1x1 with x_fire

Kristen held the vampire's cold hands in her warm ones, turning it over as she looked and she ran a finger over his palm gently with a light smile. She nodded with approval, yawning as Demitri looked back at the flame. Kristen nodded sleepyly again, the warmth of eveything making her tired. Offically, she had been up for well over twenty-four hours. She had tried to sleep on the plane, but it hadn't worked at all with the pain in her chest.

"It's warm." Kristen commented, smiling lightly. "Unlike some other things." she teased, narrowing her eyes at Demitri and yawning again. "I'ma put the presents under the tree, and then going to bed." she said, not sure if Demitri was going to stay with his beloved fire or not. She stood up with the blanket and walked upstairs.

She returned a few mintues later without the blanket and three presents wrapped in simple brown paper. She placed these under the tree skillfully before nodding in satisfaction and smilingly at the tree. With one final glance at the fire and Demitir, Kristen went back up to the room, not bothering to change and wrapping herself in the warm blanket.

Demitri watched her, putting out the fire and following her up the stairs, he had already felt the small, not painful, tug in his chest as she had departed, and didn't want to go the night without her.
He followed her up to the bed and watched her with a bemused expression as she wrapped herself in the blanket as she fell on the bed.
"Sheesh love" He teased, sitting down on the bed. Actually, for once he curled up in the blankets and wrapped his arms around her. He sighed and closed his eyes, slipping into his own version of sleep.

All to soon it was morning and he was up, listening to Alexi downstairs, doing the whole 'christmas' morning thing.
"Wake up, it's Christmas" He said, shaking Kristen's shoulders and sitting up. Sighing he switched from shorts to sweat pants and a loose t-shirt. He sighed and sat up, letting Kristen get changed if she chose. He headed down the stairs, smiling at his brother.

Keith yawned, getting changed before heading down stairs just after Demitri. He had a few packages in his hands, the wrapping paper was simple, yet elegant and he placed the gifts under the tree.
"Morning" He said to the others, sitting on the couch and watching the newely created fire with tired eyes.

Kristen smirked, too tired to register that Demitri was teasing her. The moment he slipped under the covers and wrapped his arms around her, she was out.
The very next second it seemed, Demitri was shaking her awake. Kristen gasped with surprise, wincing at the sunlight that now streaked into the room. "What?" she hissed, blinking as he stood up to change. Then she realzied what he had said. Her eyes went wide, and Kristen sat up quickly. She went into the bathroom to wash her face. She swapped her jeans for her black pajama bottoms, and pulled off the long-sleeved shirt. Shuddering from the sudden cold, Kristen ignored it, and ran after Demitri.
"Merry Christmas!" She said, seeing that Alexi was already awake, as was Keith.


Alayna heard comotions downstairs. She yawned, blinking back the sleep in her eyes as she sat up. Not bothering to change, Alayna shivered since it wasn't as warm as under her blankets. Holding her head for a moment, Alayna pushed away the throb, but allowed herself to think about yesterday.
She remembered the room, which was good, and she remembered the plane ride.

Walking out of the room, Alayna walked down the staircase slowly, resting against the railing as Kristen annoucned it was Christmas. "Oh yea." Alayna murmured, smiling lightly as the shifter turned around and saw her. "Merry Christmas!" Alayna said, walking down the remaining steps to hug Kristen.

"Merry Christmas" The three boys echoed, Demitri watched Alayna come down the stairs and hug Kristen, before he grabbed her and settled down on the floor in front of the fire, Kristen in his lap.
"Morning" He greeted Alayna, before turning his attention back to Alexi who was setting out some small food for the humans to nibble on while they opened presents.
"You guys ready?" He asked, looking around with shinging eyes. He couldn't wait to see the expression on Kristen's face when she opened the present he had given her.

Keith looked at Alayna, smiling at both her and Kristen.
"I'm ready" He said, grabbing some sliced fruit from the plate and eating a peice as he waited. Alexi darted about, handing each person a present.
"Alright, here's the deal. We go around the circle, you open your present, we admire it, move on to the next person. Once we've done that, we start again" Alexi said, handing Kristen her present from Keith, Demitri his present for Alexi, Alayna her present from Demitri, Keith his present from Kristen. He took his present from Sven. Demitri's other brothers had sent present for Demitri, Alexi and Kristen.

Kristen smiled at Alayna as Demitri took hold of her then and she laughed, resting her back against his chest. Kristen crawled from her captive though, grapping a handful of grapes from the plate before scurring back to Demitri. She popped the small fruit in her mouth, smiling. "I'm good to go. " She told Alexi, her eyes dancing as they eyed the presents that sat under the tree.

