Run This Town (Rory+Ishu)

The morning air held an electric chill as the large pickup truck rumbled down the street, it's black body gleaming like a killer whale on the prowl in this sea of concrete and glass. The cargo in the back whooped and hollered joyfully as tires rolled over the tarmac, testosterone and adrenaline overflowing from the bed of the truck in boisterous, threatening laughter. The streets were moderately clear for the size of this metropolis, although a few people were out and about given a false sense of bravery as the daylight progressively consumed the dripping shadows of night. Their fears had not been completely shed by the growing dawn, but there was comfort in being able to see the monsters that bred and lived in the dark.

Cade peered over the side of the truck where he lounged with his brothers, his leather and pierced clan, 6 of them piled in the bed of the truck, some sitting and a few standing as the vehicle made it's way to the heart of the city. Just one of the many that the brethren had conquered when they'd taken over, the city unmistakably and unequivocally theirs. Dark eyes overshadowed by heavy brows swept over the few pedestrians they passed, even that brief predatory glance causing the few men and women on the streets to recoil with the urge to hide. A lopsided and haughty smirk twisted across his features as one of his fellows hollered out something lewd to a man in a suit who had stopped to buy a newspaper, both he and the vendor looking up at the truck as if they'd just peed their pants. Laughter followed from the others as they proceeded past, the obsidian truck flowing by with apathetic disinterest.

In the wee hours of morning when the cover of night cloaked them, these men, these monsters, had finished feeding, their cannibalistic urges and hunger fulfilled. Now a different hunger burned in their loins, an almost erotic desire for destruction and murder; sexual appetites that bordered on the homicidal.

The city still lived, much as the humans had left it, but with the constant threat these beasts put over the citizens, it might as well have been dead. It had become a playground of ghosts, people going on as if nothing had happened, because in this day and age, what else was there but to accept your fate and bow to your new masters? They'd come to conquer and had won in less than a year, slapping the humans' weapons away as if they'd been mere toys handled by clumsy children. Now the men of North America stayed caged within the borders, raped and killed on the neurotic whims of their new overlords and the women were killed and feasted upon like cattle.

Cade's musings came to a stop as the truck did and the gang of men started to disembark and spread out and away from the vehicle, blood pumping and filled with the desire to do some damage to the day. Several of them were planning to go together to an office building nearby to prey upon the men who worked there and sate their lusts, and as usual, the targets were picked at random.

As he stepped off of the truck, heavy black boots crunching the asphalt underfoot, they called out for Cade to join them, promising plenty of brokers and businessmen for them all to "play" with. Offering another smirk, he turned them down and proceeded to walk in a different direction, adjusting his long dark coat about himself and pausing to watch the truck glide away, no less sinister now that it had unleashed it's load.

Looking around himself, Cade allowed his feet to carry him forward, wherever his fancy would take him, his dark, short hair bristling with excitement. Every road spread out before him filled with unlimited opportunities and endless pleasures for him to engage in. One of these side streets lead to residential apartments and another to small shops and businesses crammed close together, the owners still selling their wares to anyone who would buy them in this haunted day and age.

The Age of the Gamatom.

It was close to the afternoon and she had just discovered that she was low on food. If she was by herself, she would not have minded. However, her brother had been sent home from the hospital just a few days earlier. He had been beaten badly from an attack on his flower shop, though his assailants did not finish the job. She was nursing him for the time being. The two had spoken about what he would do. They knew it was better to sell the shop, but it was his only source of income and he believed it gave hope to the humans.

The girl tore open a container of soup and poured it into a bowl. The maintenance man for their complex had gone missing, so her stove was still broken and she didn't own a microwave. She felt terrible feeding her brother soup that hadn't been warmed up. It was still thick and- she put a hand over her mouth and held her stomach. She was a fragile thing, even mentally. She licked her lips and stirred the thick soup without looking at it. Once it evened out, she went to the bedroom, opening the door quietly.

Brother.

The man in the bed was still a bit out of it. He was given intense pain killers for now- until he could recover.

The girl sat down on the bed beside him and set the bowl off to the side on a nightstand. She touched her brothers' shoulder and watched his features tense as he lived through a dream, or a nightmare. She didn't want to check.

She kissed his forehead and stood up. I will be back soon. She knew full well what was outside the door but somehow she wasn't afraid. The girl, Ishu, put a sweater on over her white spaghetti strapped dress and stuffed some money into her pockets. She unlocked the door, taking her time as it was rather tedious with the row after row of locks on the door. Once done, she stepped out and locked the door, hoping it would stay that way until she got back.

Ishu walked down the stairs, getting to ground level, and left the complex after inputting an access code. Security had been increase recently, which was good, but she honestly didn't think it would do much. Confidence was the best security she could offer herself. Positive energy.

The girl exhaled before stepping out and the metal gate-like door slammed behind her. She started up the street towards the grocery store nearby.

Leaving the drop-off point behind, Cade took the street towards the shops and businesses, his lean and lightly muscled body swaying casually with every step. Entering the grocery store, he quirked a curious eyebrow, the leering smile never leaving his lips as he glanced around. It was not somewhere he'd been before, but it was always fun to explore new territory. To show up in places where he wasn't expected or known. An unfamiliar face seemed to strike fear into others hearts a lot easier than those who'd dealt with him before.

An aura of violence clung to him like a scent as he walked through the doors, proceeding past the front of the store and only pausing for a moment to cast a hate-filled glare at the young woman at the register. She shuddered and turned her eyes to the floor respectfully, but still he did not smile, his dark eyes seeming to penetrate her, glowering as if she were something disgusting he'd had the misfortune of spitting up. Even after feeding earlier this morning, his core was filled with that same insane hunger that filled him whenever he looked at human women. It was the same for his brethren, their hate for the female gender going to such extremes as to encourage and demand murder.

Even as his hackles were raised at the sight of her, he discarded her from thought with a sneer, turning down one of the aisles and instantly forgetting about her as his attention was drawn elsewhere. There weren't too many people here, and the few that were here were men - although they were no safer than the women were, it was often the men who came out on their own, a sense of protective chivalry keeping their women safe at home.

Down the aisle along the one side of the store reserved for dairy and meats, Cade stalked towards a portly man selecting something that looked like fish next to a cart reserved for his items of purchase. He was still too far away so the man had not noticed him yet, and Cade licked his teeth as he sauntered towards him, eying the man's moderately heavy girth with open and lascivious desire. Smoothly, like a wraith, Cade slithered up behind the man, his breath hot and heavy on the other's neck. The reaction was instant, his victim's body jerking upright and tensing, yet not daring to look back at him, instinctively knowing what he would find.

"Mmmm, protein. Does a body good," Cade whispered in the man's ear, straight teeth inching out to nip an earlobe playfully as hands groped at the man through his baggy T-shirt, reveling in the flesh he could feel beneath.

"P-P-Please... I have a wife and kids to look after... Just leave me be...Sir..." the man whimpered anxiously, already setting the packaged fish fillet aside, and trying desperately not to give into the urge to run. It was always worse when you ran from them, the Gamatoms excited by the chase like wolves chasing down their prey.

