1x1 with x_fire

Maria tilted her head curiously. "Is this the Michelle we went shopping with in the begining of the summer?" Maria asked curiously before glancing over at her son.
He had been all happy jitters until Serena mentioned her plans. His excitement was still there, Maria could see there was nothing that would dampen his spirits about the night, but she noticed the instant concern that flickered across his eyes.

Nick chewed the inside of his lip, glancing at his sister occasionally. He was still fidgeting in his seat, part from the excitement still bubbling in him, and part not because he was worried about Serena.
Will you be alright? Nick asked silently, glancing at Serena again, waiting for her response.

-----------

Kristen could only nod gently in agreement. After a minute or two, she pulled herself away from Demitri and gave him a rough smile.
"I hope he can come back one day." Kristen said. "It would be nice to see him again." She added, rubbing her husband's arms gently and dropping a kiss on his cheek.

------------

Carlos couldn't help but chuckle lightly as he saw Sami, lounging on the couch like the lioness she was. He tossed his tie to the side, uncuffing the sleeves on his shirt before untucking it, and working the buttons.
"Seems like you had a lazy day my dear." He said, stopping halfway down his shirt and wandering over to pet the big cat lovingly.

Serena nodded.
"Yupp" She said with a grin in response to her mother's question. She glanced at Nick and smiled at him reassuringly.
I'll be fine. Besides I can always call you or Dad if something happens She told her brother reassuringly. She knew Nick would worry but he'd get over it, or show up and save the day. She shrugged it off and looked at her parents curiously.
"So I can go?" She asked curiously, looking from her mother to her father.
"Yea, you can go. We'll work out rides" Alexi said, looking at his wife.
"Are you alright to drive her?" He asked his wife, "Nick and I are going to run to the hunting grounds" He said with a shrug.

---

Demitri nodded in agreement.
"He will, when I don't know, but he will come back" He said with a grin. Though it was a bit forced. He still wasn't sure what to make of the whole situation but he knew, without a doubt that Keith would one day return. How long it would be was up for debate, but one day he would come back.

----

Sami yawned, revealing her fangs and shrugged. She had had a rather lazy day but she figured she was entitled to one. She shifted slightly, making room for Carlos on the couch, immediately butting him lightly with her head, demanding attention. She was still far to lazy to actually shift back yet, but she felt a thousand times better now that her mate was back.

"Yes, I can drive her." Maria said with a small nod. "Granted, we might need directions to this party." She added, glancing back at Serena with a small nod. Nick looked a little reassured when Maria passed her eyes over him. She smiled to herself and sat back in her seat contently.

Nick sighed gently and nodded to his sister. You know I love you he added softly, giving her a small smile while Alexi drove the car onward.

Once home, Nick zoomed inside so fast that Maria couldn't help but laugh. "Wow...I think he almost beat your record darling." Maria said, glancing at Alexi with a grin before going to the back of the car for the bags.

----------

Kristen gave Demitri another smile and a kiss and pulled away from him. She wandered over to the dresser and pulled out clothes for bed. She wasn't going to sleep anytime, but she wanted to at least be comfortable. Soon, she was just in sweatpants and a loose tank top.
"Will you come to bed tonight?" Kristen asked curiously. Recentenly, Demitri had taken to always being up during the night. Not that Kristen minded.

---------

Carlos grinned, and flopped onto the couch as Sami moved over and made room for him. Sami was always so warm in her animal form that Carlos could feel it. It was one of those things that brought back an old and almost forgotten comfort.
Carlos was almost dragged into the many memories of his mind but Sami's gentle head-butted knocked him back into reality.
"You know I could give you much more attention if you shifted back." Carlos enticed, though he let his hand roam over Sami's coat gently and softly.

"I have directions. Michelle texted me her address" Serena said with a grin to her mother.
"Thanks Mum" She added, grinning at Nick lightly, he was still so bouncy.
I know you do, I love you too She responded. She really did care for her brother and she was glad he was a bit concerned for her, but not freaking out. As they pulled up to the house she let out a chuckled as Nick practically bolted from the car.
"Have fun tonight Dad" She said cheekily as she went to help her mother with the bags.

Alexi groaned teasingly and followed his son inside. Nick would need to wear older clothing, since he was bound to get blood all over them. Not to mention he'd probably mess up the first few times.
Sighing, he headed to grab some water bottles, he figured he might as well restock the fridge while they were out.

---

"I'm not sure yet. Probably" Demitri said with a grin.
"Any plans for tonight? The kids doing anything? I know Zach is dying to go see that new action movie. If he's feeling up to it, he might enjoy getting out of the house" He suggested to his wife with a shrug. He wasn't sure if Kristen felt comfortable letting Zach leave the house just yet or anything but he figured it was alright as long as Zach took it easy.

