1x1 with x_fire

Kristen took a deep breath, feeling guilty instantly. "It's Kristen. Demitri's having another attack. It's not as severe as last night." she said, looking up at the ceiling as she spoke, hating every word that came out of her mouth.

Alayna placed her fingertips on Demitri's temple, taking a deep breath as Keith talked to her. "This doesn't make any sense..." she muttered, closing her eyes. She tried to pull, and it felt like her arm was going to fall off. She winced, opening her eyes and pulling her fingers from Demitri. She looked up at Keith and nodded. "Yea?"

"Di-did you look at my notebook?" Keith asked, his voice steady, painfilled. He didn't look at her, he was to intent on Demitri, or at least he was pretending to be. He waited, the akwardness in the room mounted, or at least it did for him. He felt Demitri stiffen under his arms for a moment, and winched. He knew why, he knew that if Alayna admitted she had looked, his friends would't be to impressed.

"Another? Damnit" Alexi swore, "We'll be right there" He hung up the phone.
"Demitri's having another attack" He told his brothers in Russian, grabbing the rental car keys from the table. Something serious was going on here, and he was not liking it one bit.

"Another?" Vlad murmured, eyes widening in horror. He glanced at Sven, still cluless for answers, and desperate for them.

Alayna looked back down at Demitri. "I didn't mean to. You must have fallen asleep with it and it fell after your laptop when you moved in your sleep." She said quietly, knowing instantly that she had made a very big mistake. "Kristen had just walked into the room, and I was picking it up so she wouldn't see. I saw how you closed the book last night, and I firgure you were the same way with your books as I am with mine." she nodded to her bed were her sketch book lay open to the black and red drawing. "I put it back under the covers in the bed before I left." she said, looking back up at him now.

Kristen sighed, looking at the phone before closing it slowly. She took a deep, shaky breath before opening the door slowly and walking back inside. "They're on their way..." she said quietly, tossing Keith his phone before sitting on Alayna's bed. She watched the scene before her with stone eyes.


Sven frowned. "Once is unforuntate..." he muttered. "Twice is a problem..." he looked at Vlad before at Alexi. He was sure he and his brother were thinking the same thing; something bigger was going on here.

Keith sucked in a breath.
"So you saw?" He asked her, confirming his worst fear. He wondered now, how it went from being under the covers to being neatly place on the beside table. Perhaps someone else had gotten to it when he had been showering. Keith wasn't sure how to react. He felt a low growl building in Demitri's chest and clamped a hand over his friend's mouth, wincing as the fangs sunk into him once again. He could feel Demitri's anger now, but he was doing his best to ignore it.

"This is getting out of control. Who would want to use magic to hurt him?" Alexi murmured.
"I know why they, whoever did this, used the blood. They wanted to make sure they got him. Remember? Other vampires were attacked at the school, but once they were sure they had gotten Demitri, they could focus on him, and not the others" Vlad murmured, thinking outloud. These attacks were specalized, designed to harm his brother.

"Yes..only one though. I didn't look through it all. I would never..." she whispered letting her voice fall, her eyes going to the bed sheets. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She could feel Demitri and Kristen both tense. She kept her head down for a while, looking at Demitri as he bit into Keith's hand. She winced and looked back down, at a complete lost for words.

Kristen covered her mouth, seeing the pain in Keith's face, and seeing how tense Alayana's shoulder were. Neither beneifted from the truth in this situation. She took a deep breath looking back at Demitri. "Alayna, can you heal him again?" she asked. Alayna turned to look back over at Kristen. "Not by myself.." she said quietly.


Sven nodded. "That makes sense." he muttered. "But it doesn't lead us to anyone who would want to do this." he pointed out.

Keith took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Only one, okay" He murmured, now wasn't the time to freak out. Perhaps he'd show her them, so the temptation to see wasn't as strong. He desperatly wished she'd asked, as there were certain aspects of his life he wasn't ready to share with her. He allowed Demitri to continue biting his hand, it felt good, the pain grounded him, kept him sane.

Alexi nodded, shrugging his slender shoulders.
"Is there anyone, anyone at all you can think of who'd want to hurt Demitri?" He murmured, wincing at the very thought.
"No, unless...no, never mind" Vlad murmured, thinking outloud.