"Morning Demitri." Alayna said, walking into the living room carefully. She looked at the tree, and all the presents underneath. She listened quietly to Alexi and soon frowned, not remembering if she had brought presents or not. Then she remembered that she wasn't supposed to be here for Christmas and she sighed. Without much thought, Alayna slid onto the empty seat next to Keith just as Alexi handed her a present. Her eyes went wide and she took the gift slowly. "Oh...thank you." she said, smiling lightly at Demitri. "I totally forgot..." she murmured.

Kristen was weighing her present in her hands, and looking over the wrapping paper. "What is it?" she asked, grinning as she looked over at Keith. She knew he wouldn't tell her, and she shook the present gently, looking around to see who was opening their present first.

"No prob, "I ran out and did some last minute shopping when I heard you were coming. I hope you like it" Demitri responded, before turning his attention back to Alexi.
"Alayna, you can go first" Alexi said, smiling kindly at her. Demitri nudged Kristen. "Stop, you'll find out in a minute" He said, teasing her a bit. He knew Keith had gotten her a new knife, a special one. It had been made in heaven, and it had belonged to Keith, but he never used it, and knew Kristen of all people would appreciate it much more then himself.
"Just wait" He said, sighing and holding her hands against her, making it so she couldn't play with the present.

Keith smiled at Kristen.
"You'll see' He teased Kristen, focusing on Alayna now. He had drawn something for her. Actually it was one of his favorite drawings of his, and it was old one, from heaven. He had re-drawn it, colouring it this time, with some help from the art teacher, and framing it. Half of the drawing was his life in heaven, the other half depicted sittng with her on the lawn, it was entitled. "Heaven on Earth" He had it now, hidden behind him, wanting to give it to her last.

"Hmm." Kristen pouted as Demitri held her hands against her, and the present rested her in lap. She looked up at Alayna, urging the girl silently with a wide smile. Kristen sighed, resting her head under Demitri's chin, trying not to bounce impatiently. There were sometimes where Kristen was like Demitri, and she couldn't sit still. More times then not though, she could contain herself. But not now, when she was celebrating Christmas for the first time in a long time.

Alayna smiled at Alexi before looking at her present for a moment. She turned it over in her hands, and smirked, seeing the look in Kristen's eyes. "Alright, alright." she muttered, tearing the wrapping paper away. Her eyes went wide and she smiled at the scarf, unfolding it and holding it in her hands. It was soft and fuzzy and warm. "Thanks Demitri!" she said happily, tossing it over her shoulders instantly and wrapping it around her neck. "How does it look?" she asked, grinning.

Demitri ignored Kristen's pouting and focused his attention on Alayna as she opened his present. He grinned and smiled at her.
"Well, I'd say it looks pretty decent" He said, smiling at her and letting go of Kristen's arms.
"Your turn now love" He said, with a small grin, knowing she'd probably tear apart the wrapping paper in milaseconds.
He sighed and rested his chin on her head, smiling as she bounced around, knowing how much fun this probably was for her.

Keith smiled at Alayna.
"Lovely" He responded, it did look good on her, at least in his opinion. He turned his eyes to Kristen, waiting for her to unwrap his present. He was really excited to see her open the gift, he thought he had done a really good job.

"Yes!" Kristen said, picking up the present once Demitri released her. She tore the paper off, rolling her eyes at the box. Pushing the paper away, Kristen pulled the lid off the box slowly. Her jaw dropped and Kristen gasped at the content. "Wow, Keith...where did you get this?!" Kristen asked, picking the knife up gently, as if she would break it.

She turned it slowly, eyes wide with amazement, and as she looked over the details, she realized where Keith had gotten it. "Oh my gosh, thank you!" she said, putting the knife down and standing up to hug the angel gently. She smiled at him before going back to Demitri and holding the knife in her hands, careful not to run her finger against the blade. It was beautiful.


Alayna smiled, watching Kristen and trying not to laugh. She tilted her head, trying to see what was in the box that made Kristen react that way. As the shifter held up the night, something stirred in her mind. Alayna tried not to wince as her forehead throbbed gently, and she rubbed it quietly.

Something about that knife...and Kristen's fasincation with it....Alayna sighed, shaking her head. She couldn't pin-point it right now. Sighing again, Alayna let herself lean back against the sofa, and she smirked as Kristen held the knife in her hand again.