----

Sami shrugged and swiped her tounge over Carlos' face before she moved and shifted back into her human form. Stretching, she offered him a wry grin.
"I know" She said with a chuckle. "I was just being lazy. Pluse being in my cat form helps dull the pain of the seperation" She sighed and flopped back down on the couch.
"How was work? Your secretary called like four times while you were driving, I assume. She was rather frantic"

"Alright, so long as one of us knows where we are going, we'll get there." Maria said, smiling at her daughter as she opened the trunk of the SUV. The bags weren't much of a problem, even if there were quite a few of them. Seeing the bags reminded Maria to call Carlos.
"I am definitely going to get thoses clothes out of storage." Maria murmured with a nod, as if to permanently remind herself. "Darling could you get the front door? If you're father hasn't left it wide open." Maria added with a chuckle.

Upstairs, Nick zipped through his half empty closet. There had to be some old clothes that still fit that he could wear. No way was he wearing his new clothes. They were likely to get ruined, and that would just give his mother and sister another reason to go back to the mall. A trip he didn't want to make again anytime soon.
Finding nothing, Nick sighed roughly, zooming past Maria to find his father. "Got any old shirts I can wear?" Nick asked curiously, watching his father pile bottles into a bag. "Think Serena would ever want to actually hunt?" Nick murmured softly. His sister was one of those people that wouldn't hurt a fly if she didn't have to...he couldn't picture Serena actually hunting.

------------

Kristen tilted her head curiously as she sat herself on the bed.
"From the sounds of things, Maddie's elbow deep in work...and Zach's watching another movie on the t.v." Kristen said. "As far as I know, that was the plan for the evening." Kristen added with a small chuckle. "I know Zach wanted to go see that movie, and I really wanted to as well, but I don't know how I feel about going tonight." Kristen murmured softly.
"It's opening night, the theaters will be packed and..." Kristen rubbed her ear softly; she had a small problem with crowds though she was never one to admit it. "I'm just worried. It might be best if we go tomorrow night; the theaters shouldn't be that bad then." She said with a small smile as she rubbed her sore shoulder.

-------

Carlos sighed as Sami shifted back into her human form. Now there was more than enough room for the two of them on the sofa. He rolled onto his side, wrapping his arms around Sami's waist entirely and pulled her as close as possible. He let his head rest against her shoulder, closing his eyes he took a deep breath.
"It was a rough day." Carlos admitted. "But I'm sad to say that I've had much worse. Just...waking up late sort of tossed the rest of the afternoon into disarray." Carlos murmured softly. "And my secretary, contrary to popular belief about those who hold such position in office, can't do a damned thing on her own except answer phones." Carlos muttered, half growling at one point. "I have half a mind of fire her...but that's not my place." Carlos sighed before picking his head up.
"And am I to assume that you simply lied on the couch all day?" Carlos asked with a smile, kissing Sami's forehead gently.

Serena chuckled and nudged open the door for herself and her mother.
"I'm gonna go get ready" She called to her mother, taking her things upstairs and dumping them out on the bed. She grinned lighly as she dug through her new things, looking for something good to wear. She always like to look good, a habit she'd developed from her mother.

Alexi grinned as Nick came barreling into the room.
"Yea I do, in my closet" He said with a grin. "Serena? I'm sure she will eventually" He said with a grin. "There's no pressure though, I know Serena's not overly fond of death and violence, so it might take her a little while to adjust to the idea of taking a human life" He shrugged. He really wasn't sure if his daughter would ever become a hunter, he'd never discussed it with Maria or even thought of it. Perhaps he and his wife should discuss their daughter's tendency to avoid death and violence.


----

Demitri nodded in understanding.
"Just call the theater before you go and make sure to reserve some seats in the handicap area. Zach should qualify and you can make sure that it wont be overly crowded in there for him" He murmured to his wife. She was right, tomorrow might be a better night to go out for them.

----

Sami chuckled.
"Yea I sorta did' She said with a grin. "You really should fire her" She mumbled, "She calls far to often" She smirked and cuddled against Carlos, soaking in his scent and relaxing.
"Hard to get any work done when you're a giant cat" She added with a smile.

Maria nodded gently to Serena, taking her own bags upstairs. Nick was in the room, going through Alexi's side of the closet. Maria couldn't help but laugh as she set her bags down on the bed.
"What on earth are you looking for?" Maria asked curiously, putting her hands on her hips.

"Dad said I could borrow a shirt." Nick reasoned, holding his hands up defensively. Maria laughed.
"I'm only teasing." She said, pulling her things from the few bags she had. Now that she looked over the bags, most of what had been brought in was actually Serena's. Maria chuckled to herself at that thought. When she looked up again, Nick was gone, even though the closet door was wide open.

"Let's go." Nick said, instantly back in the kitchen, wearing one of Alexi's dark shirts. It was baggy on him, since Alexi had more body mass, even though the father and son were almost evenly matched on shoulder length. Nick was still bouncing, obviously excited about his first hunting trip.

------------

Kristen smiled. She cralwed forward a bit to give Demitri a kiss.
"You always think of everything." She told him. "What would I do without you?" She whispered quietly, kissing his lips again and pulling away slowly. The sensation of getting a kiss from Demitri, or kissing him in general, was something Kristen still marveled at. It felt right...and at the moment, it left like the one sane thing left in their world; they were still together, just as they were meant to be.
Kristen glanced up to catch Demitri's eye and smiled. "I love you."

