Paint the Town Red {Caligrace}

[Freyja]

<Freyja> Tonight, she was leaving her clubs in the hands of her girls. It was past time she had a real night off, time to just spend with her… family. Really, at the time, that word only actually applied to her brother, who was likely busy, he was always busy, their older sister Josefine, who she hadn’t heard from in so long she wasn’t sure where she was anymore, her parents that still lived in Denmark, their lives moving on, uninterrupted, like nothing had ever happened, and Caligrace, her progeny.

Cali had been the most fortunate of her mistakes since before she could remember. A wild, vicious murder it had been… so bloody, so violent… it was a miracle she wanted anything at all to do with her, the way she had ripped into her; but that girl loved her. Unconditionally. And what made it all the better was that she stuck around. There had been others, girls that hadn’t lasted the night, that had vanished into the mist and she hadn’t heard from them again. Some that had wandered their own way.

Cali looked up to her. Admired her. She could feel that admiration, that adoration, and it only pushed her to make herself better, to really establish herself so that Caligrace might have a better future in this bleak, dark world they called home.

What she really looked forward to was spending some real, quality time with the little firecracker. She knew that, while they were so tightly bonded, they had many differences. Freyja enjoyed her new nature. She killed for sport as much as she killed to feed. She was wild and wanton and free. Caligrace was much more proper, a more genteel creature than her creator. She had a wild streak, Freyja could see it when she looked into her eyes, but it was well kept behind a wall of fear. Sometimes, to be afraid was to be wise.

They both had much to learn from one another.

Lighting a cigarette, the tall Dane took a slow drag as she rested her back against the cool bricks of an old, dark alley in the heart of the town’s riverside district. She still tasted the blood on her tongue from her kill, her person immaculate and unstained. The river was one fresh body busier than usual tonight. She couldn’t take Cali hunting. The girl was refusing to eat, starving herself. She would have to find a better way to nourish the young woman, but that was a task for another night.

Tonight, she wanted to see the fun side, to strip away the fear and the doubt, and let loose that wild side that she kept so harshly in check. She pulled out her phone, freshly manicured nails tapping at the glass screen to shoot her childe a text.

COMPOSED TEXT:
TO: CALIGRACE
Hey, girl. What do you
say to a night on the
town? Just you and me.
Leave the girls at home.
We can go clubbing.
Or shopping. Or just
hang out and talk.
A nice long walk
around town. Might
just find our own
sort of trouble.
Just let me know.

xoxo



<Caligrace> Boredom.

It was the only word to describe what she was feeling as she studied her drying nails, and even then it was nowhere near adequate enough. Maybe lifeless would have been the more appropriate word. Whatever it was, it was awful. Turning her hand over, she watched the light of her apartment reflect off of the fresh coat of Summer Peach that adorned her nails with a quiet smile. She had gone through six different colors before deciding that she preferred this shade, and her apartment smelled strongly of acetone and polish. She could hear her best friend on the other side of the wall trying not to gag with each breath she took, and the amusement danced in her eyes as she finally jumped to her knees on the bed.

“Elin, can you come here for a second?”

As she waited for the woman to untangle her sheets from her slender form, she blew a quick breath across her nails to ensure that they were dried to perfection. Within seconds, the door to her bedroom swung open and the disheveled thrall stumbled her way into her room before collapsing on the edge of her bed, her brow raised. “It’s the middle of the night. I have finals in the morning, girl. What do you need?” Her voice was strained as she rubbed sleep from her eyes, and Caligrace couldn’t help but laugh. It still amazed her how quickly their lives had changed. “I was going to ask if you liked this sh--” Her words were cut off as The PussyCat Dolls - Dontcha began to sound from her bedside table. Bending backwards, she grabbed her iPhone and unlocked it, her eyes quickly scanning the words before she smiled. “Aw, is that your boyfriend?” Elin teased, before flinching as she leveled a not so friendly look in her direction.

“Freyja. I’m going out. Invite Bambi over.”

The words had barely left her lips before the brunette was scrambling for her own phone, her actions proving further that something was transpiring between the two thralls. Deciding not to question it, she brushed her hair over her shoulder and leaped up, her barefeet padding across the carpet towards her closet. Throwing it open, she brushed her fingers over the options she had, before selecting a black form-fitting dress with a plunging neckline, and her favorite pair of white stilettos that were edged in lace. In a matter of seconds she was dressed, and she quickly typed out a message to the blonde as she applied a layer of gloss to her lips.

