Baby steps :: Open ::

[Sayen Wake]

Taking place after Running from the truth

The same night as her siring

Sayen had left the house where Sebastian had taken her and fled into the forest. She was not running to get away from him, nor was she running because she was afraid. She just wanted to run, to clear her head and to think. She had almost reached the edge of the city before she stopped. Her feet had been torn up by stones and lose twigs on the forest ground. But she did not even have to look to know that the fresh wounds were already healing. She tried to ignore the inner voice which was screaming at her to go back. She knew that she could not face her maker right now, or any other member of that twisted family. She needed to get her things and get out. With a glance over her shoulder at the forest where her life had ended and begun she took in a deep breath before striding into the city.

She was painfully aware that the thin fabric that was once her night clothes now better represented rags which she may have just taped on. But she did not care or react as people pointed and gasped at her attire and the amount of blood staining it. Normally she was one to take great care of her appearance but right now she had other pressing matters on her mind. Walking calmly and with her head held high she made her way towards the other side of the city. Her apartment was only a few blocks away but she needed to make one stop first. Turning one last corner she smiled as she saw a darkly dressed man standing under the third lamppost from the tavern with a large bag in hand.

She approached him and without a word took the bag from him. He released it without a fight and nodded some silent agreement before walking away. Placing the bag on the floor Sayen opened it and pulled out a small knife, she pushed this between the elastic of her night trousers before checking the contents of the bag. Pleased with what she saw she rose and slung it over her shoulder. She had thought to change but she did not feel the cold and her home was only a few minutes away. She knew she should not return but there were so many memories that where within those walls that she had to retrieve them. Walking slowly towards her home she considered what she would do if the men that hunted her had decided to wait for her to return…

The night after being sired.

Sayen awoke and stretched lazily. Her face buried into her pillow as she yawned. Her dream had been so real that she had almost allowed it to control her when she awoke. However the images where quickly fading and she was pushing it aside as just another nightmare she would live with. With a pleasant smile she swung her legs out of bed and instantly regretted the action. Jumping back she pulled the covers closer as she stared around her room, the colour draining from her face. Splattered across the walls, floor and ceiling was dark red stains. She knew instantly that it was blood as something within her told her the smell was the same. With one glance at her torn nightclothes the memories from the night before came flooding back. The men chasing her, the animal that attacked her and the man, Sebastian, who had found her and had told her what happened. But how did any of that explain what she saw now.

Fearfully she dared to place her bare feet onto the floor and she moved away from her bed and into the centre of the room. For the amount of blood she had expected to find at least two bodied but there was no sign of any. She wondered if the blood was hers, but again a voice in her head told her it was not. Shuddering she moved backwards towards her bathroom door, she did not want to take her eyes off of her room. Reaching backwards she felt for the door handle and turned it slowly. Taking a few steps back into the bathroom she quickly shut the door behind her. Breathing out she rested her head against the door and closed her eyes. What ever had happened had happened, or so she kept telling herself. All she knew now was she had to leave her home and this time she could not return.

Turning on the shower she climbed out of her blood stained clothes and stood under the near boiling water for what seemed like hours. She washed away all signs of the night before and only after she felt clean did she step from the water. Drawing on her courage she moved back into her room and tried her best to avoid the blood which was on the floor. She quickly dressed in a pair of plain blue jeans and a black shirt before reaching for her purse and taking her leave of the bloodbath behind her. Little did she know that two bodies of the men who had hunted her the night before lay hidden underneath her bed.

Once outside she wandered deep into the centre of the city, drawn by the sudden urge for food. She felt so overwhelmed by all the sights and smells. Everything around her glimmered with a light that she had never seen before. To her it was as if she was sensing everything for the first time again. It was only after someone had pointed and frowned at her that she realised she was not wearing any shoes or socks. But the feel of the hard rough floor against the bare skin of her feet felt so alluring that she did not care. She drifted from sight to smell unsure what to do with herself. She had explored the city so many times before but this was the first time she was seeing it for what it truly was. She felt fear and pleasure mix into one and became lost within the intoxication of it all, oblivious to just how stranger her behaviour would seem to a passing stranger.

