Off Duty Solider [Open]

[Fever]

Over head the stars shone brightly, the moon sinking closer toward its resting place as night drags toward its darker hours. Two large orbs hang in an alley’s shadows, ever so often blinking out for a brief moment before they reappear. Its loud here, booming with sound compared to the gentle ease of the night savannah. A swish crunch of gravel whisper into the night, ignored by the passing creatures who are more than secure in their capital city. After all who do they have to fear tonight, these creatures of the night? They are the rulers of this settlement, humans slaves and future soldiers. The battle for control is far away tonight for them, not even in the thoughts of these creatures. For now they party on the streets, because tomorrow they might have to take to the field of war.

In the back of the alley a low groan seeps into the air. Zara reluctantly gives up her lioness shape. The shape that feels so much more her than the pale body of the human. Skin shrinks and fur disappears, the lioness falling away to let the human step forward. She gasps as the cool of the night hits her bare skin. A small frown creeps to her face as she glances toward the alley’s bright mouth. Even after being here in the city for a year, she still is over whelmed with the sheer amount of people. With the amount of noise and light. Who knew such a world could exsist? The people of the clan would not believe her if she told them the truth of what the continents were like. She shook her head at her own complaints and retrieved a bag from the floor, tugging clothes out of it.

Minutes later she strode onto the sidewalk, clothed in a loose t-shirt that had been modified into a sleeveless v-neck. Her pretty legs are swaddled in black pants that cling to her figure, feet covered in heavy black boots. A black leather jacket over a cotton zip up hoodie finishes off things. Plain, unnoticeable. She likes being someone who is easy to over look. With a flick of her hands she slipped the hood up, walking forward with a very feline like stride. Of course that isn’t usual here. Most Alucinor creatures were graceful, a built in adaptation to attract prey.

As quickly as possible Zara left the downtown parts of the city. Left the noise for the almost quiet of the old city. She breathed deeply, catching every scent on the night air. Mostly she smelled asphalt and brick, maybe a hint of rain. Creatures of the night of course, but those she ignored. One scent in particular made her smile. A coffee shop’s seductive scent. One of the treasure of the continents was the coffee shops. Especially the one she was trotting towards. Ambrosia was dark inside, with private little alcoves for its customers. It was a favorite haunt for her when she was off duty as she was now. A small bell tinkled as she entered the shop, scents exploding into her nose. She barely glanced around as she stepped inside the shop, heading straight for the counter.

“Hey lioness, off duty again?” The cashier inquired, already writing her name on a cup. Zara smiled and pulled a few coins from the bottom of her backpack. “You know this is the first place I come Ben. Add a shot of espresso to whatever it is your making for me. I’ll be back there. “ Zara said, slapping a the retrieved coins on the counter before striding away to her usual table.

-------------------------------------------
Character; /~alzyria#Zara
Word Count; 609
Music Playing; Now is the time - 10 Years
Current Clothing; polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=34925075

[&_lemon]

Demetrius lurked the shadows, keeping to himself, as always. The sky was glorious that one particular night, though maybe it was just him. He had been sick the past few days, with some sort of flew, and was stuck in his home for the past few days. It was slightly eerie that night, or maybe he hadn't eased into the darkness yet. He wasn't entirely sure though. The bright moon shown above him, and at last, he stepped out of the shadows, his handsome figure stepped onto the empty street.

He found himself to be obnoxiously tired that night. Maybe it wasn't the smartest decision for him to come out that night; he should have rested another night to regain his strength. If he were to be utmostly honest, his head hurt slightly. He contemplated simply going back to his room, so then he could actually relax and not fret about the creatures of the dark; him included. He suppressed a sigh, finding no reason to turn back to go to his home. So instead, he dug his hands into his loose charcoal leather jacket and walked.

His heavy leather boots clanked carelessly against the street. Honestly, he didn't care whether or not somebody was there; because for some strange, unexplainable reason, he felt secure that one night. He ran his fingers through his tangled dark brunette hair, the motion instantly cleaning the knots from it. A smirk found itself onto his lips and he straightened the V-Neck mesh white shirt he was wearing.

The thick scent of coffee invaded his nostrils, and he was then tempted to follow the scent so he could drown himself in the caffeine. That seemed so good for a reason he could not decipher. He closed his eyes momentarily before snapping them open and steadily following the smell of coffee. It was then that he realized how tired he was, and how necessary a coffee would really be. He really just wanted to gulp ten batches of the stuff, if he had a choice.

Though, when he wandered into the quaint coffee shop, he refrained from doing so. He ordered a coffee quickly before taking his spot near the corner of the room, more precisely the back. He chugged his coffee rather quickly, and it was gone in about a minute. It was pretty disappointing that his coffee only lasted that long. Maybe next time he should have savored it.

He then noticed a girl sitting nearby. Why had she looked so familiar? He studied her for a moment before he remembered where he had seen her from. Wasn't her name Zoe? Or... no. He studied her for a moment longer before her name lingered through his thoughts. Zara.