Kristen slid from the bed, sititng next to Alayna. "What do you need?" she asked. Alayna sighed and shook her head, looking back at Demitri.

Alayna shook her head, passing her hand against Demitri's forehead again. "Probably a week off from school if this doesn't kill me..." she muttered. Kristen's eyes went wide at the sentence and she grabbed Alayna's shoulders in an attempt to pull her away from the vampire. The contact with the shifter triggered Alayna's next action, and she was able to pull away some of the spell. Gasping with the small pain it caused her, Alayna didn't let go. Kristen felt the pull as well and took her hand away, feeling slightly drained. "Alayna what did you do?" Kristen muttered, blinking her eyes and shaking her head.

Alayna broke free from Demitri instantly, feeling herself being pulled by the magic once Kristen let go. Taking a deep breath, Alayna looked back at Kristen. "I-I don't know...but it helped. I took a bit of this spell away."


Sven shook his head at Alexi. "No one comes to mind.." he muttered. He turned his head slightly to look at Vlad as his brother mumbled to himself. "Unless what?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Keith watched Alayna, horrified and facinated all at the same time. Her abilities were rather startling. He pulled the thoughts from his mind, continuing to focus on Demitri, holding his friend stable. Pain still lanced through his arm and hand, but at least Demitri had stopped shaking. He felt the vampire slump against him, he could see the tight muscles in his arms go slack, and then the fangs slid from his hand. He glanced at Kristen, not sure how she was doing, he was worried. Something had odviously happened between her and the vampire, and she was being affected by it greatly.

"Its just, I remember something, from back home" Vlad murmured, rubbing his temples for a moment.
"I can't rememeber exactly what happened, but there was a mage involved" He glanced at his brothers, wondering if they remembered the story that he spoke of.

Kristen flexed her fingers on the hand that had gripped Alayna's shoudler. She glanced at Keith, worry in her eyes moreso than anything. She looked back to Alayna then; the girls hands were trembling. "It helped how?" Kristen asked.

Alayna shook her head. "I don't know. It felt like we were both pulling at the spell..." she turned to look at Kristen, her eyes widening at what she saw. Kristen's magic had nearly doubled, almost circling her as Keith's own magic. Every now and then, Alayna caught a darker speck. Alayna bit her lip. "You can't take it...the spell will hurt you if you do..." Alayna turned back to Demitri, her eyes darting back and forth as she thought. An idea came to her nearly instantly. "Ok...put your hand back on my shoulder, but don't do anything." Alayna said quietly

Kristen mumbled "I didn't do anything last time..." but obeyed, placing the same hand on Alayna's shoulder. The girl took a deep breath. Kristen felt her shoulder rise, tense, and the relax with the breath. She felt a small tug shoot from her head, down her neck to her shoulder, then from her shoulder to her hand and into Alayna. It was so minor, that Kristen thought nothing happened. Until it came again, sharper. Kristen closed her eyes and turned her head away from Alayna, but kept her hand still. She felt Alayna's shoulder tense again and the pulling stopped. Now Kristen could feel the headache throbbing on the edge of her temple.

After what felt like hours, Alayna sighed and pulled her hands away from Demitri. She shook her head gravely, rubbing her forehead. "It's stubborn...I could sit here for hours and not take all of it away.." her voice was raspy and hoarse, and her face was tired. "Hopefully that stops the tremors. Kristen you alright?" Alayna asked, looking over her shoulder. Kristen nodded, looking as tired as Alayna.


"Which one?" Sven asked, rolling his eyes. "The actual mage? Or that quak who thought he saw the dead?" Either way, Sven mind was foggy, and he only remembered bits and peices on the stories Vlad and Alexi had told him and Demitri.

Keith eased Demitri onto his back, ignoring the girls for now. All his focus was intent on his friend. Carefully he moved him, not wanting to injure the vampire, even though that was probably near impossible. He sighed, and carefully covered Demitri in his blankets. The vampire was asleep, or at least as asleep as a vampire could ever be. He quickly got off the bed, and made his way into the washroom, cleaning his now injured hand and wrapping a wash cloth around it.

"The actual mage" Vlad said, while Alexi looked confused.
"What are you talking about?" He murmured, rubbing his head, almost as if he had a headache.
"The mage, Demitri killed his wife or something, by mistake, and he swore venegance on him" Vlad snapped, suddenly remembering the story.