Text: Hey, girl, that sounds great. Meet me at Wickbridge station. xoxo

<Freyja> Flicking her cigarette, she glanced at her phone. She’d left the messaging app open, waiting for Cali’s response. She grinned at her answer, and didn’t bother to respond. She tucked her phone into the clutch tucked beneath her arm and snapped it shut. She pushed from the darkness of the alley and into the lights of the parking lot. A sharp whistle followed a catcall and earned a light laugh from the tall blonde, whipping her hair over her shoulder as she gave a wave to the small knot of men collected around a large black Cadillac Escalade. She gave the short one with the dark, chocolate skin a wink as he waved. The others erupted in laughter as he gave a sheepish grin.

She vanished from the lot as quickly as she had appeared, making a quick pace to the transit station. The trains here in Harper Rock never seemed to stop for long. She was still rather impressed with the advanced technology of the public transit system here. The trips were always smooth, and the entire line across town was a quick zip and done. She didn’t even have time to check her emails before the train was pulling into Wickbridge. These trains were where her new life had begun, she always felt a little poetic when they played any small role in her day to day life.

[Caligrace]

<Freyja> She stepped off the train, the tall stilettos she wore clicking against the concrete platform as she made her way to where her childe was standing in the station. She tapped her shoulder and grinned. “You stand out like a hobo at a Andy Warhol gallery. Couldn’t lose you if I tried.” She smiled, and idly flicked a lock of her fiery red hair. “You look good.”

<Caligrace> It didn’t take her long to make her way to the station, which surprised her. Despite it being a straight shot from her apartment building, she had expected herself to take a wrong turn somewhere along the way and end up in a district that should be portrayed in a Hollywood horror. I must be getting better at this, she thought, though she instantly shook her head. No, she knew the moment that someone asked for her to meet them anywhere else, she would spend hours searching for the location. She would never, despite her hope otherwise, be able to make it from one location to the next without getting utterly lost.

Brushing her fingers through her hair, she moved to stand against the ticket station, though she was only awarded a small moment of peace before her sire’s familiar blonde curls lit up the night like a ray of sunshine. “I look good for a hobo?” There was a feigned hurt to her voice as she straightened back up to her full height - which even in her heels, she barely made it to her collarbone. The moment that she was balanced on her heels, she wrapped her arms around the lithe blonde and squeezed before leaning up to press a kiss to her jaw. When she pulled back, the pink stain of her lips sparkled against her pale skin, and she gave a bright smile. “You look flawless as always, so what are you doing wasting all of that on the likes of me?” She teased, before settling back on her heels and straightening out her dress.

<Freyja> Laughing faintly, she shook her head at the girl’s words. “Goodness, no. Next to a hobo, my dear, you are a blinding light of beauty. A radiance most magnificent.” She smiled as the small redhead moved to her, feeling her arms rest about her own slender hips. She lifted her own arms, thin and slight, and rested them around the girl’s shoulders as she tipped her head, accepting the kiss to her jaw. She could feel the warmth of her lips, and the way her gloss clung to her skin, leaving behind a light pink stain of the sticky substance. She couldn’t stop her smile as she shook her head.

“You’ve certainly got a tongue of silver, Caligrace. You could charm your way just about anywhere, couldn’t you?” She laughed, and let the woman disentangle herself from the taller woman’s frame to straighten her attire. She pushed a hand through her hair and gave it a gentle toss before she touched a fingertip to her skin, where the gloss stuck to her pale flesh. Deciding to leave it for a moment, to not appear disgusted, which she was most certainly not, she gave the redhead a devilish smile and shrugged one bare shoulder.

“Why, you deserve my most magnificent, my very best, girl. The most flawless of my flawlessness. If I can’t share that with my favorite lady in the dark, then who can I share it with?” She chuckled, the sound light and playful as she tapped her phone to check the time. The night was still quite young; her feeding had only taken a few minutes of her evening. She closed her eyes and took a slow, even breath, taking in the night. She smiled, and exhaled, and opened those bright, icy blues to look down at the younger vampire and let her body tremble with invigoration. “What should we do first? The mall should still be open, and the best clubs are only just now opening their doors. Besides. My name will get us through most lines in town. I’m V.I.P. material, you know.”

She smiled, and thumbed at her nose as she glanced at the station, watching another train roll through. “Or we can take a nice quiet walk. Get you better acquainted with town. Maybe we can see if you can’t learn some landmarks.”

Or possibly get some blood in you.
For ****’s sake, Caligrace. You’re skin and bones.
If you die on me… what will I do? What can I possibly do?
I need you with me, Cali. I need you as much as you think you need me.

