True Blood After Midnight {Let's Pick Up Where We Left Off}

[Nyx Discordia]

Kurai was puzzled by Nick's silence. She followed his gaze towards their clothes and put two and two together.

"Oh... That's just great," she mumbled.

It wasn't like she was shy or anything, but as long as Kurai was with Nick, she always felt over-exposed. And at the moment, he was in nothing but a towel, for goodness' sake. Not that she was one to talk; she realized that the flimsy robe she was wearing right now would be doubling as her nightgown as well.

Kurai decided to just get things over with. Burying herself under the covers, she felt much... safer, for lack of a better word.

"You're going to catch a cold if you just hang around there like that," she offhandedly told Nick, who was spaced out.

There was no response, so Kurai began humming a lilting melody. It was a charm that would relax Nick and make him feel the need to sleep--she vaguely remembered doing the same thing once before.  

[Nhikxter]

Nick shook his head at the crazy thoughts roaming around his head. He recalled his current position, being hunted down by gods and demi-gods alike. This broke his momentary peace and drifted him back to his depressed, troubled state.

Suddenly, a soothing voice echoed through his ear, like a melody that would put even the most vicious of beasts to their knees. His eyes now felt heavy, but a part of his body still doesn't want to sleep. A moment later, he slowly placed his head on the pillow with his back on Kurai. He wasn't asleep, but his eyes were barely open. It was cold, and he was on top of the covers instead of being under them. The charm continued playing as Nick stared outside the window still. "You.. should rest yourself.." He said as his eyes closed completely.  

[Nyx Discordia]

Kurai kept on humming even though the song had already done its work. She smiled, but cocked her head a little, trying to figure out how to get the blankets over him. You're going to freeze...

Stopping the song for a bit, she leaned over him. "Nick," she whispered. "Get under the covers for a bit..."

He didn't stir, so Kurai gave up and continued humming. She took her share of the covers and folded them over the sleeping boy, feeling a bit nostalgic. She tucked them around Nick and he stirred a little.

Her arm lingered a bit too long on his shoulder, but she didn't notice. It's cold, but he's so warm, Kurai thought, still not moving away, wondering vaguely what that warmth would feel under her lips...

Her face was an inch away from his cheek when she stopped herself, blushing furiously. She took her arm away and sat just beside him, hugging her knees to her chest to wait til morning.  

[Nhikxter]

Just around half an hour has gone by since Nick drifted to sleep. His eyes suddenly opened wide. For a moment, he felt alert and very cautious. The thought of his father coming again bothered him so much, he couldn't sleep straight. He gave a long sigh before noticing that he was covered up in the bed sheets. Odd.. I don't remember.. Then Nick saw Kurai, cold and curled into a ball. She had given him her side of the blanket. He tilted his head and sat up. He adjusted the covers and covered them both. "Kurai?" No response. Nick then decided to simply lay her down and tuck her in. She may have pale skin, but she was a warmth that anyone would look for in a rainy weather.  

[Nyx Discordia]

Unusual though it was, Kurai had fallen asleep. The human body had limitations, and she had pushed them too far today to pull another all-nighter. Besides, she was troubled, and if it didn't show during her waking hours, it did in her slumber; her slumber her brow was furrowed and she wore an uneasy frown. Her dreams were never pleasant--everything she escaped during the day made itself known at night, which is why she almost never slept. They haunted her when she was most vulnerable--memories of failure, that one failure where she didn't manage to protect what had mattered most. I don't want that to be taken away again. I don't want him to be taken away from me again... She didn't even note the tear tracks that occasionally kept trailing down her face.

She woke up a little, sensing a change. It's so warm... Kurai's mind was fogged with sleep. Warmer than usual. There was a familiar scent near her, and it seemed to comfort her weary mind. Too tired to think right, her hand automatically reached out for it and pulled whatever it was close before falling back asleep.  

[Nhikxter]

For a moment, Nick was caught off guard. It took a while to sink in, but he then realized how strange and awkward his current position is. He didn't know whether to leave or stay.

Why is she grabbing me?

Nick was an inch away from Kurai's body, and even closer on her face. He remained still, but his eyes wandered. She's asleep right? After making sure that she was, Nick tried to make some distance between them. Surely he does not want to take up all the space in the single bed. Realizing that any further movement would only awaken the demon incarnate, Nick simply let her hands be. He tried not to think of the obvious facts, half naked, fresh from the shower, single bed, and so on. Instead he tried to think of what to do tomorrow. Something in his gut was telling him to move elsewhere. His flow of thinking was cut short when he felt Kurai's hold tighten.

This woman is strange. She protects me and kills me at the same time.  

[Nyx Discordia]

It was the same dream Kurai always tried to escape. The same time and the same place.

He was there, she was a few yards away watching... A black shadow hovered triumphantly over the the boy, aimed to kill.

"Well done, my dear," the shadow whispered. She made to turn around, not wanting to see--but before she could, he turned to look at her.

She glanced back, and a million things were in those eyes; tears, hurt, betrayal, disbelief. He was asking her why.

She shook her head and tried to convey her message through her eyes. She had known all along that this was where it would end. She didn't want it to, but she didn't have a choice... She didn't have a--

Then he smiled at her, and a different light came into his eyes. It was gentle, as if he was saying "I understand. You had to. It's alright."

She froze.

She had led him to his death.

She had killed him.

But even then, he had still... smiled...

A flash of dark lightning, a bloodcurdling shriek, and he was gone.

