1x1 with x_fire

Kristen sighed hearing Demitri's voice. It settled her nerves greatly. Kristen froze, hearing Maddie shifting on the other bed. She waited until the child calmed down and her breathing steadied before answering Demitri.
"Bad dream." she whispered. "Forgot we were in Italy for a moment."
Kristen swallowed then, still trying to bring her heart beat back to normal, though her breathing was somewhat steady now. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Sorry..." Kristen murmured, rolling over and burrying her face into his chest.

Demitri sighed, wrapping his arms around Kristen, kissing her hair.
"Shh love, do you wanna tell me about it?" He asked, settling back, keeping his arms locked around her protectively. He knew Kristen's nightmares could be vivid and bad, and he didn't want her to repress anything, it always stressed her out. He rubbed her back, kissing her cheek. He glanced up, hearing Maddie shifting around, poor kid, she was going to be jetlagged. He checked the time, it was four am, not bad for him, but awful for Kristen.

Kristen sighed as Demitri wrapped his arms around her. She rubbed her eyes gently before rolling onto her back and staring up at the dark ceiling.
"All I saw were blurbs..." Kristen murmured. "Fighting. Lots of it. I couldn't see who." She swallowed then, running a hand through her hair gently.
"But it was back home, not here." Kristen muttered tiredly, meaning their house in Russia. She closed her eyes then, her head pounding with being awake so early. Kristen cursed quietly, almost afraid to go to sleep.
"It was bad...Why can't I have a good dream for once?" Kristen growled quietly, slamming her head against her pillow then, covering her face and breathing deeply.

Demitri sighed, wrappign his arms around Kristen. "Go back to sleep love" He murmured, cuddling her in his arms despite her burying her face in her pillow.
"Sh" He murmured, "I'll stay awake, make sure you only have good dreams" He said, rubbing her back and sitting up. He kept his arms wrapped around her, holding her and rocking her gently.
"It's early Kristen, try to sleep some more, I'm right here" He said softly.

Kristen sighed deeply, turning her face to look back at Demitri. She was laying on her stomach at this point, her arms wrapped around the pillow she had done her best not to scream into. Kristen smiled at Demitri, keeping the sting away from her eyes; she didn't want to cry.
"Alright." She murmured quietly, closing her eyes. With Demitri rocking her gently and holding her, it was much easier to fall asleep.

"Good" Demitri said softly, still holding her and kissing her hair again gently. He was awake now anyway, so there was no point in trying to go back to sleep. He sighed, stroking her hair softly, making soft 'shushing' noises.

Alexi sighed, sitting up as his alarm went off. He sighed again, running his fingers through his hair, clicking his iPhone off. He slid off the bed, walking over to the window to peek out. The sun had risen, well, was rising. He shook his head, opening the doors to the deck, staring out over the city again. He sighed, struggling with his internal feelings, not wanting to deal with his emotions right now. He sighed, rubbing his face, ignoring the noises around him.

It took a while for Maria to pull herself back to reality. She could hear Alexi stirring next to her and then he was gone. She rolled over towards him gently, yawning gently. She rubbed her eyes before opening them and looking at Alexi.
"Sure you'll be alright love?" she asked quietly.

Maddie stirred quielty. The sun was starting to peak into the room, smacking her in the face. She whined quietly, rolling over in the bed away from the sun. The heat was still there, and she couldn't seem to escape it. Maddie picked up her pillow, putting it over her head, trying to escape the morning but knowing she couldn't.

Demitri sighed, listening to Maddie whine. He slipped from Kristen, letting her sleep and walking over to Maddie's bed.
"Hey kiddo?" He murmured, sitting next to her and wrapping his arms around her. He kissed Maddie's forhead, letting her cuddle into his cooler arms. He knew she was awake, the changes in breathing and her whining were telling him that. He sighed, shifting his head and frowning. He checked the time, a little past six am, typical time for Maddie to be awake, not to mention the jet lag.

Alexi glanced at Maria.
"Yea, ready?" He asked, shaking his head and turning away. Demitri and Kristen'll have their hands full for awhile with Maddie, and I want to go out, get a feel for the streets again" He said, taking her hand. He sighed, walking back inside to change into a clean pair of jeans and a perfectly fitted white t-shirt.

