“Yeah, yeah,” Autumn dismissed her sister’s suggestions as she watched her walk down the hall and into her room, leaving the door half-open. Miracle never kept her door open. But the explanation was obvious: she wasn’t planning on getting much sleep tonight. She wanted to be able to hear everything that was going on in the apartment. Why was it that Miracle worried so much when it was Autumn that that creep threatened to kidnap? She flipped through a magazine carelessly as she lounged on the couch. There wasn’t much to do tonight to hold her attention for longer than a few seconds. She usually found something, though.

Trading in the magazine for one of Miracle’s recommended books, Autumn settled herself back into the imprint she’d made on the couch and lost herself in the words on the pages. A brisk rapping against their door shocked her out of her trance-like state and she instantly propped her head up to look at the door. God, what time was it? Close to two in the morning? Somewhere around there? She hadn’t thought she had been reading for that long. The next thought that popped into her head was a question that surely should have been first: Who would come to their apartment at this hour of night? With that thought came a sudden brush of fear. Please don’t let that be him, she thought pleadingly to herself. Please don’t let that be Crispin. Nonetheless, she got up and stepped lightly up to the door. Without thinking, she laid a hand on the wood and instantly felt a collage of complicated feelings. Confusion, desperation, skepticism, hesitance, and other unidentifiable feelings that seemed impossible for any human being to be feeling all at once. And on that thought, someone’s face came to mind. The other vampire, the good one. She leaned in close and spoke against the door. “Kole? Is that you out there?”

It was him. She felt no twinge of doubt to hold her back from unlocking the door and swinging it open to allow him inside. She smiled at him and lightly joked, “Took you long enough.” She confidently leaned forward to take his hand and guide him inside as she said, “Come on in.” She closed and locked the door behind them and then spun around to face him. She slid her thumbs into the back pockets of her jeans and rocked back on her heels, not sure of what to say. “So, umm… I guess this is the part where I give you a tour?” Autumn faced the living room that was also divided up into their kitchen….-ish area. “…….Um,.. this is it.” With her hand, she gestured to the room, and then pointed down the one hall at the right. “Down there is my room, and Miracle’s is at the very end.” Less than seconds later, Autumn heard her cell phone ringing on the counter. She recognized the meaningful tune as one she’d set for Emily. She was calling so late at night? Something must be wrong. “Shit,” she murmured. She swiftly jogged over and snatched her phone off the table. “It’s my friend. You can just wander, I’ll only be a minute.” The worry on her face was very well hidden. Autumn found that she had plenty of practice with that, considering how in touch she was with, not only her personal emotions, but also that of others. She swiftly left and went into her room, shutting the door softly behind her. She picked up the phone. “Em? What’s going on?”

“…This isn’t Emily,” said a shaky voice filled with sorrow and hurt on the other end of the phone.

Fifteen. The number echoed inside his head as he lay there, holding his breath at the sound of heavy footsteps and raised voices. Shifting only slightly, Kole grabbed at the black binbags that surrounded him, carefully sinking himself lower into the putrid smelling dumpster. He had concealed himself just in time for seconds later the lid's hinges complained loudly as it was lifted and the beam of a torch swept the interior. The red-head closed his eyes tightly as he held his body rigid, forcing himself to remain still as he waited to discover if his hiding place had been sufficient.

A muttered curse was followed by the slamming of the lid and then muffled voices. Kole lay there for an hour or longer although the alleyway had fallen still shortly after the lid had fallen closed. Only when certain that he was alone did the vampire carefully unbury himself and ease himself out into the night air. "Oh how the mighty have fallen..." he muttered to himself, peeling several potato peelings from his jacket.

The journey back to Miracle and Autumn's apartment was painfully slow. Kole walked as quickly as he dared but whenever he caught even the slightest glimpse of the police he would duck out of sight. By the time the familiar building became visible it was through a haze, the mist transforming the all but deserted street into a scene from some kind of horror movie. The red-head smirked slightly at this comparison as he stepped into a darkened doorway across the street from the apartment building.

A glance toward his wristwatch told him that he would be unlikely to meet anyone on the stairwell but the sound of footsteps halted his movements. Drawing himself tightly against the wall, Kole held his breath in anticipation as he waited for the unknown person to come into sight. The dark figure passed by without a glance and continued on down the street, seemingly completely unaware of the vampire lurking within the shadows. Only once the footsteps had faded into silence did Kole emerge and lunge across the road.

