Beautiful Darkness

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Anrar had woken slowly and for a moment he felt panic as he took in the unfamiliar room. Memory sank in soon after as he saw the bandage on this wrist and the blond let out a sigh, slumping back into the bed for a moment before he realized that the sheets smelled of someone familiar - right, Fred - and he had probably ruined them. The male winced and slowly got up, his body protesting the movement, but working nonetheless. He looked around again stretching carefully and then proceeded to take the blankets off the bed, fold them and then strip the sheets off completely, leaving the stack of blankets on the bed, the pillows without cases before he ventured out of the room and found a laundry basket. He put the sheets there and looked around once more, dark green eyes taking in everything silently.

And then taking in Fred as she walked out of the bathroom in a towel. The blond stared for a long moment, unable to help the way his gaze moved down her frame, taking in her skin and her dripping hair, the water that still glistened against her arms and shoulders, legs... Not even the injuries could take away from her allure. He looked away the moment his eyes met her own, however, and his own face hid behind his hair as it fell forward. He appeared suitably embarrassed and even shy when he spoke.

"I'm sorry. I didn't...umm...I can go..."

Anrar didn't normally stutter, but then again, he didn't normal stand across the room from a beautiful woman who was in nothing but a towel either.
 
A blush covered her cheeks, not expecting to see him up already. "I'm sorry!" she ran into her bedroom and slammed the door. It had been a long time since she had been in a towel, let alone naked, in front of anyone. Her hand slammed into her forehead realizing how stupid that was and how she must have seemed. Regaining her composer before she got dressed.

Walking out in a pair of denim shorts and an old band t-shirt, her dreads left down to frame her face, she tossed the used towel into the hamper. "There um..." she couldn't even make eye contact with him, "There's a clean towel in there... You need to change your bandage..." muttering as she pointed to his neck. "I made coffee!" she squeaked grabbing a light blue mug off the shelf and pouring a cup.
 
Anrar smiled a little when she disappeared and when she came back out, he was nearly in the same place she'd left him as the blond did not want to go anywhere or touch anything he was not allowed to. This was Fred's home and he wasn't going to impose anymore than he already had. She'd been more than gracious letting him stay the night and if she didn't ask anything more of him today, he'd leave and she'd never see him again. She'd be safe once more and free to live her life as she wanted to without interference from him or anything that came from his world, the world she had only glimpsed.

When the honey-haired woman emerged again, Anrar watched her quietly, his dark green eyes never leaving her as she worked around her kitchen and apartment, muttering her words toward him. He caught them easily enough and approached the counter, reaching to grab the coffee she'd poured for him as well. He stopped abruptly when he saw the liquid in the cup start to bubble and pulled his hand back, swallowing hard and looking away.

"I think I will shower first." he said softly, recalling how she'd offered such a thing for him the night before. He left then to the bathroom and took the bandages off before he stepped into the shower. He hissed at the sting of the water on the wounds, but watched as the blood washed away. It was the only calm moment he had as his body finally rebelled, having waited far too long and he nearly cried out at the pain that spread along his limbs, through his blood. Fire, barely contained by the water around him, flared and flickered across his body and Anrar curled at the bottom of the shower, holding back the screams and hoping the shower muffled the sobs he worked to contain as his frame trembled and shuddered, his blood boiling within him as his body transitioned.

It finally seemed to end after several agonizing minutes and the blond slowly, shakily turned the shower off and got out. He wiped another towel over the fogged mirror and tried not to look at his own eyes, not wanting to see the pain reflected back at him, instead letting his gaze move over the bite mark on his neck and the evidence of at least a dozen more just like them all along his neck and shoulders, one even along his rib-cage, now scarred over, some fainter than others. They weren't the only marks on his body, burns and cuts, even something that looked like whip markings along his side, leading toward his back, but Anrar didn't linger long enough to turn around and view that part of his body, already knowing what was there. He dressed back in his dirty clothes because he had nothing else and after drying his hair the best he could at the moment, moved out of the bathroom.

