassey’s glare was about as frightening as an upset child. If anything, the girl looked as if she were pouting. Either way, she looked positively adorable. ”No Matty!” she urged dropping Alexis’s hands. ”Every girl should be allowed to have the spotlight for a day. Alexis is simply too special to run off to Vegas!” defended the little romantic at heart. ”Plus can you image her all decked out in formal attire? She would look perfect! Alexis! Do not worry. I will try my hardest to get Dio to man up and marry you. I mean what is he thinking? Someone else could easily snatch you up. Men.” she said sourly thinking about her own situation with Darius. After finishing her little speech, Cassey moved on to explaining how Alexis’s relationship with Dio reminded her of her own parent’s relationship.

”Well Matty. It is better to be positive than make everyone around you miserable no?” asked Cassey smiling at the man she had once glared at.

Her head turned back around as she discussed possible payment with Jacob. ”But Jacob. I would write up a description of this place without the cake. It’s wonderful in here! It feels like…home.” she said fondly as she looked down at the cake. ”Everyone is so welcoming too! How could people not like it here!” she asked her eyes showing how she thought this was a legitimate question.

After seeing Vidar’s wand, Cassey was ready to leave. And she might have left, if it wasn’t for the temptation of cake. The young girl’s sweet tooth always seemed to get her in the end. Her head looked towards Abram as he offered to take her home. Cassey seemed to be getting cut off left and right that day as before she could speak, her fearless teacher decided to show up. ”See? Dio should hurry and marry Alexis.” said Cassey causally eating her cake as she nodded her head up and down at her teacher’s forward nature.

”You’re a feisty little wolf aren’t you?” asked Enzo using his ladies’ man voice. Her rubbed his chin as he wiggled his eyebrows. Did he honestly think such odd behavior would actually get him the girl? Then again, did he honestly care?

Cassey shook her head at her teacher before looking towards Clyde. ”Oh you know me.” teased the witch back playfully moving her hand up and down in a causal manner. ”He is extremely old, but his magic keeps him youthful. Which basically translates too…he’s a dirty rotten cheater.” she winked causing Enzo to fall forward. So much for Cassey having his back. Her head soon turned towards Mary. ”He is plenty friendly.” said the girl innocently obviously not understanding what in the world Mary meant.

Enzo was taking away from his daydream as he glared at Abram. ”Says the one with the ears.” he said pointing at those expressive wolf-ears. ”I’m sure if your tail was out…it would be wagging up a storm.” he accused. ”She’s not safe here!” argued Enzo before lifting an eyebrow at Clyde.

”See Enzo? I was perfectly fine!” argued Cassey. ”They are elites!” she said in a matter for fact manner causing Enzo to give her the look. ”What? Why the look? Come on Enzo….don’t be such a sourpuss.” she said moving her hand up and down to dismiss his glance.

”Well this sourpuss, is taking you home.” said Enzo in an almost father-like tone causing Cassey to sigh.

”I was just leaving you know! No need to be all cranky about it.” she mumbled kicking an imaginary rock as she walked after him. ”Don’t worry Mary!” reassured Cassey as she looked back at the woman. ”Enzo is a dirty rotten pervert, but he knows that the council will have his head if he were to-“

”Oh come on you.” said Enzo yanking Cassey out of the doorway.

”Byyyeee!” she called.

”Cassandra…” grunted Enzo as he looked at the girl who was still waving at the building as if the wolves could see her through the wall. ”What on earth were you doing all the way out here?” he asked his head tilting to the side.

”If I could, I would like, no love,a large family.” said Cassey ignoring Enzo’s questions. ”They looked so happy there.” she said with a thoughtful expression before she jumped slightly. ”May I please go back? Please Enzo? Please? Please? Please?” she asked pressing her hands together as if she were praying.

Enzo sighed as he let his hand rub the back of his neck. Why did she have to look so cute while begging him? ”We’ll see. Now leave it at that before I make it so you can’t see any of those wolves.” he warned shaking his index finger at her.

”Oh look it’s Edward! What is Edward doing standing outside a ladies’ restroom? Is Tammy around? Howdy Edward! Whatcha doing?” asked Cassey as she walked towards the man.

Edward shifted the cigarette to the side of his lips as he glanced down at the witch. ”I’m watching over that human girl Darius fancies…she said she had to fix her make-up or something. I don’t know. She’s been in there a while. I tried to go in once, but…well.” his face was flushed as he recalled the girl’s reaction.

”Well in that case, let me check!” offered Cassey as she walked inside and looked around. ”There is no one in here Eddy.” called Cassey.

”Wait…what do you mean there is no one in here?” questioned Edward as he hurried inside only to see the opened window. ”Damnit! That sneaky little human! She went through the window. You know this is the last time I let someone go to the bath- Oh gods…oh gods! Darius is gonna kill me! Maybe I’ll just tell him she died. Yeah. Humans die all the time right? How could I have lost her? Oh no…wait. Duh! I’m a vampire I will just SMELL her out!” he said causing Cassey and Enzo to exchange looks. ”Oh bloody hell.” he whined. ”She is in the werewolf section…Darius is gonna kill me. No Darius is gonna tell Tammy and SHE is going to kill me.”

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Ⓣⓗⓔ Ⓓⓘⓢⓣⓐⓝⓣ Ⓑⓛⓞⓞⓓⓢⓤⓒⓚⓔⓡ

French. Maid. Costume. Miser was not a satyr. He was the personification of pure evil! Tempting the poor vampire the way he was. Mi had to know what he was doing, evil old goat. Darius blinked as he rolled the words over in his mind. He had to place his hand over his mouth to hide his clear blush. French. Maid. Costume. Why couldn’t he shake the thought away? He felt as if he were once again a teenage boy discovering the opposite sex for the first time. The banter between uncle and niece was fuzzy and only buzzed in the vampire’s ears as he stared at the wall in front of him. French. Maid. Costume. Why couldn’t that image leave him? He lifted his hand up to his nose only to feel tiny droplets of blood. Yes, Darius had just gotten a nosebleed from the perverted imagery circling around his skull. He quickly pulled out a handkerchief from his coat pocket and brushed off his nose before anyone could see.

”Yes, pup-crush.” repeated Darius. At least that was something that could distract him from…French. Maid. Costume. He blinked as he awkwardly glanced away. ”Get a hold of yourself Darius. Just think of something else. Anything else. Flowers. Cars. Your Sister. French. Maid. Costume. No…not that. Stay far away from THAT thought.” the vampire silently scolded himself as he listened to Lydia deny her admiration for Abram like a true pro. She was good. This may be more difficult than Darius first assumed.

Books. Now that was something Darius could focus his attention on. Although, it was hard for him to focus when he could feel Lydia’s perfect gray eyes lingering against his cheek. French. Maid. Costume. No, he needed to focus. This was not the time to let his imagination run away with him. This was business! ”Everyone thinks that French Maid Costumes are good for the economy.” said Darius having a slip of the tongue. His eyes widened before he looked away. Maybe no one noticed? ”But when it comes down to it, everyone wants to win. So sure competition is good for the economy, but winning is great for the person in question.” he said with confidence as if he hadn’t just said French. Maid. Costume.

Lydia took Darius’s sudden need to leave better than he thought she would. This action only proved just how wonderful the girl really was. ”Once again. I hope we can continue tomorrow.” he said before leaving only his dust behind him.

Edward replaced his fearless leader and offered the human a half-assed solute. He held a smug smirk before dropping it as soon as Miser spoke. ”Please don’t tell Tammy! You know how crazy that woman is! Last time, she tried to turn me into stone. Thank goodness, vampires can’t turn into stone, but still. She has such a temper.” he pleased placing his hands together as if he were praying. ”I will find it! I’m sure I just left it at the house.” he said before glancing back at Lydia.

”You recognize me eh? I guess I’m not too bad to look at then now am I?” he asked happily. ”Erm…don’t tell Tammy I said that!” he said knowing that that his little lady could pack quite a punch when she wanted to. ”Sorry, but the bossman wants me to look after you.” he said simply when Lydia tried to argue with him about walking herself home. He waited patiently until the niece and uncle were finished talking before politely holding the door for Lydia. ”Oh no Missy. You are going in front of me. I am a pretty clever vampire. I know ALL the tricks. And don’t worry Miser, I will have your book to you ASAP!” he promised in a proud tone. Oh if only he knew JUST how clever Lydia really was. If he knew how clever she was, he might have stood a chance against her.

While Edward attempted to keep Lydia out of trouble, Darius was making his way towards the Wolf’s Bane. He had to deal with a few minor set backs that caused him to take longer than he had expected, but finally he was there. The vampire relaxed slightly popping his shoulders when Jacob claimed that Cassey was a good kid. ”Yes, Odin’s daughter.” he told Mary glancing back at the woman. Even Darius could fall victim to Mary’s mother’s antics. His face relaxed slightly while nodding at her before he directed his attention back towards Abram.

Almost as soon as Darius looked at the boy, his expression darkened. He took a defensive stance not daring to give in to those dogs. He even showed his fangs as a small threat. ”To think, Lydia had me thinking that you might be different, but you are as racist as all the other dogs out there Abram. Vampires don’t hunt and drink Cassey’s kind. Vampires would never dream of drinking from a witch or wizard.” he hissed his eyes glowing slightly. They seemed to shift from their lifeless black color to a deep red shade. ”This is one of the least safe places she could be.” he shot back before glancing at Dog. ”I only threaten and use force when it is needed. Unlike you dogs, I have evolved past useless violence.”

Surprising enough, Darius stopped almost as soon as Mary requested him to. It was odd to see a vampire actually listening to a werewolf. He stood up straight and fixed his clothes. The vampire let out a small sigh when Jacob explained that he never had a problem with any witch or wizard. ”Thank you.” he said walking towards the other. ”I am sure you have already heard about Odin’s wife.” he said ignoring the other wolves.

In Darius’s eyes, the only wolf worth talking to was the large yet friendly baker. Darius made himself comfortable as he sat down on the barstool as if he belonged in that establishment. ”But I’m not sure if you heard about who killed her.” he said leaning against his folded hands. ”Vidar recently broke out of his captivity.” he said his eyebrows frowning his tone filled with remorse. ”He is out for blood.” he said his nose wrinkling. ”I don’t know what Vidar game is, but I think you can understand why Cassandra cannot come here.” he said looking back at the wand. ”I think Vidar is trying to provoke his father by any means possible. Even if that means harming his own sister. He had no remorse hurting his mother.” he said shutting his eyes before continuing.

”Odin is gone completely off the face of the earth. The council is up in arms about his disappearance. Vidar was bad, but Odin was worse. That woman was the only thing keeping him sane.” he said glancing at Mary before looking back at Jacob. ”I fear he may try something as a last attempt at bringing her back.” he paused slightly dropping his head. ”All of my kinsmen and I are looking after Cassandra.” said Darius rising from his seat. ”I tell you this Jacob because you are the only one who knows how to take Vidar down. You know me I came here for three reasons and three reasons alone.” he said holding up three fingers.

”First of all, Cassandra. I had to make sure she was alright.” he said dropping one of his fingers. ”Secondly, Vidar may come for…” his voice trailed off as he glanced at Mary. He didn’t say the reason, but knew the other two knew what he was hinting at. ”Finally, I came for one of your blood-inspired cupcakes.” he said his expression completely serious before he cranked a small smile. It was as if there was some hidden joke between the two men. ”Do you still make those?’ he asked curiously.

Darius’s nose twitched as he caught the delightful smell of a certain female human. His eyes moved towards the door as he watched Lydia. French. Maid. Costume. He had to shake his head back and forth to force the blush away. This was beyond embarrassing. There he was acting like a lovesick puppy over the adorable human. It felt odd how little time had to pass for Darius to feel so relieved to see her face. Wait. What was she doing here? ”Lydia? I thought Edward was looking after you?” he questioned making a silent reminder to kill Edward.

”Are you alright?” he asked moving towards her. He delicately let his fingers touch her cheeks to make sure there were no scratches. ”These woods are dangerous.” he warned sighing. Everyone seemed to be being difficult that evening. ”Come on. Why don’t I walk you home Lydia?” he offered. ”Maybe you can even help me plot how I am going to kill Edward.” he said cracking his fingers.

That’s when Lydia spoke back causing her to glance up at him. Her eyes…they were sparkling! He blinked as he stared down at her. French. Maid. Costume. This time, he had little time to clean his nosebleed as he stared down at her. ”So…cute.” he grumbled before quickly turning away and facing the nearest wall. The odd vampire was embarrassed as he slammed his head against it. He would rather die a thousand deaths than deal with this awkward situation. He cleaned off his face and looked at Lydia again. She was off talking to Abram causing the man’s jealous streak to show through. ”LYDIA!” he said demanding the girl’s attention.

When he had her attention…well he didn’t know what to do with it. So he paused, as he tried to think of something. ”Did you have a nice walk here?” he asked sighing at the ridiculousness of his question. He rubbed the back of his neck as he gave her a small smile. ”It’s late…you should be getting home right? I-“

”DARIUS! DAAARRIIIUUSSS! Lydia! SHE’S DEAD! I tried to save her! I jumped into-…It’s a miracle! Lydia is alive! Thank the Lord!” said Edward as he noticed the human girl. He wrapped his arms around her causing Darius’s temper to increase.

”STOP THAT!” he hissed showing his jealous side again causing Edward to back away slowly. ”I mean…it’s just.” he coughed as he fixed his tie. ”How could you lose a person Edward? You know what. Screw it. I’m telling Tammy. That’s it. I have to.” he said causing the other vampire to fall to his knees and plead.

”No. No. Anything but that. I even came to the wolf’s den for you! Just not Tammy! That Gorgon has issues. She does! You know I know….Pleeeaassee. Or I’ll tell everyone your sister married a wo-“ Slam. Kick. Shove. Edward’s skinny body went sailing clear across the mountaintops all the way back towards the vampire section.

Brushing his hands together, Darius looked back at Lydia. ”Would you like me to talk you home?” he asked as if he hadn’t just thrown his employee clear across a forest.












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[Lady March Hare]

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ｈｅａｒｔ ｈｉｔ ａ ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ { ｅ ａ ｒ ｌ ｙ } ｈｏｕｒｓ,
Ｓｏ Ｉ ｓｔｏｐｐｅｄ ｉｔ ｄｅａｄ ｆｏｒ ａ ｂｅａｔ ｏｒ ｔｗｏ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｂｕｔ Ｉ ＣＵＴ ｓｏｍｅ ｃｏｒｄ (ａｎｄ Ｉ ｓｈｏｕｌｄｎ'ｔ ｈａｖｅ ｄｏｎｅ ｉｔ)
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｆｏｒｇｉｖｅ ｍｅ ａｆｔｅｒ ａｌｌ ｔｈｅｓｅ ｙｅａｒｓ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

▇ location: T H E iW O L F ' S iB A N E XXXXX ▇ mood: S M U G XXXXX ♫ q u i e t m e l o d y ♫XX
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Lydia was distracted. Her head tilted slightly to the side, her gray eyes, once widened in disbelief, now narrowing in slight confusion. What had Darius just said? The human studied him discretely, ignoring her uncle’s battle to hold back a smirk and a chuckle; Miser was always in stitches over something, it seemed. Lydia blinked and shook herself slightly; she must have misheard, or gotten her conversations mixed up. Yes, that must have been it. But why she would have misheard that, of all things… no, it was best to just dismiss it completely. She was probably tired. Still, she stared at him for a moment before she caught herself. “Y-Yes, of course. In business, one must always try to see both sides of the market.” she replied, just to have something to say while she rubbed at her ears subconsciously.

“Hm? Oh, of course we can, Darius. Go on and take care of whatever you need to take care of.” Lydia assured him with a smile. The vampire was gone in a flash and, not allowing herself to marvel over vampire speed once again, the girl turned her attention to Edward. Her lips, which had been threatening to pull down into a pout, set themselves into a little smirk despite herself at her uncle’s words. She wasn’t quite sure what the implications of telling Tammy would be, but she knew that Miser was serious about his books, and if he made a threat regarding one, it would be an effective threat indeed.

“Bah! An overwhelming love of books and a desire to see them safely returned to their owners isn’t crazy!” Miser grumbled. “Well, you’d better find it soon, Edward. That’s one of my favorite books, and I’m getting old. We old people, we tend to get gabby when we’ve lost something precious to us, and you’ll never know what I’ll say should I happen to see Tammy within the next few days… you know, if I wander by that place you both work. I’m old, remember; we old people tend to wander.”

“I think you’ve made your point, Uncle.” Lydia cut him off, lifting an eyebrow when Edward’s comment reached her ears. “Of course I remember you. You work for Darius, so I have to.” she reported unflinchingly. Good looking? Ha! As if Lydia would let such a thing interfere with her steely focus on business! But of course, saying such a specific aloud was rude, so she brushed that thread of conversation under the rug and continued lightly. “Are you sure? I won’t hold it against you if you want to reconsider. I’m certain there are other things you would like to be doing.” she added over her shoulder as she turned to speak to Miser. The satyr wished them farewell with a stern warning in his eye that he didn’t vocalize, and Lydia’s smile turned wry as she turned to Edward. Hugging her notebook to her chest, she smiled and spoke warmly. “Ah... oh no; I didn’t think I’d be dealing with someone clever. To be honest with you, Edward, I was sure Darius would leave some idiot minion to bother me.” she said as she moved forward through the door. “But if you already know all the tricks, I suppose it would just be a waste of time to try them. Let’s go, then.”

Of course, Lydia had no intentions of going along with the vampire passively. Her expression stayed blank and her words remained compliant, but even as she spoke she was already thinking through ways to slip away from the sometimes-sparklepire. Lydia was relatively sure kicking him in the shin and running wouldn’t work, and the situation wasn’t nearly extreme enough to warrant pushing him into a bush and screaming for assistance. She could try ducking into the bushes to hide, but it didn’t seem a very effective method to use against a vampire that could sniff her out with ease. She was still mulling over the options when her cell phone buzzed in her pocket; the young woman shifted to fish the thing out and flipped it open to read the text message that had triggered the alert. It was a pretty standard message from Olivia, reminding her of several small things that were happening that evening, and the end of day projections for Fellowship Pharmaceuticals stock. A useless enough message on the surface, but it prompted an idea.

“Damn.” she muttered, closing her phone with irritation and sliding it back into her pocket. Gray eyes flicked to Edward apologetically, then past him. Ah, a public restroom; perfect. “Sorry, but do you mind if we make a pit stop? My secretary just messaged me saying that the Board of Directors has called an emergency meeting back on the home base. They’re in my office as we speak. I’m still trying to make a good impression on them… it’s been a long day, so I’m going to freshen up.” she said, not waiting for Edward’s agreement to such a plan before making her way to the bathroom and pushing the door in. Gray eyes immediately started scanning the walls, and her smirk widened as they landed on the window. Perfect. “I’ll be out in just a minute.”

Lydia had played this game before, and she had to admit that it was one of her favorites. The trick was not to immediately go through the window that was one’s object; curiosity was not simply a human trait, and after a few minutes anyone would get restless enough to tempt a peak to see what was taking so long. The wonderful thing was that it was a ladies restroom, and very few men were both as devoted to their jobs and willing to risk the vindictive retaliation of femalekind to venture inside. Really, it made Lydia wonder why all female subjects being shadowed weren’t always paired with female guards; the human decided then and there that should she ever need to arrange such a thing, she would ensure that gender would not be a hindrance for her guards. So, with that decision made, Lydia prepared to waste a little time. She walked the parameter of the bathroom, inspected the mirrors, actually washed up a little (since she was there), and sent a text message or two. The careful Lydia even thought about the noise she was making, making sure to even out noise with silence so it wouldn’t be too strange a thing when she left silence behind. She was just beginning to think that vampires might be particularly patient creatures when the door started to inch open; Lydia gasped dramatically and flung out a hand to stop it.

“W-What are you doing?” the human tried to yelp, looking critical at her own performance. Hn; clearly it had been a while since she’d done this, and the perfectionist decreed that her acting needed work. “I’m trying to get the wrinkles out of my clothes! Y-You can’t come in here!”

Edward retreated quickly, and Lydia’s expression turned fond. She always loved it when people did what she expected them to. Deciding that now was the time for action, Lydia returned her attention to the window. She would have a good buffer of time to make her escape, since she figured the vampire outside would be loathe to try for another inquisitive peak. The girl moved to scoop up a trashcan and turn it on its head, making a very nice stool for her to step up on. The window’s latch was old and covered with lime, but Lydia stuck her tongue between her teeth and focused as she jimmied it open. There was a second of resistance before the window gave and swung outwards, the breeze that streamed in greatly appreciated. The stern eyed young woman didn’t hesitate in hopping up to slide her form on the window frame, turn, and ease herself down the other side. She waited until her body was fully stretched out before allowing herself to drop, trying to stay very still so as to make as little noise as possible as her booted feet crunched down in the spongy grass. After a second’s pause to make sure that her endeavors had gone unnoticed, the human squared her shoulders, glanced around, and made straight for the woods.

“Ah, yes... this is much better.” she breathed once she was an acceptable distance away. Now, what to do. Though there was no Board of Directors meeting she had to scurry away to, she could go back to the office and get some work done. There was a mountain of paperwork with her name on it (well, not yet, seeing as most of the documents required her signature), and she was pretty sure she had some lecturing to do; usually these things would be decided on with gusto. But Lydia hesitated, thinking back over Darius’ sudden departure from Miser’s shop. The vampire that had come to fetch Darius, the one that hadn’t introduced himself, had said something about Jacob. Was it the Jacob she knew, the gentle giant that ran the Wolf’s Bane? Jacob was a common enough name no matter the species, and it was impossible to tell if the one that’s mention had called Darius away was the one she was so fond of. Well, not impossible; she could always go to the Bane and see for herself. The idea was an appealing one; she always liked going to Jacob and Mary’s bar, and hadn’t had a chance to do so in quite a while. Might as well take advantage of the opportunity. “It’s decided. To Jacob’s!” she said to the woods with determination, doing an abrupt about face to get on the familiar path.

It was a bit of a trek, and humans are notoriously slow, but Lydia picked her way along the path to the Bane with determination, busying her mind with making lists of things to do, people to call, meetings to arrange, and the like. Before too much longer the familiar front of the establishment was in view, and the gray eyed human practically skipped over a grumpy group of werewolves trading hunting lies to get to the door. Ignoring the growls that followed her (wolves were always growling for some reason or another), Lydia pulled the front door open with the ease of familiarity, ducking her head to study her feet as she kicked the dirt free from her soles. She knew how particular Jacob could be about his floors. Pulling the door firmly shut behind her, Lydia looked up to scan the bar. There were her favorite packmates, all gathered together in a bunch just like they always were… her eyes fell on Darius with a sense of satisfaction. So it had been this Jacob, and there really was something going on here. Strange; Darius and Jacob seemed almost relaxed facing one another. While Lydia had never seen Jacob be aggressive purposefully, she had never seen him relaxed around a vampire. Her interest in this particular mystery increased by double.

“Who?” she asked reflexively as Darius spoke, more of a way to pull herself from her musings then anything else. “Oh, Edward... yes. And he’s doing a fine job of it.” she said with something akin to pride, wondering fondly if the vampire in question was still standing sentinel outside that ladies’ bathroom. That bathroom was safer then safe, she was sure. Darius’ fingers came to rest against her cheeks, and Lydia started slightly as she looked up at him with a slight blush. It was strangely hard to remember the ruse for half a second under the eyes of the pack, and she cleared her throat discretely as she remembered herself, holding still for him. “Of course I’m alright, Darius. I come here all the time. I know the safe way to travel.” she informed him matter-of-factly. She tilted her head to the side, glancing past him at Jacob, who lifted his hand for a silent wave of acknowledgement. “But what are you doing here, Darius? Are you and Jacob friends? I had no idea…” she continued curiously. She turned the possibilities over in her head curiously for a moment, then looked up at Darius in surprise. It wasn’t very nice, but Edward had become something of a punchline to the girl; at his mention she pictured him still standing outside that bathroom. “Ah, you don’t have to do that. I’d hate to take you away… it sounded important, what you left for. As for Edward…” she couldn’t help grinning up at him as innocently as she could manage. “That’s probably not necessary. He only did exactly what you told him to, after all.” she informed him, trying to hold back the smugness. That’s right: she’d outfoxed a vampire.

Darius’ reaction surprised her, and Lydia studied the vampire with a small frown. “C-Cute? I’m sorry, what are you talking abou-?” she trailed off as Darius turned away, then jumped as the poor vampire’s head met the wall. “Darius?!” she started, lifting a hand as if to reach out and pat his back, but a certain werewolf’s fingers wrapped around her wrist and dragged her away. Lydia would have objected furiously had she thought it would have done her any good and since Abram was clearly tired of waiting for his answers, it clearly wouldn’t have. Gray eyes glanced back over her shoulder at Darius in concern before snapping back to Abram with a frown. She’d been expecting this, after all.

“I’m not a child, Abram; if you want to talk, just say so.”

“Well, I want to talk...” Abram stopped and wrinkled his nose. “Ugh. His scent’s all over you, Lydia.”

“That’s to be expected, Abram…” she answered slowly.

“Tch… look, I don’t know what’s going on here.” Abram sighed. ”But have you thought this through, Lydia? I was really worried about you! It’s like you weren’t even listening when I gave you the cheeseburger talk!”

“That’s because the cheeseburger talk was stupid.” Lydia had no qualms about replying. The human hesitated as she scanned the face of the man she loved, little sparkings of pain making themselves known in her heart. Again, just as she’d expected, and she almost smiled at the ridiculousness of the situation. Instead the young executive sighed. “Abram… I know this is a little hard for you to understand… but I know what I’m doing here. I’m not as dumb as I look.”

“No… you’re dumber.” Abram said sadly, complete confidence in his voice as he studied his best friend’s open, accepting features. There were so many concerns to be voiced that he didn’t even know where to start.

“Stop acting like such a child!” Lydia hissed at the uncalled for statement. “I appreciate that you’re worried about me, but I’d appreciate it even more if you would stop implying that I don’t know what I’m getting myself into!” she continued hotly. She opened her mouth to continue, but Darius called her and she snapped her jaws shut. His voice was a godsend considering; Abram’s disapproval and that look in his eye had proven more upsetting then Lydia had really planned for, and she surely would have said something she would have regretted. Abram growled softly as she turned around and moved back towards Darius, her thoughts distracted. “A what? Oh, yes… it was a good walk.” she replied a bit mechanically, then shook her head. She had to focus.

But then the door flew open, and Lydia, just like everyone else, turned to look at the new arrival. Lydia deadpanned as Edward announced that she was dead to the entire bar, flicking her hand up into the same halfassed wave he had offered her in Miser’s shop. “Oh, there you are, Edward.” she said dismissively. She would have continued, but in the next second she was being squished to another relative stranger’s chest. What was with all of the inappropriate hugging she’d been getting today? Didn’t her naturally stern features serve as nature’s advance warning that she wasn’t a very huggy person? “Ngh, c-cut it o…” Lydia didn’t even get the objection out before Darius snapped at him and Edward’s arms were no longer wrapped around her. The human sighed in relief and took a step back, clearing her throat and tugging at her clothes to straighten them. “Thank you, Darius.” she breathed. She looked from Darius to Edward to Darius again; sighing she moved past them to the bar. “Jacob… it’s a drinking day. The usual, please.”

“I figured.” Jacob grumbled, ducking slightly to pop open a minifridge beneath the bar and retrieve Lydia’s favorite drink. The angry looking man slammed the beverage on the bar with the fire of fury in his eyes, slowly removing his hand… to reveal the little square juice box, complete with cute little bendy straw already in place. “Enjoy.”

“Oh, grape.” Lydia sounded approving as she scooped up the beverage and brought the straw to her lips. That’s right: big bad President lady loved herself some Juicy Juice. Of course, not often since assuming the Presidency because it did make her look rather childish, but this was a special sort of day. “Thanks, Jacob.” she added before turning back to the vampires. Well, turned back to see one vampire punting the other to a galaxy far, far away, that is. Lydia blinked, then moved to stand next to Darius’ side to squint in the direction Edward had flown. “Huh. He’s rather aerodynamic isn’t he, that Edward…”

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“I see!” Mary murmured thoughtfully, her eyes moving to her own two pups that were playing in the far corner of the bar. “That makes sense, having something to compare it to.” she added with an encouraging nod. Her bright blue eyes stayed focused on Cassey with interest as the young girl spoke; only when she’d finished did Mary continue. “Ah, retiring, is he? That must mean that you’ll be one of his most memorable students. I’m sure you’re very important to him.”

“The Teach is retiring?” Abram piped up, looking at Cassey curiously. “Where to? I mean… what do you do with old wizards? Do they go to a home?”

“Now, Abram…”

“Hey, just curious!” he chuckled, feigning ignorance. Cassey’s next question caught him off guard, and he scratched at his chin as way of distraction as he tried to think. “Hmm… well… I guess it’s not so much that I don’t like being called cute…”

“Oh, good! Because I think you’re adorable, Abram!” Clyde threw his arms around his wolf brother, going in for a snuggle.

“…just not by him.” Abram finished, attempting to both evade Clyde’s clinging and pry the young werewolf off of him at the same time. It wasn’t an overly successful endeavor; despite the fact that all present knew him to be a werewolf, the little guy oftentimes resembled a monkey even more. “Hands, Clyde; hands…” he admonished, waiting for Clyde to grow bored. He did, and quickly; the peppy little guy released Abram and was twirling towards Cassey in no time. Abram couldn’t help but grin –his brother was overly familiar more often then not, but he truly meant no harm by his actions—an expression that softened as he watched Cassey’s reactions. She was like a little kid, and Abram idly wondered how much she would object if he just picked her up and carried her off somewhere. Fate warned him not to try his luck, and he chuckled nervously. The universe had proven time and time again that day that it was on Cassey’s side, not his; best not to push it. So the green eyed werewolf stayed silent, watching the witch with a quiet smile as she interacted with his packmates. Her statements towards Alexis made him lift an eyebrow. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think those words were calculated, because they were just the sort of things one had to say to get on his raven haired sister’s good side. Had it been anyone else, Abram would have been sure they were loaded compliments. But even a passing glance at Cassey lead Abram to believe that she was sincere in her statements; further study only strengthened this conclusion, for Cassey was as animate about Alexis and her wedding as ever. Abram had to lift a hand to his lips to hold back a laugh, but hold it back he did.

“Exactly. Exactly!” Alexis agreed with every word Cassey said, a steely note entering her eye. Matty, for his part, looked like he was seconds away from choking on a particularly sour lemon; Cassey’s ‘glare’ was so remarkably ineffective and so positively adorable that the brown eyed werewolf was struck by the strange sensation that he was being pouted at by some of the cutest things known to man… namely, a kitten-rabbit-cupcake hybrid. Which was a strange, somewhat disturbing thought that helped him hold back the urge to pinch Cassey’s cheek, but didn’t do much for his expression. Alexis ignored Matty, as she was want to do, slammed her fist onto the bar, seeming to get more hyped up and more angry at Dio with every word. “Damn right I would be! Every second that ring isn’t on my finger, I’m still on the market! I could decide I’m bored with waiting and move on like that!” Alexis said, snapping her fingers.

“Aw, if you were going to do that, you’d have done it years ago, Alexis!” Clyde laughed, rocking back on his bare heels.

“I like this plan. It’s like a two tiered attack. You come at him from the front with cold hard facts, and I’ll sneak up behind him with matrimony. He’ll never see it coming!” Alexis insisted, her earlier suspicion about the witch bidding the room farewell as it flew out the nearest window. Which was a wonderful sign to a certain werewolf in wooing-mode; if Alexis accepted an outsider, then there were really no further worries about how his pack would receive a certain purple eyed witch. It was a great sign!

“Hmm... I guess so.” Matty sounded bemused, studying Cassey as she turned away thoughtfully.

“You would?” Jacob questioned, his stoic face heating up in a grateful blush once again. There might have been a tiny tear of gratefulness in the corner of his eye… or it was that murderous gleam that came natural to him; it was oftentimes hard to tell with Jacob. The monster of a man ducked his head in a nod before answering her. “Hearing that really warms my heart. I built this place from the ground up, and it really does feel like home. But it’s not such much the issue of people liking this place once they get here… it’s getting them into the Bane in the first place.”