Demetri wondered whether he should have acknowledged her or not. She seemed harmless from the first time he see her, so he really found no problem in doing so. Crushing his coffee cup in his hand and throwing it out, he got up and approached her slowly. Once he made it to where she was sitting, a coy smirk found itself on his lips and he said, "I didn't think I would ever see your face again."

[Fever]

For awhile Zara let herself drown in the classical music that hummed softly from the speaker above her head. Her fingers tapped with the beat, and her head came to rest in her palm. She barely even glanced up as she caught movement in her peripheral vision. Her nose dragged her face toward the man, eyes closing as she savored the scent.

“Here you are sweetheart. White Chocolate latte, with a shot of espresso and peppermint. Enjoy.” Ben said with a smile, quickly setting down the coffee cup down and returning to the counter. Zara watched him go for a moment before turning to her coffee. She smiled slightly at the sight of it, picking the cup up and taking a hearty gulp. It was delicious as always, and she could already feel the caffeine entering her blood stream.

Again, Zara settled into her seat, eyes glazing over as she mulled over the thoughts that entered her head. First she needed to stop by the bank and get some cash. With a month off duty she needed to find a place to stay for awhile. And that required a healthy bit of cash. She could stay in the barracks, but she’d rather not. Too many men and woman who didn’t take to kindly the a young warrior like her. Tonight at least she might be able to just walk the city like a wraith, staying up until late morning when she could start making some phone calls to find a place to stay.

A yawn split her face, ending her thoughts for the moment. If she was planning on staying up she would need at least a couple more coffees, with double shots. Actually she was feeling kind of hungry now, probably a side effect of stalking the city in her lioness form earlier. One hand slipped down to grab at the backpack she had dropped on the floor, reaching in the pocket and feeling at the two coins that lay there. Guess she would have to be hungry the night. The bank was most defiantly not open at this time of night. Damnit. At least she was used to being hungry, it had after all taken her three long months to find a way from the Veratrum islands to Delozio. In which time she had spent many days as a lioness…

She was totally zoned out when Demetri walked up to her table. For about a half second before he spoke she thought he was Ben, come to offer her another latte. And then he spoke, dangerously sexy voice curling into her ears. Her tawny eyes snapped up to meet his icy blue ones, a sort of smile edging onto her face. She remembered this man, and in fact his wolfish scent was flooding into her nose now. “Hoping that I’d been killed by Revelion soliders?” She joked leaning back in her seat and letting a confident smile flood her face.


-------------------------------------------
Character; /~alzyria#Zara
Current Clothing; polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=34925075

[&_lemon]

Demetrius smirked when she looked up at him. Their gazes had met, and he found himself lost in her tawny eyes for a moment. He took in her appearance quickly; when they had met, it was utterly dark, and he could hardly tell what she looked like. He had to admit, she had a pretty attractive appearance, however he had no intention of saying that aloud.

At her comment, he couldn't help but chuckle. Did she want to be murdered by a bunch of soldiers? Not being a soldier, he never really fought, nor did he choose sides. Sure he knew things about the war and such, and at one point he was picking sides, but he was over that.

"Nah, I'm just shocked to see you again." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. He studied her for a moment, and then smiled slightly. Bringing his gaze to the away in front of her, he cocked an eyebrow at her curiously and asked, "May I sit?"

Without an answer, he turned the chair around so the back of it was against the take. He then plopped onto it, his legs on either side of the seat. "So, how's everything been?" He asked, a newfound curiosity filling his voice. This confidence of his to willingly have a conversation with somebody was shocking, though he didn't think about it too much as he waited for her response.

[Fever]

Zara cocked her brow as Demetri sat down uninvited. Taking his liberties, cocky bastard. She eyed him for a moment as he turned the chair backwards and sat in it. Didn’t seem very comfortable. She shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip of her coffee. The damn thing was almost gone, but what could she do? Nothing apparently.

“Well I’ve just spent the last three months killing every goddamn creature that ended up in front of me. Almost got killed by a vampire. The usual. What about you? How have you been wolf?” She asked turning her eyes from her coffee cup and to his face. The tawny irises rested there for a moment before becoming interested in a whorl on the table.

She fidgeted while waiting for his reply, fingers tracing the whorl on the table. She was on edge slightly now, not used to sitting around talking of idle things. The war front was constant action, every moment teetering on the edge of the abyss. Things were almost too calm here, no sounds of gunfire, or explosions in the distance. No here spare moments were spent doing sipping coffee instead of catching up on sleep.
-------------------------------------------
Character; /~alzyria#Zara

[&_lemon]

Demetrius smirked at her response. In a way, he found her amusing. He couldn't exactly explain it using words, however it made sense in his mind. He shifted his position, trying to get comfortable. He wasn't used to conversing people he didn't know too well; or even making conversation at all. It just wasn't something he did often.

He contemplated what to say to answer her question. There were various things he could say; like how he was, as usual, creeping in the dark and revamping hid intelligence on the war for a reason he didn't know about. That probably wasn't the answer she wanted though; she probably just wanted to hear him say something short and to the point.

Not wanting to keep her waiting for an answer much longer, he merely shrugged and said, "I've been fine. No vampires have been out to kill me lately... fortunately." A coy smile wound up playing on his lips and he studied her face a moment.

[Sponsored content]