1x1 with x_fire

Maria swallowed, watching Alexi, unsure of what to do. If there was anything she could do now. "Alexi?" she asked, then he was on the floor and the scent of his blood was thick in her nose.
"Alexi!" she said, louder this time, pulling his wrists away from his mouth. Pain julted from him, up her arms but she ignored it, fighting back the tears as she batteled against him.
"Alexi stop!" she said again.

Then Demitri was there. Maria gasped, looking up at him, thankful as he helped her try to get Alexi under control.
"I-I don't know what happened. He's been fine these past two days." Maria said, wincing as the smell of Demitri's blood came to her then. She'd been careful in avoding Alexi's fangs as she tried to get him down.
"Alexi! Please." Maria called again, her throat nearly closing from the tears in her eyes.

"Maria, shh" Demitri said, "Go down to our room, now. I'll handle this" He knew Maria couldn't see thsi, and well, he didn't want her to.
"Maria" He nudged her gently, pressing Alexi into the floor, shaking his head. He had been anticipating this happening, ever since Maria told him about the first time. He sighed, holding Alexi's wrists above his head, those were his target, and well, he needed to snap out of it.

Alexi was aware of everything, but he couldn't wake up. He thrashed, Demitri was stronger then him right now, holding him down. Then his crystal blue flew open, and he looked at Demitri, "Oh gods" He gaspsed, staring at hsi brother's injured arm, and the pain in his wrists.
"Not again" He winced, shaking and curling into a ball. Demitri sighed, wrapping his arms around Alexi, rubbing his back.

Maria let Demitri nudge her away from Alexi, but she wasn't about to leave. She shook her head, taking a few steps away from the brothers but not leaving the room. She couldn't, she wouldn't. Maria rubbed her wrist, cringing and looking away for a moment. The tears burned as she held them back, still rubbing her wrist gently. They hurt, but not as much as it was probably hurting for Alexi right now.

Maria paced lightly, ending up on the patio as Demitri handled Alexi. Her body was shaking now, but whether from pain or fear or worry, Maria didn't know. She heard his voice and then turned around, looking at him and Demitri for a moment. Maria licked her lips, dropping her hands to her sides and walking back into the room.
"Lexi?" she asked quietly.

Demitri glanced up as Maria came in, "Hey" He murmured, "I think he'll be fine" He murmured, wrapping her in a hug as he stood up.
"I need to get back to Kristen and Maddie, he shouldn't have another, er, episode, at least not for awhile. Just help him Maria, he's confused and hurt. And you're probably the only one who can help. Call me if anything happens" He sighed, rubbing her back for a moment, before heading out of the room.

Alexi heard Maria's voice, but really made no move. He heard everything, but his wrists were throbbing, and he was beyond disgusted with himself. He remained curled on the floor, not wanting to admit he was as screwed up as this.

Demitri walked back into his and Kristen's room. Immediately going to the washroom and turnng the tap on. He washed his wound, trying to clean the venom out before he bandaged it.

Maria swallowed her tears and nodded as Demitri hugged her. She was thankful he had come downstairs to help. Maria wasn't strong enough to hold down Alexi by herself. She nodded, silently saying she would call if anything happened before he left.
"Oh Alexi.." Maria breathed, falling to the floor next to him then. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly for a moment. Taking a shaky breath, Maria pulled back, the smell of his blood was still thick to her.
"Let me see..." she said softly, moving her hands down to his arms. She knew he was still bleeding, and she wanted to see how bad the damage was this time.


Kristen heard Demitri coming back into the room. Even in her sleep, she could hear things going on. She'd heard Maria's scared voice and it had woken her up slowly. Moving her stiff body, Kristen rolled over as Demitri came out of the bathroom.
"Everything alright?" she barely whispered, her voice slurring with her exhaustion. Kristen blinked a few times, frowning at the soreness in her arm. "You're hurt..." she said then, knowing it couldn't be her since she hadn't moved from the bed at all.

