1x1 with x_fire

Demitri sighed, but nodded. He couldn't press the subject, Maddie was five, and well, he couldn't force her to talk.
"Alright" He said, helping her wash her hair, then making sure to get all the shampoo out.
"All done" He said, picking her up and toweling her off, wrapping her hair in a towel, and pulling down a large fluffy one to wrap around her.
"There, all clean" He wrinkled his nose, "And breakfast is here" He grabbed the clothes Kristen had handed to him before he had shut the door. He helped Maddie get dressed, a pair of jeans, not to thick, but good for walking around, plus, well, everyone knew he'd break and carry her eventually, if she begged. A t-shirt, one she had chosen, and a light sweatshirt for walking in the morning, and could be taken off in the afternoon.
"Alright, let's go eat" Her hair was dry, and Kristen could do the rest. He opened the washroom dorr, smiling and letting her dash out.

Alexi laughed, wrapping his arms around her.
"Remember, justice was served with a knife in my day, and well, so was everything else" He kissed her cheeks, her back was to his chest as they stared out at the field like center of the Coliseum.
"Men eh? Not all men I hope?" He teased, he knew she was probably livid, vampires were very protective of their mates, and knowing something like that had occured to him would automatically put her on edge.

Maddie smiled lightly. She let Demitri wash her hair as she passed the soap bar over her body. She sighed as Demitri wrapped the towels around her and she shivered lightly at the tempurature change. She muttered quietly as Demitri changed her. She smiled, looking down at her shirt before the smell of cooked breakfast came to her.
She gasped quietly. "Yay!" Maddie said, running out into the bedroom. Kristen had the breakfast plates set up at the table. Maddie climbed into one of the chairs, reaching for a fork and eating her French toast as Kristen ran a brush through her hair.



Maria rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes I know." she murmured, sighing. "At least in my day it was the church and an imaginary knife."
Maria shook her head, and shrugged. "No, not all men. But a few of them." She looked over her shoulder at him slyly before looking back at the ground.

Demitri laughed, stepping into the main room after tidying the washroom.
"We have about half an hour before we have to meet Alexi and Maria in the lobby" He said, digging through his bag, pulling out some clean clothes as he had gotten soaked by Maddie. He sighed, changing into his clean clothes, a pair of jeans and a white-grey well fitted, polo shirt. He ran a brush through his hair, though it didn't do much. He couldn't particularly like bothering with his appearance, but he could deal for today.
"So, what do you wanna see? Remember we have two weeks, not everything has to be seen in a day" He reminded Kristen.

Alexi arched an eyebrow at her.
"Oh?" He teased, kissing her neck and sighing.
"Come on, we should head back. Same way we came in? Or do you wanna see a new place? We'll come back tonight when it's closed. I have more I want to show you"

Kristen rolled her eyes gently at Demitri. "Well, whatever's closest we can see first." Kristen murmured. She had Maddie's hair in a french braid by this point, and little strands of blonde hair were curling around her face, too short to be pulled back. Maddie drank her milk after finishing her toast and sat back with a sigh; Kristen had already ate.
"All done?" Kristen asked. Maddie nodded, taking a napkin and hastly whipping her face.


Maria laughed quietly, sighing as Alexi kissed her neck. "Mmmhm." she purred quietly. "Oh, time flies." she said, looking around, realizing how much time had passed. That was one thing Maria could never keep track of; time.
"Same way I suppose. I'm sure we'll just be coming back here. This was all Kristen talked about seeing..." Maria said, waving her hand around at the Colliseum.

Alexi sighed, "Oh joy" He wasn't so sure how he felt about playing tour guide, he didn't mind didn't showing them other stuff, but his historical knowledge on the Coliseum was mainly of bloody battles, and well, he couldn't sneak them all back here.
"She'll be annoyed when she finds out that I can't get all of them back here. Demitri maybe, if he comes back with us later tonight, but Maddie and Kristen, probably not" The larger the crowd, the harder to stay inconspicious. He smiled at her, leading the way back out, same way they had come in.

Demitri sighed, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, we can go see some of the more older Roman structures. I guess we can always talk to Alexi. Just don't get your hopes up about seeing the entire Coliseum. I mean, he probably won't be able to get us all inside" He shrugged.
"Not to mention the fact that he's probably super messed up right now" It was true, Demitri had anticipated that Alexi would be panicked, seeing how much his home city had changed.
"He hasn't been back here since he was human. It's hard for vampires to see how much their home has changed over time"

Maria smiled as Alexi lead her back down towards the gates. "Well you know, there are actual tours." she murmured. She turned her head, hearing the rattleing of chains and the creaking of metal. Sounded like they were starting to open the place up for the morning.
"Oh well then you might not want to mention to her that we're coming back later." Maria said with a sly smile.