He could feel the tremble that still hadn't left his body, the heat of his own skin that told him the transition wasn't complete yet, but it was starting to work without pain now and it wasn't anything he couldn't hide. Well, at least he hoped he could hide it from Fred. At the thought of the woman, he looked up and around, seeing where she might be and wondering if she had anymore bandages he could use.
 
Fred was puzzled when he reached for the mug and then pulled away for a shower, glancing down at the mug and then the bathroom door her shoulders raised in a shrug, "Sometimes you just need a shower I guess..." Placing the mug down she moved into her bedroom to see the bed stripped. "Hm.. Thanks?"

Opening the bottom drawer of her dresser she pulled out a men's t-shirt, only left behind by an ex and one she usually uses to sleep in because its roomy. Right after she grabs the first aid kit and extra gauze, moving out to the couch to examine her body further. Her ankle was swollen and so was her wrist, but her wrist she was used to. It was broken when she was a child, but it never healed right so it can be sensitive to falls and hits. Grabbing the ace bandages from the kit she wrapped up her ankle and wrist.

As she began on her arm Anrar walked out, "I only have a shirt for you..." gesturing to the purple cotton on the arm of the couch. "You can put yours in the hamper or trash. Sorry for no pants." Tapping down the last bit of gauze on her arm and shifting to the other side of the couch, sh pat the spot next to her. "After you change, sit down and I'll take a look at your wounds." Even after what had happened it may have seemed weird as to how nice she was being. In the past she has had a few bad injuries and dealt with them on her own, so she couldn't help but sympathize with his current condition.
 
Anrar looked down at the fabric and he picked it up, but made no move to put it on at the moment as he watched Fred and slowly did as he was told. She'd told him to change first, but he knew it would look strange if he left to do that. After all, what guy didn't take his shirt off in front of a girl? It wasn't the same as when a woman did it, but Anrar was not about to show her the scars he held until....well, at least until she knew how he might have gotten them...if she ever found out at all. He behaved for all the world like he was going to break something as he settled on the couch and the blond looked Fred over again, this time frowning at all the areas on her body that had been effected from the fight.

He forgot how fragile humans were.

Anrar longed in that moment to reach out and sooth what pains he could - and he could do that - but he hesitated because there was still a chance for her and he didn't want to ruin it. So he did nothing yet and instead moved his damp hair away from the wound on his neck, hoping that like last night, she would be too focused on the current bite mark to notice the old. It looked better today, almost too good as a thin layer of skin had come over the puncture marks and while it was scabbed up, it was also far more advanced in the healing stage than it should have been. The same went for his wrist.

The blond tried to distract from this...and from her taking actual note of how hot his skin was, though, that was going to be much harder to draw attention from. "Did you break anything? From the fall?"
 
Fred's head tilts to her side as she looked over the bite mark on his neck, "Wow... You're already healing pretty well..." she muttered placing fresh gauze around the bite. As she placed the tap on she could feel how hot his skin was, "Did you get an infection? You're burning up." she asked placing the back of her hand to his forehead, "Hm..."

Holding up his wrist she examined it closely, "No infections... but good healing.." She gave him a crooked look as if she was starting to see something was up before placing a few butterfly bandages to his wrist, "My wrist was broken when I was younger..." her eyes glances down at the wrapped joint and sighed, "It never healed right, so its just sensitive. I think my ankle got twisted something bad when I was thrown." her shoulders raised in a shrug before changing the subject, "Want some coffee now? I can heat it up for you."
 
Anrar tried not to tense at her words and her almost flinched at her touch, but controlled that reaction as well, shaking his head at her question. "No, I don't think so." was his murmured reply as she saw to his wrist and when she was done, the blond looked down at her own arm, concern flickering across his face before she changed the subject and he let her, knowing very well when diversion was being employed as he did it often himself. He nodded at her offer and when she rose, he did as well, watching to make sure she wouldn't turn around before he slipped his shirt off and then put the new one on.

The most she'd catch would be a small glimpse of some scarring, toned abs and stomach before the fabric would cover everything again, so quick was the change. Anrar moved to the kitchen then and tossed his own shirt into the garbage, knowing it wasn't worth keeping. He'd never get the blood out. He leaned against the counter as the coffee was offered to him and this time when the liquid inside started to boil, he just kept the content's out of Fred's sight. The temperature of his skin was slowly going down, but it would be a while before it felt normal again and the blond knew the worst of the transition was over even if it wasn't done.

