Reunion of the Troublemakers [Xylia]

[Adley Reed]

OOC: Backdated - 23rd November, 2015

<Xylia> Xylia entered the Casino and walks around the place before settling herself on a comfy black leather sofa in a dark corner, away from prying eyes. Her blue-grey hues spies on the table furthest from her. They were playing a game of what she guessed to be blackjack and the single player and dealer were locked in a cunning gaze. Taking her attention to the table in the middle of the room, a group of players held cards in their hands and looked at each other with a straight face with the occasional smirks. Xylia had no idea how casino games work, she had never played them but they certainly looked fun enough that she wanted to learn them.

She shifts her gaze over to the bar at the opposite side of the room and spots a bunch of old and young drunkards, some who were making out heatedly with their companions. She scrunches her nose in disgust. Her new vision was turning out to be an awesome asset for spying though it would be best if she avoided views that were directly opposite a hotel if she wanted to keep her sanity.

The fledgeling slouches in the corner, bored already. She had came in here thinking she might get something interesting but guess she was wrong.


<Adley Reed> The camera was at home. Adley wasn’t working tonight - he was taking the night off. He’d taken quite a few nights off, really, in order to get used to his new self. It had been an accident. There’d been a certain kind of consent between himself and his sire - it felt so strange calling her that, and Adley vowed never to do it. There had been no consent for her to turn him, but it was an accident that neither of them had anticipated. In the heat of the moment, they just happened to go a little too far.

It was a good story, really. Adley couldn’t help but smile whenever he thought about it.

But Abelle wasn’t here, and he wanted to make a little money. He couldn’t say that he was an expert at Casino games, but he did okay. He was at the Roulette table, watching the white ball bounce over all the random numbers; he’d had a few small wins. Nothing major. But it looked like he was about to lose everything that he had gained. The white ball landed on number right beside the one he had chosen, and he shouted in dismay. His chips were taken away, and in order to play anything else, he’d have to go get some more.

Maybe he should just try some of the slot machines. He started to saunter toward the pokies when a face caught him off guard. A girl, out of the corner of his eye. Someone who looked familiar but evaded memory - just by that tiny fraction. He walked backwards until he was standing right in front of her, staring, his eyes narrowed. For a few seconds he said nothing. Until he decided to just ask the question.

“Do I know you?”



<Xylia> The table where little white ping pong like balls were bouncing around on a spinning top had caught the shadow’s attention. She was watching how the game was played figuring things out on her own when a player, a male around her age let out a shout, appalled at his apparent loss as his chips were taken away by the dealer. He leaves the table heading in the direction where she had found out chips could be exchanged for money.

Was this how people grew obsessed with the game? She could only wonder and watch on to find out more about this interesting aspect of the mortal mind since she never had the chance to experience it. Not that she wanted to after seeing where this people ended up. Debts piled higher and higher for those who were lost in the sea of dangerous games that was the casino, she observes.

Xylia was brought out of her train of thoughts by the same male who had lost the game of Roulette. He had asked a question that if speculated would say that he had seen her around before or maybe even suggested they were acquainted. The shadow eyes the male in front of her warily.

“And where would you possibly know me from?” She ask.

Now that she thought about it, he did seem sort of familiar but she could not remember where she had seen him before. She could list a few though like, the MMA Clubs, street fights, etc.


<Adley Reed> Adley didn’t hesitate to drop down into the chair opposite the girl. The curiosity had got a hold of him, and he wasn’t going to let it go. Some vague hint of a memory from his past - something long gone, the memories wafting, drifting like tendrils of smoke that he couldn’t grasp, even if he tried. He wasn’t shy. He wasn’t awkward. He was entirely confident in himself and his own reason for being there - his rights to question this person who may or may not be a stranger. Maybe she just looked like someone he used to know. Maybe he didn’t know her at all. But he was going to sit with her until he found out, one way or another. At least it kept him from losing any more money.

