the water's getting deep, i'm not breathing

[Marguerite]

FOR ROSABELLA!

Sometimes it felt the titanic had fallen on top of her, like she was trapped at the bottom of the ocean. It was so difficult staying cooped up in the complex. She hardly ever got out without someone else following her around. After so many days inside, training and fighting, learning and eating, all on someone else's watch, she just needed to get out. Dante had helped her leave. He always did, because he knew she needed time out. Any sane vampire would know that, but she didn't exactly consider her people sane.

The Viri were her family and the complex was her home. There was no way around it and she'd never deny it. But like any family, they were fucked up and messy. They had issues and problems that seemed like they could never be fixed. Most people would say to leave something that dysfunctional, but regardless of how torturous they could be, how judgmental as they seem, that's where she belonged. She didn't remember anything from before she had arrived in their care. Maybe her name, that was it. Every once in a while she had dreams about two people, a man and a woman putting her to bed, but she figured that had more to do with her yearning for a mother and father than anything else. Marguerite was basically an orphan. She had been "given" to Dante, if that's what you could call it so that someone could take care of her. Though vampires weren't the most warm people, they were fiercely protective of their young, and children were entirely loyal to their parents. She had no parents, only Dante, which at this point was quite enough for her.

The girl held a heavy, flat circular piece of metal in her hand. It was attached to a long thing chain that reached down to above her belly button. On the front was a very elaborate crest with an eagle in the middle. It was rounded on the edges, almost like a coin. She let it go and hang, swaying slightly. Dante had given it to her. It was the only thing that could pull her out of any mood or any frenzy. Just knowing that the man that had raised her was close by was enough for her to want to behave and be better. It was strange, but that was just how it was.

The lake was glistening tonight, but then again it always did. It was the most pristine thing she had ever laid eyes on. The water was something she loved. It reminded her of life itself. Sometimes things were settled and calm. Other times a simple shove could cause a crash of waves. She stood there staring at the moon reflecting on the water. Her mind was drifting somewhere else. This was perfect, just what she needed, fresh air and peace.

That sweet mental state was broken though. Marguerite smelled something, but it wasn't anything like the night two weeks ago when she had encountered a werewolf. No, this was something living and breathing. It was healthy and full. There was nothing wrong with it as far as she could tell, no off heart beat or strange limping. It smelled like a human. Her eyes flew to the side, waiting for something, though she didn't know what. She had never encountered a human alone, other than the girl that had come running her way, but that didn't count. She hoped to god who or whatever it was went the other way. Marguerite didn't know how well she'd be able to control herself. She took hold of the medallion and squeezed it tightly.

[rose]

The moon shone it's pale face upon the world below it as darkness over took the earth. Rose, in all her dark haired, green eyed, petite glory, suddenly felt minuscule in grand scheme of things. For quite sometime she had been hiking, crawling through brush in search of some adventure. Despite living in Salcea for two years Rosabella had barley experienced or seen the place. Life had consisted of work and home, a once never ending cycle until, of course, the frail creature she considered dear to her heart passed on to a 'better place'. Honestly that term befuddled this slight young woman. What was it supposed to mean? Truly who really knew if it was such a 'better' place, for all anyone knew it could be terrible or nothing at all. Moments like this, strands of thought like this, plagued Rose. However these dark, dismal thoughts never seemed to phase her, never seemed to change her. For some bizarre, seemingly unnatural, reason she had the ability to separate emotion from thinking, which explained why thinking of the recently deceased matriarch of her family did not cause a twinge of sadness to break through.

