Tea Time [Salem]

[roflcopterpaul]

::Sip::

Daken listed to the sound of him delicately drinking his tea, holding onto the handle of the tiny porcelain cup with just the tips of two fingers. Today, he was in rather nice apparel, the kind of clothes that made him appear to be a young entrepreneur. Of course, the unique mohawk atop his otherwise bald scalp did add a much more interesting twist to the regular, slick comb-over that most seemed to have when dressed so well. Sitting at a booth in the corner of the restaurant, he was doing nothing more than relaxing as he sipped at the tea that he held so delicately. Drinking tea was one of the few things that he did with unyielding maturity and calmness, as it was one of the few memories he enjoyed in life. He was still a youth at the time, and though his childhood was far from a good one, that was before he had suffered the admittance of loathing from his so called parents, so it had not been all bad. Back in Japan, that old woman made the most incredible tea he had ever tasted, and though nothing since had ever been quite the same, he still greatly enjoyed his tea. As he sipped, his eyes drifted slowly around the small restaurant, trying to see if there was anyone of interest that he might be able to... Use, for the rest of the day. After all, he had no other exciting plans.

[viviana]

Salem had been caught up in another painting kick. This one had consumed about three days of her life, with barely any sleep and little to no food. Out of it all had come just a single painting. She looked over her work, making sure it was ready, making sure she was done. She wasn't too sure of it, it seemed to lack something, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Giving up for now, she decided it was time to go outside and get something to eat. Maybe the walk would clear her head, inspire her even. With a long, drawn out sigh, she pulled herself up from her seat and looked herself over in the bath room mirror. She was covered in paint, and desperately needed a hot shower.

She pulled her paint splattered t-shirt, one that was at least three sizes too large for her, up over her slender shoulders and tossed it on the floor, then her underwear, and climbed into the shower. She closed her eyes and stood there for a few moments, letting the hot water pour over her for a while. The water washed the paint away and down to the drain below, where it all mixed together into a rather ugly shade of green. She would have relaxed like this for a bit longer, but her stomach pleaded with her to rush. She didn't keep much food in the little motel refrigerator, a few apples and some milk were the only things it contained at the moment.

She lined her ash grey hues in black and coated her long lashes in mascara. With her make up brushes, she did a grey and black smokey effect on her lids, tiny flacks of silver glitter made them faintly shimmer. She let her waist length hair hang freely and do whatever it wanted, in this case, the ebony strands curled into loose silken ringlets. She dressed herself quickly enough. She started with a tight black top, which was very low cut and revealed a great view of her ample cleavage. The sleeves extended down to her wrists and clung to her skin. She slipped into an equally tight matching pair of black dress pants to show off her rear, the pant legs hugged her body all the way to ankles. She pulled on a pair of black heels, making the normally five foot four beauty stand at five foot six. With her bag in hand, she was out the door.

Before long, she was pushing her way into the door of a small cafe a few blocks from her room. The little bell above the door chimed as she entered, and the waitress, hearing it, didn't miss a beat.

"Good mornin', what can I get cha?"

She called from behind the counter, only briefly glancing at the young woman.

Salem's thick, dark pink lips parted and lifted up into a slight smile of perfect white pearls, and she responded while taking her seat at a booth on the opposite side of the room.

"A hot tea, with plenty of honey and lemon if you have it....Aaand, a chicken sandwich, please."

She requested, her high pitched voice heavily feminine and faintly carrying a hint of her Russian ancestry. As curious as it was, it also sounded as if the female carried a mild Middle Eastern twing in her tone as well. All of this was faint, and took a careful ear to truly notice.

She settled in quickly and scanned around the small room. Her eyes stopped on a group of three men, mid forties, who'd already noticed her. She looked away quickly and sighed. Would they give her trouble, or just stare and make rude comments? Rather than worry about it, she decided distract herself. She pulled a small notepad from her purse and began to draw the room around her.