Alexi sighed, letting her take his hands.
"Gods Maria, I'm so sorry, I didn't think it would happen again, and now, now it's worse" He said, lying back and letting her look at the serious damage he had done to his wrists. They were torn open, skin ragged, so much worse then the first time, and they would take awhile to heal. Vampire bites on vampires always took awhile to heal, the veonm stopped them from healing, and their fangs were one of the few things that could hurt him.

Demitri glanced up, "Alexi bit me" He said, rummaging in the first aid kit and pulling out some bandages. He tore a bandage up, wrapping it around the long, painful gouge on his arm.
"Alexi's suffering from depression Kristen, vampires rarely get it, but when they do, well, they start to hurt themselves. Alexi started suffering from it the other day, after seeing the Colisuem. He's suffering from seeing his home so different, and a few other things. If you are really curious, please ask Maria, it's not my story to tell" He said, taping the bandage off.

Maria sucked in a breath at the state of Alexi's wrists. She blinked a few times, forcing the tears away from her eyes.
"Shhhh..." Maria murmured quietly, standing up and disappearing into the bathroom for the first aid. She came back with a cup of water as well.
"Sit up." Maria whispered, helping him to do so. It was easier for her to tend to him this way. She held his wrists, pouring the water over each one in turn gently, washing out most of the blood and hopefully some of the venion. She winced lightly, pulling the cup down and pulling out a few peices of gauze, pressing them into Alexi's wrists gently. Maria wrapped the bandages around his wrist then, tearing the end off effortlessly with her teeth and doing the same to his other.
"There. You'll heal Lexi..." Maria said, giving a small smile before cleaning up the bloody mess and putting the kit back into the bathroom. She came back out, walking towards him slowly. Sitting back down, Maria looked at him for a long moment. She put her hand under his chin, tilting his face up to look at her.
"We'll get through this, I promise." she said quietly, passing her hand over his cheek gently.


Kristen's blinked, as if she didn't believe what Demitri was telling her. "Shit.." she murmured after his story, rubbing her face gently. She sat up slowly, wincing lightly, rubbing her neck, and then her sore arm.
"That's what you guys were talking about at the pool..." Kristen said then, rubbing her eyes gently. She looked back at him, worried. "Well, he'll be alright." Kristen whispered, only half sure since she only understood a little of what Demitri had told her.

Alexi was incredibly zoned out as Maria was tending to his sore wrists. He winced, it hurt, a lot, but he knew it was better for him. He sighed, leaning against her, letting her sooth him.
"I'm so sorry" He murmured softly, just leaning against her, he knew they'd get through this, but it felt like it was getting worse. he had blakced out with Maria in the room this time, what did that say about his condition?
"What's going on with me?" He asked her, confused and upset.

Demitri sighed, "Yea, that's what we were talking about" He murmured, shaking his head and sighing. He walked across the room, carefully checking his bandage on his arm.
"I dunno Kristen, depression in vampires is extremely hard to deal with" He murmured, "Adrian had it, that's why he-" He cut off, unable to finish his sentence. He had already lost Adrian, he couldn't lose Alexi.

"It's alright." Maria said, running her fingers through Alexi's hair as he rested against her. She sighed deeply, wrapping her arms around him, rocking gently. Maria winced at his words and pulled away, cupping his face in her hands again.
"You're upset love.." Maria said, smiling lightly. "You haven't been here in a very long time, and things have changed. It's not the Rome you remember, but that's alright. Things change..." Maria passed her thumbs over his cheek gently, her eyes wandering around his face before going back to his eyes. She wasn't sure what else could honestly be upsetting him; he hadn't told her anything else really.
"You just have to accept that.." she murmured quietly, keeping her voice as light as possible, hoping it wouldn't upset him further.


Kristen glanced up as Demitri cut off. She tensed, remembering what Alexi had told her about Demitri's brother. She pushed the blankets away, standing up in just her tank top, taking wobbly steps over to him. Gently, she reached up to his arm, rubbing reassuringly.
"Alexi has you, and your brothers, and Maria." Kristen said quietly, swallowing the nausia that rose up in her from standing up so quickly and walking. "He won't be like Adrian..." she said, squeezing his good arm gently.

