A hybrid comes to have the blood of one. (Male needed, vampire/werewolf hybrid 1x1)

[TieMeTightly]

Emma forced a smile as she saw her phone in his hand, actually relieved that it wasn't broken in a million pieces somewhere. Really she wasn't sure what she'd do if it had been..get a new phone, yes. But she needed that connection to people at all times. Who didn't nowadays?

Taking a step forward, slender fingers practically plucked the phone from his hand, immediately holding it protectively in her own. She looked…better? Not really better, just less bloody. If she wasn't exhausted before she certainly was now, and even the minor amount of blood loss that she'd suffered had visibly done a number on her body.

Already there were circles under her eyes, and she seemed somewhat slower in response time to everything that was happening. A bed would be a welcome thing right now.

Without saying anything else Emma made her way to the front door, grabbing her keys from the table before opening it, only to hold it open for him.

"Where's your car?"

 

[No_such_thing]

"It's only a few minutes away, lucky really, I couldn't get into town so I parked up and walked."

it was unlikely that they'd be attacked again, if there were any vampires left in the gang they were unlikely to attack them, to lose one vampire was a loss, four was a catastrophe. They were few enough as it was, a vampire gang was unlikely to have more than perhaps a dozen members. They would certainly think twice before coming after them again.

The house was far enough out, and well known as abandoned. No one would know they were there. Henry would be arriving in the morning, once there were a few of them in the house it would be safer. The trick would be keeping Emma away from them, she obviously had some knowledge about vampires, maybe enough to spot one even so experienced as Henry. Perhaps if he pretended ignorance? No, she would believe they were both at risk and the bind on her memories would break. Dimitri would have to keep him out of the way, there was plenty of space in the manse, he would have to stay further back. But he'd have to solve that problem when it arrived.

 

[TieMeTightly]

"It's only a few minutes away, lucky really, I couldn't get into town so I parked up and walked."

Emma nodded in response, staring down at the ground as they walked back toward the town. It wouldn't be a long walk at all, but it seemed like it took them hours to get from her house to his car. It probably didn't help matters that she was silent the entire way there. She was tired, but really couldn't help but be thrilled with the fact that he had offered his home to her when hers obviously wasn't safe to be anywhere near.

It was incredibly unnerving to think that she'd been attacked, and it seemed that Dimitri didn't know what it was that actually attacked her. That was good - it was one less thing for her to have to explain. Of course she would have to keep her neck bandaged so that he wouldn't ask about it as an afterthought..it definitely did not look like an attempted stabbing.

She was grateful that he had parked in town instead of at the bar - mainly because it was much closer to her house than the bar was. So of course she simply followed him until she saw it, unable to really help herself from placing her palm against the side in order to steady herself. No..blood loss was not fun.

"I'm sorry.." She was apologizing for the silence between them the awkward walk to the car. "I don't mean to be such a drag right now..I just..I can't really believe that this has happened two nights in a row now.."

 

[No_such_thing]

He nearly moved to catch her again, stopping himself as she placed a hand against the car. Catching her again would definitely not help her suspicions. Her hand left a faint bloody hand print on the paintwork. He grimaced, not the best image to be parading around town, someone might ask why there was blood all over his car. And he couldn't be bothered with an investigation right now, not with four bodies as witnesses. Oh no officer, I didn't attack her, I was too busy killing another three on the other side of town. He almost laughed out loud.

He reached out and pulled the door open, helping her gently into the car. He shut the door, then walked round to the other side, going round the bonnet and throwing a look around the area before he opened the drivers door and ducked inside. He cast a glance over at her, smiling reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it, it's not like you chose to be attacked is it? It must just be one of those things, maybe you've used up all your bad luck now."

Not likely, from what he'd seen in the archives, an adolescent gang was the least she had to worry about. He would have to look after her, she was going to need all the good luck she could get.

 

[TieMeTightly]

The car was actually familiar enough of a place already that she visibly relaxed even after just sitting down. It didn't hurt that it was comfortable, but for some strange and twisted reason, she did feel safe with him - at least safer than she felt in the past two nights.