"Standared issue in heaven. But I never use mine, just my sword. And I figured you of all people would respect that far more then anyone else" Keith responded and grinning at her. He glanced at Alayna, sighing as he saw the pain flashed on her face.
"Don't push" He reminded her, sighing and shaking his head. He glanced down at the present in his own hands, knowing it was his turn.
"Hm, what did you get me?" He teased Kristen, before slowly removing the paper and opening the box.
"Oh wow, thank you" He said, looking at the drawing pad and the pencils.
"This is fantastic"

Demitri peeked in the box, admiring the knife.
"Nice" he said, taking it from her and testing it against his skin, checking the sharpness of the blade, It wouldn't cut him, but he could judge the sharpness. He handed back, "Very nice" He said, grinning and sighing. He glanced at Keith, whom was opening Kristen's present, he grinned. It was actually a very thoughtful gift.

Kristen's eyes danced with a sly and familiar gleam as she nodded to Keith. "Can't wait to test it out." she said, grinning. She watched Demitri, seeing that it didn't cut into his skin. So she wouldn't be able to use it against a vampire, even if it was from heaven. Good to know. Kristen smiled, taking it back in her hand and twirling it slowly. She stopped to watch as Keith opened her present and she smiled warmly.
"Standard Art supplies." Kristen said, chuckling lightly. "I figured every good artist would need some." Kristen smiled, going back to twirling the knife again, getting herself accustomed to the weight of the blade.


"I'm trying..." Alayna murmured before opening her eyes. She looked over Keith's shoulder, smiling. "Sweet." she said, nodding to Kristen before narrowing her eyes. "Did I help you pick these out?" she wondereing quietly.
Kristen laughed quietly. "No. But you did tell me what not to get." She said, smiling at Alayna before leaning back against Demitri. "You're turn hun." she said quietly.

"Should I be scared Alexi?" He teased his brother, who was watching Demitri curiously.
"No, not this year. No snakes, I promise" He said, shaking his head. Demitri was notoriously terrified of snakes, despite the fact that they couldn't hurt him. He had been bitten as a child, and had been terrified since.
Demitri grinned and opened the box, finding inside a zip-up hoodie that said 'Russia' across the front, a tribute of his favorite international soccer team.
"Awesome, thanks" He said, immediately slipping it on.
"Well?" He asked Kristen, smiling at her. He wanted to play for Russia, but he didn't think now was the time to bring it up.

Keith smiled, watching Demitri.
"Cool" He said, nodding at the hoodie.
"Your turn" He said to Alexi.
"From Sven, should be interesting" He said, opening it to find a book, written in Russian of course, about the time periode he had been born. Alexi loved history, and anything to do with it.
"Very nice" He said, flipping the book open.

Leaping up, Alexi handed out the next course of presents.
He gave Kristen the one from himself, Keith the one from Demitri, Demitri the one from Sven, Alayna the one from Kristen and himself the one from Demitri.

Kristen laughed at the brothers, and nodded as Demitri pulled on the sweater. She smiled at him, glad to see that he was happy. "Looks good on ya." she said before resting back against him. Kristen nodded to Alexi, notcing how old-looking the book was, though it was in pretty good condition. She continued to twirl the knife, and went as far as tossing it up in front of her and cacthing it with the other hand. Nodding, Kristen looked over the blade before asking "I've heard rumors, what exactly can this cut through?" She looked over at Keith with dancing eyes, obviously excited about her present.
"Aw, thanks Alexi." Kristen said as the older vampire gave everyone their second round of presents. Like Keith's, Kristen shook her present gently, trying to wager what was under the wrapping paper. She looked over at Alayna with a smile, and nodded.

Alayna smiled at Demitri. "Does look good on you." she agreed. She watched Kristen twirled the knife expecting with amazement, cringing slightly as the shifter tossed it in the air. She looked up as Alexi quickly handed out more presents, blinking with confusion. "Oh right." she muttered, laughing at her own stupidity and shaking her head. If Alexi and Demitri were brothers, they were probably both vampires.
Holding Kristen's present in her lap, Alayna smiled and turned it over gently. She looked up to see Kristen nod and slowly tore the brown paper away. Out of the corner of her eye, Alayna could see Kristen waiting impatiently, and smiled. Under the paper, was a package of paints, small ones that each held every color of the rainbow, and a few inbetween. Alayna smiled happily and looked up at Kristen with glossy eyes. "How did you know?" she asked.

Kristen beamed, proud that Alayna liked the gift. "I'll never tell." she said stubbornly, grinning. Alayna smiled and rubbed her eyes, nodding. "Thanks Kristen."

Keith grinned at Kristen.
"Well, nearly everything, and it never has to be sharpened. You can't cut through vampires though, or like, solid stone, but generally one cut and you've severed something" He said, watching her twirl the knife with an amused eye.
"I'll teach you how to use it today, after this" He said, grinning at her, before turning his attention to Alayna as she opened her present.
"Nice" He said, grinning at her as he saw the paints.