Maddie sighed with relief. Demitri was cold; she was baking from the thick covers and the warm early morning sunlight. She blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes tiredly and mumbling about it being so hot and why couldn't it be colder. Maddie sighed, opening her eyes then to look up at Demitri.
"Morning Daddy..." she murmured quietly, yawning gently.


Maria smiled lightly. "Letting put on something more appropriate." she murmured, still in her pajama's. She rummaged in her bag for a moment, pulling out a spring dress. It was white, and Maria slid it on effortlessly, letting it trail around her gently. She pulled on a pair of sandles then and smiled at Alexi, twirling and watching the skirt flair out gracefully.
"Yes, I'm ready." Maria murmured, taking his hand then. "Oo, so we get to just, roam about the streets of Rome?" she asked, trying to be cheerful. "Sounds adventrous."

Alexi rolled his eyes, growling at Maria playfully.
"Well, we could always try and sneak into the Coliseum" He said, laughing and taking her hand. He sighed, lacing his fingers with her's, making sure to snag the room key, excited to head out, though apprehensive at the same time. He sighed, kissing her cheek, and leading her down the steps. Alexi wasn't fond of elevators.

Demitri smiled, pulling the blankets off of Maddie as she complained about heat. "Here kiddo, cuddle with me. I'm nice and cold" He said, rubbing her lightly. He sighed, letting Maddie rest against him, slowly waking up. After awhile he sighed, "Come on Maddie, let's get ready for the day. We have to go out later, and you, my dear, need a bath" He said, scooping her up and kissing her lightly on the forhead.

Maria smiled, following after Alexi as they walked down the staris quickly. "Ahh, and the truth comes out." she said, grinning, only ever messing with him. Alexi wanted just to see the Coliseum, that was what probably worried him the worst. Maria knew Alexi had spent most of his human life there. "This is your home. I'm just along for the ride." Maria said, still grinning as they stepped out of the hotel. She held up a hand against the sunlight, smiling; Rome was waking up.


Maddie sighed with relief, wrapping her arms around Demitri's neck gently. She murmured quietly about wanting to go back to sleep but it was too hot. Though Demitri's cold skin felt really good right now.
"Nooo.." Maddie whined, grumpy from jet lag and waking up so early. She didn't want to take a bath now, she'd just woke up, but she was still tired.

Alexi sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Shush" He said, leading her down the street. His eyes flashed, taking in the new sights, replacing them with old ones. He sighed again, shaknig his head and leading her towards his old home.
"Come on" He said, his voice filled with worry, nerves, and some excitmement. It was crazy, he was so close, the scent was the same, he could nearly hear the roar of spectators. He saw gaurds guarding the gates of the place, not letting teh public in yet.
"Come on, I know away in" He said, leading her down a back alley, hopefully it was still here.

Demitri sighed, "Alright, but you have to have one before we leave the hotel" He cradled her on his cold chest. Opening the balcony doors and stepping out. He rubbed her back, leaning on the railing and looking over the city, Maddie wrapped in his arms.

Maria couldn't help but giggle. She was careful where she stepped along the cobblestoned street. It always took her a way to get her baring, and it was an old developed habit to walk a certain way on cobblestones. Usually it was because Maria would wear heals and if she wasn't careful she broke them by stepping cracks. London was filled with older streets like the ones Alexi was pulling her down now, and soon it was coming back to her.
"Ay Dios..." Maria murmured, looking up at the massive staduim. "God, I haven't been here in so long..." Maria whispered, knowing Alexi was feeling the same way. It was a bit odd, sensing his emotions as her own. A sly glint came to her eyes then as Alexi lead her down a back alley. "Where are we going?" she asked quietly, beyond curious.


"Ok..." Madide murmured. She didn't turn her head away from Demitri's shoulder until he stopped moving. She turned to look out...and was staring down six stories. Maddie's eyes went wide and she screamed quietly in fear, no caring that the railing held her back, or that Demitri's arm's were wrapped around her.
That woke up Kristen. She jolted in the bed, frowning and looking over at Demitri and Maddie. The child had stopped screaming but she was crying. "What happened?" Kristen asked, tossing the blankets off of her then.

Demitri winced, Maddie's scream may have been quiet, but it was loud to him. He retreated back inside, "Woah, ow" He winced, back in the room now as Kristen jolted out of bed. He had no idea Maddie would react that way, plus he had figured she had been asleep again. He winced, setting her on the bed, letting Kristen deal with it while he rubbed his sensitive ears. That had hurt. "Sorry Maddie" He murmured, ears still ringing. He wished people wouldn't do that around him,
"Sorry, I was on the deck, I had no idea she'd react that way" He apologized to Kristen.