Cade smiled against flesh that trembled under his lips, his hands stroking down between the man's legs, despite himself the round man growing hard and filling his jeans at Cade's coaxing touch. "Poor, poor man," Cade murmured lustily, fingers undoing the button and zipper and pressing his own hardened organ against the man's backside through their clothes. "Who's going to look after you?" And he laughed quietly, his voice cracking with a humored rasp.

Those who'd chanced to be in the aisle with them had left as soon as Cade selected his target and another man who'd started down this way, instantly changed course when he saw what was happening. They were alone. Even if they were not, there wasn't a soul in the world who could challenge Cade's will at this moment, and he bent the man over the waist-level shelf holding refrigerated meats and savagely had his way with him uncontested.

After it was over, the man clinging to the shelf and slowly lowered himself to the ground, bloodied and bruised, pants sagging around his thighs, breathing heavy and silently weeping. Standing and watching apathetically, Cade zipped himself back up with a pleased sigh and turned away from the violated man. Now that was taken care of, it was time to play and he walked back to the front of the store where the young lady still stood at the cash register. She saw him coming and quickly averted her eyes, probably berating herself for not leaving when she'd had the chance.

Standing at the counter now he looked her over with another disgusted sneer before his face blossomed in a fake and unkind grin. He had no desire to eat her right now, but it tickled in the back of his mind as a possibility if she ceased to be entertaining. Behind her slight form were shelves of cigarettes and he indicated them with a slight nod of his head. "A pack of Winstons."

Her whole body jolted when he spoke, startled by the sound of his voice, and robotically she turned to the shelves behind herself, her eyes searching hazily for the brand he'd asked for. Fear and the realization that he'd probably kill her, clouded her vision and had her heart pounding heavily in her chest, blurring the words on the different cartons as her mind struggled to work properly amidst the desire to flee. As she was turned away, he took a moment to glance around in disinterest, a man waiting nearby with a plastic basket in his hand and a jug of milk in the other, obviously waiting for Cade to finish his "purchase" before approaching more than three feet. The doorways stood along the one wall, within sight of the register, daylight streaming in through the glass like a false beacon of hope.

Finally, the girl turned back to him with the long white carton in her trembling hands, licking her lips as she pushed it across the counter towards him, not wanting to hand them directly to him for fear he might touch her and become angered by the contact. But as she drew her hands away his arm whipped out lightning fast to grab her wrist, putting a slight pressure around the limb as she yelped and struggled in agitated surprise.

The angered smile on his face grew, but she kept her eyes down and struggled not to look at him. "I was wondering if you could help me...find the drink aisle. I'm a bit parched."

The arm held firm in his grasp shivered and he tightened his hold painfully, hoping to make her cry out. She whimpered quietly and her eyes searched the ground, the fear filling her body making the synapses in her brain fire uselessly, unable to register what he was asking for now. She was caught like a small bird or rabbit caught in a snare...

When the doors opened to emit someone new, Cade tore his eyes away from his toy to glance at the newcomer briefly. Then his eyes were drawing back for a double take, eyebrows quirked in slight confusion at the young woman who had entered the establishment.

Ishu had stepped into the store and glanced around. Just as she was putting her other foot down, her eyes locked onto the man holding the wrist of one of the girls at the register. Her foot continued until it touched the rubber mat at the front and she did not waver. Fear did not emanate from her like it would from the other humans. Instead, it was something else. Curiosity, a distasteful texture in the mouth and... disappointment? She did not think they hunted during the day- or at least that they preferred to wait until night time. Perhaps they were becoming even bolder.

She thought about walking out and going back home, but they were short on food and she wanted to make sure there was something there for her brother. It was obvious this... thing had noticed her. She didn't exactly blend in but she was easy to miss when other people wore colors outside and when the sun would shine on her, making her seemingly glow and cause her to become nearly invisible as their kind would cover their eyes.

But she was inside now- and so was it.

As the thoughts processed through her mind, she stood completely still, her bright blue eyes burrowing into the creatures. Her lips separated, just barely, as a quiet breath pierced through. Her eyelids shut and opened, slowly, her eyelashes fanning a breath over the piercing color.

After those brief moments, when time seemed to stop, she came back from the anxiety of her mind and she picked up a small plastic basket. Her gaze moved away from him and settled on the store infront of her. She walked in, walked past the creature and the girl at the register, and she walked aimlessly into one of the aisles.

Time seemed to stretch out wearily as Cade stood looking at the woman standing in the doorway. The light of afternoon coming through the door seemed to make a glowing halo appear around her as she walked through the doors and stayed for a few moments, her blue eyes meeting his soulless gaze for what seemed like hours.

The first thing that filled Cade's mind was a sense of breathless awe, something he'd never experienced in his life. Being so powerful did not encourage a sense of worship in anyone or anything other than himself, and yet he could not hide from that feeling as his sight was filled with this glorious vision of sunlight and white hair. His eyes followed her as she grabbed a basket, but was drawn back to the cashier as she began to sob fitfully. Oh. Right. Her. He'd completely forgotten about his little toy and his long fingers coiling around her wrist had tightened even more and were now hurting her.

Seeing the pathetic way her face contorted in agony and the awful little feminine noises she was making, his mouth curled in revulsion, the urge to snap her neck rippling through him. Instead, he roughly shoved her away, turning from her with a snarl under his breath, completely ignoring her as his eyes searched for the angel who'd stepped through the doors minutes before. By the time he'd turned to look again, however, she was gone and there was a moment of panic as he cast a searching glance around, wondering which way she'd gone.

Stepping forth, he searched the first aisles in the front of the store, his body rigid and alert, ignoring the few others he came upon and their miserable cowering in his presence. Where was she? What was she?

He found her in the second aisle he peered into and stopped before entering it, half-hiding behind the corner made by the edge of the shelves. Quickly, fear and anger had sought to replace the awe he'd felt before and now looking at her in normal lighting, he realized she was just a normal human woman. Not an angel or apparition like he'd first thought. But the hunger that normally accompanied the sight of these feminine abominations, did not come. For a few minutes he stood watching as she shopped, searching for that desire to dig his teeth into her flesh and drink of her raw blood...but he could not find it.

That was where the sudden fear had come from - that maybe there was something wrong with him. Glancing back at the cash register where that sniveling girl had been, she wasn't there now, obviously run into the back somewhere to tend to her bruised wrist. Even in her absence, hate flared through him - God! They were so fucking weak! It was absolutely disgusting! He'd barely twisted her arm and she was probably curled up in a corner somewhere feeling traumatized and wounded because he'd "handled her roughly".

The rage boiling inside him and the resulting salivation at the thought of bashing her skull in and silencing her forever was very satisfying and eagerly, he turned back to look at the other woman he'd followed, hoping that the feeling would continue to burn through his veins when he looked at her. Cade's eyes danced over her once more and his heart stuttered haltingly to watch her in profile, fingers gently tucking hair behind her ear softly. Such a small gesture, but it had him feeling weak and slightly breathless, the hate from before instantly disappearing once his eyes had laid upon her. Her.

Shaking his head slightly, he glanced alertly around to make sure none of the brethren were nearby, suddenly feeling wary of being in their company and he moved from his watching post to approach her. Once he was moving, he let himself proceed with the flow, fear and a strange sense of calm filling him as he grabbed her by the arm.

