Chapter 12: Sweet Opium To Ease Dying

[Anna Kraise]

The closeness did not phase her, instead, she appeared to bathe in it. If she were to stop and think about it, she would probably realize the reason she felt contact with things was so important was perhaps because of a rooted loneliness.
But this situation cured both those problems, because if there was a rooted loneliness it was because she had never intereacted with another of her kind. He may not be her breed, but a scaled beast of beauty lurked within him nonetheless just like her.

Not only that, he did not find her youth appaling. He found it exciting. This was getting better and better.

With a gleeful smile that she forced to keep a hint of suggestivenes, she nodded. Her pale hand took his offered one, relished in the skin contact. His golden eyes were gorgeous orbs that one could become lost in. Well, everything about this man was gorgeous.

"It is the upmost pleasure to make you aquantiance, Cillian. I am known as Anna, though my full name is Annabelinda. I have lived in Rome the majority of my years, as few as they are."

She spoke with contained excitment, a sparkle in her icy specked eyes. She had heard most dragons had long names like hers, but it mattered little to her. She had found a dragon, one with many years. One who looked absolutely delicious. One who appeared as interested in her as she was him.

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi tensed, her hands clenching the sides of the seat as Sharon spoke of what she was doing at the moment. A gun, trained on her? But she was a nobody, someone in the background. How had she possibly gotten herself into this mess?

She wondered what she would do if Aubrey or Peter weren't at her sides, but they were. She suddenly relaxed. This woman, Sharon? There was a low percentage she had a clear shot of her head. She quickly did the mental calculations as her eyes glanced to the windows.

About 22% chance of Sharon having a clear shot if she was at a building that allowed the proper angle, and even then it'd be a dramatic angle. Bambi didn't know anything about Manala guns, but if it was powerful enough it could probably travel the distance easily. Not through Aubrey, though, and Aubrey covered the other 78% that would give Sharon a clear shot.

Peter's sudden laughter pulled her from her mental calculations as she glanced over to him, raising an eyebrow. She watched his display with mixed emotions. Not feeling this was the time to decipher any of them, she simply trained her eyes back onto Alexei as he replied.

He had addressed Aubrey, not her. There was no way this was going to turn out good. The message was already waiting for Annette, the London bank would probably be thoroughly swept through any time soon. He didn't know, couldn't know, until it happened.

If he knew, there was no way he'd be playing... whatever game he was playing.

[Lilith "Mistress" Antekkereh]

A grin touched Mistress's lips as her earring picked up his sigh. She could just picture him closing his eyes and sighing as he paused whatever he was doing. Why had she not grown stronger contact with the dragons before? Of course, she knew the answer, and that she was still not willing to open to any of them.

That certainly didn't exclude interacting with them, though. "Don't be silly, Dionysius." She replied as she made her way around the last of the book shelfs to where he stood.

She paused her movement, her currently soft hued caramel eyes glancing him over. So prim and proper, as always... It made her want to run her fingers through his hair and mess up his clothing. It was a strange feeling, she had been fiddling with worthless humans so long who were hardly fun to toy with.

"I think you forget, I am part of the body that makes the laws in these times." She couldn't resist, she moved closer than she knew he would be comfortable with. Her hair was down now, a rare thing, the gentle curls and waves framing her face, falling over her shoulders and down her back...

She knew why she had came here, the dragon crystal was still encased in her left hand, but she still did not speak on it. Instead, she lifted her right hair and tenderly grasped one of his golden locks, swirling it around her finger idly. "You don't seem glad to see me. I'm most hurt." She spoke with a pout.

[Benjamin "Dionysius" Musaphia]

Dionysius wrinkled his nose slightly as she reminded him of her improved position within the world. He didn't like their new, unbalanced places at all. And he didn't particularly care to have his hair played with but he wasn't going to even acknowledge she was doing it. It'd just encourge her.