“They take one look at Jacob, figure he eats babies, and turn the other way.” Dog muttered as way of explanation as he sneaked a piece of cake with a carefully careless look on his face… just in case anyone was paying attention.

Things were going swimmingly, considering. Sure gravity had done a number on him, but Abram was experiencing a high like no other as he watched Cassey interact with his family with ease. Maybe there was a real reason fate had been so cruel to him that day; maybe he was watching it here, unfolding before him in the Wolf’s Bane, as clear as day. The whole day suddenly had a golden sheen to it, and when he looked back on it Abram was sure to insist that it hadn’t been as painful as he’d initially thought it was. But no sooner did these thoughts cross his mind did Enzo appear and deflate his happy bubble. Sad day.

“If by ‘feisty’ you mean ‘bloodthirsty’, then yeah; I’m feisty.” Alexis countered coldly. She surely would have mouthed off more, but Mary was present and giving her that gentle scolding look that worked well on just about everyone, so the vixen fell silent with an indignant sniff.

“I seeeee….” Clyde murmured, continuing to study Enzo with interest. There were actually stars in his eyes. “Magical face lift!”

“Ah… ha… hah… well, that’s good, dear.” Mary started a bit nervously. ”But what I really meant was…”

“Ears?” Abram glanced ceiling-ward, unable to help grinning impishly. Sure, the furry appendages making his emotions easy to read was a little embarrassing, but something about annoying Enzo was just far easier for him to focus on. “Well, yeah, my tail would be wagging… I’m in a good mood. Isn’t that a good thing?” he asked with all of the innocence that he could muster. That didn’t last long as Enzo turned the conversation to leaving; the werewolf would have no problem admitting that he pouted at the news. “Come on, Teach... we were having cake. She can stick around for cake, can’t she?” Well, apparently not.

“B-Be careful getting home, Cassey!” Mary called after her with a slightly drawn expression. She was silent for a long moment before continuing. “I think… that if I hear about him acting inappropriate around her, I won’t be able to help biting him.” The woman’s sweet, worrying, motherly voice did wonders to disguise what was a very real threat. Even the kindest of werewolf mothers were notoriously protective of their young, which Cassey had immediately come to equate with in the blonde werewolf’s mind.

“Don’t worry, Mary… Cassey can handle that old pervert.” Abram sighed, wondering offhandedly if it would be too stalkerish of him to follow the witch and wizard home. Probably.

“Like she handled you?” Clyde snickered.

“Shut up, Clyde.” Dog countered, noshing on tasty cake. But even noshing on tasty cake had to stop with the appearance of the vampire, who Dog and all of the vampires regarded warily.

“Ha!” Abram spat at Darius’ words. “Like I would believe that. Don’t throw that word around when it applies to you as much as it does me, bloodsucker. I doubt even Lydia could school you into thinking differently in only one day.” he added in a grumble. Lydia had come up in conversation anyway; did the vampire’s easy reference to her mean that she was okay? Abram just couldn’t think so, not with those newly red eyes on him; instincts were urging him to battle mode, and the werewolf snarled softly.

“Yeah, right…” Dog seconded his cousin’s sentiments, eyes narrowed. The two of them surely would have said more, and Alexis looked more then ready to jump on the bandwagon, but Mary spoke up pleadingly. Despite the fact that she wasn’t extremely older then the rest of them, she held the role of pack mother; her gentle insistence were made on sincere concern, and it took more then most of what the werewolves had to disappoint her with disobedience.

It was difficult to admit, but Abram was glad for the distraction that Mary represented; the bar meant too much to Jacob for his own pack to mess it up in a fight. Besides, Mary and Jacob were like second parents to him, and as much as it burned him to see it, they seemed to be on relatively good terms with Darius. Abram’s shoulders twitched in irritation, his wolf ears still flattened back into his hair as he studied Darius. What was it with this guy?! Why was someone Abram disliked so strongly tied up with the only people who could keep him from doing anything about it? Cassey, Lydia, Jacob, Mary… who else was Darius going to win over, his sweet little old grandmother?! Abram snorted at the idea, regarding Darius with continued suspicion. Had there not been important stuff being said, he might have picked a bit of a fight. But, as it was, he dropped a hand to the side and caught Alexis’ wrist before she could prowl forward, shaking his head as she looked back to him in irritation. The brothers and sisters paused for a minute, then settled in reluctance; Abram tried to keep his irritation in check as he tried to follow the conversation between Jacob and Darius.

“I heard.” Jacob said simply, no change of expression drifting across his face at the mention of Cassey’s mother. He didn’t speak to affirm his ignorance to who did the deed, but at Darius’ answer dark eyes flicked to the vampire, a frown haunting the large werewolf’s lips. “Vidar.” he repeated in a grimace. “To think, his own....” Jacob trailed off, then sighed. It was a cruel world, indeed. “That's horrible news. I was hoping Vidar would never find a way to free himself, that back then was the last we'd ever have to hear of him.”

“Wait a minute… Vidar…” Abram murmured. “Oh… right. That was the name of the wizard Jacob fought all those years ago.”

“Don’t be dumb, Abram.” Clyde said, his voice betraying that the vampire’s presence still had him a bit nervous. “That was Vader. You know, like Darth Vader.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Would you guys shut up?” Matty grumbled, listening intently to the exchange with a frown.

“I understand.” Jacob sighed softly, shifting his great weight.

“Poor Odin… and poor Cassey.” Mary murmured, her eyes dark. She was quiet for a minute, then spoke softly. “Try something? Like what?”

“I understand.” Jacob repeated with a slow nod. “Our peoples don’t work together too well… but when it comes to Vidar…” he shook his head again. Clearly, there were dark times ahead. Jacob’s stern gaze moved to his wife, his brow furrowing as Darius’ second reason for coming was left to hang in the air. He knew it as well as Mary did, and the blonde woman dropped her eyes to the ground guiltily. For a long minute he was still, completely silent… and then he made a gruff rumbling noise that passed for a laugh from Jacob. Though his expression by no means lightened, Abram thought he could see the beginnings of a smile if he squinted closely at the man’s face. “Blood cupcakes…” Jacob chuckled, completely ignoring the stupefied expressions of his packmates. “It’s certainly been a long time since I cooked up a batch of those. ‘Fraid I haven’t had much of a market for them with this crowd. I’ll have to whip up a special batch of them and send them to you through Lydia. Nothing makes that girl squeamish, it seems. I assume you were the vampire Abram was complaining about, that is. The one Lydia’s apparently set her cap for.” Jacob said, making even that old timey lady term seem like appropriate action movie dialogue.

Speak of the devil and he will appear; Abram’s nose twitched as a familiar scent was blown in by the opening and closing of the bar door. Sure enough, there was Lydia. She was alive! There was no time for Abram to be relieved, because the next thing he knew Darius was towering over his human-sister, caressing her cheek possessively as if there was nothing any of the werewolves watching could do to stop him! Okay, so Abram’s view of the little exchange was a little skewed and he knew it, but he didn’t really care at the moment.

“Whaaaaat?” Clyde gaped at Lydia and Darius, eyes wide. “That’s the guy she’s in love with? I’m so confused! I thought she was going to marry Dog!”

“What?” Dog asked, his eye twitching in unison with his cousin’s.

“What, you mean you two weren’t in love?” Clyde asked, crossing his arms over his chest childishly. “Darn it; I thought I had that one pegged…”

“As if I would fall for the girl that fired me from my own birthday party.” Dog grumped.

“Well, you were kind of getting in the way of the planning process, Dog.”

“Shut up, Matty.”

Abram rolled his eyes but ignored his packmates, not even nearly in the mood for the beat down that little conversation warranted. His bright green eyes stayed on Lydia, and when Darius turned away he stomped forward to grab his little sister by the arm, dragging her away despite the irritated gray gaze such an infuriating move got him. There was no distance far enough away to escape being overheard, so he shrugged that off and turned to face the human. She needed a stern talking to, but the more he said, the more he started to feel that his words weren’t going to do any good. Abram almost wanted to believe that the vampire had tricked her into such an arrangement with some sort of vampire hypnosis… or… something… but that stubborn attitude was definitely Lydia; he’d been on the receiving end of it often enough to know the real thing. He was getting a headache thinking about it. Abram sighed and ran his hands through his hair, trying to think as the girl turned away. There was something weird going on here, surely. But what? He ground his teeth together; he’d have to accept it for the moment, and try to figure out the truth in his own time.

“Holy crap! Did you see that?!” Alexis hissed too close to his ear. “He kicked him like a football!”

“Goaaaaaaaaaaaal!” Clyde crowed in his best announcer’s voice.

“Fine.” Abram muttered, more to himself then anyone else. Dog, the closest to him, lifted an eyebrow inquisitively, but Abram ignored both him and the appeasing glance he sensed coming his way from Mary. He prowled over to Lydia and Darius with a frown, thinking out what he was going to say carefully. It would have been amazing if he could have found something to say that would have scared Darius off of both Cassey and Lydia at the same time… but he would have to divide and conquer. Little, easily murdered human sister first. He came to a stop behind Lydia and plopped a hand atop her head, looking at Darius steadily. “Look.” he began, his voice strained. “I don’t get this at all,” he continued, gesturing with his free hand between Lydia and Darius, scowling. “And I guess it’s just not my business. But as far as I’m concerned, Lydia here is my little sister. Don’t even think about doing anything to her. If I even smell your scent on her somewhere that it doesn’t belong, I’m coming after you. We’re coming after you.” he promised on behalf of the pack.

“Oh please…” Lydia grumbled around her bendy straw, sounding embarrassed as she ducked out from under Abram’s hand. “Cut it out, Abram… I’m serious.” A hint of red in her cheeks and an unhappy glint in her eyes, she turned her attention back to Darius. “I changed my mind, Darius. I’d love it if you walked me home. I’ll be waiting outside; take your time wrapping up whatever you came here for.” she muttered, not even offering a farewell to the wolves she loved as she strode quickly out the door.

Even Clyde was silent as the door closed behind her. Abram and Lydia had always bickered, but they’d never fought. The pack in general didn’t seem to know how to process it. Abram fidgeted, his ears staying folded back against his head. He wasn’t sorry for anything that he’d said, but he certainly didn’t like the way it left everyone feeling

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{ ｓ ｅ ｎ ｔ } ｉｔ ｔｏ ａ ｐｌａｃｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｍｉｄｄｌｅ ｏｆ ｎｏｗｈｅｒｅ
Ｗｉｔｈ ａ ＢＩＧ ＢＬＡＣＫ ＨＯＲＳＥ ａｎｄ ａ ｃｈｅｒｒｙ ｔｒｅｅ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｎｏｗ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｃｏｍｅ ｂａｃｋ, 'ｃａｕｓｅ ｉｔ'ｓ ｏｈ ｓｏ ｈａｐｐｙ
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｎｏｗ Ｉ'ｖｅ ｇｏｔ ａ ｈｏｌｅ ｆｏr ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｌｄ ｔｏ ｓｅｅ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

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It was such a beautiful morning! It was days like this that Cassandra was extra happy to be alive. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and even Enzo seemed to be in a pleasant mood. ”Hurry up and eat your food child. You don’t want to be late for work. And none of this nonsense about you waiting for Darius to take you out to eat to eat.” he grumbled as he handed her the plate of eggs and bacon. ”Tell me what you think. I know I am not as great as Jacob, but it has to be at least a bit tasty no? Plus women like men who can cook so I figure-“

”It is very tastey Enzo.” said Cassey cutting him off as she finished her food. She drank the rest of her juice before hopping off to the bathroom to brush her teeth. ”I have a good feeling about today! It’s so beautiful outside.” she said stopping by one of her windows to gaze outside for a moment or two. ”It’s a shame that I am stuck going to work on a beautiful day like today.” she said leaning against her window seal with a slight pout. ”Oh well. Maybe I’ll get to see Darius. Besides, Abram is depending on me to teach him how to be the best waiter he could ever hope to me.” she said with determination.

Enzo sighed knowing that that boy had more on his mind than simply learning how to be a good waiter. However, the wizard held his tongue as he transformed back into a cat and jumped onto Cassey’s shoulder. ”I’m just hoping today isn’t nearly as exciting as yesterday was.” he grumbled causing Cassey to giggle at his regrettable outlook.

”You really are a sourpuss you know that right?” she teased playfully touching his nose before she skipped along towards her job. Her hands were delicately began her back as she looked around. ”Oh look there is Abram!” she said happily waving to the werewolf. ”Hello there Abram! Sorry I had to hurry and leave last night. You know how life can get.” she said with her index finger pressed against her cheek as she turned her head to the side. ”Your family is so wonderful Abram!” she said in her usual sincere tone. ”I was telling Enzo last night that I would love to have a large family like yours someday!”

The girl held those doey eyes and it seemed to be the perfect Hollywood moment. All Cassey had to say was ‘with you’ and the moment would be complete. However, those words never left her soft lips. Instead the girl turned towards the entrance as her eyebrows frowned. ”Maybe Darius likes big families.” she inquired mostly to herself as she walked inside. ”Good morning Ed- eep.” she said covering her eyes slightly as she watched Tammy beat the living daylight out of Edward with her handy-dandy frying pan.

”You good for nothing blood-sucking…You LOST Miser’s book? How could you? I give you ONE job and you do that? You vile beast! That’s it! I am going to turn you into stone I am!” It was a good thing that their little restaurant was closed because Tammy looked like something straight out of a horror flick. Her snakes were hissing away as she beat against her husband in a ruthless manner.

”Stop it you crazy woman! I said I’d find it. I’m gonna find it okay?” he pleaded silently cursing himself for telling her in the first place. ”Come on babe…just stop.” he said finally managing to catch the frying pan before it crashed into his handsome face.

”b*****d…” she hissed kicking him in the stomach. ”Oh good morning Abram! Good morning Cassey!” she said as if she hadn’t just been beating the living daylight out of Edward.

”Is he…alright?” asked Cassey as she pointed at the twitching Edward.

”Him? Yeah he’s fine. He’s just being a big baby. Ignore him.” she said making a shooing motion to her husband as she walked back into the kitchen. Cassey exchanged a silent glance at Abram before walking past Edward towards the back.

”Alright…what should I wear today?” asked Cassey as she began to search through the costumes. ”What are you planning on wearing Abram? We have morning shift so we get first choice. Although, since there are no other werewolves or witches here I guess we always get first choice.” she giggled as she walked inside the massive closest. ”I do love how we get to dress up! It’s like when I was a child and played these sorts of games with my big sister.” she said before locating a snazzy little witch outfit.

”I was thinking about going with the cat-girl outfit, but I think today I’ll just go with something simple.” she said showing him the outfit. ”I do like the uniforms they have though. They are so cute. I should say I am a witch undercover and wear one of these schoolgirl outfits. What do you think?” she teased before grinning at her outfit. ”Maybe tomorrow.” she decided while walking off to the nearest bathroom so she could change. ”Enzo you stay out here.” she said taking Enzo out of her bag and placing him next to Abram. ”A lady should never be watched.” she threatened causing the cat to roll his eyes. Now who was being the sourpuss?

Cassey walked back towards Abram after she was completely changed. ”You like? You like?” she asked before pulling at the skirt slightly. ”It’s a bit shorter than I am used to, but I do like the hat a bit better.” she said fixing the hat slightly. ”Alright Abram. I believe in you! We will conquer this okay? OKAY!” she said lightly squeezing his hand before leading him out towards the front.

”Our first custome-“ Cassey paused as she noticed JUST who those first customers were.

”Good morning everyone!” sang the woman named Isabella as she easily made herself at home. ”So we are your first c-u Oh Cassandra! You look soo flipping cute!” said the overly loving vampire as she pulled Cassey into her arms and hugger her. ”Look at your little hat! And your dress! Oh you look good enough to eat!” she said touching Cassey’s nose. ”What is Darius thinking having you look so cute? Someone might just snatch you up!” she said with worry. ”This will not do! You are a walking target!” said the woman her own Mommy-Senses tingling.

”I like the outfit though.” defended Cassey as she smiled at Isabella.

”Well, I supposed if you LIKE it. We can let it go.” she said crossing her arms, but still not completely buying into the other girl’s argument.

Nick sighed as he watched his aggressive wife. She was by no means abusive. Isabella was just a bit more…pushy than most. ”Oh hello Abram. Mary told me you were working here. I just didn’t think it was actually true.” he laughed softly before his wife came rushing past him shoving the poor werewolf out of her way. ”Gees, Iz…you could at least TRY to be graceful.” he grumbled.

”Oh my! You are even cuter than I thought you would be! Look at him Nicky! He is so handsome! And strong too! And those eyes! They are positively breathtaking.” said the vampire as she circled around Abram as if he were her prey. ”He’s so tall!”

”Abram. I don’t think you have ever met my wife have you? She’s a bit…excitable?” he asked hoping that was the right word as he watched his wife touch the young werewolf. Everyone in the pack knew Nick had fallen for a vampire, but only Jacob and Mary had ever actually met the young woman.

”Nicky come feel Abram’s stomach! It is rock hard! You too Cassey come on over!” demanded the woman causing her husband to slam his palm into his face.

”Really?” asked Cassey as she walked over and touched Abram’s stomach. ”My goodness! It is rock solid!” she said impressed by the werewolf.

”Alright Izzy. I think you have embarrassed Abram enough. Come on before your brother walks in and cuts out my heart.” he said his eyes showing his obvious fear of that crazy vampire.

”Nicky, Nicky, Nicky, don’t worry about Darius. He is just being a boring old man.” she said nodding her head before glancing back at Abram. ”Oh this will be PERFECT! You two will be so cute together!” she said clapping a fangirl clap. ”I cannot wait to tell Mary how perfect this is going to be!”

”Who is Abram going to date?” asked a confused Cassey causing Isabella to give her a warm smile.

”Oh darling. You will see soon enough.” she teased once again leaving poor Cassey in the dark.

✄------------------------------------------------------

Ⓣⓗⓔ Ⓓⓘⓢⓣⓐⓝⓣ Ⓑⓛⓞⓞⓓⓢⓤⓒⓚⓔⓡ

Darius brushed his hands together and gave the sailing Edward one solid nod. Served that mouthy vampire right, for first losing Lydia and second speaking about his sister’s misfortune. The thought alone had the man sighing. The vampire had little time to think about his poor fate until his latest misfortune spoke. He lazily turned his gaze towards Abram as he listened to the werewolf boy’s threat. He popped his shoulders back and took a defensive stance. ”Cassandra is equally important to myself and my kinsmen. So don’t you even think about doing anything with her.” he threatened back standing his ground. ”I know exactly how you dogs sneak around when it comes to females. I do not want to hear that bullshit excuse about somehow by her scent you know that she is your mate.” he grunted from hidden experience. He would have continued, but Lydia spoke causing him to look back at her. His expression softened as he nodded at her. ”Don’t worry it shouldn’t take long.” he said sending Abram a threatening look.

He watched as Lydia led the way outside before turning towards Mary. ”I apologize for any disturbance I may have caused you or Jacob this evening. However, my apologize only goes out to you two.” he said placing his hand against his heart. It was a subtle yet direct insult towards Abram. ”Jacob. Don’t worry about the blood cupcakes.” he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. However, he knew it was best to keep from stepping foot in this particular establishment for some time. With that, the vampire was gone.

”So I guess you couldn’t resist seeing me again?” teased the vampire as he let his arm rest against Lydia’s shoulder. He gave the girl a playful almost childish grin as he began to lead the way away from the wolves. ”So where exactly is your home?” he asked making idle talk along the way.

-------- Good Morning Darius! ~ Five more MINUTES! ~ Yikes You Scawy o.o --------

Darius grunted slightly as he slowly rose from his bed. Morning. Which meant two things. Firstly, he would have boring business meetings to attend. But secondly (the thing he was most looking forward to), he might get the chance to see Lydia again. He held a small hidden smile as he sat up. His fingers combed through his dark hair as he stretched his muscular frame. His feet were about to touch the surface of his marble floor when he heard the slam of his front door. ”DARIUS!” yelled the feminine voice. Darius’s eyebrow twitched as he quickly shifted back under his blanket.

”Fall asleep…fall asleep.” he silently barked to himself as he heard the stomping of footstep against his stairs. She was purposely going at a human speed JUST to declare psychological warfare against his bewildered mind. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. She was getting closer.

”YOU!” she hissed slamming the door opened. She was such an adorable woman with such a knack for violence. Her body was virtually flawless and it was a wonder how she managed to have two children and keep those curves. ”Don’t you DARE try to pretend you are asleep. I ran into Mary when I was dropping the twins off at school. And she said you came into the Wolf’s Bane like some bat out of hell.” Darius knew his sister was exaggerating to get him out of bed, but he simply refused. He knew her tricks and he would not fall victim to them. ”She also told me you have a girlfriend?”

At this, Darius sat up. ”She told you that?” he asked leaning forward. ”What did she say? Did she say anything about Lydia?” he asked doing everything exactly the way Isabella had planned.

”So it is true! You have a girlfriend! Mary said it was that Lydia girl. I always thought she was after that Dog fellow. Which I don’t blame her, if I wasn’t happily married I would have-“ she stopped when she saw her brother’s annoyed expression. ”Touchy. Touchy. You know I am only teasing you brother.” she said moving her hand back and forth. ”Lighten up!” she said with that childish grin causing Darius to give her a faint smile back. ”Hurry up and get ready! I want to meet this girl?”

”No. Just no.” said Darius as he made his way to the bathroom.

”Whhhhaaa? Why not? I am friendly and everything! I am also cute as a button!” she said playfully touching her cheeks as her brother got ready. ”What isn’t there to like about me? Please let me meet her!” she said as she tilted her body sideways waiting for him to come out.

”No. I know how you are…you are just going to fill her mind with that nonsense that wolves are better.” he said flicking his younger sister’s forehead.

”Am not! Not when it comes to my favorite brother!”

”I’m your only brother.”

”That’s not the point. I am a happily married woman and I would like to see you a happily married man! Come on! Mary already said you guys looked cute together.” she said poking his cheek. This Darius wasn’t sure if she was exaggerating or not. ”Also I would like to see if this girl is older than Cassey. Which reminds me! Mary said that Abram and Cassey are a possible couple! Aww can you imagine how cute that would be? Little puppies and kitties running around?” she asked all sunshine and lollipops. At least someone was excited about that unfortunate situation.

”I personally think it is a bad idea. I don’t trust Abram as far as I can throw him.” he said before retracting his comment seeing as he had tossed Edward clear across the forest. He sighed knowing he needed a more appropriate analogy. ”I just don’t trust him.” he repeated as he collected his belongings.

”Stop being such a downer bro. I mean really. You have a girlfriend now! That’s wonderful!” she said hugging him. ”Now I demand to meet said girlfriend!” she repeated as he rubbed his forehead. The two both knew that eventually he was going to cave in. He always caved in. Why couldn’t he, for once, just not cave in? Oh that was right, it was those doey-eyes that the girl always sported that got him in the end.

”Hey Darius.” said the blonde man leaning against the wall. Darius groaned as he looked at him. He held that same welcoming spirit Mary always sported.

”Morning Nick…” he grumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck. He always hated making small talk with his brother-in-law. ”Izzy. I am begging you PLEASE…oh PLEASE just don’t try anything okay? JUST for today? I just started dating Lydia and I don’t want to mess this up.” he pleaded before taking his leave.

”You are going to try something aren’t you?” asked Nicolas almost as soon as Darius left.

”Duh I am. First of all, I want to see who this Abram is. Both you and Mary seem to be talking so highly of him. Secondly, I am going to meet Lydia. I don’t care what I have to do.” said the determined vampire before she began to lead the way to Darius’s restaurant. Nick sighed as he reluctantly followed suit. There was no stopping that batgirl once she had something on her mind.

Darius rubbed his temples as he made it too his office. Was it too early to call Lydia? He took a sideways glance at his watch. Maybe. He wrinkled his nose as he brushed his hair back. Maybe he could ask her out for a lunch date? That seemed reasonable did it not? He could always just show up and ask her directly?

No. Calling was the more gentlemanly thing to do. He lifted up his phone and dialed the girl’s personal number. He made sure to keep his number on private as he called. When he heard her answer, he quickly slammed the phone shut. Why was he so bad at this? Maybe he could just use his sister as an excuse?

He tried to call her again, only to repeat the hanging up motion. Finally, the third time came around. This time he actually spoke to her when she answered. ”Lydia. Hello. It is Darius.” he mentally slapped himself. Why did he sound so stern? ”I would like for you to meet my sister during lunch. I will pick you up. Thank you and that is all.” he groaned as he hung up the phone. What was he thinking? Why was he so harsh to her? What if he made her cry? He quickly lifted up the phone and called again. He tried to speak, but his voice was lost. He hung up for the third time as his head fall against the desk. This whole dating thing was going to be harder than he thought.













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[Lady March Hare]

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ｈｅａｒｔ ｈｉｔ ａ ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ { ｅ ａ ｒ ｌ ｙ } ｈｏｕｒｓ,
Ｓｏ Ｉ ｓｔｏｐｐｅｄ ｉｔ ｄｅａｄ ｆｏｒ ａ ｂｅａｔ ｏｒ ｔｗｏ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｂｕｔ Ｉ ＣＵＴ ｓｏｍｅ ｃｏｒｄ (ａｎｄ Ｉ ｓｈｏｕｌｄｎ'ｔ ｈａｖｅ ｄｏｎｅ ｉｔ)
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｆｏｒｇｉｖｅ ｍｅ ａｆｔｅｒ ａｌｌ ｔｈｅｓｅ ｙｅａｒｓ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

▇ location: H O M E XXXXX ▇ mood: @ __ @ XXXXX ♫ q u i e t m e l o d y ♫XX
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With her back pressed to the wall and the fresh breeze cooling her head, Lydia found that it was slightly easier for her to relax in the growing night. Clearly, there were issues that still had to be worked out with this little arrangement and as equally clear to her was the fact that that was a battle for another day. It wasn’t a long wait at all, and she rocked to her feet as the vampire joined her. His arm slid around her shoulders, and though it wasn’t a particularly advantageous time to be seen being intimate, Lydia didn’t object. Something about the contact and that unexpectedly sweet expression on his face seemed to relax her. She even almost smiled.

“I guess not.” she admitted. “Home? Back at the office… mother was as crazy about business as I am. The top floor is basically an apartment. It’s very convenient.” she added with some warmth. Home was also anywhere that wolf pack happened to be, but she cringed away from that idea. It was a time for light, mindless talk, and she set herself to it with gusto until they reached the office in question. “Thanks for the escort.” she said as she slipped free from his arm. “I’ll see you soon… good night.” And with that she was gone and up stairs with a flash. It had been a long day, and the young president had a lot of thinking to do.



~**~ Sleep time for Lydia! ~**~
(Or is it..?)


“Miss. Fabien! It’s TERRIBLE! TERRIBLE, I say!” Olivia wailed dramatically as she flung the office door open. The weight of her news made the old woman’s shoulders sag and tears glisten in the corners of her eyes. “All of our electronics have gone mad! The coffee machines is on the fritz, all of the fax machines are eating the messages, phones are ringing continuously, and the printers are printing internet spam messages about Viagra of their own accord! It’s madness!”

“What?!” Lydia sprang to her feet, staring at Olivia with gray eyes wide. “Not the coffeemaker! That’s all that’s keeping the accountants in line!”

“I know!” the old woman whimpered.

“Ngh…” Lydia shook her head hard. “It’s just a fluke. We can deal with this, even without coffee. Call the Board of Directors and…”

“I can’t, Miss. Fabien!”

“Why the hell not?!”

“Every member of the Board of Directors spontaneously combusted!”

“Oh… well… that doesn’t sound so bad…”

“In the middle of the stock exchange! And when they blew up they took all of our stocks with them!”

“Oh my god!” Lydia gasped. “How is that even possible??!”

“It just is!” Olivia whimpered. “And the news gets worse! The juice box companies are shutting down, Christmas has been canceled, the building’s on fire, and your father’s here to spend time with you!”

“N-No way… it just can’t be…” Horror twisting her features, Lydia stumbled back from the blows bad news represented, her back coming to thumb against someone chest. The man wrapped his arms around her and nestled his chin atop her head.

“Ready for some family bonding, daughter of mine?”

“NOOOOOOOOOO-”

“-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Lydia started into a sitting position, her screaming echoing in her ears in the otherwise silent office. Yes, she was waking up in her office, at her desk, her legs tingling and numb from where they’d been curled under her body for a little too long and indention lines on her face that came as a result of sleeping with ones face resting on books and paperwork. Feet bare and donning a fuzzy blue robe over her jammies, the newly appointed president of Fellowship Pharmaceuticals stayed rigid and silent as the horrors of her nightmare washed over her. Her fragile human heart raced in her chest, and the dream still seemed so fresh and real that it took her a moment to catch her breath.

For a long moment there was silence… and then the intercom beeped, a red light flickering on as Olivia’s calm, knowing voice spoke through the speaker. “Fell asleep at your desk again, Miss. Fabien?” Lydia’s lips twisted into a pout and she stayed silent, a hint of red popping up in her cheeks as the secretary continued. “Was your nightmare about the stock market failing or being stuck on a Ferris Wheel with your father?”

“Something much worse.” Lydia mumbled, sagging to sit back in her chair and rubbing at her eyes with a wince. That’s right; Lydia was such a business junkie that even her worst nightmares were business related. The gray eyed girl blinked, then made a face; maybe she did need to get out more. She closed her eyes with a sigh and might have allowed herself to drift off for a few moments of sleep to cure the dark circles under her eyes, but there was a sudden, loud, and insistent noise. Lydia started badly at her ring tone and flung a hand towards the source of the sound. Her fingers brushed against a book and she realized she’d just made a terrible, sleep-deprivation-induced mistake. A squeak of objection escaped her as she toppled headfirst to the floor, half of the contents of her desk following her down and landing on her back. Lydia winced as her cell phone clattered centimeters from her nose, staying frozen for a long second of silence just to curse the utter stupidity of what she’d just done. Looking at her still ringing phone wearily, the brunette debated on whether picking up for an unknown number was wise. Eventually she decided she’d better; it could be either Darius or Abram, both of which logic insisted she should talk to as soon as possible.

“Hello?” the girl asked as she held the phone to her ear with one hand and pushed herself up with the other. Click. Lydia blinked and shifted to sit on her knees, papers raining off of her as she looked down at her phone in surprise. Whoever it was had hung up without saying a word. Maybe she’d been too slow to pick up? The young woman sighed; another possibility was that it was just a sign from the universe that she had things to do, so going back to sleep was out of the question. “Oh well; it was a nice thought.” She murmured to herself as she clamored to her feet. Clearly, the first thing she had to do was get dressed. Slipping her cell phone in her pocket, the brunette made her way to a door on the side wall and opened it, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she climbed the flight of stairs that lead to the top floor of the building, her mother’s renovated apartment. The phone rung again and Lydia almost tripped over her own feet; with her heart in her throat again she dug the device out and brought it to her ear. “Hel-” Click. The young woman twitched, then shifted to stare at her phone in disbelief. Was she being pranked? So much for having a secure line! Somebody was fired. Now feeling downright grumpy, Lydia stomped childishly into her apartment and slammed the door shut behind her. The cell phone rang for a third time, Lydia jumped, and then gray eyes narrowed on the phone in suspicion.