Alexi listened to Maria, letting her comfort him. He was still upset, zoned out, but he wasn't sure what was really bothering him. He had known Rome would be different, that wasn't really bothering him, it was his whole life, before vampirism that had been the problem. He just rested against her, breathing shallowly, trying to keep his sanity.

Demitri winced, jerking away from her at the mention of Adrian.
"Adrian had that too, everything but a mate" He said, walking away, pacing the room. He was agitated, upset, and hearing about Adrian didn't help.

Maria sighed, wrapping her arms around Alexi, letting him rest against her shoulder. She ran her fingers through his hair and rubbed his back gently, trying to keep him relaxed and soothed. She ignored the sting in her wrists, holding Alexi tighter. She closed her eyes tight, digging her face into his shoulder. She didn't know what else to say to him at this point, so Maria simply stayed quiet.


Kristen swallowed, and pulled her hand back as Demitri jerked away from her. She let her hands fall back to her side. She took a deep breath, feeling Demitri irritation, his saddness. Kristen sighed; she couldn't really say anything else. Kristen didn't know Adrian at all. Nodding to Demitri, Kristen walked back to her bed, not wanting to upset him any further.

Alexi sighed, wrapping his arm around her.
"Come on, let's lie down" He murmured, taking her hand and pulling her up onto the bed. He felt guilty, having hurt her as well as upset her.
"I love you Maria, and I'm so sorry about all this" He was hoping things would improve once they were home, working on their house and club. He smiled at her, "You know, we have a club and a hosue to build when we get home" he said, trying to lift her mood. She loved talking about this stuff.

Demitri sighed, glancing at Kristen. He walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her, ignoring the twinge in his arms.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap" He smiled and kissed her cheek.
"How are you feeling?"

Maria nodded gently, letting Alexi pull her up off the floor and onto the bed. She smiled lightly, laying down next to him.
She sighed, rubbing her face gently before nodding. "Yes, once we get home we need to start work on the house." she said, glad that he brought it up. "We still haven't agreed on layout plans yet. I wish I'd brought them with me..." Maria murmured then, sighing and smiling. The club was already agreed on, they were still tossing around ideas for the house though.


Kristen laughed quietly, slidding her arms around Demitri's neck, gently pulling him closer. "It's alright." she said tiredly, yawning then.
"Still tired...a bit sick, but I think that's from..." Kristen swallowed then, grimacing. "Standing up too fast." she finished, coughing quietly. "Otherwise, I'm ok."

"There's some in my bag" He chuckled, "I knew you'd want them" He said, standing up and walking over to his suite case. He opened the one pocket he hadn't yet and pulled out some documents. He winced as the pain in his wrists, even at the slightest movement, but he still handed her the papers.
"Here you go" He said, flopping back down on the bed, spreading the papers out.
"Did we decide where we want the house?" The club had been decided on, location and set up wise, but he and Maria were still discussing the house. Unlike Kristen, Maria was aware of the family's influence as well what they owned, controlled, etc.

Demitri smiled at Kristen, "Alright, just please, take it easy. You're body has to adjust to everything that happened. As well as regenerate all the blood that you lost" He said, holding her and sighing.

Maria laughed quietly as Alexi stood up to go and retrieve the papers. She saw him wince, ut decided against saying anything serious about it.
''Take it easy mi amor...'' she murmured, looking down at the papers as Alexi faned them out in front of her. Maria shook her head.
''No but I think we narrowed it down to three...'' Maria said pointing to one of the papers were things were circled in red. Maria's favorite color. She sighed, tilting her head thoughtfully. She glanced at Alexi, smiling and kissing his forehead gently.


''I know, I know...'' Kristen mumured, nestling against Demitri as he held her gently. She sighed, a bit annyoed with the present situation. She felt dizzy now and she fell back against Demitri a bit roughly. Kristen winced then, rubbing her forhead gently.

Alexi sighed, "I will" He murmured, looking over the papers.
"Shouldn't we be close to the club" He pointed at one of the red circles. "I mean, this is way up in the mountains, beautiful yes, far, very" He said, "These two are closer" He pointed at the other two locations.
"One sort of in the city, one more in the country. So it all comes down to what sort of home you want" He said, smiling. He was fine with either, though he did rather like the country. More space, they could do more out there.
"What do you prefer?" He asked, resting his head on her shoulder, looking over everything. They had a few drawn up plans for houses as well, so it would depend on that choice as well.