Kristen and Alayna both sat on the floor, their backs against Alayna's bed. Alayna had her eyes closed, but she could hear everything, and everyones movements. She heard Keith stand up and walk into the bedroom, wincing slightly. She looked over at Kristen, who had her eyes on the sleeping Vampire. "I messed up didn't I?" she whispered.

"With Demitri?" Kristen asked, prolonging the question. "No...I think you did very well actually. I might have done better, if I had the magic ability..." she muttered, rubbing her face tiredly. Alayna rolled her eyes, looking away from the shifter. She didn't want to repeat the question; Kristen knew what she meant, she just didn't want to answer. Sighing, Alayna closed her eyes, realzing that her own book was still open on the bed to the picture of the school she had drawn before Demitri's attack.


Sven frowned. He suddenly understood where his brother was going with this, and he didn't like the out come one bit. "You think Demitri's condition has to do with that mage?" he asked, skeptically. "How long ago was that?"

Keith emerged from the washroom, the towel rapped around his hand, staining slowly with his blood.
"I'm going to go back to our room now" He murmured, nodding to Kristen. He didn't say anything to Alayna, he wasn't really ready to have that conversation yet. The tall angel moved quickly, disappearing down the hall. The tell tale sound of wings sounded, and he was gone. Keith walked outside, he didn't know what to do, and perhaps being outside would help. Walking slowly across the sunny grounds, he made his way to his favorite tree, flying up to a large branch. Sitting, he pressed his back agains the three, closing his eyes and conccentrating.

"Uh, maybe sixty years now?" Vlad murmured, glancing at Alexi, whose face had taken on a look of horror.
"Oh gods, that mage was crazy" He stammered.

Alayna sighed, leaning her head back. She wanted to sleep. Acutally, right now she wanted to roll up in a ball and sleep for the rest of her life if she could. She felt like she could now. Rubbing her face, Alayna pushed herself up. She closed her book, sliding it under her pillow before sitting on the matrice.

Kristen nodded to Keith, her chest aching at the sight of Keith's pain. Of all the people in the world...and of all the things...Kristen thought, shaking her head. She winced afterwards; that wasn't such a good idea. Kristen stood up as well, looking back at Alayna. The girl had them all fooled; she had to have some magic in order to deal with it like this. Kristen made a note to get the girl checked out tomorrow if there was class.

Kristen then turned her attention back to Demitri. She walked over to the bed, watching his sleeping face. She smiled, haveing never seen him this peaceful before. Sighing, Kristen pulled the blankets over him tighter before turning around to leave. "I'll see ya later Alayna." she said quietly; Alayna merely nodded.


Sven turned to look at Alexi. The look of fear on his brother's face wasn't comfoting. Looking back to Vlad, Sven bit his lip. "So if he is responsible for these actions...." he said slowly, thinking before he spoke. "Then we need to find him, and stop him."

Keith sat in the tree, arms curled around his knees. He had no fear of falling, he wasn't afraid of hights, at all. His mind was in complete turmoil, he had thought he could be with Alayna, that she understood. He pressed his face against his knees, not wanting to deal with this reality. It seemed that he could trust almost no one. Humans, they always hurt him in the end, no matter what he did, they always betrayed his trust. He should have just gone through with his orders, listened to Gabriel and the others, and he still be home now, where he belonged.
"Please?" He whispered, glancing up at the heaves, a sorrowful expression on his face. "Please"

Demitri smiled absentmindedly, still out of it. Shifting he turned in the blankets, curlng under them, like a small child.

"The only problem is, where is this mage hiding? I mean if he was close wouldn't someone have noticed someone working that much dark magic?" Alexi murmured. It was true, dark magic left a scent, a taint and anyone skilled could follow it. Humane even noticed it from time to time.
Vlad nodded, "We need to destroy this mage though"

Kristen walked down the hallway to her room, closing the door behind her quietly. She looked around the room, frowning. Keith said he had found the book on the desk...but Alayna had placed it under the sheets. Kristen shook her head; this was such a mess. And poor Keith didn't deserve it. Another frown came to her face. Hadn't the angel said he was going back to the room? Kristen quickly checked the bathroom before walking up to the window. She narrowed her eyes, looking around now with the sharp vision of her hawk. He was probably outside somewhere. She would know if something was wrong.


