Bright Lights and Dark Deeds

[Erato]

"Don't you ever sleep?"A voice chided as the office began to fill with people after a few hours of near hallowed silence. The only people who had filled it's interior during the time most in the department were laying in bed next to loved ones and trying to dream about things not involving death had been a lone female working at her computer and the custodial crew.
"Sure I do."The female in question replied with a slight upturn of her lips as she reluctantly tore her eyes from the screen to stare at the middle-aged woman holding two cups of coffee in her hand and dressed in 'business casual'. Or as Michelle liked to call her, 'Soccer Mom Executive.'
"You were there at the computer when I left at five yesternight, have you moved at all? Have you eaten?!"The older of the two harped with her now free hand on her hip and eyes glowering down at the asian woman sitting at her desk.
"I moved..a little."Michelle replied meekly as she sipped her coffee and inwardly sighed with relief. Caffiene was a gift from the Gods in her opinion and she'd been in sore need of some. But that's why she adored Majorie so much. Always knowing who needed a refill on coffee, a bite to eat or even a kind word when nerves were worn thin. Michelle had seen her tackle a grieving family in the deepest pits of despair and five minutes later, talk a hostile ex-husband out of doing something extremely stupid.
"Moving fingers while typing doesn't count. You know if Sanderson knew you had been here all night, he'd blow an artery. Go outside, get some air. The case will still be here when you get back. I'm the one who has to listen to that man bitch when I file all the hours away to payroll."Majorie huffed in mock annoyance, pulling the chair out and pointing to the office door. Slowly, Michelle got up out of her chair and skittered towards the door and was greeted by a blast of cold air and early morning sun.
Tristan would likely be arriving soon, and maybe then she could sneak back in and get back to work. The latest case to come across their desk stumped her and she hated hitting the proverbial wall. Two murders, the victims were members of Humans for Humanity, a hate group that lobbied against vampire owned businesses and urged to reinstate 'Varmant' laws, which would give any citizen legal right to hunt lycanthropes.
According to the report, the victims were killed by vampires and though they showed signs of bite marks and draining, the wounds seemed wrong. Far too messy even for a new vampire and yet, where did all the extra blood go if not in a vampire's belly? And the Master of the City's decree that any members of HH that were found near his residence would be dealt with severely only made things worse.
The sight of the sun rising made all of those hours she'd spent reading and reviewing tapes and pictures all come to a head and she finally wilted a yawn before sipping her coffee. "I was feeling fine until I came out here.."She groused to herself, glancing at her reflection in the office window and trying to straighten out her hair.
Even though she looked like something that stepped out of Seven Samurai, Michelle concidered herself more American than anything else. Even if she hadn't come to the states until she was a small girl. Her mother had wanted her to be a doctor or a housewife, but even as an infant, she followed in her father's direction and showed more interest in playing cops and robbers than dolls growing up. Now that she was pushing twenty-eight, her mother feared that she'd never recieve grandchildren from her oldest.
Another yawn and she shook her head while stamping her feet to get the blood moving through her body once more. Maybe she'd shock her partner and suggest an early lunch as she took another sip of her coffee.

 

[xWickedBlackLace]

Tristan yawned as he entered the double doors at the entrance of the building's lobby. Sleep had been something scarce lately, but it was to be expected with this job. At the very least he had more energy than that of his human days. As he mused that thought a small flash of white showed with a toothy grin, inhuman fangs flashing briefly. Inhuman mahogany eyes were weak and weary. Dark black hair was tied back, reaching just between his shoulderblades. A few shorter strands fell in his face, giving his eyes a small level of intimacy that he couldn't possibly achieve otherwise, as weary as he was. At least, not until the caffeine was circulating his system, pumping through his veins at its normal level. Caffeine was a common commodity in the office, but his damned metabolism needed an abundance of it. Between Michelle and Tristan the amount of caffeine intake daily was scary. He took his black too. Highest of concentration. No sugar.

As he headed up to Michelle's office, he realized he was sort of on autopiolet today. Though, he knew it wasn't going to be an issue once he was in Michelle's company. She had enough energy and was active enough to keep him on his feet. Luckily Tristan himself had an active personality and could keep up with the most prestegious detective in the agency. It did, however, take far more effort than he liked to put forth. More so than he would have liked to admit.

Michelle seemed a bit caught up in her relection when he first started watching her. She was a lovely little number, he couldn't help but notice. Instinctively his gaze seemed to flare to life as soon as his eyes rested upon her image. The Lycan placed a gentle knock on the door as he drew in his last leisurely breath. The rest of the day would be deticated to his partner, murders, and homicides.

"You're just wasting company time trying to look pretty." he teased as he watched her play with her hair. He was still, almost eerily so. The wolf in him often poked through his human facade and did things the normal human body wasn't capable of doing.

Watching her body language for a few moments, he realized she was probably trying to become warm. "I have a few propositions for you, you know? To get you all nice and warm." He couldn't help but flash her a handsome grin.

