[Caligrace] Perfect Illusion

[Bjorn]

Bjørn regarded the redhead out the corner of his eye with veiled cynicism. Returning his gaze to the gravel path before them as she kept speaking, he settled on being impressed. He’d renounced much of his heritage by growing up in America, and had strayed even further from his origins in becoming a vampire, but he remained, inexorably, Norwegian to the bone. Considering Elin was as much a staple of Scandinavian names (if a bit outdated) as Bjørn—and all its derivatives—was, it wouldn’t be too farfetched an idea to presume Caligrace acquainted with his cultural background.

“It’s far from conventional, but it suits,” he said, rolling his shoulders back and slowing his pace by a fraction. Too often he forgot the struggle of short-legged people when it came to keeping up with his long strides. He glanced at her then, unable to keep the lopsided smirk from his features as he witnessed the functioning existence of her phone. When she looked up at him, he didn’t glance away, arching both brows at her daringly.

[ What? ]

Bjørn hadn’t intended for the words to cross from his mind to hers, but no sooner had the question materialised at the forefront of his brain did it resound in hers.

[Caligrace]

“What fun is it to be conventional?”


Meeting his gaze without shame, she smiled - just a second before his voice slid into her mind as if it belonged there. Her smile faltered as her brows drew together, expression perplexed - and a little uncomfortable. Unfamiliar with the intrusion, she lifted her fingers and brushed them along her temple, her eyes scanning his for signs of… something. Had he actually spoken, or had she imagined it? Why would she want to imagine it? Pursing her lips, she curled her fingers into his as she slowed to a stop, her mind slowly catching up to reality.


“So, you pin a girl against the tree and think you can just slither into her mind?” Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Caligrace pinned her hands to her hips and raised a brow, her expression easing into one of amusement as she bit into the corner of her lip. The intimacy they had shared earlier had nothing on the feeling of his voice echoing in her thoughts, as if it had been one of her own. While she had been torn between horror, confusion and uncertainty, she had managed to land on something completely unexpected.


“If you must know, I was trying to figure you out. I can usually pick up on emotions, but you’re… difficult to read,” she admitted with a quiet laugh, her attention never once straying from him.

[Bjorn]

Bjørn slowed to a stop and regarded her with an arched brow. The corner of his mouth rose at the sight of her hands setting on her hips once again. She had a noticeable preference for the Wonder Woman power stance. It looked ridiculous, but he wouldn’t say so out loud. No, she could just read his amusement. He made it no secret it was entirely at her expense…

“I know another allurist who has the emotional radar thing going on, Caligrace,” he said, tilting his head to the side, “so if you want to talk about intrusions, maybe you should stop trying read me and keep walking instead. You still hungry, aren’t you?”

With that, the telepath started walking again, expression smug. If he was mildly irritated, it was due to his own hunger. Then again, he’d never been a fan of people prying. There’d been a time when he’d loved the attention, but Bjørn preferred to be on the periphery of people’s focus nowadays. The staring was unnerving.

“You can also just ask,” he called out over his shoulder, eyes forward.

[Caligrace]

“You know, you’re kind of cute when you’re playing the Grinch,” she chuckled, her fingers lifting to cover her mouth as if she could hide the sound. It wasn’t that she was worried about hurting his feelings, but she figured laughing outright at the man would only push him to walk faster. Running her hands through her hair, she gathered the thick crimson curls up before securing them with a tie, the ponytail hanging loose over her shoulder. “You’re right though, handsome. Hypocrisy isn’t attractive.”

Coughing to cover her second bout of laughter, she hastened her steps until she was once again at his side, hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket. Despite her amusement, it was easy to tell that she had made him uncomfortable. It didn’t take her ‘emotional radar’ to read the tension in his shoulders. “I’ve yet to master the ability, if we’re being honest. I figured you wouldn’t notice.” It was as close to an apology as she could muster at that moment, for a blast of wind came, chilling her despite the barrier of her jacket. Pulling it tighter around herself, she glanced up at the sky in a futile attempt to discern the chances of snow.

Her love for snow was pure, yet she hated the cold that came with it. Even as a vampire, she found herself hating the sharp bite of ice that blasted against her revealed skin. Shaking the thought from her mind, she watched the man from the corner of her eyes, her lips twisting to the side in thought before she finally sighed. “Are we close? I’m starting to get worried you might decide to eat me again,” she teased.

[Bjorn]

“If you paid less attention to my feelings and more to your surrounds, you’d know,” he replied, matching her sass without any real bite. Hazarding a glance her way, he motioned ahead with his chin. They weren’t yet out of the park, and by the looks of it, the corner shop up ahead was not open. Lancaster’s it’d be.