Alexi sighed, "You'll see" He murmured, walking effortlessly down the cobblestones, it was easy for him, more natrual then regular streets. He paused, finding the back of the Coliseum, it was roped off, but it wasn't being monitored. He sighed, stepping over the rope, helping her out. Carefully, he led her towards what looked like a blocked tunnel.
"Death gate" He explained, leading her inside, pushing aside some rubble, carefully clearing a path.

"Shhh, Maddie calm down." Kristen murmured, sitting on the bed with Maddie, pulling the child into her lap. "Whats the matter?" Kristen asked as Maddie burried her face into Kristen's side. She sighed, wrapping her arms around Maddie and rubbing her back gently, trying to calm the frantic child. Kristen blinked, looking out to the balcony where Demitri had just been standing. "Are you alright?" she asked then, seeing Demitri rubbing his ears. Maddie relaxed enough to stop crying; she looked back towards the balcony and shuddered before hidding back against Kristen.


Maria glanced over her shoulder, just in case, as Alexi helped her over to rope. She watched him move away rubble, and her eyes went wide at the tunnel in front of them.
"Oh, wow." Maria whispered. "Do they even know it's back here?" she murmured, glancing over her shoulder again out of habit. She would hear if anyone came coming before they got close, reminding herself of that relaxed her a bit.

"Damn, ow, my ears are ringing, I'm going back outside" He said, slipping back on to the porch. He sighed, leaning on the railing and rubbing his ears again. He couldn't handle the loudness of the screams, most vampires couldn't handle loud noises, and Maddie's mouth had been right next to his ear. He sighed, glancing over the side of the balcony, nothing seemed off out here, so he couldn't understand what had set her off. He sighed, glancing at the time, it was only eight, though he anticipated Alexi and Maria had already gone off exploring. He frowned, wondering how Alexi was doing, it must have been hard, seeing his home land changed after so many hundreds of years. He rubbed his eyes, staring at the city, so confused. He had no idea what had set Maddie off, and he felt exceedingly bad, but he really had no idea what had happened.

Alexi shook his head.
"No, they're to paranoid to excevate any further, they didn't even know that most Roman ampitheaters actually had to gates. The Victory gate, you left through that one when you won a battle, but if you lost, well, you died, so you came out through this gate, better known as the death gate. You either walked in victory, or were dragged out in death. Everytime, I went through the other gate, but well, the final one, I went through this one. He cleared some more rubble, pausing.
"See the crevices in the wall?" He nodded at what looked like a craved bench. "They placed the bodies on those, until the events were over, then they came and took care of everything. Vlad and Sven came back here to find me, I wasn't dead, though only a modern doctor would have been able to tell. Sven and Vlad were lucky, they had vampiric sense to help them out" He explained, finally pushing his way into the main part of the Coliseum. He peeked out, shaking his head.
"Wow" He sighed, he could see it how it had used to been, in all it's glory.

Kristen watched Demitri leave with a mixture of concern and worry. "Madison, calmn down. Your alright now." she said. Maddie had stopped crying, but she was still shaking pretty bad. Kristen rubbed her hand along Maddie's back and threw her hair, and soon Maddie was relaxed enough to talk.
"So...high..." Maddie murmured, shuddering. Kristen frowned.
"But Maddie, we were high up in the plane..." Kristen said. Maddie shook her head furiously, digging her face back in Kristen's shoulder.
Kristen sighed. "Alright alright, calm down. Demitri had you the whole time, he wouldn't have dropped you." Kristen muttered, a bit confused; Maddie afraid of hieghts?
"I know..." Maddie said, rubbing her face gently. She turned, keeping her head rested on Kristen's shoulder, looking over at Demitri. "Is he ok?" she asked quietly.


Maria frowned for a moment. "Then should we be exevating further? We'll survive but she might not..." she murmured quietly. The only reason humans would stop searching was if they felt the place would be damaged with further adventureing. She and Alexi would be fine if anything were to happen...the Collesium on the other hand...
Maria watched as he continued to pile away the rubble, and her eyes wandered around the area he had already cleared. This much, she hadn't known, and she was listening intently. "Oh wow. Luck Sven and Vlad found you when they did then..." Maria murmured. She stepped gingerly through the gate as Alexi broke through to the other side. She blinked, holding her hand up to the early morning sunlight. It took her a few minutes to get accustomed to the light, and when she did, Maria sighed in awe.
"Oh Lexi...she's gorgeous..." Maria murmured quietly, slowly grinning as she turned to look around. She had only ever seen the Colliseum from the outside, never from this point of view.

