1x1 with x_fire

Maddie dug her face into Demitri's shoulder gently. "I can't sleep." she murmured, shaking her head. "And my chest hurts."
Kristen had been about to say something, but Maddie's second statement stopped her. She tried not to sigh then, shaking her head gently before closing her eyes and trying to go back to sleep herself. She firgured Maddie couldn't stay away from Demitri too long, considering they had bonded, and Maddie was still young. If it was the pain bothering her now, Kristen wouldn't say anything about it.
"Why does it hurt?" Maddie asked quietly, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

Demitri wrapped his arms around Maddie.
"Come on, let's go downstairs so we don't bother your mom" He rose, picking Maddie up and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. He sighed, pulling on a pair of sweatpants with a free hand, and headed downstairs, shutting the door behind him so that Kristen could sleep. He wandered down the hallway, stairs and headed to the 'family' room. Sighing, he sat down on the couch, finally looking at Maddie.
"Does your chest hurt right now?" He asked, he wasn't about to just give her the answer, he'd give her clues though.

Maddie turned to look back at Kristen as Demitri picked her up. As they headed back downstairs, Maddie kept quiet, her thumb placed gently in her mouth. She looked around, blinking, her eyes going from brown to blue as she tried to focus in the dim lighting.
She thought about Demitri's question for a moment, thumb still in her mouth. Maddie frowned then, looking up at him then. "No...it's gone now..." she murmured, rubbing her chest gently. "It really hurt though!" she said then, as if Demitri wouldn't believe her, think she was just using it as an excuse to crawl into the bed with him and Kristen.

"I know it did, I believe you. So, when does your chest hurt?" He asked, kissing her forhead and reclining on the couch. He pulled a handle on the edge of the chair, sending the foot rest up, his chair reclining back. It was a lot nicer this way, stretched out, Maddie rested comofortably on his lower stomach and chest. He sighed, pulling the couch blanket over them, making sure to keep her wrapped up.
"So?" He asked softly, shaking his head and sighing. He ran his fingers through her hair, staring at the blank TV absentmindedly.

Maddie quieted then, hearing that Demitri believed her. She placed her head on his chest as he reclined the seat back. Pulling the blanket over her shoulder, Maddie looked at the rest of the couch distantly.
"When we left the house..." Maddie murmured, rubbing her eyes then. "When Mama took us...somewhere...I don't remember. It hurt real bad...I fell asleep." Maddie blinked a few times before looking up at Demitri.
"And it hurt when I went to bed. Am I sick again?" Maddie asked then, eyes wide worried. She pulled the blanket over her head then, shuddering. "I hope I'm not..."

"No Maddie, you're not sick" He said softly.
"Now, when does your chest not hurt?" He asked, prodding her along in the direction of the answer. He rubbed her back softly, sighing and keeping his one arm wrapped around her comfortably, his other rubbing her back, playing with her hair. He sighed, he wasn't sure if he and Kristen had really discussed telling Maddie about the bond, but she was a smart kid, she'd figure it out, and well, he still felt insanely guilty about all of this.

Maddie pulled the blanket from her head then, hearing that she wasn't sick. She looked up at Demitri with wide brown eyes. She narrowed them gently, wondering where Demitri was goign with all these question. Slowly, Maddie's eyes turned blue and Maddie shrugged.
"When I'm with you and Mama..." she said then. The wheels in Maddie's mind weren't turning as fast as usual. Since the pain was gone from her chest, her body was reminding her that she was exhausted. Maddie wanted to sleep, but at the same time she was curious. Yawning, Maddie placed her head back down on Demitri's chest, and pulled the blanket up to her shoulder.
Gently, Maddie let Demitri's emotions come to her; guilt? Why...Maddie was to tired to dig deeper. "You think the pain has something to do with you?" Maddie said quietly, covering her mouth as she yawned again.

"I know it is" Demitri said, sighing and shaking his head.
"Maddie, you know how I have a special bond with your mom? Well, I have a bond like that with you, and it's going to hurt when we're apart" He said, sighing and shaking his head. He kissed her, wrapping her in the blanket.
"Go to sleep kiddo. I'll stay right here, with you, okay? You're mom needs to sleep, and I can't sleep anymore" He sighed, and shook his head, kissing her forhead again. He flicked on the TV, watching a random movie that came on, making sure the volume was so low that no one else would hear, well, no one who needed sleep.