This did not mean Rose did not care for the woman, because she did, greatly, it just seemed that her thoughts were entirely disconnected from any other portion of her being. Said explanation made more than enough sense, her mind was a fortress, a land all its own, and a place not even Rosabella fully understood. A low branch made swift contact with the young woman's cheek quite literally snapping her back from another one of her moments of being side tracked. It was then that Rose saw what she had been headed for all a long, minus her few side trips and breaks. The light from the bright moon reflected off of the water, slicing through the darkness even more than it had through the tree canopy. The legends, myths, and rumors surrounding the 'Lacul' all flooded her mind and suddenly Rose could fully comprehend why this place could uphold such fantasy. In that moment she could practically see the vision of the myth. Cold, pale monsters rising from the water, droplets cascading from them like rain on a windshield, their teeth barred, eyes as fathomless as the water's depths. Wild, unpractical mind could imagine the screams of unsuspecting victims as the pale monsters dragged them below the water line, barley leaving a ripple in their wakes.

This place was wild, feral, and undeniably gorgeous. Instinctively Rose pushed passed the remaining brush, green eyes wide with imagination and disbelief. This place was untouched, unreal, the closest thing to myth she'd come in her life time and rather than fear or uncertainty a sense of astonishment and thrill raced through her veins. Full, red, lips spread into a grin and before she knew it Rose was removing her t-shirt revealing a thin tank top. The fearless girl had all intentions of doing something she was sure many hadn't done in quite some time; swim. Okay sure she was a bit crazy, possibly even bi polar in the way she went from astonishment to 'hey lets take a dip, at night, alone', but anyone who knew Rose would not be in disbelief of her actions. No she'd done worse, far more unexpected things. Slipping her feet from her shoes, fingers straddling the top button of her jeans in excitement Rose suddenly realized she wasn't alone. Peripheral view detected something as well as instinct and as quickly as she'd started to, more or less, undress she stopped and turned her head.

Standing there was a girl, young and beautiful. Pale cheeks turned bright red and a sheepish, embarrassed giggle escaped her. Well this is wonderful. nothing like striping for a unsuspecting stranger. Rose thought trying to find something to say to the now awkward moment. "Uh..hi? Umm...alo? Please tell me you speak English? Uh...umm..." mind struggled to remember what little Romanian she knew, "Uh...Engleză?". Well this was going wonderful, nothing like meeting someone new and nearly quite literally baring your all. On the bright side if she doesn't speak English I'll know how to take her order the thought brought an unwanted chuckle to her lips, just adding insult to injury. Rose couldn't even begin to explain what she was doing, never mind in a foreign language...

[Marguerite]

She looked away from the thing she could sense, hoping that if she pretended it wasn't there that everything would be better. But she could hear the person getting closer, moving swiftly to the lake, at least as swiftly as a human could move. She knew it was a human now because though they were lightweight, they still made a ton of noise when they moved. That was one thing humans lacked, was the ability to hide themselves from predators. They were lucky they lived in such large and strong communities or they'd no longer be considered the top of the food chain in their lovely ignorant world. The closer the human got, the more she could tell about it. It was a woman or a girl. She was wearing something that smelled sweet, which made her think she was probably older. It was something that a younger woman would wear though. The girl had healthy heart and body. She knew this because she didn't smell foul or dirty.

It was the heart that Marguerite focused on however. It beat nice and slow, like a human heart should. It thumped in a strong, even and perfect pattern. That sound was music to her ears. She forgot what she was doing for a moment as she closed her eyes and listened to the fantastic sound. There was nothing like it on the face of the earth. All she could think about was consuming that beat, letting it wash over her tongue in a deliciously hearty rhythm.

Something interrupted her fantasy. The girl was speaking to her in a foreign tongue, but it was one she partially understood and could speak. They did teach her languages thankfully. That was one thing she thought they had correctly done in her curriculum. At least she'd be able to have a somewhat normal conversation with the girl, but it wasn't conversation that she wanted. It'd be a miracle if she got in even a short conversation before something terrible happened.

"Uh...Engleză?" Her eyes fell on her. She was partially undressed and that aroused Marguerite to an unimaginable extent. It wasn't sexual, but there was something that connected her feeding to the pleasure centers of her brain. The sight of all that exposed flesh was more than she could handle. She had to bite tongue and clench her fists, repeating in her head that she could not and would not touch the girl.