"Don't worry about it, it's not like you chose to be attacked is it? It must just be one of those things, maybe you've used up all your bad luck now."

The comment drew a dry laugh from her lips. Used up all of her bad luck. That was a joke.

"I'm just..going to go ahead and doubt that. In the past two nights..I have been attacked. I don't know I guess my body is just going into shock I can't even really remember what happened..just..coming home when you didn't show up..going to the door, and then everything is just..a blur. And then you were there."

Emma shook her head, her frustration growing from the simple fact that she could not remember what had happened.

"Charlotte should be at your house tomorrow..to start setting up..making sure everything is being cleaned properly..maybe that will be good…get my mind off of things.."

Again she paused, letting her gaze drift to the window. "Do I get to meet any of your friends before the housewarming? I know it's nosy but..I kind of would like to hear more about you from someone who isn't you..easier to figure out your deep dark secrets."

She glanced back, unable to help but smile up at him warmly, obviously not even believing that there really were any deep dark secrets to be had.

 

[No_such_thing]

Damn, asking already about his friends. He flicked a quick smile at her, "yeah of course, Sean should be here tomorrow evening or the day after, he's bringing some others as well, you guys should get on swimmingly."

I hope, Sean was not renowned for his temper, or his subtlety, still he was loyal, and a ferocious fighter. On a good day he was capable of taking on perhaps two or three vampires alone, astronomical for a non-vampire. On a bad day, he might take up to a dozen with him, his powers increased with the full moon and a fully fledged werewolf was a terrifying foe. Even Dimitri would have hesitated to face a full werewolf if his own powers did not wax and wane with the moon as well.

He'd have to warn him how clever Emma was, although her look had made it clear that she didn't believe there were any dark secrets to be had it was amusing just how wrong she could be. He shifted gear, feeling the purr of the car shift ever so slightly in tone. They powered out of town, cars and buildings flashing past as he casually disregarded the speed limit, trusting his inhuman reactions to save them if it was needed.

"Maybe you should ring Charlotte, let her know what's going on, I don't know if you managed to tell her what had happened but if I was in your position I would've told my best friend that someone had stood me up. I don't want her thinking it was deliberate."

He gave a short laugh, he didn't want some kind of confrontation with Charlotte tomorrow.

 

[TieMeTightly]

She was of course thrilled at the prospect of meeting his friends. Sure the party was to welcome him into town, but really it was all about the town getting to know as much as they possibly could about this handsome stranger in the shortest amount of time. One night. It wasn't really that difficult, especially if the people in town were anything like Charlotte. She would do well to be nosy about his life and try to learn everything about him. She'd probably still throw herself at him despite the fact that he seemed to favor Emma.

When he offered the suggestion to call Charlotte she found herself immediately reaching for her phone. Well that would have been stupid. Charlotte would certainly have been worried not only about the fact that she wasn't at home, but if she saw him the next day she would surely rip him a new one.

"I definitely did tell her that..that I do remember.." After a brief pause, her thumb tracking through the phone for her friend's number, she shrugged. "She'd probably kill you tomorrow if I don't let her know what's happening."

The call was brief, though it seemed to cover all points that needed to be covered.

"Hey..so…apparently I got attacked again."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It's okay, I promise. Dimitri came by after I got home..he was late..and there was a guy here already. Look I'm going to stay at his house tonight..maybe get a good night sleep."

"Are you sure you're okay? I feel like you should call the cops.."

"Honestly I don't even remember what all happened.." She lifted her hand, letting it rest on the bandage on her neck. "I just know that I need to get out of my house for a little..and luckily he has a giant house that he's letting me crash in. I'll see you tomorrow..don't worry about me. I'm exhausted…I'll answer any questions tomorrow."

"Fine. I don't really know if I like you staying at some guy's house you just met."

"Charlotte. You do it all the time. I love you, but I'm hanging up."

With that she did hang up the phone, not even giving her friend a moment to respond, mainly because she didn't have the patience for it or the strength to argue about it.

"Well two nights in a row..I'm going to sure look pretty with all of my scrapes and bruises at this housewarming.."