Kristen nodded, smiling with excitement. Maddie was picking at a few peices of toast that Kristen had left on her plate.
"I still can't believe we're in Rome!" Kristen said, going over to the window then. She braced herself against it, looking around with sharp eyes. She looked out across the city, taking in the early morning breeze as it blew past her, blowing her light brown hair from her shoulder. Kristen looked over at Demitri then, wincing lightly.
"Ouch. He's been in Russia all this time?" Kristen asked quietly, looking back out towards the city. She tried to imagine what it must have looked back in ancient times. Definatly not this crowded that's for sure.

Alexi smiled, nodding.
"I didn't plan on it, I'll talk to Demitri though, knowing him he'll come back here with us" He said, shaking his head and sighing as they walked into the hotel, it was 9:45, so the others would be down in a few minutes. He walked over to the couches, sitting down and waiting. He was a bit stressed still, but he had managed to keep his emotions under control.

Demitri sighed, "Yea, it's hard to return to your home after so many hundreds of years" He said, shaking his head.
"I've never returned to my home in Russia, I mean, the village I was born in" He said, sighing, he wanted to, but he was not ready to do that. He sighed, "It sounds odd to you, but it's hard" He grinned at her.
"Come on, the others will be waiting" He stepped over to Maddie, grabbing his bag and tossing in a few things for later. He picked up a spare sweater for Kristen, "Here we go"

"Alright. Remind me once more why we're returning later on tonight..." Maria said then, smiling but a confused expression on her face. She seemed to have missed that small detail. Unless Alexi didn't mention it. All too soon, they were walking back down the cobblestone street towards the hotel. Maria sighed, looking around again before back at Alexi. She caught a shadow cross over his face and she reached up to kiss his cheek gently.
"Will you be alright for the day?" Maria asked then, worry clear in her eyes as she looked at him.


Kristen nodded silently. It wasn't exactly something she could understand. Then again, maybe she would one day. Kristen sighed, breathing in deeply before looking over her shoulder.
Maddie was laughing excitedly, half dancing around Demitri as he packed a bag. She watched him curiously, stopping her little jig for a moment. "Come on Mommy!" she said, already grabbing Demitri's hand and tugging him towards the door.
Kristen chuckled, taking her light sweater and tossing it over her. It wasn't cold-not compared to Russia, but the breeze might get ot her later. "Alright, alright." Kristen said, laughing at Maddie's excited and eager expression.

Alexi sighed, glancing at Maria, "Honestly? I have no idea. I mean, if I can't take it, I can always come back here" He laughed, "We're going back because there's more I want to show you, personal stuff" He grinned at her, glancing up as Demitri, Maddie and Kristen came down.
"Hey" He called, waving to draw their attention to him and Maria.
"I'll tell you if I'm stressing love, I promise"

Demitri laughed, letting Maddie lead him from the room, though he did pause at the elevator, letting her hit the buttons and what not. He, like most vampires he knew, had some issues trusting the metallic boxes. He stepped inside, the backpack slung relaxed over his shoulder. He didn't look at all touristy, which was easy for vampires, considering that they lived for so long. He glanced up as Alexi caught his attention. He noticed the look on his brother's face and sighed. "Hey" He called back.

Maria nodded, looking sympathetic though still concerned. "Alright." she grinned then, nodding in agreement to going along once the night began. "Sounds like fun." Maria murmured. She heard the soft ding of the elevator and then Maddie's giggling. She turned around to see Demitri, Maddie and Kristen and smiled herself as Alexi waved.


Kristen brushed back a strand of hair that had broken out of Maddie's braid. The little one eager pressed the button to open the elevator, stepping inside with mild curiouisty. Kristen stepped in next to her and nodded for Maddie to press the button.
"Bing." Maddie said, pocking the last button. They all lit up, and Maddie gasped, waving a hand over the metal to make them all glow.
"Madison." Kristen said, though she was laughing. Maddie giggled again, hiding behind Demitri though she knew her mother didn't mean it.
She ran out of the elevator then, still holding Demitri hand. "Mr'ning!" Maddie said, looking at Maria with a grin before over at Alexi. She frowned for a moment, but it disappeared with Maria's question.
"Where to first? The Colisuem just opened for tours, though there might be a wait by now..."