“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “What’s your name?” he asked. He even offered his hand over the table - a hand that would be cold. Cold as death. Cold as his pallid features. At least being a mulatto, his skin wasn’t as deathly pale as it could be. But there was still something death-like about his skin, his eyes a little too bright, his lips a little too pale.

“Adley Reed…” he said, offering up his name as if it might give some clue.


<Xylia> The fledgeling continued to view the happenings going on behind the male as he plops into the chair opposite her. He certainly wasn’t a shy one, and he definitely wasn’t going to leave her alone until he had his answers, was what she had been able to read off his body language.

When he asked for her name, Xylia had to pause and contemplate whether she should reveal her mortal name or give him the one she went by presently. Then again if she did give him the current one, he would certainly not know who she was since she had not existed until a few weeks ago. What was the point in this conversation then? Making up her mind, she tells him her chosen identity.

“Xylia” She told him. Just in case he was a threat that would reveal her past which by right should no longer exist and thus, effectively disobeying the vampire’s secrecy code.

When he revealed his name, it sparked an interest in her mind.

“Adley…” It sounded familiar, she turned her full attention to him looking him up and down for some form of a clue to who he might be to her.


<Adley Reed> Xylia. It wasn’t a name that Adley recognised. That was the kind of name someone could never forget. Adley had to assume, then, that he had been wrong and that this girl was not someone he knew; couldn’t be. She was, indeed, just someone who looked like someone he might once have known. Maybe she had a resemblance to someone famous, and his mind was just playing tricks on him.

He nodded as she repeated his name. “Yeah. Nice to meet you, Xylia. I don’t think we’ve met. Sorry for the intrusion,” he said, and just like that he was standing again. Maybe it had something to do with the way he was turned; the fact that he was full of caffeine, maybe. Maybe his brain had frozen in that state of restlessness, but he was a man who couldn’t stop moving. Once he had made a decision, he stuck with it. And he had decided that he had made a mistake, and this girl surely thought he was insane.

So he nodded once again as he started back on the same path he had left - directly for the pokies, where he would spend the last of the cash that he had in his wallet. Because why not?


<Xylia> She could not seem to let go of his name that was echoing in her head like a mantra. It sounded so familiar...

“Wait! Do you know Kristi Zaleski?” She asked before she could stop herself.

Xylia froze, startled at her own outburst. Oh well, what’s done is done. She would figure out how to deal with him later on. She relaxes and watches Adley’s expression for any signs of recognition from her mortal name. What was the possibility that he did know her? Considering she moved around a lot during her time as a mortal, the chances were pretty high. If he did, she could probably say she had known the mortal? It wouldn’t hurt to tell a white lie right?


<Adley Reed> Adley paused as he was told to wait. The name was called out, and he had to turn around and narrow his eyes. His hands still shoved in his pockets, he thought about it. The name did indeed ring a bell, but he had to sift through his memories to try to find why he thought he knew it.

He sauntered back over toward the table, though he didn’t sit back down again. He was as relaxed as any man could be - talking to strangers, obviously, didn’t phase him. If this girl was indeed a stranger.

His eyes widened and his mouth curled into a grin, finally, as he nodded. “Yes! I think I just called her Zaleski, though…” he said. It was a hard name to forget. “I used to skip class when I was twelve. Used to get cigarettes from my cousins… convinced her to join me beneath the hockey bleachers to smoke them,” he said. A passing face in a crowd of faces. That’s what life was like though, right? People come and go. Who the **** knows what happens to them, in the end?

“You her?”


<Xylia> Xylia gazed at him in thought as she recalled the boy she had nicknamed Ad. Great, he did indeed know her. Her blue-grey hues explored his features seeing the resemblance now to the boy she used to skip classes with. She had been 10? when she met him. It was from him that she learned the benefits of smoking, fortunately she never got hooked onto it, but would sneak a smoke on the occasion of being stressed out now and then.

‘She’s dead.’ She replied inwardly but on the outside replied differently.

“Nope, I knew her though. Many said we looked alike.” She lied naturally as she gazed out at the crowd once again.

“So, you taught a little girl to smoke?” She questioned with an amused glint in her eyes.