 

[No_such_thing]

"Charlotte. You do it all the time. I love you, but I'm hanging up."

He almost laughed at that, the thinly veiled rebuke at her friends seeming hypocrisy had been sharp and almost unexpected, though perhaps, from the sound of it, true.

"Don't worry about how you look, I'm sure you'll be fine in time for the party. Anyway, gives you a kind of aura of danger, just pick your dress carefully and you'll be fine, you'll look stunning."

He was almost surprised to find that he meant it, sure, he found some human girls attractive, but few were really beautiful when held up next to the dark majesty of a vampire. But this girl, there was something different about her, something, under the skin that he couldn't quite understand. It was... unnerving.

They were there now, pulling into the long drive once again, the car dying away to a throaty purr, and then silence as he removed the key. "Come on, you'd be better off inside."

Despite it's size and age, the house was deceptively warm, an ingenious old heating system adapted to the modern world ensuring that the rooms in use were always warm.

 

[TieMeTightly]

"Don't worry about how you look, I'm sure you'll be fine in time for the party. Anyway, gives you a kind of aura of danger, just pick your dress carefully and you'll be fine, you'll look stunning."

And there it was again. In those simple words she found her cheeks burning from the compliment, actually happy to be staring down at her phone in order to attempt to hide the flush in her cheeks. She didn't really know what it was about him, but something that simple made her feel giddy like a lovesick schoolgirl. It wasn't something that she was used to, and she was fairly certain that it wasn't something that she really liked.

The car came to a stop, blue eyes scanning the house that she'd just left hours ago. It was obvious that she never really thought she would be spending the night there - at least not any time soon, and after the strange chain of events that had happened there earlier, she had been glad to leave.

Now,..it was a refuge.

"Come on, you'd be better off inside."

"One step ahead of you.."

Already Emma was out of the car, shutting the door as she made her way toward the front door. She waited for him, of course, her bag slung over her shoulder, phone still tucked safely in her hand.

"I hope you don't mind if I just..sleep. I can take a couch if you have a couch..or maybe a spare bedroom.."

He had to have at least one, but she didn't want to assume anything as she hadn't really done a tour of the upstairs. Right now she really just wanted to sleep for an incredible stretch of time.

 

[No_such_thing]

"Couch? I wouldn't make you sleep on the couch."

He laughed slightly.

"You can have my bed, it won't be a problem."

Not that he did much sleeping in it anymore. Perhaps a few hours or so, but he could go for days without more than a bare nap. It wasn't just a power thing, he just had to keep doing something, and would often find himself in the library of wherever he was staying, out in the woods, anywhere. Usually it wasn't a problem, but then he didn't usually have mortal... guests.

Perhaps inviting her was a little hasty, to have her, defenseless in the house would truly test his limits. But maybe, he cocked his head, looking at her contemplatively, maybe not.

 

[TieMeTightly]

She actually flinched at his laughter, having not expected that anything that she had said had been humorous. She really would have been perfectly content with just crashing on a couch,..a chair…or the floor at the rate she was going.

"You can have my bed, it won't be a problem."

Again she felt her cheeks warming, forcing a smile and nodding in response, her attempt to keep her heartrate from pulsing so quickly it would alert even a mortal was failing miserably and she could hear it throbbing in her own ears..could feel it in the wound on her neck.

Emma followed him to the room, dropping her bag on the nearest chair only to turn to face him, her hand resting on the doorknob.

"Thank you..for..well for everything. I'll see you in the morning.."

She let her gaze linger but a moment before shutting the door, kicking off her shoes and peeling back the covers before climbing into the bed.

It took only a matter of minutes from the time the head hit her pillow that she fell asleep, the darkness in the room, the comfort of the bed,..and her exhaustion making it simple to fall asleep in someone else's bed.

 

[No_such_thing]

It wasn't long before he heard her breathing slow, she was asleep. She obviously needed it after the two days she'd had. He found his own mind lingering on her more than he'd intended, expected. Like her gaze had lingered on him before she'd closed the door.