[Jung-Hwa Pak]

[/url] set off for a night on the town. Initially he was The Strip-bound, but when he thought thoroughly about it, he realized that people on that side of town would be expecting thieves to loiter around there. No, he would have to go somewhere vast and crowded, where a medley of unassuming rich and poor crossed paths along the pavements. Ah, the putrid centre itself.

The city air was pungent, but his own smell of putrefy was substantially easier to catch onto than the immeasurable assortment of metropolitan scents. Perhaps Jung-Hwa should grab a bite, if only to stop drawing the attention from his kinfolk who could smell him approaching. It was not hard to convince himself to feed, for his bloodlust had been ignored for far too long in the pursuit of capital gain. An ill-fated teenager found himself pressed into the wall of a darkened lane, his neck punctured and his blood drained to the very last drop; the vampire had been thirstier than he’d initially presumed.

Revelling in the sensation as the mortal blood travelled through his deadened body, Jung-Hwa returned to the brightly lit pavements. For a few minutes he meandered without purpose, oblivious to the pockets and purses that passed him by as he began to reconnect with the world now that his senses were better tuned. It was only upon reaching an intersection that he recalled his capitalist pursuit. Whilst waiting at the light, he reached into two pockets, withdrawing small coin purses that would doubtfully make much of a difference. Stuffing them into his deep back pockets, he glanced up as the sign flashed the white little man.

Movement was good, it allowed him to fluidly move around his victims without instilling any suspicion. As he walked towards the opposite corner, he spotted an approaching female with her head in the clouds. Stifling his smirk, Jung-Hwa briefly glanced up as the red hand appeared, flashing warningly. Perfect timing. Three. Two. One.

His hand slipped past her pocket and snatched it out. The other pedestrians were unassuming as he picked up his pace and disappeared into the crowd with ease. Only his scent would lead back to him, but he doubted a dog owner would know much about tracking vampires. Reaching the opposite of the pavement just as the sign turned to [DON’T WALK], Jung-Hwa looked down at the item in his hands and continued to walk. He had every intention of tossing the purse onto the floor once he had taken the money.
[/JUSTIFY][/ul][/FONT]

[Sayen Wake]

Sayen’s senses where filling her head with such wonders she became unaware of the normal world around her. To her eyes all other people seemed so dull, unimportant to the bigger picture. She was considering how she had lived her life for so long and not realised so much. It took an extremely strong scent to knock her back down to earth. Pausing in mid-step she sniffed the air causing some alarm to the woman passing her by. But Sayen was not interested in that woman; she wanted to know which person smelt like a combination of rotten fish and oil. And now that she focused the whole city seemed to come alive with this one scent.

Many unimportant beings now owned that one scent yet each one was different in a very subtle way. Some smelt more of rotten fish while others more of oil. Gagging she backed away from it but could not truly escape it. Confused she followed the first scent which she had picked up on and without true understanding why followed a young looking boy who, now that she focused, seemed on edge. Playfully she allowed him to gain some ground on her before catching up. She did not know why but she was drawn to the being.

Playing her game for a little while longer she focused on what seemed to preoccupy her little mouse. As her eyes focused she noticed a purse in his hands, much like her own. Instinctively she reached for her pocket and could feel the distinct lack of purse in her pocket. Her playful nature quickly left her and she was suddenly filled with an inner urge to break the little ones neck to get back what was rightfully hers. Without a second thought she found herself standing before the being. She had not meant to but Sayen had just tapped into her ability to use celerity though she was not aware she had done so.

Slightly shocked at the speed at which she moved it took her awhile to compose herself long enough to stretch out her hand and look at her purse with expectance. She knew she had every right to ask for it back, and in truth she did not wish to make much of a scene. But part of her wished that this being would at least make some attempt to hide what he did. She could not explain it but she really wanted to test the so called ‘differences’ her maker had spoken about.

She already knew she could heal far faster than expected. She was curious to see just what else she had gained.
“I believe that is mine, I would like it back.”
He request was placed calmly but there was a underlying hit of annoyance that she had allowed someone who smelt of rotten fish and oil to take from her. She made a mental note then to be more aware of her surroundings.