The brunette had never really thought back to when she started smoking and who had taught her how to. She remembered choking and coughing terribly on her first inhale and had the urge to puke but didn’t which made her feel worse. It soon went away though and then she was inhaling the smoke as if she had done it for years. The thought alone amused her. A 12 year old boy teaching a 10 year old to smoke. This just goes to show how things were never normal with her mortal life.


<Adley Reed> Adley narrowed his eyes at the girl; now that he put the name to the face he could have sworn that she was the girl he had known. But, for whatever reason, she didn’t want to admit to it. Either that, or she was telling the truth. Either way, Adley was a restless soul. It might have been interesting to catch up with that girl who he had only known in that small part of the primary school, whom he had never seen outside of school grounds. They had never had a glass together due to the age difference, and had no other reason to be seen together. He laughed.

“No. I didn’t teach. I offered, she took,” he said with a shrug. He wasn’t going to push the matter. If this was indeed Zaleski, then she didn’t want to be known. She didn’t want to reconnect. So what point was there in pushing, or hanging around?

“Nice to meet you, Xylia. Say hello to Zaleski if you see still see her around,” he said, giving a small wave before, again, heading toward the pokies.


<Xylia> His eyes told her he did not believe her but said nothing about it. She nodded in response to his farewell and watched him go with contemplative eyes. She didn’t know how else she could continue the conversation without being suspicious so she left it be.

Although he had been a pretty trustworthy boy when they were younger, she could not be sure about that now. People changed. Maybe if she could find a sign that he was still that trustworthy guy she knew, she would consider revealing the truth to him. It would be nice having a familiar face around, after all she wasn’t living that mortal life where she had to constantly be on the run anymore. It had been 2 years prior to her meeting Adley that her life took a dangerous twist. She could not afford to stay in one place for more than a year lest the people that were tracking her would find her.

She remembered meeting Adley on her second day at the new school she was enrolled into by her brother who just wanted to put her somewhere so he would have her out of his way. Looking back, she fails to see the difference seeing as either way he was hardly home. She had been trying to avoid a weird girl who kept following her around during lunch break when she found Adley beneath the hockey bleachers, smoking. He offered her one and she rejected him, deciding to just sit with him until the weird girl gave up on following her. The next time he offered, she had been a little stressed up and seeing how convincing he looked, she took one and that was how they became friends. A smile graced her lips at the memory.

As Xylia continued to watch her childhood friend of sorts, she found something about him felt off, as if he weren’t simply a mortal. Could it be? Was he the same… kind as her? She watched him closely trying to identify signs that would give her the answers she wanted.


<Adley Reed> There’d be a few things that might give Adley away, if one were to watch closely. Unfortunately (he thought) he hadn’t yet shown signs of any powers or abilities that would allow him to win extra at the games. The things he had learned so far were mainly to do with his own gains - he didn’t have to feed from live prey, even though he liked to. He could boost his own blood. He could bury himself underground, though he didn’t like to do that, either. He liked to be clean. He could heal others. And thrust death onto the unwary. None of this much helped in the Casino.

But, other bloodrinkers might be able to pick up on the signs. The fact that he was a necromancer, and there was a pale sheen to his skin. Even though his skin was olive-coloured, there was still a pastiness to it. Although his eyes were bright, his lips liked to crack, and his cheeks almost looked hollow. He had no heartbeat. He didn’t have to breathe. He did not radiate warmth, like a human might. Hell, he wouldn’t smell like food.

Some of these things he’d picked up about Xylia - the girl who claimed not to be the girl he once knew. Regardless of whether or not he assumed she was one of his own kind, he moved on anyway. He’d discovered that vampires were numerous in this city, and they weren’t much to get excited about.

And there wasn’t much to get excited about in regards to Adley’s actions, either. He meandered amongst the pokie machines until he found one that he liked - it was Safari themed, and reminded him of home - those short, dream-like memories that he had of his childhood, before he was moved to Canada. He sat down on the little stool and fed the coins into the slot - the machine came to life, and he pulled the lever.

