Through Time

[Kaisaan]

Natasha Valli licked the blood from her fingers as one might sticky residue from candy, being sure to get it all before she tossed the blood bag into the trash can by the counter, humming in satisfaction to have her hunger sated as she moved out of the kitchen of the penthouse apartment she called home.

Rent free, too. It was so nice being able to compel people.

Flopping into the beige couch in her sunken living room, Natasha flipped her blond hair behind her shoulder with a flick of her head, picking up her phone from the glass coffee table and scrolling through her messages to see if she had any new ones.

Chloe was calling again, but blue-green eyes rolled, skipping over those messages. The other vampire was particularly annoying and the only reason Natasha kept in contact with her at all was because Chloe was a downright ninja b***h when it came to fighting and happened to be under Natasha's district of command. Didn't mean she wanted to hang out with the other woman on their off-time.

Nat glanced over the rest of her messages before sighing and clicking her phone off, trailing her hand back through her hair as she looked around at her empty flat and made a face, standing after a moment and pocketing her phone, slipping on her trainers and taking her keys before she headed out the door.

Serge had told her to try and stay out of trouble this month, that the Elementals were growing far more bold in their attacks, that the Vampire faction was planning a brutal retaliation, but Nat couldn't very well sit at home doing nothing. That was part of the reason she'd joined the War in the first place. She'd needed some action, some danger, something to make her feel alive again after more than a hundred years.

Tonight, though...she wouldn't be looking for trouble. No, never.

A simple night of clubbing would work just as well, she was sure. Especially if it served some good alcohol.

 

[Saja]

Ah yes, Tony thought as he glanced around the packed club. It shouldn't be too hard to find a little fun tonight! Moving easily from the entrance to the bar, he felt various women pressing up against him as he slipped through the crowd. With the club being so crowded, he couldn't be sure whether the physical contact was accidental or not, but either way, Tony wasn't complaining. When he reached the bar, a slim young woman with long black hair stood and approached, offered to buy him a drink and invited him to sit beside her. Tony flashed a winning smile, displaying perfect teeth that had never needed braces, and in his sexy Scottish brogue answered, "Thank you so very much. I'd like a Slow Comfortable Screw Against the Wall. The drink, I mean." As the bartender handed him a glass, the woman looked as though she was fighting herself to not grab ahold of the tall, dark stranger in front of her and kiss him right then and there. Tony, being very familiar with the inner turmoil he wreaked with women, teased as he leaned forward until his full lips were resting against the woman's ear and gently exhaled into her ear as he whispered, "Thanks again for the drink, Beautiful." Then, with another smile reaching his dancing green eyes, he turned away. After all, dark-haired women weren't really his favorite and he wasn't about to get tied down for the night in the first five minutes here. With the first swig of alcohol warming his throat as it made its way to his stomach, Tony leaned back against the bar and surveyed the room. It was shaping up to be a promising night, indeed.

 

[Kaisaan]

Natasha entered the club with the confidence of someone who'd done this before, had played the scene and knew what they wanted. And right now, all she wanted was a few good drinks, some great dancing, maybe a snack before she left and to be alone when she finally departed. She wasn't looking for a quick lay, just a good time to take her mind off her upcoming mission. Killing had never bothered her, but it could get rather tedious and one did need to unwind every so often. Though, she was hardly going to let her guard down.

Elementals were not so easy to spot, even as Vampires were not easy to pick out from a crowd, so she'd be careful tonight and pray that if on the off-chance there were any Elementals here tonight that they were simply looking for some fun, too and would not cause trouble. She would really hate to ruin this dress with fresh blood stains. Thinking of such, her hands smoothed down from her waist to her thighs, along her hips as she made sure the tight, aqua-colored dress was in order.

Smiling to herself, Nat tousled her own hair with a hand and walked into the crowd, completely comfortable in her somewhat mismatched attire of a short dress that reached mid-thigh and hugged every curve in all the right places and black trainers on her feet in place of heels. She'd been in one too many situations that had gone sour and running in high-heels was downright suicidal. So she always left home with something practical on her feet. Period.