Alexi nodded at Kristen, her own gift was a zip-up sweatshirt like Demitri's, but much more feminine, in an athletic way; it too said Russia, but was black and white, unlike Demitri's grey.

Demitri smiled, "Good, and I take it, if it never has to be sharpened, it doesn't bend or break?" He asked, looking at Keith.
"Correct. Unless, of course it meets a demon blade, and then it behaves like any other blade" Keith said, watching as Alexi nodded to Kristen, indicating that she could open her present now.

Kristen's face lit up at what Keith told her. "Awesome!" she breathed, twirling the blade once more before letting it rest on her thigh. She smiled at Alexi and held her present gingerly before tearing away the paper. Her smile turned into a grin and she held up the sweater to look at it before tossing it over her shoulders. "Thanks! I think we're set for a game." Kristen said, pulling the sleeves down before picking up the dagger again.

Alayna nodded to Keith, looking between him and Kristen as they talked about the blade. "Let's hope you never meet with a demon blade." Alayna said, meaning to joke. A pain shot through her head at that, and Alayna let out a small gasp of pain. She turned her head away from her friends, holding it tightly. Alayna cringed and her whole body tensed as she foget against the pain. Taking a deep breath, Alayna winced. The pain retreated, slowly, but never fully left her.

Opening her eyes, Alayna turned her head back slowly. Seeing Kristen's worried eyes on her, Alayna tried to smile. "I'm alright." she murmured.

Both Demitri and Keith winced at the mention of a demon blade. It was odvious that Alayna didn't remember that particular memory, or she wouldn't be bringing it up, especially not in a joking sense.
Demitri wrapped his arms around Kristen, inhaling the scent of her new sweat shirt, it was nice, already begining to match her scent, just much fresher, which was nice. He watched Alayna, seeing her struggling with the pain was unpleasent. He nodded his head to her reassurance, although from the look on her face it was probably just that, reassurance.
"Keith, your turn" Demitri said, looking and Keith, making his voice light as he tried to bring the happiness back. This was Kristen's first Christmas in so many years and he wanted it to be perfect

Keith looked at Alayna, eyes wide. He noted the worried look in Kristen's eyes, knowing his mimicked hers. He sighed, thankful that she was 'alright' or at least, as alright as she could be. He nodded his head at Demitri, begining to carefully remove the badly wrapped present. It had Demitri written all over it. Inside, was the Da'Vinci painting, the new one, that had just been discovered.
"I-Is this an original?" He asked, overwhelemed with the vampire's generousity.
"Of course" Demitri responded, beaming.

"Really." Alayna said quietly, seeing the worry in Keith's eyes as well. She watched him unwrapp the present, her eyes curious, though Kristen could still see the small amount of confusion in them. Kristen chuckled as Alayna's jaw dropped when Keith releaved his present. "Oh my..." Alayna could hardly finish as her eyes darted around the painting. "Th-these aren't even in museums yet. Are they?" she asked quielty, looking up at Demitri.

Kristen smirked, nestling herself against Demitri as the vampire wrapped his arms tighter around her. She looked from Keith to Alayna with a smile on her face, along with clear amusment at the duo's reactions. "How did you managed that?" Kristen whispered in pure curiosity. She knew Demitri had money, but enough to get the actual orignal from Da'Vinci himself?

"Well, it was easy" Demitri responded.
"No, Alayna, that one's never been seen by anyone ouside this house, and Da'Vinci himself" He told the girl, sighing.
"I bought that off of Da'Vinci when I was in Rome, it was the hight of his career and he sold it to me for next to nothing. He didn't really seem to care" He said with a shrug. Keith was gaping at him, and Alexi was laughing.
"I remember that, that was one of his 'reject' paintings, wasn't it?" He teased, smiling at his brother.
"Yea, it was. Apparently he didn't like it" He said, laughing.

"You, you knew Da'Vinci?" Keith said, shaking his head and staring down at the painting.
"Demitri, this, this is amazing. Thank you" He murmured, shaking his head and looking down at the intricate, 'reject' painting.
"I can't believe this" He murmured, shaking his head and finally tearing his eyes away from the canves.

Alayna's world tipped as she listened to Demitri. She blinked at the vampire, forgetting for a while that vampires lived extremely long lives. Taking a deep breath, Alayna shook her head and pushed the thought from her mind. "That's crazy..." she murmured, looking over at the painting again before Keith set it down.