"Who are you?" he asked gruffly, turning her to look at him with a jerk on her arm. As soon as those blue eyes fell upon him, he flinched and gaped at her briefly before coming back to his senses. "You're coming with me."

He didn't wait for her to respond, but started to drag her to the front doors, his eyes still dancing around, hoping not to find one of the brothers. He needed time...time to figure this out... Something was wrong...

The girl had found the shelf with rows of canned soup. Her brother like anything with herbs in it, organic was always a plus but the world didn't have much of that these days. She found some tomato soup and put a can in the basket. She felt like... someone was watching her. She rarely had this feeling when she went out, seeing as she only ventured during the day. She heard whispers, something frantic. Assuming it was from the other people in the store, she proceeded to ignore it.

She found a can of soup with tofu bits and rice. It would make a splendid dinner, although she didn't know if her brother would be able to hold her down. Her features became stricken with worry at this thought but she quickly shoved it all down and began to put the can into her basket when someone grabbed her arm. She winced and dropped the can, holding a hand to her face and something seemed to hurt her.

Images and words swallowed her and drowned her vision. She struggled against the person holding her arm, dropping everything she was holding pressing balled up hands onto his arm and chest. Her body leaned away from him in an attempt to escape. Her teeth clenched the shelf next to her rattled. Her feet slid along the floor, flat shoes not having much friction on the bottoms and all.

As he pulled her through the store, more things began to shake and rattle. Her vision was becoming clear and she was starting to see the features of the man before her, but she still couldn't see clearly.

As was to be expected, she struggled and reacted in fear and although he tried to hang onto the anger and dominance that possessed him, he felt a tug of something akin to sympathy, watching her flail against his forceful touch. The arm within his grasp...was slender and fragile... nothing at all like a man's, the gender which his race was born attracted to. Despite this, feeling her tense in his hold, her soft fist balled and batting at his broad chest, he had the urge to touch her more...to hold her...

Shaking his head, to clear it, he growled again under his breath, looking for the way out and heading in a bee line towards the doorways, which were like a beacon of hope now. He'd get her alone, someplace quiet and talk to her. Figure out who she is and why she'd have this effect on his thoughts. The Gamatoms he'd arrived with wouldn't be gathering until much later at sundown when they'd get together as a group to raid the residential area for men to use as sex slaves and take them back to their head quarters for a night of blissful torture and rape. He had at least until then to solve this problem before he was expected to show up for the hunt. Hopefully, some answers would be forthco--

He stopped dead in his tracks, near the end of the aisle, his eyes widening and looking worriedly at the shelves as they moved in violent agitation the things upon them dancing a haunting jig to the edges. With a wary eyebrow cocked, he inched out of the opening, gliding out of the way as canned soup clattered to the floor and began to roll about. Sufficiently freaked out by the ghostly happenings, Cade dragged his captive towards the front of the store, moving her and himself out of the way as a pyramid of cereal boxes upended itself.

Passing the magazine aisles and turning rack of greeting cards that began spinning, he subconsciously moved to put a protective arm around her, moving himself between her and the possessed items. He didn't know what the hell was going on here, but he wasn't afraid of it and he wasn't going to let it hurt her, if that's what it meant to do.

Her vision blurred again as more things raided into her mind. A jukebox in the corner of the store sparked and smoke seeped out the top. Her hands left him, gripping handfuls of her own hair as her jaw locked open with a silent scream of pain piercing out from her throat. What she was being told and what had happened to her brother began to connect and her emotions ran high.

The register, safely bolted down and completely unhingable by any human, was torn up by an unseen force and launched across the store, smashing into a glass container that shielded the fresh meats and cheeses. Her jaw snapped shut and her teeth ground together, her body tensing into itself in an almost painful manner. The objects in the shop began to emit a whirring sound, as if powering up or crying out in pain.

A metal rack filled with greeting cards began to spin, the same sound coming from it as the cards flew up and scattered about the store, getting their corners stuck in small spaces until only a few were left.

She felt something move around her, something that seemed to constrict her. She struggled against his with everything she could until she began to feel her body giving in. Her muscles were so worn out and her bones were starting to her. The girl pressed her forehead against the mans chest and pulled on her hair. It was too much for her, she couldn't- she couldn't-!

A breath escaped from her as her eyes rolled back and her lids passively shut. Her body grew limp in his arms and everything seemed to just... stop.

In just a few minutes things happened very quickly, the objects that violently danced about the shop suddenly drained of life mere seconds after the white haired girl collapsed in his arms. Cade had been mildly aware of her anxiety through all of this but had assumed she'd been either scared of him or what was happening around them, or both. Now, looking down at her quiet form nestled against him and the destroyed store eerily silent from the chaos that had trembled through it moments before, Cade couldn't help making a connection between the two.

What the fuck--? He took in a deep shaking breath and bent low to put an arm beneath her knees, cradling her in his arms like some odd married couple on their wedding day. Standing a few moments looking down at her, his brow creased wondering if she was alright before looking up to find most of those in the store had stopped what they were doing to stare at them. A few men were crouched low as if they'd been hiding from flying objects, but all of them had turned to watch him with fear once the spectral destruction had ended.

Thinking they all looked like a bunch of farm animals waiting for slaughter, Cade rolled his eyes before proceeding towards the doors, nudging them open with a shoulder and being careful not to bump the head of his new fare. Out on the street again, Cade's whole body tensed, suddenly feeling naked and vulnerable out in the open like this. Warily, he glanced about, keeping an eye out for any others of his kind before setting off to find somewhere safe to set her down.

All through this since he'd first laid eyes on her, the fear that he'd gone nuts had gripped him by the throat - a Gamatom not wanting to kill a woman on sight was something the brethren would not be able to ignore. They might not kill him over it, but there was always the chance that if the problem couldn't be "corrected" they'd just give up and end his life out of some deranged sense of mercy. What sort of life would it be when a Gamatom did not act the way he was born to? They were the new age, the evolution and betterment of their biological "cousins" the humans. If he was regressing... then death would be the one final grace they could offer him.

But now that he was outside, a new fear overwhelmed him as he hunted for a hiding spot. The fear that one or more of his brethren would come upon him like this. There would be questions and any "normal" responses he could come up with - "Oh, yeah, just having myself a snack" or "Found a new toy. Ya like it?" - would no doubt encourage their involvement. And anything else...if he denied them, it would no doubt elicit a violent response against himself AND her. And it was the thought of her dying that was wrapping itself around his heart and putting him on edge. God! What the hell was wrong with him???

Down the other street he'd faced earlier, apartment buildings bordered either side of him and he came upon a man leaving one of the locked gates. At sight of Cade, the man stopped with the gate half open behind him and as Cade approached he nodded at the man curtly and called out, "Open it." his voice filled with authority and slight irritation. Instantly, the man backed up uneasily, gaping at him in fright, not able to move in a coherent fashion. "Open it!"