Now, though, she was hardly thinking about running and the Vampire made her way to the bar, flashing a smile to the bartender. "Bloody Mary, please." The man gave a nod and Nat turned around, forearms leaning back against the counter as she surveyed the crowd, casually scanning, not looking for anything in particular. She'd drink some, dance some and drink again, maybe find a nice human to feed on before she left entirely and crashed back at her place.

And then she was more than sure that Serge would wake her up via phone and yell at her for not being home until she regretted her decision to go out at all.

The very thought brought a private quirk of a smile to her face.

 

[Saja]

From his vantage point at the bar, Tony could see many women who struck him as potentially worth investing a night of effort. One blonde in particular caught his eye and interest and after watching her for a good while, the handsome man set down his empty glass with the intention of heading over to say hello. As he stood, however, his attention was diverted to the door of the club and a sexy blonde who was walking through it. Wooooo! Tony whistled low through his teeth. Damn! She is fine! Forgetting entirely about the woman he had planned to schmooze, Tony focused, instead, on observing the movements of the newcomer who had him mesmerized. The blue-green dress she wore hugged her curvaceous body like a second skin and her tousled long blonde hair had Tony longing to bury his hands in its tresses. As his gaze slowly traveled lower, he smiled to see the long, well-formed legs ~ he always did find women's legs particularly attractive. Oddly enough, however, were the shoes the woman was wearing. Instead of strappy sandals or stilettos, she sported running shoes. That's weird. Well, maybe she is coming straight from work and didn't have dress shoes with her. Shrugging to himself, Tony let his eyes roam north once again, taking in every detail of the slim figure moving closer to the bar. Then, before any other guy could approach her, he walked directly to where she was standing, determined to be the first AND last man she spoke to this evening.

"Hello there," he gave his most-winning smile as he stared directly into the woman's eyes, completely confident in himself. "May I buy you a drink?"

 

[Kaisaan]

Her view was abruptly blocked and Nat's eyes instantly snapped up to the face of the figure in her way. She kept her cool despite the inner irritation at being interrupted in her internal planning, conceding that perhaps this person might make her change her mind about what she wanted tonight. Blue-green eyes nearly the same shade as her dress, but far more vivid looked into pale green of the most piercingly quality and Nat's head tilted, gold waves of hair rippling down her shoulder.

She let her eyes wander, making no effort to pretend she wasn't checking him out.

The Vampire started from the shoes up, taking note of the expensive quality of the man's shoes, lingering over the skin-tight black jeans that accentuated all the right areas and then up to the dark green, silk shirt that was rolled up at the sleeves, revealing strong arms and partially unbuttoned at the chest, showing a toned body beneath. And then there was that face. Strong-jawed, the most perfect smile and dark hair that gave the mysterious stranger a brooding look that instantly had the Vampire feeling a buzz run through her body.

Mmm....yum. Unfortunate that he's bad news. Guy only wants one thing.

Natasha smiled back, her most charming expression, looking almost coy with the practice of years as she straightened from the bar, hearing her drink being set down behind her. "You know, I think I'll have to pass." She delivered the words with a cool tone, knowing that would discourage him faster than anything else and the blond grabbed her drink before placing one hand on his chest - and damn, was he built! - and pushing the man backward just a bit so she had room to move away. And she was quick to move away because something else had occurred to her.

He was hot. Literally. Much too warm for human temperatures. He was an Elemental. Suddenly she felt the attraction turn cold and Natasha forced herself to keep the smile, but she withdrew her hand and moved to go, tossing a parting remark over her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get over me in a heartbeat. There are plenty of women here for you to screw."

And with that, she slipped away, hoping not to run into him again. The further away she stayed from a Pyro, the better. She'd come here to have a good time, not fight.

 

[Saja]

Whaaaaa? Seriously? Tony couldn't believe the hot blonde had rejected him. Not one to be easily rebuffed, especially when there had been an obvious physical connection with a gorgeous woman who sparked his interest, he turned to the bartender to request a refill on his drink, then carried the glass with him as he moved through the club like a tiger looking for prey. Where is she? His green eyes took on a hazel hue as he determinedly searched. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again, Man. He mentally cheered himself on as he wove expertly through the crowd and then, suddenly, she appeared in his line of sight some 15 feet away.