Crossing the room, breaking his still stance, he loomed over her. He took a sip of his coffee and waited for her to propose the day's adjenda. Walking closer to her, he glanced over her shoulder scoping her desk for any sign of paperwork. Standing at 6'3", it was pretty easy to do as his lean, muscled body towered over her.

 

[Erato]

Deciding to slip back up to her office when an opportunity presented itself, she moved to the window and let the sun filter in while resting her cup on the window sill.
Taking her hair down and readjusting the ponytail, she very nearly jumped when Tristian made his debut and sauntered in with the same stride that reminded her that her partner was no longer human.
"You really shouldn't stand so still like that."She admonished him as she turned to face him, still looping her hair through the tie while almond-shapped eyes cut here and there to take in all six foot three stature before they rolled in response to his offer to warm her.
"You should be neutered.."She muttered under her breath, knowing his preternaturally sensitive hearing would catch those words before turning her attention back to the computer where the pictures taken from the murder scene she'd been obsessing over all night waited.
"I was here all night going over witness accounts and statements from HH, and I think we should go back to the scene. I can't think of any vampire so stupid as to walk into that group's headquarters. Not unless they were sent by someone."She mused, chewing her lower lip while he towered over her. Normally she didn't like being so close to people, preferred to keep a distance but Tristian was different. She trusted him with her life and then some as she liked to put it to people. Both worked in sync with one another like a pair of dancers.
"Plus, we should definately take an early lunch."She added, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head as she straightened and moved from the desk to retrieve her cup. "I ..may have forgotten dinner last night."She admitted with a bit of a laugh. She had a nasty habit of forgetting a lot of things when work held her attention captive.

 

[xWickedBlackLace]

Tristan grinned at the way her body reacted when she was frightened. However, it was not only her mannerisms that extracted the grin from his lips. A sick sort of pleasure was derrived from being the one to scare the shit out of her. There was nothing quite like using his more animalistic qualities against his partner. However, if anybody else did so he would have to pick a fight. Assert his dominance, protect her honor. He was the only one allowed to make her petite body twist and writhe with fear though in the most playful sense of the word.

"God damn, woman. Another all nighter?" He tried to resist the urge to make another sexual crack and keep the conversation to a serious business level. He failed miserably. "At this rate I'm going to have to start taking you home with me. At least then if you don't get any sleep you'll be having a damned good time. In the unlikely event you don't end up *nuetering* me by the end of our careers." He cleared his throat, adding another cocky comment. "And trust me. You don't want to nueter me. You'll be at the mercy of the pretty little number that lives next door from me." Michelle probably knew there was no such woman, but he indulged himself anyway.

He listened to her words, mulling over every Vampire he'd ever run into. There wasn't any he could think of with enough gall either. "Hey, if you've been here all night and you're still stumped...so am I. You and I just might have to go out and do some investigating on our own." he suggested taking another very long sip of coffee. As he withdrew the cup from his lips, he grinned again. "We can pick up lunch and discuss where we're going."

With a long pause his gaze flickered towards her...concern flashing in that mahogany gaze of his. "You had time between dinner and breakfast to eat something, so I have little sympathy for you, miss." That was a lie. He was very concerned for her. An obvious lie, but a lie nonetheless. "Couldn't you at least have a midnight snack? Do I need to get you a mini fridge and a cot? You can fuck over criminals, but you can't carry out basic survival skills? Like sleep and eat?" He had already eaten breakfast, but his appetite was insatiable some days.

 

[Erato]

Having a lycanthrope for a partner was a blessing and a curse rolled all into one. On the one hand, his hightened senses had aided them more than once since his infection, not to mention his strength. Nothing quite said, 'I want answers' than when the charming man you stood next to benchpressed a car just to prove a point.
On the other hand, his predatory nature made her uneasy, which in turn seemed to excite him even more; like waving a tasty morsel of meat in front of a very, very hungry puppy. And right now, she felt like the choicest piece of meat being laid out before a starved wolf before she skittered away from him and paused mid-sip when he turned that mahoganny gaze in her direction.
"I'm afraid so."She smiled softly in response to exclamation about her pulling another all nighter if only to roll her eyes when he spoke of taking her home and of other women allegedly in his life. "I'm sure you say that to all the overachievers."She teased him back, finally resuming that sip she'd been distracted out of taking while he brought them back to focus on the task at hand.
"I'm wondering if the group didn't decide to stage a murder scene to stir up old hate."Michelle mused out loud at length, setting her cup down on the desk and supporting her chin on her hand. "Though we won't know for sure until forensics tells us for certain what the wounds were made with and how the blood was extracted. Seems quite stupid to go that far all because of hate."She snorted, shaking her head.
"I guess we're at a stalemate until we get results from the lab. I guess we could go drive out to the crime scene again and poke around, see if we missed anything?"She suggested with a bit of a shrug, hating to hit the proverbial wall. Likely it was something obvious that was glaring right up at them but they weren't seeing it for some reason.
"Oh Tristian.."She laughed when he lectured her about her lack of basic survival skills.
"I guess I'm no different than you sometimes."A grin tugging at her lips as she winked impishly. "Once I get a hold of a bone, I just can't stop gnawing on it."