------

"I'll talk to Keith about it." Carlos said. "Though I'm petitioning for the day off tomorrow. No way I'm going back to that mess in the morning." Carlos said, laughing softly. As Sami curled up to his side, Carlos grinned and squeezed her gently in a hug.
"If I do manage the day off tomorrow, how about we do something together?" Carlos asked, tilting Sami's chin up gently. "Just the two of us. Maybe have a picnic out in the woods somewhere? Or just go for a run?" he asked, grinning lightly.

Alexi laughed softly and glanced at his son.
"Come on then" He murmured with a grin. "See you later love, call if you need anything" He added, leading Nick outside.
"We're going to take the truck" He murmured to his son, "Because I want to take you away from the general population" He murmured to his son as he put the backpack in the backseat of the truck and climbed into the drivers seat.
"Are you excited?" He asked teasingly.

Serena pulled on a brand new pair of skinny jeans and an over-large t-shirt with music notes on it that fell off of her shoulders. Digging through her closet, she found a pair of soft, tall boots. Grinning, she wandered into Nick's room and snagged one of his hoodies.
Have fun! Snagging one of your hoodies She told her brother before going to find her Mum.
"What do you think?" She asked her mother as she wandered into Maria and Alexi's room and did a little spin.

---

"I have no idea? Fall apart at the seams?" Demitri teased his wife lightly. Sighing he grinned and leaned forward to kiss her nose.
"Love you too" He murmured. "Are you ehading to bed early then? Or are you going to do somethign else?" He asked her curiously, wrapping his arms around his wife and pulling her against him. Grinning, he leaned down and rested his head on her shoulder and taing a deep breath.

----

"That would be fantastic" Sami said with a grin, cuddling against Carlos. "We could use a vacation, even if its just a day long one" She sighed and stretched lightly. A day of having just Carlos to herself sounded lovely.
"Im pretty sure Keith owes you big, especially since he's the one who hired your damn secretary" She chuckled. She wished she and Carlos could go ona real vacatino, but she was sure it wouldn't happen any time soon. Especially not with work being so crazy and what not.

Nick simply followed after his father, climbing into the truck. He was completely unable to hide the grin on his face as Alexi started driving away from the house.
"Are you kidding?" Nick asked, grinning still. "I've been wanting to go hunting since that time you and Carlos came back after Serena and I's last birthday. You both looked drunk almost. You guys must have had an answer time hunting that night."
In a weird way, part of Nick knew that he was most likely going to kill someone tonight. But at the same time, he looked at it like a hunter looks at a deer. Something to be killed and eaten, and sometimes, the hunting is a bit for fun. He wasn't too sure where these thoughts were coming from, but they were in his mind.
"It's like part of me...needs to hunt." Nick murmured, wondering if that just sounded way too strange or if it explained everything.


Maria glanced up as she finished putting away her purchases from the evening and laughed softly.
"You look great." Maria said. "And I'm guessing you're taking Nick's hoddie just because you can?" She asked, giving a daughter a sly smirk. She picked up the empty bags from her bed and set them down in the closet before closing the door and glancing back at Serena.
"Are you ready to go then love?" Maria asked.

-----------------

Kristen rolled her eyes at her husbands teasing. As he pulled her closer, Kristen purred softly in content.
"I'm not tired but I kinda just wanna rest and relax." Kristen said, explaining the pajama's and the laying back on the bed. She ran her fingers through Demitri's hair gently as his head rested against her shoulder. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as her hands trailed under Demitri's shirt lightly.
"Maybe you should too." Kristen murmured softly. "Taking things easy for a little while never hurt anyone." She said as she let her hand trail over Demitri's skin slowly and gently, her other hand brushing through his hair.

----------------

"Then it's happening." Carlos said, fishing his phone from his pocket and making it so. He wanted a day just for him and Sami. Work could wait. The world could wait in Carlos' opinion. He wanted time with his mate.
"We can figure out exactly what we want to do in the morning." Carlos said, setting his phone down on the table and wrapping his arms around Sami again.
Grinning, he moved quickly, carrying Sami in his arms up to their bedroom. "Much more comfortable, don't you think?" He asked, slipping away from her just to pull off his half unbuttoned shirt.

Alexi laughed.
"Drinking to much blood can creat feelings similar to intoxication in vampires. Hopefully you won't drink that much, at least not yet. Your mother will kill me" The blond said with a grin.
"I understand. Vampires are predators, we're designed to stalk and kill our chosen prey, humans. Hunting is instinctual, natural. Drinking from a bottle is boring for us, awful really. Its like a tiger in the zoo being given a steak. It sucks" He grinned. "We're going to go up to some campgrounds however, because I don't know how this is going to go and we don't want to have any witnesses" He smirked at his son. "Not that I doubt your abilities"

Serena grinned at her mother. "Its nice" She said with a shrug. "And Nick won't care, he'll probably be pleased I'm wearing something of his, he's more overprotective then Dad" She said with a roll of her eyes.
"Yea I'm ready' She dug her phone out of her pocket to make sure she had the address.
"Here's the address" She added, showing her mother the phone.