Tony didn't hesitate in his approach and in another 10 seconds, he found himself face-to-face with the object of his desire. "Excuse me, Sweetie, but you left before I could answer you," his deep voice resonated in the space between them. "You're right; I could have gotten over you in a heartbeat, and oh yes, there are plenty of women here that I could screw if that was what I wanted. But it's a bit presumptuous to assume that is all I had in mind when I offered to buy you a drink, don't you think?" Smiling then in a charming manner that left most women weak in the knees, he lowered his voice a fraction so that the woman would need to lean closer if she wanted to hear him above the music that was pounding in the club. "Let's try this again. My name is Anthony McHale, but friends call me Tony. What's your name?" He looked expectantly at the woman and waited for her response, inhaling her sweet fragrance that reminded him of honeysuckle and vanilla ~ I wonder if that's her shampoo, soap or perfume. It's intoxicating, whatever it is! ~ and mentally tried to identify what it was about her that had him so intrigued.

 

[Kaisaan]

Oh, you had GOT to be kidding! There he was again!

Nat had smelled him before she'd seen him, something like wood-smoke and spice entering her nose and she turned at the sound of his footsteps, somehow so much clearer in the club than anything else - perhaps because she was hyper aware of what he was, the danger he presented. Her blue-green eyes met his now hazel-hued ones and the Vampire resisted the urge to let warning dark lines appear around her eyes, the beginning of a transition, letting him speak instead. He obviously did not know what she was. That was good and it needed to stay that way.

She found her brow rising at his words - and she did NOT feel her hair raise at the tone of his voice, no she did not - and smirked to answer his grin, setting her drink on the tall, round table she'd gone to and crossing her arms under her breasts, leaning not to him but away from him. And yet still hearing perfectly clearly, bless her Vampire ears. "Oh, you could have gotten over me, huh? Right, that is what every girl wants to hear and it helps your case immensely. I hardly think I was presumptuous at all and you haven't denied it yet, have you, Sweetie?" The sarcasm was thick at the end, the pet name having grated on her and Natasha took her drink again, downing it before she set it down once more and cast the Fire Elemental a cool look.

Gah, just give up already.

"I'm Tasha. You best be satisfied with that because it's all you're getting. Now, if you'll excuse me, permanently this time, I'm-"

Natasha never finished her sentence as something caught her attention, halting her train of thought. What the- Silver sparks had suddenly started to appear rapidly around her - and unbeknownst to her, around Tony - and it was without further warning that the Vampire suddenly felt the most intense, searing pain spread through her body, her very essence feeling like it was being threatened to be torn in two. She thought she might have screamed, but didn't know, sound muted to her keen ears and her breath caught in her lungs, eyes seeing nothing and yet too many colors at once. Nothing made sense as she felt a pulling sensation and everything disappeared around her in a wild vortex of sounds and events she couldn't catch.

And then there was a hard impact and it all stopped.

It felt to Nat like all was still, quiet, but she soon realized that was because she'd not yet regained her hearing, but when she did, the sound of shouting, screams, pain, objects piercing through flesh and the sound of people falling to the ground came clearly to her ears, something she recognized intimately from all the battles she'd fought. Moving her body slowly, grimacing at the ache almost to the point of still being painful that throbbed through her entire being, Natasha raised her head, completely puzzled and frightened already. Had she passed out in the club? What the hell had happened?! Had her drink been spiked?

No, that question was soon answered as her eyes finally scanned their surroundings. It was a forest and she'd been fortunate enough to land in a clearing...that was filled with warring men in the strangest manner of dress; spears and crude swords in their hands, rounded shields and armor. They were slaughtering each other and that's when the overwhelming smell came over her.

Blood.

It cancelled out everything, made it hard to think, to focus there was so much of it and Natasha slowly rose to her feet as she viewed the carnage with a mixture of impassive acceptance and extreme, almost hysterical disbelief. Part of her mind wanted to scream 'WHERE AM I?!', but the blood was distracting, awakening the predator instinct that she was practically made of. Black veins started to appear around her eyes, down her cheekbones and blue-green eyes darkened even as her fangs grew, the desire to feed growing more overwhelming by the moment.