Demitri sighed, holding Kristen agianst him as he re-arranged themselves in the bed. He covered her in the blanket, still holding her against him.
"Rest, please. I'll get you anything you need, but you're staying in bed" He murmured, shaking his head. He flicked the TV on, making sure the volume was low.
"Do you want something to eat? Your blood sugar is probably low"

Maria nodded gently, leaning back on Alexi as she listened to him. ''Alright. That ones out.'' she murmured dismissing the top-most circled area. ''Like distance is a problem for us.'' Maria said, smirking lightly. She nodded, looking between the last two choices.
''Depnds on the style of house we want.'' Maria mused. ''I mean, you can't very well have a country- style house in the middle of the city.'' she murmured, brushing her hari from her face. That was another topic entirely, disciding on the type of house they wanted.


Kristen sighed, letting Demitri move around as he wished. She shook her head gently. The though of food was making her sick. ''Just water...'' Kristen murmured quietly, leaning her head back on Demitri's shoulder. She felt dizzy, like she was going to pass out again.

Alexi sighed, handing her the chosen houses.
"I'm fine with either, though we can have a bigger house in the country. I was thinking if we decided to move in the city, I was thinking we could do like a pent house type deal" He said, shrugging his shoulders and sighing. He flicked through the portfolio.
"We can build the house in the country if we wanted to, I mean, that way we could choose more what we wanted, in the city, we can't really build as much" He said, stretching out.

Demitri sighed, carefully detatching himself from her for a moment. Sighing, he went to the washroom and poured her a glass of water.
"Here you go love" He slid into the bed next to her, carefully holding the glass for her. He was supporting her against him, worried about how sick she was. He had anticipated this, but not to this degree.

Maria laughed. ''You brought everything!'' she exclaimed as he pulled out the portfolio of the different house styles Maria had picked out in Russia. She leafed through a few gently, listening to Alexi with a smile. He kept mentioning the country...Well Maria could take a hint.
''I wish we could find a place half in the country but close to the city...'' Maria murmured. She liked the idea of the city scene. She'd lived in London for too long to shift into the quiet yet beauitful country of Russia.
''Though the country will become the city soon enough...'' Maria mused thoughtfully, sighing.


Kristen took the glass from Demitri, taking a long drink before handing it back. She sighed, rubbing her throat gently. ''Thanks love...'' Kristen whsiepred, resting back against him.
The water had helped to cool her throat, and pushed away from of the throb in her head. Kristen groaned quietly. She still felt queasy, and was fighting against the urge to be sick. Kristen swallowed, rubbing her lips and coughing gently. ''Uh...'' Kristen grimaced, turning her face into Demitri then.

Alexi nodded. "I figured we'd want to look over that stuff" He chuckled, rubbing at his wrists absentmindedly.
"Well what about this property" He said, pulling another paper towards him and pointing at another property, one she hadn't circled.
"You didn't even look at this one" He murmured, smiling at her. "It's right on the edge of the city, but a big enough property to be 'country', I guess" He said, stretching out and leafing through a few more papers. Despite being here, he still had some work to do, as did Demitri.

Demitri sighed, wrapping his arms around Kristen as she pressed against him. He rubbed her back, shifting a bit so he could reach the brief case beside the bed. Popping it open, he pulled out some papers, written in Russian. He frowned, they were reports on the various business they owned. Each brother took so many, because the buisness was so extensive, well, empire was a better word, it was hard to keep track of everything.

Maria shook her head. ''I went to check that place I don't like thr grounds itself. It has an...odd feeling to it.'' Maria murmured, quickly dismissing the idea. She picked up the picture portfolio, flipping through it distractedly. She caught Alexi riffling through paper and set the portfolio down. ''I though you weren't bringing work with you...'' Maria said, sighing and looking back at the book. Well, at least it would keep him slightly distrated.
''How about this for the interior?'' Maria asked, showing him a picture of a more mordern, open style living space.