----

Demitri chuckled and nodded in agreement.
"I could go for that" He admitted and shrugged out of his shirt and pants before falling contently on the bed, face down.
"Its rather nice" He mumbled, his voice muffled before he glanced at Kristen out of the corner of his eye.

----

Sami grinned.
"Sounds lovely" She said with a chuckle. She let out a startled yelp when Carlos rose, scooping her up as he went.
"Mmm I love you" She mumbled with a chuckle as he deposited her on the bed. She grinned as she watched him disrobe.
"So...?" She teased, kicking out of her own jeans and smiling at him. "Anything planned?" She waggled her eyebrows playfully.

Nick grinned as he listened to Alexi. Everything made sense to him, and he nodded in agreement.
"That explains everything." Nick said with a small nod. He was still a bit jittery, like he had all this energy and he couldn't do anything with it while sitting in the truck while he father drove. "Are the campgrounds much father?" Nick asked curiously, glancing out the window, wondering where they were.

Maria smiled. "It's a brother thing." She said. "And older brothers tend to have it the worst." She said, grabbing her purse and keys as Serena showed her the address.
"Oh that's not too far." Maria said with a nod as she lead Serena out to the garage. "Put it in the GPS to be sure, but I think I have and idea of where we're going." Maria said, unlocking her car so they could both get in.

-------------

Kristen laughed softly, pulling the covers back while Demitri undressed. She moved closer to him while under the covers and sighed in slight relief. "Only vampires can sleep face down." Kristen teased before Demitri looked up at her. "The rest of us need to breath." she said, smiling and poking his nose gently.

------------

Carlos let out a bit of a devious laugh as he tugged off his work pants as well. When Sami gave him that look, he grinned and wandered back to her, in nothing but his boxers.
"Well, let us consider that today was utterly depressing in it's stress levels and the only thing keeping me going today was knowing that I was coming home to you." Carlos said, inches from her lips.
"Now, if you were in my shoes, what would you have in mind for me darling?" Carlos asked curiously, brushing a strand of her hair from her face, still grinning lightly.

"Just another kilometer or two" Alexi reassured his son with a grin.
"Don't worry kiddo, we'll be there in a minute or two" He said as he turned onto a dirt road.
"Here we are" He grinned and slid out of the truck, grabbing his backpack.
"Alright, there's a group of about four people just down this hill" He said with a grin, "I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath" He murmured to his son, "Tell me what your instincts are telling you. I'm not going to tell you how to hunt, what to do. I want you to tell me how you feel, what your 'inner vampire' is telling you" Alexi said with a grin.

Serena nodded and slid into the passanger seat of her mother's car. Laughing, she reached forward and programmed her mother's GPS for her as she slid her phone into the pocket of Nick's hoodie.
"He's not that much older then me' She grumbled at her mother, though she was smiling.
"Do you think Nick'll have fun tonight? Learning to hunt with Dad?" She asked curiously.

----

Demitri nipped playfully at Kristen's fingers.
"M'comfrotable" He grumbled at her, still lying first down. "You do the breathing, I'll do the not moving" He chuckled lightly. He knew he was teasing Kristen, but he rather enjoyed bothering her like this, it was nice.

----

Sami grinned and snuggled closer to Carlos.
"It has been a rather awful day. You're luck I'm well-versed in the art of de-stressing" She said, sliding sensously across him to kiss his cheek.
"Getting the picture?" She asked, her golden-brown eyes shining with playfulness and other emotions.
She nuzzled his neck, purring against him before licking him playfully.

Nick managed to calm himself down for the remaining two minutes of the car ride. He stepped out of the car slowly, looking around curiously as he wandered over to his father. Hearing the instructions, Nick nodded and closed his eyes. Almost instantly, his hearing kicked into affect. He grinned, listening to the sounds of the forest for a moment; animals running, the wind blowing through the trees...the crackling of fire...
Nick took as deep a breath as he could. There was that smell again; like something sweet and sour...something warm. He took another breath, turning towards the smell. He could hear them talking...he could hear the fire crackling...he could even hear their pulse. All this made a burn in his throat rise and his fangs popped out as he opened his eyes.
"I can hear them so well I can see them. All of them, sitting around the fire down there." Nick said, dashing forward just to get a little closer. Now the scent had intensified, and it was making Nick all the more hungry.
"If we go up from that side they won't see us..." Nick whispered, since the humans were all sitting together, facing the fire. "Move fast enough they won't know what happened...go straight for the neck." He said, grinning at Alexi; his eyes were a bit wide and his grin was entirely feral. He was hungry, and he wanted to eat, but part of him was kind of waiting for an ok from Alexi.


As Serena programmed the GPS, Maria opened the garage door and pulled the car out from the garage.
"I know darling, but it's the mentality that sticks with them, regardless of being a year older, or a minute older." Maria said with a small shrug as she steered the car down the road.
"Oh I'm sure your brother is having a blast." Maria said, chuckling lightly. "There is a part in all of us that loves the hunt." Maria explained. "Even if it is a small part, it is still within us because that is who we are darling." Maria explained, smiling at her daughter.
"Not to mention, you're father was one of the most deadliest vampires in the world at the time." Maria added with a small sigh. "And part of me believes he passed that to Nick, and maybe to you." She said, glancing at Serena curiously. "Don't think that there's any rush to start hunting though." Maria added as they arrived at the house. As Maria pulled into the drive way, she gave Serena a small kiss on the forehead.
"If you need anything, just call. I'll be home." Maria said.