At the moment she didn't care what was going on, not when the smell of blood was so very rich and powerful in the air, and she could have cared less about how any of these strange humans might be reacting to her.

Mere swords would not kill her.

 

[Saja]

Tony didn't know what to think. The blonde's body signals were all yes, yes, yes, but her words were no, no, no. Just as he was reaching out to put a hand on her waist, thinking he'd help her body to override her brain, there was a sudden spark of silver accompanied by a shaft of pain that cascaded through his body. The sensation of falling while watching a kaleidoscope of color swirling all around him left Tony unable to put together a coherent thought and then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over and he thudded ~ hard ~ to the ground. Slowly opening his eyes, he needed a full minute to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. In the very near distance, mayhem was ensuing; Tony could hear screams, yelling, and the unmistakable clang of metal hitting metal.

What the hell!?!? Tony frantically looked left and right, not understanding where he was or what had happened. He wasn't in the club anymore, obviously. But that begged the question of where, exactly, was he? Standing and stretching out his back, arm and leg muscles that felt as though he'd been on a 20-mile hike, his hand brushed against a tree. A tree? Okay. A tree. In an attempt to get his bearings, the handsome man decided to accept what his senses were registering rather than question them. All righty, then. What do we have here? A forest. I'm in a forest. I'm leaning against a fir tree in a forest. I see fire about a quarter-mile in front of me. There is a fight going on in front of me. It sounds like swords are being used. When did swords stop being used in combat? Ugh, I knew I should have paid attention in history class!

Stealthily moving in the direction of the fighting, staying hidden among the trees, Tony stopped when he got to the edge of the forest, where he was able to clearly observe the action taking place in front of him. Men in linen shirts with metal armor plates on their shoulders, bronze breastplates covering their chests and stomachs, and shin guards covering their otherwise-bare legs were engaged in battle. One side wore bronze helmets with red crests and the other had helmets with black feathers at the top. The soldiers used shields, iron-tipped spears, and a short sword for combat. Spartans. Isn't that what they're called? Tony tried to remember, but wasn't at all sure he was getting it right. How is it possible I am watching Greek soldiers fighting? Before another thought could form, however, his attention was drawn to a tall blonde woman wearing a skintight aqua-colored dress and running shoes. Holy crap! It's TASHA! Tony immediately began moving forward without thought, his training as a government agent kicking in and his only goal to get the woman to safety.

As he drew closer, Tony felt heat building in his chest and radiating through his arms and hands. Momentarily startled by his sensation of his fire power activating, all it took was one look at the beautiful woman's face to understand the unconscious reaction of his body. Black veins stood out against creamy skin, surrounding her eyes and outlining her cheekbones, and long white fangs were visible in the red glow provided by the fires that were burning. No frigging way! She's a VAMPIRE?!? Ah, damn it all! Tony's dismay was twofold. There was no way he was ever going to be able to hook up with her now, and then there was the little issue of the 4,000 year ongoing war between Vampires and Elementals. On the flip side, though, that explains why she turned ya down, Man. You knew there had to be a logical reason! With the drive to save Tasha now dampened by the knowledge that she was the enemy, Tony turned around and began picking his way through the rubble of downed Spartan soldiers with the intention of returning to the forest and waiting for daybreak so he could formulate a plan to get back home.

 

[Kaisaan]

Feed. Blood. Feed. Blood.

The two words, the two desires pounded their way through her, relentless and consuming. Natasha grew blind and deaf to anything else as she let out a hiss sound from deep within her throat and like a blur she moved, her fangs sinking into the neck of a soldier wearing black armor. Blood rushed into her mouth, hot, life-giving and Nat moaned in delight, oblivious to the screams and struggles that were growing weaker as she continued anyway. And then movement, sound her ears were attuned to as they meant danger came from behind her and Natasha let go of her prey in time to turn and receive a spear to the stomach. She gave a brief cry of agony before rage overcame the pain and Natasha's dark eyes fixed on the man who was looking absolutely horrified by her appearance.