Demitri walked calmly towards Alexi, Maddie had broken away from him, running towards Alexi and Maria. He sighed, hearing the comment about the Coliseum.
"Well, I'm up for whatever" He glanced at Kristen, "What do you want to do love?" He knew she was desperate to see the Coliseum, he was curious about Saint Peter's Square, it was supposed to be lovely, or else the Trevie Fountain. He loved old art, but he could go out later, by himself.

Alexi nodded, "Yea, whatever you guys want" He said, shrugging. He was fine, for now, with whatever. He glanced at Maddie, "Morning" He said, standing up and taking Maria's hand, knowing she'd reassure him that he had done the right thing by coming home.

"Definatly the Coliseum." Kristen said with a quick nod. She fixed Maddie's hair again, hoping to distract the child a bit; Maddie was watching Alexi with kind blue eyes now. "It doesn't have to be our first stop though." she said, looking over at Demitri. Kristen knew there were a few places he wanted to see as well, and although she really wanted to see the Colisuem, Kristen could wait a few hours or so.

Maria smiled lightly at Maddie. She glanced at Alexi as he took her hand, and she squeezed it gently. "Alright, that's one place." she said, laughing quietly. A dozen things to see in Rome, and so far they had only named one. "Demitri?"


Alayna groaned as her body woke her up. She rubbed her face gently, sighing and yawning. A few times, she had woken up and fallen back asleep. This was the fourth time she had woken up, and something was telling her that she wouldn't be able to sleep again. Alayna blinked, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the blurr before looking around again. A small frown was on her face. She was back in Demitri's house...hadn't she been in the hospital last night? Was it all just a horrible dream? Alayna sat up slowly then, holding her head as it pounded. No...she was still feeling the effects of having withdrawn the magic from Nicko. It hadn't been a bad dream.

Demitri shrugged.
"Saint Peter's Square would be the one place I want to see, or some of the fountains" He shrugged. "Art, the churches, old ones, none of this new stuff" He laughed, shaking his head, "Coliseum would be a good start, it'll have a wait line" He said, nodding.
Alexi? You alright? With this I mean?
I'll be fine, don't worry, I'll take off if I can't handle this Alexi responded, switching to the Older Russian Demitri had been used.

"Alright, Coliseum it is" He said, he nodded, "It's within walking distance" Alexi said, grabbing a map, just in case, as they headed out. He led the way, as he knew the way, but he set a slow pace. Maddie was holding Demitri's hand, and she was pausing to look at literally everything.

Kristen looked up at Maria as Demtiri and Alexi talked quietly. A silent understanding passed between them and Kristen barely nodded. Maria gave a light smile before turning to walk with Alexi back outside.

The morning was beautiful. Not too hot, or cold, and the breeze was enough to keep one comfortable. They walked down the street with a dozen exclamations from Maddie.
"Why is the street funny?
"Oo the stones are pretty!"
"Daddy look at that!"
"Oooh Mommy whats that?
"That's the color in my room!

"We haven't even gotten to all the places yet." Kristen muttered to Demitri, shaking her head gently as Maddie asked for a second time why the road was built with cobblestones. When the shadow of the Coliseum loomed over them Maddie fell silent.
"Whhoooaaa....." Maddie whispered, craning her neck up to look at the giant building in front of her. Kristen grinned. "Maddie, this is the Roman Coliseum."

Demitri rubbed his head, sharing a look with Alexi, this was going to be a long trip. No one bothered to answer Maddie's questions, as she gave no one an oppertunity to answer anyway. He sighed, letting her bounce around, as long as he kept his hand, he was fine. He watched her curiously, before noticing the Coliseum. Instead of glancing at the monument, he glanced at Alexi, checking on him. He sighed, he seemed calm, but small signs, like fidgiting, his eyes darting about, he knew that Alexi was moderatley stressed.

Alexi sighed, shaking his head. He glanced up at Demitri, nodding, letting him know he was fine.
"Lines over there" He nodded, looking at Maria and focusing, intently on her for a moment.
"Alright" He breathed out, it was almost different this time.Coming with Maria had been a home coming, this was stressful.