Maddie sighed. Maybe if she went to sleep, all of this would make more sense in the morning. "Ok..." Maddie murmured, rubbing her eyes gently. She settled herself then, half on Demitri, half on the couch, the blanket pulled tightly around her. Since the pain was gone from her chest, Maddie found it impossible to deny her body sleep.


The breeze was nice. It blew past her gently, pushing her hair into her face, scattering the leaves on the ground below her. She was standing on a balcony, a garden strecthing out beneth her. There was a foutain and a small pool in the center, grass outline the small stepping stones that lead from every entrance towards the pool. Her vision turned up to the sky then. It would rain soon, the distant was gray. The scene changed then, grew darker, less joyful and peaceful, though it looked like the same place.
It was raining now, and she was standing in the middle of it. Water poured aroundher as she stood on the cobblestone street. She was following someone, but everything was passing her by in blurrs. Kristen reached out, to grab their shoulder, electricty shooting up her arm-

Kristen gasped, rolling onto her side as she woke up. Her arm was numb, but because she had slept on it, and not because of the shock she had recieved in her dream. Sunlight was streaming lightly into the room throught the window, and Kristen sighed. She held her head for a moment, trying to desperatly make sense of the images she had seen. Looking around, Kristen frowned, realzing that Demitri wasn't in the bed with her, or Maddie for that matter.

Demitri sighed, looking at Maddie as she fell asleep in his lap. He sighed, knowing Kristen was going to wake up soon, a small sigh escaped him as he settled down to watch his movie, a small frown as he tried to catch up on the plot line.

Keith sighed, wandering down the hall, peeking his head in as he saw Demitri and Maddie sitting tiredly on the sofa.
"Hey" He murmured, stumbling in and sitting down next to Demitri, glancing at Maddie.
"She alright?"
"Yea, she was just experiencing some chest pains" He said, sighing and shake his head.
"Ah" He nodded, letting his wings droop forward, letting them settle over Demitri and the other arm of the couch.
"This alright?"
"Yea, it's fine" Demitri said, shaking his head and sighing.

Maddie stirred gently. She heard a voice..no, more than one. Two voices. She knew them. They were talking about her. Was it morning yet? Demitri was awake. So was Kristen. Maddie rubbed her eyes gently, blinking and yawning before coughing gently.
She turned her eyes over to Keith. Seeing his wings out, Maddie's eyes went wide, and she blinked roughly, trying to wake up. "Hiya..." she said then, blinking again. "Is it morning?" she asked quietly.

Kristen stepped out of the shower, sighing with relief. She felt ten times better now, having washed up completely. She changed, swearing a loose pair of jeans and a simple tank top. She brushed her hair, frowning at the length. She couldn't stand this anymore. Kristen clammered down the steps.
"Hey, Demitri. Know where I can find a pair of scissors?" Kristen asked, walking into the family room then. She stopped, seeing Keith then. She smiled reassuringly then. "Morning." she said quietly as Maddie picked her head up from Demitri.
"Oh, so this is where you two went..." Kristen said, folding her arms over her chest then, fegning anger.
"Uh-oh." Maddie murmured, putting her head back down on Demitri's chest, pulling the blanket over her.

"Scissors love? I think in the kitchen" He laughed, "Oh whatever, you're an awful actor" He said, shaking his head and sighing.
"It's okay Maddie" He laughed, "I won't let your mom get you" He said, shaking his head and laughing.

Keith smiled at Kristen, though it was forced as she came down, "It's morning" He murmured to Maddie, rubbing his head tiredly. His wings retracted a bit, before vanishing. What was the point? The feathers were rumpled, and that only served to remind him of Alayna. Frowning, he rubed a hand over his face.

Kristen stuck her tongue out at Demitri. "Good. I need a hair cut." she said, rolling her eyes teasingly at Demitri before turning to walk into the kicthen. Finding the scissors, Kristen walked back upstairs to finally get rid of the troublesome locks that had grown to her lower back at this point.

Maddie giggled quietly, hearing Demitri laughing along with her mom, though Kristen didn't laugh out right. Maddie knew she wasn't upset. Pulling the blanket back over her head, Maddie sat up, watching as Kristen walked back upstairs. Maddie laughed again before looking over at Keith. She looked at him for a moment gently, like he was a delicate puzzle. If she moved the wrong way even a smuge, it would ruin everything. She sighed as Keith made his wings disappear before looking at the T.V. She couldn't hear what was going on, and she frowned looking at Demitri.
"How can you hear that?" Maddie asked, rubbing her eyes gently and yawning again.