------------

Kristen growled lightly as Demitri tried to bit her finger. She scooched a bit closer to kiss his shoulder, laying on her side to face him.
"Yes I can see that you're comfortable." Kristen said, laughing quietly at her husband.
"Sounds like a deal to me." Kristen said, closing her eyes for a moment as she rested against Demitri.

-----------

Carlos smirked, taking Sami by the waist and pinning her between him and the matrices.
"Yes. I get the picture darling." Carlos said, leaning forward to kiss Sami passionately as he pulled the cover over them....

"I'm sure that was more than what you pictured." Carlos murmured, a small chuckle in his voice as he kissed Sami's shoulder softly. He pulled her closer for a moment, relaxing in the assurance of having her close.

Alexi grinned as he watched his son, he was practically viberating with excitement. Sighing, he inhaled as well, letting the tantalizing scent of blood awaken his more animalistic senses.
"Perfect" He grinned at his son, fangs flashing. "Lets go" He said, letting Nick take the lead for the moment. This was, after all, about him learning and Alexi probably needed to keep his head so that he could clean up any messes his son may make.

Serena smiled at her mother, nodding in understanding.
"Was? Don't you mean is?" She asked curiously. As far as she understood her Dad was one of the most feared vampires in the world, and still was to this day. It was a hard earned, and intimidating repuation and Serena highly doubted Alexi would give it up. She knew he may be a bit more domestic as of late, with kids and a family, but she also knew that other clans and groups of vampires still petitioned him to try to have him on their side in fights. She pursed her lips and nodded, hopping out of the car. "I'll see you later" She called, making sure she had her phone.

-----


"Everything and more" Sami said with a tired, yet content grin. "Are you sufficiently de-stressed?" She asked, she was slightly breathless, but she had a grin on her face and she looked rather content. "Because I'm not sure I'm up to another de-stressing excercise just yet" She teased, snuggling closer to him as she spoke.
"A shower however, I've heard those are good for relieving stress, and probably something we both could use at this point" She grinned, flicking a strand of dark hair from her eyes.

As soon as Alexi said go, Nick let out a hiss of excitment and zipped forward. He moved quick. Quicker than he ever thought he could move. Everything became clear suddenly, and Nick knew exactly what to do. He silenced every scream and gasp of surprise until his fangs sliced through skin.

When Nick came too again, it felt like his heart was racing. His breathing was a bit ragged and two bodies lay, pale and drained at his feet. He took a long deep breath and looked up.
"Whoa..." Nick murmured, seeing all the stars in the sky. "Whoa...Dad...I can see everything..." Nick said, his eyes wide as he turned around in a circle slowly. He flexed his fingers and rolled his shoulders. He was glad he was wearing a dark shirt, because he felt how soaked it was. It didn't matter to him. Right now, he felt awesome.
"Wow I...I can't even say how awesome that was." Nick said, grinning as he looked over at his father again.

Maria smiled and watched as Serena walked up towards the house. Once Serena was inside, she steered the car back down the drive way towards home.

Inside, Allison was chatting with Michelle until they heard the door open. Glancing over at who was walking in, Allison gasped in surprise.
"Serena?!" She asked, putting her cup down and wandering over to the girl. "Oh my god! You look amazing! And like three years older! What happened?" Allison asked, laughing lightly in disbelief but there was a warm smile on her face.

------------

"I am extremely de-stressed." Carlos assured, kissing Sami's forehead gently. He pulled her as close as he could and sighed in content. As she spoke about a shower, Carlos chuckled softly.
"Yes, a shower might do us some good but not right now." Carlos said. "I am far too comfortable just holding you at the present, and I must say it might be a challenge to get me to let go." He teased, laughing softly as he ran a hand down Sami's shoulder.
That last for about two second because his phone started ringing from where he had left them in his pants on the other side of the room. Carlos groaned and shook his head. "That can wait until later." He murmured, closing his eyes as he rested his head back on the pillow.

Alexi held back, watching Nick's first kill with pride, before he set to work drinking his fill from the mortals and filling the bottles for Serena and anyone else who neeed them. Sated he let the body fall from his fingers, ignoring the dull thud it made against the ground.
He, like Nick, was covered in blood, gore dripping from his fangs and onto his shirt. He grinned, enjoying the feeling of taking a life, it was something he relished.

He grinned at his son, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand while he loaded the filled bottles into his bag.
"Blood enhances your senses" He explained with a soft smile. "Thats why everything is so clear" He murmured. "Its an indescriable feeling, feeding for the first time" He grinned, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, now we just need to get your sister out here" He said with a grin.

Serena smiled at her friends, flicking her hair behind her ears.
"Hey" She said with a soft smile. "Nick and I had our finaly (we hope) growth spurt. So we're both biologically eighteen years old now. This is when our Uncle figured we'd stop aging, like regular vampires" She explained with a shrug.
"It's pretty cool though" She admitted.