"Woow....it's really....really...big..." Maddie murmured quietly, obviuosly awe-stricken. Kristen smiled and nodded in agreement, looking up at the building herself. She took a deep breath, wondering, imagining, what it must have been like. That reminded her of Alexi and she looked at Demitri, who was watching his brother closely.
"Why did they make it?" Maddie asked as Alexi nodded to the line. "We get to go inside?!" she asked then, jumping lightly.
"Yes Madison, we'll go inside, but you need to relax." Kristen said, laughing quietly. It was hard for Kristen to get frustrated with the child when Maddie was in such a good mood.


Maria laughed, completely caught up in Maddie as the child asked question upon question upon question. She shook her head gently, wondering how Kristen managed the curious little girl. As they stood in front of the Coliseum, Maria took a deep breath. She saw Alexi staring at her, and glanced over to cacth his eye. She slid her hand up to his wrist, pulling his arm around her so that she would rest against him gently.
"It's alright. We were here not moments ago." Maria said, quietly enough for him to hear her.

Demitri glanced at Maddie.
"For entertainment" He said, watching Alexi and Maria, before turning his attention back to the line. He was mildly excited, he had been here before, with Sven, and they, like Demitri and Maria, had snuck in earlier, seeing everything. But, he couldn't do that with Kristen and Maddie. He smiled, "Maddie, you do need to calm down" He murmured, shaking his head, He knew if she stayed this wound up, she'd crash, and they'd have to head back to the hotel so she could have a nap, which she hated, and would only whine about.

Alexi sighed, glancing at Maria.
"This is different love, it feels different. I mean, with you, it was personal, right, well this is stranger, more upseting" He shrugged, "Just bare with me?" He asked, resting his head on her shoulder.

Maria nodded, kissing Alexi's forehead gently. "I always will." she promised quietly. "Do you want to go inside with them? Or do you want to wait out here?" she asked quietly. Maddie was obviously trying to contain her excitment, per her parents request, but it was easy to see the child wanted to hurry and get in line.

"Like games?" Maddie asked quietly. She was holding Kristen's hand at this point now, standing between them, bouncing lightly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.
"Yes, just like games." Kristen said.
"Like checker?!" Maddie asked, raising an eyebrow, thinking it was a very big place to play that sort of game. Kristen laughed quietly.
"No Maddie, not those kind of games. Checkers weren't invented back then." Kristen said quietly, looking at Demitri before back at the line.

"No, I want to go inside" Alexi said, they had seen a few things, but there was more to see, and he wasn't going to deny Maria her chance to see the Coliseum.
"I'll be fine" He winced, hearing Maddie, checkers. He sighed, shaking his head, letting her ramble on. She was just a child, it was better not to enlighten her to what actually happened in there, though a tour guide would probably tell them all to graphically what happened.
"Kristen, tour guides will describe the events" He warned her, shaking his head and sighing.

Demitri nodded, "Yes love, they don't moderate for children" He agreed with Alexi. He sighed, they were almost in structure, and a guide was creating the next group.
Maddie was the only child, so he knew the guide wouldn't care, they might do specials for school kids, but Maddie was a tourist in there eyes.

Maria nodded. "Alright." she murmured, taking his hand firmly in hers, letting him know she was right next to him.

Kristen seemed to think for a moment as they walked. Maddie looked from Alexi, to Demitri, to Kristen, then Maria before back at Kristen.
"Tell me what?" she asked quietly.
"She'll be alright. Maddie, the games weren't always....nice." Kristen answered. "There were fights." Maddie went rigid for a moment before she shook it off and nodded, almost as if Kristen had said Santa Clause didn't excists.

"Oh, ok." Maddie murmured, turning her eyes to look up as they grew closer inside. "Moma, if this was built a really long time ago, then home come it's still standing?" she asked then, her voice echoing gently.
Kristen smiled. "Cause the Romans were really, really good builders." she looked up at Alexi with a light smile.

Demitri nodded, she had done a better job explaining it then he would.
"Awesome builders" He nudged Alexi as they joined up with the tour group, letting the guide lead them inside.
"Wow" He murmured, shaking his head and glancing around at the structure. It had been two hundred years since he had last been here, and funnily, it hadn't changed at all. He smiled, the tour guide was blabbering on, though he didn't pay attention. Alexi was grumbling under his breath, correctiing things here and there.

Alexi sighed, "Idiot" He said, looking at the guide. He sighed, shaking his head, though he paused.
"Wait" He looked up at something, shaking his head, before continuing on.
"Sorry" He said, smiling at Maria, letting her lead him along. He was getting caught up in memories again, different things, he had never been allowed in this part of the Coliseum, it had been reserved for the patrons, so it was strange, he felt almost as if he were breaking laws. He sucked in a breath, shaking his head.
"I don't think I can be here" He said, stepping back, shaking his head.

