Posts by TheScarletKing

Before Marie were rows and stacks of poker cards laid out on the cushions of the lounge chair. Solitaire was, in the most blunt of words, boring and confusing to the girl. She hardly knew how to play, and it was obvious by the way she handled her cards. Of course Daddy had been a pool shark, besting his friends out of their money in any game that could be gambled on. When father and daughter had been on better terms, he'd often attempt at teaching the child how to play these complex card games... And failed. She'd use the pool-stick as a fencer's sword, and the cards were simply fancy numbers and shapes on printed material. Never had she taken a liking to such activities, and never will she.

That's when Marie heard the voices of two separate people, one of them easily recognized as Gavin's but the other was too petite and feminine to be his own. She could simply draw the conclusion that this was his daughter that she had heard so much about, and decided that she should meet these people before something ended up ruined.

Marie rose to her feet, abandoning the playing cards where they laid, and moved back into the hallway. Her eyes moved to her left, and then her right, before she spotted the man toting along the luggage of his family. A small smile creased her lips as she approached him, waiting until he reached the top of the staircase before she grabbed the collar of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks and pulling him closer to her somewhat.

"Here is a friendly tip, one person to another," Marie quoted his previous statement with a dangerously cold tone, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a red speedo before stuffing it in his shirt. "You don't bite the hand that feeds you, otherwise that hand is going to smack you upside the head." A deadly smirk came to her face as she pushed him aside to walk past. "Get ready now, we're going to the beach and you're going to be wearing that," Marie warned him with a suddenly cheerful tone. She had some doubts if walking around in a such swim wear in a crowded beach was really going to embarrass him, but either way she had more in store for this man. Much more.

Marie then gave him her an all-knowing grin as she moved down the stairs almost too fast for her legs to move at such a pace. The girl had been wanting to go to the beach either way since she had first arrived, seeing as the water seemed much clearer than Galveston's oil-soaked oceans and dirty brown sands. It also wouldn't be too bad of a place to flirt with some guys... Or simply soak in the salty water until her skin was well-past pruned. Perhaps a little bit of both, it would be a fun day regardless.

As Marie approached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes wandered down the hall a little bit to see a strange little girl with her attention focused to a peculiar-looking vase that was a sky blue color with lilac flowers painted into it... That vase! Her grandmother had made that vase with her own two hands before she had passed away, and there was no way in Hell that she was going to let this child break it. "Hey! Get away from that!" Marie called out to the girl as she sprinted over towards her, but just like the incident in the airport the ground seemed to be out to get Marie. Her feet tripped over one another, and before she knew it she was face first on the ground in front of Macy with the shards of the vase she had knocked over around her. "Sh*t..." Marie grumbled as she slowly pushed against the ground to prop herself up. Well, the child didn't break it at least.

Marie then moved to her feet and looked at the dangerous shards of glass spread out across the ground. She sighed, and directed Macy away from the mess to prevent her feet from getting cut up. "Gavin! When you get the chance come down here and sweep this mess up before someone gets hurt!" She called, moving away from the vase as well and into the kitchen.

Marie's attention turned to the girl for a mere moment, not saying anything at first as she determined whether or not to be upset with her for this... She supposed that she only had herself to blame for the vase, and gave the girl a friendly smile. "I didn't get a chance to get your name... What is it?" Marie asked, moving into the fridge and digging through it until she found a box of opened fudge pops. Marie was in absolute love with this sweet food, and she supposed that she could share. Marie could tease and annoy Gavin all she wanted, but she supposed everything would be easier if she were on more friendly terms with his daughter. Tearing the wrappers from the chocolate pops, she handed one to Macy as well as a paper towel to avoid the melted drops of icecream to land on the floor.

{Sorry it took me so long to respond... I was trying to figure out how to type this out.

Teeth clenched down against the soft flesh of her bottom lip, nervousness clouding her mind as the footsteps grew closer, and closer, and closer. They were outside the car... He was outside the car! Amber's hands gripped the handle of her revolver, ready to fire a hastily-aimed bullet the second she saw this thug. She swore she could hear nothing but the sound of her own pounding heartbeat, and whether it be from the alcohol or the adrenaline she did not know. Maybe a deadly mixture of both... Probably.

That's when Amber first saw this man... He seemed a rather strange fellow, not as rugged and brutal as she expected a grunt to be, but oh well. The last thing she wanted is to be at the hands of this stranger, and so her gun aimed directly towards his forehead. She was perfectly capable and ready to blow this man's brains out the second he made a move more than the rise and fall of his breathing, and yet with her quaky, drunken hands it was obvious that there would be obvious complications in this should she need to.

"Get the Hell away from me...." Amber muttered, stepping out of the opposite door of the car without moving the barrel from this man. Her feet moved closer towards him, and the second she saw his own gun she frozed. If the alcohol hadn't already screwed with her enough, now she knew that this man was just as ready to shoot her as she was him. "Go away..." Amber warned once more, her thumping heartbeat pounding in her ears as a tinge of panic sparked her blood.

Drunken eyes were locked on this stranger for the most part, but her legs were unstable and shaky as she took a small step back, her foot just barely landing on the curb but not enough to keep her balance. Eyes widened as Amber took a drunken tumble backwards, landing on her back in the middle of the empty street. It hurt like Hell, and scared her enough to where she fired a misguided bullet into the air. No idea where it went, but she supposed that the sound of crumbling bricks in the distane suggested where it was lodged.