[Xylia]

<Xylia> When she focused on him and cleared her mind of the surrounding sounds, the signs came to her almost immediately. Unlike the humans surrounding them, he had no heartbeat. This confirmed her suspicions that he was indeed their kind, but what she was more interested in was figuring out which of the six paths was he? His olive skin tone had a pale sheen to it, but didn’t all vampires have that? Xylia decided to drop the matter, it wasn’t important, for now.

She rose from the sofa and walks over to her childhood friend, watching as he plays on the slot machines. She never understood what was so fun about these things. Was it the exhilaration you got from the small chance of getting money back? Or was it the chance that you never got anything back? She had high doubts it would be the latter, then again one would never know how twisted minds could get so she was not closing that option completely.

She pushed the topic aside. That wasn’t the problem now, how was she suppose to talk to him? She wasn’t a great conversation starter. She always travelled alone, and if anything it was always others who started the conversation. Though there were occasions when she started the conversation, it always ended up being a short and awkward one. Should she risk it?

As she pondered, she stood to the back side of him, watching as he played with the silly machine.


<Adley Reed> Even if Adley was focused mainly on the machine in front of him, he was also aware of the what was going on around him. People came and went - cheers erupted every now and again - whole table’s worth, or just a single person alone at their own private pokie machine. Even small amounts were celebrated. Whenever anyone won any money that was more than what they had originally invested. The machines beside him were unoccupied - even if they had been, Adley wouldn’t have minded. He’d probably have tried to strike up conversation. Strangers didn’t intimidate him. But they were all fleeting. Faces that he wouldn’t remember, later down the track. Bodies that he might feed from, if chance brought them together again.

Adley himself hadn’t had any luck, yet. But nor had he entirely lost all his money. The presence behind him felt like a warmth, though he knew it was a body that didn’t emit any human heat. That feeling people got, when they were being watched. A tiny turn of his head and glance over his shoulder assured him it was the same girl from before. She had followed him. Was watching him. This did not surprise Adley. His ego was dangerously large; he assumed he had some kind of allure that she could not resist. Though there was that voice of reason, telling him that she was the girl that he knew. Somehow. But she was keeping her distance.

With only a slight incline of his head, his chin tipping upwards and his brow arched, his attention shifted. His voice danced over his shoulder. “You want to come press the button? You might be my good luck charm…” he said to her with a cheeky grin, moving his own hand to give Xylia the chance to move forward. To help him play the game.


<Xylia> He knew she wasn’t human, he knew she was like him, and this made Xylia frown upon herself. Such a simple basic fact, yet she had failed to notice it sooner. She brushes it off seeing no point on dwelling upon the little fact.

It was no surprise that he knew she was there, even though she stayed out of the reflective surfaces’ view, they both had enhanced senses, it was only natural that they sensed each other even if she had been late at catching on. When he acknowledged her presence with an offer to push the machine’s button, her eyes shifts to him raising a brow with an expression that said ‘Really. are you serious?’ and scoffs at him. None the less, the shadow path vamp reaches to hit the button once. It was his money anyways, if he loses then he loses. It wasn’t the first time he was losing anyways.

The machine makes a sound and the thing starts rolling. The first picture stops, then the second, followed by the third. All three pictures matched. The machine starts ringing and flashing like it had gone berserk. Xylia watched on with amusement at the thing. Had they won? She turns to Adley.

“Hey Ad, can we... go somewhere more private?” She used the name she had called him when they were younger and smiles at him. It was the smile she often gave him when they were younger, one that no one but those she knew well enough saw often. A sweet, tired smile that shows how vulnerable she actually was and how much she had gone through.

As soon as he saw it, it was gone and she was making her way out of the casino. She waits for him outside near the entrance, leaning against the wall.