[roflcopterpaul]

As the door chimed and the waitress greeted a new entry to the diner, Daken slowly turned his head to curiously see what new person was now here for him to eye. As he caught sight of her his widened slightly, though after a split second they shifted back to the normal, empty gaze. Rather than looking away and inspecting each person one after the other as he often did, he kept his eyes on this woman for rather obvious reasons. She had a perfect body, that was reason enough to strike his interest. I mean, he could get anyone he wanted, and usually spent the night with least one person so attractive that the general public would kill to be with them, but if he could do even better than that, than why not? He stared at her as she walked to the other end of the room and sat down, his eyes inspecting her as closely as they were capable of, admiring each inch of her body that he could see from the distance. He would continue the inspection when he got closer, which would probably be in just a minute or two. Reaching into the pocket of his vest, he pulled out a pen and started writing down on a small napkin that was on his table. He then folded it up once, then once again with a single hand as his other casually waved down the waitress. As she walked over, he spoke so softly that there was no way even a whisper would be heard from across the diner, and handed the waitress the money to pay for his meal with the paper tucked amongst the bills. She would then gather up his cup and the small saucer it sat upon, as he was finished with the liquid within, and took them off to the kitchen.

A few minutes after, having dropped all the dishes off and put the money in the register, she headed over to the other woman's table with the cup of tea and a plate with the sandwich. She would set them down on her table, the folded napkin being visible on the saucer, the corner of it pinned down under the cup of hot tea that sat on it. The waitress mentioned it was from Daken, pointing to him, before she shrugged and walked off. She had apparently done such things many times in her years of working here, or at least that was what Daken assumed, since she did so without hesitation when he had asked. Daken was sitting confidently, his back resting against the padded backside of the booth, his arms resting at his sides, under the table. He was staring at the woman with the most feint of smiles upon his face, not moving an inch or making a sound, simply waiting for her to notice the paper. If she did notice and unfold it, she would see what he had written on it.

~ Yesli vy mozhete ponyatʹ eto, to vy yedete domoĭ so mnoĭ segodnya vecherom.* ~


* In Russian: If you can understand this, then you are coming home with me tonight.

[/i][/color][/blockquote]

[viviana]

She was so fully engrossed in her drawing that she hadn't noticed Daken. She barely noticed the waitress bringing her, her order, and she probably wouldn't have at all, if the woman had not spoke. She sat her napkin down and gestured to an odd looking male across the room, staring at her. Her eyes lingered on him for a few seconds before shifting to the napkin.

This was nothing new to her, obviously. She read the writing and looked up at him again, making eye contact if she could. Her left eyebrow raised, and she shot him a playful smirk. Unlike most of the men who hit on her, the older fellows in the room included, this guy was actually pretty damned attractive. His cocky demeanor would have been a turn off to most, but she found it extremely sexy. A man with that kind of confidence was worth looking into. The question was, were they going to keep exchanging these little notes and stares for a while, or was he about to approach her?

She didn't have long to wonder, the trio of old men had gotten confident too, and soon surrounded her.

"God damn, honey, those are huge!"

The red headed man to the right of her exclaimed, staring bluntly down her shirt. As she stared at his bloated face, she began to notice pieces of food in his facial hair. Disgusting.

"Yeah they are, Jimmy!"

A tall, bald man in the center agreed, staring just like his friend. He was the least filthy looking of the three.

"Hey bitch, what's your cup size?"

The third, a short, stubby little man who stood to her left, scooted in to sit across from her. In his right hand, he held a beer. He chugged it down, and smashed the empty bottle on her table. Glass flew, soaked with beer, and landed on her beautiful little sketch of the cafe, ruining it.

"I'd say a fucking handful!"

"More like two!"

The men laughed, joking with each other. She gave a quick look to the soaked paper, and peeked between them to the man who'd been staring at her. She grinned at him, and turned her attention back to the men surrounding her. The bald man bent toward her and smiled a toothless smile.

"You wanna come out back with us, darlin'?"

She didn't answer, instead, she brought her arm up and curled her finger toward him. Urging him to come closer, her eyes returned to Daken. Would she make him jealous? After this, she highly doubted he'd want to take her home , oh well!! The man came in close, and Salem leaned in toward him and smirked. She reached both of her arms up and rested her hands on the back of his head. The man, assuming she was pulling him in for a kiss, grinned wider.

"Damn, you are one sexy slut."

"I am?"

She asked, her stone gaze returning to him.

"How sexy am i now?"