 

[xWickedBlackLace]

As his senses had grown more keen, he'd been able to hone in on her feelings and reactions a bit better than before. As she skittered away, he could feel the slightest bit of nervousness emanate from her blood. Tristan was still extremely aware of the blood that carried this emotion through her veins and the warmth drove his senses wild with ravenous hunger. It was easy to sedate today, but some days he would have to remove himself from her presence for a few moments. However, today he chose to deal with her discomfort by cracking a joke in her general direction. Perhaps to make her squirm just a bit more. God, he loved to be the one to make her squirm. "You know, Michelle, if you would just let me devour you sexually, I may never again have the urge to do so carnivorously."

One of the small things that Tristan did to make himself seem more human was, he wore a thing chain around his neck. It was a dulled silver, perhaps constructed of a lead based metal instead so it wouldn't harm him. By a long shot, he hoped that if anybody in the agency rose suspicion on his Lycanthropy they would think twice with all the "silver" he wore...He knew it was sort of a silly thought. Perhaps he was thinking too far into things.

His partner moved away from him, but it made him move a bit closer to her. He crossed the room behind her and leaned against the windowsill while he casually sipped on his coffee. He knew how fast her blood was pumping....and he wished she would just stop doing that. It only made matters worse. "I don't know, is it really that ridiculous if you're trying to draw attention to yourself?" he asked, then turned his gaze over his shoulder to watch the happenings outside of the building as he spoke. It was almost difficult not to look at her when he spoke, but he'd had his fair share of fun for the morning. Her pulse had to stop racing if this was going to be easy for the both of them. That was the downside of fucking with her head. If he did it too much, it made her too nervous...and appetizing. Well...not that she wasn't always appetizing in some form or another. The thought made a slow grin spread across his features as he turned his mahogany gaze back to meet her form once more. Whether or not she looked back, it was always a pleasure. It didn't help chase the grin from his face, but instead made it worse.

As expected, she threw him a bone joke...but he dodged it. He resisted any urge to make a joke about boning her. Though his obnoxiously blatant sexual nature disliked the fact. Still, he couldn't help but grin at the wit she held. He always kept his mind working...

...in some form or another.

 

[Erato]

Most women would have melted at the sight of those eyes turned upon them with all their mischief and humor pointed in their direction. That toothy grin that made one thing of things that belonged behind closed doors and underneath tangled sheets while screaming four letter words to a deity that may or may not even exist.
And then there was her; She'd love nothing more than to playfully keep up the banter, make the game last awhile or even deep down, take him up on his offer to explore all the things he claimed he could make her do, would do to her. Were not for the fear that always lingered like some uninvited guest ready to crash the party at a moment's notice.
"Seems a bit too much if you ask me."She replied, pretending to be rummaging through drawers for something. Anything to look busy. Anything to keep from staring at his backside as he stared at the window. Anything to just make it seem like she wasn't ready to scream and run away from him. Running would only make the wolf within want to chase and she didn't want to risk triggering the real predatory nature of her partner, even if it wasn't at night and a full moon.
Oh, the banter was funny, made her laugh and smile but it was a smile that never quite reached her eyes but seemed to always die somewhere else before reaching such a destination. "I'm going to go powder my nose or whatever the cliche is. Then we can go hit the pavement."She announced, walking as calmly as she could for the door of the office and soon walking past Majorie who was already taking calls and notes for one of the many officers in the unit. A few other individuals lifted their heads as she passed by to nod in greeting to her while on their phones or hastily jotting something down as they settled in for the day.
Once she reached the women's room, she turned the faucet on and splashed cold water on her face as though to freshen and perk herself up. She'd take a few moments to wash her face, her neck so as to give her a refreshed appeareance before tackling the world. And hopefully prevent their superior, Mark Sanderson, from being suspicious of her not going home. Not like he wouldn't know when he looked at her hours but at least she could hopefully pull the wool over his eyes for a little while.

 

[xWickedBlackLace]

There were times he would trade in his more primal aspect just to have back the way she used to look at him. It didn't take much to push those dark thoughts back. The last thing he needed was it to peak through and be used against them. Not that he would make the deal if it were offered to him, because being able to protect her was much better than being able to stand in a room with her without making her uncomfortable.

Without realizing he was doing it again, he froze. Still and stealthy, but there was nothing to pounce at the moment. Simply, he stared off into another direction while he listened to her present her doubts on his small theory. He had no real reply. They would have to venture out into the streets of Vegas to further investigate. His gaze snapped quickly towards her when she announced she needed to dismiss herself. He felt a vague bout of disappointment.

"Sure, sugar." He gave that wolfish grin, that couldn't be controlled. A slight bare in the fangs with the grin, but he let her walk away without any further teasing. She probably needed to do so to get away from the beast in him that was peering beyond it's human barrier all morning.

Yawning, his train of thoughts grew a little less serious. It was hard to keep him thinking negatively for too long. He sauntered over to where Majorie was working and leaned against her desk, feeling in a very playful mood while he waited for Michelle to emerge from the washroom.

"Hey momma." he offered her a playful, handsome grin.