He shook his head, what was he thinking, he couldn't become... attached to this girl. It was an unacceptable lapse on his part that he had allowed himself to care for her at all, it was an act nothing more, and so it would remain. He would have company soon though, Henry and his vampires would be here in only a few hours, Sean only a little later.

He went downstairs, he'd better make sure he had fed, he didn't want to be alone and hungry in the house with her, she should be safe enough by herself. His incriminating equipment was all locked away, and he held the only key, and somehow he doubted that she would be up and wandering outside the house.

He opened the front door, locked it behind him, and leapt forward into the night, on the hunt once again.

 

[TieMeTightly]

There was something that Emma had a little problem with, and that was the simple fact that she was nosy. The girl actually hid it pretty well, and she didn't come out and ask questions like Charlotte did, but if she was able to she would most certainly snoop to find out everything that she needed to know about a person.

The problem was that she was too tired to even do that. On a good day, had she heard him leave or perhaps even go to bed somewhere she would have been up and looking around the house - but she couldn't do that - even if she wanted to pretty badly.

Emma didn't know how long she even slept for. Never was she really a sound sleeper, but she seemed completely unfazed by the fact that hours were passing and she was managing an interrupted slumber. Especially with this massive event coming in only a few days time. Normally she wouldn't be able to sleep due to anxiety and excitement, but she wasn't even sure if she wanted to handle the party anymore. It was almost like each day that something terrible happened, it made her want less and less to do with the party planning even though that was probably the one thing that would be able to keep her mind off of what had happened.

 

[No_such_thing]

He was in her room now, sat in the corner, sprawled over one of the big opulent arm chairs that so characterized the manors decor. He'd considered the fact that it might creep her out a little, but he didn't care, he wasn't here to be her friend. He didn't care. Too much anyway. It was unnerving, the attachment he seemed to have developed to this girl, it was an attachment he was unused to. He wasn't sure quite how to respond to it, wasn't sure if he liked it.

She stirred in the bed, and by the change in her breathing he could tell she was waking. He found that he'd been gazing at her for over an hour, and now he found her waking intriguing. She seemed so innocent, so defenseless. But beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It was an odd admission even to himself.

He studied her, already sated from the night hunt, able to really examine her, breathe in her scent. But he had looked long enough, it was time to interrupt his own examination of her. "Wakey wakey, I've been told to stay out of the rest of the house, the cleaning crew are in and wow, that old woman is not one to take no for an answer. She is very much in charge. As it is, I've managed to procure access to the kitchens, I used to be a bit of a chef, any preferences for breakfast?

 

[TieMeTightly]

Emma was reluctant to open her eyes, actually deciding that if she just kept them shut for a little bit longer that she might actually fall back asleep and not have to get up anytime soon. Actually she had thought that he would just let her sleep however long she wanted to seeing as he had invited her to stay and figured as a guest she would have a good chance at sleeping in.

Not so.

"Wakey wakey,.."

His voice made her tense horribly, blue eyes snapping open though as he continued to speak she couldn't really help but sit up in bed, some story unfolding about the women cleaning the house…then something about the kitchen…and food.

"What?"

Waking up was apparently not one of her specialties. With a groan, Emma nearly fell back to the pillow, pulling the blankets up over her head.

"Go away.."

There was really very little irritation in her voice - she just sounded tired..and really looked only slightly better from the night before. The truth of the matter was that she really wasn't sure she wanted him to see her just waking up, though if he'd been secluded to the room that meant..

"Were you watching me sleep?"

The voice was muffled from under the blankets.

 

[No_such_thing]

He raised an eyebrow. "You do realise what time it is?"

The sounds of cleaning were still muffled, but gradually becoming more evident. Voices, their words as yet unintelligible, came closer, although his sense could pick up the conversation, a meaningless, yet technical discussion about the best substance to polish the woodwork with. Utterly boring and uninteresting, it was something only people in their profession could debate over.

"Were you watching me sleep?"

She was most definitely not a morning person, not that it was still morning. No doubt she would have several messages from Charlotte asking what was going on, he only hoped that she wasn't already on her way to 'rip him a new one'.