[Jung-Hwa Pak]

[/FONT][/ul][/JUSTIFY]

[Sayen Wake]

Sayen took her purse without a word and slipped it back into her pocket. She knew he had taken what little was within it but this did not concern her. Even if she was having trouble with her father he had never cut her off yet so money was never a concern to her. Tilting her head curiously to one side she studied the being before her. He was different, besides the rather interesting scent which seemed to follow him there was a darkness within him that seemed hidden. She had picked up on this a few time tonight but this was the first time she had had the chance to truly study what it meant.

She did not know how she knew but something told her he was not normal, at least in the sense that normal was everyone else. She noticed he felt awkward, at least, by their encounter and her gaze followed his across the road. She had a large number of personal questions which where burning on the tip of her tongue, but even she knew they would not be answered by a complete stranger. She silently cursed her maker then, annoyed that he had forced something on her she had so little understanding of.

Smiling softly she nodded her head.
“Thank you.”
With a subtly wink of her eye she turned around and took her leave. She could not follow so closely and needed to place some distance between her and this being before she could study him. She hoped that she could gain some answered from just watching how he interacted with everyone else. She knew he was not like her, in the sense she doubted he was some kind of wolf like creature. But in a way there was something they shared and she wanted to see what that something was.

Stepping into the crowd she quickly made sure she was lost among the sea of faces. Without truly knowing she was doing it she was drawing on the hidden power of locate and was able to keep the curious being in her minds eye without a second thought. As she was too preoccupied with her current game of cat and mouse she did not take any noticed of the fact that this power was not normal. Glancing over her shoulder every so often she was able to pick his face out of the crowd without any trouble. In her eyes he had a certain aura which made him extremely obvious, again she did not question what this meant as he mind was focused on something else.

[Jung-Hwa Pak]

[/JUSTIFY][/ul]

[Sayen Wake]

Sayen had not realised but her eyes had changed in their wolf form. She was so ignorant of her powers and what they meant that she did not even notice the rather alarmed comments made by certain people as she walked past them. Following the being with ease she kept her distance and was able to make sure he did not realise she was watching him. She noticed a sudden change in the beings scent; again she did not know why she knew this. But something somewhere had excited him. Her eyes searched for the reason, but as she did not know what he was she overlooked the obvious and could find nothing of interest. Curious she dared to close the gap between them, secure in the fact that he was no longer paying her any attention.

She was following her inner voice now, and she was not 100% in control of her actions. The beast inside wanted to play and as she was not aware of it she did not know she was allowing it to control what she did. Slowly she left the crowd and kept to the darkness of the city streets, following her prey. She lost sight of him for a second and once she had picked up his trail again she became witness to something she just could not believe. She watched from a distance as the being, who she had assumed was normal, leaped up onto a fire escape. What ever he was she felt safe to now assume he was not human. Was he like her? Had her maker withhold this information from her because he did not wish to share this world.

She was more intrigued than fearful of what she had just seen. She watched the being from the ground as he moved further away from her. She wondered if she had similar abilities. Looking down at her hands she turned them over as if she expected to see a sign. But they just looked like hands to her. Glancing back up she cursed, she had lost sight of the being. Moving away from the crowd she followed his path into the alleyway. Looking up at the fire escape she shrugged her shoulders and without really thinking about her actions tried to jump up.

She quickly fell back to the ground and landed heavily on her backside. Frowning she stood up and brushed off the dirt from her trousers. How had he done that she wondered to herself as she paced back and forth, all the time her head lifted up to stare up at the rooftops. She wanted to join him; she wanted to test her limits. But every time she tried to go up she came back down to earth quickly and painfully.

She started to grow angry with herself and this anger transferred over to her maker. He had said so little, and though she had left with so many questions she blamed him for everything. He had made her into a freak and then refused to offer a manual as to how to use what ever it was she had. Shaking she clenched her fists and swore at the top of her lungs. As the anger started to rise in her she suddenly felt light headed and fell back, she blacked out.

-----------------------------

Opening her eyes Evanna looked around her surroundings. She looked down and smirked, she enjoyed this human form. It was far less practical than her wolf one but it had many more uses. Sniffing the air around her Evanna realised she was within a large city and was suddenly taken over with the urge to follow one scent in particular. Looking up she could almost see the scent trail reaching up to the sky. Smiling with a new found peace she jumped up and easily landed on the first level of the fire escape. It took her seconds to reach the rooftop and from there she could almost see the whole city. It stretched for miles before her and for a second she felt completely free. But as she stood up a sudden pain in her temple made her stagger backwards and she fell down, landing on the gravel which covered the rooftop.