Amber slowly sat up to prevent an imaginary car from bulldozing her head into the ground, and her attention turned back to the man. Her revolver moved back to him and she pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. Click. Click. Click. The air was still, and no bullets rang through the air... She was out of ammo... Click. Click. Click. Click. She was frantic to end the life of this man before he ended her own, but no matter how many times she pulled that trigger nothing happened. "S-stay back..." Amber murmured, words slurring together as alcohol was allowed to creep into the realms f her mind. "Go away..."

Marie slowly sucked on the tip of the pop, drinking in the melted icecream that managed to escape onto her tongue. Her teeth very carefully seeped into the softened dessert as she listened to the girl state her name, and her face couldn't help but portray a dumbstruck expression. Whatever happened to one middle name? Was the man so prideful of knocking some chick up that he gave this child a name so extravagant that it made Marie cringe? Hm, well Macy was a simple enough name to remember her by, screw the rest of it.

A semi-forced smile made its way onto Marie's features as she spoke, "Macy, huh? That's a pretty name... Well you can call me Marie, I guess we'll be seeing each other quite a bit." Marie had been so busy gawking at this girl's name that she hardly noticed that the icecream on her Popsicle stick was gone and she was simply sucking on wood... Yuck. Marie threw the garbage away into the trash bin pressed up against the window, taking a moment to take in the view. She didn't think she could ever get used to such a sight... It was breathtaking to say the least but considering the fact they were going out, Marie was not going to let this view sit there. Her hands wrapped around the cord that controlled the shutters, and pulled the mobile blinds all the way across the window until the room was darker now that natural sunlight was not pouring into kitchen.

Marie then turned towards the child once more and gave her yet another smile, handing these things out like she was a charity case. "Well... Macy... I just ask that you don't go around breaking everything in this house, most of it costs a pretty penny after all," Marie requested before leaving the child to go slip into her own swimwear. Of course she had not forgotten about this in the vase breaking and pop eating, and was still very much excited to just float around in the ocean and hopefully get a nice tan while she's at it.

Marie slipped into her bedroom and kicked the door shut with a somewhat loud bang, but no one was sleeping or deathly ill so she could care less that it had made a noise. Her hands searched through her stuffed closet until she found "appropriate" beach attire: a sea-foam green string bikini top with a matching bottom. Of course the vast majority of her wardrobe held rather revealing items, and of course she did not care. It seemed to attract most men's attention and that's what she reveled in, attention. Still, she wrapped a dolphin-themed beach towel around her waist so that the seats of her car wouldn't be abrasive to her skin. She kicked on some flip-flops before leaving the bedroom and shutting the door behind her.

Marie then opened the door to Gavin's bedroom, not really minding his personal space, and tossed him the keys to her cadillac deville, a small smile creeping onto her face. "You drive," She commanded him, not paying much other mind to the man as she practically lept down the stairs. No, she did not really care if the other two were ready to go or not, Marie was and that was all that mattered. So, impatiently she leaned against the front door as she waited for her butler to hurry his ass along.

Marie had been about to storm upstairs and drag him out of that room of his, but the second that the duo had come downstairs she no longer found a need for it. A wide smile touched her ear-to-ear and she couldn't help but playfully hit the man's chest. "Longer than I needed to," She confirmed his suspicions without really caring that she had waited that long, it was fixed now and that was all that mattered to her.

Marie's pace did not quicken anymore when Macy had called to them, but it did when Gavin had started moving. This man did have the keys to her car after all... But it was more so because of the fact that she seemed intrigued by him, like a dog with a new toy without a clue to how it worked. Most men that she met would've gawked and flirted with her upon the second they saw her and her cash, but he poured champagne down her shirt instead. Unusual was too light of a word to describe him, alien was a better term.

Marie's train of thought had been broken upon them reaching her car in the parking garage next door, and she did not hesitate to jump into the passanger's seat beside Gavin. Her arms crossed up against her chest, even though the air inside the building was more humid and sticky then anything cold. Still, what she wore could hardly be considered clothes so perhaps the breeze in here was enough to chill her. Goosebumps pricked her skin, but not so much that she found the air cold but truly it was because she was a little nervous with Gavin behind the wheel. This man might not even own a driver's license, and here he was driving her car and possibly wreck it. Despite this gnawing fear, she made it into a sarcastic joke as she turned to him and lightly pushed against his shoulder. "Total my car and I'll parade around town with your head on a stick," She threatened with a light tone and the smirk only further proved that she had not meant it literally... After all, if he got into an accident she probably wouldn't be alive long enough to skin him.

Marie then somewhat awkwardly leaned over Gavin to mess with the controls, removing the roof to the car as it folded back against the trunk. It was a nice Summer day after all, might as well ride with the roof down. She didn't regret it either, as the second the vehicle had started moving the wind was dancing through her hair, pulling at it and whipping the black curls behind her. With her arm leaning out of the car, she allowed the wind to push and shove against her skin. The air was annoyingly humid, like a swarm of gnats that swarmed around your head, but the crisp ocean breeze that brought with it the oddly satisfying smell of fish and ocean salts. God she loved that smell, would bottle it up and keep it to herself if she could. It simply brought back good memories of childhood, one where she would put away her upper class status for a day of swimming with Mother and a night of fishing with Daddy. She would go home wreaking of rotten squid and her skin would be a burnt red color that stung with the ocean salts it held, but it was the best feeling in the world to her.