The fact that he'd not turned up, she'd been attacked, come to his place, then not answered any of her messages might very well mean that Charlotte was on her way. He was surprised she hadn't already arrived actually, it seemed to be her kind of personality that she would come to the aid of her friend. He brushed off her question.

"Perhaps you should check your phone."

 

[TieMeTightly]

"You do realize what time it is?"

Well that wasn't really what she wanted to hear. Of course she had no idea what time it was, though now that she was awake she could hear the people in the house. It wasn't like they had to be quiet, though it was almost annoying to her that they weren't.

"Perhaps you should check your phone."

Another groan came, Emma reluctantly sitting up again, reaching across to the night table to grab her phone only to squint at the screen to see that it was past morning indeed…and that she had missed calls and text messages from her friend. Lovely.

She lifted the phone to her ear, looking up at him - very quickly taking in exactly how he was sitting. He looked comfortable in the chair which made her think that he had been there for longer than she would have liked, definitely not just coming into the room to wake her up and be on his way. The phone picked up after barely a ring.

"I'm pulling into the driveway now. Glad to know you're alive!"

Emma parted her lips to respond but that quickly her lovely friend hung up the phone, leaving her momentarily speechless before dropping the phone to the bed. She peeled the blankets back and swung her legs off the side of the bed before standing. Ignoring the lightheadedness as she rose to her feet, Emma found the nearest mirror before taking the hair tie from around her wrist to pull her hair back and off of her face.

She peeled the bandage from her neck, actually pleased that the wound was already closed though the bruises surrounding the bite had her re-cover it immediately. That was not a question that she wanted to answer, nor did she want it to be a conversation starter for either Charlotte or Dimitri - she'd only hoped he hadn't seen the marks before she had covered them again.

"Can I..shower? This is such an imposition I'm so sorry..but Charlotte is going to be at your front door in probably a few seconds..and I really don't want to look like a bum when I see her. She tends to always look her best and well..I still feel awful so I figure I should at least try to look presentable.."

Bending at the waist, Emma lifted her bag from the floor, nearly pouting at him. "Please?" And almost as though on queue, the doorbell rang - though one of the women from the cleaning company must have opened it because even Emma could hear Charlotte's voice as she started ordering them around seconds after crossing the threshold.

 

[No_such_thing]

Bang on time. But then he had been expecting her, he'd heard her car pulling into the drive, the phone call and Emma's own comments had merely been confirmation. He smiled a wry smile, standing, unfolding his tall form from the armchair he had been draped over. "But of course."

He nodded slightly, taking the opportunity to run his eyes over her, seeing her hair tousled by sleep. He shook his head in amusement, "I'll tell her. We'll wait downstairs for you."

He stepped outside, shutting the door quietly behind him, the debate team outside stopped talking suddenly. Almost guiltily, as though they might be exposing some sort of trade secret by talking in front of a customer. The fact that he was an intimidating enough character in himself was an explanation for the sudden shrinking of both cleaners. He smirked, shook his head and went downstairs.

"Charlotte, hi. Don't worry about Emma, she's fine, she's just gone in the shower."

 

[TieMeTightly]

Emma was thrilled with the brief opportunity to snoop, though..there really wasn't much in the house. In fact there seemed to be only the basics in the bathroom and bedroom - enough to show that he did live there, but not really..lived in.

When Charlotte saw Dimitri she seemed to stiffen, crossing her arms over her chest as she heard the brief explanation of why her friend hadn't greeted her at the door.

"Charlotte, hi. Don't worry about Emma, she's fine, she's just gone in the shower."

"I'm sorry..do you know what time it is? Or maybe the fact that I've been calling her like a crazy person since this morning? We were supposed to meet at nine here…but obviously that didn't happen since she stayed here. By the way. This whole..thing? It should have been reported…the police should have been called and she should have been taken to the hospital. Not brought here by some guy she doesn't even know to stay the night."

Her cheeks were flush in anger, though she was actually happy that her friend wasn't around to see her acting this protective. Of course Emma knew that she was this protective, but to see it in action was a different thing. It was necessary - especially after the past few nights - to make sure that he understood that she would do anything to protect her friend and that certainly meant watch him like a hawk.