He moved swiftly, jerking open the front door before taking the steps two at a time, his long strides transporting him to the correct door in a matter of moments. "Fifteen." Lifting his hand, Kole had been about to knock when he hesitated, his knuckles hovering a inch or so from the wood. What was he doing here? And what had he got himself into?

Regardless of his doubts and regrets, Kole resigned himself to the fact that he was already involved in whatever it was that was going on. He'd positioned himself between two vampires and Miracle in the space of one day; and now he came to think about it - that was curious in itself. Vampires were few and far between as it was, but for the frail looking girl to attact the attention of two, and on the same day....that was certainly not normal. Once was unfortunate, twice was suspicious.

He rapped his knuckles firmly against the door, stepping close to rest his forehead against the cool painwork, shoulder pressed to the doorframe. Kole released a slow breath and waited.


[[Don't be daft! I figured something must have been going on which meant you couldn't post! Hope everything is ok now though? And it's good to have you back!]]

As if that would do any good against a vampire, she thought to herself as she locked the door behind her. If that man wanted to, he could simply break down the front door, storm in, and steal them away without ever pausing to take a breath. But Miracle drew comfort from the hopeful reminder that he wouldn’t dare to come back anytime soon with all the mayhem and attention he’s drawn to this location. And now just what were they supposed to do? Sit around and wait for him to make his next move? Maybe the two of them could run away for a while, they could try to throw him off their trail and…… but, no. Kole was coming. He would protect them; she had to believe that. And, he was going to come back… right? Miracle walked somewhat lamentingly towards the window at the opposite end of the room. Looking out, she watched the cop cars skid to rushed stops, small crowds of people pushing to see past one another, and she should have been worried, she should have been fearful and apprehensive.

But the thought of seeing Kole again soothed her nerves to an almost blissful ease. And she couldn’t help but wonder if she wanted to see him for some different reason she couldn’t procure rather than just protection.

A few hours later, Miracle claimed unconvincingly that she was tired and retreated to her room, advising her sister to go to sleep as well pretty soon. But the shadows that danced endlessly, parading her walls, were, in a strange and inexplicable way, threatening. The faint glow of moonlight that streamed in through her window provided some comfort, but it couldn’t prevent the worry that always creeped up on her and intruded her thoughts. Miracle had the childish desire to sleep close to her sister all night, keep a wary eye on her like she did when Autumn used to call her name, paranoid from protruding nightmares when they were young. The stupid, dream-like scenario of Autumn being snatched away in the middle of the night continued to invade her mind every time she neared unconscioussness.

She sat up in her bed, pushing the covers off her legs and positioning herself on top of them. She felt as if she couldn’t breathe, as if the room were getting smaller and slowly constricting her. It was rediculous to have such paranoia paired with an overactive imagination. Acting on a simple impulse, she got up, unlocked her window, and slid it up to open it. The night air was chilled, but silent and calming. She leaned in closer to look out at the sky. No stars tonight, much to her disappointment. It was too cloudy and a hazy mist crept slyly along the ground. She then noticed a figure walking along the sidewalk, drawing in closer till he was walking directly past their apartment. Of course she didn’t suspect it was anything to worry about, but the returning sense of paranoia that resulted from seeing this shadow-man ruined her moment of peace, and it made her angry.

She swiftly turned around and walked back over to her bed, plopping down carelessly flat on her back, her arms spread out on either side of her. She lay there for a few moments, staring at the ceiling and letting her thoughts drift. After a while, she turned onto her side, pulling her knees up closer to her and tucking her head in. Her hair was sprawled out over the bed artfully, her tanktop and plain pajama bottoms providing little protection from the tender bite of cool air. Miracle closed her eyes, not tired in the least.

((forgive meeee! I'm so sorry whisper. i've been rather busy with school and had to deal with kind of a major family problem. So, yeah, I totally wouldn't blame you if you gave up on this rp, but the option of continuing it is always open to ya. And I'm gonna get up my next post to our other rp rite now too, so you have that option as well.))

"15," Autumn eagerly provided when the vampire asked Miracle for their apartment number. "Don't forget." She watched balnkly, shocked, as the red-headed man swiftly entered the crowd of passers-by who'd accumulated on the other side of the street. It took a moment for her mind to regain composure; she felt the many questioning and frightened eyes tracing her body, examining her.