<Caligrace> Shaking her head with a laugh, she finished straightening out her dress and cast the woman a glance. She could tell that the other was stumbling to assure her that she hadn’t meant it as an insult, and the fact that she felt the need to warmed her. They had come a long way from the hatred she had once felt boiling beneath her skin every time she had laid her eyes on her, and now, she couldn’t imagine her life without the blonde at her side.

Tossing her scarlet curls over her shoulder, she scanned the sparse crowd around them and laughed. “I’m more than positive you would have found someone to occupy your time with. We all know that you can’t spend a single night without someone to warm the spot at your side.” Or under you, she thought with a sly smile, though the words never left her lips. While she knew that they wouldn’t bother her maker in the slightest, she wanted to maintain her air of innocence that the blonde seemed to think she possessed.

Running her fingers through her hair, she finally turned to face her again and lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “A walk is fine, maybe we can find somewhere to go along the way. I mean, we can’t really waste these outfits, can we?” she teased.

[Freyja]

Laughter came easy with the girl at her side. It always had, even when there was a sea of doubt and depression welling inside of her, twisting her stomach into knots so tight she felt like she would vomit from the stress. Even when she felt like there was nothing in the wide world that would make her feel an ounce better, Caligrace could turn her darkest hour into a bright, happy moment. It was a power she doubted even the little Allurist knew she possessed.

Even now, with the terror of losing the girl to her own starvation bubbled inside of her, she found herself laughing easy at the light joke she had made, and she shook her head with a tender smile. “Honey, if it’s on this body, it’s never a waste.” She smiled again, the gesture genuine as she let her sharp, deep blue eyes move over the crowd around them, and to the train that was pulling into the station. She pursed her lips, contemplating starting their adventure with a ride around town.

Instead, she turned away from the station, looking to the south side of town as she knit her brows in thought. “The mall is that way. Along with the amusement park, and the arena. We can see if there’s anything happening down that way. If not, there’s shopping.” She grinned at the word and took another slow drag from her cigarette. She glanced around the station again and shrugged her shoulders. “There’s a club just across the street from the station here, too. I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve seen advertisement around. Looks like a nice place, called the Metronome Club? Ever been in there before?” She turned to the redhead at her side, then, and tipped her head to one side, golden curtain of soft, silky hair flowing down her shoulder and across her chest.

“Or we can just pick a direction, and go until we run into something interesting. Get a little lost in our own back yard, if you will. Maybe a little adventure. What do you say, girl? You have the heart for some unexpected, spontaneous excitement? Even I have no idea what’d happen in a lot of places around town. It could get a little crazy. Maybe even a little… dangerous.”

She said the last word with a kind of wild, unbridled excitement, a sort of crazed light flashing in her eyes, like the mere thought of doing something wild and reckless thrilled her. She took the girl’s hand in both of her own and clasped it tightly. “You know I’ll keep you safe.”

I will always keep you safe, Caligrace.
I will keep you safe from anything, if it’s the last thing I do in this world.

[Caligrace]

"I know you will, Frey. There's nothing to worry about," her laughter was genuine as she shook her head, slender fingers trailing through her hair. She saw the concern in her eyes, and as if she could read her mind, knew that she had been caught. Deciding the best option was to play it off, she took a step back and gave her sire another once over. "You're right. You always manage to look a million times better than me." Her voice was nothing more than a teasing lilt, and as she slowly untangled her hand from hers, she smoothed out the front of her dress. Her mind was moving in a thousand different directions, and yet, it was all centered around one singular thing. She knows.

She had thought she had hidden her hunger well - her fatal flaw. Somehow, the overly perceptive blonde in front of her had managed to pry through her walls and lies, and she wasn't sure how to overcome it. She had to find a way to pull her attention to something else, and she knew that discussing her clothing wasn't going to work. On any other night, with any other scenerio, she would have been able to distract her by complimenting her shoes - but standing before her now was a woman resolved. Trailing her tongue over her lower lip, she caused the gloss to shine against her soft skin, and finally cracked her expression into a brilliant smile. "I don't think I'm up for shopping, and an amusement park? Come on, girl, what do I look like?" Flashing a wink in her direction, she spun on her heel and began to head in the direction - at least, she hoped it was the right way - to the club she had brought up.

"I've not been there. I don't make a habit of going to clubs that we don't own. We could always head to Myth, you know. I'm sure the girls would love to see you. You'd slay them," she chuckled, and instantly knew that she had found the right tactic. For now, the blonde would be distracted with thoughts of her employees and not worried about the fact that her hand was clutching her stomach subtly.