Demitri sighed, still absentmindedly rubbing his ears. He half dangled over the railing, arms hanging over the space. He sighed, it was odd that Maddie was suddenly terrified of heights, she hadn't even been that close to the edge. He frowned, damn, loud noises did not agree with him. He could hear Kristen and Maddie we're talking, and he wasn't to happy about the whole 'fear' thing. Heights were a large part of his life, he loved climbing, jumping off stuff, but if Maddie freaked out everytime they did something including height, well, that would complicate things.

Alexi laughed, "Humans don't understand the architecture, the coliseum won't fall. I promise" He sighed, staring out, lost in thought now.
"Yes, she is" He said, it looked almost the same, aged, very aged, and half the seats were gone. Tons of stuff was missing, but it was similar.
"Well, what would you like to see?" He had lived in pits beneath the Coliseum as a gladiator. It was natural, as you rarely got time off, unless injury was to bad for the gladiator to fight. War slaves and foreigners weren't given recovery time.

Kristen looked over at Demitri. "Maddie, you have to understand...Demitri can hear things a lot better than you can." she said quietly.
"You mean like when I shift? And how I can hear things ten times better?" Maddie asked then. Kristen smiled proudly and nodded.
"Just like that. Only Demitri doesn't shift. He can't take away his super hearing. So it hurt his ears when you screamed." Kristen explained softly.
"Oooh.." Maddie said, eyes wide, worried now. She scurried away from Kristen then, slidding off the bed and walking over to Demitri. She froze then, not stepping onto the balcony, holding to the door. "Demitr?" Maddie asked quietly; she still wasn't fully accustomed to calling her dad. "Are you ok?" she murmured, causious of his sensitve hearing. Kristen sighed, watching Maddie with a small smile before standing up from the bed and going to shower herself.


Maria smiled lightly. "Alright." she murmured quietly, standing next to him, holding his hand firmly. She didn't want him getting completely lost in the past, it would make coming back into reality harder. Maria looked around, smiling. "I want to see from up top. In the seats, like someone watching the actual games." she said, eyes dancing with excitement and curiousity. From here, she had a good idea of how it must have looked for those fighting; thousands of peolpe...lined row on top of row on top of row, chearing and yelling...

Demitri turned, glancing at Maddie.
"Yea, fine kiddo" He said, leaning back against the balcony. He was never scared of stuff like that. He could fall out of an airplane, hit the ground, and the ground would be more damaged then he would. A fall, no matter what height, would never hurt a vampire. He smiled at her, showing that he was fine, the sun was coming up, though it was only eight thirty. They had to meet Maria and Alexi soon, "You should go take a bath and then we need to go eat. We have to meet up with Maria and Alexi" He said, he sighed, reluctantly leaving the deck to come back inside. He scooped Maddie up as he came inside, shutting the door behind him.
"Do you wanna order some food love?" He asked Kristen, they had a long day ahead of them, and a good breakfast would be a good idea.
He stepped into the huge washroom, sighing, "Alright kiddo, bath time"

Alexi sighed, "Alright, come on" He smiled, pulling himself, reluctantly, from the past. He smiled a bit wider, taking her hand, squeezing it, and leading her towards the victory gate. He carefully he lead her up the stairs, they were almost none existance, but for a vampire, it was easy.
"You know, I never came up here, when it was built, when I preformed. Gladiators weren't wlecome here. If we 'preformed well' and the Emperor liked us, we went up there" He nodded at the huge
'box' it was the empror's box.

"Sure!" Kristen called from the shower. The hot water was soothing, but she cut her shower quick, knowing that Maddie needed a bath as well. She stepped out a few minutes later, smelling more like hotel soap and shampoo than anything else. She pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top, wrapping her still dripping hair into a tight bun.
Maddie sighed. "Alright." she murmured, rather relcuntantly. Kristen chuckled, opening the bathroom door, a wave of steam rolling out and disappearing. "Can we get pancakes?" Maddie asked. Kristen nodded.
"Sure. But you need to take a bath first." Kristen said. She smiled as Demitri took Maddie into the bathroom. She slipped outside then to get Maddie a fresh set of clothes.