“Hello?” she began in irritation that almost immediately dropped from her face as Darius identified himself. “Ah! Darius, I…” the girl stopped herself from apologizing, blinking at his stern, rigid tone. “O-Of course, but…” Click. The human’s jaw dropped, and this time when she stared at her phone it was in disbelief. Darius had hung up on her! It was a bit of a mind numbing concept for her. Had she done something to make Darius angry? Sure, her greeting hadn’t been the most polite, but—Lydia stopped herself; if she started down this trail, she’d just end up driving herself crazy. Besides, it was probably nothing personal; Darius was a busy man, after all, and probably just didn’t have time to say more. He was running his own business, she reminded herself. But she couldn’t help being exasperated; there were so many questions she wanted to ask! Meeting his sister? That was important to their agreement! What sort of woman was Darius’ sister, what would she have to be careful to avoid so as not to offend her? What should she wear? When would Darius arrive? Should she bring a gift? If so, what kind? Should she call Darius back and ask? No; if he was too busy to talk, he was far too busy to take her calls. It was making a good impression; even a newbie like herself should be able to handle such a thing on her own……… right? The human bit her bottom lip, starting as was customary for her when the phone rang but lifting it to her ear without question. “Darius?” she offered hopefully in lieu of proper telephone greeting. A solid click was all that answered her. “I’ll find you, prank caller…” she vowed darkly. “And when I do, you’ll be sorry… oh, but you’ll be sorry.”

Clearly, there was more to do then she’d initially thought. Brow furrowed in a frown, the president in the robe turned on her heel and hurried into her bedroom to change, lists of the million things she had to do to properly prepare to meet Darius’ sister already forming in her mind.

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Ｉ ｓａｉｄ ｎｏ, ｎｏ ｙｏｕ'ｒｅ ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ ｏｎｅ ｆｏｒ ｍｅ!
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▇ location: T H E iR E S T U R A N T XXXXX ▇ mood: O P T I M I S T I CXXXXX ♫ u p b e a t m e l o d y ♫XX
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Only Jacob and Mary seemed to take the vampire’s leaving well. There was much grumbling and snorting of disbelief, but Abram found that he couldn’t help lingering on one particular aspect of the vampire’s warning. Cassey’s smell…

“My head hurts so much right now.” Clyde groaned.

“Yeah… that tends to happen when you try to think.” Alexis grumped in reply.

Abram sighed heavily, closing his eyes. Clearly, the pack had a long, disgruntled evening ahead of it… and the green eyed werewolf was not looking forward to it.



--**-- No chasing the moon tonight, Abram! --**--
(You’ve got an early morning!)


One thing about Abram that the werewolf himself thought was just amazingly awesome was the fact that he was a good sleeper. Any time, any place, the green eyed shape shifter could conk out and sleep with all of the serenity of the fat little cherubs in paintings by the old masters. It meant that he was always rested and relaxed, full of energy and optimism for the day ahead. It also meant that he greatly liked sleep, and that when he wasn’t in a mood to stop sleeping, that there wasn’t much that held relevance for him.

“He’s going to be late.” Mary sighed, shooting a disapproving look to the door behind which her wolf brother lay, content and fast asleep. “Abram!” she called. “Wake up already! You have a job again, remember?” There was no response, and after a moment Mary scrunched her nose in displeasure. Clearly the young werewolf was ignoring her. The motherly creature pouted for half a second before a sly grin curved her lips. Time to try again. “Abram! If you aren’t out the door soon, you’ll be missing out on time with Cassey!”

There was a half second of silence, and then-

“Damn it!” Abram howled as he shoved the door open, stumbling over his own bare feet as he made a beeline for the communal shower. He seemed to neither notice Mary’s discrete giggling nor care overmuch, and the blonde woman was practically aglow at Abram’s rush to get ready. In what seemed like no time flat he was back in the kitchen, hair still damp and cheeks a bit red from a rushed scrubbing, patting her head and stealing a piece of toast off of her plate before making a mad dash for the door.

“Not even in an official relationship yet, and she’s already got him chasing his tail over her.” the woman giggled before returning her attention to her pillaged breakfast.

Abram had absolutely no idea what time it was, but the slant of the sun in the sky seemed to be mocking him, so he settled for a jog that made the humans he passed look after him in irritation. Not that he particularly cared about irritating some pedestrians. It was day two on the job, which was not nearly as important as day two working with Cassey! He beamed widely at the thought, making an old woman he ran by look after him suspiciously. It was a good start to a good day, he could already feel it. Sure, he was running a bit late, and sure, he’d just realized he’d run off without shoes (no wonder moving around had been so convenient!), but he was feeling optimistic about the day before him. This optimism seemed rewarded by that most appreciated of scents and doubled as Cassey’s voice called out to him; the werewolf slowed to a stop and looked in her direction, his eyes brightening.

“Hey, Cassey! Good morning!” he replied as he moved towards her. He grinned at her teasingly at her apology. “Oh, no problem. The pack and I only cried when you left. No big deal.” he chuckled at the mental imagery of Dog getting all teary eyed over the peppy little witch’s leaving, and then focused intently on Cassey. “Thanks…” he trailed off, his spirits lifting even more, if possible. Having a big family, with Cassey… it was a tail wagging moment! Really, it was… right up until she reminded him that she meant with Darius; the werewolf tripped over his own feet so badly that he almost fell. Ah, there it was: the already familiar feeling of the universe making his wooing of Cassey difficult. “T-That guy…” Abram sighed heavily. “He doesn’t seem like the big family sort of guy to… me…” Abram trailed off, his eyes widening as the entering of the restraint brought them the horrifying sight of a certain Gorgon apparently in the process of murdering her vampire husband. “Um… good morning?” he studied Edward for a minute before turning abruptly to Tammy and offering her an approving nod and a double thumbs up. “Atta girl, Tammy. Get ‘im. Whatever he did, he deserved it.”

There were costumes being discussed next, and Abram turned his attention to the little witch in enthusiasm. Every single one of her suggestions seemed to animate itself in his imagination; he could just see her posing in each of her outfits with a cute little wink or a giggle, flowers and sparkling golden lights filling the background just to frame her. Hey, another tail wagging moment! She asked his opinion, and the werewolf furrowed his brow in serious thought, as if the purple eyed girl was asking him to decide the fate of the world or something. On the one hand, she made an adorable cat girl, but on the other hand school girl would be like looking at a window to the past, seeing a glimpse of what little Cassey might have looked like. Oh no! There was no wrong answer! He wanted to see them both! It was a dilemma! Fortunately Cassey didn’t need his input to make a decision, and glided off to change after gigglingly depositing her cat-teacher at his side. This had an interesting effect, as it, for some reason, reminded Abram that he was also expected to be in costume. Huh. Perhaps this is something he should have spent a little bit of time researching.

“Tough luck, kitty.” he said with warmth, ducking to scratch the top of Enzo’s head teasingly before moving to the closet. After some scanning of his memories for some movie he could reference that would be easy he remembered the hoard of werewolves present in the movie Underworld and its spinoffs; had he seen all of those movies, or just parts of them? One? Just commercials? He thought he’d seen one, at least. Maybe. Oh well; the point was that the werewolves wore dark but relatively simple clothing until they got all hairy… which Abram was pretty sure wouldn’t be seen as sanitary for a restaurant environment. It would require wearing shoes, but oh well. Pleased with his (minimal) efforts, Abram snatched things off of hangers and moved quickly to change. It was a quick process, and he was already out and waiting when Cassey returned. His grin widened. “I like, alright. You look adorable.” he reported, having no qualms about being honest. “The skirt suits you.” he just had to point out with a self-important nod. His expression softened at her determination, and he gently squeezed her hand back. It was so small and delicate, that hand… “Yeah, okay…” he murmured as he followed her.

Their first customers of the day caught Abram off guard, and his green eyes widened in surprise. They flicked first to the werewolf that was familiar to him, and his lips set themselves in an easy grin automatically. “Nick… wow. Long time no see.” Abram had always liked Mary’s relations, but this one in particular seemed to have her same gentle spirit. He didn’t get to see Nick too often, for the man had married a vampire… the overly enthusiastic woman at his side? Scent betrayed her as a vampire, sure, but she was so… darn… happy! It was a bit weird. He blinked, then followed the woman’s path around him with interest. If any other vampire had been making those sorts of moves, instinct might have taken it as a threat… but there was just something so open about this woman that it was impossible to. “Ah… you’re Isabella, right?” he asked, hoping against hope that the half-forgotten memory was serving him correctly. He glanced up at Nick for a second, then grinned slightly. “Excitable’s a good word for it… nice to meet you.”

Of course, then the topic turned to his tummy and Abram went still, unsure of how he should react. “Err…” he started a bit uncomfortably, but was cut off by that darn Cassey and her darn ability to make absolutely anything acceptable just by smiling about it. The boost to his ego totally helped as well, and he couldn’t help grinning widely. Darn right he wasn’t as scrawny as first glance suggested! He was a werewolf! Boo-yah, and the like. Clearly, the universe was on his side that day, and this conclusion made him more then a little cocky. So cocky that the mention that the woman was Darius’ sister flew right over his head; he was far too busy snaking his arm around Cassey and leaning his head down to rest against hers with a playful grin. “Remember that girl I’m wooing? The really cute one that I like a lot? She means her.” he affirmed, winking at Isabella and Nick over the witch’s head.

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{ ｓ ｅ ｎ ｔ } ｉｔ ｔｏ ａ ｐｌａｃｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｍｉｄｄｌｅ ｏｆ ｎｏｗｈｅｒｅ
Ｗｉｔｈ ａ ＢＩＧ ＢＬＡＣＫ ＨＯＲＳＥ ａｎｄ ａ ｃｈｅｒｒｙ ｔｒｅｅ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｎｏｗ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｃｏｍｅ ｂａｃｋ, 'ｃａｕｓｅ ｉｔ'ｓ ｏｈ ｓｏ ｈａｐｐｙ
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｎｏｗ Ｉ'ｖｅ ｇｏｔ ａ ｈｏｌｅ ｆｏr ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｌｄ ｔｏ ｓｅｅ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

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Isabella had known Cassandra for some time now. She had always wanted a cute baby sister and Cassey was the perfect substitute. The vampire just needed to cure the witch of her infatuation with a certain blood-sucking brother. Isabella couldn’t very well have her kid sister running after their brother now could she? Granted, they were not blood related, but that didn’t change Isabella from demanding that they should all act like one big happy family. Abram seemed to be the perfect cure for Cassey’s case of infatuation. He was handsome, sweet, and seemed to be keen on wooing the witch. Plus, Mary said he was a good catch. So if Mary said he was a good catch then by golly he was a good catch! Nick let out a small sigh as he watched his wife. He knew exactly what the woman was thinking. She was going to try one of her famous harebrain ideas to get those two together. It was a good thing Nick’s sister wasn’t there. Mary probably would have been right beside Isabella telling the female vampire that superglue was the answer or some other ridiculous notion to.

”Issy…are you?” began Nicolas his eyes showing his clear worry for his wife’s sanity and the sanity of those involved in her latest plan. His comment went ignored as Isabella made her way towards the two. Abram’s little declaration about Cassey being the one he was trying to woo became just the confirmation Isabella needed. Clearly, Abram was subtly asking her for help. Isabella could not very well let Abram’s plea for help go unheard now could she? Nick, of course, would have voice his disagreement with this latest stunt but it was doubtful his vampire wife would listen.

”Wooing? Oh is Abram’s girl around here somewhere?” asked Cassey glancing around the restaurant to see if she could find this mysterious young maiden who seemed to have taken Abram’s heart. Isbaella laughed. This was perfect. Postiviely perfect!

Nick honestly feared the day it was time for his daughter and son to be married off. He could already see his wife scheduling things off. ”Darling, it is a game. You are going to be playing the role of the beautiful princess who is attacked by the cruel evil werewolf.” said the woman causing Cassey to tilt her head sideways. The werewolf standing behind Isabella groaned as he watched his wife turn the opened sign to closed.

”A game? What sort of game? I like games! Wait…I get to be a princess?” asked Cassey taking a step towards Isabella. Her hands folded together as she gave the woman a thoughtful expression.

”Issy, are you sure about this?” Nick couldn’t help but ask before his wife dismissed his plea with the twist of her delicate wrist. Yeah. She was sure about it alright. Which meant Nick stood little chance against her. When that woman set her mind to something it was doubtful she would change it.

”The game is called The Love of a Vampire.” she said causing Nick to groan and Tammy to snicker in the back. ”It’s sort of like a play.” she explained to the curious witch. ”It’s an old vampire story about a vampire who fell in love with a witch, but this beast of a werewolf came along and tried to claim her for his own.” she said causing Cassey’s eyes to radiate with joy as she pictured Darius. ”Hm, since all of the other men in this establishment are married. I suppose Abram will have to play our hero. Come on Abram to the closet!” she said grabbing the boy by his shirt collar dragging him off.

”What sort of play is this?” asked Cassey as she looked up at Nick. The werewolf sighed as he looked down at the cute little girl.

”Well, basically it’s a game that vampires play as children. At least that is what Isabella always tells me. One person plays the hero, one person plays the evil werewolf, and one person plays the princess. Basically the vampire was in love with this princess and she with him. However, this monstrous wolf comes along and claims her. Locking the girl up in a tower. Depending on the game you play, this wolf usually performs black magic to make himself look like the vampire to trick the girl into thinking that the vampire doesn’t love her….or something along those lines.” he said placing his index finger against the side of his lip. ”It’s a bit racist if you ask me, but I suppose us wolves have similar stories. Anyways, the werewolf and vampire battle it out. Naturally, the vampire wins and runs to save his dearly beloved. However, she gets frighten and thinks that he is the evil wolf who has locked her up in the tower. So he chases her until he finally catches her. Once he catches her he bites her neck reminding her of all the times they shared.” explained Nick.

While Nick explained the story, Isabella was looking through the clothes. ”Here we go! You will look like a vampire in this!” she said handing him the clothes. ”Hurry up and change so that we can get started! I will be setting up the front!” she teased skipping off to the front. ”NICK! Let out your ears! That way you can play the evil wolf. The tower shall be this section of the restaurant oh and Tammy you can play the dragon!”

”Issy is a bit creative. She’s a writer.”

”Thanks for making ME the dragon Is.” mocked Tammy as she leaned against the counter to watch them.

”I don’t understand why the wolf-boy is playing the vampire. Shouldn’t a vampire play it?”

”Oh what? Are YOU trying to get freaky with the witch?” threatened the gorgon causing Edward to retract his comment. Enzo popped out of Cassey’s bag and stretched slightly. He was still in his cat form as he lifted a kitty eyebrow. Usually, he would have stopped such nonsense, but to be honest he wanted to see how this would pan out.

”Alright everyone! Here is our handsome Vampire Prince!” laughed Isabella as she held her arms out to present Abram as soon as she saw the boy coming out from the changing area. The boy was dressed up like a vampire causing Cassey to clap her hands.

”Don’t you look handsome?” asked Cassey.

”Alright Abram! First you must battle Nick! I moved all of the tables and such. Oh and because you are playing the vampire I have decided you will get a promotion. Don’t worry, I’m EXTREMELY close to the owner so I will make sure he gives you one.” directed Isabella causing Nick to sigh. ”You are the werewolf! Battle! I believe in you.” she cheered from the sidelines.

Nick shrugged before popping his shoulders back. He may not have looked it, but Nick could pack quite a punch. Back in his youth, he was known for his speed and biting jaw. His tail was out as he hunched over. No, this wasn’t an actual fight. It was more like practice. ”Go easy on an old man Abram.” he teased as Cassey sat on the sidelines with Isabella.

”Go Abram!” she said clapping her hands as her feet swayed back and forth. ”Abram is the one I am supposed to cheer for right?” she asked causing both Isabella and Tammy to eagerly nod their heads yes.

Isabella’s attention was taken as her phone began to ring. ”Hello? Oh hey you…Yeah we’re at your place. Nick is coming with us for lunch…Of COURSE he is coming! He barely has time off an- Careful boys.” she directed as her husband went flying into one of the tables. ”Oh we’re just playing a game. By the way I gave Abram a promotion!...Why not? His stomach is has hard as a rock! Plus he is your only werewolf. Now are you coming or not?” she demanded crossing her legs as she spoke. ”I love you big brother…SAY IT AGAIN! THIS TIME WITH LOVE! No, it is not enough! You have to say it like you mean it. Like you WANT to do it. Why are you yelling at me?...is your girlfriend with you? Hurry up!” she scolded rolling her eyes as she hung up. When she finished her phone call, her husband was on the ground breathing slightly hard.

”Aww you look so cute like that!”

”I’m starting to think you are a sadist…” groaned Nick as his wife helped him. ”Your brother is gonna kill me.” he whined, but his wife seemed to pay little mind to it.

”Oh he is not. If he were going to kill you, he would have done it already. Alright! Abram it is now time for you to catch Cassey….Cassey RUN!” she said causing the witch to bounce off of the area she was sitting on. The girl darted forward in hopes of getting away.

”Abram seems happy. You know I am going to have to take a picture of this to give to others. They won’t believe he willingly dressed up like a vampire unless I show them.” teased Nick.

”Oh I am WAY ahead of you.” said his wife who was taking snap shots. ”These will be perfect to show their children.” she said fondly causing Nick to roll his eyes.

”You can’t catch me.” she teased sticking her tongue out as she stood on the other side of the restaurant. She ducked and slid under Abram’s arm causing him to miss her by a single inch. Cassey was just about to take another turn when Abram caught her causing a fit of giggles to leave her lips.

”Now you have to bite her!” teased Isabella taking a picture of Abram holding the laughing Cassey. ”Oh Mary is going to floor when she sees this!” she said before the door opened. ”Aw here comes Mr. Buzzkill.” she pouted.

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Ⓣⓗⓔ Ⓓⓘⓢⓣⓐⓝⓣ Ⓑⓛⓞⓞⓓⓢⓤⓒⓚⓔⓡ

This had to be the most ridiculous situation Darius had ever had the misfortune to be in. He was a fully-grown man. He had been on dates before. He was by no means uneducated in the realm of women. So why in the world was this so difficult? His eyes narrowed as he glared at the phone sitting in the center of his desk. His hands were behind his back as he walked around it. ”I will conquer you phone call! I will.” he said slamming his fist against the desk. His assistant flushed slightly as she watched her boss interrogate a phone. She coughed causing Darius to swing around with blushing cheeks to match her own. ”Hello Molly.” he said brushing his fingers through his short dark hair clearing the blush away.”Just ah leave the paper work on the side there…yeah right there. Um here I’ll just grab it.” he said snatching the papers from her. ”Molly.” he called stopping her from leaving. ”May I ask you something?”

”Anything sir. What’s on your mind?” she asked sitting down on his couch. She could tell by his body language that this was going to be a rather lengthy conversation.

”Well you see…there is this woman. And I like her a lot. We are dating, but I am not sure if I should call her. How would you feel if a man called you this soon? Am I being too forward? Usually, I understand what to do but this girl is different. So different.” he said his eyes having flashes of Lydia’s gray eyes.

Molly gave a thoughtful expression before nodding her head. ”Do you want my honest opinion sir?” she asked as Darius quickly nodded his head. ”It is very sweet that you are this attached to the young woman, but maybe it might be best to not…scare her off? Take it slow?” she offered causing Darius to nod his head. Molly was positively correct.

”You’re right…now I have another question. Should I pick up Isabella before I pick up Lydia? Or after?”

”AFTER!” she shouted as she jumped off of the seat she was sitting in. Darius took a step back as he watched the little lady fix herself. ”Well I mean…your sister is nice, but you should really prepare the young woman for your sister’s…eagerness?” she questioned the last word as if to make sure that it was an appropriate word. Darius nodded slightly indicating that the word she used was just fine. ”Is that all sir?” she asked as Darius nodded his head and walked towards his window. He could do this!

The next couple of hours seems to last a lifetime. And this was coming from a creature who had already lived through more than one lifetime. Sure there were things to be done and people to meet, but all Darius could think about was that gray-eyed Beauty. His head rested against his wrist as he flipped through his paperwork. French. Maid. Costume. His cheeks flushed. ”No! Focus! You only have an hour left!” he scolded himself as he held a determined expression.

Darius was never the first one out of his corporate office. In fact, he usually ate lunch in his office but not today. ”Molly, hold my calls.” he said walking out of his office. The secretary looked confused as her eyes followed her boss.

”Y…You’re leaving!?” she asked as she felt her pulse to make sure she wasn’t dead. Darius nodded as he marched out of the building. ”Angie….did hell just freeze over?” asked Molly her eyes showing that this was a legitimate question. Everyone in the office was silent for a minute or two as they exchanged looks. ”Um well…back to work people!” declared the girl, which only seemed to start the gossip train.

The vampire was blissfully unaware of the happenings at his office. All he really cared about was that he was going to see Lydia. He had a sheepish grin as he rubbed his chin. He kept replaying what he would say and do. Maybe he was going a bit too early? He glanced at his watch. Well, technically this was his lunch break. Besides, Lydia was a business-junkie maybe she would delight in his promptness?

Shoving those thoughts out of his mind, the vampire walked into the building that held his sweet little angel. Darius was sporting one of his nicer suits and had even fixed his hair. He looked devilishly handsome as he took long strides to the woman sitting at the front desk. Her name was Olivia? He wasn’t completely sure. He had only ever talked to her over the phone. ”Hello…are you Olivia?” he asked with his hands behind his back. His expression was light and airy. He needed to keep it casual. If he remembered correctly this woman had known Lydia since she was a child.

”I am Darius Constantine. You may know me from our long conversations over the phone.” he said with a light joke. Why couldn’t talking to Lydia be this easy? Oh that was right. The girl had those captivating eyes. He paused as he listened to the other speak. ”A meeting with the board? I see…well may I wait over there until she is finished?” he asked as he watched the shock woman nod. It was rare that a man such as Darius was directed to wait for someone.

The vampire practically owned this town and yet there he was patiently waiting. His legs were crossed as he leaned back in his chair. He could hear the faint whispers of some of Lydia’s employees discussing the vampire’s appearance and who he could possibly be. His eyes moved towards them before looking away. An hour passed before Lydia finally walked out of the meeting room with the rest of that board of directors. Standing, Darius brushed himself off.

The man knocked his shoes against the floor to make it look as if he hadn’t waited an entire hour. Most of the employees were already taking bets on how long it would take before he left. ”Good afternoon Ly.” he said causing some of the employees to mouth the name Ly to one another. ”How did your meeting go?” he asked instantly touching her cheek in a delicate lover’s manner.

”Are you ready for lunch?” he asked which only seemed to confuse the others all the more. Lunch? As in a meeting lunch? However, judging by how close Darius was standing they all began to doubt that any business would be getting done during that lunch. ”No, I wasn’t waiting long.” he quickly lied to avoid any awkward apologizes. More than one girl let out a lover’s sigh as they heard the man lie. Darius seemed to be collecting hearts left and right with his charm and pose. ”Is that your Board of Directors?” he asked looking at the group of men who looked all too eager to meet Darius as many were in this town. In the business world, getting a private meeting with Darius was comparable to getting a private meeting with one of the Beatles. The man simply did not meet with people. ”I would love to be formally introduce, however, my lunch break only lasts for so long my dear. Maybe next time.” he said waving the others off.

There was nothing the board could say or do. Darius had spoken last. The last thing the Board wanted to do was get on the vampire’s bad side. His hand pressed against the small of Lydia’s back as he led her outside. He held the door opened and followed behind her. ”I hope you don’t mind me coming in to pick you up?” he questioned rubbing the back of his neck. ”I just figured now would be a perfect time to surprise you.” he explained before pulling out his cell phone. ”I’m just going to call my sister to see where she is.” he explained touching the talking part as he spoke to Lydia. ”Where are you?...wait Nick? Why does Nick have to come? I know…but…Izzy what are you doing? You can’t give someone a promotion! I don’t care if his stomach is as hard as a -…Well yes, I can see how that would be very ben- I-….We’ll meet you there. Please just try – Yeah, I love you too. What do you mean you want me to say it again? I said it ONCE didn’t I? I said I love you? What exactly do you want me to do? No, I’m not yelling at y- Yes she is….Just we’re meeting you there.” he grumbled before finally hanging up. ”My sister. She’s a bit…eccentric.” explained Darius looking back towards Lydia.

”They are at my restaurant. I suppose now would be as good as any time for you to meet my….brother-in-law.” he grumbled out the word. Clear stress lines were forming as he thought about that blonde-haired fellow. The walk towards his restaurant had to be Darius’s favorite part of the day. It was so nice to be around someone sane. Too bad that sanity flew straight out the window as soon as he walked into the door. ”WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!? he asked as he watched Abram about to take a bite out of a giggling Cassey.

The woman had thought that it would be a bright idea to play a little game. It was all her master plan to get Abram and Cassey together forever! ”Darius, Darius, Darius. Isn’t it CLEAR what we are doing. We are playing vampire!” said the giddy girl.

”I’m the victim!” said Cassey as she pulled away from Abram’s arms. ”Basically, it is this really dramatic tale about a vampire and witch! Abram was the vampire and he caught me. Which means that he had to drink my blood! It is so much fun!” she said causing Isabella to nod in agreement. Darius rubbed his temples. Just great. Now his sister was helping that dog take advantage of Cassandra.

”Issy, how many times MUST I tell you. You cannot just close down shop every single time you feel like playing a game.” he scolded before being shoved out of the way.

”Is this her? Oh my! She is positively breathtaking! Look at those eyes! They are gray and perfect!” she said holding onto Lydia’s hands. Darius hissed slightly causing his sister to slap him in the chest. ”Stop being such a baby. Lydia right? Have you met my husband?” Nicolas! Nicolas! Nicolas!” she demanded.

The man was flustered as he walked towards Lydia. He had a pair of blonde doggy ears on top of his head as he scratched behind them. ”I was the werewolf…You know to add drama in the mix.” he said. ”Oh I know you. I met you when I was visiting my sister Mary!” he said all smiles while Darius rolled his eyes. Today had gone from wonderful to awful in the course of about ten minutes.











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[Lady March Hare]

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ｍｙ
ｈｅａｒｔ ｈｉｔ ａ ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ { ｅ ａ ｒ ｌ ｙ } ｈｏｕｒｓ,
Ｓｏ Ｉ ｓｔｏｐｐｅｄ ｉｔ ｄｅａｄ ｆｏｒ ａ ｂｅａｔ ｏｒ ｔｗｏ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｂｕｔ Ｉ ＣＵＴ ｓｏｍｅ ｃｏｒｄ (ａｎｄ Ｉ ｓｈｏｕｌｄｎ'ｔ ｈａｖｅ ｄｏｎｅ ｉｔ)
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｆｏｒｇｉｖｅ ｍｅ ａｆｔｅｒ ａｌｌ ｔｈｅｓｅ ｙｅａｒｓ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

▇ location: H O M E XXXXX ▇ mood: * s i g h * XXXXX ♫ q u i e t m e l o d y ♫XX
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The ticking of the clock on the wall seemed so loud that it echoed in the conference room Lydia found herself in. Sitting at the head of a wooden oval table littered with careful stacks of paper and untouched glasses of water, the brunette kept her face blank and her eyes stern as she scanned the faces belonging to the members of the Board of Directors. Stiff old people in expensive suits and haughty with the sense of entitlement, every face was turned towards her, some with expressions that might look concerned to the untrained eye. They were waiting for her to speak in response to their proposition, but they already knew what she was going to say. It was all just a game they had to put on, that she had to put on, to maintain the ruse of civility.

“While I appreciate the concern behind your suggestion, it is completely unnecessary.” Lydia said calmly, lacing her fingers together in her lap. “I am confident not only in my ability to properly run this company, but in my ability to look after my own safety. So no, I will not be relinquishing any of my control in this company, not even to people as capable as yourselves.”

“Your work ethic is admirable.” The man closest to her, the speaker for the group, said with a sardonic smile. His dark eyes stayed locked on hers, and he spoke smoothly. “And, of course, we would never force the issue. However, since your dear mother has left this world and you without guidance, we feel a sort of responsibility to look after you. Think of this as… fatherly concern, Miss. Fabien.”

“That’s President Fabien.” she corrected, making a face despite herself. The suit had chosen the wrong descriptive word for the Board of Directors, and that was for sure. “And again, thank you, but it is unnecessary.”

“Ah, a slip of the tongue… I’m so used to thinking of you as a child.” The man chuckled his lie, shifting to sit back in his chair as he continued. “Well, it probably is. But we can’t be too careful. You’ve been far to high-profile since you took over your mother’s position… there are more dangers then you could even begin to fathom around every corner, just waiting for the opportunity to take you down. We just thought it would be best to remind you of this fact... as a friendly sort of warning.”

Lydia lifted an eyebrow, staring back at the man steadily. He was smiling and comfortable, but she knew a veiled threat when she saw it. It was about time; Lydia knew the Board would be making a nuisance of themselves sooner or later, and it was good that she was able to see it coming. She could plan for something she saw coming. A smile of her own twitched across her lips. This game was a tricky one indeed.

Outside of the heated discussion in the boardroom, Olivia sat serenely at her desk, her elderly face placid as she typed away on her computer. She had handled all of the rather strange requests Lydia had given her that morning, and was now setting herself to scheduling again. Really, the young president was going to be breathing by Olivia’s schedules if she didn’t watch herself. The secretary was so into her work that Darius’ words came as a surprise; the woman’s eyes snapped to the vampire in surprise. “Oh! Mr. Constantine…” she began in surprise; she recognized the voice from telephone conversations, but his appearance seemed to leave her stunned for a brief minute before she caught herself. “Of course, of course. Very nice to see you in person, sir. I assume you’re here to meet with President Fabien?” she asked. “I’m sorry, sir, but she’s in a meeting with the Board of Directors at the moment. Ah… of course, sir. Please, make yourself comfortable. If there’s anything I can get for you, please let me know right away.” The elderly woman watched the vampire move away and hesitated, tempted to send Lydia a text message to let her know that such an important man was here. Surely the gray eyed girl would want to know immediately! But no, Lydia kept her cell phone off during board meetings, and she had made it sternly apparent that she was not to be interrupted during this meeting for any reason short of death.

An hour passed before the door opened and Lydia emerged with a heavy sigh. The last hour hadn’t been pleasant. Let’s just say that she was glad there weren’t watering holes around anymore, because if there were she was pretty sure it would be poisoned sometime soon. She prowled directly to her secretary’s desk, rubbing at her temples. “Any messages, Olivia?” she sighed as she paused before the other woman’s desk.

“No, ma’am.” Olivia answered, clearing her throat and glancing towards Darius. “But there is..."

“Hm?” Lydia turned in the direction that seemed to be getting a lot of attention not only from her secretary, but from a large portion of her staff and blinked, surprised. “Darius?” gray eyes blinked, then widened as she moved towards him. Damn! How long had he been here?!? Olivia was clearly fired again, and Lydia made a mental note to prepare a detailed list of Darius-related instructions for her. “My meeting… yes, it went fine.” she murmured, looking up at him with a small frown. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here already. You weren’t waiting long, were you?” she asked, concerned. His answer seemed to invoke quite the reaction, and the young woman glanced to the side at her staff, seeming only then to remember that they were being watched. And by the Board of Directors, no less. Well, that was a downright heartwarming rediscovery; after all of the crap they had been giving her and their smug assurances that they had a strong handle on her life, it was uplifting to watch the surprise flicker in their eyes. She might even start skipping when she was alone. “Yes, that’s them… but of course. Some other time, then.” she said dismissively before giving him a small, warm smile that sent the jaws of several of her employees dropping to the floor. “I’ve made you wait long enough already… let’s go.”

Yes, it was downright difficult not to skip as they exited. Lydia made only one stop by the front desk to pick up a pretty bouquet of flowers wrapped in crisp white paper, which the young woman studied critically before pulling them to her chest. She looked at Darius a bit guardedly over the top of them as if warning him not to laugh at her, trying her hardest not to look like a little kid as she explained. “I wanted to get your sister something… I hope she likes flowers.”