Kristen swallowed again. She was notice little things, and the night-life sounds from outside were buzzing in her ears. She closed her eyes, resting against Demitri comfortably. She must have fallen asleep for a while because when she opened her eyes again, the sky was lighter and Demitri had papers all over the bed.
''What's this?''Kristn murmured, her voice slurring slightly in her exhaustion.

Alexi sighed, "I know, but, well, reports and stuff" He nodded, "Alright, not that property. Well, you have your pick of wherever you want" He smiled and shrugged.
"Um" He glanced at the picture, "Mmm, I like it" He said, smiling at her, "Sorry, I know I wasn't supposed to" He said with a grin. He glanced over the list of properties, each accompanied with a picture.
"So, did you want to live in the city? I'm fine with that Maria" He said, smiling at her, arching his eyebrow at something. Taking his pen he made a mark by it, frowning a bit.
"Hmm"

Demitri sighed as Kristen woke up, glancing at her.
"Work" He said, laughing softly. He was rifling through a report from one of their larger companies. Each brother ran specific business inside the empire. Alexi ran the night life, clubs, restaurants. Sven anything medical related, hospitals, stuff like that. Vlad oversaw most of the general stuff, and Demitri ran the more misillaneous things, car companies, cell phones, electronics. He smiled at her, Kristen could as if she was curious, but he wasn't going to offer much information right now.

Maria sighed, letting him mess with his business papers and going back to her portfolio. She borrowed his pen for a moment making a small note on the picture before handing it back to him.
''Well I'm not sure...'' Maria mumbled. ''I'm just so used to the city that the countryside looks so odd. I wouldn't mind having like a summer home up in the moutains, but it's not someplace I could stay comfortably at least....'' Alexi knew how restless Maria could get. Being close to a city gave her things to do during the day and night when she couldn't sit still. But Alexi preferred the country, though he could withstand the city for her.
''Uh. I don't know...'' Maria murmured, rubbing her forhead gently.


Kristen frowned but said nothing. She pushed aside a few papers, needing to get up and move. Her whole body felt stiff. Kristen sighed, sitting up slowly, holding her head gently. The world tipped on her for a moment, but Kristen fought through it, pushing the coveres away and tossing her legs over the side of the bed. Kristen let out a long breath, gripping the sides of the bed as she waited for the world to stop spinning.
''Damn. Were you this weak afterwards?'' Kristen grumbled, holding her head again.

Alexi pursed his lips, "Alright, I can do that. Like a summer country home and a city home for the rest of the year? I acutally rather like that plan" He said, circling another thing on his paper. He shook his head. "What do you think? I mean, it's the best of both worlds, and it's not like we can't afford it" He said with a grin. He wrote a small note in Russian on the paper, shaking his head in annoyance.
"Someone is fudging numbers somewhere" He growled, this was why he and his brothers went over anything.

Demitri sighed. "No I wasn't, young vampires are notoriously strong. Kristen, like I said, it's blood loss. To change soneone, you have to drain them of almost all their blood" He said, putting his stuff down.
"Now lay the hell down before I tie you to the bed" He stood up, moving so he as in front of her and gently pushing her back onto the bed. He pulled the blanket over her, shaking his head, narrowing his eyes.
"You're resting today and tomorrow, if you need anything. I get it for you. Now rest" He sat down next to her again, picking up his papers adn turning his lap top on.

Maria blinked, looking over at Alexi. As she listned, her face broke out into a grin.
''Alexi you're a genius!'' Maria said, tossing her arns around him and kisses his cheek gently. ''Then we'll work on the one in the moutains. It was absouletly breath-taking so the summer home will be perfect for that.'' Maria said, borrowing his pen again and scribbling a few things down on the paper before handing it back to him. Maria sighed then, that just meant there would be more decision to make...but this would most definatly work.


Kristen groaned. ''I need to get up out of the bed.'' she protested as Demitri pushed her back. She was too weak to fight him though, and she sighed deeply, laying back on the bed. Kristen rubbed her forehead gently, closing her eyes and swallowing the lump in her throat.
''Fine, can I have more water then?'' Kristen mumbled. She really didn't trust herself to actually eating food right now.