She stated, before swiftly digging her nails into the back of his head and shoving his ugly face down hard into the table. She pulled it back up, and shoved it down again over and over. Blood poured from the wounded man, but she couldn't have cared less.

The red headed man gave her a vicious slap a cross the face to try and stop her, but she wasn't letting go. Instead of recoiling from the blow, she burst with laughter. Seeming energized by the hit, she rammed the man's face down even harder.

"How sexy of a whore am I now?!"

She questioned loudly through her laughter.

[roflcopterpaul]

Daken had continued watching her closely as he waited for her to read the note. Her reaction would decide whether he walked over and seduced her in the blink of an eye, or whether he would leave without a second thought. Sure, she looked amazing, but so far, she only had the physical aspect going for her. Though, if she was at least intelligent enough to be fluent in two languages, then she would already prove to be above the normal floozies he was with. She soon read and it and smirked at him, forcing a small smirk from himself as well. He knew that reaction and what it meant, so not only had she understood what he had written down, but she seemed quite interested. His hands came up to rest on the table, just about to push himself up when he saw the other men approach and begin to harass her. Sighing softly, he still pushed himself up slowly to stand beside the booth, and was just about to walk over to assist when she decided to take matters into her own hands, quite literally. Breaking one of the men's faces against the table, being struck only seemed to please her in a sick, twisted way. On the bright side, if knocking on wood really did ward off bad events, that that guy had a damn lucky face now.

Although he was shocked by her reaction, to say the least, it was not expressed in the slightest by his facial reaction, remaining unusually calm and relaxed. He paced over toward the commotion from behind them, and as the men went to strike her again, their arms would freeze in midair without warning. Daken had grabbed them both by the back of the necks, squeezing tightly, the claws in his wrists poking at their flesh. The claws were hidden from view so nobody could see them, but the men being held would not only feel the pain of their necks being squeezed by a man much stronger than themselves, but would also think they were being held up at knife point from the prick they felt. Daken pulled their heads close to each side of his own so that he could speak softly, yet no tin a whisper, his words entering directly into their ears.

"If you don't want to die right now, then I suggest you leave. Also, I would recommend not heading home any time soon, otherwise when I find you again and kill you for your stupidity, I will have to butcher your family also. That is, if anyone is also stupid enough to be willingly related to you."

The words were not at all a threat, but a promise, and this much could be heard with unmatched confidence in his voice. There was a chance that they could have merely thought it a cocky statement and tried to attack, but Daken wanted to ensure he got the point across, so he added an extra flare to his warning. Unbeknownst to anyone around, he had altered his own pheromones to cause a natural sense of fear. Unfortunately, he could not direct it to the specific individuals, so everyone near him would feel that when they unwittingly took in his unnoticeable scent. Trembling and terrified for their lives, the two men fell down before scrambling frantically out of the diner the very second Daken released his grasp from them, completely concealing the claws in his wrists just before doing so. He then looked up at the woman who still had the third, beaten fellow in her grasp. He knew she didn't need help, so he just stuck his hands in his pockets and watched her with a subtle smile, as if to let her know that he was assist if she wanted, but he saw that she had this pretty well under control.

[viviana]

Her laughter, as well as the loud thud that had become a constant sound in the room within the last few seconds, ceased the moment she looked up and saw him holding the two men. Her hands slipped down to the man's neck, and lingered there. Should she deliver this man to his maker, or let him go? Surely, she had done enough so far to him. Whatever she would do to him would depend on what Daken did with the two he held onto.

A very misplaced chill was instantly sent down the beauty's spine as terror swelled within her. She understood the emotion as one she rarely felt, and questioned why it was there. Rationally, there was no reason for her to be afraid and she knew it. No, this was not her doing, she decided. She would not have felt this fear, right now especially. Was it an outside force making her feel this way? What the hell was going on?

These three men, they had been nothing but pathetic drunks, she dismissed them, there was no way they could manage something like that. This new man, however, what was he capable of? She already had begun to suspect him different somehow. Clearly, not all was as it seemed. As quickly as the feeling had came, it had gone. Interesting.