----

Sami groaned as Carlos' phone rang and she shoved her head under the pillow until he muttered that it could wait till later.
"If its your secretary, she's gonna keep calling until you answer" She grumbled at him, though she curled up and let her head rest on his chest. She sincerly hoped she and Carlos could get some alone time, it had been awhile since they'd had any alone time and she was beginning to really miss it.

((hehe, I forsee Nick being a chip off the old block XD))

Nick let out a small growl of content as he turned and looked around again. When his father caught his attention, Nick saw him wipe his mouth, and that made him consider his own. He licked his lips, grinning at the blood that remained there. Wiping his mouth then, Nick sighed deeply, finally getting himself back under control.

He nodded, since words were beyond him right now. He couldn't even begin to describe what he was feeling. He could see every little thing from the stars in the sky, to the ants crawling in the ground. He could hear the crackling of the fire, the beating of a birds wings off in the distance. He could smell the blood in Alexi's bag, the smoke from the fire, the rain far off in the city almost. Clenching his hands into fists, Nick couldn't help but laugh a bit. He could feel his own strength in his hands.
"I feel like...like I can lift a truck with one hand." Nick said, grinning against. He looked around in amazement. He wanted to lift something. Or break something. Maybe break something. Finding the dead campers car, Nick flexed his fingers once before reaching under it and lifting with all he hand. He overestimated how strong he was, because instead of just picking it up, he actually managed to flip the car entirely and it landed with such force that the windows shattered.
"Whoa!" Nick gasped, laughing and raking his fingers through his hair. "I just flipped the car! Holy shit." Nick laughed, jumping a bit before he ran back towards his father. "Now I know why you guys hate drinking blood out of bottles! This is freaking awesome! Man, Serena doesn't know what she's missing at all."

Nick sighed, eventually coming down from the high his first hunt had chucked him into. Glancing at the carnage that was the former camp site, Nick pursed his lips for a minute. "We should probably do something with the bodies right?" He murmured.


Allison let out a low whistle. "Wow...and Nick went through the same change?" she asked out of pure curiosity. Of course the minute Allison mentioned Nick, someone else chimed in as well.
"Ohmygosh so you're brother is eighteen now?!"
"I bet he's even more hot now."
"I'm so glad he broke up with Katie before this happened."
Allison rolled her eyes at the sudden stir. "Sheesh, and I thought those three were obsessed with your brother last year." She muttered, wandering back over to her seat and her cup.
"Oh I heard about what Mike tried to do. What an ass." Allison said.

-----------

"My secretary has no reason to call me at this time of night." Carlos murmured with a small peak at the bed-side clock to make sure he was right. As Sami crawled deeper into the covers, the phone stopped ringing entirely. Carlos waited for a few moments and his phone binged to say he had a voice message.
"Ah, that wasn't the secretary." Carlos murmured. "She never leaves messages...she just continues to call back." Carlos said, picking the pillow up from Sami's face as the room fell silent.
"See?" Carlos asked. "No more calls, which means it was probably my sister, or Keith, or Shaye, and it wasn't that important." he said, kissing her nose gently.
"So, let's talk about our adventure tomorrow." Carlos said, sliding down a bit in the bed so he was eye level with his mate. "What shall we do with an entire day to seize?"

Alexi watched Nick with amusement, he was exactly like he had been during his first hunt.
"She'll hunt when she's ready. Its a difficult thing, taking a life for the first time. Some of us are alright with it, me, in particular, I was a warrior, a fighter before I was turned, taking a life has never really been a big deal for me, my vampire(ism) only enhanced my desire to end lives. Someone like your sister, who is opposed to violence, won't have the natural inclination to kill or to take a life, she'll have to be coerced into it, and when she does, she'll feel bad before finally adjusting. Demitri's brother was like that, Adrian, it was one of the reasons he opted to end his own life instead of stay a vampire. Though I doubt your sister would go that far" He said with a shrug.

"Leave them" He sniffed disdainfully, "The humans will come up with a good reason for this, animals probably. They won't even consider supernatural beings as a reason for the deaths. We're fine" He grinned and nudged Nick's shoulder.
"Come on, I bet your mother is dying to hear all about your first hunt" He grinned and lead the way to the truck, a his body humming with energy. He knew Maria would probably want to go out hunting now, especially after Nick told her of his experience.


Serena rolled her eyes, ignoring the comments on her twin. Nick was always a popular subject, especially for some girls.
"Yea, he's older now as well, Dad took him hunting for the firist time tonight" She told her friend, wrinkling her nose slightly as she talked.
"Yea, it was a shitty experience" She grumbled, "But I guess I should have expected something like that sooner or later, my Mum says vampire looks have that effect on certain people sometimes" She said, shuddering lightly.
"So, are you ready to go back to school? Cause I'm sure not"


----

Sami chuckled. "That's true, leaving a voice mail is a bit outside of her understanding" She teased, before pursing her lips and looking thoughtful.
"I have no idea. Something romantic I guess? Just the two of us, its been like months since it was the last time we had any alone time" She said, snuggling against his side. She was just looking forward to a day with him, a day for just the two of them.