The sun and the breeze were a welcome relief, and a true smile lit her lips at his words. A soft giggle escaped her. “Mind? I could kiss you for it.” she said dreamily, replaying the looks of the Board members’ faces over in her mind again. It was decided: that moment was going in the precious memories section of her brain. “It certainly was a surprise… if for no other reason then because you seemed to have wooed my staff with ease. It took me ages to get on their good side.” she added looking up at him with a playful smile. She tilted her head to the side, then nodded as Darius turned his attention to his phone, shamelessly eavesdropping. What? It was gathering data for meeting Darius’ sister, wasn’t it? The sight of the phone also reminded the girl of the man at her side’s strange call that morning and she studied him openly before carefully dismissing it. He seemed happy enough with her now; it must have really been just because he was busy. “Eccentric?” she asked, looking away as she fought back a smile. She could tell just by her shameless eavesdropping that Darius and his sister were close, that he was able to relax with her. It was always fun for her to watch siblings interact. “I see.” she murmured. So she would be meeting his brother-in-law as well? It was like a two for one sale. A serious expression came to her face and she nodded, apparently deep in concentration. “I look forward to meeting them both. Please tell me as much about them as you can. I want to make sure I don’t offend them or embarrass you; I tried to research your sister this morning, but I had absolutely no luck digging anything up on her. Your work, I assume.” she cut her eyes at him, unapologetic about her wanton snooping, and almost smiled before continuing. “Make it up to me by briefing me on everything I should know?” she concluded, back in business mode.

They were within sight of the restaurant sooner then Lydia would have liked, and the little human hugged the flowers to her as she studied it a bit nervously. Not that she would have admitted such a thing aloud, but she was nervous despite herself. Lydia was in a habit of automatically assuming every vampire she knew had already had a lifetime of worldly experience despite their appearances, and the idea of making some sort of flub to this vampire who was so close to Darius was almost as nerve-wracking as the thought of doing the same to the handsome vampire himself. They ducked inside, and Lydia’s concerns were almost immediately forgotten in the face of the strangeness they happened upon. Which appeared to be Abram in the act of biting Cassey dramatically on the neck. It was such a bizarre sight that the girl didn’t react at all beyond a prolonged, blank stare. What was going on here..?

“Abram… whaaa..?” she finally started in disbelief. Had she thought ahead, Lydia would have thought her reunion with Abram after their little spat would have been awkward, but she didn’t feel that way at all. There were too many disbelieving looks to shoot to feel awkward, apparently. And the eagerness she saw in Abram's wrapping his arms around the pretty little witch refused to be bypassed or ignored as well. “You’re playing what?”

There wasn’t much time to seek elaboration, for the female vampire was suddenly clutching at her hand, making the human look at her with wide eyes for a long second. Remembering herself, Lydia turned a bit pink and cleared her throat, nodding at the woman’s question. “Yes, I’m Lydia Fabien. Nice to meet you… Isabella?” she asked just to make sure, then shifted to press the flowers into the woman’s arms. “These are for you… I wasn’t sure what sort of flowers you’d like best, so I hope these will do.” the awkward little president said with a businesslike nod, shooting the flowers a stern look as if warning them that if they didn’t make themselves as impressive as possible they’d have her to answer to. To their credit, the flowers made themselves as presentable as they were able. Darius' brother-in-law stepped forward and Lydia looked at him in interest, surprise flicking across her features when she realized that she recognized this man. And, even if she hadn't, she'd have recognized what those ears atop his head meant; she'd seen them often enough to know, for sure.

“Oh!” she spoke in open surprise, then quickly corrected herself. Darius' sister had married a werewolf? Certainly the brunette hadn't been expecting that. “Yes... I remember you. We met at her son's birthday party, I think.” she continued quickly. “Nick, right? Mary talks about you all the time, complaining because you don't visit enough.” she reported matter-of-factly, then slowly grinned. “I'm sorry, Nick, but I didn't bring you any flowers. I hope you can forgive me.” she apologized before cutting her eyes a bit reproachfully at Darius. She knew she probably should have been expecting the unexpected, but she had never thought about the brother-in-law Darius had been so reluctant to talk about being Nick. The young woman scanned her brain, trying to see where she should have put two and two together earlier. She knew Nick had married a vampire... but it was presented to her as such a rare occurrence that she was often guilty of thinking that this was just a joke, told as an excuse for why the werewolf mode such infrequent showings. She blushed a bit at the realization that she had, somehow, completely fooled herself in that respect and scratched at her cheek sheepishly. “A-And I hope you've been well since the last time we talked.” she added a bit quickly.

▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇▇i▇i▇i▇i▇i▇i▇i▇i▇i▇i▇iiＡADNｎｄi▇i▇i▇i▇i▇i▇i▇ii▇i▇i▇i▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇
Ｉ ｓａｉｄ ｎｏ, ｎｏ ｙｏｕ'ｒｅ ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ ｏｎｅ ｆｏｒ ｍｅ!
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▇ location: T H E iR E S T U R A N T XXXXX ▇ mood: I M P I S HXXXXX ♫ u p b e a t m e l o d y ♫XX
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Abram sighed dramatically, but couldn’t help grinning as Cassey looked around for the lady love she apparently thought he had stashed somewhere. The girl’s trusting innocence was just adorable, and he clearly wasn’t the only one that was amused by it. The werewolf felt absolutely no shame or embarrassment at the fact that a simple glance at the two of them laid his intentions bare; Abram just wasn’t that sort of guy, and if he was after something there was really no use in being subtle, and therefore no use in getting sheepish by being found out. He wondered idly just how he was going to get Cassey to realize that it was her that he had been talking about; the green eyed boy felt that even looking her dead in the eye and telling her directly would be misconstrued somehow. If, for no other reason, because the girl was so over the moon about Darius; the vampire served as the veritable shield for her feelings since she was just positive that she and Darius were meant to be together. Oh well, that only meant he’d have to try harder, which he was completely willing to do. Of course, Abram was also going to have the ‘help’ of Isabella and Mary on his side… but he, perhaps blissfully, didn’t know it yet.

“Game?” he questioned, making no move to remove his arm from around Cassey’s shoulders. Hey, he was comfortable and wasn’t going to relinquish his hold unless he absolutely had to. Only when Cassey stepped closer to Isabella curiously did he let his arm fall. Fortunately, there was something afoot to distract him. A single brow lifted, and Abram cocked his head to the side as he listened to the vampire woman explain the concept of the story. So she wanted him to play an angry werewolf? Well, he could be as overly dramatic as… wait. Wait just a minute. Hero? “Whoa-wait-what?!” he stammered as the delighted vampire woman dragged him away. He supposed he could have tried to pull away, but instinct was warning him that this woman was going to get her way if she had to drag him kicking and screaming to do it. And since it was often mentioned that he did have dignity of some sort, Abram followed her into the closet with a bemused smile. “So you’re making me play the vampire? Me?” he asked just to make sure as the woman shoved the costume into his arms. At her confirmation he couldn’t help laughing. “Alright, alright… but remember you brought it on yourself if I don’t make a good vampire!” he chuckled as he moved to change.

“I feel so dirty…” he whined just to be dramatic as he emerged in his new costume. “What would my poor old mother say if she could see me now?” His mother wasn’t that old and she certainly wasn’t dead, so there was no reason to refer to her that way other then to amuse the werewolf, and he padded towards the others with an emerging grin. However, his expression turned disbelieving at the woman’s next words. “I’m getting a what because of what?” Clearly, it was a day for dramatic questioning.

Well, it was obvious that there was no getting out of Isabella’s game, and Abram scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. The vampiric woman had literally taken over the restaurant and was bending all of the employees to her will with ease, but despite this he might have slipped away and avoided the play if it weren’t for one reason and one reason only. Cassey had a sparkle in her eye, and even though the girl was usually smiling he could tell that she was excited about the prospects of this game. The fact that she would be playing his love interest didn’t hurt either. It was amazing, he supposed, how quickly the little witch had gotten him wrapped around her little finger without either effort or knowledge of the power she held over him. He’d have had a good long laugh at himself if he had been having this realization alone but, since he wasn’t, he grinned good-naturedly and moved to face Nick.

“I can’t promise you dis. I vant to suck your blood!” he replied in a terrible attempt at his best Transylvanian accent. Sparing he was used to, and despite the game Abram always looked forward to a little horseplay. Besides, it’d been ages since he went a playful round with Nicolas, who was a force to be reckoned with before he went and got all responsible and settled down. Not that that life change ever really resulted in a lack of fighting prowess, but it was a fun point to tease around. A wicked grin stretched his lips as they began their mock fight, Abram’s quick movements leading him to quickly send the poor Nick flying. “Bwahah… oh, wait.” he stopped himself thoughtfully, tapping his chin. “I keep forgetting that I’m the good guy here, so I should probably say something like-” he was cut off as he was tackled off his feet, hitting the floor with a grunt and a laugh. A few more minutes and Abram crouched down next to Nick, studying him for a second before chuckling. “You all right, Nick? We need to spar more often… that was fun!” he insisted with a nod.

Rocking to his feet, Abram studied Isabella and Nick’s reactions as the woman helped her husband to his feet. Sure, Abram knew that his views on vampires were often more skewed to the negative than not, but he was still surprised at how the two interacted. So vampires and werewolves could get along, at least on the small scale, huh? They could even survive (for the most part) being married; perhaps there was hope for their two species after all. He turned the idea over in his head thoughtfully for a moment, then dismissed it; he was going to marry a witch anyway, so he didn’t have to worry about thinking about the vampire/werewolf marriage dynamic overmuch. Speaking of the spunky little witch…

“Catch Cassey?” Abram grinned impishly before turning the spell caster’s way. “On it!” he delighted in reporting as he moved after the witch. There was really no reason to use anything even near his top speed, but Cassey was a nimble little thing and required concentration. At her teasing he laughed and called after her, “I could if you’d stop moving!” Cassey ducked under his arm and Abram moved quickly, snaking his arm around her waist from behind and pulling her to his chest, quickly wrapping his free arm around her shoulders so that she couldn’t slip away. Her frame settled against his perfectly, just like he’d known it would, and he hugged the giggling girl to him in obvious delight. “Gotcha!” he said with satisfaction.

“Bite her? Oh yeah… I’m supposed to be a vampire. I keep forgetting.” he said without shame, tweaking her nose before tilting her head to the side with her chin. This game was certainly working out to his advantage, and the urge to bury his face against her neck where her scent was strongest was almost overwhelming. He lowered his lips to her neck, actually greatly looking forward to her reaction to this particular part of their play, but stilled when Darius bellowed in their direction. He was so tempted to let out a diabolical ‘bwahah’ and bite her anyway… but it wasn’t the day to be antagonistic. The universe was in a good mood! So instead he pressed a small, discrete kiss against the skin of Cassey’s neck before allowing her to pull away from him, attempting to look as innocent as he was capable as he looked up to see Darius… and Lydia.

“Oh… hey.” he said as the human glanced his way after greeting Nick and Isabella. “I’m a vampire.” he explained.

“Ah. I see.” Lydia lied flatly without missing a beat. Abram grinned; the spat between them was either forgotten or doomed to be ignored. He could live with that. He didn't want to be battling with his best friend... he needed her on his side to help figure out how best to woo Cassey. Girls knew all about that stuff, didn't they? Of course they did; Abram had seen the movies: girls went to bathrooms and just spent all sorts of time bonding. That was what he needed, sneaky girl bonding gossip. With that, distracting Cassey from Darius long enough to woo her would be a snap! Abram was absolutely positive that this was true.

“It's a play. By her,” he pointed to Isabella, “Or something. If Cassey would just get back over here, we could show you how it ends.” he explained impishly, as if he knew how the story was supposed to end in the first place. Really, the werewolf was just looking for an excuse to snuggle Cassey again. Silly werewolf.

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{ ｓ ｅ ｎ ｔ } ｉｔ ｔｏ ａ ｐｌａｃｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｍｉｄｄｌｅ ｏｆ ｎｏｗｈｅｒｅ
Ｗｉｔｈ ａ ＢＩＧ ＢＬＡＣＫ ＨＯＲＳＥ ａｎｄ ａ ｃｈｅｒｒｙ ｔｒｅｅ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｎｏｗ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｃｏｍｅ ｂａｃｋ, 'ｃａｕｓｅ ｉｔ'ｓ ｏｈ ｓｏ ｈａｐｐｙ
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｎｏｗ Ｉ'ｖｅ ｇｏｔ ａ ｈｏｌｅ ｆｏr ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｌｄ ｔｏ ｓｅｅ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

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Nick had forgotten how much fun it could be to just play around with another wolf. It had been about six months since he had seen the others. It wasn’t that the blonde wolf didn’t want to visit, but time and time again he found himself busy with his own affairs. Besides, it was the wolves’ section of society vampires weren’t exactly accepted with opened arms. Of course Mary and his best friend / brother-in-law Jacob had grown to accept their vampire relative, but that didn’t mean the others were nearly as welcoming. Isabella understood this situation as well as her husband understood it. Although, she may have had a few screws in that strange mind of hers, she still understood how society worked. She didn’t step on Nick’s turf just as Nick didn’t step on hers. It was a mutual understanding the two had come to accept. The only time they worried about the separation was when it came to their children. ”I think I should win based on how horribly bad your accent is.” mocked the other.

The werewolf mentally prepared himself before he went sailing across the room. Her rubbed the back of his neck as he yanked himself into a standing position. Jacob wasn’t lying when he said this kid had grown into quite the fighter. Jumping forward, he knocked the other wolf to the ground. The two continued their little rumble before finally Abram pushed the other successfully on his back. ”We really do.” laughed the older of the two. ”I’m still breathing so I’m fine.” he reassured.

”Yes, catch Cassey!” directed Isabella already beaming with delight. This was positively perfect. They were chasing after each other. ”Isn’t this just wonderful Nick?” she asked, but somehow Nick found it difficult to be as happy about this situation as his wife clearly was. Her smile only continued to grow when Abram successfully wrapped his arms around Cassey.

Cassandra felt a sound pulse through her entire self as Abram held her close. There was even a hint of blush forming as she stared up at him. ”It’s because he is dressed like a vampire.” she reminded herself as she giggled at his touch. She shut her eyes as she got ready for his bite, but the bite never came. Instead she felt a very faint kiss against her neck. ”It really was a wonderful play.” agreed an eager witch.

”No. Just no. No one is finishing this play.” hissed before his sister acted like…well his sister.

In the course of about five minutes, the vampire not only took out her husband, but she had also thrown Abram through the side window. ”That boy has horrible luck.” said the gorgon as she watched him sail. ”Don’t worry boss. We’ll clean this up!” she called with a wave as she watched Cassey run off towards the fallen Abram.

”Abram? How you doing buddy?” she asked tweaking his nose slightly just to make sure he was still alive. When he didn’t respond, her eyes became weary. ”Abram? Abram?” she continued to question before dropping her head against her chest. ”Oh no! I think he needs mouth to mouth!” she said looking towards Tammy who was already picking things up along side her own husband.

The gorgon lifted her eyebrow as she looked at Abram. ”Are you SURE he needs mouth to mouth Cassey?” she asked handing Edward a broom. ”I love Isabella I really do, but does she always have to make such a mess?” she whined rubbing the back of her neck.

”What else could he need? I mean look at him!” said Cassey big tears forming in those large eyes of hers. ”Poor Abram! He was so young.” she said hugging onto his body. ”I shall take it upon myself to give him mouth to mouth!” she said her hand forming into a determined fist. The gorgon grabbed the broom from her husband and made her way to the two little lovebirds. Before Cassey could place her lips on the dog’s, Tammy had lifted the broom up and slammed it hard against the boy.

”Ouch.” said Edward shutting his eyes at the scene. ”Glad I’m not him.” he said laughing while he continued to clean.

”Abram?” questioned Cassey as she watched the boy jump up. ”Abram!” she repeated before wrapping her arms around him before quickly letting go. ”You are alive! Yey! I’m so happy.” she said her hands clapping as she heard the snickering sound of her kitty giggling.

”Yeah, yeah, yeah loverbirds. As much as I find you two to be as cute as a well kitty-cat and puppy-dog, we have cleaning to do.” she said tossing the broom to Abram. ”Hurry up.” she said walking inside. ”She really does know how to make a scene doesn’t she?” she noted as Edward nodded. ”You two may want to change. We still have to keep up appearances. Abram you get into the butler outfit, Cassey the maid. Edward you also get into the other butler outfit.” she said wrapping her hair up.

”You are going to try to make money from this aren’t you?” asked Edward watching his crafty wife who smirked back at him.

”Naturally.” said the gorgon as she turned the closed sign to open. She walked towards the white board and began to write something. Edward tilted his head to see what she had written. ”Today you will experience a new journey my dear customers. Instead of eating of just eating, for a mere $5 extra dollars per person you will be able to see your favorite employees on a more personal level.” she read causing her husband to shake his head.

”I doubt anyone is going to-“ he stopped his comment as he saw two human girls reading the sign.

”Wait…personal level? What do you mean by personal level?” asked the girl as she looked towards Tammy who smirked at her husband.

”To think I thought it was your food that brought in the customers.” he muttered.

”Nope, now go get changed.” she said dismissing the vampire along with Abram and Cassey. ”Let me take you to your seat.” she said leading the way past the damage. ”You see, your castle was destroy. All that I left is you and your faithful maid or butler.” she cooed as she waited for the others to return.

”Let’s see here…” said Edward as he found two matching butler outfits. ”One for you and one for me. It’s morning shift so we’re the only employees.” he explained handing Abram the outfit. Abram seemed to be going through a lot of custom changes that day.

”Are you guys almost finished?” asked Cassey as knocked against their door. She was already dressed up in her maid outfit. ”There are so many customers! Gees, Tammy sure does know how to get customers.” she said in awe. ”I don’t think we’ll be able to handle this alone…Enzo!” she said excitedly. This was the perfect time for her wizard teacher to shine. Cassey bent down towards Enzo who was currently taking a catnap. ”Enzo?” she asked poking his cheek.

”Go away…I’m slee-“ his eyes became wide as he glanced back at Cassey. ”Why are you dressed up like a maid!?” he asked blinking.

”Oh it’s a new idea Tammy came up with. It has something to do with being close to the customers. I think it’s just her way of distracting the customers from seeing the mess. Would you mind turning into a person and helping us? Apparently people really like this new idea.” she said looking at all of the customers piling in. ”There are a lot of pretty girls out there.” she teased pressing his cheek. Enzo held a wicked grin as he transformed himself into his human self.

”I suppose if you REALLY need my help.” he winked causing Cassey to smile up at him. ”So how are they going to know who is who? I mean race wise?” he asked causing Cassey to blink.

”Edward show you fangs. Abram your ears! Wait are they still getting ready? Augh! Hurry up! Cassey…um can you make ears and a tail? And Enzo you…wait what are YOU doing here? Fine get into a wizard custom. You are playing the evil wizard who ruined everyone’s house. Which is why everything is destroyed!” snapped Tammy who seemed to be getting a little bit too into this latest act.

”Ears…and a tail?” repeated Cassey blushing. ”I’m not sure if I can…but I will try!” she said whipping out her rulebook. She began to search through the book before finally finding the spell. She shut her eyes and focused all of her ability on making a pair of ears and a cattail. ”Oh it worked!” she said bouncing up.

”It did work! They are real and everything.” said Enzo tweaking her ear slightly causing it to flick backwards.

”Abram look! I have ears…and a tail!” she said as she pointed her head towards him.

”Cassandra! Get out there and start taking orders!” called Tammy. Cassey waved at Abram before running off towards the main area. ”Remember everyone. We need to clean WHILE taking orders.” she reminded.

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Ⓣⓗⓔ Ⓓⓘⓢⓣⓐⓝⓣ Ⓑⓛⓞⓞⓓⓢⓤⓒⓚⓔⓡ

Waiting an hour for Lydia seemed to be the best decision Darius had made all day. The girl looked positively delighted to see him. A small hint of cockiness lifted inside of Darius as he brushed the back of his neck. His mind was happily elsewhere as he silently played hero to the gray-eyed girl. He was about to claim that it was nothing when Lydia inquired about Isabella’s opinion of flowers. The man glanced down at the flowers that were pressed closely to Lydia before speak. ”Hm? Well, my sister loves many things so I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to receive those flowers. Plus, she was a florist for a while so flowers are very dear to her.” he said thinking about all of the odd jobs his sister had taken over the years.

Darius stopped walking when Lydia claimed that she could kiss him for it. He blinked as he hesitated. Was she serious? He examined her hazy doe-like eyes to see if there was a hint of longing in them. ”Yeah.” he said with a sighing laugh. Nope, she was more likely than not thinking about business. Perfect. When Darius first set his eyes on the pretty businesswoman he assumed his only competition was going to be that obnoxious wolf. Sadly, the vampire had yet another lover to fight off when it came to Lydia’s heart. Business. Darius supposed it wasn’t a bad thing for her to be so business-driven, but it most certainly wasn’t easing his mind. No. He couldn’t allow himself to think such pitiful thoughts! He was a man for heaven’s sake and he needed to start acting like one! ”LYDIA!” he demanded in a determined voice before his phone began to ring. His eyebrow twitched as he let out a sigh. Just great. His sister just had to ruin his manly moment. He was going to tell Lydia that maybe he liked her more than just as a business-associate, but he supposed that that would just have to wait.

He delicately placed the phone away as he nodded to himself. His sister always had a way to make him both calm and nervous at the same time, if that was even possible. Then again, Isabella had the sneaky way of making the impossible look so easy. ”I try to keep my sister’s life as private as possible.” he explained when Lydia admitted to snooping around to figure out what she was like. Why wasn’t Darius surprised? If any other person would have admitted to snooping he may have felt a bit uneasy, but somehow Lydia made the action seem so normal. He scratched his forehead slightly as he let out a small laugh. ”Everything you should know?” he repeated as his eyebrows frowned.

”I suppose I should start from the beginning right? Now you have to understand, our father is a very busy man. So growing up he couldn’t very well be bothered with two children. You see he is in charge of more than just businesses.” explained Darius with his hand brushing through his dark locks. ”The vampire world is somewhat similar to the human world, but also very different. All of our decisions are based upon our well this may sound a bit old school, but our king. Marriages, new vampires, everything has to go through his one vampire. Of course, over the years even our kind have become more….liberal. The new generation has been able to do things ours never could, marriages to other races has become very common. Even marriages to things such as werewolves.” he said cringing as he thought of his sister. ”Anyways, our father is the current King. So I guess you can see why he wasn’t around much.” he said with a small smile. ”As for our mother?” his head turned the other way as he thought of the woman who looked so much like his sister.

Darius had an inner debate with himself on whether he should tell Lydia the truth or not. The vampire glanced back down at the young woman and sighed. How could he crush someone as adorable as that? How could he tell Lydia that those wolves she adored had a nasty side? ”She passed away when Isabella was a baby.” he said leaving the part out on how she died. This was, after all, a happy time. Why ruin it with remembering a forgotten past? ”I took care of my sister after her death. Like I said before, my father was much too busy to be bothered.” he said his eyes brightening as he thought about his younger sister. ”Let’s see here. She went to private all-girls schools her entire life until college. That is where she met…him.” he said his nose wrinkling at the thought of Nicolas. ”I don’t think our father would have let her marry that stupid dog if it wasn’t for the fact that Issy looks so much like mom.” he said sighing at the thought of his sister.

Darius’s statement was only half-true. Both father and son always seemed to have difficulty telling Isabella no and it wasn’t just because she looked so much like her mother. It also had to do with the fact that she could sweet-talk about anything. ”She kept things interesting.” he said smiling at the thought of his younger sister. ”She’s very welcoming. So you shouldn’t be too worried.” he reassured as he opened the door only to witness his sister acting like her usual strange self.

”You really are a beautiful thing!” said Isabella all sunshine and lollipops. ”Oh they are BEAUITUFL! Look at my flowers Nick! Are they not the prettiest flowers you have ever seen?” she asked hugging them. She hopped towards Tammy and began to demand a cup of water for her lovely new flowers. ”Tammy! I need water!” she said slamming her fist against the counter.

”Gees, darling. Calm yourself. I’m going I’m going.” she winked before walking off to the back and returning with the glass of water.

”Isabella…” grumbled Darius as he walked after the clueless girl who was happily fixing her flowers in the glass Tammy had given her. The two seemed to be having some sort of hushed conversation.

Nick laughed as he looked at Lydia. ”She does does she? Hey! To be fair, I did get her kid a pretty awesome gift.” he teased winking at Lydia. ”Nope. I cannot possibly forgive you. Kidding. Kidding.” he said quickly. ”I’m doing great. I hope you’re doing well as well. I’m sorry to hear about your mother. I heard she was very nice.” he said with a thoughtful expression. ”So you are dating Darius eh? Word to the wise…try not to get on a vampire’s bad side.” he warned before his wife yanked him by his puppy-dog tail. His cheeks instantly flushed as he began to scratch at the doorway. ”N…N..Not the tail! You crazy blood-drinking lady! Not the tail! I told you not the tail!” he whined looking up towards Abram. ”Save me!” he begged.

”Bad side?” she repeated shoving her husband into the display case.

”Not the….why there? Do you have to do this every time Isabella? Gees.” whined Darius his expression looking almost human as his hands mourned the loss of his display case.

”Aww! Darius looks so human!” said Cassey swaying back and forth before walking towards him. ”Are you okay my darling?” she inquired.

”CASSEY NO!” snapped Isabella dropping her husband into the broken glass causing a loud howl to echo. Cassey jumped backwards as the vampire ran towards her. ”I mean…um.” her eyes flickered towards Abram as she lifted the wolf up and tossed him through the window.

”Not the window! Ah-yah! That was imported from Italy! Why the window? Come on!” hissed Darius pulling at his hair as he watched the werewolf go sailing.

”Abram!” said Cassey her fingers jumping towards her lips.

”Go to him Cassandra! You need to help him! Go.” said the crazy vampire before she noticed her twitching husband. ”Oh deary? Who did this to you?” she asked causing the werewolf to narrow his eyes at her. ”That’s right. Well you look cute either way.” she teased touching the top of his nose.

”Crazy sadist…” he mumbled before Isabella jumped up and grabbed Lydia before she could see Abram.

”Don’t worry about him darling! He has that witch.” she winked. ”Come on! We have important things to discuss like…has my brother slept with you yet? He better have! I remember Nick wasted no time when it came to our relationship. Nick do you remember that?”

Darius looked as if he came from hell itself as he stood over Nick and popped his fingers. ”Um…not really. Um…” grumbled Nick as he jumped upwards and ran after his vampire wife before his vampire brother-in-law could Edward-kick him across the trees.

”Oh he is being modest he is! Now tell me. How long have you two been going out?” she asked her arm hooked with Lydia. ”How did you two meet?” she inquired causing Nick to place his hand on top of her head.

”Alright Issy, why don’t you let Lydia get something in her stomach before you embarrass her to death.” he said causing Isabella to roll her eyes. Darius, in the meantime, just dropped his head. This was going to be a long day.












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[Lady March Hare]

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ｍｙ
ｈｅａｒｔ ｈｉｔ ａ ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ { ｅ ａ ｒ ｌ ｙ } ｈｏｕｒｓ,
Ｓｏ Ｉ ｓｔｏｐｐｅｄ ｉｔ ｄｅａｄ ｆｏｒ ａ ｂｅａｔ ｏｒ ｔｗｏ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｂｕｔ Ｉ ＣＵＴ ｓｏｍｅ ｃｏｒｄ (ａｎｄ Ｉ ｓｈｏｕｌｄｎ'ｔ ｈａｖｅ ｄｏｎｅ ｉｔ)
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｆｏｒｇｉｖｅ ｍｅ ａｆｔｅｒ ａｌｌ ｔｈｅｓｅ ｙｅａｒｓ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

▇ location: T H E iR E S T U R A N T XXXXX ▇ mood: = //// = XXXXX ♫ q u i e t m e l o d y ♫XX
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Well, that was a tiny bit of relief, knowing that the woman she was going to meet was appreciative of flowers. Gray eyes flicked down to study the poor bunch of flora critically as they walked. She didn’t know if she’d ever talked to a florist before; maybe they could be a conversation starter if things got really desperate. “A florist? How interesting…” she murmured as she fiddled with the stems, wishing she could have had time to research a little more about flowers for this back up conversation plan. She was a horrible female, really; she hardly knew a rose from a lily. Or was it a carnation she was thinking of? It was the pink thing. But which one? Gah, she was going to mess up this wonderful arrangement she had with Darius just because she was a flower idiot!? Lydia didn’t think so! The girl was startled from thoughts growing more and more frustrated by Darius’ sudden determined utterance of her name, and she looked up at him curiously before she replied. “Yes, Darius?” But then the phone rang and Darius was distracted. Lydia studied the poor vampire at her side for a minute longer, then returned her attention to her flowers. Whatever he’d had to say probably wasn’t important anyway, right?

Back in business mode (as if she was ever not in business mode…), Lydia concentrated intently on Darius’ words as they made their way to the restaurant. The identity and occupation of his father caught her by surprise and she frowned slightly, wondering why her mother had never mentioned such a thing to her. It seemed pretty darn important… Lydia focused again on memorizing Darius’ words. The vampires had a king, his word was law, he dealt with all manner of things… no wonder he was busy. She blinked and glanced at her companion curiously at the mention of vampires marrying werewolves. Really? So the rumors of the ancient blood feud between the two races could be overcome… that was good to know. Darius didn’t seem too happy about it, but Lydia supposed she couldn’t be too surprised about that. She stayed silent as Darius talked, only nodding in response to make sure he knew that she was listening. But her stern gray eyes did soften sympathetically at the mention of the death of their mother. That she could sympathize with. The girl glanced back to Darius, perhaps to speak some form of sympathetic statement, but paused at the warmth she saw in his eyes when he spoke of his sister. Her expression softened and she looked back to the flowers with a soft smile; siblings were so cute! Secretly, she’s always wanted a big brother. Not that she didn’t have several dozen in the form of a wolf pack… but that didn’t count. Darius probably made a wonderful brother, but she bit her lip to keep herself from saying so. She was supposed to be concentrating, not getting distracted. Silly Lydia. Paying attention once again, Lydia lifted a brow at the ‘dog’ comment… had Darius’ brother-in-law done something bad? Was he a bad person?

For those paying attention, that was the moment Lydia should have put two and two together. But she didn’t. Oh well.

“Okay… got it.” she murmured, her brow furrowed in concentration as they entered the diner.

Isabella certainly was something; her outgoing personality seemed to eclipse that of anyone around her and she responded to the flowers with enthusiasm. Lydia let out a breath she hadn’t been aware that she was holding at that and attempted to study Darius’ sister discretely as the woman turned away to fetch water for her flowers. Though they didn’t look very similar, the vampire woman carried herself with a confidence that Lydia recognized from Darius, and Lydia smiled slightly as she gave Isabella another long look. Darius had said that she looked like their mother…

“I don’t doubt that.” Lydia said with a smile, tearing her eyes away from the business of intense scrutiny and to Nick. Perhaps it wasn’t too fair, but she was automatically more comfortable around the werewolf; she was just so used to interacting with the doggy creatures that she was more comfortable in casual conversation with a werewolf then she was with most humans by this point. A psychiatrist might have frowned and made a worried note at such an observation… which was why Lydia never went to psychiatrists. “Jokes, huh?” she replied lightly. “I’m glad to hear that… ah. Thank you.” she replied automatically, wondering offhandedly just how much time would have to pass before the mention of her mother out of the blue like this would stop resulting in a twinge of sadness. She cleared her throat and nodded at his question, her gray eyes curious at his next words. “Bad side? What do you mean?” she asked. Of course, there wasn’t much time for elaboration, because Isabella came forward with her special brand of censoring.

“Stay strong, Nick!” Abram called to the other werewolf encouragingly. “Don’t let her push you around!” he said only after Nick had gone crunch against the display case. “Oh… whoops…”

“Ouch…” she cringed, reaching a hand out to help as if by instinct and deadpanning. “A-Are you all…?” No, no he wasn’t alright, she realized with a cringe. She might have said more but didn’t; it was rather difficult for Lydia to articulate when her jaw dropped at the sight of Isabella picking up and throwing Abram through a window. The young businesswoman was so shocked that for several long seconds she seemed capable of only standing frozen in disbelief. “Abram!” she finally managed to say once she remembered that it was one of her most important people that had gone flying out that window. Sure, she knew that werewolves had no problems healing themselves, but she loved the boy… watching him get thrown through a window worried her regardless of logic. Her brow furrowed and she bit her bottom lip, stepping forward to hurry towards him only to be stopped by Isabella. The woman grabbed on to her and the human started, looking at her in surprise.