Before she knew it, they were parked in walking distance of the beach and Marie was eager to jump into that cool water and wade for a while, and then she would find a nice, sunny spot and flirt with some guys. Hm, she supposed that she would be taking a ride home with whoever she managed to pick up. Between her hardly-covered body and her money, she could only assume that he wouldn't be a disappointment. At this point, Marie stepped out of the car and removed the towel from her waist, exposing the complete bikini set. The colors were vibrant and the fabric was obviously new, although it wasn't some designer swim wear so she could only assume that the colors would be gone before she knew it. Marie then turned towards Gavin after a moment of breathing in that ocean breeze and taking in the gentle roll of the waves, a curious gaze on her features as she questioned, "Ready?"

The second Marie had felt his meaty fingers touch her lower waist, she was momentarily caught in the mental argument of either smacking him across the face or kicking him in the crotch. Both options seemed rather tempting, but this momentary pause for debate was the only thing that saved that man. She did seem rather confused when he had simply done this to keep half of the city from seeing her breasts, but did he really have to grab her by her ass? Her arm was just as close to him after all...

Marie sighed and put these thoughts to rest for the moment as she walked beside this strange character of a man, eyeing him warily before she had decided to open that mouth of hers, "Well, next time you want to slip your hands into my bikini ask first." Her tone was filled with sarcasm and the playful wink she had given him suggested even more so that she was joking... Of course she probably wouldn't mind anyways, his body was quite a sexy one and she'd be lying if she said that she would be hesitant to do anything with it. Still, she slipped her fingers into his own pants much like had did her, and as she walked past the man she allowed the fingers to travel to the front of his body before ultimately slipping away. She gave him a mischievous look from a sideways glance for the briefest moment before returning her attention to the space before her.

There was nice spot close to the water for her, and she laid her towel out flat against the heated sand for her to return to when it was convenient enough. Maria then kicked off her flip flops before making a mad dash for the water, leaping into it once she found that she was no longer able to effortlessly run through it. The water was crystal clear today, and even though her underwater glimpse of this world was hazy she was still able to make out her surroundings. Legs of fellow swimmers were scattered across the sandy plains, and schools of bait fish maneuvered their skittish way around anything that didn't look like them. The ground below her was a mix of gold and green, the sand covered in a thick layer of hair algae that acted as if it were growing into a grassy, yet slimy, field. She came up for a quick breath soon after her initial dive, the dark hair sticking to her as water dragged it down, and took in a huge breath before flipping onto her back and remained motionless.

Marie's light body managed to float with the oxygen stored in her lungs, the air acting as a life jacket that kept her head above the water. The water was chilling despite the temperature of the air, and in that way it was a refreshing mix of two extremes. Hm, the only thing that would make this experience any better was a beer...

Marie had spent a good chunk of time floating aimlessly in that cool water, not completely in tune with the living, breathing world. It was as if her body was on auto-pilot while her mind was put into a tranquil, almost nonexistent state. She had a lot to think about of course, as she had one strange man and this bubbly little girl living in her home now. Had he been so easy to tempt, she might've been able to figure out his thought process a little quicker. One moment he had called her a good person, and then the very next he had called her a skank and dumped champagne down her shirt. Hm, she didn't think she'd ever truly forgive him for that, even if he saved a school bus of little children she wouldn't. After all, most women wished they could be her and most men wished they could sleep with her... He wasn't like most people.

Marie must've let too much air slip from her lungs at one time, considering her head dipped under in the middle of a breath and that caused her to breathe in too much saltwater for her lungs to handle. Then again any saltwater was too much, although the sudden pain in her chest jolted her waking conscious back into its body as she stood in the water, gasping for breath and beating against her chest. It took her a moment, but eventually she was able to catch it and there was nothing left save the initial shock of that brutal taste of drowning. That was where Marie drew the line in the sand, and headed back to shore.

Marie had settled herself on the beach towel, somewhat chilled from the cool water but not cold, no 90 degree weather would not allow her to be cold. Still, she allowed the droplets of water to air dry from her skin as her attention turned to her left. Gavin was not too far away, definitely in ear drop but not quite close. There was a few empty towels separating the two, and she was grateful that no one occupied those towels. That would've blinded her view of this man, and while she would have loved to just stare at him until Hell froze over, it didn't happen.

A body had moved in between them, and while Marie was tempted to scowl and curse this poor fool out, she didn't. Her eyes simply traveled up to the face of this stranger, and she gave him a half-hearted attempt at a smile. The expression was obviously not genuine to even the dumb blinds, but this man must've had a few screws loose as the smile she received in return obvious spoke that he had bought into it. It took only a moment later for him to settle himself in the sand besides Marie, his eyes traveling to the man she had been staring at before returning to Marie.