"I'm a vampire Maddie, my hearing is really good, a lot better then anyone elses" He said, grinning and sighing. He watched Kristen go, shakaing his head and sighing.
"Have fun" He teased, rolling his eyes a bit. He glanced at Maddie, she was studying Keith, which he didn't think that was that odd. Keith was still masking his feelings from Maddie, which was good in his opinion.
"What?" Keith asked, arching an eyebrow at both Demitri and Maddie, they were staring at him.
"You still gonna come to Rome man?" Demitri asked.
"I dunno, I don't think so, but hold onto my ticket" Keith answered.
"Deal" Demitri smiled, clapping him gently on the back.

Keith sighed, he had been thinking more and more about Rome. He sort of did want to go, see everyone's reactions to stuff, particularly Maddie's, and he might have some fun with the religious men at the vatican. Angels did that once in awhile, appeared to a very religious human, it was fun for them.

Maddie shook her head, bitting her lip gently, not giving Keith an answer. "That's cool." Maddie said, looking at Demitri before back at the T.V. Her eyes fell to the puzzle peices that were still layed out on the table from yesterday. Maddie slid from Demitri, the blanket still over her shoulders like a cloak as she sat in front of the coffee table. She stirred around a few peices, adding some to those she already had attacthed, picking out peices that were made as a border like Kristen had told her. She worked quietly for a moment before looking back at Demitri.
"Where are we going?" Maddie asked then, curiousty making her eyes dance excitedly.

Kristen sighed, having cut her hair to her liking. She pulled her hair up into her usual ponytail, shaking her head gently, laughing as the tips barely brushed against her shoulders. After cleaning up, Kristen shifted into her hawk form, letting her wings strecth out for a moment before turning and flying back to the stairs. Once at the bottom, she shifted back, staggering a bit, holding her head. "Ow." Kristen muttered, frowning and shaking her head. Maybe she still wasn't up to par for shifting like that yet.
"Mom?" Maddie's worried voice called from the family room. Kristen sighed, shaking her head to regain her senses before walking into the room with a smile.
"Yes?" Kristen asked, leaning againt the back of the couch between Demitri and Keith, looking down at the little girl. Maddie stared at her for a moment before shaking her head and turning back to the puzzle.

Demitri sighed, shaking his head.
"We're going to Rome" He explained to Maddie, watching Kristen coming back downstairs.
"Hey love" He said, smiling at Kristen, before glancing at Maddie, he had felt the small amout of dizzyness a few moments pervious, but he didn't press the issue.
"Your hair looks good" He said, sighing and stretching out on the couch, he was a bit tired still, and he could relaxe now.

Keith glanced at Maddie, sliding to the floor.
"Mind if I help?" He asked her, hesitantly reaching towards the peices, flipping them over to look at them a bit. He began to slowly fit them together, though he doubed that Maddie minded. He glanced at Kristen and Demitri, sighing.
"Should I come to Rome with you guys?" He asked, wanting their honest opinion.

"I dunno dude, I'd love to have you come with us, but ultimately it's up to you" Demitri mumbled sleepily.

Maddie looked up at Keith with a proud grin. So far, so good. She nodded at the puzzle, watching as he filled in peices and she worked on the border. Pretty soon, all there was left of the puzzle was to fill in the middle peices. This proved to be a bit difficult for Maddie, since she would find one peice and need to find another that it fit to before leaving it be.

Kristen smiled at Demitri, shaking her head to move her ponytail back and forth again. "I hate it when it's long..." she mrumured before turning her eyes to Maddie and Keith. She watched them for a moment before sighing.
"It might be good. Heard spring hits Italy first." Kristen said, grinning then. It was common knowledge that winter wasn't Kristen's favorite season. Knowing that it was much warmer in Rome now than in Russia where they currently were was a bonus for Kristen. "Plus, it'll be fun. Knowing Alexi. He can probably show us places some people never thought twice about." She walked around then to sit down next to Demitri, resting her head on his shoulder gently.

Keith nodded.
"I suppose it would be fun" He murmured, smiling at Maddie.
"Well, I guess I can go" He looked at Demitri, who grinned. "Of course man. It'll be fun, and Kristen's right, Alexi has lots of places to go" Keith smiled, a small grin on his face.

Demitri wrapped his arms around Kristen, mildly suprised to know Keith still wanted to come. He was happy, it would be a lot of fun, and well, hopefully by that time, Alayna would have come to his senses, or perhaps she'd at least explain something. He watched Keith and Maddie tiredly, watching the two of them work at the puzzle, Kristen rested against him, though he slumped over, stretching out on the couch, tired.