“Ah, but…” she trailed off, blinking at Isabella as her words registered. Witch? She meant Cassandra… The image of the cheerful little witch wrapped up in Abram’s arms, the image she had first laid eyes on upon entering the restaurant, suddenly flared in her mind with a sudden little jolt of pain. Abram was a friendly guy… but he wasn’t that friendly. The jealous monster was back and making itself at home in her chest; Lydia’s eyes turned stern as she refused to linger on that thought. Not now, when such important things were happening! Later she could be a stupid girl in stupid love; right now she needed to focus! That was made either easier or harder to do by the direction Isabella decided to take the conversation, depending on opinion.

“Slept with…?” she stared at Isabella for a heart beat, then turned beat red. Gah! Sure, Lydia knew it wasn’t a question entirely out of left field; she’d knew people would be speculating on such a fact when the word got out that they were dating, and she had been prepared to deal with that. But she hadn’t prepared to be asked so directly! Lydia had planned out an assortment of careful fabrications that she was certain would leave both Darius and herself in good standing, but what was the right answer for a question like that?!? “I… um… that is to say… not…” God, she just needed to shut up! Babbling wasn’t going to help anything! Why hadn’t she just stayed quiet and smiled and left it up to interpretation or something? Jeeze! Lydia cleared her throat discretely –there was no use in crying over spilt milk-- and attempted to tame her blush as she focused on the sister’s other questions. “We’ve been dating for… well, almost as long as we’ve known one another.” she answered as she focused on not looking uncomfortable going arm-in-arm with someone. This, at least, was honest enough, even if her words were designed to be purposefully vague. The human did enjoy being sneaky on occasion, and word plays were always a good occasion. “We met through business… I run a pharmaceutical company that deals with the supplying of blood, among other things. There were plenty of opportunities to talk shop.” Again, her words were mostly true and relying on suggestion; as long as she wasn’t specific on dates or time periods, she’d be safe. “I’m afraid that things have been a bit hectic with me recently, so I haven’t really been free to be anything but discrete about my personal life until very recently. Your brother has been nice enough to humor me.” she added with a smile, getting back into the grove. There we go; just vague enough to nudge people into making their own conclusions about such an arrangement. Imaginations often provided more innovation and detail then any lie she could create could, and Lydia was counting on it to help she and Darius pull off their little scheme. As long as no one walked away with the idea that it was being done for show, then she counted them as successful.

However… she had yet to clear any of this with Darius, which would be the smart thing to do. And which she would have to do very soon if she expected him to play along (which she completely did)! So perhaps it would be best to try and nudge the conversation in another direction.

“But tell me about yourself, Isabella…” she began with interest before the woman could bring up anything about Lydia and Darius sleeping together again. (Oig!) “Do you have any children? I seem to remember Mary mentioning something about Nick having twins...” she said thoughtfully. “I can tell you’re very important to Darius, and it’s important to me that I get to know you… oh, and Nick too, as well as I can.” she said with a childish sort of determination as she thought of her little pact with Darius. That her words could be misconstrued in any way was, yet again, a foreign concept to her. She looked back to them, then blinked. Was she coming across as too desperate for information? “Ah… I’m sorry. I don’t mean to just immediately start interrogating you… I’m just curious.” she added with an appropriately sheepish little smile.

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Ｉ ｓａｉｄ ｎｏ, ｎｏ ｙｏｕ'ｒｅ ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ ｏｎｅ ｆｏｒ ｍｅ!
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｆｏｒｇｉｖｅ ｍｅ ａｆｔｅｒ ａｌｌ ｔｈｅｓｅ ｙｅａｒｓ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

▇ location: T H E iR E S T U R A N T XXXXX ▇ mood: X ___ XXXXXX ♫ u p b e a t m e l o d y ♫XX
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Yup, all was right in the universe. The day before had been pretty trying, but apparently today was making up for it. Sure, it was a strange sort of day already, but it was a tail wagging sort of day. After all, there Abram was, encouraged into hugging Cassandra, and by a vampire, no less! It was a wonderful set up, having her so close… and was that a faint blush he saw on the witch girl’s face? It was indeed! A gentle glow of red that, when accompanied with her laughter, made for such a pleasing combination that all felt right in the world. Even when they were forced to separate far too soon for Abram’s liking, the werewolf couldn’t feel too down about it. It had been nothing but good signs all day, and the green eyed youth was positive he’d be able to find opportunities to coax that blush from her again. In such an optimistic mood Abram was that he even responded well to Darius’ hiss of objection about the continuation of the play; he practically beamed at the vampire in question. He was so obvious, really.

This lasted right up until Isabella, oozing innocence and the like, reached out for him. Normally, a vampire reaching towards a werewolf would be interpreted as a big no-no and reacted to accordingly but, seeing as it was Isabella poor Abram’s defenses were lowered. Big mistake. Abram had time to blink, to blink, before the sneakily strong vampire was throwing him through the air. The werewolf was so surprised that he hardly even believed it had happened until his body met the window; he yelped in a mixture of shock, realization through disbelief, and pain as he completed his unexpected flight. Said unexpected flight was completed by landing in a heap on the ground with another yelp and a wince, the air knocked completely out of his body to leave him feeling dizzy. For a second he could only lie there stunned, awash in the sting of betrayal that the universe turning on him filled him with. Stupid universe. His eyes closed with a heavy sigh and Abram made no effort to move; a thought had his cuts and bruises smoothing away in a second, leaving him plenty of time to reflect on just what he had done this time to deserve such bad luck. Maybe he had been getting a little too cocky with his Cassey snuggling? The universe was on her side, after all…

Speaking of Cassey, the little witch joined him in a heartbeat. His brief moment of repentance was immediately forgotten as Abram resolved himself to play dead, fighting back the teasing grin that wanted to come to his lips at the thought of Cassey’s surprise face when he suddenly revealed that he wasn’t dead. He peaked an eye open as she plopped her head against his chest, then quickly closed it again as she moved away. Making a mental note to explain to the girl that it took more then throwing him through a window to kill him at a later date, Abram continued the battle with a smile as the girl proclaimed that he needed mouth-to-mouth, and that she was going to administer it. It was as if the universe had suddenly turned motherly and was gently scolding him for doubting it even as it handed him a cookie, or like the stormy clouds were parting to let beams of sunshine fall down upon him. Okay, the first day of meeting Cassey was too early to take advantage of her innocence and naiveté, but the second day clearly wasn’t. Oh, there was no maliciousness in Abram’s thoughts towards this issue! But she was just too cute; it would be an affront to nature (and probably illegal) to actively move to stop such a thing. Obviously. He had it all planned out, and held still until the last possible second, so that it would be the most surprising when he was suddenly alive and stealing a kiss…

“Kah!” Or, maybe not, seeing as he was suddenly being beaten by a broom. The cookie offered by the universe had been a trap! Sufficiently “cured” by Tammy’s broom assault of justice, the werewolf vaulted to his feet as well as he was able, rubbing the afflicted area with a pronounced wince. “Ow, Tammy…” he whined. Cassey’s arms were snaking around him in a hug and he glanced down at her in surprise before continuing slowly. “Er… I mean… oh, good; I’m cured.” The witch moved away from him and Abram caught the broom tossed his way, making another face. “Alright, alright… wait. Butler?”

The concept was lost a bit on Abram (his mind was clearly somewhere else), so he followed Edward’s lead, scratching the back of his head. “Thanks.” he said, taking the costume from the vampire and looking down at it curiously. He felt like at least half of his day had been spent in wardrobe. Oh well. Shrugging to himself, Abram went through the process of changing again, sighing only about the shoes as he emerged. The rest he was getting relatively used to… but those darn shoes. They were a menace, no matter their form! He glanced upwards as his ears made their appearance with a few satisfied twitches… hey, he was even getting used to the idea of walking around in human form with his wolf ears showing, no matter how silly the idea may be! Wandering back out where they were expected, Abram’s eyes instantly went to Cassey… huh, strange. Why didn’t anyone ever comment on the flowers and golden glow that seemed to show up behind Cassey to highlight her cuteness? He couldn’t be the only one to notice them there; they were pretty obvious. He was quickly distracted from this train of thought by the small, twitching things on her ears, and Abram made a beeline for Cassey to get a closer look. “Hey… hey, you do! Look at that!” he exclaimed, reaching a finger out to poke the closest of her ears gently. It twitched, and the boy beamed. “Heh, that’s cute…” he said, poking it again.

“Okay, okay…” Abram, ever wary of Tammy and her newly discovered (at least by the werewolf) broom swatting abilities, consented. Shooting one last glance at the retreating adorableness that was the young woman he was intent on wooing, Abram padded back out into the recently destroyed restaurant, wincing slightly at the damage. Yeah, they had their work cut out for them. And, despite the mess, Tammy had somehow managed to get the customers coming back; Abram wouldn’t have said so aloud, but his money was on broom beating threats. But Abram had a broom of his own now, so he kind of felt prepared. Making his way to a group of newly entering young women, he put on his best smile and tried to remember the concept Tammy had been talking about that he had only half been paying attention to. “Welcome, Mistresses…” he started with an easy grin. Thankfully, this was the sort of role a dog-man would fall into easily; you didn’t get much more loyal then a wolf pack, after all. “You got here just in time. A horrible wizard just made a terrible mess of your home,” he continued, delighting in the mental picture of Abram ‘bwahahaha’ing in his mind. “so I’m here to assist you. Please ignore the mess, and your faithful butler will have it cleaned up in no time.”

“Oh? What’s this?” one of the women sounded curious as Abram used the excuse to carefully sweep the path to the table clean. There were glass shard everywhere; they brought back painful, painful memories…

“A new sort of theme? How exciting!” the next said, looking at her self-proclaimed butler with stars in her eyes.

Abram chuckled; Tammy was, apparently, a secret genius. Were all of the women in this joint into such games? Well, if they were, it was certainly working. There was clearly some sort of romantic appeal to the butler/maid thing. Wait. Maid. Abram went still, his eyes instantly seeking out Cassey. There she was, and she was still beautiful, but now he was somewhat alarmed. There were people out there that had maid fetishes… he knew a few of them! Hell, he practically was one of them, though it was more than arguable that he had a Cassey fetish more then anything else. Abram didn’t want those sickos looking at his Cassey that way! He scanned the crowd, on the hunt for sickos. Maybe that old man over there, the one hiding behind his menu and holding his elderly wife’s hand? He clearly looked like the perverted sort. And then there were those young guys that were just coming in; they were obviously trouble… because young people always were, Abram reminded himself with a stout nod, his eyes suspicious. Grabby and with wandering, maid-fetish-having eyes. He could practically smell it on it. Yes, on all of them.

I’m watching you, perverts… he warned them silently.

“This is interesting, very unusual!” the woman Abram probably should have been paying attention to said with another dreamy sigh.

“What are you staring at so intently?” the other asked, staring up at Abram.

“Just trying to figure out where to start so you’ll have the best view, Mistress.” Abram answered with a surprisingly earnest grin. Only those that knew him very well would have noticed the steel in his eyes. He clicked his pen, a habit in the making, and held his notepad up as if to display it. “While you wait, what can I get you?” he asked, scribbling down their orders… and ever mindful of a certain cat-eared young maid on the other side of the restaurant.

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Ｉ
{ ｓ ｅ ｎ ｔ } ｉｔ ｔｏ ａ ｐｌａｃｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｍｉｄｄｌｅ ｏｆ ｎｏｗｈｅｒｅ
Ｗｉｔｈ ａ ＢＩＧ ＢＬＡＣＫ ＨＯＲＳＥ ａｎｄ ａ ｃｈｅｒｒｙ ｔｒｅｅ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｎｏｗ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｃｏｍｅ ｂａｃｋ, 'ｃａｕｓｅ ｉｔ'ｓ ｏｈ ｓｏ ｈａｐｐｙ
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｎｏｗ Ｉ'ｖｅ ｇｏｔ ａ ｈｏｌｅ ｆｏr ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｌｄ ｔｏ ｓｅｅ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

[kewefefe]

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Ⓣⓗⓔ Ⓛⓞⓥⓔⓢⓘⓒⓚ Ⓑⓡⓞⓞⓜ Ⓡⓘⓓⓔⓡ

The great and powerful universe was undoubtedly on Cassandra’s side that morning. Sure Darius was leaving with another (very chic and naturally pretty) girl, but that didn’t mean today wasn’t going to be a magical day now did it? Clearly everything was right in the world, as Cassey was able to successfully sport her cat ears and tail. Yes, Lady Universe was smiling down at that optimistic girl with warm, welcoming eyes. She was so ecstatic about the whole situation that she even tied a small kitty-cat bell against the back end of her tail. Her violet eyes looked fondly on her latest little addition before she heard Tammy’s voice. ”Cassey go!” she said causing Cassey to jump and salute. Tammy laughed at the girl’s enthusiasm before saluting back. ”Try not to steal too many hearts Cass!” she called after her entire body leaning through the small opening in the process of calling. The witchling gave a solid nod back to confirm that she had no intention on stealing any hearts that day before hopping off to her first customers.

Yes, the universe loved Cassey that day! The girl’s first customers were positively the sweetest old couple she had ever seen! She had to hold back a soft aw as she watched them hold their hands through their menus before turning their attention towards Cassey. ”Aren’t you just the cutest little waitress?” asked the woman slowly letting go of her husband’s hand. Cassey, in turn, blushed her head turning to the side with a smile. ”Hmm, I will just have a glass of water. Harold? What would you lik-“ Before the elderly woman could finish her question, a beaming spectacle began to take place in the already destroyed restaurant. Apparently, Tammy wasn’t the only one into dramatics. The lights all went out in a sudden fit as a loud chuckling sound began to fill the entire establishment. ”Harold? What’s going on! Have I gone blind?” chocked the woman as Cassey’s eyes narrowed.

”Welcome Ladies and Gentleman to a place beyond the stars, seas, and even your greatest fantasies! I am here to take you from your castle to my very own world.” spoke Enzo as the lights began to lift. There was a sudden change in the atmosphere. The floor was swept cleaned and the entire restaurant transformed into a gothic seventeenth century castle. The tables were remarkably realistic featuring handcrafted carvings, the flooring the finest marble, and the windows were all replaced. Silence filled the entire establishment as all eyes turned towards the spotlight. Enzo walked down the newly added swirling staircase that disappeared into the darkness with every step he took. A gust of mist fizzled across his legs as he fixed his cufflinks. His expression was stern as he really got into this whole act. ”I have brought you all here because a travesty has taken place in my homeland.”

Tammy glared at her husband causing him to give her a confused look in return. ”Go out there and act! Gees! Enzo is giving gold and you are here with your mouth agape like some child! You need to work with it!” hissed the gorgon as her husband nodded. She made a shooing motion before glancing at the customers.

”Awww! Look at the wolf! He is getting all defensive!” cooed one of the girls as she leaned against her palms watching Abram.

”What is the meaning of all of this!? Just because there was a travesty in your kingdom doesn’t mean you can destroy my mistresses’ home!” hissed Edward jumping forward. He gave his gorgon wife the thumbs up and nodded at her. The gorgon in return slapped her hand over her forehead. He was such a ridiculous vampire. ”What is it you want?”

”Love.” said the wizard with one hand pressed against his heart while the other moved through his dark hair. Most of the women seemed to sway as their hearts fluttered with anticipation on who could have received the wizard’s heart. Tammy rolled her eyes. Just wonderful. The wizard was being dramatic.

”Then why have you destroyed my master’s house?” asked Cassey her hand formed into a fist above her heart. ”Love should be about healing not destroying.”

”I had to destroy your master’s house because of…” Enzo went blank. Where was he going with this again? His eyes turned towards the door as what looked to be Abram’s family started piling in. Enzo was concerned with only one member of Abram’s family and that was the beautiful Alexis. She made his old heart sing and now was the perfect time for him to prove his love for her! After this she would have to call off her wedding. ”Because the woman I love’s brother was in this house. I had to take you all here in order to gain her attention” Envious eyes turned left and right to see if they could see who this mysterious yet charming man was speaking of. ”Alexis…My heart it burns for you my darling dear!” he said bowing to the she-wolf. He grabbed her small delicate hand in both of his not concerning himself with the man who had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. ”I see you have come here searching for your brother. But I will not let him free until you give me…” Everyone held their breath as Enzo moved to a standing position gracefully pulling Alexis from her boyfriend. ”One kiss. That is all I request from you. Then I shall leave this place. I know I will die a happy man if I am able to kiss the fair Alexis.” Anyone who knew the perverted old wizard (aside from possibly Cassey) knew that this had to be part of some master plan. Enzo, being the clever man he was, knew he could pass off his stolen kiss as some form of theater production. So pulling the girl into his arms, he planted a kiss that slowly went from PG-13 to full on Mature. What? He knew he was a dead man he might as well enjoy his journey to hell. It was about around the time Alexis had bit his tongue and Dio had tired to attack him that Enzo disappeared in a puff of smoke. This, of course, resulted in the entire restaurant returning to its original state (before tornado de Isabella swept through). The windows were once again letting the sun shine through and the tables were their old wooden selves. The customers seemed to be taken in by this mini cinematic experience causing Tammy to make a tsking noise.

”Cheesy, but if that is what they like it is what they like.” she said turning her attentions back to the grill.

Cassey seemed to have enjoyed the display just as much as the customers had. Her romantic tendencies were shining like the fourth of July as she walked towards Abram’s family. ”That was wonderful wasn’t it? It was like a real movie!” she said with a lover’s sigh. The girl’s cat ears twitched in excitement while her tail wrapped around her stomach. ”I can’t wait till I have my first kiss. I want it to be even more romantic than that.” she sighed. No, Cassandra hadn’t had her first kiss just yet. ”That poor wizard though! To be so in love with someone who is taken.” she discussed as if the scene really was something straight out of a movie. ”See Dio? Your lovely fiancé was being woed by another man because you won’t just man up and marry her!” accused Cassey pointing at the werewolf causing the bell on her tail to ring. ”Enzo is a really great actor isn’t he?” she asked complimenting her teacher on his performance after her scolding (if one could call it that) of Dio. ”And Alexis! You did so well too!” her fingers intertwined with one another as she watched the customers slowly go back to looking over their menus.

”More wolves? You have GOT to be kidding me! You let one mangy dog in and he brings the whole litter! What is this a pet store? Yo. Tammy. When did this place become a flea market?” asked the vampire as he leaned into the opening of the kitchen. ”Wait? Are you STILL not talking to me? Come on babe. I said I was sor-“ His mouth shut as a frying pan smacked him right in the face. Cassey had to shift a small laugh back as she watched the silly vampire. ”Crazy snake lady.” he grumbled.

”Go out and take orders you lazy bum! You are wasting time and money! Also you are still not forgiven about losing that book.” she threatened causing Edward to slip away. He was about to hiss at the dogs when another object went flying out of the kitchen hitting the back of his neck. ”You leave those CUSTOMERS alone! Don’t worry. I’ve got your back.” she winked at Abram’s family.

”That’s Tammy.” said Cassey fondly. ”Are you all here to see Abram?” she asked, but before she could continue her inquiry she was cut off by the squeal of one of the female customers who was just getting ready to leave. ”Hm?” she asked blinking as the girl instantly began to fret over Dog. ”Dog look! You seem to have fans!” said Cassey happy at the prospect. She laughed as she watched the most awkward of Abram’s brothers deal with the attention.

”He looks JUST like the other one!” said one girl poking Dog’s cheek.

”Oh my GOD Tina. That is like SO totally racist! Not all werewolves look the same.” said the other girl silently scolding her friend. ”He does have a cool look to him! I bet he would look even cuter with ea-“

”Alright girls, try not to run over the werewolf.” said the wizard rubbing his chin watching as the two girls left. ”Dear sweet statutory.” he grumbled causing Cassey to roll her eyes. ”Did your lot enjoy our little production?” he asked winking at Alexis. ”I suppose I was just BORN to act eh?” he asked. ”Alexis, you were fantastic by the way. A real sport.” boosted the shameless man.

”Everyone here seems to have a talent for acting.” complimented Cassey before turning her gaze towards Abram. ”Oh you should have seen Abram this morning!” she said trying to boost his character up to his family. If only she knew who he fancied then she could tell them all about how wonderful he was being.

”Yeah the dog played one hell of a vampire.” snickered Enzo.

✄------------------------------------------------------

Ⓣⓗⓔ Ⓓⓘⓢⓣⓐⓝⓣ Ⓑⓛⓞⓞⓓⓢⓤⓒⓚⓔⓡ

If Darius’s mother wasn’t the saint she was, he might have assumed that her virtue fluttered elsewhere when it came to Isabella’s genetics. The outrageous blue-eyed girl was as perky as a puppy and as wide-eyed as a doe. She held the animated attributes of any creature walking this earth except for a vampire. When Darius looked back on his years with his mother, he supposed she was the same way. However, this little knowledge did not make raising Isabella any easier. Already, the young woman was being more forward than an intoxicated frat boy at the first college party of the season. ”Isabella. Ladies should not discuss such manners.” he grumbled pinching his nose as they walked. If there was one person on the planet that could make Darius look human it was Isabella. The girl seemed to have enough life in her to bring even Darius to the land of the living. ”You are embarrassing her Is. We JUST started dating. Is it really wise to scare her off?” he questioned, but did his sister listen? Heaven’s no! If Isabella ever listened to Darius, she would not be married to the handsome man standing to her left.

”You’re too busy for love? That stinks! They should not have such a pretty girl like you working so much. You are young and should enjoy your youth.” complained Isabella causing Darius to roll his eyes. Darius thought about politely explaining to Isabella that looks and youth did not mean that one could not work, but decided against it. It was doubtful she would even listen to a thing he said. ”I remember Darius talking about your mother. He told me she was really really sweet.” said the girl who was already getting cozy and comfortable to her brother’s new girlfriend. Unlike most vampires, Lydia seemed to have no problems with getting up close and personal.

”About…myself?” repeated Isabella causing both Darius and Nick to let out a sigh of relief. Finally, Isabella would stop speaking about the bedroom and turn her attention to a topic (hopefully) less awkward. The female vampire blushed in fake embarrassment. She even lightly touched her cheeks as she let out a soft giggle. Nick shook his head as he watched his wife’s reaction. She was acting so shy about hearing compliments. He knew that act and he knew it well. That little woman was by no means modest. She loved to hear compliments as well as dish them out (she wasn’t completely selfish after all!). Before she began to speak about herself, Lydia asked the golden question.

There was always one subject that outweighed any and all conversations even conversations that had to do with Isabella herself. The subject that always took Isabella’s attention was the subject about Isabella’s two darling children. ”She did did she?” asked Isabella excitement displaying across her youthful face. The vampire stopped walking as she pulled out a mini photo album from her purse.

”Issy are you SURE that bringing that out is a good idea?” But it was too late, Isabella was already making a Beeline to the closest park bench. Lydia had little time to protest as the female vampire pulled the girl to the bench. ”So I guess it is just you and me eh?” asked Nick, but Darius didn’t response. ”This is your change Nick! You can finally get on your brother-in-law's good side! This is perfect….I just need the perfect conversation starter.” he thought to himself as he glanced back at Darius. ”Abram seems to have taken a liking to that Cas-“ Nick’s small talk failed miserably as Darius gave him the look of death. ”Wrong conversation starter….My goodness, even after all of these years he is still scary.” thought the werewolf to himself as a small sweat drop fall down his forehead. He lifted up his hands in defense. He slowly peaked an eyelid open only to see that Darius had already left. ”Good. I’m still breathing.” he said dramatically with his hand against his chest.

”No, interrogation is good! You know I used to be a cop for about a year so I understand what it means to be interrogated. Do your worst!” teased Isabella as she began to open up the album to show off her gorgeous children. The little boy looked almost identical to Darius. He even held the permanent frown line as he glared at the person taking the picture. The only difference between Darius and the boy were the two doggy ears flopping on the top of his head. The girl jumping on his back looked like a mix between Nick and Isabella. She had the blonde hair like her father, but the eyes like her mother. ”Aren’t they the cutest? Little Nick Junior, we just call him Junior by the way, looks just like his uncle doesn’t he? Except he has those cute little ears! He is still working on controlling them.” explained the woman as she placed her finger against her son’s face.

Nick peaked over his wife’s shoulder so he could look at his two children. ”Maria is a cutie isn’t she?” he asked pointing at his daughter. ”She is a natural born baker that one. She positively adores Jacob though. Whenever he comes over, she follows after him like a little puppy. She sneaks behind doors and tries to scare him.” laughed the proud father. ”He taught her a few tricks of the trade though. And I have to say, her dishes are not that bad.” Darius was leaning against the nearest tree as he let his sister rave about her babies.

”Junior is the shier of the two.” explained Isabella as she thought about her son. ”He is an avid reader though. You can’t get him to stop reading those books right Nick?” she asked as her husband nodded. ”He does also enjoy his sports. He may be quite, but when it comes time for competitive play. Well, he has his father’s talent…which is why it vexed me so much when they wouldn’t let Nick join the soccer team!” she said handing Lydia the book so she could look through it. Darius glanced down to see what picture Lydia was looking at. He blushed slightly as the girl came across the one where Darius had the giggling Maria on his shoulders. The usually stern businessman was sporting an Abram-worthy grin while doing a mocking peace sign. His hair was ruffled as Isabella stood behind him wearing a goofy grin. ”You see, I was fine with them not letting me in the PTA for being a vampire, but NO one messes with my son.” her arms crossed as her eyes narrowed.

”They claimed that a person with such…what was the word they used?” questioned Nick.

”Mixed genes.” answered Darius taking a step forward. ”They told the child he was not allowed to play because it wouldn’t be fair to the other children. That he was too special.” Darius’s eyes darkened as he thought about the situation. Now although the vampire may not have liked his werewolf brother-in-law he did care for his niece and nephew.

”Luckily Darius came in and saved the day.” said Isabella who was secretly trying to make her brother look good by bringing up that story. ”No one would even DREAM about stopping my children from doing whatever they would like. Now I may sound biased, but I am going to say it anyways. Darius really is a thoughtful person when it comes to his niece and nephew.” she said taking the album back and placing it away in her purse. ”Deary me. What time is it?” she asked looking at her watch. ”Nick! We are late!”

”For what?”

”That thing…” said his wife giving him the look. Nick was just about to ask ‘What thing?’ when his wife grabbed his hand. ”It was lovely meeting you Lydia! I guess you are stuck with my brother for lunch! We should have a girls night some time! Sorry to leave in such a rush!” she called her arm waving as she walked away. That was Isabella for you. As quickly as she came, she was gone. Darius watched his departing sister and shook his head. She always thought she was so clever.

”I hope my sister didn’t frighten you too much. She can be a bit…giddy?” he questioned the last word hoping that it was the right word choice to use for his excitable little sister. He took a deep breath before sitting next to Lydia. His arm moved to rest around her shoulder as he kept his face forward. His emotions were hard to read as he tried to keep his mind straight. French. Mind. Costume. His eyes instantly moved towards Lydia’s chest before jumping away again. That was it! Miser was a dead man. He could cut in goat heaven for all Darius cared. Damn that man for putting perverse ideas in the vampire’s sinful mind. ”Where would you like to eat?” he asked his leg shaking up and down. He could always claim it was a nervous tick instead of the desire swelling up in him. How did the werewolf stand this day after day?

Darius’s eyes moved forward as he noticed a man selling flowers. It was cheesy, but he could always claim that he was doing it for show right? ”You need flowers.” he said standing up and marching towards the man. He made the quick exchange and returned with flowers he hoped would be suitable. ”Here.” he said awkwardly handing her the flowers as he turned the other way. ”We’re on a date right? We might as well act like it.” His tone was stern and to the point. He wanted to soften it, but found himself too nervous to do such a thing. Damn his ragging nerves straight to hell!











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[Lady March Hare]

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ｈｅａｒｔ ｈｉｔ ａ ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ { ｅ ａ ｒ ｌ ｙ } ｈｏｕｒｓ,
Ｓｏ Ｉ ｓｔｏｐｐｅｄ ｉｔ ｄｅａｄ ｆｏｒ ａ ｂｅａｔ ｏｒ ｔｗｏ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｂｕｔ Ｉ ＣＵＴ ｓｏｍｅ ｃｏｒｄ (ａｎｄ Ｉ ｓｈｏｕｌｄｎ'ｔ ｈａｖｅ ｄｏｎｅ ｉｔ)
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｆｏｒｇｉｖｅ ｍｅ ａｆｔｅｒ ａｌｌ ｔｈｅｓｅ ｙｅａｒｓ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

▇ location: O U T S I D E XXXXX ▇ mood: T H O U G H T F U L XXXXX ♫ q u i e t m e l o d y ♫XX
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“Enjoy my youth?” Lydia blinked, looking at the youthful-looking mother in slight confusion. What was more enjoyable then business, Lydia wanted to know? She almost asked, but considering where the conversation had been threatening to go she caught herself, and figured that it might be smarter to avoid that topic for the time being. Glancing at Isabella out of the corner of her eye as the woman mentioned her mother, Lydia was struck by a sudden realization: were she alive, her mother and Isabella would have been friends. Their personalities, while not identical, were similar enough to draw notice, so such a thing was almost certain. Pale lips twitched into a smile, and Lydia’s eyes closed as she walked. It was a silly thought, but it kept her from getting disheartened in any way, which was a plus. Gray eyes flicked to study Isabella again, and she smiled slightly. It seemed that she’d certainly chosen the right topic for conversation. Surprise flickered in those gray eyes as the woman pulled out a photo album with the ease of practice. Where had that come from..?

“Ah…” was all the girl managed to say before she was being suddenly tugged to the side. This being friends with women that weren’t steely eyed executives thing was going to take some getting used to, apparently, and Lydia actually stumbled slightly as the enthusiastic vampire tugged her along to their intended destination. The appearance of the bench and the insistent tugging were clear signals that she was expected to sit, and the brunette slowly sank down to comply. It might have made for a bit of an awkward moment had Isabella not continued in a delighted tone, an inconsistency in her words making the detail-oriented human frown. “A cop? Darius told me you were a florist…” Lydia spoke slowly as she looked down at the album that was thrust her way. Her interest was quickly drawn by the two children displayed in the pictures before her, and the human leaned a bit closer to the woman at her side to get a better look. Though she certainly wasn’t the best with children she was rather fond of them in an admiring from afar sort of way. So she set her brain in stern memorization mode and settled in to thumb through God only knew how many pictures.

“Oh, your son… he really does look like Darius!” she murmured in surprise, studying the stern little face closely. “All but the ears… ah! But they really does have little wolf ears!” she exclaimed, suddenly shifting to craning her neck to look up at the father of the adorable little children in the pictures, her stern gray eyes analytical. After a thoughtful moment of contemplation she made no move to explain, Lydia returned her attention to the pictures. “Your children are adorable.” she murmured, smiling softly as Nick spoke about Maria’s tendencies. “She does that?” she giggled softly. “I can just picture it… big ol’ Jacob and tiny little Maria. I’m sure Jacob loves having her around in the kitchen.” she added. Isabella made to hand her the photo album and after the briefest of hesitations Lydia accepted it, settling the album in her lap and slowly thumbing through the pages. A new page settled in her lap, and despite the conversation Lydia found herself momentarily distracted by one particular picture. It was the photo of Darius with his niece, and Lydia tilted her head to the side as she studied the vampire’s likeness. Such a wide, happy smile…

“What?” she asked as she glanced around the group, back in the conversation. Her brow furrowed, and she glanced back to the photos of the little boy in question. Darius had mentioned something about this, but to think that it had been as bad as all that… Lydia was irritated just thinking about it. “That’s ridiculous.” she muttered testily. Lydia knew what it was like to grow up around intolerance for other races first hand, and her personal experiences with this from her father made her particularly irritable when she was faced with such injustices in the real world. It irritated her that the irrationalities her father had always spewed were not isolated to him alone. “Good for you, Darius.” she said with a somewhat childish nod and irritation clear in her eyes. Isabella’s efforts to talk up her brother were, sadly, somewhat wasted; the gray eyed girl seemed focused only on the faceless villains who’d attempted to exclude small children based on race.