With blood dripping from her mouth and chin, her white fangs flashing amidst the bright red and the dark veins around her eyes she had to look nothing less than demonic.

Nat didn't care about his opinion as she reached up and swiftly, deftly snapped his neck, snarling to herself as she looked down at the wood sticking out of her body. With brutal strength, she snapped the shaft near her skin and then looked up and around, the blood rage having abated, now logic thought starting to take its place. And that's when she saw him. At first Natasha was unsure if she wasn't just imagining it, but no. There were the dark jeans, the green shirt that didn't belong, the lack of weapons and armor, and much too clean, something even she wasn't anymore.

It was HIM! How in the world did HE end up here?! Wait. How in the world did SHE end up here! Where the hell was here!?

Looking around again, seeing that the battle had migrated away from them, the Vampire looked down at the spear still sticking through her body and hissed again, a groan of pain in her throat. Right. That needed to be taken out. The blood loss was starting to make her dizzy and not even what she'd taken from the soldier would negate that for long. So, despite the fact that the Pyro was heading the same way, she started in the general direction of the forest, her mind trying to figure out what had happened.

Trying to fit this strange occurrence with things she knew to be true, because from what she'd seen...she could have sworn she was looking at Greek and Persian soldiers.

 

[Saja]

Back in the forest and surrounded by trees, Tony breathed a bit easier. He thought he heard hissing and recognized the source as Vampire. And since there's only one vampire around here that I know of... he swiftly turned in the direction of the sound, not at all surprised when he saw Tasha approaching. In the next breath, Tony had a fireball resting in each hand and was ready if the gorgeous vampire decided to try to make trouble with him. He ducked behind a tree and waited, his inner fire burning hot and ready to deploy.

The vampire came toward him, staggering. There was a wooden spear embedded in her abdomen and she was actively bleeding. Oh wow, she's wounded. Tony felt an uncharacteristic pang of pity. Knock it off, Man! She's a vampire! So what if she's hurt ~ one less vampire in the world! Despite his inner monologue, though, the pyro stepped out from his hiding spot and slowly began moving in Tasha's direction.

"Hey, Tasha. Fancy meeting you here," he spoke softly to the injured woman. "It looks like you might need some help. Can I give you a hand?"

 

[Kaisaan]

For a moment, she merely blinked at Tony, not even really recognizing her own name. She didn't go by Tasha. She told that name to people she didn't know or like. And she didn't know him. Right, that made sense then. He was a Pyro, she had no reason to trust him or like him, but he was the only face she recognized right now and she had no idea where the hell she was. So her blue-green eyes, now darkened with pain and wariness, watched his approach - and his hands. She watched his hands very carefully, noting the steam coming off them even if there was no fire visible anymore. Of all the Elementals, Pyros were the most dangerous and she was a lone Vampire, injured and without any kind of true cover against a fire attack.

S**t.

She didn't try to run though. Nat knew that would be foolish for a multitude of reasons, the first not being that she was staked and bleeding. There was also the fireball in the back approach and the she had no idea where she was approach to consider. No, it was better that she stay right here...and Tony didn't look like he was getting ready to attack either. If he had no idea what was going on, perhaps it was true that he was thinking about the fact that they were the only two people they 'knew' as well.

So at his question, she looked down at the spear sticking out of her stomach, knowing it was also sticking out of her back and she clenched her teeth, fangs gone but canines slightly elongated anyway and her mouth bloody, giving a further appearance of fierceness. F*** this hurt! She'd had worse, but still!

The Vampire looked up and she gave a grimace of a smile. "Well, th-this dress can't g-get any worse." She hated that she stuttered, but hated even more when she was forced to cough, blood coming up with the motion and creating a rippling affect of agony through her gut. Her slender hands had wrapped around the front of the snapped-off spear, but her hands were slick with her own blood and it was difficult to get a grip on the thing.

She could get it out herself, but it would take far more effort than getting help and she'd not refused it.

 

[Kaisaan]

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