(living room/dining room)
Asha and Alex sat barefoot and crosslegged on the floor in Asha's loft, some time around seven in the morning.
Asha had dropped by La Maison Du Café a little earlier, just as Alex finished her shift and offered to drive the honey blonde home. Much to her surprise though, Alexandra suggested they'd head out for some breakfast and coffee.
Asha was so absorbed into their conversation that she hadn't realized where she was driving until she pulled up in front of her own apartment. It was too late to turn around so the red headed elder had decided to throw caution to the wind. If anything, it was Alex that should have protested but the human was oddly at ease.
(Asha & Alex sitting across from one another
I suck at Photoshop I know)
By the time the sun came up, the two of them had been sitting there for hours, talking about anything and everything that would came to their minds.
"Are you still having nightmares?" Asha wondered as she took hold of Alex's hands. The honey-blonde averted her gaze briefly before nodding.
"It's not just the nightmares Asha, it's like he's possessing my every thought, like I can't get away from him..." one of her hands subconsciously moved to cover the spot where the bruise had been. Though it wasn't visible under the thick layers of concealer, it was still sore and sensitive to the touch.
Alex winced as she laid her palm flat against the bruised area as if her hand could protect her somehow, or detach the bruised flesh from her and cast it far away where she would no longer feel it. but alas, Alexandra knew that wasn't possible.
The redheaded vampire shifted from across the blonde, pulling her into a tight hug.
"It's okay Lex, soon he won't bother you or anyone else ever again" Asha soothed as she smoothed down Alex's silk golden curls.
(Asha's kitchen)
With the sun beaming above the horizon, Alex's eyes began to feel heavy. Sleep was beginning to rope her into its realm, whispers of sweet oblivion pulling her deeper into sleep. But the nagging thoughts of nightmares plagued her spirit, the fear dug its claws so deep into her spirit that it drove away every ounce of sleep from the blonde's eyes.
Asha held Alex contently, fingertips lazily drawing invisible paths along the human's ivory skin.
"Alex it's okay, you should try and sleep, I'm right here. I won't let anything hurt you" the vampire whispered soothingly and Alex seemed to relax even though she knew, deep down, that Asha couldn't save her from her nightmares.
Alexandra let herself fall into a restless sleep, straddling the fine line between aware and unaware. Surprisingly, Asha's embrace shielded her away from the terrible dreams, but a foreboding feeling nestled itself in her gut. Maybe it was just her own fear manifesting itself so physically that she could even feel it in her dreams, or maybe it's something more, something frightening, looming at the horizon.
As soon as Asha was sure that her beloved human had fallen asleep, she took the blonde into her arms. She set the delicate slumbering silhouette onto the bed, pulling the duvet to shield her from the morning chill.
With Alex safely tucked away and resting, Asha allowed herself a few moments of peace.
She ran a languid hand through her hair and made her way into the adjoining bathroom, shedding her clothes on the way to the door.
Once she was under the boiling stream of water, the redheaded vampire tilted her head forward, leaning her elbows against the dark grey tiles. She exhaled slowly, her breath mingling with the rising steam that soon fogged up the glass panels of the shower.
(The Bathroom)
Asha let her mind wander while the water washed away all the stress that weighed down on her shoulders. The rivulets trickled down her slender neck, onto smooth tan skin, cascading along supple mounds of flesh only to drop down perfectly defined abdominal muscles and finally parting ways from the vampire's heated dermis (1) to meet the cold hard marble of the shower floor.
"You know, you should probably lock your door when sleeping beauty is staying over" a smirking silhouette leaned against one of the bathroom walls. Merely a millisecond after the figure was done speaking, Asha had her fingers wrapped around the intruder's throat, nails digging sharply into skin.
"Woah there! Ease up lady, it's just me!" the figure lifted its arms up and freed herself.
"Jade?!" Asha all but shouted "what the hell do you think you're doing sneaking up on me ?" the vampire elder, still soaking wet, frowned menacingly at her best friend.
"I'm sorry your highness, I didn't realize you'd be miss grouch" jade scoffed and pouted "I guess you don't miss me. So I should just go back downtown and entertain the council that you were supposed to meet today because of that asshole Gabriel"
Asha's brows furrowed momentarily but then as if she was struck by lightning, her head snapped up eyes meeting Jade's.
"Shit. Shit. SHIT!" the redhead clenched her fists tightly at her sides "I totally forgot about that. Ishtar and Bashaa are going to have my head"
Jade chuckled and shook her head "no they're not, I may have told the council you weren't feeling well and that the meeting should be postponed for a few days" Jade's smirk widened "you're welcome"
The redheaded elder let out a sigh of relief "now all I have to do is figure out the best way to kill that lowlife scum"
"Don't you think you're being a little too hard on Gabriel?" jade asked quietly
"Gabriel? You know where he is?!" Asha's eyes snapped to the door almost instantly to find a sleepy Alex standing in the door.
"Yes and no. It's a complicated story Alex" Asha sighed and turned to face the blonde
The redhead's brows furrowed as she watched a blush bloom along the blonde's neck and ears, heart rate sky rocketing.