With her attention on Daken, the man she held saw an opening to fight back, and grabbed a long piece of the shattered glass from beside her. Without warning, he reached up and dug the three inch sliver deep into her chest just below her collarbone. She looked down at him silently, mildly surprised, and let go of him with one hand, the other pushing him down against the table a bit harder to make up for the loss. She reached up and pulled the glass out, tossing it to the floor at Daken's feet as if it had just been some pesky insect that faintly annoyed her and nothing more. There had been no cries of pain, no horrified gasps. She did not seem like it had even bothered her at all.

He released the two men, and they quickly scampered out the door in fear. She released the man she had beaten and pushed him off her table. He got to his feet, and followed his friends out in such a hurry you would have thought he was afraid for his life. She stared after the three with a sort of disappointed look in her eyes. She had already gotten started with them, and she desperately wanted to finish. She let it go, after all, that last had her blood on him, and it would cause some serious damage if he touched it to the open wounds on his face. Her eyes shifted upward as she returned her attention to the male.

So, her seemingly sudden psychotic episode was not enough to scare him away? Good. It had been forever since she had someone interesting to keep her company. Although, she could not help but to question his own sanity for sticking around. His sanity, as it was, was not a huge issue with her one way or the other. After all, all the best people were insane.

Even still, she worried that her rash decision to beat the man to a bloody pulp may have gone too far, if only just a tad. She looked over her notebook, now blood stained in places to boot, and picked it up.

She swept her delicate fingers along the soaked paper, wiping away the glass and pieces of her shattered plate. She glanced up at Daken again, clinging to the journal with the work itself revealed against her chest. What she had drawn was now a crimson splattered sketch of the room around them. Anyone could tell that, had she been allowed to complete it, it would have been incredible. She spoke in a slightly defensive manner, as if excusing herself for the whole attack and even justifying it.

"He ruined my drawing."

She informed him. Her eyes scanned her ruined breakfast, and she sighed. She closed the notebook and slipped it back into her purse, hoping something could be saved of it later on.

"Bob...BOB GET OUT HERE!"

The waitress, who stood terrified behind the counter, began to yell. This brought a tall, very heavy set man out from a back room. Guns blazing, he seemed ready for war, not the sweet little woman in the middle of that mess.

"Look, look at that booth, Bob! She did all that! Get her outta here, I gotta call the cops!"

Salem gathered up what pieces of the mess she could in one trip, and began to carry them to the counter. She made sure to step in close to Daken, and whispered to him softly as she passed him by.

"I hope you aren't the jealous type."


Salem was not in the mood to charm the police into letting her go today. Besides, it seemed she had some sort of a date to look forward to. She leaned over the counter, resting her elbows on it. Her chin rested in her palms. She had bent forward a good distance from the counter over a chair, this very deliberate pose was meant to display her butt up in the air. She leaned in further on the counter, letting it pull at her shirt to lower the chest hem even more and expose her breasts some.

"Please, sir. Those men... They... They were grabbing all over me! I had to fight back, It was scary! Your waitress there, she just fucking stood there and watched! If it hadn't been for that kind gentlemen,"

She gestured toward Daken with her thumb.

"I think they would have hurt me really bad. I was scared, Mister. Pleeeease, Bobby, don't do this to me!"

Her tone had taken on a different emotion, it projected fear and shock, and made her seem all too fragile.

The manager, Bob, looked her over sympathetically for a few seconds, and then sighed.

"Look, hon. I gotta report the attack. I understand not wanting the trouble. So, I'll go ahead and call like I'm supposed to, and you go ahead and leave before they get here, Okay?"

"Bob, she's crazy!"

He glared back at the woman.
"Shut up, Mary. I'm so pissed at you I can't see straight!"

As he reasoned with the frightened woman gently, he seemed to be believing her every word.

"But, Bob. They ruined my food and my tea too. Can I have the same thing , but to go? I'll pay for both orders and eeeeverything!"

She pleaded, her tone fit perfectly that of desperation.

He sighed softly and nodded.

"Okay, I'll wait to call till you have your food. Alright? Mary, go get that done quick."

"Bob-"

"If you want to keep her fucking job, you'll get in there!"

With that, the furious woman ran off to the kitchen.

Salem beamed up at the man with bright eyes and a wide smile.

"You're such a sweety! Thank you so much, Bobby!"