Alayna wasn't sure how long she was alseep until she woke up. She took a deep breath, looking around the dim room. She rubbed the sleep from her face, sitting up slowly. She had practically slept this whole day...Pain throbbed in her head and chest, and Alayna eyes went instantly to Demitri. Then she remembered Keith. Her eyes stung; she shouldn't have looked at the book...why must her curiousity always get the best of her? She had to find him, if she apologized, maybe it would help.

Slidding from the bed, Alayna rushed out of the room. She had no idea where to even begin to look for the angel, but something told her he would be outside.



A thought came to him, and Sven looked up. "That girl...the one who healed Demitri. Maybe she could lead us to the mage." he suggested. "After all, she has to have some dealings with magic with what she did last night..."

Nothing, not a sound. Keith cursed and stared up at the sky, his eyes filling with tears, before he roughly brushed them away. He so desperately wanted to go home, to be with his family, to be himself again. He sighed and hid his face in his knees again. He was well hidden by the leafy foliage, and he hoped no one would disturb him. A sort of desperation filled his chest, destroying any feelings of hope or happiness, everything had been going to great, and now, now it was destroyed. Perhaps this was his penance, never to be happy.

"Perhaps" Alexi said, while Vlad nodded enthusiastically.
"Do you think she will help?" He asked Sven, not sure how the girl actually felt about vampries, or the brothers. He pursed his lips thoughtfully, mulling the ideas over in his mind.

Alayna winced as she walked outside. The sunlight didn't bother or at all. It was something else. Alayna rubbed her forehead, doing what Keith had told her, and trying to put up a block to whatever magic was outside. Someone must be doing something...Alayna thought once her headache lessened. Her eyes wandered over the students and she frowned, realizing she had left Kristen's dagger in their room. She would just have to be careful...Alayna told herself, walking around the courtyard.

A few students darted around, here and there, but they said nothing to her. They didn't even seem to notice her, which was fine with Alayna. She was starting to worry about Keith. She bit her lip. Her eyes scanned over the lawn, where a tree rested, slightly off by it's lonesome. At first glance, Alayna thought nothing of it. As she went to turn around, a thought came to her, and she turned back around. Where else to hide then off the beaten trail? she wondered. She rubbed her lips with her fingers, taking her steps slightly faster than nesecarry towards the tree. "Keith?" she asked queitly, stepping under on of the large branches the tree had. "You up there?"



Sven shrugged. "She just might." he said. "She may not have been around long, but she seems to care about Demitri...all of them for that matter." he added thoughtfully. He looked back at Vlad with a shrugg. "It's the only lead we have, brother." he said gravely.

Keith glanced down at Alayna, his eyes emotionless. He had become an expert at hiding his emotions, ever since he had fallen, he had felt sort of a need too.
"Yea?" He asked, his voice soft, but it broke a bit at one point, warning of the hidden emotion beneath the angels hard exterior. He didn't make any move to come down from teh tree, he felt safe up here, as if he were the only one in this god forsaken world. He felt a familiar stab of pain at his heart, this human, like so many others had caused him pain.

"It's quiet intresting, isn't it. How they all care for eachother?" Alexi murmured, mulling over the images in his mind, of what he had seen.
"It is" Vlad murmured, agreeing with Sven.

Alayna took a deep breath, notcing how high up in the tree the angel was. No way she could climb up all the way. She looked at her hands for a moment as the fiddled with her shirt. She heard the pain in his voice and tried not to flinch. "I wanted to apologize." she said, looking back up at him.

"I'm sorry I looked at one of your drawing. I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have even touched the notebook. Those drawings are your own, and it wasn't in my place to see one. I know that it hurt you, and I'm sorry that I caused you any pain..."

Alayna could hear her voice crack, and she could feel her eyes watering at the fact. She had caused him pain; it was her fault, completely hers. "You don't deserve that..." she said, looking down quickly to rub her eyes before looking back up at him. "But, I know now. And I'll forever respect your privacy. I won't go near your book again." she promised, offering a small smile, knowing her eyes were probably red along with her cheeks.


Sven chuckled with a light shrug. "What are you saying Alexi?" he asked. "Don't you care about us?" he joked with a light smirk on his face. He looked back at Vlad, knowing he had made a very good point. "So? What do we do now?" he asked.