"Uh...you might want to...get dressed or something " Alex stuttred as she faced away from the vampire
"Hi, Jade was it? Sorry for interrupting" the human have a shy and sheepish smile.
"It's quite alright Alex. We weren't discussing anything really important" jade chuckled as she watched Asha move around the bathroom to get dressed.
(Asha's outfit)
By the time Asha was dressed and decent, they had all moved to the living room and spread out among the various sofas and chairs.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on then?" Alexandra looked from left to right, her gaze lingering in Asha for a few seconds longer than she'd liked to admit. The images of Asha's flawless tanned skin were now engraved into Alex's memory. Her mind Would conjure up the thoughts every time the blonde laid eyes on the vampire.
She could feel her heart start to beat faster and the cursed flush of her porcelain skin begin to creep up her neck. She needed a distraction before the two women sitting across from her noticed.
"I think I should probably go back to the club and check on the sound installations" jade quickly excused herself, the awkward and quite frankly sexual tension had begun to suffocate her. In any case, the answers Alexandra was asking for...she doubted Asha needed nor wanted her there for that discussion.
Once Jade had extracted herself from the situation, Asha sighed.
"What do you want to know Alex?"
"The truth. I know Gabriel didn't drug me. I also know that whatever is giving me this god awful bruise isn't just my imagination and I know you lied to me about what happened in your club" Alexandra breathed out, afraid that she might lose any ounce of courage she had mustered up.
Asha say there, face blank, considering whether or not to tell the blonde; whether or not the human would believe any word she said.
"What do you remember?" she finally asked, maybe if she played this right, she would spare herself and Alex some of the more implausible details
"It doesn't matter what I remember Asha. I need you to tell me everything" she pleased, fighting hard not to let her voice falter "I need you to trust me enough not to lie to me"
(Alex's outfit)
If Asha let Alex in on her not-so-little secret, it was almost certain that the blonde would think she's crazy, and Alex might never want to see her again. On the other hand, Alexandra might just be okay with all of it, she might not mind it...
Asha closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, she was go in to have to take a leap of faith, she was just hoping she wouldn't fall splattered onto the ground below.
"Gabriel...he isn't what he seems. He's not some gorgeous blond Adonis you might think he is. He's a fledgling. A newborn vampire"
Alex's brows furrowed in confusion "a vampire? Are you serious Asha? And that makes you what? A vampire Hunter?" the blonde scoffed
The redhead shook her head dismissively "actually, that makes me a vampire Elder, and what Gabriel did is punishable by death in our community"
"Vampire....elder? Community? And death??" things were becoming more and more confusing for Alexandra the more she thought about it. But things also made sense.
That very night at the club, how Gabriel had bitten her, how Asha traveled down the hallway at inhuman speed, how she had lifted a man easily twice her size and strength...
"I know this very confusing to you right now Alexandra but I swear to you that this is the truth" Asha pleaded when Alex had been quiet and pensive for a few minutes. A panic free inside of the red headed vampire, a sort of panic she hadn't felt since Ishtar had turned her eons ago.
"You said 'our Community' so there are more of you?" the blonde inquired, breaking her silence
"Yes, thousands of us across the globe, every last one belonging to one of the three clans" Asha explained, though still trying not to overwhelm the girl
"So you all feed on humans right? So why was what Gabriel did so bad? Are the 'fledglings' not allowed to feed?"
"You're not freaking out about this as much as I anticipated" Asha smiled tightly, a little seed of hope blossoming in her chest.
"Well it makes sense that there is a superior breed to the humans, but I'm still freaking out about your feeding habits! Was I going to end up your bloodbag or worse, your dinner?!" Alex's voice switched from the confused wavering pitch to a higher more frightened tone which immediately told the vampire that Alexandra needed to calm down and quick
"No Alex. I'll get to why you're still around later. As for our feeding habits, most vampires consume synthetic blood, or animal blood. The few who are allergic to those fees on human blood from willing donors" she breathed giving the human a moment to process things
" What Gabriel did, he fed in a place filled with humans, I'm almost certain you didn't give your consent and a trip into the labyrinth that is his mind assured the council that he had every intention of draining you like he did the other six" Asha tried to be as simple and as sensitive as she could but some facts couldn't be sugarcoated
"killing humans has been against our laws and codes of conduct for the past millenia. He's not the first to break them and he won't be the last to die because of his transgression" the vampire elder leaned back into the couch she had been sat on.
Alexandra sighed "I should be careful what I ask for, don't I?" she chuckled solemnly, she needed time to process what Asha had just told her. It was too much information, vampires? Next thing they're gonna tell her that there are wolves and fairies and Orcs
"Uh, please tell me there aren't any werewolves and fairies and Orcs and all that other stuff? Right?" Alex wondered
"They do exist, just not above ground"
Asha's reply only made Alexandra's head spin even more. The stuff or horror stories and fairytales really existed!
"Listen...thank you Asha, for telling me all of this but.....I need some time, just to figure everything out" Alex hurriedly stood up and took a few paces towards the redhead, pulling her into a passionate yet rather short-lived loss, before running out of the door and out into the day-lit streets.