<Adley Reed> The girl pushed the button, and the pictures all started to line up. Adley didn’t actually think that it would work - but it did! It wasn’t a huge amount of money, but it was enough to get back everything that he had already lost that night. That was a win, in anyone’s eyes. Whatever the win was, whatever the money, it didn’t seem to phase his good luck charm. His laughter slowed when she called him by that name that he recognised; it wasn’t really a surprise. She looked too similar, too familiar. What could have happened to her, that she didn’t have trust? That she would have tried to keep up the rouse even after she knew who he was? The remnants of his own smile faltered when he saw hers. How could a smile manage to look so ******* sad?

He managed a nod before she turned away and walked out; he collected his winnings before he followed, tucking the cash neatly into his pocket. It was probably a good thing that Zaleski was there, otherwise he’d have taken his winnings and lost those, too. It wasn’t as if he were addicted to gambling - he just had nothing better to do that night.

Outside, his boots scuffed on the pavement as he glanced left, and then right. When he found her leaning against the wall, he lifted his chin in greeting.

“I knew that was you, Zaleski,” he said with a teasing grin, swivelling so that he could lean against the wall beside her. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket - it was still a habit - and opened it. He tucked a cigarette between his lips before offering the open packet to Zaleski.

“Just like old times…”


<Xylia> A smirk appears at the familiar habit of Ad’s. Just like old times indeed. With nimble fingers she plucks a cigg from the offered packet, rolling it between her fingers, a habit she had acquired from the time she started smoking, before placing it between her pale pink lips. Looking around, she spots a crowd of smokers just outside the casino and walks through them, deftly sneaking a silver zippo lighter from one of their pockets before returning to Adley’s side in a flash. She lit both their cigs and pocketed the lighter.

Taking her first swig of the stress-relieving stick, she sighs in bliss. She had not taken one since she turned, having been busy coming to terms with her new self and coping with the liabilities that came with it, which was weeks ago.

“I’ve discarded that name. It’s Xylia now.” She informs him before taking another swig.

“When did you turn?” She asked while gazing at the passing cars with a look akin to that of a person who had experienced life for centuries, tired looking although eye bags were nowhere to be seen. It just wasn’t an expression a girl her age should have. Almost like she had lived her entire life within the short span of twenty years and was just waiting for D day to arrive.

Oblivious to the way she looked, she pondered until Ad would answer her. She couldn’t tell when he turned, that was for sure, but if he was out and about it would most likely mean he had been turned for quite a while now or even way before her. It would be great if he had turned recently like her, they could go explore this new world together... Could they?

The revelation struck her like a lightning bolt. Her old identity was dead, Kristi Zaleski no longer existed. It was a chance to start a new life! Those mere mortals wouldn’t be able to hurt her any longer. Even if they tried, they wouldn’t even be able to touch her. Right? So what had she been doing wasting these past few weeks?

Her eyes brightened considerably and she turned to Ad, waiting on him to finish before she would share her thought.


<Adley Reed> Adley watched Zaleski with obvious amusement, his gaze catching her every movement. Maybe if he hadn’t known she was up to no good, he might not have noticed. But, since he was looking for it…

He laughed when she returned, holding his cigarette out for her to light even if he had one of his own in his pocket. A cold, metal item that even now he turned over and over between his fingers. Always wanting something to do with those fingers of his. He was a restless soul.

It was tempting to tell her that he wouldn’t abide it. She would always be Zaleski to him, but he refrained. He had seen that expression on her face, and a lot could have happened since he’d seen her last. The new name could be due to something else, and not her new way of life. Though, it did intrigue him. If she wanted to, she would tell him in all good time. Or he would ask, when least appropriate. Who knew?

“September twenty-nine,” he said with a slight tilt of his chin. Nearly only two months. He leaned in close to Zaleski, his back shuffling down the wall so he was closer to her height, speaking to her in a hushed tone. In confidence, though there was a playful gleam to his eye.

“I knew what I was getting into, though. Even if the change itself was unexpected,” he said with a tap to his nose. He put the cigarette to his lips again, pulling in a drag before releasing in a puff of smoky air.

“What about you, eh? You look like you’ve been stoned to death a thousand times over. Did it not go so well for you?” he asked. He wasn’t for beating around the bush.