Anrar took a sip of the boiling liquid, no discomfort for the heat on his face, and then he merely cradled the cup before looking to Fred, studying her for a moment before he spoke, knowing one of them had to. "Fre, I told you things last night that you didn't believe...or you didn't want to believe. I must ask you, though, do you still want me to explain what happened or do you want me to go, to forget this ever happened? It is your choice, but you have to know that whatever I tell you, if you choose to know it...it will put you in danger and I can't promise you'll be fine."

It was the most honest thing he could tell her. Anrar knew he couldn't stay here much longer. They'd still be looking for him. They never stopped.
 
Fred moved to go heat up the coffee, a blush covered her cheeks when she looked back at the right second to see his abs. Her head quickly spun back around in time for the microwave to go off. Pulling the mug from the microwave she gave it to Alex, eyes glued to the counter. Her mind raced for a moment, wondering how he might have looked in the shower. The only thing that brought her back to reality were his words, she looked up at him and gave a sigh grabbing her own mug.

Taking a sip of her coffee, "Yeah... I'd like to know since I got the shit beat out of me, threatened..." anger started to grow inside of her, her lips pinching together as she pushed the feels deep down. "Who are you and why were those guys after you? Do you owe them money? Do they want revenge?" Her index finger tapped into the counter's surface with each question, she was done trying to think of excuses and hoping it was all just a bad dream.
 
Anrar sighed and he set his cup down, hands gripping the counter behind him for a long moment as he thought, looking at the floor. How to tell her and have her believe? The hope that she'd just go on with her life was fast slipping from his fingers and Anrar was done fighting it. She might die from this, but at least if she did, she'd know what killed her and that was more than a lot of people got. Besides....an extremely selfish part of him wanted her to know, wanted someone to know who wasn't out to kill him or use him. He'd never expected to get that chance with anyone and now...

Now, he just didn't know how to explain at all.

"I don't owe money and I haven't done anything worth getting revenge over." he started and then looked up, pushing damp blond hair behind his ear. Anrar moved forward then, keeping his dark green eyes on Fred's lighter shaded ones, no threat in his gaze as he stopped in front of her and reached for her wrist, the one not holding the coffee cup. "The right question is not who I am, but what I am." His fingers slowly undid the ace bandage on her arm and she'd feel that his skin was hotter than any person's should be as he moved his palm to cover her wrist. Heat, white hot but somehow painless spread from his hand into her, centering on the damage done by the fall she'd taken and even some from the past, though, he couldn't help everything. It was over almost as soon as it had started and Anrar pulled back, letting her go.

The pain would be gone, her movements free and the blond watched her as he backed up against the counter again. "I'm an elemental, but...I'm different...even by elemental standards. Two of those people last night were vampires and one of them was a water elemental, just as I said. I wasn't joking and if you need me to show you something else to prove it, I will."
 
Fred wasn't sure what he was doing at first, getting so close and then taking her wrist, "Wh-What are you doing?" watching the white heat over her wrist, her eyes going wide and pulling her wrist away once he stopped. Twisting her wrist and flexing her fingers, the pain was gone and the swelling was gone. "How did you...? This is fucking crazy!"

Leaning back into the island her head shook slowly trying to process his words, "Then what are you? I mean that guy... He was air or water, right? So you're... Like..." her eyes rapidly looked around as if trying to caught a word in the air, "Energy? Something as equally crazy, I'm sure." Fingers combed through her dreads and pressed into her temples, "This has to be some kind of a bad dream..."
 
He let her vent, let her say whatever she wanted because he knew it would help. It was a lot to take in and depending on how she reacted to the small things he was going to tell her, he might say more or less. It all depended on how much she accepted and how quickly. Some humans panicked when they found out about the Other World. Most went into denial or just went crazy. Others were ecstatic until it sank in that it was real and dangerous and even more violent and complicated than the world they'd known. Still others seemed to be born to handle it, born to become part of it in a way; some more than others. Only time would tell the road Fred would take.