As Nick settled down, he seemed to become more of himself. His attention would be caught my something momentarily, since his senses were on full power, but he always managed to continue listening to Alexi.
Hearing that Demitri's brother had killed himself after becoming a vampire, Nick shuddered at the thought of that happening to Serena.
"But we're different aren't we?" Nick asked, meaning him and Serena. "We were literately born this way...we don't know any other way unlike those who are human and then turned..." Nick murmured, rubbing his head gently. Granted Serena could, potentially live off of bottled blood for the rest of her life but...to miss out on this...Nick looked around again with a content sigh before he realized his father was walking away.
Catching his breath, Nick zipped ahead, laughing at how fast he could run and jumped into the passenger seat of the truck.


Allison sipped from her cup and looked a bit surprised. "Whoa. Is that like a big thing for vampires? Going on the first hunt and all?" She asked curiously. "Sounds like some kind of rite of passage to be honest." She added with a small chuckle.
"Yea, I've heard vampires appear more attractive to humans...and I think some other super-natural beings like to think it effects them. But..." Allison shrugged lightly on the subject.
"Actually, I'm kind of looking forward to it." Allison said, blushing lightly. "I mean the summer was great an all, but we're starting high school ya know? It's kind of exciting." Allison said, laughing softly and taking another sip of water.

-------

Carlos smiled lightly and pulled Sami closer. He could feel that she was starting to get tired. That or she was just really comfortable. After a long day, Carlos wasn't too sure which one it was. Honestly, he didn't really care. He felt just as tired, if not more, and wouldn't mind a bit of rest himself.
Kissing Sami's forehead, Carlos sighed gently and rested back against the pillow.
"We'll sort something out in the morning." Carlos said with a small chuckle as he closed his eyes.

Alexi nodded, reassuring his son.
"Yes, you were born this way and aren't really aware of humanity in the sense that all of us were. I don't know how Serena will do, but I don't believe she will become depressed or suicidal. I highly doubt any of us will ever allow her to become that depressed either. Demitri tried with Adrian, to help him, but he could never accept what he'd become, not like the rest of us had and have. You two have never made a transition like that, literally becoming an entirely new species" He explained. He doubted his daughter would ever grow that depressed, but he wanted Nick to be aware of what could potentially happen. He knew Nick would keep an even closer eye on Serena now, which was good.

Serena grinned, nodding in agreement.
"I don't know how I feel about starting school looking like this" She admitted to her friend. "I look like I'm ready to graduate, not just starting High School, its a bit weird" She added, flicking her hair over her shoulders again.
"But I guess it'll be exciting as well, I mean it is High School" She grinned and fiddled with Nick's hoodie. She could feel the link to her brother in the back of her mind. It was practically humming with energy and she knew her brother had had a good time and was, clearly, successful.

---

Sami grinned and snuggled closer to Carlos.
"Sounds fine to me. We do need to shower eventually. Vampires may not sweat or get sticky, but I sure as hell do" She grumbled. That was the one thing about vampirism she was super jealous of, well not super jealous, just occasionally enveious. Like now, now she was enveious.

Nick nodded gently as his father's words reassured him about his sister. She would be fine; they really knew no other way. Thinking of his sister made their bond tug slightly. Nick knew instantly thought that it was due to their temporary separation, and not from anything serious. If something was wrong, Nick would know about it. The separation had lessened over the years, but every now and then it would become bothersome. Nick gently pushed it aside as Alexi drove them away from the camp site and back towards home.

At the house, Nick hopped out of the truck with a content sigh. "We should do that more often." He said, a pleased smirk on his face. Though of course, he knew why they couldn't; so many sudden deaths would put the humans on edge.
As he walked inside, Nick found his Mom sitting in the living room, a magazine in her lap and the remote control in her hand. When she glanced up at her son, she smirked.
"Well, aren't we glowing." Maria said, closing the magazine and tossing it to the small table. "I see hunting was a success."
Nick nodded, a grin still plastered onto his face.
Maria chuckled. "Good. Now clean yourself up." Maria said, winking lightly as she nodded for Nick to head upstairs.

Allison nodded gently in understanding. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I mean you can't except a person to go from fifteen to eighteen overnight; physically maybe, not never mentally. That'd be a killer on the brain." She added, chuckling slightly.
"Look at it this way; you jumped over all the awkwardness us mortals have to go through, so count it as a blessing." Allison said, giving Serena a reassuring smile.

-------

Carlos couldn't help but chuckle.
"Fine, we'll shower now then before either one of us falls asleep." Carlos murmured, nudging Sami playfully. He yawned lightly and sat up, pushing the covers aside to wander into the bathroom. There, he turned on the lights and flipped the handle so that the water would start running and warm up a bit for Sami.
Shuffling back to the doorway, Carlos leaned against the frame, smiling, somewhat tiredly at Sami.
"Coming to shower or not?" He teased.