"You tend to visit only when you want something," he said, rather more bluntly than he meant to. Mistress had always been able to unravel him more than he liked. "Perhaps if you occationally made a social call I would be less inclined to assume things of you?"

His mouth twitched slightly and he watched her curling his hair out of the corner of his eye. It was astoundingly distracting as well as being annoying.

[Lilith "Mistress" Antekkereh]

Dionysius wasn't going to acknowledge it, but Mistress knew she was getting to him. In all her years she had not seen someone push his buttons as well as her. It gave her a sense of pride for some reason.

The words he spoke were true though, and she knew it. "As always, you need to learn to not be so prim all the time. So serious. Perhaps I will give you more social visits to attempt to teach you to relax. You certainly need lessons."

Her finger released the golden lock to, instead, caress his faded tan colored skin. Her finger traced a line down his temple to his jaw, from his jaw to his neck. At the collar of his shirt, she finally pulled her finger from his skin, Leaning back, she brought her left hand up.

As she was loosening her fingers to reveal the crystal, she caught a glimpse of gold. That was strange. She opened her hand fully to see that a golden dragon had also been shaped next to the black one now. The golden one certainly bore an annoyed look about him as the black one was obviously coming onto him.

"Well, would you look at that." This necklace was just full of surprises. She turned her hand so that the self-sculpturing crystal hung in the air, the chain twisted around her fingers. "I came to inquire if you know anything on this necklace."

The human who had spoke of it before to her had said it was the necklace of dragons, or some type of lame name like that. He had said it was rumored to have been crafted for one dragon who wore a mask. There were other details he had told her, but that was the gist.

She doubted it held any such power that could aid her, but it was certainly a unique necklace.

[Benjamin "Dionysius" Musaphia]

Dionysius kept perfectly still. Mistress had annoying habits but she would simply become worse if he acted against them. His annoyance was forgotten, however, when he saw the crystal she held. How very... odd.

"You interrupt my work to show me a luid display preserved in crystal?" He asked, attempting to hold onto his frustation inspite of his curiosity. He turned his head to see the thing properly. Well made, it seemed an odd choice for a medium.

"I assume this is something you deem to be important?" He asked, turning his eyes back to Mistress.

[Aubrey 16]

Aubrey didn't pay much attention to Peter's spectacle. Instead, she inspected her finger nails, which she'd painted pink with painstaking care. They were precisely the same color as her hair, and she was glad that Annette hadn't noticed them. She probably would've gotten in more trouble.

She chanced a glance at Bambi, and could practically read the worry on her face. She involuntarily sighed a little.

If Aubrey was stupid, she would've pointed out that she was sitting in between nearly every clear passage way between Bambi and the trained rifle pointed at her skull, and she could move to get Bambi out of harms way in a millisecond. Thankfully, Aubrey wasn't stupid, and instead, she cocked an eyebrow, shaking her head at Alexei.

"No, simply a friend of Bambi's who prefers pink hair." She shrugged a little. "You're not the first to make that mistake, though."

[Cillian Machiavelli]

Taking her hand he kisses it lightly then licks his lips relishing the taste of her left there. He pulls her delicate hand through his arm and begins walking her through the streets as a gentle man would. He hardly gets to do things like this. He would not waste himself on a mere human...how he dispises them. The only mortal...well almost mortal he tolerates is Kaschei and that is because he respects him.

"Is Italian ok for our meal tonight Anna? Anna...the name of an angel. However being a dragon I know angels are not as powerful or as great as we...but angels seem to be more beautiful to the humans. But I can see you have potential as well as beauty my dear. I myself have lived all over the world. I have done many things. I have years of magickal skill and prowess as well as...other talents, tell me my dear what talents do those cerulean eyes hold behind them waiting to unleash forth for me.?

[Alexei Nacharade]

Alexei smirked and looked at Bambi, straight into her eyes.

"She's not a creditor, then, is she?" He asks, one eye brow raised.