"He was water. He was a water elemental." He'd said that to her three times now, but knew the human mind had trouble processing such things under extreme stress and Fred was stressed, and probably had a bit of a concussion if he had to bet. "I am...more complicated. There are four types of elementals; water, earth, fire and wind. I...am all four and yet none of them at the same time. Right now I am transitioning from fire to water."

He frowned, unsure she'd really understand what that meant or retain it and so Anrar held his hand out again, this time palm up. "I'm not going to hurt you." he warned quietly before a flame, small and docile sprang from his palm, wrapping around his fingers. Dark green eyes looked up to watch Fred's reaction, but were soon looking down again at the sudden burning sensation that ignited against his skin. Anrar hissed with pain and cursed as the fire sputtering out and a tendril of steaming, boiling water took it's place before that too broke apart to rain down on the kitchen floor. The blond looked at his blistered fingers with an exasperated expression before bringing his attention back to Fred.

"Sorry."
 
Watching she was stunned, her eyes staring blankly at his hand at the flames flickered and moved. Jumping as the flames turned to boiling water and fell onto the tiled floor. Quickly bouncing up to sit on the counter, pulling her knees to her chest as if touching the same floor would burn her. For a moment her eyes didn't leave the small puddle of water on the floor, very slowly letting go of her legs and touching her feet to the floor. "Sorry... I wasn't sure... Its scary..."

She sounded almost childish, how could she not? What she was hearing are things one would read in a bedtime story. "This is.." a hand gesturing to the floor and then his hand, "I mean.. You.. It... The water..." Her mind was racing, tripping over her words, her mouth couldn't form a full sentence, let alone start one. "W-Would you.. If you can heal then couldn't you just, I don't know, heal yourself? Instead of the gauze?" This time pointing to his neck and wrist.
 
Well, so far so good. She hadn't started demanding that he leave or start screaming, or backing away chanting that this wasn't true. All three reactions were things he'd witnessed among others and Fred was doing well so far in keeping herself in check and listening. Anrar was actually a little impressed and he smiled just slightly, looking down at his wrist before he shook his head. "I doesn't work like that. See, I don't actually have a true healing ability, it's more like a phantom power. It's...it's like when you use a heating pad on a sore muscle. The heating pad doesn't heal anything, but it makes your leg feel better. My 'healing' is a notch above that. It encourages the body to heal itself, but it only works on minor things like bruises, twisted muscles, strained tendons and the like. I'm not an actual healer and while my body heals faster than a humans, I can't heal myself."

Anrar pushed himself up on the counter then and he crossed his legs, giving clear indication that he wasn't going to move or approach her again until she was comfortable with him doing so. The blond carded his hand back through his hair, fingers getting caught in the tangles before he gave it up as a lost cause and settled his hands back in his lap, looking down, unsure how to continue, where to start.

Well, perhaps with the people who'd attacked them. "Those people in the alley, I'd never met them before, but they aren't the first to have found me like that. They wouldn't have killed me, but they want me because," He shrugged a little, looking up at Fred and then away again, hesitating. She was going to think he was the biggest egomaniac alive. "because I can do things no one else can do. What I am is so rare it's only born every few hundred years and when it is...everyone wants it."
 
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"So you're born this way... Like X-Men? Mutants type thing?" Hesitantly she knelt down, the pads of her fingers touching the puddle. "Its just water..." she mumbled to herself as if it was a way to prove she wasn't going crazy and things were going to be okay. "So if you're the only one born every so many years... What causes it? Genetics?" Now her mind was just trying to find the logic in a chaos.

Looking up at him she sat down with a soft groan, rubbing at her lower back, "Think I bruised my tail bone..." muttering to herself before focusing back on the main topic. "Anyway... So..." an index finger moved to push the water around in circles on a white tile, "There are many of your kind? Like a whole other world? Or is it rare, randomly happens? Well I guess it isn't random if you're born with it..." now she was just rambling, something she did when nervous. "Or maybe.." she just kind of rambled on until he would stop her and once he did, if he did, she would bite her lip and blush in embarrassment.
 