"He your boyfriend or something?" The stranger asked, voice pricked with deadly caution. The question caused a dark brow to lift somewhat as she tried to peer over his shoulder to Gavin, but almost purposefully it seemed as if he moved with her to block the sight of the sun-bathing man. A sigh escaped her lips as her head shook quickly, a forced smile making its way onto her lips.

"No, just an employee," Marie reassured the man who seemed to quickly relax upon hearing this. The one time where she didn't want to flirt, and it seemed as if she didn't have a choice with this man as he gave her a flirtatious grin and an arm had suddenly draped over her shoulder. Almost in a friendly way at first glance, but she knew better. She knew much better.

"In that case," He murmured, hand drifting to her bikini top and resting there on her breast. Marie simply turned a blind eye to the gesture, rather used to it by now. "Why don't I get us a couple of drinks and we can get to know each other better?" Marie simply nodded with another faked smile and the man copied the smile. "Great, I'll be right back." With that, the man rose to his feet and abandoned Marie for the snack bar, which was a relief to her. She finally had a chance to stare at Gavin as much as her heart pleased, but she didn't. The girl simply laid back against the towel with her arm draped over her eyes to block out the sun, waiting for the man to return.

I wove da beach boys! You back off, dat song's mine

Maria had been trying to savor the few moments of peace before that pain in the ass had returned, but here comes her headache. It was hard to tell if he was genuinely asking or if he was trying to push her buttons, but she could only assume the latter. The girl scoffed and was about to curse him out and tell him off, but decided against such a direct route of attack. Nope, there was a better way to approach this sore.

A smile came to her face, this one less obvious that it was faked, as her head turned towards the man. Marie rolled onto her side to face this man, amusement dancing across those green eyes of hers. "Oh I'm having a blast," She lied right through those smiling teeth, yet the sarcasm in her voice wasn't as obvious as it usually was. "But... If I do remember correctly that I gave you a certain something to wear and I don't see it. Hm... Strange." Marie then sat up from her spot and turned her attention towards the snack bar all the way across the beach. It was pretty crowded, and that brought a genuine smile to her face.

Marie's curly black bounced lightly as she leaped from her spot in the towel and made her hasty way over towards the man. She lied down on her stomach besides him, holding out a tube of sunscreen. Very rarely would she wear this, seeing as she doesn't burn easily, but this was more for him than it was for her. "But I have something else that's more important. It's scorching out here and I don't want to go home sunburnt... Mind helping me?" The look that this woman had given Gavin was a very gentle one, it not being directly spoken that he didn't have a choice in this but it was all the same. He wanted her money, her rooms, a good life for his baby girl, then he was going to have to given into Marie's fiery demands.

Of course she hadn't forgotten about the man who had been attempting to flirt with her earlier, and in fact that was the whole point of trying to get him to rub lotion on her. Marie hoped that Gavin doing this favor for her was enough to scare that asshole off, and if it wasn't well... She would just have to see how this goes.

True, I am tripping out on something, probably sharpie fumes....

But da Beach Boys is my LIFE. Don't like it, get out of Vietnam or... Bleh something :/

{Yes, I iz smartz }

Marie gasped when she felt her bikini top slowly slip away from her body, and just before the twins had been uncovered she pressed her hands against the fabric and pinned it against her skin. "Son of a bi tch!" She yelled after him, grumbling a few words under her breath that may or may not have contained something to do with him burning in the deep, fiery pits of Hell. Carefully, she reached behind her neck and tied the two strings back together in a hastily-made knot, just in time for that other asshole came back with two bottles of beer for the two. Her lips pressed together in a defiant manner, struggling to keep herself from throwing Gavin's backpack into the ocean. Slowly she rose to meet the man and removed the beers from his hands, tossing them to the sand.

Marie had leaned in close to the man's ear and had whispered something that obviously was not a part of friendly conversations, and the man had grinned ear to ear and simply nodded. "Fine with me," he agreed without reluctance, herding Marie away from the beach and towards the parking lot. They had gotten in on opposite sides of a beaten-down station wagon that reeked of pot, but Marie simply endured the scent during the short ride.

The rest of the day was a blur to Marie. They had arrived at his apartment, had sex a couple times, went out for a nice dinner that he insisted on paying for, and all seemed to have gone well until he had dropped her off back home. The man, who she had come to call Alex, had walked her back just short of the door that separated the parking garage and the building that held her penthouse when things turned a nasty and sudden turn for the worst. The second Marie had put her hand on that doorknob, she suddenly felt a muscular arm that wrapped around her neck from behind. It grew tighter and tighter until she felt the air being sucked out of her, and she suddenly realized what was going on when she felt her purse being ripped from her body. Oh Hell no was anybody mugging her, and she couldn't help but feel pity that she hadn't listened to her initial instincts to get rid of this loser because now she was caught between an asshole that was trying to fish out her credit card and a knife that was threatening to dig into her skin.

Marie was scared senseless, don't get her wrong, but she she was more pissed off than anything, and when she was turned around to face Alex she immediately felt the bony knuckles of his fist ram the side of her face. "Where the Hell's your money!?" He snapped, knowing that this woman was loaded. Well, Marie had only expected to go to the beach so she had a few bucks on her, but she didn't take her credit card or anything like that. She hadn't wanted to lose the damn thing, but that might've screwed her.