"Willow--come on, let's go!" Autumn jumped to it, disappearing into the building and racing up the stairs, her steps echoing throughout the lobby. By the time she'd arrived at the top, she was extremely winded, but pushed herself up one single more step and into the apartment. Plopping lazily ontot he couch, Autumn wasted no time in picking up the thick phonebook that lay in a basket of magazines under the side table beside the couch. "That's it," she began, her voice still breathy and tired. "We--" she flipped furiously through the yellow pages. "--are updating our security. Or getting...swords...or a dog or....something." Her sister entered unhurriedly behind her, watching her ridiculous rant. "Ugh," she sighed, holding up the phonebook defeatedly. "Dude, what am I looking for?" she scoffed at herself, throwing the book on the arm chair adjacent to her own lounger. Taking comfort in the cool sensation of her fingers against her perspiration-sheeted forehead, Autumn closed her eyes and let the memories of the vampires dance behind her lids, lighting the darkness with amazing occurences. "Wow," she marveled, exhuastedly opening her eyes. "that guy was hot," she giggled to her sister, resting her head back on the couch. "Lock the door," she instructed lazily before Miracle could sit down.

((Apologies for the delay, life has been a little crazy))

The two males stood face to face, both grasping the clothing of the other, their eyes meeting for a moment in recognition. Kole had not missed the break in tradition that he had initiated though had swiftly pushed it to the back of his mind at Crispin’s hissed question. His lip curled as the other shifted his gaze to look past him and toward Miracle, a snarl of irritation escaping Kole as his grip tightened upon the other male. “That’s none of your business.”

Though he attempted to hide his own confusion from translating into his expression, Kole found himself questioning why he was in this position in the first place. A vampire never turned upon his kin and today he had attacked two of his own all for a girl he barely knew. Not only had he just ostracised himself from the only people he could really trust but he’d also stepped out into the open and the humans that had once held him captive would have a better idea where to find him.

Kole’s gaze remained fixed upon the male in his grasp as Crispin leant forward, his low words hissed just loud enough for him to hear. Then with a twist, the other wrenched himself from his grip and disappeared amongst the crowd that was swiftly beginning to gather around them. Only then did Kole hear the sirens, turning his head sharply in their direction, emerald eyes narrowing as a growl of frustration rumbled within his chest.

He turned sharply to face Miracle as she pleaded for him to go with her, both clearly aware of what would happen if he was captured. “They will see…” he replied, his voice more of a growl than anything else, “What number?” A glance down the street told Kole that his time was fast running out. “What number?!” He demanded again, anger now rising up in his tone as he waited impatiently for her to tell him their apartment number.

“I will come back once the crowd has dispersed…” Kole reassured once the information had been given to him and with that he charged through the crowd, the on-lookers swiftly moving out of the way as he approached. The red head took off at a run, the wailing of the sirens ringing in his ears as he swung round corners and skidded down narrow lanes.

He could not allows himself to be caught, not again…

((That’s fine Phantom. There’s no posting order. And, if its cool, I think I’ll control him just a lil bit to keep the rp rolling))

Crispin released a deep grunt from the unexpected blow to his torso, unintentionally dropping the girl. This vampire was strong indeed. Surprisingly so. But this trait was not what had caught Crispin so off guard. Instead, it was the fact that he fought against him at all. Their species were known to stick together, seeing as how few of them were left, and opposing a brother was something that was generally… unheard of. Crispin gathered his composure relatively quickly, ignoring the pain, and put one hand on each of the other vampire’s arms, unleashing a devilish smirk. “How interesting,” he cooed. “You would turn on your own kind to protect your little human pets?” He briefly glanced back over to Miracle, noticing how strangely this man had reacted towards her. He looked back to Kole and quietly, almost menacingly, said, “Just what is she to you?” He then cackled at the sight of Kole’s responding expression.

Miracle pushed off the ground and brought herself to her feet, carefully watching the scene that played out before her. Their voices, for the most part, were out of range, but she saw how he had looked at her curiously, as if trying to understand something. Then, another voice attracted her attention. She turned around to look in the opposite direction, to the owner of the voice. It was a woman sitting in the car that had come to a sudden halt on the road, nearly crushing Miracle. She appeared to be talking with her cell phone pressed to her ear and her window down, trying to get a better view of the feuding vampires. She spoke in a rushed, fearful tone, “I told you! Just east of Arrowhead, on Vester Street! …Yes they’re still there. …I’m absolutely positive. They already tried to…” she swallowed, “..bite someone. Right here in plain sight! …Hurry. Please.” The woman remained on the phone and kept her eyes on the two men ahead of her.