What was nice for Marguerite was that she was so young and beautiful. Everyone trusted her. She'd never have any problem finding food with the way she was. No one would suspect a lovely young lady to be a cold blooded killer.

"Yes." Marguerite answered her with a very thick accent. She'd spoken Romanian all her life, and maybe some French and German, but never English. English was entirely different and was a very ugly language if you asked her. She let out a heavy breath and turned all the way to face the girl. Her eyes slowly examined her body again. While she was small, she was just the right size for Marguerite. There was something beautiful about this body. It was perfect. And the girl's face. It was so unique and priceless, like fine art. It would be a shame to destroy something so lovely. Too bad that didn't matter as much as being full to a creature like her.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" She asked her, but the girl didn't know any better and could turn that question right back on her. Marguerite felt herself draw closer to her prey. Control yourself. She told herself. She didn't realize how fast she had gotten right in front of the girl until she was there, standing but three feet away. "Hm? Do you not know any better? You are not a child after all?" Maybe this would offend her enough to make her want to get away from Marguerite.

[/color][/size]

[rose]

This young being was gorgeous, more so than probably any super model. Instantly Rose felt inadequate in every way. It was an odd feeling for her, to feel bad about herself, about something so superficial as appearance. That was something, truthfully, the young woman never considered. Sure fashion was a thing to dabble with, but looks, real looks, like the shape of her body or the color of her eyes? It just never occurred to her that it mattered, but in the presence of this person whom Rosabella was sure was the closest goddess looking person in history... well lets just say her blush deepened ten fold. Caught up in the sight of the young thing before her Rose nearly yanked her clothes on and fled, but the thought of that pure water before her stopped the notion and allowed for her natural observant behavior to set in.

For some strange reason the girl looked as if she were upset, angry, almost as if she was fighting something. No that's absurd.. Rose thought hastily, a sharp breath escaped her, she hadn't realized she was holding her breath. Finally the girl, still up tight spoke, but the words didn't register. There was just something inherently odd, almost wrong, no, unnatural about her. Aside from the girl's beauty there seemed to be something more. This girl was far different from anyone Rosabella Marionette March had ever witnessed. No. That was foolish, this person was young and beautiful, end of story. Nothing more, nothing less. Still the notion of something not quite right about the stranger couldn't help but stick in Rose's mind. Oh hell I've been staring haven't I? "Shit!" she spoke under her breath before she could think, hand flew to her mouth, half praying she hadn't offended the girl. "Oh! I'm sorry! Umm..." for a moment the dark brunette was stunned. Suddenly her mind shifted and Rose recalled the girl's seemingly hostile words. Who the hell was this girl?

"Sorry. I'm so spacey sometimes! I came here for fun, had to check out the lake, see if those silly stories were true." a light laugh escaped her before she continued on, "Guess my curiosity got the best of me... and before you ask I didn't see you there before I started stripping. See I didn't bring a suit and just decided to take a dip...without one...", well this is going well. Okay so for once Rose was pressed for what to say, how to explain herself, something normal she was so well at. No doubt by the end of it this girl would think she was nuts, just like half the population. Then again it was a chance Rose had no choice but to take.

The obvious soon came to mind, "So. Might I ask why you're here? Are you lost? Please don't think I'm trying to be condescending, but wont your parents be worried?", genuine concern back Rose's words. Really, where were these girl's parents? Surely they didn't let their young, beautiful go off alone, in the woods, at night, where who knows who could sweep her up? Or did they? Or perhaps this girl was just like her; curious and bold. Honestly Rose was sort of feeling old, but then again in the presence of this girl she was sure the average person would. God I feel like a fruit cake right now, I have to be out of my trees! Ms. March always seemed to amaze even herself with the odd, often embarrassing, situations she could get herself into. Then again life wouldn't be fun if it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable from time to time. Sure the moment of discomfort wasn't exactly the best. Somehow it was a little exhilarating, even, very slightly, a little fun. Okay perhaps that was a rather loose interpretation of the word, but little miss silver lining always made the best of things, didn't she?...