“Three or so blocks up ahead. Exactly where we came from.”

[Caligrace]

"Mm, I could, but you're so much more appealing," she replied with a faint curve of her lips. Her hunger, once forgotten, reared its head the moment her eyes caught sight of the street ahead. Running her tongue over her fang, she gave her ponytail a tug before rolling her eyes playfully at his statement. Even now, he seemed to be unable to resist pointing out her inability to find her way out of a paper bag. Where it would normally irk her, tonight she was amused by it. Perhaps it was the hunger - or maybe it was the company. Either way, she was enjoying it.

"You can't blame me for being distracted earlier. I could pay attention to street signs, or to the hot guy that looked like he needed a damsel to brighten his night."

[Bjorn]

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” he said, smiling saccharinely at her. “Literally,” he added, pausing to look both ways before crossing, “—nowhere. You’re better off looking at landmarks to situate yourself.”

Bjørn presumed it was her character and not allurist nature that had her speaking the way she did.

“How d’you even end up so desperate anyway? You injured or something?”

[Caligrace]

“If I was attempting to get anywhere with you, handsome, you would know.” Shaking her head with a laugh, she shot him a quick glance before sighing. It seemed the man was made entirely of ice. Whereas it would deter a normal person, Caligrace seemed to be unbothered by it. After all, nothing could be worse than the chill she got from spending just a few seconds alone with Freyja’s twin. While gorgeous, that man was on an entirely different level of unapproachable. A hello from him was considered a miracle. At least her current company had enough manners to attempt a conversation with her, even if his words were sharp.

Parting her lips, she prepared for another ‘charming’ retort, but his next question had her stumbling. In a second, her entire being seemed to shift. The amusement faded, and she quickly closed her eyes to hide the flash of pain that she knew would reflect in her honeyed gaze. “Something like that,” she heard herself say, though the light and airy tone was gone. In its place was something desolate, as if the memory alone was enough to reel her in and hide the vibrant flair of her personality. Keeping her gaze ahead, she scanned the nearing signs for Lancaster’s.

“What about you?”

[Bjorn]

Bjørn didn’t need emotional radar to note the shift; it was palpable. He hazarded a glance back at her before returning his gaze to the remaining block and a half they had left. From here he could see the familiar green of the four-leaf clove symbol. The people who had been smoking were nowhere to be seen, which wasn’t that big a surprise when he realised the temperature had dipped in the past half-hour. The wind ruffled his curls, and he reached up to rake his fingers through them.

“Like I said, easy pickings is all. Should’ve known though—or at least been more apprehensive about the whole thing. Nothing comes easy in this city. Plus, there were witnesses. One of the smokers checked you out when you walked over.”

He shrugged, hand dropping back to his pocket.

From here he could hear the music from inside. The familiar anxiety started to unfurl within, the thought of a crowd and loud sounds putting him on edge. All he needed was his phone, the blood, and a quiet place to retreat to. Whether or not this was where they parted ways, he wasn’t counting on lingering about the pub.

[Caligrace]

The relief she felt at his lack of questioning was obvious, and she slowly loosened her hold on herself. Her hands fell to her sides, her fingers eased from their clutched position. The moment they stepped out of the quiet solitude and into the public, her mask was put back into place. Smiling tightly at his quick glance, she twisted a loose curl around her finger as she finally caught sight of the clover. Something about it resonated as familiar, and she tried to quickly search her mind for the faded memory.

“It wouldn’t have been difficult for me to lure one of them to the shadows, and you to have waited for someone less ‘wasteful’,” she teased, though her voice still harbored that careful edge. His question had managed to clear some of the incoherent webs that twisted through her mind, offering her a brief moment of clarity. As the music reached her ears, she canted her head to the side and tapped her manicured nail against her lower lip, realization dawning in her eyes.

“I know this place. It was one of the first pubs I went to, and what solidified my wanting to open my own businesses,” she laughed, the sound more at ease that it had been all night. The memory was better than the one that haunted her, and she fought to hold onto it as Lancaster's came closer. She was almost ready to relax until she felt a sense of unease creep along her spine, and she found her gaze shifting towards the man at her side. Studying his profile, she hazarded a guess that it was his anxiety that she finally felt, though she wasn't about to call him out on it. It wasn't because she might be wrong, but she doubted he'd appreciate going round two in an argument about privacy. Instead, she eased her hand through her hair and hummed quietly in thought, as if she were assessing their predicament for the first time.

“Do you want me to run in and grab your things? I know you’re starving, and I wasn’t much help before. If you tell me what I'm looking for, it won't take me but a minute.”