"And another thing? Emma is not fine. Emma has been attacked twice. Okay? Someone out there is after her so I really hope that you understand this. She's not fine. This happened to her parents. Parents…understand? And now they're dead. And the guy who did it was never found..so she might tell you she's okay but she's not. You don't know her. At all."

Her blood pressure was through the roof, the one woman who was still cleaning downstairs staring at her with a slack jaw. Charlotte didn't seem fazed by the fact that he was intimidating - she was perfectly content with her forwardness and needed him to understand enough about Emma to realize that she put on a good front.

 

[No_such_thing]

He couldn't help but smile bemusedly at her outburst, hardly helping the situation he knew. Charlotte was flushed, her anger evident on her face and in her demeanor were it not for the blistering outburst he had just endured. She was incredibly protective of her friend, surprisingly so. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Ok, ok, but I don't know why you're asking me this stuff. She'd just been attacked outside her house, did you really expect me to leave her there? That would have been really safe for her wouldn't it? I offered to bring her here and she agreed, it was a gesture of kindness. I thought you might appreciate that."

He was growing quite heated, and was surprised at himself, he hadn't lost his temper to a mere human for a long time. He cut off her retort before she could answer back.

"Besides, she wasn't so badly hurt as she needed a hospital, if she'd asked, then off course she'd have gone there, but she doesn't seem to thrilled about the prospect of getting the police involved, don't ask me why. Ask her, it's her business."

He was fairly confident that she wouldn't want to get the police involved. Officer, officer, I've just been attacked by a vampire. That was a story that would get a lot of attention, and the hospital would be even more interested by fang marks. They would certainly get an attention that a vampire story wouldn't from the police. No she wouldn't want the authorities involved.

 

[TieMeTightly]

Charlotte didn't really seem at all interested in what he had to say, though she did stand there staring at him as he spoke, barely hearing any of the words that came from his lips. She didn't buy for a second that it was a gesture of kindness, though Charlotte was suspicious of pretty much everyone she'd ever met.

"Yeah. Kindness to invite some girl over to your house that you don't know. I really, truly believe that that is the only reason."

The sarcasm was dripping from every word now, not seeming to want to back down or even lessen the authority of her stance. It was obvious that she needed him to understand she didn't believe there was no ulterior motive.

-

Emma had been alert enough the night before to pack for an emergency shower should she need one, and she easily found a first aid kit in the cabinet in the bathroom, making sure each cut was covered. The cut on her forehead had shrunken somewhat, still surrounded by a bruise, but she covered it only with a band-aid today, the most pressing thing at this point her wrist, and of course the marks on her neck were still covered in a bandage.

She left her hair down, not really wanting Charlotte to question the new bandage, but she wasn't really sure that it would even be noticed. Either way. She'd showered as quickly as she possibly could, barely towel-drying her hair, throwing on a pair of jeans and a beaded tank top, and slipping on her signature black flat shoes before nearly sprinting out of the room.

Coming to the top of the stairs she could nearly cut the tension with a knife, though when Charlotte saw her friend she seemed to relax visibly, uncrossing her arms as Emma came down the stairs, actually pausing at Dimitri's side.

"Everything..okay down here?"

She certainly didn't look any better than she had when she woke up, save the fact that she looked slightly more awake.

 

[No_such_thing]

"Everything..okay down here?"

Dimitri bit off the sharp retort to Charlotte, he almost hadn't noticed Emma coming along the landing, he shouldn't be getting distracted like this. Why was he distracted like this? he looked down at Emma, now stood beside him, she looked significantly better, and certainly less battered. Her bruises and cuts were beginning to heal up, stunning though she was, once all of her wounds had gone she would be drop dead gorgeous, metaphorically speaking of course, he was already dead. All of this only enhanced by her own natural scent, that indefinable, untraceable quality that made her special.

"It's fine, we were just having a... difference of opinion."

At least Charlotte appeared to have relaxed, the presence of her friend, seemingly unharmed obviously calmed her temper somewhat. There was no longer quite the aura of heated temper she had been radiating for the last few minutes. The cleaner had managed to close her jaw and was busily sweeping away at some invisible pile of dust, obviously trying to make herself invisible.