Alex was about to send that knife into her shoulder and that's when Marie reacted. Her leg went flying into her attacker's unprotected crotch and that seemed to end the ordeal rather quickly. He had doubled over in pain for just the briefest of moments, but that was long enough for Marie to grab her purse and slip through that door. She ran, ran so fast that she was falling over her own two feet. She had no idea if he had followed her or not, and she didn't stop to check until Marie had slammed the door of her penthouse shut and locked it.

Marie was an absolute mess, a thin cut over the skin of her throat and her eye was swollen and bruised. Tears were streaming down her red hot cheeks, and there was no way that she was allowing anyone, especially not Gavin, to see her like this. After all, Gavin would probably just rub this mess in her face.

Marie threw the purse onto the ground and ran up the spiraling stair case, not bothering with her bedroom but going straight for the porch. The girl thought that the city lights would help with her mood, as it was a breath-taking view, but they only seemed to have made it worse. More tears streamed out of her eyes and before she knew it she was sobbing. The girl reached into her pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes. Rarely would she smoke, only when her nerves were getting to her usually, as she usually turned to alcohol for her addictions. Still, she placed a cigarette in her mouth and lit the end of it with her lighter, taking in long drags of the drug before puffing out clouds of smoke as she watched the city lights roll past.

You better be cause I'm a mother f-ing Pikachu! Don't make me thunderbolt you...

Marie glared knives and daggers at this man, eyes narrowed into dangerously thin slits. All of her anger that was trapped inside her prison of a body was suddenly directed towards Gavin for no true reason. She just needed to be mad at somebody for this mess, and he was the first one she had seen. With a sudden push to the chest, she scowled deeply and was about to snap and yell at him, but stopped just short of it. Gah he was the only comfort she had at the moment, and it would be easier to just get along with him rather than fight him.

Marie took one last shaky drag of her cigarette, slowly blowing out the cloud of smoke to the side of them, careful to keep it from blowing in Gavin's face. Her cigarette pressed into the flesh of her arm, relishing the pain that it brought and the darkened circle it had burned into the skin. She then tossed it out to the streets below, watching as it plummeted out of sight... She continued to watch the space it had once occupied for a long while, a moment lengthy enough for the silence between them to be uncomfortable. She sighed and brushed her hair away from her ear, allowing the dark curls to fall over her face and hide the blackeye from Gavin. She wanted to hide this so bad, just bottle it up and allow it to fade away, but she was just so shaken up from this that she didn't think that she'd allow for herself to drop the subject.

Marie's green eyes then traveled over to the man beside her, the sight of him becoming clearer as she turned to look at him with the eye that wasn't a swollen mess. Without warning, and still not saying anything, she hugged him. Not really in a flirtatious or joking way, or even a friendly way. It was more like how a scared child would hug a stuffed animal, something that they could get comfort out of. Even if that comfort was minimal. Still, she was silent in this embrace. Tears soaked into his shirt as her crying failed to come to a stop, although she was trying her best to put an end to it. What can she say? The girl was scared senseless and she honestly felt rather helpless without her parents to help her through the rough patches of life... Which only added onto her fear.

Marie's eyes wanted to travel up to his face, but she was afraid that there would be a face of disapproval or amusement. She always had a nagging feeling that everything that escaped his lips was a tease, and even with the circumstances she couldn't help but feel as though he might just be kicking her while she's down so-to-speak. She didn't want to believe that, and so kept her eyes focused on the darkness of her eyelids. "I really know how to pick 'em, huh?" She asked in a voice just barely above a whisper, quoting what he had said earlier on the beach.

[img width=510 height=383]http://i402.photobucket.com/al…and-piakchu-dance-fix.gif[/img]

I'll RP with you... Not entirely sure what plot yet but it will come to me...

When we first started this thread I kind of had the feeling that this was based off Hawk Song, but I was like "Nah"

So... This is either the biggest coincidence in history or I was right :p

Footsteps were the only thing that had reached the man's ears for a long while. They grew louder one moment and faded away the next, and some were hastily made while others were slow and casual. He had come to recognize the footfall of certain individuals, including Mau's own. He was honestly disappointed to hear not even a trace of it, and although his Feline ears swerved back and forth on his head the familiar noise was not picked up. He had honestly hoped that the woman would return to his chambers so he could release his anger in a rough mating session, but that was a fleeting hope. Still, he grew worried. There were undoubtedly some guards that did not approve of their new Alpha, and with a Feline Queen and Hybrid King that could spark a betrayal of loyalty. The thought of that forced Drahzan to his feet and drove his legs to wander the hall.

Drahzan's body knew where he was heading before his mind did, but his conscious self soon caught up as he approached the large, wooden doors that led to the private garden. Hm, this was as good a place as any to look for his mate, and slowly he pushed open the doors until he came across a sight that horrified him.

There was Mau, as well as some scaly rat, who was flirting with her. Flirting with Drahzan's mate. While the Alpha Male was tempted to go in and make himself a nice snake dinner with a nice cup of ale on the side, he paused and watched and listened. It was only when this thing was practically giving himself to Mau was when he stepped in. He did not notice the fact that his blood was boiling, or that his face was red-hot with the anger in his system. Before he knew it, his brother's trusted knife was unsheathed and digging into this man's bare chest which only added more fuel to the fire. Drahzan had placed himself in between his mate and this creature, where he could make sure that this snake did not touch his mate.