"Seth!!!"


Kurai shot up, her own scream still ringing in her ears. Her immediate reaction was to twist around and check if Nick was still there, and once she saw him, she shakily slid back under the covers.

"S-sorry... If I w-woke you up..."

Her breathing was quick and shallow as she tried to convince herself that she was already awake. She hated that dream for being so vivid, and it did nothing but strike fear into her. She hated how affected she was by it... Trembling fiercely, Kurai tried to steady herself by curling up into a tight ball as tears threatened to spill.  

[Nhikxter]

Nick gave Kurai a curious but surprised look. He had never seen her so.. afraid. He sat up beside her and asked. "You okay?" It was straight forward, but he didn't mean to.

Watching Kurai curl up, Nick didn't even bother to ask what happened. Some questions are better unanswered. Judging by the expression, he already knew it was painful. Nick doesn't know much about pity or things to make people feel better. But the only guesture he could offer was a rub on Kurai's back.  

[Nyx Discordia]

With wide eyes, she face Nick. "Sorry, I'm f-fine, go b-back to sl--"

She stopped midway through, choking on a sob that finally managed to escape her.

It was probably his hand on her back that did it. Kurai had never had anyone who tried to console her before. The sobs racked her body, and she was so confused and angry with herself because she didn't get to hold them back like she always did. It made her feel weaker and more vulnerable than she already felt.

A few moments later, when she had managed to calm down enough to be able to talk again, Kurai wiped her eyes hastily at her robe's sleeve.

She leaned back on the headboard, wrapping her arms around herself, not daring to close her eyes again.

"...I'm sorry, I'm really sorry..." she whispered, though if it was Nick she was apologizing to or someone else, Kurai didn't know.  

[Nhikxter]

Nick simply looked up the window. "If there's something this life has taught me," He looked down on the floor. "it's to take the past, burn it up an let it go.." He then looked at his right hand. "Use it as fuel, not as weights to pull you down." He should know, why else would he be called the deadly sin 'Anger'?

A moment later, Nick got up and left the room. After a minute or so, a scream was heard from the hallway and he came back and locked the door. That was close. Seeing a slightly puzzled look on Kurai's face, Nick gave his explaination.

"So I went out to get you a drink. At the hallway, I met this man who was nowhere near the word 'straight'. He began flirting and attempting to touch my a**. So I had to dump him on the trash reseptical outside. I walked towards the lobby where the vending machines are and got you a drink. Then I walked back to the hall and this old lady came out from her room. She looked at me, freaked out and fainted. I just left her there and ran back here."

Nick had that annoyed look on his face again. "Humans.. well, anyway, I hope Diet Coke is fine with you." He tossed Kurai the cold can.  

[Nyx Discordia]

Kurai had spent her time alone calming down, thinking about what Nick had said. He was right, but he talked about it like it was so easy...

Nick came back, and Kurai caught the drink in her hands, laughed a bit at his story and thanked him for the Coke.

"I know what happened in the past should stay there," she murmured a bit later, her finger tracing the rim of the can. "But I can't ever forget it because I did such a terrible thing. It hurts, but I'm scared that if I let go of my regrets, then I'll have nothing else to remind me of what I've done so I won't do it again. It's the only human thing left in me--without it, what would I be? Just another soulless pawn. The nightmares remind me that I'm not the empty puppet I once was."

Kurai took a long drink from the can.

"So I guess I do use it as fuel, like you said. Now that I think about it... Maybe that's why you're so bent on finding your own way, am I right?"

She took a look at the clock. It was well past three.

"I wonder where everything will lead us..."  

[Project Mew]

((sorry no enternet. Im back now. Can someone que me up to whats going on?))  

[Nhikxter]

Nick sat beside Kurai and looked up, thinking and choosing his words carefully. A moment later, he began to speak.

"Roaming around our mistakes will only cause us to make the same mistake again, especially when the exact situation comes forward. You dont have to kill the past, you just have to learn from it and move on. As for me, I hate being a part of this family's cursed cycle. I have my own choices to make. Obeying them like a dog will only turn me into one of them in the future. I want vengeance. I want to be myself. I want to change. I want.."

Nick paused for a moment.

"..a life."

He then sat up and walked towards the window. The rain never ceased.

"You dont have to nail yourself to the ground just to keep yourself from dissappearing. You can be who you want to be now. No one should ever tell you what you should become. That's what makes everyone in this world an individual. We're dogs to no one. We always have a choice Kurai. I made mine.."

Nick faced Kurai and looked deeply into her eyes.

"..have you?"  

[Nyx Discordia]

The answer to the question was simple, really, but she never had to say it out loud. It had always lingered in her mind, but she didn't acknowledge it. It was just a few words, but it had a lot of meaning... The meaning would be lost if the person involved didn't find it worth anything. But Kurai remembered Catherine's words; something about facing her feelings. Until now, she had refused to do such a thing, but the way Nick said it, everything made sense to her in a way that she had never imagined before.

You can be who you want now.

"You're asking if I've made up my mind? Well..."

Kurai met Nick's gaze from under a curtain of dark hair.

"I'm here with you, aren't I?"  

[Korbin de la Vega]

Korbin de la Vega left his room, again ignoring the key and leaving the door open. He turned the way he arrived heading back towards the main room of the tavern. The way he moved seemed to assure he always stayed half covered in shadow, like a ghostly specter only seen in the corner of ones eye.

He paused hidden eyes scouting the room.