The second order came out harshly and had the man jumping to turn in a tight circle towards the door, setting to work nervously opening it while Cade stood on the sidewalk watching alertly for those who would harm his precious cargo. Once the door swung open, Cade barely waited for the man to move out of the way before ducking inside and out of the sunlight, instantly relaxing in the shade inside the building. Anxiously, the man stood off to the side, watching him as Cade looked around the tight apartment lobby, surveying his new surroundings with an air of ownership.

Glancing back at his "helper" he said "Which one is yours?" indicating the different doors surrounding them, stairs leading upwards to more doors and floors above.

The man's hand shook tremulously as he started to point but Cade glared and motioned with his head again. "Lead the way," he said, a small bit of pleasure filling him as the man leaped to obey. Up the stairs on the first floor and down the hall a little ways was where the man stopped before a door, his keys rattling in shaking fingers as he attempted to unlock his home, Cade standing just behind him and looking down at the young woman with just a hint of worry in his brow.

"Sir...I, well, I mean... I need to... There's... you see...um..." the blond man in a jean jacket murmured nervously, seemingly unable to get what he wanted to say out of his mouth.

"Knock it off," Cade said with a twist of his lips, shoving past the guy and into his apartment, completely ignoring him as he found a couch further into the main room. There were newspapers in a small uneven stack on top of the cushions which he brushed easily aside with a long sweep of his arm to lay her down gently on the upholstery. Glancing over his shoulder at the guy he said "Get me a glass of water. Now."

The extra encouragement proved to be unnecessary because as soon as he'd mentioned "glass" the man was stumbling into the small kitchen area and searching out the necessary item in the cupboards. Turning back to the girl, Cade sat crouched beside the couch and brushed a few strands of hair from her face before the other man was at his side pushing a clear glass cup filled with water at him. Taking it from him, Cade set it on the coffee table by his knee, continuing to watch her silently before annoyance creased his brow once more as the man intruded upon his thoughts.

"Is she alright?" the man asked querulously, momentarily distracted from his fear of Cade to worrying over the unconscious woman.

Cade looked at him again with a sneer, while the man offered an obeisant smile in return. "Beat it," he ordered roughly. The man couldn't get out of the apartment fast enough, obviously relieved at being allowed to leave.

Turning back to the woman who rested on the couch, he took the time in his solitude to look her over, his dark gaze coming back to her soft features and white hair again at the end of his inspection. When he found himself hoping that she was alright, he rubbed a hand over his face in frustration and let out a heavy breath.

"What is wrong with me today?" he murmured quietly in his raspy voice. Even with the slight anxiety that was still present when he looked back at her still form, the feelings from before did not fade.

It was cold. Everything felt so cold. She could feel the wind rushing down her body, small shards of glass nicking her sweater and her bare legs. Her head jerked to the side and her eyelids twitched, her lashes fluttering as she opened her eyes but she could not see anything. It was snow. Snow was everywhere, dancing in her eyes. Her body moved as she tried to wake up, feeling as though some kind of medical drug was keeping her still. Her mouth gaped as she tried to speak and her stomach hurt, her hands gripping onto the pain.

She felt a sudden jerk, like she was moving in another direction. Another jerk and her eyes snapped open. She was falling. She was falling in the snow and in the cold. Where was she? As she registered what was going on, she panicked and her body jolted, falling out of sync with the snow and flailing as she continued to fall forever- into nothing.

Once the girl realized it was a cycle, and after she had been jerked around, she found a sense of peace. She fell with everything around her. She aged with everything around her. She began to close her eyes as she knew peace and the darkness finally came closer. The darkness formed a shape, a person. Her eyes opened again to see it and to take in its' details.

She reached out to touch it and her features snapped, alarmed as she hit the pavement with her-


The girl jerked up on the couch, sweating and panting and touching at her chest where her heart was. Her hands moved to her face, covering her eyes which had a wild look to them. The girl licked her lips and began to calm, though she was still shaking.

Where was she? What time was it? How long was she gone? How did she get where she was?

It must have been late because there was no natural lighting where she was. It must have been hours. A sharp sensation vibrated in her skull and she winced, touching her hand to her head.

A migraine. Wonderful. She didn't know where she was or any details of how she got there and ontop of all of that- she had a migraine. Not to mention she didn't get to finish shopping.

Instinctively, her body turned and her feet touched the floor, as if she were getting ready to leave.

The sun was going down and Cade stood at the window watching through the old, weathered plastic shades as it made it's descent, burning the horizon of the cityscape and painting everything red and orange. The man who owned this apartment hadn't come back yet and Cade knew he probably wouldn't, not for a few days when he was sure the Gamatom had left.

As soon as the afternoon light had started to darken, he'd turned on the lamp in the living room, and had gone to the window to stand watch, waiting and letting his thoughts wander. In just an hour or two - maybe less with how fast the sun was moving - the gang would be meeting back at the drop-off point, gathering together to rile each other up for the evening hunt. And there would be questions if he didn't show up. Always questions and still, so many uncertainties fluttered through his mind.

Even as the coming of night excited him naturally, the call of the hunt filling his veins, he did not want to leave her, held fast to this room by her presence. Physically, there had been nothing wrong with her, so all he could do was wait and as the hours passed, he grew more restless. Impatient for the night that was coming and anxious about whether she would wake and be well. Broken bands of orange light criss-crossed his face as he looked outside through the shades, soothed by the sounds of her unconscious breathing, occasionally the tempo increasing as she was assaulted by things in her dreams.

Finally, there was a change and he turned from his place at the window to watch silently as she sat up, her face twisting with a wince of pain. For a moment, he was shocked to see her moving at all and stood frozen in his shadowed corner, unable to move as she took his breath away again. Then she was sitting up, placing her feet to the floorboards and it got him moving, suddenly scared that she'd want to leave him and wanting to stop her before she did.

As he approached the couch again, he did so with a wary step, hoping that this time they could take things calmer than before. Also hoping that whatever she'd done in the store would not be repeated in her panic, the memory of the cash register flying into the meats burned into his mind with a stark and clear anxiety. When her eyes drifted to him as he entered the light given off by the lamp, he gave her a reassuring and cautious look, stopping to stand a few feet from her, not wanting to get too close.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly, those words feeling like alien syllables coming from his mouth, especially to someone like her. Licking his dry lips, he tried to think over what he wanted to say before continuing. "Something... something occurred today that's never happened to me before and I'm at a bit of a loss trying to figure it out. I was wondering if you might have a few answers for me..."

Suddenly, everything he'd wanted to ask - Who are you? What are you? What have you done to my brain? - dried up in his throat as he looked at her in the golden yellow light from the lamp, shadows creeping in upon her features and giving her an almost lost and lonely look. So, he stood there, unsure of what he wanted from her or what he'd expected but curiosity still tickling at the back of his mind.

Glancing down at the coffee table beside the couch, he remembered how hours before he'd made that man get water for her and he motioned to it now. "If you were thirsty, I thought..." his words dying down, unable to finish that sentence as the awkwardness of offering her something settled upon him.

"What is your name?" he asked in a careful voice, still not daring to close the gap of distance between them, but his body tense and ready to move if she decided to run.

She was about to stand when she saw him and her body became lax, resting still on the couch. He was a confused and anxious, just like she was. This man- he was one of them, and he must have brought her here. She broke their shared gaze to look around the room and soon back at him. When he told her he wasn't going to hurt her, she didn't know what to do.