When Miracle realized what she was doing, she ran safely back across the road, moving as fast as her legs would carry her until she made it to her sister’s side. She fell to her knees next to her and brushed the hair away from her face. Her skin was abnormally pale and cold. Miracle slid her hand under her head and helped to lift her up. She seemed to be ok, or she will be. By the time she’d stood Autumn back up, keeping a firm hold on her shoulders, a faint sound had arrived from far down the road. The sound of the sirens was slowly beginning to grow louder. She met eyes with Crispin, who gave her a crooked smile before turning his eyes on Autumn and said, “Until next time, love. You’re my only bargaining tool for the time being.” Then turning back to gaze threateningly at Kole, he seemed to say something to him, completely inaudible to human ears. And in a flash, he was gone.

The sirens were starting to get closer and Miracle could already see a small haze of flashing lights. She released her sister and took a step towards Kole, looking up at him with, what looked like beseeching eyes. “Come with us,” she said. It sounded more like a plea than anything, but her concern wasn’t for herself or even Autumn. She was now worried that she had just stripped Kole of his freedom and probably his entirely life because he had helped them. She felt pitiful to have nothing to offer… but,… maybe they could hide him? Police or investigators would never search a citizen’s home in search of a vampire, unless they found specific evidence to lead them to believe otherwise. “Come with us,” she said again.

(srry u guys, i mite not be able to post tonight, but keep goin and i'll post tomorrow. There's no posting order, rite? And its fine if u 2 want to control Crispin. He's for everyone to use)

Kole grunted quietly as Miracle crashed into his chest, arms moving around her in an attempt to keep her from losing her balance. His emerald green hues gazed back at her as she tilted her face upward, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as her lips parted as if to speak. However, she was interrupted and the red-head turned his head sharply to look over at the other male who stood some distances from them. His breath caught in his chest, looking over the girl that struggled and flailed in the grip of the stranger before returning his gaze to Miracle.

One vampire was unlucky, but two was something else – something more intentional. “Miracle…” Kole began but his words were cut off as she slipped from his grip and moved toward the two in front of them before falling to the ground. He was by her side in an instant, stooping to grasp her arm and help her to her feet, though his gaze remained fixed upon the other vampire.

Analysing the situation in a split second, Kole determined that he did not have the time to find out just what the situation was all about. A swift glance to the road informed him of just which cars were coming his way before he fixed his gaze back upon the stranger. “Release the girl, whatever you are after you aren’t going to get it today…” He didn’t wait for the other male to respond before lunging into the street, managing to get across without any of the cars touching him although horns blared loudly in all their ears.

Within a matter of seconds Kole stood in front of the stranger, a balled fist flying toward the other’s stomach while his other hand extended to grasp his shoulder.

Miracle had a mere split second to see a figure rushing towards her. She took in a short gasp of breath before she was swiftly pulled off to the other end of the road. A cold, smooth texture encircled her wrist and was quickly guiding her along as she ran to keep up. Finally, the person ahead of her stopped, and she ran into him before she could slow her momentum, but still managed to gently stop herself with one hand upon his chest. She would have been more afraid and, no doubt, struggling to get away from the stranger. But, a sense of familiarity calmed her racing thoughts. She slowly tilted her head back to look up at an unnaturally gorgeous face. Kole’s face. The sight of his eyes brought a brief relief of the horror she’d been burdened with only moments ago. Her lips parted to speak, but her voice had not yet caught up with her. And before she could find the right words, another voice errupted from a distance behind her. His threat of killing her sister instantly struck fear into her veins. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw Autumn struggling helplessly in his grasp, being strangled.Miracle reacted instinctively, moving forward only a few steps before slipping on a few stray pebbles and falling to her hands and knees.

Clutz.

She didn’t bother to pull herself to her feet. “Stop!” she yelled at him, her voice tainted with obvious worry and searing hatred.

“Give me what I want…” he replied.

“Fuck you,” she breathed, tears welling up in her eyes.