Her kindness drove the dagger deeper into Keith's heart. If she had been harsh, he would've been able to ignore her apology and not feel an overwhleming sense of guilt. Sighing, the tall angel slipped effortlessly from the tree, landing on the ground, his feet not making a sound.
"No, you shouldn't have looked. But your apology is accepted. I would have shown you had you just asked" He murmured, his back resting against the tree. He accepted her apology, but he had yet to forgive her. She had seen a part of him that no one had ever seen, and it hurt him deeply.

"We find the 'human', if we can even call her that" Vlad said, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets and shrugging.
"She's the only one I can think of who might help us find the mage"
Alexi rolled his eyes, "You know what I meant" He grumbled at Sven, shaking his head at his brother and sighing.

Alayna let her hands fall to her side as Keith came back to the ground. She rubbed her arm behind her back. She let her head fall slightly, her eyes darting amoung the blades of grass. She wasn't exactly sure what to say; if she had just asked...maybe they could have avoided all of this. Alayna licked her lips, taking in a short breath before nodding. "Ok.." she said quietly, not exactly sure what to do or what else to say.


Sven looked at the watch on his wrist. "We said we would be there about 30 minutes ago.." he muttered, looking at Alexi with a smirk before looking back at Vlad.

More pain, Keith winced visibly, and then, tentively moved towards her, letting his arms pull her too him.
"Please, just don't look again" He murmured against her hair, his emotions finally spilling free of the prison that was his body. He shook a bit, trying not to let the wayward emotions get the best of him. He could feel the tears building in his eyes again, but he refused to let them fall. He had really only cried twice in his entire existance, and he wasn't about to add to that number. He glanced up at heaven again, uttering a soft prayer with his mind, begging them to let him live in peace.

"I say twenty" Alexi said, smiling competitively at his brothers. Out of all of them, Demitri and he were by far the most competitive.
Vlad laughed, "Yes, we could, if we wished to expose ourselves and perhaps stun a dozen or so humans"

"I tried my hardest not to look to begin with...I won't. I promise." Alayna said. She staggered slightly as he pulled her closer and she dug her face into his shirt. She cringed as his body shook, and she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Alayna lifted her head to look up at him, knowing he was holding back tears. She bit her lip, resting her head against his chest, at a lost for words.


Kristen sighed, cracking her neck as she pulled herself out of meditation. Rubbing the back of her head, Kristen pulled herself away from the wall, and off the bed. Her head spun for a moment as she stood. Blinking, Kristen regained her balance and shook her head. Whatever Alayna did...it packed a rough punch. Sighing, Kristen looked at the digital clock on the desk. Maybe Demitri was awake by now...he hadn't slept long the previous night, and this attack wasn't as bad.

Taking her hair from the bun, Kristen let it fall in wavy curls to her shoulders before walking out of the room. Down the hallway, Kristen stopped her hand inches from the door. What if he wasn't awake? Kristen bit her lip. She didn't want to wake him...Sucking in her breath, Kristen knocked gently anyway.


Sven shrugged. "We made it this morning." he said to Vlad.

Keith sighed, "Just, please don't" He said, his voice shaking with emotion. He buried his face in the small space between her shoulder and neck, not saying anything anymore. He was still completely emotionally destroyed, and his trust in her was shaken, quiet badly. He clung to her, letting his pain and misery overhwhelm him. He pressed his face deeper into her neck, not wanting to hurt her, but needing her comfort now, more then ever.

Demitri sat up groggily, "C'me in" He said, his voice harsh to his ears again. He glanced at the door, wondering who was bothering him. Kristen's scent filled his room, and he breathed a smile, sigh of relief, happy that she had come to see him. He grimaced, he had the taste of Keith's blood in his mouth.

Vlad laughed and nodded his head gesturing for him to lead the way.

Alayna sighed, standing on her tip toes to wrap her arms around his neck. "I won't, Keith..." she whispered. "I won't..." she said, looking up at the sky with small tears in her eyes. She never would, and she was never going to hurt him like this again. "Im so sorry..." she said, hardly loud enough for her own ears to hear.


Kristen sighed, opening the door slowly. She was slightly glad that he was awake. "Hey..." she said quietly, closing the door behind her. She walked into the room, sitting down on the bed. "Feeling any better?" she asked quietly.


Sven sighed, rolling his eyes at Vlad before leaving the room.