A part of her wanted to laugh, the part that felt confident in her security and yet the part that was afraid. But laughing in the face of fear, and even death, was not in her nature. Questioning it, however, was. Why did he not want to hurt her? What kind of profit would he gain from her? Why should she care about his wants or needs when he might just kill her anyway?

She remembered her brother. How long had she been gone? Was he ok? Did he eat his soup? He must have been starving! Is he still alive? She needed to get back to him.

His words staked her feet to the floor and her body to the couch as he continued, as he stated that she had the answers to his questions.

The girl touched a hand to her face as she got more from him, everything he was dying to say but couldn't.

He mentioned the water to her, his words numbing everything else she was hearing. She looked at the water and, while she normally would not drink something given to her by a stranger, she did notice how parched she was. She picked up the glass and pressed the cold rim to her lips, quietly gulping down every drop while watching his feet as if they were his face. As if they were going to tell her if she had done something that could endanger her.

While indulging herself she heard him speak again, asking her for her name. Why did he want to know her name? Did their kind like to get personal before feeding or was this a special case?

She put the glass back down and balled her hands up in her lap, keeping her eyes away from him. strands of her hair fell over her shoulder, as is veiling her face from him as her voice echoed into his ears, Ishu...

A sharp intake of breath caught itself in his throat when that word echoed inside his head, his dark eyes widening and flickering around the room before coming to rest back on her with a scrutinizing gaze. No, that'd definitely come from her. His shoulders were tense at first after "hearing" that disembodied voice, but now he relaxed as he took her in once more.

"So, that was you, wasn't it? Back at the store. All of that stuff flying around on it's own..." Even in this day and age with what the Gamatoms were physically capable of, it felt odd to admit to or accept anything supernatural like this.

At the same time it was an extreme relief - maybe this explained why he was feeling this way towards her? Because she was different. Special. It didn't stop him from being nervous about the problematic feelings themselves, but if it meant he wasn't crazy and it was something she was responsible for, then it was one less thing to worry about. But out of the million things plaguing his mind in this situation, one thing wrapped up nicely was hardly a dent in the problem overall.

Thinking back to how she'd been back at the store, remembering how she'd tugged and pulled at her own hair in silent distress and how her small, womanly hands had beat at his chest while she'd flailed in his hold, guilt surged up from the hiding place where it'd been waiting. "I'm...sorry...if I scared you earlier..." he said, rolling the apology out in a stinted way, as if the word was unfamiliar with his tongue. "I only wanted to talk to you, because...

Standing and talking to her like this made him feel incredibly on the spot, so he strode into the kitchen area and grabbed a wooden chair from the small dining table, setting it down a few feet from her, before placing himself down upon it's seat. Rolling his palms together, he thought for several moments how to phrase what he wanted to say, his eyes glancing at the window, the orange light fading to a soft mixture of yellow with blue bleeding into it. He couldn't stay here. More importantly, she couldn't either.

"The brethren will be hunting soon," he said, turning back to her. "If I don't join them, they'll come looking for me." Even nowadays there was occasionally the brave human or two who'd resist and fight against them and sometimes a single Gamatom could be taken by surprise and overwhelmed. Keeping them altogether with a curfew both protected themselves and made sure they hadn't gone overboard during "playtime".

"I don't know if you live close by, but when I leave, you need to go straight home. Lock yourself up tight and stay quiet until morning." Talking to her like this...as if he wanted to protect her was becoming easier, he noticed, and briefly, he felt disturbed by these changes all over again. Looking at her, his dark eyes traveled over the visible parts of her face, even in the growing dark and the yellow light of the lamp, her blue eyes standing out like untainted gems.

"I...I need to... I would like to see you again..." he shook his head pathetically for a moment and rubbed a hand over his jaw, before looking at her again. "Something strange is going on with my head... The hunger is completely gone and it's all centralized and focused on you... I don't know why but..." But I like it, he didn't say, the words making him want to laugh out loud. He really was losing his mind.

"Would you meet with me? Tomorrow? Someplace safe, I promise," that was another word that felt uneven as he said it. Why should she believe anything he had to say? Gamatoms were not known for being trustworthy, especially not to her gender.

"I assume you live nearby, so I'll keep the others away from here, but, just promise me, I can find you again," that was a big fear. The night was descending quickly and yet he felt a magnetic pull in his bones, keeping him here. If he left, would she disappear forever? That was almost as bad as the thought of her dying.

Her cheeks blossomed into a deep pink as he spoke indirectly to her. He knew some of what she was capable of and it always made her nervous. She had never told anyone and he just found out. Then again, she did not know what his people, the Gamatoms, were truly capable of. The girl nodded passively, taking credit for what had happened in the store.

Although, when he apologized to her, she was taken aback. What? Why was a Gamatom apologizing to her? Was this some kind of game? He walked into the kitchen and she brushed her hand over the side of her face, wiping away some sweat from when she was dreaming. It was cold, but her face was warm. He came back and put the chair where he had been standing and he sat infront of her.

She could tell he was nervous, for multiple reasons, and she assumed time due the fact that he kept looking at the window. It was getting dark. He probably had a pack he belonged to. They might start looking for him- or he would kill her and go on with the feast of the night.

Her eyes were pressing onto his skin, on his face, as she watched him. She could easily take a scalpel to his skin and neatly cut him open, pressing her eyes into the soft, molded organ pulsing in his skull.

The girl swallowed and blinked when he spoke, speaking about his "pack" or his group. He proved that, to some extent, she was right without prodding.

What surprised her, again, was that he spoke like he wanted to protect it. It was actually sort of... charming. In a pubescent kind of way. He was nervous, maybe shy, but still forthcoming about his intentions. Well, now he was anyway.

Her features grew shocked and curious when he declared that he wanted to see her again. Did he think this was a date? The Gamatoms were more baffling to her than she had foreseen.

He wanted to- no. He needed to see her again. She could see it. She could see it everywhere, inside him, the biological feed pulsing in his bones and in his blood.

A nervous breath exhaled from her pink lips, her hands tightening with the material of her dress seeping out between her fingers. He said he would keep them away. She didn't want them hurting her brother. Her brother- he needed to eat. She needed to take care of him, to keep him safe. But what if she died- who would take care of him then? He would starve to death- she couldn't-

She touched her hand to her head where the migraine was pulsing and her anxiety whirled. She collected some kind of gibberish and felt the air thin when a loud "thud" sounded outside. The girl looked up, at the window. She watched as the orange was beginning to fade.

Without thinking about anything but her brother, she told him, Ok.

Watching the small movements she made, her hands nervously gripping her dress and her lips parting with gentle breaths - things that when seen on other women he normally found completely repulsive - set his heart to beating wildly, his body filled with a warm, electric energy. The urge to touch her came upon him again and he didn't know whether to be relieved or disturbed that the places he wanted to caress the most were her face and to hold her hands in his own. Looking down at her knees however, he swallowed a knot in his throat when a shade of arousal pulsed through him as well.