"Anyway, I can't insist on you helping me now, perhaps it would be better if you went home, had some rest, you can come to the party on Friday. It can't be doing you any good to be in a strange house. I can handle it from here."

He had no doubt that Charlotte would jump at the suggestion, but Emma would probably be a little more stubborn, at the very least staying for the day, his sudden change of heart would intrigue her. At least a little.

 

[TieMeTightly]

Emma hadn't even realized that she had been holding her breath.

"It's fine, we were just having a…difference of opinion."

It was then that she did exhale, actually finding herself glaring at Charlotte who had managed to shrug and make herself look completely innocent of the whole situation. She was good at that. Of course Emma also noticed the woman sweeping, actually uncomfortable with the fact that someone had witnessed what was sure to have been at the very least an interesting confrontation. Charlotte was not one to keep any opinion to herself.

"Anyway, I can't insist on you helping me now, perhaps it would be better if you went home, had some rest, you can come to the party on Friday. It can't be doing you any good to be in a strange house. I can handle it from here."

Perhaps some of her was intrigued by what he had to say, but the first expression that crossed her face was actually a flash of hurt, followed almost immediately by a flare of frustration.

Stepping down to Charlotte's side and facing Dimitri, Emma managed to pull her best convincing look of the moment. It was getting annoying having to convince people that she wasn't some fragile thing, but apparently it had to be done. Again.

"Really? You can handle it? When I came in here yesterday the place didn't look like anyone had been in it in years. No offense, but your room smells musty..and…this place wouldn't have had any life put in it without these women scrubbing and dusting..which was courtesy of us. I really…really don't think you can handle it from here."

She turned from them, nearly scowling as her eyes scanned the room, pushing her hair from her face before tucking it behind her ear.

"No. I'm going to do my job…and..you're going to let me. Because it's my job. And I'm fine."

There was that word. Charlotte's eyes flashed upward at Dimitri, mouthing the word 'fine' to him while making quotation marks with her hands in the air. It seemed to be the word of choice.

 

[No_such_thing]

His mouth opened slightly in surprise, she was certainly here to stay it seemed, strong minded obviously. She wasn't taking no from an answer and Charlotte's lack of argument showed him who was really the power in their relationship. Although he could see exactly where her concern for her friend originated. Charlotte's eyes flashed at Dimitri, a spark of anger there, had she spotted his manipulation? No. She mouthed fine at him, her fingers framing the word with quotation marks. It was just annoyance at her friends stubborn nature.

He chuckled, humour reappearing on his face. "Well maybe I can't handle it then, I can't even handle you it seems."

Hook. Line. And sinker. Humans were so easy. But he turned his mind back to what Charlotte had said. Parents, that hadn't even been mentioned in the file, you'd think the Council would have kept records on them. Not that he could ask what had happened, he'd have to find out another way. Henry had arrived though, he'd taken his companions and gone out to explore the town, keeping out of the way of the cleaners until it was clear for them to come back.

"What else is there left to do that you haven't already done?"

 

[TieMeTightly]

"Well maybe I can't handle it then, I can't even handle you it seems."

She wasn't really thrilled with that comment either, but she had already grabbed Charlotte by the wrist, dragging her away from the staircase.

"What else is there left to do that you haven't already done?"

"We have to open up the rooms, make sure there is space enough for people to mingle. We have to clear everything out of this main area here…section off areas for the music. You won't want people upstairs so you might want to make sure that every door up there has the ability to be locked, if not we'll get a locksmith in here."

She seemed to remember something then, crossing the hall to where he had emerged from the day before, her eyes narrowing as she saw the broken window. Yeah, there was no way that she was leaving now.

"Charlotte..we have to call someone to fix that window.."

After staring at it for a few moments she turned, only enough to be able to look up at Dimitri, her hand resting on the doorframe.

"And I'm not leaving until I've met your friends."

Charlotte chimed in then, already going through her phone for a number to call to have someone look at the window.

"Good looking friends?"