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

Peter was putting alot of energy into not leaping across the table and beating on Alexei. He hated waiting. He hated this place. He hated Alexei. He hated whoever was outside for 1) having a gun on a girl who he kind of liked and 2) for being so damned impossible to find.

Maybe if he said he needed to take a smoke break he could go outside and find her himself? If he'd had a little more time he'd have called in a ringer. He knew just the guy for a situation like this.

It was the lack of information that was killing him. In virtually any case Bambi would be fine, she had Aubrey to protect her. If the sniper was using a manala gun, he was in danger. If she was using solid ammunition, he was in a slight amount of danger. And besides that, he didn't know what Alexei could do. If they guy had a gun and Peter wasn't able to get to him fast enough, that was trouble.

He had training in disarming and in fighting armed opponnents of course, he just prefured a one sided fight whenever possible.

[Taniel and Taline Qassim]

Taline stay at the cashier at their store while Taniel head upstairs. She knew that her younger brother is going through his 'ritual'.

"He better not make a mess." Taline mutter to herself before sipping her Bella Cola.

Just before they open their store, Taniel brought couple of boxes of doughnuts(jelly filled) and a gallon of milk. As soon as they open the front door, Taniel told Taline to be a cashier while he does his business upstairs. His 'ritual' is stuff his face with doughments and drink a whole gallon of milk and when he's finish, Taniel went to his bathroom and puke out the food. This last about an hour. As he flush the toliet, wash his hands and heads downstairs, Taline cover her nose.

"Change your clothes." Taline says to her brother.

"Not too loud." Taniel whisper back and point at the customers.

"At least do your ritual either in the morning or at night time."

"Fine."

Taniel swich places with Taline at the cashier. Taline went to the back and took one of her quick naps.

[ronny]

"A banquet of the Blessed will be at Keitoleinen's mansion?" Ronny mutter to herself. She heard the news from other priests before leaving Scrag's home.

Ronny is sitting at the one of the parks in Paris, France. She's wearing long sleeve pale pink shirt, red cargo pants, and black closed toes sandals. She kinda doesn't want to go since she barely knows anyone who isn't a priests or priestesses, but has to go if Scrag does want to go to the banquet of the Blessed.

Ronny let out a sigh before standing up and walk to the nearest teleportation booth. She press a few buttons before entering into the booth and teleport to Helsinki. Once she's at Helsinki, Ronny began walking around the city.

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi suddenly regretted the fact she had told Alexei she sucked at lying. Now what was she going to do? Realizing the longer she took to reply, the more suspicious she'd look, she nodded her head at a natural speed to Alexei's question.

"She's my friend, who prefers a great many of things pink." She replied with a slight smile. She wondered how this situation was going to possibly turn out again. What if he realized she had not technically, verbally answered his question?

Then they'd be kind of screwed.

[Lilith "Mistress" Antekkereh]

A grin touched Mistress's lips again at his description, though she felt a tinge run along the chain. Thing had a personality. She decided to keep it off for now as she simply lowered her hand with a light nod.

"It's certainly old, and has some sort of power. It can mask itself from mortal eyes." She wondered if he felt the hum from it as she did as she turned his gaze downward, running her finger along the two crystal dragons. "It changes its sculpture according to something, moods, I'm assuming."

She pursed her lips at the thing. Why had it shifted to include the golden dragon? What form would it take if Dionysius was to hold it? He appeared not to know if it was anything of importance as he was inquiring if she found it important.

[John Duddy]

Duddy had laid his trap and now waited for Sy to show. He knew she would for, Swaggert had told him she could not control herself during a mission. All around the area John set up traps with guns that were set to stun, right now as he sat under a tree and wait, he had a dirk and a gun set to fatal strapped to him just incase, others tried to join the party. Duddy popped the top off his jug of moonshine and decided to drink alittle bit of the tension away. He then started thinking about what he and Sy had and tears came to his eyes, until he drifted off into a drunken sleep.