When he got her answer, again in the form of that floating voice in his head, his face opened up in a small smile, totally unlike the leering expression that normally dominated his face, his anxiety about leaving her eased for the time being. He didn't know what he would have done if she'd declined his offer - he couldn't stay to talk with her further without endangering them both, and leaving at that point would have been a final goodbye - but it pleased him greatly that he'd get a chance to speak with her further.

The smile disappeared like a lightbulb flashing off at the noise from the window, his eyes dilating with a bestial quality as he turned in that direction. His hackles were almost visibly raised as lightning quick he was on his feet and striding towards it, ready to snap the neck of anyone attempting to intrude upon their sanctuary. Peering out through the still open shades, he couldn't see the brothers yet, street lamps below turning on one by one and illuminating quiet sidewalks and the roadways looking like black rivers snaking through the city. He knew they were probably gathering now, waiting for everyone of their group to arrive before setting out. He was going to be late.

Tension filled each and every muscle as he quickly walked back over to the chair, standing with his hands resting on the back of it, placing the wooden frame between them. "I have to go," he said curtly, the boyish joy that had possessed him mere seconds before gone now and replaced by a very grave and businesslike demeanor. "There is an old library not too far from here, with an eagle statue out front - you know it?" he did not wait for her to confirm if she did. "Meet me there, tomorrow morning when the sun has fully gone above the horizon. It'll be safe." The old library was a place he knew would be empty, books tending to fall out of favor these days and the brethren never having a use for them at all. They could be alone to talk.

And that more than anything else was what he wanted from her. Forget the fact that he was feeling insane and acting creepy with someone who would normally be considered food - he didn't know how satisfying the answers to those questions would be. Because in truth, he didn't think she even knew what was happening to him or why. Mostly...he wanted to know about her. Who was she? What were these strange abilities she had? And he also found himself wanting to tell her things about himself, things the brethren would never ask for lack of interest in anything other than sex and murder.

"My name is Cade, by the way..." Their eyes met again and he sighed through his nose, shoulders sagging as he reluctantly backed to the door, stopping at the doorframe. "I'll be waiting for you... and I know, I know it sounds crazy but... please, just trust me. I won't let anything bad happen to you." And then because he couldn't trust himself not to stay there with her forever if he delayed a moment longer, he turned and left, not looking back as he made his way back to the ground level and out onto the street.

As was expected, night wrapping her arms around their forms and enveloping them in seductive embrace, the brothers stood in the street laughing boisterously together recounting the highlights of the day to one another. Like shadows coagulating, Cade joined them along with another who'd come from the opposite direction and they were welcomed with bestial growls and a small burst of brotherly wrestling with slight sexual attributes mixed in with it.

And as if nothing had happened at all, Cade found himself joining them, the thoughts of the day and the unnerving girl he'd met, melting away from him as one of his fellows put an arm around his shoulders and kissed his temple. His thoughts only drifted back briefly when one of the others, Quin, his face and body shadowed heavily in the dark cloak of evening, asked him, "So what has your slovenly ass been up to all day?"

Cade paused for a moment, the smirk on his face frozen as his mind filled with soft images of light skin, white hair and blue eyes like the sky. "Nothing good," he said with a lewd roll of his voice, his tongue dipping out between his lips and an eyebrow lifting suggestively. The others laughed and hollered uproariously at that and they started on their way out into the nightly raid, Cade's smile fading as he glanced over his shoulder back at the apartment buildings where he'd left her.

There was a quietness about the room that she found relieving. She didn't know what it was but she was glad it was there. She heard him get up and check the window. Her eyes shifted to him and caught a glance at his hackles, their aggressiveness obvious. She licked her lips nervously and watched him return to the chair, though he kept it between them.

He described to her one of her favorite places- the library not far from the apartment. She liked to go there when everything was quiet. She loved books and, though she felt guilty, she would take some home and keep them. Books didn't matter these days. Most people considered them unworthy of a human life. No one would own a library or man it properly. The likelihood of being massacred in one was just as high anywhere else- and even less worth it.

She nodded to him and tucked some hair behind her ear, their eyes meeting. He told her his name... Cade. It was boyish at the beginning but it ended in a kind of strength she could not describe. The girl stared into his eyes, as if bearing into the words that he spoke to her at that very moment. She had to trust him.

She watched him walk out, like a shadow seeping through the doorway and being sucked out by the fading light outside, joining the darkness.


Ishu stepped out of the apartment and shut the door. Something on the ground caught her eye and she looked at it. Puzzled, she walked over and picked it up, rolling it to her hand until she found its' face.

A rolling sound came from above her, followed by a loud thud and the crushing of metal. She had stepped back in time to avoid it and, shortly after it landed, she picked it up. Soup. Two cans of soup had followed her. This could mean any number of things, but she would not begin the questioning.

She hurried around the corner of the complex and found her home. She fumbled with keys and got it in, turned it and hurried inside. Ishu set the cans down on the table after locking the door and she went to the bedroom. Her brother was still sleeping, but the bowl of chunky soup was empty. Overjoyed that he ate, she collected the bowl and took it to the kitchen.

She spent the night tending to her brother and soon pondered over the man that called himself Cade.

Dawn nudged him groggily from sleep, nestled and lying naked in the pile of other bodies belonging to his brethren, reluctant to leave their cocoon. Fatigue sagged upon their flesh, soft, sleepy snarls and low, purring growls emitted in warm, plush slumber as many of them cuddled together for heat. Cade disengaged himself from one of the others he'd been snuggled against in the night, the man rolling over in unconsciousness as the missing warmth registered briefly and then faded as he fell back into deep sleep.

Looking around the room, the pile of flesh on what had once been a bed, tangled limbs coiling together in familiarity and comfort, shadows still seeped over everything as the heavy curtains obscured the light of the rising sun. Even so, Cade's eyes could see everything as clearly as if there'd been a light on and he inched slowly away from the bed towards the door, quietly picking up clothes from the floor to wear for the day, unmindful of who they belonged to. A noise caught his attention and he alertly glanced at one of the far corners, his eyes picking out the small shape of a human man huddled there, body naked and bare and trembling in fright as he watched Cade silently leave the room.

Finding a bathroom and shutting himself in, he faced himself in the mirror, the fluorescent light bleaching everything a piercing white. His bare chest, neck and lips were drenched in gore, the dark blood practically black half-dried now and sticky, painting him like a lion just finished feasting. Rubbing a hand over his eyes, he thought again about what he planned to do today, all of what happened yesterday brought into focus once again by what he saw before him. Just like before, he was somewhat scared that he was losing his mind, especially when thoughts of her brought a soft wave of pleasure coursing through his body and heart.

But now there was a different fear... What if it was different today? What if when he met her again...he had the urge to hurt and kill her? Images of her porcelain skin torn to shreds, white hair matted with blood and blue eyes glazed and lifeless like a doll, flashed in his head and for several moments he stood gripping the sink and breathing heavy as nausea wracked through him. God...he couldn't do that... If that happened, he really would go crazy.

Meeting his own dark gaze in the mirror, he turned on the faucet and began to clean himself, splashing water upon his body liberally, seeking to hide the monstrosity of the acts he'd committed in the night, shedding them from himself as the blood was washed away. He couldn't shield her completely from what he was, but he would do the best he could to make sure she never had to see him like that.