She gleefully exclaimed, sending the man's face into a deep shade of red blush. For the moment, while she worked the old man over, she had paid little attention to Daken. She felt pretty bad for it, but she also felt like she had warned him.

[roflcopterpaul]

Daken remained silent and did not move an inch as she held her victim, the other two having long abandoned their bloodied friend. Losing concentration, it seemed, the man attempted to escape by stabbing the woman in the chest with some glass, an act that would normally severely injure someone and cause a great deal of pain. This woman, however, appeared to be entirely unaffected by the damage, showing no signs of discomfort. Most would have jumped in shock and guilt as they witnessed the woman being impaled by a shard of glass, but Daken had seen so much death and pain in his life that such things were of no surprise to him, and such, he saw it as no more frightening than the act of walking. What caught his eye was the fact that she felt no pain from the attack, and did not seem the slightest bit worried about the injury. Deciding to release her victim so that he could escape also, it was as if she was saddened by letting him go, something that peaked his interest in her even more. Was she a fan of murder? Well, obviously she was a freak already, but not being afraid to kill certainly made it better. As she lifted the paper drawing, he glanced at it to realize that it was where they currently were, and was quite impressed by the detail, especially since it had not been a long time frame at all that she had been able to accomplish so much in. She spoke of it being ruined, defending herself and excusing her actions. Daken would just smile and speak with a calm and rational voice, letting her know that he did not mind at all.

"Of course. I could not imagine reacting in any other way."

He stated before he turned his head at the sound of the woman screaming for help, blaming the woman as she summoned forth her brute of a boss. Daken glared at the old woman, but that quickly vanished as the beautiful woman spoke to him of jealousy and stepped past, seducing the man far more efficiently than even he could have himself. Damn, this girl was good. She had not only convinced him that she did nothing wrong, but to delay the calling of police and even get her a replacement for her meal. A psychotic, masochistic woman willing to maim and murder over a piece of paper, capable of getting whatever she wanted through lust alone... This was getting better and better by the minute. He would walk over slowly from behind her, keeping his eyes on the man that she was seducing as he pulled a small bundle of bills from within the pocket of his slacks. Glancing at it, his thumb rolled the bills so he could swiftly count roughly how much it was, then dropped it on the counter.

"This should cover the damages."

He said, then turned his head to look down at the woman leaning on the counter at his left side. He stuck his right hand back into his pocket as the left hand went up to capture her backside which he had been staring at since the second she leaned over to tease the poor old fellow. Daken was not rushing her, and would wait until her tea and chicken to go were given to her, but would then ask.

"So, where to?"

[viviana]

It had not been a lack of feeling, simply a lack to expression that feel. Being stabbed did hurt her just like it would any normal person. Everything hurts the same amount, but compared to other forms of pain, it was nothing in her eyes. She had very good reasons why there had been no reaction to the pain.

She noticed Daken had came up to stand beside her, and looked up at him with that smile beaming happiness as she had used on the older man. Her way of saying a silent "Thank you" for paying for the mess and her meal. Of course, it seemed he took payment of his own, and made himself quite at home with her backside.

Crude, perverted, sexual harassment, most women would have pulled away in disgust of this behavior...She, on the other hand, seemed to welcome it. In fact, she even backed up into his hand a bit to encourage him. The fact was, this guy had guts and seemed to know exactly what he wanted. For that, she admired him.

Her food got to her pretty quickly, given that they both needed her out of the cafe fast. In was delivered in a white paper bag and a large, white cup. She took it from the waitress herself, who was casting dirty glances at Salem whenever she could.

Thanks again, Bobby! Have a wonderful day!"

She demanded, standing up to head for the door. Her new friend had questioned where she wanted to go, which brought forth a shrug of her shoulders.

"I'll leave that up to you."

She said, gladly handing over control of the subject to him while she looked around for somewhere to eat her food. Just as she'd been chimed in to enter, they were now being chimed out as they left.

[roflcopterpaul]

As the girl received her food, Daken turned around and started to head off, walking toward the front door. Pushing it open, he would hold it open for her so that she could walk out, as she had her hands full with her lunch, breakfast, whatever it was for her at this time. As she exited, he let the door fall closed behind them and started pacing down the sidewalk, his ears keeping track of every step she took to ensure she was following close beside him. Any normal gentleman would have offered to carry her food for her, but that was just not his style.