Kristen chuckled, althought she too was amazed at what Demitri was telling her. There were somethings that intrested her when it came to history. "That is so cool..." Kristen murmured, shaking her head as she twirled her new dagger. The weight was little to nothing now, which was good. It would make training with it easier later. "Whos' next?" Kristen asked, looking at Alexi before Demitri.

"Demitri" Alexi responded, smiling at his brother.
"It's from Sven" He, said, noting Demitri searching for the card.
"Ah" Demitri said, removing the paper.
"Oh wow" He said, eyes growing wide as he saw a book he had read as human, but was odviusly no longer in print.
"My favorite book" He said, eyes alight with child-like glee. He loved this book. He opened the old pages, smiling at the ancient language on the pages. It was Russian, just a bit of an older version, like the Russian equivilant of old English.

Keith smiled, looking at Demitri's delight.
"Wow" He murmured smiling. Some of these gifts, particularly those between the vampires were exceptionally old and ancient.
"What is it?" He asked Demitri, wondering why both vampires were so excited by these books.
"It's a book I read as a teenager, a human teenager. They stopped printing these in my first year as a vampire" The Vampire explained.

Alayna sat forward, resting her elbow on her leg and her chin in her hand. She watched Demitri with curious eyes. Seeing another old-looking book, she tilted her head slightly. She noticed the gleam in the vampires eyes, so it obviously meant a great deal to him. "That's really cool.." she said, nodding in approval.

Kristen watched as Demitri tore away the paper, and her eyes wided at the book. She frowned in consentration, over-looking the pages as Demitri flipped through the book gently. Present-day Russian she could read, and this was beyond her. "What's it about?" she asked curiously, wishing she could read the fine-scrpit in the old book.

Demitri sighed and glanced up at Kristen, knowing she couldn't read it.
"Oh, it's just like an old story, fairy tail gone wrong really" He said, "I'll translate it for you, one day" He said, smiling at her and glancing at Alexi.
"Your turn" He said, nodding at the present in his brother's hands. It was from him, and he had gone to some lengths to get this. Alexi was an art collector, and he had managed to find him an obscure art book, thought to have been written by Michelangelo.

Keith's eyes turned to Alexi, watching as he opened the carefully, odviuosly not wrapped by Demitri, gift.
Is this what I think it is? Alexi asked Demitri, switching to the language he was more comfortable with.
Yea, Do you like it? Demitri responded, grinning hugely.
"Yes, I love it" Alexi said, eyes wide as he removed the thin, old looking, badly bound book.

Kristen grinned, understanding the exchange between the brothers. She reached over to the plate, taking a few more grapes before resting against Demitri once more. She smiled, her eyes wandering over each person for a moment. Alexi and his obvious amazment as his gift, Alayna with wide eyes, Keith who looked curious, before turning around to look at Demitri. Kristen's smile grew, and she tried to hide it. She could see the pride in his eyes, and the satifcation from Alexi's amazement. Sighing with content, Kristen popped another grape into her mouth before leaning back.

Alayna looked from Alexi to Demitri, not understanding what the two were saying. She guessed it had to do with the present; another book. This one however, wasn't in the greatest of conditions, and looked older than all the previous ones. She smiled at Alexi, and her eyes darted to Kristen, sensing the shifter's eyes on her. Alayna frowned slightly and Kristen waved her away, and she shrugged, reaching foward for a few apple slices.

Alexi shook his head and smiled.
"Alright, uh, I guess there's only a few presents left" He said, looking under the tree. He handed Kristen her present from Demitri, Keith his present from Alexi, Alayna his present from him and his other brothers. He took his present from Vladimir and gave Demitri the one from Kristen.
"Uh, Kristen, Demitri. Vlad as a joint present for you too, but I'll give it to you later" He said girninng mischeviously.
Alayna's present was a few smaller paintings Vladimir had purchased from an unknown, but fantastic artist, and it was from all of them.
Keith's present was a Russia zip-up jacket, very warm, and very nice.

Demitri smiled at his brother as he handed on the last few presents.
"Oh?" He asked hsi brother, looking confused. He shrugged, "Later?"
"Yes, later" Alexi, nodding his head at Alayna, indicating she could go ahead and open the present.
Demitri sighed, looked at Alayna, waiting for her to open her present with facinated eyes.

Kristen watched Alexi hand out the last few presents. She tilted her head at Alexi, curiousity and confusion clear on her face. After a while she shrugged and held her present in her lap. She weighed it gently in her hands before looking up at Alayna.

The girl was holding the present gently and she smiled after tearing away the paper. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open a bit. "These are fantasic!" she breathed, her eyes dancing over the paintings with awe and respect. She looked up at Alexi with a wide grin. "Thank you." she said.