"It doesn't work like that," Drahzan growled a deep rumble of thunder. Rarely would he get this angry as his spirit was usually pretty relaxed when his mother's temper had not ignited it, but he had a pretty good reason to get angry after his "father" had torn into him and now this man was flirting with his mate. In between those two things, added the easily-ignited temper, he was more than just pissed at the moment and his pinned ears and lashing tail portrayed that emotion. "You can't just waltz in here and throw yourself at my mate. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of her, and I have my own guards who are willing to take care of her. I don't need you, she doesn't need you, and so why don't you take your spoiled little ass back home where you can flirt with all of the little she-snakes your people has."

Staring down at the intriguing little trinket, Marie's twig-like fingers carefully brushed over the shell as if she feared that simply touching it would cause it to shatter. So after all the * she had put these two through, they had gotten her... a gift? She knew that it had not cost them much money, nor much effort, but still it had touched her heart and pulled at its strings. To think that she didn't have anything to give them in return, and especially after how horribly she had treated those two, that created a seed of guilt lodged in her heart.

Marie's eyes then wandered back up to Gavin as he spoke his thanks, and a slight frown creased her face. Her head shook slowly, eyes traveling back to the shell as she spoke, "No, you don't need to thank me for anything that I've done." She paused, eyes sneaking a quick peek at Gavin's face just to read the emotions that was painted onto his face before moving her attention back to her shell. "If either of us should be saying anything it should be me apologizing. I acted like a * and treated you people horribly, and I'm sorry." The woman gave him a small smile before moving slowly to the edge of the railing that separated her from quite a fall.

Marie leaned against it, peering down towards the street below and the busy people roaming it. They were ordinary people some, rich neighbors others, and mortal enemies most of them. The rich hated the poor, the poor hated the rich, and simply because they could. The scruffy, poverty-ridden residents were resentful of people like Marie, knowing that they hog all the money that they wished they could have and needed to own. The classy business suits and ties were too blind by the lump in their wallet to really open their eyes to the rest of the world, and simply expected the rare luxuries that came with it. Marie was like that, blind and ignorant, but she didn't want to be. Not anymore. Her life was miserable when she had to wave her money in people's faces to get them to acknowledge her, and when she finally opened her eyes wide enough to see her behaviors from an outside perspective a blush of embarrassment brushed her cheeks. She didn't want to live her life inside the safety that money bought, nor did she want to be blinded by the color of green.

"You're dismissed for the night," Marie murmured, her mind still cluttered with the strain of deep thought and consideration.

[img width=363 height=510]http://thepensieveofvampwilock…r%20and%20blue%20eyes.jpg[/img]

We all make mistakes, it's only human nature to slip up every once in a while. Some of these are the little things that we tend to fret over, like receiving a bad haircut or eating that extra 200 calories... Well, what about the larger things in life? What happens to those pregnant teenagers or inmates on death row? They're the outcasts in this large world, the underdogs of society, and aren't as important as your boxed-in life. Travis is one of these people, those tossed aside by the rest of humanity to live under their perfect little worlds.

Now, Travis's life isn't perfect {Far from it actually...} but he makes the best of it and enjoys what it has given him. His home, for example, is nothing more than the soiled space under a bridge, but it's the best home he's ever owned. His neighbors are kindly folk, too. Travis's best friend, Quinn, takes up the opposite corner of him. Then there's Megan and Charles, mother and son, who take up the opposite end of the two boys. Megan had Charles as an orphaned teen, and well now their beat-up family has four members to it.

Travis had done some... Things that he's not proud of in his life. Mistakes were made and well, here he is, a homeless reject living under a bridge. In his younger years, the man had an addiction to weed. A terrible addiction. Well on one fateful day, he was in need of a quick fix but didn't have the money to pay for it. A younger Travis had stepped into the bank down Baxter Lane, and made a very wealthy "withdrawl". Needless to say, the police had found Travis smoking in his bud's basement higher than a bird. Travis had been arrested, and sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence, but had gotten out after about a decade off of good behavior. The man was 27 now, 27 and homeless.

Travis had tried time and time again to change the homeless status, but no matter where he went no one would hire. He even tried that run-up, rat-infested Burger King a block away but some immature teenage brat who didn't even need the money had been chosen over him. After all, who would want to hire a homeless parole...? Exactly.

Now Travis was huddled by the make-shift fire alongside Quinn, who was telling a rather... err... spooky? ghost story. Of course this man was horrible at the art of storytelling just as much as Travis was horrible at finding a job, so needless to say that the frightened expression that crossed the convict's face wasn't genuine.

"...And then he..." Quinn paused for an effect that wasn't there. "GOT HER!" The gasp that escaped Travis's lips was faked, but it made his friend grin ear-to-ear as it seemed as though Travis had enjoyed the tale.

"Nice dude... But seriously, let's eat supper before the sunrises," Travis suggested, pulling a Hershey's bar from his pocket for desert. It was a treat that a day of generous begging had bought him, and Quinn's eyes lit up with excitement at the sight of the treat.

"Oh my..." Quinn murmured, reaching out to snatch it but Travis quickly pulled it away from his friend's reach. "GOD! How did you pay for that!?"