She was smart. Good. That would help her.

Anrar interrupted Fred gently, moving off the counter and down to her level, sitting on the floor, the puddle of water between them. He made sure to keep distance, for both their sake before speaking, relaxing a little as she'd not freaked out on him. This was going better than he had thought it would...but then again, he hadn't expected to be telling anyone this at all, much less a co-worker, the woman who'd asked him to drinks as a thank you for a tattoo. The woman he'd hardly said two words to in the few months he'd been at The Green Rose.

Life was odd.

"It's a whole other world. Some of us are born like this and some of us are created. Fre...it's..." He searched for a way to explain and finally found it, voice and words more confident this time. "All the legends are true. The stories you grew up with about vampires and werewolves, sirens, fairies, unicorns, people with powers and strange things that happen at night. That's us, that the Other World. It's all around you and yet separate until your eyes are opened to it. It's not rare at all and has been this way since the beginning."

Anrar reached out slowly, the water on the ground rising toward his palm in a slow, gentle swirl, creating elaborate patterns in the air between his hand and the tiles. Dark green eyes glanced up at Fred, watching to see what she'd done, what she'd think. He would keep doing things like this, just to cement in her mind that this was real, but also to get her used to such things, to show her that he meant her no harm, but also to get her thinking about what a person could do with such power, the danger she might be in. It was a complex lesson. "There are three ways one can become like us. I was born as I am, as are all elementals and many other creatures like fairies and griffins. Werewolves are born AND made. And others such as vampires are simply made by others to be the way they are, transitioning from human to vampire."

He raised a brow, searching her expression. "What else would you like to know?"
 
"Made, born, transition... So many things to learn. As a child you assume that when you grow up you know everything. But I still know nothing." mumbling to herself as her head would tilt, watching the water move under his palm. A finger reached out to poke at the water, a small smile pulling at her lips when it didn't hurt her. "Just water..." she repeated to herself, pulling her fingers away and rubbing it against her thumb. "Starting to make me feel like everything I know is false."

Shaking her head slowly she still couldn't wrap her head around it, "It makes since I guess... So if someone, like me, ever saw something out of the corner of their eye and thought they were just seeing things... It was probably one of your kind?" her expression was one of confusion, want for information, also pleading for reassurance that it this was real life. The reality she knew was wrong and this one was right.

Fred gave a soft sigh at his question for anything else, "Yeah one thing..." looking back up at him she rest her chin into the palm of her hand. "Why do you call me 'Fre'? Not Fred, or Winifred, but Fre? I don't mind it. I'm just curious."
 
"Not false, just different." Anrar corrected softly, not really expecting her to stop and engage him on that point and he listened to what more she had to say, shaking his head a little, amused as he answered. "Yes and no. Sometimes, even people like me, just think we see things and it means nothing. It's our own fear or unease playing tricks with our mind, but sometimes, yes, it is one of my kind. For the most part, though, we are hidden in plain sight, at least those of us who can appear human and the rest keep away from humans. Rarely do you actually see something that can't be explained away in one manner or another."

He tilted his head, letting the water move away from the floor and on to his skin where it simply disappeared back into his body. "Think about it. You were willing to overlook what you'd seen last night if you could explain it away. The vampires' speed? The water ropes? The advanced healing? All because you hit your head hard and were seeing things, yes? And the bite to my neck; a crazy woman with a vampire fetish. You see how easily humans overlook things simply because you don't want it to be real?"

Anrar didn't really require an answer to the question - he just wanted her to think on it - and he looked away at her last question, finding her green eyes just a little too piercing in that moment, letting his own face be partially hidden away by his hair. He'd been open and honest with her so far, but there was still a tension to him, a wariness and withdrawn nature that was now starting to peek back into existence if for no other reason than his sudden attack of shyness.

"I...I like the meaning of it. Fre, in my tongue, means 'fiery and beautiful'. I...though it suited you and....it's more...feminine. It..it suits you."
 