-----------------------------

Sayen awoke and stretched her limbs, as she took in her surroundings she jumped to her feet in fear. The last thing she remembered was the streets below looking up at the roof tops. Now as she looked out she was aware she was on those very roof tops. Edging forward she looked down to the street below before moving back. Her breathing was heavy and laboured now. She had no knowledge how she had managed to climb up so high. Looking around she tried to find a way back down. But she could not bring herself to lower herself onto the fire escape and as far as she could see there was no other way down. She was trapped.

[Jung-Hwa Pak]

[/COLOR] he muttered to himself, raising an eyebrow as he watched sit herself back up. From where he stood he could not see her expression clearly, but her actions suggested confusion, doubt. What a bizarre specimen. Reaching behind his ear to slap away the prickly ends of his hair, Jung-Hwa made his way up to the top level of the staircase. He glanced towards the city and admired her glow briefly, his attention seized by the woman four stories below. To be honest, he had not paid much mind to any other creature than himself and humans, so he was mildly intrigued by her presence. She was well connected and powerful, more-so than he, though she did not appear to carry herself with the confidence such aura suggested.

Surely it was best he mind his own business, move on and find something else to do, but there was little promise in the upcoming hours. Jung-Hwa was one to take risks anyways, careless and impulsive. Curling his fingers around the railing of the ninth level, he called down to her.

“YA!”

---

** Equivalent of “Hey, you!” in Korean.
[/FONT][/ul][/JUSTIFY]

[Sayen Wake]

Sayen heard the voice call from behind her but she did her best to ignore it. She already knew who it was and that fact worried her. She should not have known that without looking but she did. So much had been left unanswered and now she was started to regret leaving the manor house through the bathroom window so soon. She would have to return, this much she knew. However that would have to wait until after she found a safe way down to the street below. Taking one more look around she knew that her only option was to take a leap of faith onto the fire escape which was a two floor drop. She slowly moved to the edge of the building and after taking in a breath looked over it once more. She could see where she needed to go but her legs became like cement and she could not bring herself to go over.

She taunted herself then, trying to tell her mind that it was not too far and if she had climbed up then she was perfectly capable of getting down… But then she was instantly reminded of the fact that she had no memory of how the hell she had climbed up. It was at this point she once more became aware of the small thread which somehow linked her to her maker. She could sense where Sebastian was without knowing how. She started to follow the link; maybe she did need his help. But just as she was about to connect with his mind she pulled back. She had been seen as weak when they had met, this was why he had attacked her. If she called out now she would forever be branded a mistake and weak link. She could not explain it but she did not wish for him to see her this way.

Stepping back from the edge she sighed. There was only one other option, she would have to acknowledge the being which had caused all of her problems this evening. Turning around her eyes instantly found him. Her hands came to her hips and she raised an eyebrow. She did not know how to go about asking for his help but she knew she would not be very direct. Yes she knew she was stuck, but she did not want him to know this… Or at least she wanted to keep it from him for as long as possible. Also she could not place it, but there was something fundamentally wrong about this being. He was not like her, this much she knew. But he was not like everyone else either and this put her on edge.

“So are you going to join me? You might as well considering I did not mind you stealing from me when first we met.”

She smiled pleasantly enough but her tone of voice had a hint of sarcasm within it. She was known for not forgetting and she knew that regardless of how she got on with him she would never forget how they first met and if she ever saw him again after this night she would remind him of what he had done. She giggled privately to herself, she knew this certain trait often annoyed others and that was the soul reason she had never gotten around to correcting it.

[Jung-Hwa Pak]

[/COLOR]

Jung-Hwa turned his back to her and climbed back onto the roof, where he would disappear out of her sight. Quite frankly, he had to admit he was disappointed. It wouldn’t plague him long though, for despite his solitary existence, he had things to do which could keep him quite occupied.

[Sam, please see my offliner to you on Y!M... Sorry about the wait...]
[/FONT][/ul]