Maddie looked up at Keith gently, smiling lightly before finding a puzzle peice that finally fit. She murmured something to herself, sitting up on her knees to look over the few thrity peices that remained.
"What's in Rome?" Maddie asked quietly, pressing a peice gently into place before looking at Keith and then over her shoulder at Demitri and Kristen.

"There's a lot in Rome, Maddie." Kristen said quietly. "Lot's of history. It's one of the oldest citites in the world." she explained. That was a rough translation, but Kristen didn't want to spoil sight-seeing for the little girl. Kristen was almost certain that Maddie would love the city and everything they took her to see.

"It's also Alexi's home" Demitri murmured, shaking his head and sighing. He glanced at Maddie and Keith, watching them curiously, he knew Keith loved puzzles, and which was nice, particularly to see him hanging with Maddie.
Demitri rested his head in Kristen's lap, sighing and closing his eyes, he was tired, he wanted to sleep, and they leaved the following evening.
"We leave tomorrow night" He mumbled, shaking his head and sighing.

Keith smiled, looking over the peices and putting a few together, fitting them with a few of Maddie's.
"I've never been to Rome either Maddie, we can see it together" He said, smiling. He glanced at Demitri, who looked pretty out of it, half-asleep in Kristen's lap.

Kristen picked her hands up, watching as Demitri moved to rest his head in her lap. She grinned, laughing at his half-asleep expression on his face. "Comfortable?" she asked then, letting her hands fall back down once he was settled. She placed one hand on Demitri's chest, and the other she ran through his hair gently. Kristen chuckled before bring her gaze to Maddie and Keith. She was glad that Maddie was able to keep Keith pre-occupied. Kristen was still waiting for Alayna to call her back...

"This one..." Maddie murmured, pulling their peices together and adding them to the main picture. "There." she nodded, smiling, though she was still looking at the half-finished puzzle critically. Maddie looked over at Keith then, smiling.
"How come you never went before?" she asked then, curious as she picked a few peices and tried to fit them together to no avail.

Demitri nodded.
"Yea" He murmured, shaking his head and sighing. He rolled so he was lying on his side, his face pressed into her stomach. He sighed, shook his head, yawning.
"Gods I'm tired" He murmured.
"God" Keith corrected, causign Demitri to growl. "Gods"
Demitri pressed his face against Kristen, wondering how long it would take for Alayna to acll back.

Keith sighed, "Well, deal with it" He snapped at Demitri, it was a long going argument between him and Demitri, god versus gods. Sighing he looked at Maddie, "Why? Well, I guess I've been to busy" He explained, Maddie didn't need to know bout his 'sordid' past, and he wasn't goin g to scar Kristen adn Demitri's daughter for life.

Kristen sighed as Demitri turned, and she kept her hand in his hair, but lowered the hand that had been on his chest. She sought out his hand, lacign her fingers gently with his. "Oh stop it you two..." Kristen murmured, shaking her head gently. Maddie frowned, looking from Demitri to Keith, though she said nothing about what they were aguring about.

Maddie nodded to Keith then, as if that explained absouletly everything. "Well, you won't be too busy now right?" she asked, testing a few peices into a spot she was trying to fill. So far, none of the peices were working, and it was starting to frustrate her. Sighing, Maddie tried one finaly peice before giving up and looking for another place to test her peices.

Demitri playfully nipped Kristen's shirt, careful not to tear it or use his fangs. He shook his head and sighed, closing his eyes tiredly. He stretched out, grabbing another blanket off of the back of the couch, wrapping it around himself, and sighing. He liked using blankets, even if they didn't do much for him.

Keith smiled, "No, I won't be busy anymore" He said, sighing. He kept his face impassive, but it was hard, he had lost so much of himself, falling from heaven, then losing Alayna. He sighed, looking back at the puzzle, trying to fit pieces together, though now he worked in an almost aimless sense, working for the sake of working, not for the fun of building a puzzle.

"Hey." Kristen said, flicking Demitri's ear as he bit her shirt. She had holes in some of her shirt now because he had done that with his fangs. He never bit her skin though, thankfully. "You're gonna bust holes in this one and it's brand new." Kristen murmured, shaking her head gently, smiling despite herself.

Maddie nodded, smiling. She looked over at Keith through the corner of her eye, catching that sad gleam in his eyes. There was still this...brick wall or something, keeping her out. Maddie didn't know what it was, but it tasted like magic; Maddie tried not to prode. Looking back at the puzzle, Maddie saw what peice Keith was trying to work.
"Here. This one." she said, picking it up and handing it to him gently.