A smile simply came to Travis's lips as he pressed a finger to his lips. "That's my secret," He murmured as he received a punch to the shoulder.

Quinn then retreated towards his corner for a mere moment as he revealed his own gift for the hungry family: a can of chicken noodle soup. It had brought a smile to Travis's lips and the four had a feast. The can of soup was shared amongst the homeless neighbors, and the warmth it brought to Travis's belly made him smile. Afterwards they split the chocolate bar as well, each person getting four pieces, and that treat was all-too sweet for the senses. They stayed up for a while longer, sharing stories from their lives, before going off to bed in their torn-up sleeping bags.

Plot

My character, Travis, had robbed a bank when he was 15 and had served his time in the prison for it. After he had gotten out, he had no home and no one would hire him, so he had joined three other people under a bridge.

Then your female character comes in, a new reject to the streets who thinks her life is over just because she doesn't have a bed to sleep in anymore. Well, can Travis help shed some light on this way of living? Let's find out :p

Hm... It won't even post the url to it... I'll go and find another pic

And jump in with her {newly on the streets} wandering across the group?

--> http://i43.tinypic.com/ng7b5v.jpg <--

Marie had listened carefully to the man's words, but did not look towards him or acknowledge his presence in any other way. At first glance, it would appear that she had not listened at all but what could she possibly do? She had one foot in the realms of her childish mind and the other just barely in reality, and she had no idea what to do at this point. She was simply lost in her own idle fantasies, and now she's coming to realize that money cannot do everything for her. It cannot protect her when her life is in danger, and it cannot bring her the happiness she had once thought she had. When she looked at Gavin, she could feel envy take hold of her. He was happy with his life, or at least appeared to be, and hers was simply hollow in comparison.

Marie must've stood on that balcony in silence for a good ten, fifteen minutes after he had left her company, and that's when her mind cleared enough for her to remember that Gavin was waiting for her. Her arm rubbed against her dry eyes, the tears no longer flowing but still she felt the need to wipe something away, and then she retreated indoors. With her arms crossed against her chest, her eyes moved slowly around the space she occupied. The woman was tempted to just slip away to bed and forget about this whole night... No this whole day... But the stinging, throbbing pain that surrounded her eye was enough persuasion to follow Gavin.

Slowly and reluctantly, Marie made her way into the bathroom that Gavin occupied. She pushed open the cracked door, and allowed her eyes to travel over to the man. For once she honestly felt a little timid at the moment, and she wasn't entirely sure why but that didn't really seem to matter, did it? She could only assume it was the fact that she was in a bathroom with this man, or that she was giving him control over this situation. The latter seemed more probable though.

Marie swallowed her shyness down until it was merely a lump in her cut-up throat, and eyed Gavin warily as she seated herself on the marble counter top. The dark curls were still covering the cuts and bruises that coated her skin, as she didn't entirely feel comfortable with anyone but her seeing these blemishes, but she put aside her stupidity for a moment to pull away the midnight hair from her face and neck before pinning it back with a few bobby pins that she always carried on her. She felt exposed with him being able to see her wounds in full light, but she supposed that she would just keep her emotions under her thumb so that this could be done and over with so she could go into her bedroom and scream into her pillow. Marie remained silent and simply stared at him, waiting for him to go ahead and treat her so they could move on with their lives.

[img width=340 height=510]http://data2.whicdn.com/images/36015961/large.jpg[/img]

Morgan Clair Ashton

Life. Four words that can make you into a beautiful flower amongst those red roses. Four words that can also tear you down into a weed festering amongst those flawless beings of perfection. Your tears and your sorrow will forever water those thorny roses, but eventually we all must die, no matter if you were a sickly weed or a heavenly flower.

Just like what had happened to Mother. Only a girl at the time, Mother had died in the flames of a house fire. It was just an accident, the police had concluded. Simply a candle left to burn, they had said... I knew better. It was so coincidentally after Father had found out that I was what remained of a forgotten affair, and Father was so mad he had made me sleep in the backyard with the dog... When I awoke our house was up in flames.

Father had taken me in after that tragic time, Father had taken care of me still. The old man was a drunken mess, but I was still his baby girl so his anger for Mother did not leak onto me... Not physically at least. He was always counting my flaws, always yelling at me for something as simple as leaving the toilet seat up. You would be better behaved if you were my own, Is what he had said, and for a long time I believed him. I still believe him... I think...

I dropped out of high school when I was old enough to. I didn't have a future, Father had said I didn't so why did I have to try? Father had smiled at me, he was proud of that decision, and thus bought me this makeshift apartment where I've lived for three years.

I'm 21 now, 21 and working full-time at a local Petsmart. My pay isn't great, I'll admit, but it's enough to get me through to next week. I also always come home smelling like freaking dog for some reason, but that could be expected from working with animals around the clock. Animals love me, they fill the aching loneliness I have that chews on my ankles and begs to stay. I don't have any human companions though, I've tried the whole dating thing a few times but people were disturbed with my depression, and my desperation to feel loved. I don't feel loved, I feel forgotten and tossed aside.