"Does such an attractive young woman with an apparent knack for mayhem have a name, by chance?"

Daken asked casually, wondering what he was supposed to call her. Both of his hands were in his pockets, and if not for the unique mohawk, he would be looking like any other high roller. Expensive, quality clothing and an insanely sexy woman beside him. Of course, walking around rather than being driven around in a luxury car certainly didn't fit the part either. He would stay silent until she responded with a name, because he did not much care for conversation in the first place. Of course, if it meant finding out more about this woman, then he certainly wouldn't object to it. He didn't really know where they were going, so he was trying to figure that out. A bar for drinks, a motel for a quickie, any other crowded public area for a mass slaughter? Too many choices.

[viviana]

She nodded a silent thank you to him for holding the door for her, and made sure to keep up with him, trailing a few steps behind. Her only request was that they find somewhere to stop so she could eat. She was pretty sure he was smart enough to put that much together without her needing to ask.

Luckily for him, Salem wasn't much of a talker either. In fact, her interests were the same as his own, she wanted to learn more about him.

"You can call me Salem. I lost my real name a long time ago."

She stated honestly, perhaps willing to explain the nickname should he be curious enough to ask about it. She lifted her drink to her lips and took a sip of it before she asked what was, naturally, the next question one would expect.

"And yourself, would you mind telling me what it is I'm going to be screaming later?"

She asked playfully. She was fairly certain they both knew where this was headed, so how could it hurt to crack a few tasteless jokes? Mr.Confident here had already decided to get a little "handsy" with her, after all.

[roflcopterpaul]

Daken had continued walking without speaking much, not really caring one way or the other if she was struggling to keep up or hungry or whatever else may have been the case. She was following, and that was all that mattered to him right now. She gave him his and he silently spoke it in his head a few times, making sure he would remember it. Soon after, she also asked his name, though the way she said it was the must sexy, unexpected way of asking a name that he had ever heard before. He couldn't help but to grin slightly at her words, glancing back at her as he responded.

"You can call me Daken. Of course, that's assuming you aren't gagged all night."

He replied with the same lustful flirtatiousness that she had initially began. Both of them knew what was going to happen, but it would have to wait until later. He had not yet decided if this woman was worth his time, so he would pry into her life a bit more before he made a conclusion. He was also curious as to her story behind the lost name, wondering if it was anything like his own, but that was something he would inquire about later. He would take a turn about a block past the cafe and walk toward the park only a minute ahead. The area was mostly clear this time of day except for the occasional jogger. Only about a minute after entering the area, he found a bench in the grass that overlooked the rest of the park and the jogging trail scattered with only a few individuals. Sitting down at the bench, he rested his arms across the back of it and looked at her, obviously waiting for her to sit beside him, but not saying a word, assuming that she knew how to sit.

[viviana]

"Gagged? Oh, I could go for that..."


She stated with a soft chuckle, meaning it more than he could have possibly understood having just met her. As soon as he took a seat at the bench, she joined him. She left a small amount of space between them, sitting her drink in the void as if offering it to him should he have wanted it. She sat her purse on her other side, keeping the paper bag in hand.

"So, Bastard Dog, huh? How does someone get that name?"


She questioned with a curious stare, knowing what it meant. As soon as she asked though, she realized it might not have been a question he would have wanted to answer. Either way, she was quietly waiting on a response of some sort.

Before she dug into her meal, she removed a paper towel from the bag and wet it with the tea, having nothing else to use. She wiped it along the wound on her chest, cleaning the dried blood from her skin, as she was sure it was not very attractive to look at. One would have expected a deep cut of some sort from the attack earlier, but once the blood was gone, nothing but her smooth olive toned skin remained. In the time it had taken to get to the bench, the hole had closed up completely.

In any other situation, she wouldn't have been so careless and exposed this ability like she did, but she really had no choice here. He'd seen her stabbed, and if he was serious about taking her home, she was sure he would have seen it at some point during the night.

She sat the tissue down beside her and pulled the little sandwich from the bag. Once the bag was empty, she put the tissue in it. She unwrapped her sandwich carefully. As hungry as she was, she wasn't a slob, and she didn't want to get messy should it be overloaded with toppings.