Alexi grinned as he followed his son into the house.
"Rousing success" He informed his wife, "He's a real natural, didn't even have to tell him anything" He said, beginning to unload bottles and pile them in the fridge.
"Drop Serena off alright?" He asked her curiously. He could go pick their daughter up, whenever she wanted to come home, especially since his wife probably wanted to go hunting now. He stretched and sighed, he needed a shower, probably pretty badly as well.

"I need to shower, care to join me?" He asked, tilting his head to one side as he looked at her. He could hear the shower in Nick and Serena's shared bathroom going, which was good, his son had been (quite literally) covered in blood.

Serena chuckled.
"I don't think vampires have this awkward things that mortals go through, regardless of how fast or slowly we age" She said with pursed lips.
"I guess, that would suck" She wrinkled her nose at the thought, that much knowledge in a few days would give one a killer headache.
"So, you excited for anything in particular? Any young man you fancy?" She teased Allison, waggling her eyebrows suggestively as she did so.

----

Sami groaned but nodded her head, rolling off the bed and stretching idly.
"M'coming" She mumbled sleepily, entering the bathroom and straight into the shower, shaking her head as the water jolted her into a more wakeful state.
"Mmm, that killed the sleepy buzz hey?" She mumbled, leaning back and letting the warm water cascade down her face.

Maria smiled, standing up as Alexi wandered into the house. She followed him into the kitchen to listen to the hunting story.
"A natural?" Maria echoed, smirking. "I had a feeling that would happen. He's more like you in ways we can't fully comprehend." She added, chuckling softly.
"Yes, we managed to get to the house without loosing our way. Since Nick if just fine, I'm assuming she is as well." Maria added.

"A shower?" Maria asked, grinning. "Race you upstairs." She added with a laugh before zipping upstairs and into their bathroom.


Allison chuckled. "You're so lucky." Allison said, shaking her head gently as she sipped.
"Young men?" Allison echoed. "Meh, I'm not looking forward to dating not now at least." Allison said. "After what Mike pulled on you, I don't think I want to date any guy my age."

------------

Carlos chuckled and followed after Sami and stepping into the shower. As the water pressed against him he sighed, but he wasn't suddenly refreshed like Sami was.
He shrugged, leaning back against the shower wall and letting Sami shower as she wanted.
"Water doesn't really have that effect on me anymore unfortunately." Carlos said, leaning forward to kiss Sami gently.

Alexi chuckled and followed his wife upstairs, joining her in the shower almost immediately. As soon as he stepped under the spray, the water began to run red. Alexi still hunted very much like a newborn and seemed to take a sick pleasure in spreading around as much gore as possible. It was just part of his nature he supposed. He hoped Nick took more after Carlos or Maria however, when it came to feeding. Maria could barely stand the mess he made of himself, he wasn't sure how she'd react to two of them.
"Are you going to pick Serena up later? Or do you want me to?" He asked curiously, leaning back in the spray to begin to wash his red-soaked blond hair.

Serena chuckled.
"I don't think all guys are age are like Mike, I mean look at Nick, or my cousin Zach, they're really decent guys" She said with a shrug.
"I don't think age has anything to do with people like that, they're just assholes, regardless of how old they are" She murmured. She knew a lot of good guys their age, Mike just so-happened to be a jerk, that was all, and unfortunately being a jerk wasn't something you got over with age.

----

Sami laughed, "Don't worry we can still take a nap, I'll just shift into my cougar form, I'll sleep no problem that way" She said with a smile as she finished washing herself off. After a quick, yet nice shower, Sami followed Carlos back into the bedroom, shifting into her cat form as they went. Jumping up on the bed, she curled at the top of the bed, letting Carlos use her as a pillow. As her eyes began to close, she began to purr deeply, inhaling the scent of her mate as she did so.

Maria laughed in surprise as Alexi jumped into the shower behind her. She noticed almost instantly how filthy he was. She shook her head at him gently.
"Darling, haven't you learned how to eat somewhat neatly over the years?" She asked, though she laughed a bit to show that she was mostly teasing.
Once Alexi was clean, Maria let the water run a bit longer, just so that all the bloody water was rinsed out from the bottom of the tub.
"I was hoping maybe you would pick her up." Maria said. "I told her to text when she's ready to come home." she added before turning the shower off once they were both clean.
Stepping out of the shower, Maria grabbed a towel and tossed it to her husband with a soft giggle.

Allison tapped her cup thoughtfully. "I used to talk to your brother for a while every day." Allison murmured. "But he just stopped signing on and when he does we hardly talk now." She said with a small shrug.
"Zach from the socor team?" Allison asked curiously. "I think I've seen him around but I don't exactly know him..." Allison said

---------------

"Nap sounds delightful." Carlos said. He hardly noticed when Sami turned off the shower. He noticed when she was gone though. Stepping out from the shower, he grabbed a towel and started to dry himself. Seeing his mate already laying on the bed, Carlos couldn't help but laugh.
"I hope that fur of yours is dry. Elsewise you are doing laundry tomorrow before we go out." Carlos said with a small point as he toweled off the rest of his body.
He tossed on a pair of boxers before laying back down on the bed. He rested his head comfortable against Sami with a content sigh.
"I must say darling you are, without a doubt, the most comfortable pillow." Carlos murmured, chuckling softly as he closed his eyes.