Not even Father contacts me anymore, we had stopped talking the second I had moved out. Usually the only words I speak all day are, "Have a great day!" to the costumers, and occasionally strangers on the street. The words are so generic and seared into my head that it makes it difficult to say anything else sometimes. Most of the times though, I say nothing and keep my pain to myself. Father had told me that sadness is something to hide, after all. He would be proud.

So here I am, sitting in a crowded coffee shop dressed in sweats. My hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, it being obvious that a shower has not cleaned it in days. I sip on my Latte, staring at the people around me. They were so close yet so far away, so joyful while I felt so alone. It creates a dark feeling of envy within me to see people so satisfied with their lives, so ignorant to the pain around them. They're disgusting.

So caught up in my own bitter thoughts, I had failed to realize the man seat himself across from me. At first I had assumed he had wanted to speak to me personally, but as I looked around the room I had noticed that no other seats were open and some were standing along the walls... Oh... So he had not chosen to sit with me... I said nothing as I stared at him, waiting for him to break the silence between them.

Plot

Ok so my character, Morgan, had been the result of her mother's affair that had ultimately ended in her father killing her. After that, Morgan had been subject to verbal abuse by the man although he hadn't laid a finger on the girl. She grew up and with her father's suggestion, dropped out of high school to live the life of a substandard citizen. No one would talk to Morgan, and your Guy character didn't want to either. He was a successful college student who had been dared by his friends to talk to her, and after a moment he started to actually talk to this girl and they become friends. Well, her father finds out about Morgan's new friend and decides to scare him off. Idle threats don't work and as the two become more than just friends, will her father try to do exactly what he had done to Morgan's mother..?

:p

Ow, dammit! Did Gavin absolutely have to apply so much f*cking crap that made her want to kick him in the balls!? Marie had actually come close to doing just that several times, but she had enough self control to keep her legs to herself. It was only when he had started messing with her eye that she had snapped just a little bit. Marie had grabbed a handful of his hair and attempted to rip it from his scalp, but only succeeded with a few hair fibers.

Marie scowled and squirmed under her skin once the man had left, trying to keep herself from rubbing the medicine off. They hurt like a mother f-er on steroids, and even though they were helping her she had to admit that it was tempting to remove it. Despite this, Marie kept her hands away from the cuts and bruises as she exited the empty bathroom.

Marie had been tempted to crawl into bed and embrace a well-needed period of peaceful slumber, but she was also anxious with the fact that her disturbed mind would not allow for her sleep to be peaceful. It would probably be riddled with nightmares and darkness that created a cold sweat and a scream lodged in her throat, and the thought pushed away the idea of sleep.

Instead, Marie retreated downstairs and into the darkened living room, turning on only the TV as she sat in the darkness. The woman then plopped down onto the white sofa with the remote in her hand, and turned it onto a movie that was playing. It was her favorite movie, one that was cherished in her own little world for whatever reason she had deemed worthy for it. Marie didn't entirely know why, as the genre of horror and demons was not entirely enticing to the girl, but the individual film was different. It gave her a few hard scares even when she had watched it for a bazillion times, and that made her curl up underneath a thick blanket as the movie began.

~~

Sometime in the night, Marie had dozed off after having replayed the movie over and over again on a loop. The Amityville Horror was playing on the flatscreen, towards the end of it where the insane father was trying to kill his family. Despite the horrendous screaming and disturbing scenes, Marie's sleep was sound and peaceful, not plagued with the sight of any dreams playing underneath her eyelids, good or bad. So there she was, curled up against the sofa with the blanket cocooned around her blissfully sleeping body.

Sleep had been peaceful and undisturbed for quite some time, or at least until the scent of smoke slapped her across the face that had been disturbed from it's previous resting place. The groggy woman was not quick to break free from slumber's grip, and so Marie moved slowly as her eyelids revealed those green eyes of her's, and then it took a moment longer to actually sit up.

The penthouse was still and almost tranquil this time of day, nothing disturbing the motionless air that simply hung around the residents inside. Occasionally there would be the light gust of cool air rushing past as the air conditioner kicked on, but other than that you could almost assume that you had been separated from the living, breathing world to live in a mirror to it, one where all is still and calm.

Slowly, Marie rose to her bare feet and stretched her arms back behind her head, groaning slightly as she chased away the urge to simply crawl back under the blanket and return to dreamland. The woman glanced down the hall that led to the kitchen to note that delicious-smelling food lined the table, and yet not a soul was there to claim ownership over it, and as much as she'd like to simply seat herself down and dig in, she figured that she should at least find Gavin first to make sure he didn't want everyone awake before they began eating.

Marie had not a clue where this man could be, but she must've had luck on her side as she found him quite easily once she had scaled the stairs. There he was, out on the balcony smoking some cigarette and it was all too tempting to join him. Marie non-hesitantly made her way outside to join Gavin, and she quickly pinpointed the rectangular mass taking up his rear pocket. Without questioning the man if she may join him, the woman snatched the box of cigarettes from his pocket and stole one out of it. Marie then placed this stolen item in the corner of her mouth as she lit it with his lighter as well.

Marie then moved to his side, leaning over the fence just slightly to peer down at the busy people below them as she took long drags of the cigarette before blowing the smoke out of her nose. "Morning," Marie finally greeted Gavin as she handed him back the box of cigarettes that she had stolen.