Maddie looked from Demitri to Alexi, smiling lightly before looking back up. She listened to everything the tour guide said. And even though most of it didn't make much sense to Maddie, she looked around with wide, curious eyes. Every now and then, Maddie would catch Alexi muttering something, and Maria laughing quietly behind them. She frowned, Alexi was upset about something...Maddie was almost afraid to dig deeper. She knew it had something to do with the Colesium, but Maddie wasn't sure what.

Kristen was just as caught up in the structure as Maddie, and she understood everything that they were being told. Kristen smirked, looking over at Alexi whenever she heard him. "Can't really expect them to know everything." she murmured quietly. "They're only human." Kristen smirked, turning back and gasping quietly.
"Wow..." she whispered, looking out from where they were standing. If you stood in the right spot, you could see down to the feild where the gladiators would fight, and out onto the city that strecthed around it. "Maddie look." Kristen said, picking the girl up so she could see.
Maddie's jaw nearly fell. "It's so pretty." her eyes traveled down. "Is that where the fights were?" Maddie asked quietly. Kristen nodded as she set Maddie back down.

Maria looked around, generally curious, listening to the tour guide, and then Alexi's corrections. She laughed at Kristen's joke, shaking her head gently. And that was the truth. She was pulled back as Alexi stopped, and she looked over her shoulder at him. Maria followed his line of gaze, wondering what he had seen.
"It's alright." she murmured, taking his hand again and leading him back towards the group. When Alexi stopped the second time, Maria knew something was up. Her eyes were worried as she looked back at him this time.
"Why not? Alexi, remember...none of those rules apply anymore..." Maria said gently, causiously almost.

Demitri laughed, listening to Alexi, watching Maddie.
"It's pretty cool, huh?" He asked, standing beside Maddie and Kristen. The sights were amzing, the Coliseum was amazing. He glanced back hearing Alexi, his brother looked beyond stressed.
"Go on ahead, with the tour, alright" He murmured to Kristen, softly enough so Maddie wouldn't hear, "I'll catch up with you in a few minutes" He nudged Kristen, "Please"

Alexi shook his head. "No" He knew, mentally that the rules didn't apply anymore, but years and years of having them drilled into him were definately taking a toll on him. He stepped back, "I can't, please, don't make me" He was shaking, almost like a terrified animal. Years of abuse at the hands of those who 'owned' him were coming back, rules upon rules being drilled into him.

Kristen looked up at Demitri, a small frown on her face. After a moment, Kristen nodded. "Don't be too long." she told him before taking Maddie hand and following the others.
"What about Dad?" Maddie asked, eyes wide as they walked away from him.
"He'll be right behind us, come on." Kristen said, picking up Maddie and resting the child on her hip. "We're gonna miss the rest of the tour." Maddie glanced over Kristen's shoulder back at Demitri before Kristen took her around a corner and he was gone from her sight.


Maria bit her lip gently and she loosened her grip on him, letting him step back. "Alexi," Maria could see how much he was shaking now, and she bit back the small amount of anger that crept up in her mind. It was all in the past, she told herself. Only he matters now.
She sighed, deciding to just go along with him. "It's alright. You don't have to." Maria said, walking over to him, putting her hands on his shoulders gently. "Alexi, look at me." Maria murmured. "No one is making you do anything. If you don't want to, you don't have to."

Demitri cursed softly, watching Alexi, he had no desire to stress out his brother, but he had really never seen him this upset before.
"Maria, do you guys wanna head back to the hotel? We'll swing by when we're done here, see some other sights" He said, resting a hand on Alexi's shoulder, he shifted, looking at Maria.
"Rules, ingrained. He knows that everything was in the past, but it's hard to argue with years of abuse" He said, re-calling what Sven had told him.
"See you guys" He clapped Alexi's shoulder, smiling at Maria before catching up with Maddie and Kristen.
"Alexi and Maria are gonna head back to the hotel. We'll stop by and grab them before we continue on" He said, smiling.

Alexi nodded, listening to Demitri. He was still shaking, though it relaxed a bit as he was told he didn't have to keep going. He turned, walking back the way they had come, once outside, he sunk down, letting his back rest against the stone. He was visibly shaken, he was mentally arguing with himself, he could have gone in, he should have, but it felt so wrong. He winced, so many things that he had supressed were surfacing.