Dressing in dark pants and boots with a gray shirt and short, black jacket, he opened the door to leave and came face to face with none other than Quin, who'd also roused himself and stood looking at him with a sleepy yet forceful stare. "You're up early," he said, lazily scratching at the light curled hairs that decorated his chest. "Where are you off to?"

Blood also decorated parts of Quin's muscled body, but there wasn't as much on his face, Quin being one of the more dominant males and particularly neat when it came to killing and feeding. His arms were tattooed completely black from his elbows down to his fingertips, like some odd fleshy gloves and his hair was merely a dusting of peach-fuzz on his shaved head, his yellow-green eyes looking an almost sickly color in the light from the bathroom.

Cade hadn't expected to meet anyone before he left and stood for a few minutes trying not to appear guilty under the other man's gaze, rapidly trying to think of how he was suppose to act and say. Realizing that Quin had no reason to suspect him of anything, he shrugged easily and said with a lazy smile, "Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd go out to find a new toy to play with."

Then with a hand moving smoothly to cradle the back of the other man's neck, he kissed him deeply, Quin's lips welcoming the contact passionately, a low hum escaping his throat heatedly. Their lips disengaged with a wet smack and the blonde man smiled lasciviously at him.

"Have fun and get into trouble," Quin advised with a grin, scratching the back of his head as he wandered back to the bedroom with swaying steps, sleep calling to him like the song of the Pied Piper. Cade waited till the other man was out of sight before letting out a heavy sigh and quickly exiting the bathroom and headed downstairs,making sure to keep quiet so as not to wake anyone else.

The headquarters the pack had selected for themselves was in the richer part of town, a small mansion on the hill, once owned by the mayor before the uprising and surrounded by several acres of fenced in lawn. In the years since they'd taken over, it had fallen into disrepair, the grass outside overgrown and filled with weeds, each room in the large house plastered with the smell of blood, sweat and cum like a psychotic aftershave that would probably never wash off. And the whole place was held together on it's sturdy foundations while the rooms had been reduced to mere skeletons of themselves, upholstery and furnishings destroyed in the playfully destructive whims of the new occupants. Nothing but a nest, holding cells for their sex toys and captives and feeding places where they dragged the bodies of their meals to lay together in clusters of bones and torn clothing.

Dawn had fully ascended by the time Cade made it into the heart of the city, anxiety defining every line of his lithe, muscular form as he sauntered towards the meeting place. Arriving at the library alone, he mounted the steps, warily looking over his shoulders to make sure he was not being followed while also keeping an eye out for his new friend. Taking a deep breath, he opened one of the double doors and entered cautiously, hoping she hadn't been scared off and vanished like a dream.

She hadn't had much sleep that night. She found herself going in and out of dreams- or other realities. Sometimes she wished they were. She was laying on the couch when she thought this, walking through a field of luminescent flowers. She touched one of them with her finger tips, the rainbow colors moving in waves. A breeze made petals dance, flying up into the sky and turning into glass. The girl opened her mouth to sin-

Ishu jerked awake, her breathing slightly labored. She looked over at the door that led to the bedroom where she heard pained grunting. She threw the blanket off of her body and got up, moving into the doorway where she could see her brother. Her hand gripped the doorknob as she watched him choke on a fragment of his dream. His adams' apple rolled and settled under the bandages, where he then calmed and his body sank back into the mattress.

There were no lights on, just the subtle gray that peaked in through cracks during the night, just tears of the somber moon.

She went to him and tucked him in, then kissed his forehead. A spark of pink touched her lips and a flower bloomed, its stem a bright green. The petals were all balled up, a soft glow emitting from it as it opened. The petals remained white but there was something in the middle. She stared into it, her eyes closing in like a telescope on a civilian of some other world. It was beautiful, bright, and filled with- "Acacia."

Her eyes snapped and she looked down at him. He was sleeping. Ishu frowned and touched her forehead before sitting up. His dream...

She turned away from him and walked out of the room, leaving the door barely cracked. She collected her coat from a little storage closet as well as something else. She pocketed some money, just in case, as well as some other items.


She had left the apartment before dawn, probably a little too early before dawn, and made her way to the library. She had gone in through the front doors and found a cozy spot in the middle of an open room. She had a few piles of books sitting around her and a lantern sitting infront of her. Ishu turned a page and continued reading the passage.

Entering through the doors he peered around alertly, his eyes instantly latching onto the lone lantern in the cavernous room, a smile coming unbidden to his lips and his shoulders relaxing at sight of the young woman sitting and reading by herself. Walking into the room, his dark eyes never left her, emotions battling within him for dominance - relief that she'd shown up, and a sense of delight that was a mirror of what he'd experienced yesterday, only renewed and blossoming tenfold now that he laid eyes upon her again. Once more he found her beauty mesmerizing and he walked towards the table where she sat as if entranced.

"Ishu," he said softly, the word causing pleasure to flow through him, followed by the desire to utter it again as she looked up in response. "You came." A raspy laugh left him as he realized he was stating the obvious and he ran a hand through his dark short hair. "Sorry, I just... I was worried I wasn't ever going to see you again."

Unlike yesterday, the apologies he uttered and the shyness that overcame him no longer bothered him, suddenly feeling like natural responses to her presence and even causing him a bit of comfort to act so openly towards her. After hiding what had happened from the brethren all last night and this morning, it was a weight off of his shoulders to be with her like this, not having to worry or lie about what he was feeling. And she didn't seem to mind...

Pulling a chair from another table and sitting beside her, he craned his neck to peer at the book in her hands with curious interest. "What are you reading?" it seemed like such a mundane thing to ask and he was still a bit nervous and excited to be around her. "I must admit, I'm surprised. I didn't think anybody actually read anything anymore. That was why I chose this place - the brothers hardly ever hunt here because people don't usually want books these days." Then a thought occurred to him and he looked at her with a bit of excitement.

"Do you like books? I know where a bunch of others are. I could bring you some next time, if you'd like?" Just a subtle hint that whatever happened today, he wanted to meet with her like this again.

There had been an old library in the mansion and although a lot of the shelves and books had been destroyed, he was sure some of them still survived in an old dusty pile somewhere. Book burning and tearing out the pages of different volumes lost it's novelty for the Gamatoms when living creatures and human toys offered much more pleasurable entertainment. And that was the best part - if he took even ALL of the books they had left there, nobody would miss them. And...it might make her happy to have them.

She heard him coming but did not take her eyes from the pages. She turned another one and read through a paragraph when he stated her name. Ishu looked up at him, her eyes gazing through morphed glass. He was blurred by it so she removed them, folding the glasses and stuffing them into a hard case. The case was slipped into her coat pocket, the coat being a dark color that would hide her better when the moon was out.

Ishu began to close the book carefully with dainty fingers when he sat down beside her and looked over her shoulder. She stopped before closing the book and re-opened it. She was reading the original tale of Red Riding Hood.. It was one of her favorites.

He had asked her is she liked books and she smiled. The thought of simply holding a book made her happy and it was more than evident. Then, when he offered to bring her books, her eyes lit up. She nodded, touching her hand onto his clothed forearm as if confirming that she would, indeed, love to have more books.