“Time? Ah…” Lydia glanced about in search for a clock as the woman took back her photo album, suddenly in something of a hurry despite the fact that no one could clearly answer her question. “Late?” she looked up at the vampire woman in confusion as the latter leapt to her feet. “It was nice to meet you too, and to see you again Ni… ah, they’re gone.” Lydia murmured, sitting back in the bench in slight disbelief. Several of Isabella’s words finally sunk in, and the human looked in the direction that the woman had disappeared in a bit warily. “Girl’s night?” That sounded tiring, and possibly dangerous.

“Your sister… was very sweet.” she said, her gray eyes on Darius as he moved to join her on the bench. “I think I like her. I’m sorry… I’m not very used to dealing with people who aren’t talking with me for some business reason or another. I hope I wasn’t coming across as too stiff.” she said slowly, continuing to study the vampire at her side. He glanced at her, down, and away, and Lydia came to the very logical conclusion that he still had a lot of very important things on his mind. Still, that didn’t stay with her for two long; there was a very clear mental picture now emblazoned in her mind, and Darius’ question about where to eat went unanswered as she studied him. Her expression was devoid of any emotions for several long seconds, and then she shifted to face him a bit more, lifting her hands towards his face curiously. Her fingers fell to his hair, and without hesitation she mussed his hair to a state similar to what she had seen in the photo of Darius with his niece. She studied her handiwork sternly, then her expression suddenly relaxed into the small, sweet smile that her employees saw from her so infrequently as a soft laugh escaped her. “Hm… ah… I’m sorry, Darius. I was just… curious.” she admitted, not sounding too sorry, before shifting to fix the mess she’d made of his hair. “There. I fixed it.” she informed him in a decided tone.

There was clearly more to Darius then meets the eye, and certainly more then she had initially believed. Oh, of course, such things were always true to a certain degree, but the brunette was pleased at the warmth to his personality that a little digging had uncovered. It was certainly a welcome discovery; it was a good thing she wasn’t finding out he was a rapist or a crazy axe murderer or secretly a mime on the weekends, or any of the other horror stories entering into an agreement like she had could have resulted in. Warmth, sincerity, love; it was enough to make her smile. Sure, their relationship wasn’t completely traditional, but she was glad to know the man she was involved with had a heart. It made her all the more determined to make this fake dating thing work!

“Huh? Flowers?” Lydia started, but Darius was off before she could object, and the gray eyed girl stared after him a bit helplessly. In a flash Darius was back and flowers were in her face; Lydia stared at them for a second before carefully reaching to take them from the vampire. “Oh, thank you… they’re beautiful.” she said, looking down at them a bit warily. “I have to admit, I’ve never gotten flowers before. Do… do they just need to be put in water? Or do I have to feed them………. flower…… food?” Lydia blinked, then cleared her throat; even she knew that sounded dumb. “Ah, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Thanks again, Darius.” she said, lifting them to her nose for a careful sniff. They smelled wonderful, and her lips twitched into a small smile as she held them close. She looked up, then cleared her throat at Darius’ stern expression. Was she acting too childishly? Well, a person probably did have to be pretty dumb not to know what to do with flowers; Lydia scrunched her nose at the thought. But it reminded her: there was business to take care of.

“A date…” she repeated slowly. “About that… Darius, I think we have to make sure that we have our stories straight before we interact with anyone else. This whole arrangement won’t be very effective if we don’t have the same answers to questions like the ones your sister asked.” Lydia murmured, lifting a hand to run a finger gently against a petal, her expression thoughtful. “And if we have our answers prepared in advance, we won’t be caught off guard by anything… like I was, when you sister asked if we were sleeping together.” the human cringed slightly at the memory. “Though I doubt anyone else would be as forward as your sister, it’s good to be prepared. ” she was thoughtfully silent for a moment, then smiled softly. “I don't want to waste your lunch break... so I guess we should do something efficient with our time. So I guess I'll get to the point. I realized something yesterday that I probably should have sooner... Abram immediately assumed that if there was something going on here, that you were behind it. It never even crossed his mind that I could be tricking you, or whatever it was that he thinks is going on between us. And its probably just because you're a vampire and I'm a human, but I doubt that's something that will stick to just Abram. We're partners in this; I don't want you to come out looking like the bad guy here.” she continued thoughtfully, tapping a flower to her lips. “And what about the future, when we break off our deal?” she asked with a frown. “I want to make sure that we plan ahead enough to make sure that no one thinks you were taking advantage of me, or something like that.” she finished with a confident nod.

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Ｉ ｓａｉｄ ｎｏ, ｎｏ ｙｏｕ'ｒｅ ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ ｏｎｅ ｆｏｒ ｍｅ!
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▇ location: T H E iR E S T U R A N T XXXXX ▇ mood: o ___ OXXXXX ♫ u p b e a t m e l o d y ♫XX
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Staying on the prowl for perverts and keeping an eye on Cassey was a difficult thing, especially when the lights flickered out unexpectedly. Abram’s chicken scratch became neigh on illegible as he looked up, his ears flicking forward at the sudden black out. The women he was waiting on clucked with apprehension and expectations, but Abram mostly tuned them out. What was going on? Then, Enzo began to speak, and Abram’s expression became drawn as the lights lifted and the wizard made his dramatic entrance. The man was really getting in to this... and what had happened to the mess they were supposed to be cleaning up? An eyebrow lifted, and Abram studied Enzo for a long minute before a smile worked itself across his lips. So he and Enzo didn’t exactly get along, and the wizard had made it pretty clear that he was going to be barrier number one to Cassey, but Abram couldn’t help but be impressed by the man’s enthusiasm. Whatever he did, Enzo apparently did it with gusto.

Abram’s eyes first sought out Cassey—first things’ first—and then flicked to the entrance as the opening and closing of the door brought him a bunch of very familiar scents. His family had shown up! Abram was surprised; sure, Mary had extracted the details of his day from him with the precision of an expert torturer the night before, and all of the wolves had shown wide ranges of interest, disbelief, and amusement about the prospects of Abram’s newest daytime occupation, but none of them had mentioned that they were thinking of dropping by for a visit. Perhaps it was intended as a surprise? Well, it was that… but Abram couldn’t help thinking it might have been a teensy bit better of an idea for them to show up on a more ‘normal’ sort of day. His brothers and sisters were probably confused out of their minds.

“This is the place, but…” Matty, who seemed to be in the lead, looked around the restaurant in mild confusion.

“Dude… what is all this? What’s going on?” Clyde whispered loudly as the wizard continued his dramatic dialogue.

“I told you not to use MapQuest for this, Matty.” Alexis grumbled, casting a haughty look around as she was dragged by the hand into the establishment by Dio, who looked appropriately impressed by what he was seeing. “It’s lead us right into a… into a… well, I don’t know what the hell this is, but...”

“Is that Abram?! Hey, guys, I see Abram! Heeey, Abram!” Clyde whispered loudly, waving his arms above his head to try and get his wolf brother’s attention. Poor Enzo; his masterful performance was lost on this particular werewolf. “Stop ogling Cassey and look at meeeee!”

“Shush, all of you!” Mary scolded them as quietly as she could as they all finished piling into the restaurant. “I think there’s some sort of show being put on. Don’t be rude!”

Abram rolled his eyes. The wolf pack stood out like a sore thumb… and not just Jacob, who was trying to look as inconspicuous as a giant of a man possibly could. Alexis was looking at Enzo warily, Dio seemed distracted by the restaurant’s interior, Matty was turning what were sure to be MapQuest directions upside down in his hands and squinting at them closely, Clyde was waving his arms erratically determined to get some acknowledgment from his wolf brother, Dog looked half ready to chew on anyone that touched him, and Mary appeared to be seriously considering putting one (or several) of his packmates in time out. Abram sighed heavily, dropping his head with a shake. Abram hadn’t particularly expected his family to be able to easily blend in with a crowd like this (had he known to expect them, of course), so he wasn’t surprised. Not in the least. Fortunately (maybe) there were dramatics going on in the restaurant that day… maybe they wouldn’t stand out as much? He tilted his head to the side… then realized that he didn’t really care. If they blended in, they were successful; if they stood out, they were funny. Either way, he was happy. A soft chuckle escaped him, and he took a careful step back with intentions to go greet his family, but froze with a disbelieving expression when Enzo’s spotlight fell on his sister.

“You again, huh?” Alexis said dryly as the wizard bowed to her, looking less than impressed. She blinked, one big blue eye twitching slightly as the forward wizard took her hand and tugged her away from a surprised Dio.

“Hey, wait a…” Dio started.

“Look at that! She got chosen for the show!!” Clyde clung to Dio with stars in his eyes, finally distracted from the task that was getting Abram’s attention. “She looks so excited! Maybe she’ll win a car!”

“You’re mental.” Dog grumbled, crossing his arms uncomfortably over his chest.

“Let him free?” Abram murmured, deadpanning. “He’s not talking about me, is he?”

“Oh, is he?” one of the women sighed as she looked up at him. “Then that handsome wizard is after your sister! What are you doing to do?”

“Brace for impact?” Abram offered, wincing as he was literally able to see Alexis’ blood pressure rising.

“What..?”

“Don’t let your mistresses hold you up!” the other, clearly into this act, demanded with fire in her eyes. “You must protect the virtue of your sister! Go!”

“It’s not her virtue I’m worried about, it’s Enzo’s spine…” Abram murmured, but ducked around the two anyway. But it was too late. Green eyes widened as Enzo boldly pulled Alexis into a kiss, a move that sent the black haired werewolf growling and sent poor Dio’s jaw dropping to the floor. The women sighed in a mix of admiration and envy, which was rather fortunate because it mostly masked the warning growls. Dio snaked forward and Enzo’s survival skills suddenly kicked in, causing him to poof away in a puff of smoke that not only saved his hide, but returned the restaurant to normal. “Huh.” Abram tilted his head to the side, sounding thoughtful more then anything. “That turned out better then I thought it would.”

“That damn wizard!!!!” there was fire in Alexis’ eyes, and her fury seemed to curl around her in a tangible form. “I’ll kill him. Mark my words, I’ll kill him!”

“Not if I kill him first!” Dio joined in on the oath making.

“Now, you two, I’m sure Enzo didn’t mean any……….. harm.” Mary deadpanned slightly, cleared her throat, and continued with her defense. “Now, both of you calm down.”

“Calm down?! How the hell am I supposed to calm down?! What if this had happened to you, Mary?!”

“I would have cooked Enzo into something delicious.” Jacob said matter-of-factly.

“Exactly.” Alexis said spitefully. “And that’s why...” the raven haired female jumped as Dio’s head hit the wall heavily, a moan escaping him. “What’s with you?!”

“You cheated on me, Alexis!”

“What the..?! I did not, you b*****d!”

“Ahh…” Mary sighed heavily, then looked to Cassey as a welcome relief. “Cassey! Hello, dear; it’s good to see you again.” she greeted the witch warmly, her eyes instantly darting to the young woman’s tail. “Oh! Are those part of your transformation?“

“You look so cute, Cassey!” Clyde had no qualms about declairing, throwing his arms around her and rubbing his cheek against her. “If you weren’t already spoken for, I’d marry you right now!”

“Marriage is monogamous, Clyde. You can’t just go around deciding to marry every person or thing that catches your interest.” Dog pointed out with a roll of his eyes, reaching out to give Cassey’s ear and inquisitive poke with no change of expression on his face.

“Says you!” Clyde countered, sticking his tongue out at his wolf brother before releasing Cassey.

“You haven’t had your first kiss yet, Cassey?” Mary completely ignored all other parts of the conversation and zeroed in on that part with stars in her eyes. It probably wouldn’t have been so frightening if Jacob hadn’t mirrored her expression as closely as he was able. The blonde cast a sneaky glance at Abram, then looked back at Cassey with the warmest smile she could muster. “Is that so! I’m sure that won’t be the case for long…” she said with enthusiasm, clenching her fist before her in determination.

“She really was, wasn’t she!” Dio whimpered. “Alexis, whhhhhhy! You know I love you!”

“S-Shut up, Dio! I didn’t…” the woman stopped, blinked, then looked at Cassey as if she was just remembering herself. “Huh. I really was, huh? You think so? Come to think of it, it did come rather natural…”

“Nooooooooooo!” Dio seemed about ready to melt into a pile of sad, sad goo.

“Would you guys stop making such a scene? Jeeze…” Matty mumbled, a bit embarrassed as he adjusted his glasses. He glanced in the direction of the Gorgon and lifted a hand to wave at her, grinning a bit sheepishly. “Hey… yeah, we came to see Abram. I mean, we thought we were going to do it all sneaky-like, but…”

“Hey, you’re right, Cassey!” Clyde delighted in agreeing. “Dog’s popular!”

“What the..?” Dog’s eye twitched severely as he leaned away from the inquisitive fingers poking at him. If his ears were visible, they’d have surely been folded back against his head. “What are you doing? Stop that..!”

“Aw, how cute. Be nice, dear…” Mary giggled.

“You!” Alexis couldn’t seem to help reverting to her anger as Enzo reappeared. “You’ve got some nerve!”

“What’s going on over here?” Abram chuckled as he joined the group, shooting Alexis a bit of a warning look that she completely ignored.

“What’s this about acting, Abram?” Mary asked, looking from Cassey to Abram and back to Cassey, coming to the clear conclusion that she was going to get more information out of the two spell casters then her wolf brother.

“Wait, he played a vampire?” Clyde turned to squint hard to Abram. “Hmmmm… I’m not seeing it.”

“Hey, I was an awesome vampire.” Abram insisted with a grin. “I got the accent down and everything.” he added, then hesitated. Maybe explaining that particular part of his morning to the werewolves wouldn’t be the most wise… they’d be sure to laugh their tails off.

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{ ｓ ｅ ｎ ｔ } ｉｔ ｔｏ ａ ｐｌａｃｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｍｉｄｄｌｅ ｏｆ ｎｏｗｈｅｒｅ
Ｗｉｔｈ ａ ＢＩＧ ＢＬＡＣＫ ＨＯＲＳＥ ａｎｄ ａ ｃｈｅｒｒｙ ｔｒｅｅ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｎｏｗ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｃｏｍｅ ｂａｃｋ, 'ｃａｕｓｅ ｉｔ'ｓ ｏｈ ｓｏ ｈａｐｐｙ
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｎｏｗ Ｉ'ｖｅ ｇｏｔ ａ ｈｏｌｅ ｆｏr ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｌｄ ｔｏ ｓｅｅ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

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Enzo had lived a life filled with magic, lost loves, tight situations, and a number of ridiculous proclamations. He bore no last name for his father was only a passing thought in his mother’s playful nature. The only thing he knew about his absent father was that the man was a wizard. Not a very good wizard seeing as there were few records of him, but a wizard nonetheless. Enzo’s youth was spent performing along side his gypsy mother. The woman’s stage name was Madam Luca. Like most gypsies, her Christian name was lost the moment she stepped on stage. Not even Enzo knew his mother’s true name. The woman’s beauty enchanted lovers while her words inspired poets. She was a fortune-telling dancer who taught her only child well. Luca was a self-proclaimed sinner who delighted in her vices. Her son’s talents spread quickly during Enzo’s youth. His natural abilities made him desirable, but his half-gypsy heritage made him unacceptable. Gypsies used black magic just as witches and wizards did. However, the gypsies’ spells were based off trickery and ill will. They were known for their curses and spirit bending ways. Spirit bending was off-limits in the witch realm so naturally the two cultures didn’t mix very well. Enzo was denied any position of real power even though his knack for spell casting was unmatchable at the time. Enzo, however, never resented his mother for his misfortune. Instead, he embraced his heritage and happily settled into his simple life as one of the best magic teachers in the world. The council had offered him a seat on their panel once, if and only if, he denounced his mother’s dark-spell casting side and promised to never cast a forbidden spell or speak to his mother. Luca encouraged her son to take the opportunity, but Enzo refused. There were some things more important than business or opportunities.

The wizard had fallen in love once during his long life. No, it wasn’t the love he proclaimed every time his fluttering heart saw a pretty face. This love was true, deep, and spellbinding. The woman was a werewolf whose name pained him too much to remember. She was young, passionate, and held so much life. The girl’s pack was one of the first to be hit when Vidar started his rampage to find the one werewolf he was searching for. Odin’s son held no remorse as he mercilessly killed pack after pack in his desperate search. Enzo tried to find the she-wolf’s body, but couldn’t. Everyone else in her pack had died so he assumed the worse. Now Enzo was by no means a revengeful sort of person. He was often (more times than not) forgiving. But the assumed death of his beloved made his heart turn cold. He did what the wizarding world feared he might do. He used those spirit-bending and curse-casting spells against another wizard. The tricky thing about gypsy magic was the fact that it needed someone outside of the casting to perform the curse. That was where Jacob came in. He was the only man on the planet who could possibly handle such a curse and live to see the day of light. It was a risky move, but both agreed to it on the condition of never speaking a word of the situation to another living soul. Alexis had made Enzo’s heart beat just as his first love had. He knew that it was a risky move kissing her, but he wanted to feel that moment once again. A warm chuckle lifted through his entire body as he watched the she-wolf’s eyes ignite with passion and fire. If the wizard had to do it all over again, he would in a heart beat.

While Enzo composed himself wherever it was he had transported himself too, Cassandra was looking all too pleased. Her welcoming eyes gazed into Mary’s as she nodded her head. ”It’s good to see you too Mary!” said the girl whole-heartedly. She really was delighted to see the older she-wolf. Her eyes followed Mary’s towards her tail. ”YES! Isn’t it wonderful! They actually look like cat ears and a tail this time!” she said hugging her tail as if it were a teddy bear. Her newly sensitive hearing caused her ears to perk at Clyde’s calling. A girlish blush danced across her cheeks as Clyde hugged her. Spoken for? So Clyde knew and understood all about Cassey’s plan to marry Darius? Her eyes looked positively giddy as she turned to look at him. She was about to question him on what she should do to win the fair vampire’s heart when Dog spoke up. Her eyes looked up as the man unemotionally touched her ear causing it to flick back. ”Dog! You should at least try to smile when you touch my ear! It looks so strange to see Abram’s face without his signature grin.” explained the catgirl as her tail swung behind her.

Cassandra’s eyes squinted while was staring at Dog. She seemed to be having a small standoff with him. Those violet eyes of hers showed her clear longing to force his lips into a grin. She seemed to be contemplating it for some time before she heard Mary’s voice. ”Huh?” she asked touching her cheek when Mary questioned her about not having her first kiss. ”Well, every time a boy when come near the house Dad would come out to greet him and he would run. I never understood why. My mom said that they weren’t worth my time if they couldn’t even shake hands with my father.” she said thinking about the interactions between her mother and herself. ”I also have never felt the need to kiss someone…well until now.” she blushed her head lowering. Her entire body seemed to radiate as she let her fingers twirl through her long locks. ”You really think it won’t be long? Lydia is so professional though! And so pretty, worldly, and all around interesting. But you are right Mary! If I continue to work hard that vampire will be kissing me in no time!” Mary seemed to have only encouraged the witch’s obsession with the blood-sucking vampire.

Cassey’s short attention span was given to Dio this time as she crossed her arms. ”What do you mean whhhhhyyy? Alexis is a beautiful young woman! Everyone in this establishment can barely keep their eyes off of her! You know Alexis, I am sure that there are plenty of eligible young men here who would be more than willingly step up to the plate and marry you.” she teased giving the other one solid nod. Her eyes quickly flickered to Matty as she began to bow to him. ”Sorry! I didn’t mean to embarrass you!” she said taking full responsibility for everyone. However, Cassey could not help her enthusiasm at Dog’s attention.

”Nerve? What nerve? It was an act my dearest little sugar fairy.” teased Enzo already giving Alexis a pet name. His smile only lifted as he watched her anger flare. ”Did anyone ever tell you, you look cute when you get all upset?” asked the shameless wizard, so much for him settling on only receiving a kiss and dropping her pursuit. The wizard hardly seemed phased at all with Dio being right there next to Alexis.

”He played a wonderful vampire! It was a play put on by Isabella.” explained Cassey speaking directly to Clyde who seemed to be most interested. ”He was good though!” she argued.

”Pst. Good my a**!” said Edward placing his hand on top of Cassey’s head. ”He was about as good as a deranged duck is graceful. That accent was awful. I still think I should have had that part.” he smirked making himself right at home with the wolves he had just been speaking poorly about. ”And I wouldn’t have minded drinking some of Cassey’s blood either…for the act of course. Naturally, it was all for the – Oh god…she is behind me isn’t she?” asked the Edward stopping as he peaked only to feel a sharp pain in the back of his neck. ”Ow! Tammy! Stop throwing things at me!”

”Well then get back to work you lazy bum!” she huffed.

”Alright, how about I show you all to your table?” questioned the girl her eyes following the departing Edward. Cassey shrugged her shoulders and moved her head to point towards their seats. She grabbed enough menus for everyone as she led the way. ”I do hope all of you will enjoy your stay here with us.” she said as she began to hand each a menu. ”All of our spices are made from scratch by our lovely Tammy. If you have any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them.” she said with a quick curtsy. She was giving them the usual treatment towards her customers as she prepared herself. ”What would you all like to drink?” she asked her eyes sparkling under the fluorescent light. After writing everyone’s drink orders down, she glanced up at them. ”I will bring you your drinks right now!” she promised before fluttering off to the back letting Abram have time with his loved ones.

”Yo, Cassandra…who is that guy sitting next to Alexis?” asked Enzo his expression for once thoughtful as he leaned against the doorway. He hands were behind his neck as he watched the couple. Cassey stopped and turned to look at them.

”That? Oh that’s Dio…Alexis’s fiancé! You best be nice to him.” she scolded causing her teacher to pat the top of her head. ”I need to hurry!” she said rushing off to grab the drinks. Enzo turned his body around and tilted his head slightly as he watched the she-wolf. There was something else in the back of his eyes before he brushed his hair back.

”Ugh. I’m getting too sentimental in my old age.” he muttered with his hands shifting into his pockets. ”Um…Cassey would you like some help?” he asked as he watched the little witchling struggling with a tray of glasses.

”Nope. You have other customers to worry about! I can handle this!” she promised rushing out back towards the others. She handed the older couple their drinks before moving to Abram’s family. ”Guess who has driiiinnkks!” she said leaning to hand everyone’s drinks. ”Have you guys figured out what you would like to eat?” she asked curiously.

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Ⓣⓗⓔ Ⓓⓘⓢⓣⓐⓝⓣ Ⓑⓛⓞⓞⓓⓢⓤⓒⓚⓔⓡ

”Hm?” questioned Isabella forcibly tearing her eyes away from her adorable children. ”Well, I was a florist for a while right after I was a painter. Then was a cop for about three years then I was teacher. I won’t bore you with all the details of my different jobs though because it’ll take me a while to go down the list.” she giggled as if such a thing was normal. Yes, Isabella had quite the résumé under her belt. All of her former employers loved her to pieces making it particularly ease for her to charm her way into almost any profession she set her big blue eyes on. ”I’ll just end it on the note that I am currently an author. I write children’s books.” said the woman fondly. Isabella had to fight back a girlish squeak when Lydia agreed that little Nick looked just like his uncle.

Nick was trying to stay on Darius’s good side, he really was. But even that soft spoken wolf, couldn’t help his laugh at Lydia’s enthusiasm of his son’s ears. Well, so much for staying on Darius’s good side. There was always tomorrow to try to win that vampire over right? Today was all about talking about Nick and Isabella’s wonderful children leaving a good impression on Lydia. He sheepishly brushed against the bridge of his nose as he eagerly nodded his head. Maybe Isabella’s cockiness was finally spreading to her husband? ”The ears are wonderful aren’t they? Junior had some difficulty at first, but he got the hang of it.” he reassured. His smile only widened when Lydia claimed that Jacob must have loved having Maria around the kitchen. ”Of course he did! Maria is a wonderful child.” he said in a dazed manner. The conversation continued on about the affairs of the children before Isabella got the bright idea to run off. Nick’s stomach had little time to protest before the two disappeared.

”I know. I know. My baby sister can be a bit much.” said Darius holding up his hand waving it up and down. He loved the girl dearly, but he knew how forward she could be. ”You stiff?” Darius repeated laughing at the prospect. In Darius’s eyes, Lydia was anything but stiff. ”I think she liked you a lot. I’m surprised she didn’t try to whisk you away for the day at the spa and force me to spend quality time with her husband.” Darius physically cringed at the idea alone. Darius turned his gaze back to the woman at his side only to see her eyes focused on his hair. He awkwardly shifted unsure of what she was planning. Usually, the vampire was very good at reading people, but with Lydia? Well, he never knew what that girl was thinking.

A surprised look surfaced across Darius’s handsome features as he felt the human’s fingers easily slide through his hair. ”Curious?” Darius’s hair DID look ridiculously soft that day. Maybe she was tempted by his shiny locks and couldn’t help but steal a feel? Then again this was Lydia. After the girl fixed his hair to its proper state, the man touched the top of his head. He wanted to make sure there wasn’t a tax form or something else business-related stuck in there. When there was no such thing, his eyes focused in on hers. ”I’m sorry, but I have to as-“ That’s when it hit him. The picture! So she liked seeing that side of Darius? The man chuckled as he gave her a charming smile. ”You are too cute.” he mumbled before dashing off to get flowers. It was the perfect excuse to get him away from the awkward situation with Lydia. He had embarrassed himself enough for one day.

”I’m gla-“ Darius was just about to say he was glad she liked them when Lydia claimed she had never received flowers before. He studied the girl for about a minute. How could someone NOT give her flowers! He made a mental note to tell his secretary to send Lydia flowers as often as possible. Even if he wasn’t madly in love trying to woe her, he felt inclined to send her flowers. Call him old fashioned, but he couldn’t help but feel that every woman needed to feel special. Maybe that little witch was finally rubbing off on him? ”Don’t worry Lydia. I’m sure they will be fine.” he reassured finally taking his seat beside her. The man was happy just sitting next to Lydia. It was a strange infatuation that made him so content with things that used to make him restless. There was something about seeing her hug those flowers that entertained the man more than anything else had. How did he possibly live before Lydia came along? The thought frightened him slightly as he silently scolded himself for becoming so attached so quickly. He was a vampire not some lovesick puppy!

”Yes date.” Darius repeated back to her. His eyes scanned her gray ones as he tried to ignore the annoying buzzing noise in the back of his head. That was right. This whole thing was an act. He mentally screamed as he kept his expression straight. ”You’re right.” Of course she was right. Darius couldn’t help but feel that Lydia was just one of those people who was rarely wrong. Her words strummed on every single heart string. Something going on here and he was behind it? Darius froze. Had Lydia figured out his master plan to get close to her? He studied the girl before sighing. Nope. She was still certain that this whole thing was for business. ”I see.” he said with a thoughtful expression.

Darius swallowed as he pulled his game face back on. Lydia was expecting him to answer her with the most business-oriented solution. He let his tongue run across his dry lips before speaking. ”Well, when it comes to the sleeping together part that is easy.” his entire body leaned back as he let his arm stretch behind Lydia. His other hand loosened his tie as he stretched his long frame. Darius looked at ease and was comfortable in his position. ”We will never have sex.” The inner pervert living inside of him secretly cried at his words. However, he had to push himself forward. ”You are an old fashioned young woman and I am a gentleman. You would never give me your virtue without a marriage and I would never ask for it.” he said tilting his head. At least he wasn’t lying when it came to this statement.

The businessman was a vampire. He could wait for as long as he needed to when it came to Lydia. ”Some may speak poorly about your decision to wait, but it is better to be known as being too modest than to be known as being too indecent.” he said his fingertips touching her shoulder. His eyes glanced at his greedy hand. He silently wondered if Lydia would take note of his hand or not. Shrugging the thought away he glanced forward again. ”As for marriage? It is only the beginning of our relationship. We want to get to know each other before getting too serious.” he said inching his body towards hers. His face was kept straight, but his body betrayed him. ”I think we should leave our first meeting the same. It is much easier to explain a truth than to remember a lie. Basically tell people we met when Cassey fell on top of Abram? And we just hit it off in my office?” he offered. His free hand – the one not holding onto Lydia’s shoulder – seemed to be jealous of the other. So his free hand moved its way towards Lydia’s cheek and lightly brushed some of her hair behind her ear. ”Does this sound good to you?” he questioned looking into her gray eyes.

He hoped that sounded right. ”How about we get something to eat though? We can discuss and learn more about one another over food?” he hoped she would agree. He knew he only had so much time with Lydia before she was called off again to the affairs of her business. He stood up and offered the girl his hand to help her up. ”You know, I think this partnership could be very enjoyable if we both just let loose?” he said with that smile resurfacing again. He let his hand lazily lean against her shoulder as his head looked away from her. The fact that she had responded so well to his sister was doing wonders for Darius. If his sister liked Lydia and Lydia liked his sister, then things were going to be just fine. All he needed to do was get Lydia to forget about the werewolf and see Darius has a potential lover. ”Now what sort of place would you like to eat.“ he stopped as he heard that rustling sound again.

His nose twitched as he glanced around. He felt the same feeling he had had the night before. Rolling his shoulders back, he pulled Lydia slightly closer. ”Lydia. You don’t have any enemies do you?” he asked blankly as he turned his head towards her. He silently scolded himself for his question. That was the LAST thing any woman would wanted to hear. Why in the world did he have to ask such a question? ”Ah…not that you should be alarmed or anything!” he reassured instantly feeling embarrassed. ”It was just a question. Forget I asked it.” As if the woman would magically forget he said it.

”Food!” he repeated tugging her along slightly. ”That is why we came out here right? I suppose the best thing to do is for me to figure out the little things right? Your favorite dishes and such?” he offered changing the subject. Why couldn’t he be his usual charming self? Lydia seemed to be able to make Darius look as nervous as a schoolboy. Well, to the trained eye it was obvious that Darius was smitten, but luckily (or at least hopefully) Lydia had not developed this eye ability yet. Darius’s own eyes turned to look at the nearest bush with suspicion. That bush needed to mind its own business! Darius was on a date. The last thing he needed was to be bothered by someone hiding in that suspicious looking bush bush. Crafty little buggers those bushes were turning out to be! Love was making him insane wan’t it? Now Darius was mentally scolding bushes what was next trees?

Focus. He could handle this. He had been on dates before. So what was the big issue with this date? Granted, this date not only held the history of his company, but it was also a date with Lydia. He couldn’t screw this up! He couldn’t screw this up. ”Um do you like to eat dogs?” He just screwed this up. Judging by the appalled look on Lydia’s face she had completely misunderstood his intentions. ”Eh? No I didn’t mean dogs as in wolf wolf I’m a dog…” he quickly said shaking his head back and forth. ”I mean hotdogs. As in that guy over there is selling a hotdog!” he said pointing towards the vendor. It wasn’t even a good suggestion. What was he thinking? Maybe she would think the mix-up was cute? He silently prayed as he glanced back at her to see her reaction.












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[Lady March Hare]

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ｍｙ
ｈｅａｒｔ ｈｉｔ ａ ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ { ｅ ａ ｒ ｌ ｙ } ｈｏｕｒｓ,
Ｓｏ Ｉ ｓｔｏｐｐｅｄ ｉｔ ｄｅａｄ ｆｏｒ ａ ｂｅａｔ ｏｒ ｔｗｏ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｂｕｔ Ｉ ＣＵＴ ｓｏｍｅ ｃｏｒｄ (ａｎｄ Ｉ ｓｈｏｕｌｄｎ'ｔ ｈａｖｅ ｄｏｎｅ ｉｔ)
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｆｏｒｇｉｖｅ ｍｅ ａｆｔｅｒ ａｌｌ ｔｈｅｓｅ ｙｅａｒｓ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

▇ location: O U T S I D E XXXXX ▇ mood: P L A N N I N G XXXXX ♫ q u i e t m e l o d y ♫XX
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Lydia stared at Isabella with no expression on her face to belay her surprise. It took her half a second, and then she sighed softly; why was she surprised? The woman before her was a vampire, long lived, and it certainly shouldn’t come as unexpected that she had had a wide range of careers during her life. Silly really; Lydia was beginning to realize that she had a terrible habit of forgetting who it was she was talking to. Strangely this was a habit she never fell into when she was seated securely behind her desk; coming to the conclusion that it was probably just the change in strategy that had her so thrown off, Lydia filed that observation away under the ‘deal with it later’ part of her brain and nodded slowly at the other woman’s words. “I see… children’s books.” she repeated, then smiled. Something told her that the blue eyed woman would be wonderful at this, her latest profession.