<Xylia> “I see.” She noted his turning date casually. That would mean he had turned around a month before her, she calculated mentally.

“October ninth, I wasn’t turned too willingly.” She told him nonchalantly but said no more as she recalled the way she was turned by Blake, her Sire. After her turning a month ago until now, she barely saw the guy, much less interacted with him besides finding a gun and knife he left behind for her, if that could count as something.

Now that she thought about it, she had seen him that one time when she had spotted the mortals that haunted her childhood, and forgetting that she was no longer a mortal, ran like the wind into the wilderness. It was in the wilderness that she passed out and was rudely awakened to find herself being the feast of some faes. Blake somehow sensed her distress and recalled her to pandemonium where she was helped by himself and Andras members. The recollection of insufferable pain as her limp was torn from her being and a stab to her heart, literally, brought chills down her spine. What a lesson that had been. One her body would never forget.

“Now that I’ve come to terms with it, it’s not too bad.” She shrugged, an old habit of hers to tell Ad it was no big issue and she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Her words brought her back to the revelation she had been waiting to discuss with him.

“Hey, what do you say we explore this new world together? Like old times?” She reminisced about the times they would walk about in the wilderness randomly and loiter around alleyways when they couldn’t find something to do which would lead to them playing a prank on someone and getting into trouble. There were also the few times they pranked their teachers and classmates earning them detention.

The thought brought about a mischievous expression to Xylia’s face, bringing the cig to her lips while her eyes fixed on her old friend’s expression, observing his reaction. How long had it been since she could communicate with a friend like this? Too long, her mind whispered. Ad had been the very last friend she let herself have. It had been the starting of a hellish life after she up and left him behind without a word. 10 years…


<Adley Reed> Adley had to wonder what it was like, to be turned unwillingly. Though, when he thought about it, he hadn’t exactly asked for it. He hadn’t exactly given permission. The revelation, when he realised what was happening, hadn’t been a happy one. But he, too, had come to terms with it. Getting a fix every now and again, a taste of what it was like to be a vampire, was far different to what he experienced now. It was a slow build of power. An exponential build. He wondered whether it would ever stop. It excited him, to think of what he might be capable of, years down the track.

Zaleski, however, seemed unwilling to talk about it. She did, however, suggest they explore together. A lasting acquaintance. Or, an acquaintance continued. Adley laughed.

“I don’t think I’d call it exploring,” he said idly, sliding a sideways glance at his old friend, holding his stare for a few long seconds while he thought about it. Eventually, he shrugged his shoulders and nodded, regardless.

“I mean, I was a blood addict before I was turned. They like to call us - them - blood thieves,” he said. He still struggled, sometimes, to extract himself from his past. The blood thieves were still his people. His special brand of crazy. He’d always sell to them. He knew what it was like, the struggle to find a sympathetic donor. Or at least one who wouldn’t kill them. It always had to be like a business transaction, almost always with the threat of blackmail dangled so dangerously over the vampire’s head. Like a pilot fish catching a ride beneath the shark’s fin, hoping the shark wouldn’t turn around one day and swallow him whole.

He supposed Abelle was the shark. Adley had been swallowed whole. But he’d survived to tell the tale. He didn’t see Abelle much these days, either. And, though he might have been aware of the existence of vampires before he’d ever become one, he was still discovering things about himself. That, in the end, was what Zaleski meant, right? She didn’t intend for them to explore a city that Adley already knew like the back of his hand. She intended for them to explore themselves, but in a spectacularly mischievous fashion. At least, that’s what Adley finally got from the suggestion.

“Yeah. Yes. I think I’d like that,” he said with a luminous grin.



<Xylia> Xylia listened to him without interrupting. She stiffened at the blood thief part but decided to ignore it. He was a vampire now. No worries, right?

When he gave his agreement, Xylia beamed like a child getting an early christmas present.

“So… What’s your number?” She asked sheepishly. For the first time in her 20 years of life she was asking for someone’s number.

That day, Xylia regained a long forgotten bond, and the warmth that came with it slightly mended her broken soul... it was a start. A good one, for a change.