Cade was glad he was sitting when she turned to him with that look, her face lighting up with a smile like a star gleaming in the night and making his knees feel weak and his body warm. God...that was beautiful and he found his own lips curving to return the expression, especially when her hand lightly touched his arm, the contact making his muscles burn with a rush of blood in his veins. Glancing at the book she held, he wondered briefly about the irony in the story she was reading, but cast it out of his mind for the moment.

"Fairytales, huh?" he asked with a smile, trying to think over his knowledge of the subject in an attempt to impress her and keep her smiling. "I've always been fond of the one about the guy with the beard who tells his wife not to go into that one room in the house because that's where he keeps the bodies of his previous wives who he murdered, for looking behind the door..." his voice faded as the words left his mouth, the gleeful smile that he'd adopted also quickly vanishing as he realized...that probably wasn't a good story to have chosen as his favorite, considering their circumstances.

With a blush, he shrugged and looked away from her as he murmured, "I mean...I'm probably remembering that story wrong... I don't read very much." Clearing his throat, and seeking to change the subject back to her he said, "If you like reading though, I'll bring some more with me when we decided to meet again...I mean, if."

He glanced down at his hands, trying to think and when he looked back up at her, he smiled easily. "So, you don't talk very much do you?"

Thinking back to how she'd "talked" to him yesterday, his curiosity was piqued again. "That thing you did yesterday...the way I could hear you in my head. Is that...I mean, it seems really odd." Again, he realized saying it like that might embarrass her and he barreled ahead trying to correct himself. "What I meant to say was, it's something I've never encountered before. Have you had the ability for a long time?"

Confidence had abandoned him as he sat close to her, like a drunken man who could not control his tongue and bodily responses. His senses were clouded by her, breathing in hints of her womanly scent occasionally and the desire to feel her hands on him more overwhelming him, even as his own fingers itched to caress her skin. There was the urge to confide in her about this, but the fear that it would scare her away silenced him as he looked her over, blue eyes meeting his in the light of the lantern.

Not really meaning to, he murmured, "You're so beautiful..." the words feeling like the first right thing he'd said to her since meeting her yesterday.

When he told her about one of his favorites, her smile faded and her eyebrows curved to imitate confusion or worry. She understood the meaning the the excerpt, how women should never question the men they are married to, but it certainly wasn't the best choice for a "meeting".

He brought up that she didn't speak much and her eyes moved away from his. He continued, bringing up the words she had managed to project to him. She turned to face the table and touched the corner of another book, fidgeted with the cover by opening it just slightly and closing it again- over and over.

Ishu nodded when he questioned how long she had had her alien-like ability.

Eyes, eyes everywhere. roaming every piece of fabric that had been woven over the many layers of flesh and muscles.

Her thumb slipped, scraping across the back over the cover. A corner of the folded material inside of it stuck under her thumb nail. She opened the book carefully and wiggled her thumb until the book came free and she closed it with great care.

She turn to him as if to say something when his spoke and his words washed over her like curious, blue water. It engulfed her until it seeped into her every pore and soaked the true fabrics that covered her body.

Her lips pressed tightly together, her throat feeling as though it had swollen up. Her hand quaked and jerked off of him, the sensations leaving shortly after. Her lips opened as she gasped, breath spurring down and back out of her. Her expression, after the initial shock, went back to confusion and uncertainty. Is this why he brought her here?

Something was wrong with the way she'd reacted to that, the smile leaving her face and making him feel suddenly lost in darkness and all at once, her hand being removed from him felt like he was being reprimanded for offending her. The "punishment" of such was so extreme in his mind, he was fumbling trying to figure out what he'd done and how he could fix it just so that she'd smile and be at ease again. This nervous, bumbling attempt at conversation wasn't working and he had to admit that partly, it had to do with him not being completely honest with her.

Sitting back in his chair, he let out a breath and shook his head slightly. "I didn't mean to insult you... I'm not used to talking to women, so this is a bit awkward for me." Looking around at the shelves of books that surrounded them on all sides, their lighted table an island in a sea of old pages and texts, he let the calm come over himself again before continuing. "I don't know why, but you're different than the others I've met. I'm sure you're aware of my kind and our tendency to feed on women and normally, it's something I feel constantly, like a storm of hate inside that makes my whole body scream for blood.

"But I don't feel that at all with you... In fact, I find myself attracted to you... I can't explain it but I'm no longer scared of it. I can't ask you to ignore what I am, and it's not something I'm very good at hiding - obviously. But... I would like us to be friends, if you'll let me..."

Hesitantly, he chanced a glance at her, still feeling guilty about her reaction to him just moments before. If she wanted him to leave then, he would, and he'd understand why she'd want it that way. The hope that she'd once again be patient with him and their differences absorbed him as he waited for some sort of response from her.

She rolled her fingers over one side of her forehead as he went on. He stated his anxieties to her, why this was all very strange and what he thought of it. He sounded just as confused as anyone, even the humans when the Gamatoms first started to show up.

If she treated him the way humans did, when they were alone and in large numbers, then she would be better than no one. But, she didn't care about aggression. She was a peaceful person who wanted equality and quiet.

She looked at him. She watched his features and limbs struggle with knowing and accepting the concept that was spouting from his lips and his brain. He felt attracted to her and he didn't know why.

But he wasn't asking her for sex- or her flesh, thank goodness. He was asking for a friend. If it didn't cost her losing a finger or an entire arm, then she didn't see any downside to a friendly relationship with him.

She looked down at his name, her eyes tracing each curve of his knuckles. He looked just like everyone else. He was like everyone else. Maybe... he just lost his way. Maybe Gamatoms thought they were right- but really, they were here for something else?

While she chastised herself for thinking such idealistic and, possibly even, romantic thoughts, she reached out and touched his hand.

Her eyes shifted up until they met his and she smiled. It wasn't as overjoyed and delighted as the one before- but it was friendly and accepting. She would give him the chance at being her friend- and she would be his friend in return.

The touch of her hand left his skin tingling with that pleasurable warmth again and as their eyes met and she gave him a small smile, he instantly relaxed and returned it. Okay. So, she hadn't rejected him. She still wasn't talking and although it made him feel a little frustrated at the gap it put between them, he was willing to work around it. It was a challenge.

And not only that but he had to stop acting like a nervous little boy around her, lest he screwed things up again and scared her off completely. That meant he had to think about what he was saying before just opening his mouth, while at the same time remembering that the truth was probably better than stumbling around the elephant in the room. Even so, he wasn't going to be bringing up violence or his enjoyment of rape anytime soon, and definitely any discussion about food or eating was out of the question. But it was nothing to be nervous about.

Releasing a calm breath, he glanced again at the shelves around them and at the books she had on the table, his face open and curious. "So, I have to be honest with you that I don't hang around books that often. Maybe you could show me around and show me other things you like to read, so I'll know what to bring you?"

He stood from his chair gracefully and offered his arm to her in a gentlemanly gesture as if to escort her through the library. She might not be willing or able to talk, but if she showed him the different things that interested her, it would not only help him get to know her but help break the ice as well.