Time flies when looking at pictures of sweet little babies, and before Lydia knew it Isabella and Nick were blips on the horizon. A wry smile lit her lips and she tilted her head to the side slightly to stare after them curiously. They were quite the pair. Her attention was drawn by Darius’ words and she looked back to him with a small smile. “‘Much’? Well, maybe… but I didn’t mind.” she informed him with a nod. Sure, she wasn’t used to such interactions, but she’d handled it. Maybe not super well, but handled was handled, she supposed. An eyebrow quirked at Darius’ laughter, but Lydia didn’t comment on it. Had it really been that noticeable..? Apparently so. Oh well. “Ah… is she prone to doing things like that?” she asked a bit grimly. Lydia and spas definitely didn’t mix: they were places to relax and forget about work, and Lydia was one that didn’t really relax unless she was thinking about work. Never the twain shall meet. Making a mental note to have important business to attend to at any point in the future should Isabella attempt to drag her away for said whisking, the brunette locked on to the last of Darius’ words. “And that would be a bad thing, I suppose?” she asked slowly, studying him with a small smile. “I don’t know Nick very well, but he seems like a nice enough man. Maybe spending some time getting to know him would be beneficial?” she asked slowly, wondering if she was crossing the line into too personal. Lydia looked away and feigned disinterest with a small sigh. “Then again, families are complicated. If there isn’t something that requires effort to maintain, then you probably aren’t doing it right.”

Thinking about Darius’ family led the girl to messing up Darius’ hair, and the girl cleared her throat in slight embarrassment when she realized she’d probably have to explain herself. Darius’ chuckle caught her when she was debating the wisdom of lying about it being part of their dating show (ironically), and she cut her eyes to him questioningly. His words caught her off guard, and she stared at the man as he hurried away. Cute? She felt like she’d heard that word from him a lot already in the two days that the two of them had been involved in this relationship, and it was difficult to fathom just what exactly he was talking about. Was he talking about her? Really? Her confusion was momentary, and Lydia released a disgruntled sigh at the most probably explanation he saw. He probably meant cute like a little kid, or like some other small mammal that wasn’t a puppy, since Darius had probably been dealing with far too much puppy imagery already for the day. Lydia couldn’t help making a face; she wasn’t sure she liked that conclusion at all, in fact she was positive she didn’t, and would have to go about immediately finding out how to change it. …if there was a way to change it, that is. Burying her face discretely in the flowers Darius had brought her, Lydia felt her temporary irritation easing away, and she smiled. She had a lot to work on, sure. But at least Darius, who Lydia was pretty positive had come to the same conclusions, seemed to be taking the idea well.

Lydia was so determined to do better that she felt the fires of determination fill her as the conversation turned to the details of their romantic relationship. The slight human shifted on the bench to face Darius fully, laying her flowers gently in her lap so that her hands would be free. She took comfort from Darius’ obviously relaxed demeanor—she was so lucky to have found someone so mature and invested in the interest of their business for an endeavor like this! Lydia briefly imagined how such an arrangement would have worked had she found someone else as her partner—say, one of the Board of Directors or their puppet-children—and shuddered with a slightly drawn expression. There would have been no way. Darius was perfect, the young businesswoman thought in brimming delight, and had she been alone she might have sighed blissfully. Of course, Lydia’s admiration for the man had an obvious source: his ability to integrate something as impersonal as business with something as personal as dating without getting the two mixed was delightful. Clearly, his appearance in her life was a gift from the benevolent Business Gods. You know, the ones that keep the coffee machines running and contribute positively to the economy. Focusing intently on Darius’ words, the young woman nodded in agreement.

“Of course.” Lydia agreed when Darius covered their sleeping together explanation. It was like a great script she had to memorize to act out a character in a play, all set up with motivation and logic to make it seem really realistic. “That way I look modest, you look levelheaded, and we both look responsible.” she summarized, hitting her fist against her palm in determination. She glanced down at his hand on her shoulder and cleared her throat; perhaps she was getting a little to excited about the details? Well, when it came to business, and probably only business, Lydia was prone to bouts of excitement. Clearing her throat, the girl focused again on Darius, her serious expression slightly marred when she blinked, her attention diverted as he closed the space between them. Was that her imagination? “That makes sense too. I don’t think anyone would respond well to talk of marriage already. Not that it won’t… make for a good scare tactic in the future; we’ll have to… have to remember it.” she finished with slight difficulty, studying Darius taking precedence over making coherent sentences. No, it was definitely not her imagination… well, they were out in public, around impressionable people. Had Darius seen someone he knew? Lydia wanted to look around and find out, but it might defeat the purpose if there was someone that the vampire was trying to trick with their arrangement. So the girl held still, lifting her eyes to his as if hoping to find some clue in their depths. No such luck; to Lydia, at least, the man was unreadable. A gentle touch along her cheek gave her goosebumps, and the girl started slightly, caught off guard. “Er…” Er?!? What sort of response was that?! “Good. Yes, I mean. Perfect.” she agreed, distracted.

Food! A welcome distraction from the weird mental slap she apparently needed; Lydia nodded and shook herself as she reached to take the vampire’s hand. She studied their intertwined digits a bit sternly before offering another nod of approval; that weirdness from seconds before seemed to have passed away from her. Strange. Lydia supposed it didn’t matter as long as it didn’t happen again; how was she supposed to focus on being business savvy if she was going to get distracted by stuff like that, coming from the guy she was dating for show? Clearly she had either been out in the sun too long, or was hungry and acting weirdly; since the former had no basis in logic, Lydia gave an approving nod to the latter.

“Let loose?” she questioned, her voice calm despite her raging thoughts as she studied Darius. Strange. Resolving to think of it no more, the girl continued. “What do you mean?” she asked before turning her mind to the consumption of edibles that she clearly needed to stay focused on business. Before she could come to any solid conclusion, however, Darius was tugging her against him, his question matter-of-fact. The gray eyed girl deadpanned. “Enemies? Well… yes…” she started to murmur, glancing in the direction that Darius had found so interesting. It was like the night before; had he noticed something she hadn’t? Gray eyes narrowed into slits toward the nearest foliage, suspicion evident in her gaze, a gaze that snapped up to Darius’ face at his next words. “Forget? How could I possibly…? Darius, this is the second time you’ve…” Surely the young businesswoman would have continued, but Darius was back to focusing on food, and Lydia was being tugged after the vampire in pursuit thereof.

“Darius…” she started. “What..?” And stopped, looking at him in disbelief. “D-Dogs?” she questioned, eyes widening slightly. Had she misheard him? Did he mean dogs, as in man’s best friend, dogs? Before she could demand any further clarification, the vampire quickly corrected himself. Lydia stared at him for a long moment. “Oh… hotdogs. Yes, of course.” she said, shooting him a reflexive smile before reaching to take his hand firmly. Darius was acting strangely, but the girl was loathe to ask about it. Who was she to say what was strange and what wasn’t after all? Not that she didn’t have questions to ask… first, food. Leading the way to the vendor, the girl greeted the eager eyed man with a small smile and an order, one she made sure to quickly pay for herself before Darius could politely offer. She was old fashioned, but she wasn’t that old fashioned. “Thanks.” she murmured before turning and tugging Darius away.

“Darius.” she started as soon as she felt they were out of hearing range. There wasn’t even time to take a bite of food! Lydia was prone to forgetting such things when she had questions that needed answering. Gray eyes flicked upward to Darius’ face, her expression somewhat suspicious. “About earlier… why did you ask if I have any enemies? Did you notice something I didn’t?” she asked, her voice quiet but straightforward. “Hm…” she continued after a moment. “I suppose it just surprised me, your asking like that… it wasn’t because of anything you’ve heard, is it?” she continued, her tone suddenly wary and a frown creasing her brow. Lydia had a lot of people that might be considered ‘enemies’, but there was only one that she didn’t want news getting out about, especially to this particular businessman. Her expression tightened at the very thought. But logic suddenly spoke up to ruin the party: you're going to have to tell him about you father sometime, Lydia. She sighed. “The thing is…” she started slowly. “I have a lot of enemies. Heads of other pharmaceutical companies, the man that runs the Starbucks on the corner, my great aunt Libby, the woman who answers phones at the computer technical support company, whoever it was that invented the fax machine, the lead editor over at the Herald, Abram's second cousin's third wife Amanda, every single member of my own Board of Directors, that weird one-or-maybe twins guy with the hat...” Lydia rattled off matter-of-factly. “Fellowship Pharmaceutical's ex-VP, most mimes... the point is, though they may be considered 'enemies', I don't count most of them as a real threat. Save for one. My father.” the girl hesitated, dropping her stern eyes to the ground with a sigh. She hated talking about her father... but it was necessary. “We cut off ties with him ages ago. I don't know how mom hushed it up as well as she did... I don't think she paid him off, since he doesn't really seem to care about money much, but she did it. Wish she'd told me...” she couldn't help adding in a grumble. “But, since she died, he's come back. Not physically, but I wouldn't doubt that I'll be seeing him soon... he likes to say so, just because he enjoys the thought of making me squirm.” she reported grimly.

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Ｉ ｓａｉｄ ｎｏ, ｎｏ ｙｏｕ'ｒｅ ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ ｏｎｅ ｆｏｒ ｍｅ!
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▇ location: T H E iR E S T U R A N T XXXXX ▇ mood: P L O T T I N G ?XXXXX ♫ u p b e a t m e l o d y ♫XX
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“That’s wonderful, Cassey!” Mary said with warmth, giving the ears and tail on the witch that were the topic of conversation great scrutiny and admiration. Her motherly face softened into a smile as she watched the girl’s excitement, already having adopted the purple eyed witch in her mind. And, since she and Isabella were great friends and of like mind that Cassandra and Abram were meant to be, Cassey practically was family already, as far as Mary was concerned. After all, Abram didn’t fall easily when it came to the girls, so when he zeroed in on someone like Cassey, Mary knew to get excited. The she-wolf sighed dreamily, wedding bells already ringing in her mind.

“You look very cute, Cassey.” Jacob grumbled, reaching a beefy hand forward to get in on the ear poking. Nearby patrons gasped and watched with wide eyes, clearly under the impression that the massive man was going to squish the cute little witch with a single finger. His gentle poke was watched with suspicion even after its completion. “You’ll have to let us see when you make the complete change to cat too. I promise, I won’t let any of the wolves chase you.” the big baker promised, ignorant or ignoring the effect his interaction with Cassey had on the other visitors to the restaurant.

Dog, however, looked nowhere near as accepting. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Cassey… it was just the way he was: not very friendly, at least not openly, to anyone but his elder cousin, who he secretly looked up to (at least, Dog thought it was a secret). His eyes narrowed to match the witch’s, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “You want Abram’s grin, go find Abram.” he countered gruffly.

“Don’t mind him, Cassey!” Clyde whispered in a loud, obvious way that even the humans probably heard, never mind the hypersensitive werewolf being discussed. “Dog always gets grumpy when he’s hungry.”

“Shut up.” Dog grumbled, diverting his eyes in slight embarrassment.

This might have been a point where Mary would have interceded with some calming words to ease away the bickering, but she wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to her pack in that moment. Her sparkling blues were focused on Cassey, the motherly heart in her chest skipping a delighted beat as Cassey elaborated on her kissing history. Mary nodded eagerly. “That’s very true, Cassey; a man who is worth your time will go through anything for you, no matter how horrifying or possibly traumatic!” the blonde agreed with feeling. “Someone you want to kiss now?!? Do you mean..? Can it be..?!” she questioned in growing delight. Wait; why was Cassey talking about Lydia?! No… the witch was still focused on that vampire? Mary was crushed, looking heavenward with an expression that clearly read ‘why, God, why?’

“Nooo, Cassey! You can’t kiss a vampire! He’ll turn you into a newt!” Clyde paused, made a face, then shook his head. “No, wait, that wasn’t right. I meant to say that you’ll turn him into a newt. ………..wait. No, that’s not right either. Wait a minute…”

“Shush!” Dio put a finger to his lips and waved a hand rapidly at Cassey. “I thought you were on my side, Cassey! Don’t give her any ideas! I’m afraid of commitment!”

“How can you possibly be afraid of commitment?!? We’ve been dating for years!” Alexis hissed, her eye doing that unhealthy twitching again. Fortunately for Dio and Dio alone, Enzo reappeared and Alexis rounded on him, eyes narrowing and fingers curling into fists at her sides. “Sugar fairy?!? You’re lucky I don’t take you out back and beat you like you stole something!” she snapped. Enzo’s reply did not help to calm her rage, and Alexis took a glowering step closer to the wizard. “I’ll show you upset…” she vowed, but suddenly found Abram’s arm stretched across her collarbone, applying gentle but insistent pressure away from Enzo. “ Abram, if you don’t get out of my way, I swear that I’ll rip your arm off and beat you to death with it.”

“Well, as much fun as that sounds…” Abram admonished with a teasing grin. “No can do. Sorry, sis, but this is a public place. No brawling, not even with overly friendly wizards.”

“Feh! You wouldn’t be saying that if it were Cassey he was smoozing...” Alexis looked at Abram a bit resentfully. Abram only grinned at her cheekily in response, which apparently did nothing to appease the she-wolf.

“Just behave, alright?” Abram chuckled, in too good of a humor to take Alexis’ grumblings to heart. It seemed like every time Cassey got into a conversation with his family—who were clearly fond of her—it was going to put a bounce in his step.

“Oh, so Isabella was here? I thought I caught her scent…”

“He was? Really?” Clyde leaned a bit closer to her, looking fascinated. “Did you… did you get any pictures? I just can’t picture Abram even pretending to be a vampire. Oh… no… wait a minute… now I am…. Heheheh…”

Abram rolled his eyes, then glanced at Edward with a wry grin. For all of his grumbling about werewolves, the vampire sure was quick to come talk to them. It was grin-worthy; sure, Edward was doing it to bash Abram’s admittedly terrible vampire impression, but it was a step forward. Were he not concerned about the vampire smell that was sure to linger throughout the day, Abram would have cheekily ruffled Edward’s hair; he was still tempted to do it, right up until Tammy’s special brand of retributive justice struck the vampire down. A chuckle escaped him, and he shook his head slowly as he looked at Edward.

“She’s got you on a short leash. I approve.”

“Thank you.” Jacob answered for the group when Cassey offered to take them to their table, leading the pack after the girl in the maid costume.

“I’m sure we will. It’s already been a lovely visit.” Mary conceded as she sat, finally having recovered from the disappointment that Abram wasn’t the one Cassey wanted to kiss yet. In general, Mary was a patient woman, but when it came to the budding romance between the witch and the werewolf, well…

“Made… from… scratch. Really?” Clyde seemed fit to explode at this news and actually tried to stand up in his chair for his next words; he would have been successful if an annoyed looking Dog hadn’t prevented such a move with a stern yank on his arm. “Thank you, Tammy!” he called to her regardless. “You’re lovely!!”

“See, Clyde, this is why we can’t take you to nice places.” Abram said as he moved to what he felt was his place at Cassey’s side, allowing his forearm to rest on her shoulder. The werewolf pack placed their drink orders (Clyde with a side of overly dramatic pouting matched only by Dio, who was facedown on the table), and Abram slid his arm from Cassey to shift to watch her go with a smile. Shooting a warning glance to the old pervert he had identified earlier in the day, Abram slowly turned back to his family and deadpanned. Every single one of the werewolves was looking at him intensely, even the normally stoic Dog. Abram sighed; he knew what was coming. Oh well; might as well annoy them and ask anyway. “What?”

“You haven’t asked her yet!” Rather then being a question, Mary’s tone was scolding.

“Well, no… things have been kind of busy today, Mary.” Abram replied, lifting an eyebrow.

“What are you waiting for, man?” Clyde whined. “If you’re going to ask her out, you have to do it immediately! And you have to do it fast, so she’s stunned! That way she’ll forget about that vampire guy and say yes! It’s a foolproof plan! Just do it!”

“I’m not so sure about foolproof…” Matty muttered, looking at a menu. “He’s asking her out, Clyde. Not knocking her unconscious so he can drag her back to the cave.”

“Oh, I see…….. so… should we try that?”

“No!”

“No!”

“No!”

“No!”

“No!”

“Well, darn. I guess since Plan A has been shot down, I’ll just have to ask her out like a normal person.” Abram said with a slight rolling of his eyes, rubbing at his ear after the onslaught of unanimous ‘no’s. “Relax, guys. Believe it or not, I know what I’m doing.”

“Even I don’t believe that one.” Clyde snickered.

“Don’t act like you don’t need our advice. She nearly took you out without even trying yesterday, Abram. We’re here for moral support, at least!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You all need a hobby.”

“Like stamp collecting?!” Clyde gasped, stars in his eyes and metaphorical tail wagging as he completely ignored the groan from Dog.

“Sure, like stamp collecting.” Abram chuckled. Familiar footsteps returned and Abram pressed a finger to his lips with a wink before turning to face Cassey. “Whoa... need any help with that, Cassey?” he asked, reaching out as if to help Cassey with the drinks, leaving his hand to hover over her shoulder.

“Thanks, dear…” Mary said with an appreciative as she reached to help pass the drinks around the table. “As for food… well, decided is probably the wrong word. Let’s see… we’ll probably have this… and this… and one, no, two of these… and one of these… and this sounds good… and this too…” the woman said, a look of concentration on her face as she pointed things off the menu.

“We’re big eaters, Cassey.” Jacob spoke off when he saw the trend his wife seemed to have fallen into. “Just bring us one of everything on this side of the menu.” he finished matter-of-factly. There was certainly no effort made for elaboration; of all the werewolf stereotypes, eating lots and lots of food was certainly one that held true.

“Sorry for overworking you, lovely Tammy!” Clyde called back to the Gorgon childishly, only barely able to get his words out before Matty and Dog both moved to shut him up.

“Whyyyyyyyyyyy!?” Dio, his forehead still planted against the table in an extremely depressed manner, continued to whine.

“Oh man… good luck with that, Cassey.” Abram sighed, patting the little witch’s shoulder. Green eyes flicked to her ears and he couldn’t resist giving the nearest a playful tweak before turning away. “I’ll be back...” he said, waving his notepad a bit dismissively before moving to return to the kitchen. He made directly for Tammy’s window, a wide smile on his lips until he looked down at what he’d written. Even he was having a hard time reading it. Perhaps Tammy wouldn’t notice? Plastering an innocent look on his face, the werewolf handed the order of the two women to the Gorgon. “Here you go, Tammy...” he said, already distracted as he shifted to peer back out at Cassey. That goofy grin that seemed to come to him on instinct whenever he lost himself in staring at the little spell caster plastered itself on his face, and for a moment he stood just watching her appreciatively before her caught himself, shaking his head with a chuckle. He was thoughtfully silent for a minute, then looked back to the Gorgon cook. “Hey Tammy... you got a minute?” he asked, moving to lean against her window. “I know that it's just been SO hard to tell, but I've got a bit of a thing for Cassey.” the werewolf reported without embarrassment, his grin still wide and unapologetic. Abram had plenty of faults, to be sure, but shyness was clearly not one of them. “And I was thinking I'd try asking her out. I know this amusement park I thought she might like... Wonder-World, you know, the place that just opened up? Yeah, that one. But I just got to thinking... my luck with Cass hasn't been too great so far. So I figured getting some dirt on her first might help my luck. She likes amusement parks, right? She's not allergic to cotton candy or scared of clowns or anything like that, is she?” the lovesick pouch asked thoughtfully. “Because that would be just my luck.” he added sheepishly. Casting a warning glance to the Universe (wherever one looked to do such a thing), Abram cocked his head to the side at Tammy's reply and grinned. “Good... now I've just got to figure out how to get her to agree to go with me in the first place. Hmmm...”

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{ ｓ ｅ ｎ ｔ } ｉｔ ｔｏ ａ ｐｌａｃｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｍｉｄｄｌｅ ｏｆ ｎｏｗｈｅｒｅ
Ｗｉｔｈ ａ ＢＩＧ ＢＬＡＣＫ ＨＯＲＳＥ ａｎｄ ａ ｃｈｅｒｒｙ ｔｒｅｅ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｎｏｗ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｃｏｍｅ ｂａｃｋ, 'ｃａｕｓｅ ｉｔ'ｓ ｏｈ ｓｏ ｈａｐｐｙ
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Ａｎｄ ｎｏｗ Ｉ'ｖｅ ｇｏｔ ａ ｈｏｌｅ ｆｏr ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｌｄ ｔｏ ｓｅｅ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

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”Thank you Aa-br…Woah. Am I cooking for an entire fleet of hungry Marines?” asked the gorgon her eyes doing a double take on the long list of dishes. Her eyes squinted as she tried to make out exactly what each person had ordered. ”Screw it…I’m just gonna cook them everything and let them have at it.” she decided tossing the paper across the counter. Her feet pitter-pattered towards the grill before she heard Abram call for her. Her head tilted against her neck so she could look at him as she prepared the dishes. ”Sure Abram. I’m only cooking for an army of hungry wolves, but I think I can spare my ears. It’s the hands that are doing all the work anyways.” she teased wiggling her digits at the werewolf. ”You are planning on asking out the witch? How cute.” she said fondly as she went back to chopping carrots into fine pieces. ”Cassandra would LOVE an amusement park. The girl is as hyper as they come.” she explained with a carefree wink.

The woman stopped her chopping at his question about Cassey’s dirt. ”I don’t think she particularly likes clowns, but I don’t think she fears them. Hm. There is only one thing I KNOW she fears.” said the woman shaking her knife back and forth causally. ”Being locked in a confided dark area. So no trying to get her to go on one of those Tunnel of Love rides got it?” mocked the woman her eyes staring off into the distance as she spoke the first part before darting back to the wolf. The gorgon looked thoughtful as she offered Abram a smile. ”You will have to impress her sister if you want to stand a chance with Cassandra.” she warned before Cassey came hopping into the back. ”Don’t worry. I will help you out with the asking Lover Boy.” whispered the gorgon. ”Hey Cass will you come over here for a few minutes?” she asked.

”Sure…what do you need Tammy?” asked the cat girl as she leaned against the counter. Her ears were perked upwards as she looked ready for business. ”Is something wrong?” she asked looking at Abram before glancing back at the gorgon. She awkwardly pulled at her skirt before settling herself.

”No dear.” said Tammy carefully. How exactly was she supposed to start this? ”Abram’s family is nice aren’t they?” questioned the gorgon figuring that was the perfect place to start. Clearly it WAS the perfect place seeing as Cassey practically beamed to life at the mere mention of the boy’s family.

”They are wonderful. Really they are!” said Cassey looking towards Abram. ”Although, I feel like I have offended Dog somehow.” she said her eyes becoming sad. ”I mean-“ She was cut off by Tammy quickly saying no.

”No he likes you! He likes you a lot! Right Abram?” she encouraged. The last thing they needed was for Cassey to be discouraged because of Dog.

”Really?”

”Yes, really you silly little goose you! He is just shy is all!” said Tammy causing Cassey to let out a faint ‘Oooh.’ ”Have you been to the new amusement part yet?” asked Tammy her transitions failing miserably. ”I think there is someone who really REALLY wants to go with you.” said the gorgon looking fondly at Abram. Cassey looked at the gorgon than looked towards the area she assumed the gorgon was looking. Cassey blinked as she saw Dog with his family. So Dog liked Cassey? Maybe that was why he was being so cold? Poor guy was just trying to express his feelings to her! ”I mean Darius is dating now. So it wouldn’t hurt for you to try the dating scene as well. Just to make sure your love is pure. Besides, you don’t want to break this poor dog’s heart now do you?” Cassey glanced up when Tammy put emphasis on the word dog. So it was true. Dog had fallen in love with Cassey!

The witch was placed in quite the predicament. On the one hand, she didn’t want Darius to think her love was easily given. But on the other hand, she couldn’t very well break Dog’s heart now could she? ”I mean…I love Darius. I don’t want to hurt him. But it might be good for me to at least try the whole dating scene.” she said thoughtfully. ”Besides, I cannot allow someone’s heart to break without ever giving them the chance. Especially someone as special as him.” Tammy looked like a giddy schoolgirl as she watched Cassey swing around to face Abram. ”Do you promise to go?” she asked Tammy beaming with excitement. ”Awesome! I will tell him yes right now!”

”Wait…tell him yes. But Cassey didn’t you ju-“ the words fell on deaf ears as off Cassey ran back towards the table. ”Maybe she is telling your family about what is happening?” suggested the gorgon hoping that Abram hadn’t died from shock yet. However, the cook could not help but feel that Abram wasn’t the only one unprepared for quite a shocking day.

Cassandra seemed to be as bold as Abram as she walked right up to Dog. ”Dog. I know what it feels like to be madly in love with someone.” she said thoughtfully pulling his hands into hers. ”To wake up every morning thinking about that person.” she said fondly before moving the boy’s hand to her chest heart. ”My heart beats faster when I think of Darius.” she said bending down slightly so that she was kneeling in front of the bewildered werewolf. ”Since I know how this feels. I cannot very well deny you the chance to experience love. Do not worry! I will give you a proper chance! I will try my hardest not to think about Darius.” she said pulling Dog into a hug. ”At least for this date.” she said breaking the hug. Her violet eyes stared into his as she lightly cupped his cheek. ”I will go on a date with you. But is it okay if Abram and my sister come along? I was going to hang out with her today.” she asked.

Her head tilted sideways as she remembered that sister of hers. ”I should probably call my sister. She always hates when I surprise her.” said Cassey thoughtfully as she stood up leaving before Dog could say anything. ”I’m warning you though Dog. My love for Darius is very strong.” she said in a determined voice. ”But I will give you a chance!” she said offering the peace sign before hopping off to the other room.

”W….What just happened?” asked a wide-eyed Enzo who had taken the opportunity to hug onto Alexis during all of the chaos. He was such a sly fox when it came to sneaking around the she-wolf. ”Sorry I was scared.” he lied quickly sidestepping away from her temper.

”Come on Dina…” said Cassey who was sitting on the work table in the back of the restaurant. ”Abram is really ni-…I know you are busy! We can still do lunch! We’ll do both. Please? Dog is…well he is embarrassed of his real name! And shouldn’t you be happy I’m not talking about Darius? I’m pretty sure Dog is around my age. I don’t know…I didn’t ask. Really? That close?” she asked hopping off of the table. Edward’s eyes followed after the witch as he carried the werewolves’ food. He gently placed the food down as his eyes watched the doorway.

”Dina!” sang Cassey hugging the older girl almost as soon as she walked inside. The young woman was positively stunning. She looked like an older more mature Cassey. Dina’s violet eyes scanned the entire room as if trying to figure out which boy was dog and which was Abram. While Cassey spewed cuteness everywhere she walked, Dina seemed to hold beauty and pose. She looked like a life-sized Barbie. Her hair was down to her mid-back and she was dressed in a chic yet casual skirt. ”Are you enjoying yourself?” asked Cassey her head tilting sideways.

Dina’s eyebrow twitched as she stared at the ears on top of her sister’s head. ”Ears? Really? Cassandra. I do not think that a girl your age, or any girl for that matter should be subjected to wearing such an outfit.” she pointed out in a strict manner. The older Watson daughter pulled off her jacket and placed it around her sister’s shoulder before continuing. ”Are you having a lunch break now? It seems most of your customers have left.” she noted her eyes scanning the place. All there was, was Abram’s family and that elderly couple. ”Now we-“ Yank. Dina was yanked towards the werewolf table before she had time to question her sister. ”Cassey! This is highly inappropriate!” scolded the woman as she composed herself. She was about to apologize before Cassey began to make introductions.

”Everyone, this is my sister Dina. Dina this is everyone. Dina is studying to be a lawyer right now!” said the younger of the two causing the older to blush. ”Dog is this one right here! We are going on a date together! Ab…Abram are you alright?” she asked glancing at the werewolf. Dina held suspicions eyes as she looked over at the werewolf.

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Was Isabella prone to whisking people away? Darius contemplated the question for a moment. The obvious answer was yes, but he hesitated. He listened to Lydia as he silently drew to a conclusion. ”It is not a bad thing per-say. It is more a thing you should be warned about.” There that seemed a logical enough conclusion yes? He kept his sister from looking too overly abrasive (sort of) as well as successfully warned Lydia about what was to come. His head turned sideways when she began to talk about Nick. His facial expression darkened and tightened as he tugged at his hair. ”You sound like Issy.” he grumbled sounding anything but pleased. If Nick wasn’t a werewolf, Darius might have liked him. Maybe the old vampire was being a bit (more than bit) racist, but he could honestly care less. He was about to come up with some sort of excuse when Lydia made yet another valid point. The human seemed to be good at solution making. Maybe she had a bit of elf in her family history? It would explain those eyes and the wisdom she carried without using much effort at all. ”Yeah.” he agreed settling on the single word as an efficient answer.

The day was going by much faster than Darius had first assumed. Why did they have to talk about their relationship? Why couldn’t they just experience it? That’s when Darius recalled the very nature of this relationship and the thing that made Lydia’s heart sing with joy…Business, Lydia’s dirty little mistress. If only Darius could go back in time and kill whoever thought of creating business in the first place. The man’s eyes became hazy as he pictured the first businessman.

A Step Back in Time.

”We need to get those cave stones to the Northern Tribe by high noon!” snapped Lydia who was dressed up in cave man gear. Her gray eyes held determination as her fist pounded into the rock that served as her desk.

That was frightening…A Step Forward in Time.

Darius cringed at his thought. Somehow he couldn’t help but assume that that situation had actually taken place way back then. ”Hm? Yes. We both look responsible.” repeated the man who was barely listening after his return from the flower salesmen. ”Yes. Marriage is much too soon.” he agreed. Even vampires could fall prey to wondering thoughts. He had to take a deep breath in order to force himself to focus. It was so hard to focus with Lydia so close to him. There she was holding his hand as they walked as if the lies they spoke were true. ”Maybe in the future we could even fake an engagement?” he asked with a small grin. He could already picture Lydia walking around with his mother’s engagement ring claiming that she was his fiancé.

Into the Mind of the Bloodsucking Vampire.

”Oh yes. Have you SEEN this ring?” questioned Lydia laughing with Isabella. ”For the longest time I thought I was a wolf-girl, but CLEARLY I am a vamp-girl”

”I hope you aren’t boring my sister TOO much.” laughed Darius as he walked into the room with two cups of tea.

Leaving the Mind of the Bloodsucking Vampire

Daydreams were becoming problematic at this rate. He barely had enough time to think of an excuse of sensing someone before Lydia was off paying for her food. He awkwardly placed his wallet back into his back pocket as he walked towards her. ”Lydia. I really don’t mind paying.” he reassured hoping that she didn’t think she had to pay because this was a fake relationship. Then again. Lydia DID love the business. Maybe he had offended her? ”I’m not saying anything like a woman shouldn’t be allowed to pay I just…” he stammered before Lydia got right down to business. Could he really expect any less from the girl? He let out a small sigh of relief as he walked her towards another bench. There was that presence again. He looked towards the suspicious bush before sitting down. He crossed his legs at the ankle as he tilted his head to the side. When the girl began to ask about the presence, Darius’s expression tightened. He didn’t want to lie to her, but at the same time he didn’t want her to worry. Maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about lying or frightening because before he could speak Lydia spoke.