Maria smiled, holding his hand still and following as he lead her threw the victory gate. "Ha, we win." she murmured, laughing quietly. She sighed, taking the stairs carefully and bitting back a wave of homesickness. The streets of her old home in England were worn away like the steps of the Collesium were now. Maria sighed again, coming back to reality and hearing Alexi.
"Oh? So were you not liked by the Empero?" Maria asked, slightly joking. She looked down from their current hight, sucking in a breath in amazement. If anything, Maria would have been a faithful spectator of the Games.

Demitri sighed, smiling as Kristen emerged, though he sneezed at her scent. He laughed, taking Maddie into the washroom. He had done bath time with her a few times, and gotten soaked on more then one occasion.
He closed the door, though not before peeking out and grinning at Kristen, "Love you" He called, watching her leaf through the menu. "Also, I dunno if they'll have pancakes" He murmured, it wasn't really a classic Italian food, but they might. He blew her a kiss, before closing the door properly, turning on the water.
"Is this to hott?" He asked, he had a harder time judging temperatures, he knew extremes, extremely cold, or extremely hot, but he really had no idea for the inbetweens.
"Well?" He asked, smiling and shaking his head, sitting on the edge of the tub, hand under the tap, trying to figure it out curiuosly.

Alexi smiled, "Honestly? He did like me, but he really didn't know what to do with me. I wasn't the classic gladiator. I didn't fight for his glory, I fought for myself, which was different. Forigners, war slaves, they fought to live, Gladiators fought to impress their countrymen, their emperor. I fought for me, not to survive, not for them. I guess it showed, I mean, you're supposed to showboat when you fight, try and drag it out, make it look good, I really didn't"

Maddie put her hand under the tap and shuddered. "Too cold." she murmured, pulling her hand back. Kristen smiled at Demitri, shaking her head gently. "Maddie, no pancakes. How about French Toast?" she asked, then laughed. French toast in Italy. That was funny.
"Ok!" Maddie called from the bathroom. She had slid into the water once Demitri fixed the water. "That's good." she told him before he turned it too hot.


Maria nodded as she listened, trying to understand. "Uh huh..." she murmured, frowning a bit in consentration.
"So he liked you, but you weren't a traditional Gladiator, and therefore you didn't get asked into the Emperor's box?" Maria asked, grinning and laughing quietly, her eyes looking down at the feild with extreme curiouisty.

Demitri laughed, "Lord" He rolled his eyes, laughing a bit. He'd never be good at this, checking water temperature and what not. He sighed, watching Maddie curiously, she'd want to splash around a bit, then she'd submit and let him help her wash her hair. He was fine with that, Maddie seemed to enjoy it, particularly the splashing him. He leaned over, kissing her forhead, a small grin on his face.
"So kiddo, are you gonna tell me why you freaked out so bad about being on the balcony? I mean, you know I'd never let anything happen to you, right? It's a dad thing, we don't let our kids get hurt" He teased, gently poking her nose, a small grin on his face, letting her know he was alright with her answer, and wasn't mad at her, at all.

Alexi nodded. "Something like that, I scared him. Despite the fact I fought for myself and didn't showboat. I was definately a crowd favorite. That's how I died, he rigged the competition. He promised the man who killed me, my friend his freedom. That's a hard thing to give up. He never promised that to me, I went into the fight assuming it would be a draw, but it wasn't. It was rigged" He said, shrugging. He had made peace with that a long time ago, though he knew she wouldn't like hearing it.

Maddie giggled lightly, slipping under the water for a moment. It wasn't too hot, but it wasn't cold at all. She came back up sputtering and splashing water, like always. Maddie laughed then but sombered as she was questioned about the balcony.
Her face hardened a bit and she looked down at the water, moving her hands back and forth to make small waves. It was almost the same look Kristen had whenever she didn't want to talk about something that had happened in the past.
"I know." Maddie murmured as Demitri kissed her forehead, though she didn't say why she had freaked out.


"Oh you were scary back then too?" Maria asked, laughing quietly but kissing his cheek to show she was only messing with him. Her happy expression changed slowly and perfectly as she listened. "He..did..rig-what?!" Maria asked, shocked, aghast, and a bit disturbed. She clicked her tongue then, looking away then, shaking her head. "Men..." Maria muttered, shaking her head gently again.