[roflcopterpaul]

. . .

Daken's lips parted with the hint of words that wanted to come forth but were frozen by uncertainty. The woman sitting next to him had apparently deciphered his name, proving that she was knowledgeable in at least three languages now. Part of him wanted to stab her in the gut right now for bringing it up, but not only did he smell her hesitance and realize she didn't mean anything by it, but Daken had chosen to go by this name on his own, so he had actually embraced it. Staring forward, he did not yet look at her, thinking about how to reply to her question for a good minute before he responded.

"I have had this name my entire life... The kids, and even most of the adults, in my neighborhood were kind enough to only call me that for the entirety of the time I lived there... What is your story?"

Daken had once had a real name given to him by the family that adopted him, but for as long as he could remember, everyone had insulted him with that name, and when the day came that his family rejected him, he decided to keep this name forever, because it was the only real one. He would normally have kept descriptions to a minimum and not spoken very much, but he had a different plan for this girl. Besides, if things didn't work out, then he could simply kill her and she wouldn't blab any of that information anyway. As he spoke, he sighed softly glancing down at her chest to notice the healed wound. Well, this just got a hell of a lot more interesting. Still, he would not prod into that area just yet. Ignoring the wound, as if he didn't notice or was simply too deep in thought of his past to care right now, he looked away to stare off into the distance again. It would seem as if he was reliving his childhood abuse and it was getting him down. A smell lingered on him that could not be caught, but the altered pheromones would force the woman to feel sympathy for him. An emotional connection would likely be made, if she had felt anything similar that could possibly cross the gap to make sense of that feeling. He was luring her in, making a lasting bond, though how long it would last was still unclear.

[viviana]

"My whole childhood, I suffered from, what was thought to be at the time, a mystery illness. I'll save most of the details, but the pain was so severe, that, if I didn't pass out on my own from it, they'd put me under. Usually, my body would go into a coma as a means of shutting the suffering off. I was in and out of the hospital, in fact, that's how I ended up in America. The Russian doctors sent me here because they had no clue how to help me.

I was three years older than my class mates by the time I started school, with a funny accent, weird eyes, an anti-social nature, and I wore a lot of black clothing. I was a huge target for the bully crowd. It started out as 'witch girl.' By the time I hit High School, my family had passed away. We studied the Salem witch trials, and it stuck from there.

I got a lot of threats of being strung up in trees, or burned alive. There were a lot of little nooses and things stuck to my locker in the mornings."

Looking back on it, she laughed softly.

"If my girlfriend at the time hadn't been so...Aggressive, I think it would have been a hell of a lot worse....But yeah, it seems I'm not the only one stuck with a cruel nickname."

There was a lot of information she held back, but it was still the most she'd ever told someone about her passed. She felt a strong sympathy for Daken, and it was her own, not what he'd tried to force on her.

A faint crimson shaded her cheeks and she spoke.

"Honestly, I think that's the most I've shared about it."

She admitted, amazed at herself for rambling so much. It seemed quiet now, and she took the chance to start eating. She was quick, but clean, and kept her hand up over her mouth to hide her chewing.

[roflcopterpaul]

Daken listened as the woman spoke, making sure to take mental note of every detail. He was especially interested about the illness she spoke of, as she had not explained what it had turned out to be. She did seem perfectly fine right now, after all. Maybe it was related to her healing power, or perhaps her healing power is why she seemed fine now. He presumed the latter, so brushed the entire concept off as pointless for now. She had explained, in more detail than he expected or truly cared to hear, how she had gotten her name, as well as much more of her childhood. She then blushed at the idea that she was opening up to him. Daken smiled genuinely, though hidden behind it was trickery and deceit that would not be noticed.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me, Salem. Though, I have to ask..."

Daken paused for a moment as he thought about what he was going to ask. He was already intrigued in everything this woman had to offer, and one sentence in particular peaked his interest even further. The soft smile still upon her face, he stared at her own face, not minding that she was eating, and asked. He wanted to squeeze every last detail out of her, so he could know as much as possible and this forming relationship would seem even more real. Besides, she would probably just take it as something any male would want juicy, graphic details on.

"Might you elaborate on the mention of your, aggressive girlfriend?"