The vampire’s eyes widened as he listened to the girl’s list of enemies. Wait…LIST!?. Now Darius knew there were a few people in the world who didn’t like him, but not even HE had a list. His jaw tightened as he forced it shut. He couldn’t very well embarrass Lydia by sitting there with his jaw agape. Who actually had a list? Wait. That’s right Lydia had a list. The vampire’s hand formed into a fist. Maybe he could pay a visit to each of these enemies and protect the honor of Lydia? The last thing she needed was to deal with a list of enemies. He was about to profess his determination when Lydia continued. ”Your…father?” he repeated. Now that Lydia mentioned it, Darius knew very little about that mysterious father of hers. The vampire supposed that a man would have to come into the equation to get the product of Lydia, but for some reason Darius was under the impress that Lydia’s father had passed away long before her mother. Darius sighed as he silently drew a line through one of his more outlandish possibilities of Lydia’s origin. Now that Lydia had official mentioned her father, it meant that the great gods of business did not create Lydia as their own personal child to spread justice, warm coffee, on time tax reports, and an unmatchable determination to get down to the core of marketing.

Darius’s eyes flinched slightly as he looked at the girl. Was this father…abusive…to her? The vampire shifted awkwardly as he tugged on his pant legs. How was he supposed to go about asking her THAT sort of question? This was almost as awkward as explaining the birds and the bees to Isabella. He physically cringed as he remembered his sister’s adorable little face curiously asking him this and that about what went where. ”Your father. He doesn’t…ask you do…well…do something you might feel…um. Uncomfortable with does he?” asked the man assuming the worst. Poor Lydia. Darius really was her secret savior. Not only was Abram a horrid villain, but now Darius was learning about this other threat. ”If he di-“ the man stopped as he heard the ruffling again.

The vampire had had it about up to his forehead with this mysterious person. ”Yes. Someone since yesterday has been following us.” he whispered leaning towards Lydia for fear of this mysterious person eavesdropping. ”Stay here.” His face was so close to hers. He could smell her cheeks, her hair, and her very essence. What was that scent? It was floral yet so delightfully appetizing. It had been so long since Darius had drunk from a living human being. He could see the vein on her neck bobbing as he remained there longer than he should. He silently scolded himself as his nose brushed into her neck.

The man’s left hand couldn’t resist as it held onto the side of her delicate jawline. He lightly pushed her neck back to give him full access. The man’s entire face was barring into the woman’s neck. One bite. Darius could stop after a small taste right? He had been so good for so long. He deserved a treat. The man’s eyes held a greenish hue to them as he greedily took in her smell. Lydia’s small flinch and gasp caused Darius to blink. Instantly, the man let go of her and in a flash of a second he was sitting as far away from her as possible. His head was bent down as his hands clenched onto his thighs. ”I am so sorry Lydia.” he said shutting his eyes in embarrassment. ”I did not eat breakfast this morning and you…your smell. I will not allow it to happen again.” he promised himself. She must have been so frighten of him.

Why couldn’t he just control himself? ”I’ll be back.” he said delighting in the fact that he finally had an excuse to get away from her. No, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to be around the wonderful woman. But after his awkward face in neck motion…well he needed to get away. He moved towards the suspicious bush and bent downwards. ”I see you in there.” he said to the mysterious person he knew was there. Maybe if he revealed the identity of their stalker, Lydia would forgive him for his forwardness?

”A…camera?” asked Darius as he yanked out the mysterious person’s digital camera. He turned the object in between his palms before clicking the button. ”These are…pictures of u- Wait!” he said before the person jumped up and began to run off. ”He…Hey! Get back here!” said Darius who easily caught up to the person. It wasn’t long before Darius had returned with both the camera and stalker.

”Do you know this person Lydia?” he asked before tossing the human the camera. ”They are all pictures of you!” he said glaring at the man. ”If I didn’t know any better…I would say this man has some sick sort of fetish!” barked the defensive vampire shaking the human slightly. What? Darius was stressed!













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[Lady March Hare]

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ｈｅａｒｔ ｈｉｔ ａ ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ { ｅ ａ ｒ ｌ ｙ } ｈｏｕｒｓ,
Ｓｏ Ｉ ｓｔｏｐｐｅｄ ｉｔ ｄｅａｄ ｆｏｒ ａ ｂｅａｔ ｏｒ ｔｗｏ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｂｕｔ Ｉ ＣＵＴ ｓｏｍｅ ｃｏｒｄ (ａｎｄ Ｉ ｓｈｏｕｌｄｎ'ｔ ｈａｖｅ ｄｏｎｅ ｉｔ)
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“Yes…” she murmured, her lips tugging up into a small, secretive smile at Darius’ suggestion that they might fake an engagement in the future. She could just picture the faces of the Board of Directors twisting in alarm and horror at that particular announcement, and the Devil Lydia sitting on her shoulder cackled in psychotic glee at the very thought. But the human kept her face innocently blank so as not to get carried away by those happy, happy thoughts. “I don’t think that’s unreasonable at all.” Lydia said with warmth. “But I suppose we’ll see… we’ll have to play it by ear, do what’s smartest at the time.” she said over the ‘bwahaha’s of the devil Lydia in her head.

The hotdog vendor had led a full, happy life, brimming with excitement and adventure. However, this story isn’t really about him, so the man went back to his trade as Lydia and Darius turned away with lunch. The girl cut her gray eyes up at Darius quietly for a moment, studying him, then smiled slightly. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t mind… but I don’t want you to feel obligated to do such things.” she explained, waving the issue off with her hotdog. Determined not to make this an issue between them and resolving to sneakily take care of it herself, Lydia decided a change in conversation was warranted. Of course, the change in conversation would lead her to talk about her father but, as previously concluded, there was really no getting away from it at this point.

Did Lydia think her list of enemies was anything other then unusual? Nope. Poor Lydia; though she didn’t really take the accumulation of enemies to heat, she was the sort that kept close tabs on such people who didn’t like her. Sure, it was a bit… fanatical, but that word was erased from Lydia’s mind and replaced with diligent, which was widely acknowledged as a better word. At least, in Lydia’s opinion. She nodded at Darius’ clarification, fighting back a sigh and wondering over just how much she should tell her newly obtained significant other. Were her father just deranged, or just sadistic, or just an alarmingly addicted horror movie nerd, she wouldn’t have had many qualms, but he was all of these and a horrible racist. Not exactly the most comfortable thing to explain to one’s vampire boyfriend. Lydia’s eyes lowered at the prospects of explaining what a horrible person her father was to Darius… oblivious to the horrors Darius was imagining for himself.

“Yes, my father.” she confirmed grimly. Her expression twisted to match her tone at Darius’ question. “Uncomfortable? Every single day when I was a child, and every time he slips through security and shows up on my doorstep these days.” the girl reported with a twitching eye, reflecting on the countless anti-‘monster’ pamphlets her father had forced her to listen to every night in leiu of bedtime stories and the fanatical way he would force her to sit with him and watch news clips of violence against humans that he would compile from the evening news… over the span of years. Uncomfortable? Darius could say that again. For a long moment Lydia was resentfully silent, turning the vampire’s words over and over in her head… and then big gray eyes blinked, clarity and understanding flashed through them. “Oh!” she said in surprise, eyes wide as she looked back at Darius. “You mean… oh, no, of course not! My mother would have murdered him!” she sought to explain, actually waving her hands before her slightly as if to clear the air from that little misunderstanding. She pressed her fist to her lips and cleared her throat in slight embarrassment. Okay, after a misunderstanding like that, she had to be honest about this particular part of her past. But where to start? Because her father was somewhat abusive, if for no other reason then because he was absolutely loony and seemed determined to focus that lunacy around his stern eyed daughter. So… how was she supposed to explain such a weirdo? She felt tired just thinking about it.

“My father is a horrible racist.” she said very matter-of-factly. Hey, why beat around the bush when drawing it out was only going to make the whole situation more awkward and uncomfortable then it already was? “That’s not the only thing wrong with him, to be sure… but it’s one of his defining faults. Ever since I was a child he’s had… certain ideas about who I should be spending my time around. Humans only.” she reported, her expression unreadable. “Which is a ridiculous idea even if our family wasn’t involved in a company like ours which, by definition is dealing with creatures that aren’t always human…” she sighed, shaking her head. “What possessed him to help start such a company with ideas like he has…” she trailed off, then made a face. It was official: she really didn’t like talking about this.

Fortunately, the benevolent Business Gods were looking after their most devout disciple and, in their organized wisdom, provided a sort of distraction. Lydia’s irritation crackled as Darius announced the presence of an uninvited guest in a murmur, and she glanced to the side to try and catch a glimpse of the target of her newest court order. She didn’t see anything, but that wasn’t anything new, she supposed.

“Tch… fine.” she spoke in a whisper, since Darius was still close enough to enable such a thing. “Just be careful…” she couldn’t seem to resist adding, her suspicions out in full force and making no effort to rein them in. She blinked, glancing to the side when the vampire didn’t move. “Darius…?” The girl went very still as he buried his face against her neck, her heart skipping a beat and her cheeks turning red at the sudden, unexpected contact. What was he doing?

He’s a vampire, what do you THINK he’s doing? The voice of logic, which sounded suspiciously like Abram, answered her dryly.

For once, the young businesswoman was at a complete loss at what to do. Instinct and logic were at war, instinct ordering that she immediately put up a fuss and demand release and explanation as loud as was humanly possible, while logic reminded her that when that happened on the Animal Planet channel, it rarely ended well for the one that was panicking. But she clearly couldn’t just sit still and do nothing! Maybe this was some sort of strange part of their dating act, put on for this person she couldn’t see, her business sense offered weakly. Perhaps, but Lydia found that it was harder to just accept this and trust Darius blindly on this particular point. Later Darius might laugh at her for not understanding or something, but she would just have to take it like an adult; she couldn’t just not react! But what to do, she thought as her fingers flicked to the back of the hand that held her chin worriedly, her breath catching in her throat. The reaction seemed to catch Darius’ attention, for suddenly the debate was settled as the vampire distanced himself to the opposite end of the bench. For a minute the girl stayed frozen in disbelief, then her hand flicked up to press against her neck as she shifted to look at Darius with wide eyes, her expression, for once, completely unguarded. Adrenaline had her feeling a bit jittery, but her expression softened slightly as she took in Darius’ stiff stance. She gulped softly and nodded, not trusting herself to speak as the vampire took to his feet.

It was one thing to profess that vampires feeding on humans was simply part of nature, and another thing entirely to actually live it. The girl rubbed at her neck a bit apprehensively, her thoughts not on the stalker like they probably should have been, but on that most recent occurrence. Well, if nothing else, Lydia thought she understood a small corner of the reasoning of the humans who offered themselves to vampires willingly; there was something soft and intimate about that moment that the gray eyed girl was sure would appeal to many. There was even heat in her cheeks that remained from when his face was pressing against her throat, and Lydia rather thought of herself as the sort of girl that didn’t really blush easily. Blinking and clearing her throat at her thoughts, Lydia gave herself a firm shake. She couldn’t get caught up in things like this; Darius was clearly embarrassed by what happened and, as his partner, it was her job to minimize this as efficiently as possible! She took a quick self-assessment on her feelings: she wasn’t left feeling scared, rather… unsettled was a bit of a better word for it. She thought about it for a minute in disapproval, then decided sighingly that it was as good as she could have hoped for. She knew quiet a few people who would be scolding her for not taking the opportunity to run away screaming while she had the chance.

Walking. Talking. CHEESEBURGER. Yeah, Abram was number one on that particular list, and Lydia deadpanned at that particular memory.

“Shut up, Abram logic…” she muttered, irritated and shoving it aside. Darius was coming back and she needed to settle and settle fast, so the brunette came to a decision. It never happened: as long as Darius didn’t bring up she wouldn’t either, and it would be as if it never happened. That was the mature, reasonable reaction, right? Of course it was. If nothing else, Lydia decided that she had to take it as a warning in thinking of her vampire companion; she had to remember that the poor guy needed to eat too, and prepare for it accordingly. The young businesswoman cleared her throat, clasped her fingers firmly in her lap, squared her shoulders, and snapped efficiently back into business mode.

“What the..?” Lydia started, her eye twitching as she studied the familiar man Darius had fetched unceremoniously from the bushes. Setting her flowers and untouched hotdog to rest on the bench, the human pushed herself to her feet and planted her hands on her hips. “Oh, wonderful… it’s you.”

“Hey, hey, hey! Careful with the merchandise!” the stalker howled as Darius gave him a firm shake. “If you think of uncovering news and keeping the public informed on important issues is a sick fetish then yes, I have a sick truth fetish!!”

“Ugh…” Lydia sighed as she caught the camera, looking to Darius as she explained. “His name is Chad Something-or-Other, if his multiple flamboyant introductions are to be believed. He works for one of those tabloid rags which, for some reason, he thinks makes him a reporter.”

“News is news, babe. And a young woman new to power and responsibility has to crack sometime, which is news that sells.” Chad said with a wink, tugging himself free from Darius’ hold and brushing himself off. “You’re Darius Constantine, right? Hey, you’re pretty big news yourself! Mind if we sit down for an interview? You’ll get front page coverage!”

“What is this?!” Lydia hissed, her eye back to twitching as she thumbed through the pictures captured on the ‘news’ man’s camera. “How long have you been doing this? You do know this is a criminal offense, don’t you?” she questioned in irritation.

“Eh, for a while now. That’s why I like doing stories on humans; they’re so easy to follow around for good shots. Chad admitted unapologetically, his eyes eager as he looked back and forth between Darius and Lydia with a stretched smile. “Make sure you look through to the ones I took this morning. You know, it's really cute you sleep at your desk like that. But if you're going to do it, you might want to think of getting some curtains. You know, for privacy.”

“I'll be seeing you in court.” Lydia vowed softly, her brow scrunched in a frown as she set herself to systematically deleting the pictures while Chad was distracted.

“Hey, don't get mad. I'm on the hunt for something good, but you're kind of boring, Lydia. Why don't you go out drinking and do stupid things in public like every other important person! But I guess I could forgive you if you cut me in on this. A story about a young woman losing it sells, but a story about a human and a vampire is much juicier… speaking of which, was what I interrupted what I thought it was? Because it looked like you were just about to feed on her… you were, weren’t you, you dog!” he snickered, elbowing Darius like the two of them were just the best of friends before continuing. “That’s hot; our human readers would eat that up with a spoon! Human chicks dig that sort of stuff. Come on, why don’t you help a man out? Just give me my camera back and go back to what you were doing… pretend I’m not even here! I’ll break the story and make a fortune! I can just see the headings now..!”

“Are you an idiot?” Lydia growled. She wanted coverage of her relationship with Darius to trickle out… but it would be done through established news organizations, NOT some celebrity chaser tabloid. It messed with her delicate sensibilities! Leveling her cold stare on the stalker, the slender human prowled closer to him to give him a more effective evil stare. “I suppose I must assume you are. Cut it out. If I catch you doing this again, I'm calling the police.” she promised, yanking from the memory card and throwing it dramatically on the ground. The brunette deadpanned when the deceptively strong bit of plastic didn't shatter like she'd wanted it to, only bounced before coming serenely to rest. Struggling not to blush in the face of Chad's chuckling, Lydia scooped the photocard up again and handed it to Darius for breaking with something of a pout on her face before returning to shooting the reporter a glare.

"Hey, I've got more of those." Chad said with a slightly pained wince. He'd worked hard to take those photos. "Cards and photos. But I can see you two aren't in the mood... or, I guess I ruined the mood, and now you're mad at me. My bad, my bad. I have an idea! Why don't I give you some space, come back later, we can all just sit down for a good long..."

“Go. Away.” Lydia ordered, her eye twitching.

"Soo... is that a no, or a yes, or a maybe..?"

“Go. Away!”

"It's a maybe, then. Got it, got it..."

Lydia couldn't help a groan. Great; not only did she now have a headache, but she would have to go about dealing with this fool and, oh, the growing paranoia that she was being watched all the time. Wonderful; it was making the usually even tempered young woman downright cranky.

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Ｉ ｓａｉｄ ｎｏ, ｎｏ ｙｏｕ'ｒｅ ｎｏｔ ｔｈｅ ｏｎｅ ｆｏｒ ｍｅ!
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“Well, close… try for a few measly werewolves.” Abram said with a teasing grin. “Think that’s bad? You should see the food we go through at holidays. It’s crazy.” he added, leaning more against the window. Only grinning at the Gorgon’s sarcasm, the werewolf paid close attention to her analysis of the object of his affection, nodding slowly to show that he was listening. So Cassey was afraid of confined dark areas? Abram made a mental note to remember that, and made a face at the Tunnel of Love comment. “No Love Tunnel. Got it.” he said with a determined nod, then tilted his head to the side. “Her sister? What’s she like?” Abram said, trying to picture this mysterious elder creature. All the green eyed boy could come up with was Cassey, only taller. What could he say; he wasn’t very inventive. Rubbing his chin, he pondered over the probability of getting on this mysterious sister’s good side for a long moment before grinning at Tammy. “You know, my pack offered to do the same thing, but for some reason it sounds like a much better offer coming from you. Go figure.” he chuckled, looking at the Gorgon fondly. “Thanks, Tammy… apparently, I’ll need as much help with the witchling as I can get. I’m not being picky.” he said with enthusiasm. It was another tail wagging moment to be assured that Tammy was definitely on the side of right in this whole wooing Cassey thing; she was clearly a powerful ally! It was yet another sign from the universe: this was going to go over perfectly!

Cassey skipped into the kitchen, all business and professional like, and despite the monumental occurrence that was about to happen (and which he probably should have been bracing himself for, with his luck) Abram was distracted by how cute she was. It just made him want to jump on her for a snuggle, he thought with a nod and a wide, unapologetic grin. But he would restrain himself only because Tammy was present and, more importantly, helping him in the careful wooing of the lovesick spell caster. Cassey cast a look his way and Abram stood up a little straighter instinctively; catching himself, the werewolf shook off his strange reaction and tried to keep his expression casual. But maybe ‘casual’ was too much to ask for, Abram had a hard time keeping that impish smile off his face whenever Cassey was around, and after a minute of battling it he gave up and let it have its way. It really was a useless battle, especially in the face of the wide smile the witch herself sported at the mention of his family, so Abram figured it would be a waste of energy.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Dog’s over the moon about you, Cass.” Abram assured her quickly, falling into another werewolf phrase with an encouraging nod. “He just has a problem with showing how he really feels. That’s all.” This, again, was nothing but encouraging to Abram; he knew Dog didn’t always strike people in the best ways. The werewolf was distant, abrasive, and not even close to friendly; though Abram knew for a fact that his cousin was secretly his biggest fan and was as loyal as they came, his stern stare had a habit of making people uncomfortable. How most people dealt with this was, well, by being uncomfortable around him; that and distancing themselves from the pack to avoid any situations that could turn awkward. But Cassey? No such thing! The perky little witch was facing the problem head on, with openness and concern, with the fortitude of someone who had plans of sticking around for a while! Abram winked at Tammy as she looked at him, but couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from Cassey for too long. He’d thought about speaking up himself, but he was curious: would she finally catch on? Would she understand that she was the girl Abram had his heart set on? The werewolf found himself filling with optimism! Sure, the little witch had just professed her love for Darius again, but Abram didn’t take it to heart; it was early in the wooing process, after all. Besides, her admission was quickly followed by her possible acceptance of dating despite her love, which seemed to fill the whole room with sunshine. It was just what Abram needed to get his foot in the door; the werewolf was almost positive, and his heart warmed as the girl continued. She thought he was special? If ever there was a tail wagging moment, that was it. Abram stared at Cassey for a long second, then smiled at her broadly. “Of course I do!” he said with a firm nod of his head… and a sudden blink of confusion. “Wait a minute. Tell who..?”

Instead of bashfully turning to face him, or giggling in girlish excitement about the date she had just agreed to go on with him, Cassey was twirling away in a sort of mad dash for the table his family was occupying. It was a strange sort of move, and it left the poor werewolf frozen for a long minute. “Uh…” he shook himself, scratching the back of his head in mild confusion as he looked after Cassey. “Maybe...”

Oblivious to the coming whirlwind that was Cassey, Dog had his jade eyes lowered to the table, mostly ignoring the whispering and snickerings of his family, who seemed to be doing their best to spy on Abram while he was on the job. The dark haired werewolf sighed, tracing the pad of his finger lazily across the table top, his mind filled with the pleasures that were not being forced to sit in a restaurant that smelled like vampires waiting on food that he was going to fight Clyde for anyway. He didn’t know why he was expecting Clyde… it just always seemed to be Clyde, for some reason. He was distracted from these very important thoughts not by Clyde, but by the sudden reappearance of the witch, Abram’s Cassey. The werewolf might have ignored her and gone back to his thoughts if she hadn’t marched directly towards him, and even then he might have played the ignoring game if she hadn’t initiated the conversation using his name. An eyebrow lifted, and Dog looked at the young witch warily. Instincts were warning him, and loudly that this was not good.

“What?” Dog looked down at their suddenly linked hands, his eyebrow twitching slightly. He opened his mouth to say more but froze as his hand was suddenly placed against her chest, the poor werewolf’s whole face turning blue from a sudden inability to breathe. “W-W-W-W-Wha…!?” he started as he was tugged into a hug, holding his arms wide to the side in something of a mild panic. The normally stern features were twisted into something of a panic, and his whole face was beat red, his shock matched only barely on the faces of the other werewolves sitting in on the spectacle. She pulled away, but it was to no welcome relief; Dog stared back at her in wide eyed incomprehension as she gently touched his cheek, looking very much like a deer in headlights. “D……………. date?!” the poor werewolf was finally able to choke out. There was no time for confirmation as Cassey, with one final warning, skipped from the room, apparently unaware of the utter chaos she had just initiated.

There was a short, stunned silence… and then Clyde spoke.

“Dude… you just stole Abram’s girl.”

There was another short silence.

“Oh my god! You just stole Abram’s girl!” Dio’s eyes were practically bugging out of his head as he stared at his packmate. “W-What the hell?!”

“I… didn’t… do it on… purpose!” Poor, poor Dog seemed to be having a difficult time articulating.

“Oh my god!” Alexis was so stunned that it was a long, long minute before she realized that it was Enzo holding on to her. “Gah! Where the hell did you come from?! Get off of me, you perv!”

“S-Such betrayal!” Clyde whimpered as, ever the dramatic one, tears budded up in his eyes. “I would expect something like this from Dio, but never from you, Dog! Never from you! You’re so loyal to Abram!”

“H-Hey! I never said anything about stealing Ca-!”

“W-What is happening?” Mary whispered with a horrified expression, the mental wedding bells that she had already assigned to Cassey and Abram being replaced by a tumultuous storm. “My wedding… my precious, precious wedding…”

“Dog…” Jacob began warningly, shooting the hapless werewolf with the green eyes a stern look. “Is there something you aren’t telling us?”

“NO!” Dog objected loudly, a relative rarity for him, his face still red behind his scowl. He didn’t know what was going on, but his family’s thought process was making him panic. He didn’t give half a damn about what most of them (especially Clyde) thought about his motives, but the idea of Abram having such thoughts about the cousin that SECRETLY adored him so? The appendage reaction to such thoughts were ears back against the head and tail between the legs: not a happy werewolf. “I don’t know what’s going on! I had nothing to do with any of this!” he insisted as the vampire Edward settled food on their table. “I’ll swear to it!” he added, glancing away from his family, his stern but worried gaze seeking out his cousin and closest friend. What he saw made the normally stoic werewolf nearly fall out of his chair.

Abram seemed frozen in place, his normally happy expression drawn and his trademark grin lost, what with his jaw hanging open. Standing in the doorway, Abram’s eyes stayed locked disbelievingly on Cassey, following her even as she skipped past him to go contact her sister. A single eye twitched and, for half a second, it looked like he might cry. Misunderstood again! How was this possible?! The universe had tricked him… again!! A heavy sigh seemed to empty him of all his breath and Abram hung his head, feeling the weight of the traitorous universe pressing down on him. For a moment, Abram’s famous optimism abandoned him. He was never going to get Cassey to see him as a possible love interest, not with the universe standing over him, cackling in some sort of retributive fury. Damn universe!

“What did I do to get such bad karma?” he muttered in amazed disbelief. “Sure, I destroyed that pet store and accidentally dug up that old widow’s flower bed and tripped over an homeless person while out chasing the moon the other day and crossed when it said ‘Do Not Walk’ and knocked over that collection bin for the orphanage, but I didn’t do any of it on purpose! I was sorry about all those things!”

“Eeeeehh…” Dog looked away with a drawn expression on his still-red face and a shudder.

“You better not have!” Mary scolded, tears in the corner of her eyes. “I was already picking out names for their beautiful, beautiful children! You can’t ruin this for me.”

“For them, Mary.” Jacob corrected her stoically.

“Yes, for them!” Mary continued without pause.

“All of you be quiet!” Matty ordered, clearly playing the role of the logical one this time. Adjusting his glasses, the brown haired werewolf fought back a headache and sighed. “Clearly this has been some sort of misunderstanding… on just our part, I’ll bet! I’ll bet this is some sort of master plan Abram thought up to get Cassey to fall in love with him!”

There was a brief pause as the werewolves looked in unison at Abram.

“Yeeeaaah… I don’t think that’s what happened. Not at all.” Dio spoke grimly for the group.

“I think Abram might have died.” Clyde whispered solemnly.

This probably would have continued in this manner for forever, or at least until Abram actually did die and his body hitting the floor triggered the protective instinct in his packmates, had the door not swung open. Even the door opening might not have proven a distraction had Cassey not passed in a blur to intersect the person entering, immediately drawing the attentions of every werewolf in the place. Eyes widened and flicked back and forth between the two sisters for a long second before the whispering began.

“Oh my… who is that? That must be her sister…”

“Must be; their eyes are so similar…”

“Holy cow, but she’s gorgeous!” Dio breathed, stars in his eyes as he studied Dina. Sensing his impending doom as Alexis bent a solid steel fork in half using only her thumb, the red headed werewolf laughed nervously as he continued. “I-I mean, in a detached sort of way completely devoid of feeling! Like how a work of art is gorgeous, or a building, or a skyline, or a porn star-OW! Alexis, stop hitting me! I was just joking! I was just joking! NO! Not the choke hold! Alexis, I can’t breaaaathe..!”

“Stop horsing around, Alexis.”

“I’m not horsing around. I’m murdering him.”

“Shut up, everybody!” Clyde shushed them, putting on his best innocent, watery puppy dog eyes as Dina’s stern, critical gaze cast over them. “I think she can smell our fear…” he murmured, sounding fascinated. “Quick, Dog! Look amicable! No, not like that… smile, man, smile! Ah! She’s coming over here! Do it now, Dog! You’re our only hope!”

“Would you just shut the hell..!”

“Dina! Oh, it’s very nice to meet you!” Mary spoke (a bit loudly) over her packmates, effectively shutting them up. “A lawyer… how very impressive!”

“Nice to meet you.” Jacob said with a scowl, focusing on prying Alexis’ hand from the blue face and neck of Dio in a rather calm, unhurried sort of way.

Dog didn’t speak, his expression bordering on glowering as he studied the two sisters. He didn’t look friendly, approachable, or datable in the least. In fact, he looked rather deranged. The nervous laughter of Mary, Clyde, and Matty apparently did nothing to detract from this.

Meanwhile, in Abram-Land, the sandy haired werewolf was dragging himself from the pits of despair with growing success. No, he would not abandon his optimism, damn it! He was an optimist by nature, and no minor setback on the road to eternal bliss was going to change that! He liked being optimistic, damn it, and he was going to be optimistic! There was a silver lining to this somewhere, there had to be; an optimist believed there always was. Abram cast about in his memories, fishing for the memory that would lift his spirits…

" You will have to impress her sister if you want to stand a chance with Cassandra."

Abram blinked, his eyes clearing as Tammy’s words from what seemed an age ago surged to the forefront of his memory. Cassey’s sister! Maybe this was a gift in disguise after all. Maybe this would be the perfect sort of opportunity to befriend Cassey’s sister, in a situation and environment where she wouldn’t automatically be suspicious of him because of his angle towards her sister! Sure, Abram was easier to read then an open book projected onto the broad side of a building, but his optimism was back in force! This could be a good thing! And, while it didn’t make him happy at all to think of Cassey going out on a date with anyone but himself, Abram supposed he could count himself as lucky that, of all the people she could have misunderstood and locked on to, Cassey had misunderstood and chosen to lock on to Dog. Dog! Abram’s eternal right hand man, his blood cousin, closest friend, most loyal of loyal werewolves! He’d do anything Abram told him to; all it took was a little wheedling and persistence, and Dog always gave in. Dog, better and with more determination then any other of his pack, would do anything he could to help Abram out! Optimism: restored! Well, almost. It would take some focus.

“H-Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m okay…” he spoke, clearing his throat. Strange; despite his resurgence of optimism, he still sounded a little KO’d. Giving himself a good mental shake, the last of the werewolf pack in the vicinity moved to join his family and the two witches with a small, determined smile. Seeing it, his kin shrank back warily. Yup, he still must look half dead from the shock Cassey had given to his poor wolfy heart. Oh well; there was nothing he could do about that. He felt stern eyes on him, a familiar, Lydia-like sensation, and shifted his eyes to meet Dina’s, lips spreading into as easy a grin as he could manage. “Hi... Dina, right? Nice to meet you, I’m Abram Sanders. This is my family.” he replied, scratching the back of his head. “Would you excuse me for a minute? I have to talk to my cousin for a second…” Abram said, reaching to grab Dog by the shoulder. The other werewolf flinched, looked up at Abram warily, seemed to read something clearly in his face, and got to his feet without a word. “We’ll be right back!” Abram said with a grin, back to sounding downright delighted with life and the hand he’d been dealt.

“Look, Abram...” Dog started in an undertone as soon as they were a reasonable distance away from the others, his expression back to stern but his eyes showing worry. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I didn’t…”

“I know. Trust me, I know.” Abram sighed, patting his cousin’s shoulder. Poor Dog; he had the worst luck with this sort of thing, Abram thought a bit grimly.

“Good.” Dog said in a sigh, visibly relieved. “Then you’ll talk to Cassey and clear up this-?”

“Nope.”

Silence.

“You’re kidding me.”

“‘Fraid not.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know. I promise I’ll explain everything in detail later. You just have to trust me and go with it.”

“’Go with it’? You don’t mean...”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No!”

“Dog...”

“B-But why?!”

“Just trust me! This is a good opportunity! Do it for your favorite cousin!”

“You’re my only cousin.”

“Do it for the guy that came to help you out after that run in with the dog catcher!”

“You said we’d never speak of that again!”

“And we never will.” Abram vowed solemnly. “C’mon, Dog, I need your help here. This isn’t going exactly as I planned it, but I can’t let this chance pass me by! I need to make a good impression on Cassey’s sister, and I want to see Cassey at an amusement park! She’ll be adorable! Can’t you just picture her with a big thing of cotton candy, stars in her eyes..!”

“Ugh…”

“Dog? Come on, Dog. Please?”

“F… F-Fine. Just stop looking at me like that. Those watery eyes are giving me the creeps.”

“Yes! I owe you a steak! A big, bloody, meaty steak!”

“Yes, you do.” Dog grumbled, hints of red in his cheeks that his cousin had, once again, talked him into doing his bidding. Darn him, darn him straight to werewolf heck. Only the clear lifting of the one who looked so much like him’s spirits kept Dog calm; Abram was the only one that could get away with pulling stuff like this, and he knew it. Dog sighed heavily, steeling himself for the nonsense he had, once again, allowed himself to get talked into.

“Sorry for the wait!” Abram delighted in apologizing as he and the very reluctant looking Dog returned to the table. He turned his grin back on Dina, lacing his fingers together behind his head. “I heard Cassey say she was supposed to hang out with you today, but I hope you don’t mind if Dog and I tag along too. ”

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{ ｓ ｅ ｎ ｔ } ｉｔ ｔｏ ａ ｐｌａｃｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｍｉｄｄｌｅ ｏｆ ｎｏｗｈｅｒｅ
Ｗｉｔｈ ａ ＢＩＧ ＢＬＡＣＫ ＨＯＲＳＥ ａｎｄ ａ ｃｈｅｒｒｙ ｔｒｅｅ.
[ＷＯＯ - ＨＯＯ!]
Ｎｏｗ ｉｔ ｗｏｎ'ｔ ｃｏｍｅ ｂａｃｋ, 'ｃａｕｓｅ ｉｔ'ｓ ｏｈ ｓｏ ｈａｐｐｙ
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