He sighed dramatically and shook his head in disapproval. “tsk tsk tsk” He looked down at her with a new set expression, seeming to reveal a true determination. “Have it your way then.” He slowly bent his head, inching towards Autumn’s throat and widening his mouth to reveal a set of pointed fangs. Autumn’s breathing was getting quicker and coming to her in shorter gasps.

“fine… FINE! Just let her down before you kill her!” she screamed at him. If giving in meant sparing both her life,… and possibly Kole’s, she was all too willing. What other option was there really? Her hands slowly enclosed into fists.

Autumn reached a hand out to her sister, desperately calling her name in attempt to stop her before..... The car's brakes squealed as it rushed towards her. As if time slowed, just to taunt and torment her, she watched as the vehicle--a huge metal beast--was just about to crash into her distraught sister. Miracle whipped around as it came, luckily, it stopped barely inches away from her.

Autumn's muscles relaxed so thoroughly that they could barely hold her weight. Her knees buckled, her ankles trembled. She sighed with relief as she fell limply to the ground. A rough hand around her throat alerted her from her blissful relief as it clamped tight to constrict her airway. Her heart began beating faster and faster with uncontrollable panic as the vampire from before slowly lifted her from the heap she'd collapsed into and into the air. Autumn gagged and struggled, her feet kicking relelntlessly as her eyes began to water.

"Oh Miracle, darling?" he asked devilishly, his voice a frightening rasp. "Sweetheart, you know the drill. Resist and I'll suck her dry." he shrugged. "Or you could always just try and stop me. Because you know how that worked out last time," he said, gesturing to the road with a nod of his head.

((bump phantom? i kinda need to kno what ur doing))

Kole had not strayed far from the bar, though why he lingered he could not be certain. As the sun sunk beneath the taller buildings shadows stretched across the streets below, providing the vampire with some shelter from the curious glances. It was not safe to linger in one place for any great length of time, yet the red-head felt an intense desire to see Miracle again – a desire that he couldn’t really explain even to himself.

And so he waited, sheltered within the darkened doorway just down from the bar, emerald eyes fixed upon the sidewalk just outside, anticipating her slender form coming in to view. Pushing off from the wall that he had been resting again, Kole trailed Miracle’s movements while remaining partially concealed in the shadows, following her all the way back to her apartment building. His steps faltered as she disappeared inside, stopping to glance over his shoulder before fixing his gaze upon the door gone through.

What was he doing? Why was he even here? A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he took note of the foolishness of his actions, allowing his gaze to travel up the tall building. Whatever his reasons for following Miracle, it did not matter now – his hesitation had surely meant that he’d lost her in one of the numerous apartments and he was not about to knock on each and every door until he found her.

No, perhaps this was for the best. Kole raised a hand to push back the red-strands from in front of his face, a sigh of regret passing from his lips as he turned to slip silently away. His retreat was delayed however by the crashing of a door against it’s hinging, thrown wide in panic as the object of his thoughts stumbled out onto the street. Shrinking back into the deeper shadows of a nearby street, Kole’s gaze swept over Miracle with concern, swiftly picking up the air of panic that surrounded her and her actions.

Eyes narrowed as his gaze shifted from her to the figure who had just stepped calmly through the doorway, watching in silence as the stranger stalked toward her. His lip curled as a faint growl of irritation rumbled within his chest, fingers curling against his palms as he concluded that the stranger meant Miracle harm. However, before he was able to launch himself from the shadows and come to her aid, a third figure appeared which stopped him in his tracks.

Kole watched the scene play out before him, emerald hues snapping from person to person as he weighed up his options, grimacing faintly at the blow to the other man’s crotch. Now Miracle was speaking to the red-headed female – who were they to each other? Friends? Sisters? Lovers? The final possibility stirred a jealousy within Kole that he had not expected but was quick to forget when his eyes returned to the dark-haired female.

While Miracle may not have noticed she had backed into the road, he had and, with breath caught in his chest, Kole had charged from his hiding place and toward her. “Miracle!” The word tore from his lips before he had the chance to suppress it, reaching her in time to see the car screech to a halt mere centimetres from where she stood.

For a moment he stood there in dumb silence, his gaze fixed upon her as his heart hammered heavily within his chest. Only when she began to scan her surroundings did Kole remember the other vampire and he raised his head only to find that whoever it was had vanished. Still on the road, the red-head swiftly forgot about the other male, reaching out to grasp Miracle firmly but gently and guide her to safety.