Gasping as the water went back into his hand she grabbed for his wrist, being careful of her cut, and looked over his palm. "How did you do that?!" questioning as an index finger poked at the creases in his hand. "Interesting..." Eyes darted back up to him, releasing his hand, "Sorry... I shouldn't have done that without your permission."

As he spoke her 'brow furrowed and her expression seemed serious as she thought it over, her cheek pressing into her knuckles as his words set in. "Yeah..." a small frown found her lips as she remembered trying to rationalize what had happened, the woman, the strength, Anrar trying to explain the blue haired asshole. "So.. There are some that don't look-" her question was cut off when it next explanation floated into her ears.

"Y-You what..?" straightening up, her face beat red, she wasn't sure what to say, "So... My name isn't feminine?" her head cocking to the side as she thought about it. It was stupid, out off all the nice things he said and all she caught was that her name wasn't feminine enough. "And tongue? So you also speak another language? Let me guess... Not of my world, right?"
 
Anrar nearly jumped as she took his hand, the contact startling him and he had to grit his teeth to keep his body from flaring with more than just water. The heat radiating from him spiked upward, but he controlled the flames before they erupted from his skin and merely gave Fred a reassuring looks when she met his eyes again. "It's alright." he intoned quietly and waited to answer her question as she went on to say more, his head tilted in interest for what she might ask. His mind worked swiftly to store every question, every curiosity and Anrar's memory was way past genius level for a human.

Still, the question she seemed most interested in surprised him and Anrar found himself smiling a little as he raised a brow and waited once more for her to quiet before speaking. "Winifred is feminine, but from what I have observed of humans, Fred is a man's name. I do know that male and female names are often interchangeable, but Fred is commonly masculine." He is very matter-of-fact, not judging or scorning, but what he says is true.

The blond looked down at his hand, flexing his fingers slowly and watching as a combination of fire, wrapping around his fingers, and water, steaming and nearly boiling in his palm, caressed his skin. It let him know just how far into his transition he was. He still had a few hours to go. Anrar sighed and pushed the thought away, focusing again as he let his body absorb both water and fire again. "I speak seven of your human languages and two of the mythical dialects. Elementals, elves, fairies, griffins and dragon all speak one language; Draceveln, and vampires, werewolves, phoenixes, sirens, nymphs and mermaids all speak another; Sevisnon. Of course, other races fall into sub-dialects, but those two are the most common. Fre is from the language of Draceveln."

"As for how mythicals look, yes, some of us appear perfectly normal. I do, Evangeline did, Marcus did. There are others that can't hide what they are, but the ones you really have to worry about are those who can hide in plain sight. Vampires, sirens and werewolves are among these, though, the vampires are the more dangerous of the three and the sirens following them." Anrar explained in the same calm, even tone he'd been using all morning. He smiled a little. "As for what I did..."

A flame appeared, hovering over his hand, licking upward and outward, but controlled and he looked at Fred through the flames, the light creating shadows on his face. "I told you, I can control the four elements. I just can't do them all at the same time. Normally I can't even do two at a time, but I'm switching from fire to water right now." He let the fire extinguish again and he pulled his hair back again, looking unsure as he looked away from Fred and then back at her once more.

"Do you remember what I told you about your tattoo? About how it needs to be blessed by someone with the power of fire?" His dark green eyes met hers then, head tilting, hair falling around his face again with the motion. "Would you...let me do that for you?"
 
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Fred frowned at his words, it was true about her name. "I just don't like being called Winifred.. or Wini... Its an ugly name." Her light hues caught the flickering of flames in his hand, she found it almost hypnotizing how it could just appear and he could control the flames. "Seven you say? Besides English, what are the other ones? I only know English..." the frown still on her lips.

A few digits reached out to touched the flames, quickly pulling her hand away realizing she'd be touching something that would hurt her. As her eyes met his through the flames a small smile pulled at her lips, "So when you... transition... is it painful? Random?" Placing her hand over her ribs where the tattoo was she looked down at her wrapped arm, "Well..." she did get hurt and it was a painful night, "Would it hurt me? Would I still be normal?" She winced at her words, seeing how using the word normal might be hurtful towards Anrar. "I mean, would it effect me? Would I still be human? Sorry."
 
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