Moonlight Rendezvous (closed)

[Vailyn]

Aria watched Varg stalk around the clearing like the lethal warrior that he is and took in the way his body moved, the turn of his head following his nose, where he paused to check a spot with more attention and how she remained in his line of sight no matter what he did. It was as though she was his north star and he always turned to look at her and check before moving on to the next.

He came to join her on the ground. A spot by the burbling water that she usually sits on when she comes out to her little speck of woodland. She smiled at him as he covered her with his jacket. It wasn't really cold but it felt nice to have his unique scent fill her nose. She loved being close to him. It felt right.

"I'd love to come here with you on a full moon. It'll be beautiful." She kissed his jawline and gave it a quick bite before snuggling into his embrace. Soon, she would need to go back to work and she won't be able to spend the whole day with her love like she can right now. A hint of something big loomed in the horizon but it was only a vague nagging feeling that she refused to acknowledge. Her life has taken a whirling turn for something amazing and dark. That was enough to accept and take for the moment.

Right now. Right here. She just wanted to be with a man that she's come to love with abrupt, bruising passion. It was like falling from a cliff and being caught up by a tornado. One with an amazing body, strength and fiercely protective side. That part made her giggle a bit.

Later, they can go back to figuring out what was going on. Now, she just wanted to be with Varg.

 

[DrStein]

They sat together in silence for a moment before Varg's eyes snapped open. Every muscle in his body tensed in anticipation. His eyes had turned bright yellow and slowly moved around the clearing before settling on a space to their left. He didn't turn his head but remained absolutely still. "Something's watching us," he whispered to Aria.

"I just got its scent on the wind. Not sure what it is." His arms stayed around her protectively. A moment later the birds stopped singing, so the only sounds were the soft breeze in the trees and the running water of the stream. "I don't think it knows what I am. It's still upwind. Don't... move." They continued to wait in silence. Varg was like a coiled spring, ready to violently burst out at whatever was spying on them should it reveal itself. It was unusual for a creature to make a move in broad daylight, but they were alone.

"When I stand up, stand with me. We need to get where people are. Just don't panic."

 

[Vailyn]

Varg went from a warm, solid body that held her close in a loving embrace to a rock of flesh hunting the surroundings for danger. She wasn't sure if she was just absorbing his tension or if her instincts were kicking in with its own clamor of warning, but, whichever the case, the peace of the woods vanished.

She nodded and followed his lead. They moved swiftly through the trees. Avoiding any of the paths threading the park, she made sure to keep her breathing even as she easily ran in Varg's shadow. As soon as they reached the parking lot, Aria grabbed the helmet and strapped it on. Varg pulled her onto the bike as soon as she was done and they left the area behind. She pressed herself along Varg's back and rested her head on his shoulder blade.

Life has certainly taken a strange twist and it doesn't seem like it will change back to normal. Not that her life was ever the same measure of normal of most people. Still, she would not trade what has had gained for safety against the dangers that may lay ahead.

 

[DrStein]

Varg decided as long as they were on the motorcycle to make another important stop. The neighborhood he drove to was much different from the others they had been to. The woods had all but taken over in this small side road. Houses were spaced further apart and the road wound sinuously through the contours of the geography. The houses were older, but generally in decent repair. Only one was abandoned, the victim of a fire some years ago.

Varg pulled up in the driveway of one particular house that seemed to be in unusually good condition. The lawn was almost immaculate, the flowerbed out front was healthy and colorful and the windows spotless. "This is where Pavel lives," Varg explained. "He's a warlock, came over from Moscow about ten years ago. Motherfucker's got more books than I've got hairs."

They came up to the front door and knocked. A tall, dark-haired man with a sharp nose and a solid black wardrobe answered the door. A pair of wire-rimmed glasses covered his dark blue eyes. "Varg?" He had a very thick Russian accent, obviously having a hard time perfecting his English. "What brings you here?"

Varg looked over at Aria. "She's with me. She's in trouble and we need answers. Can we come in?" It was the first time Aria had ever heard Varg ask permission for anything.

Pavel waved them into his home and for a brief moment, the air inside the threshold seemed to ripple before returning to normal. "Would either of you like some coffee? I just put a fresh pot on."

Varg nodded in response and Pavel turned to the kitchen, calling out, "Ilya! Troe chashka, narech." The sounds of someone moving around in the kitchen came through as Pavel directed Varg and Aria to sit on the sofa. Out from the kitchen walked a dwarfish little humanoid creature about 4' tall. It was naked but covered from head to toe in thick, coarse brown hair. It's skull was sloped, giving it an apelike appearance but its eyes were large, bright and intelligent. A long, shaggy beard covered the lower half of its face. Burly hands with long nails carried three mugs of coffee, setting them down on the coffee table. The creature bowed its head to Pavel and trundled off back into the kitchen.

"It's a domovoi," Varg explained. "A house spirit." He looked back at Pavel. "Aria only just found out about people like us. That's part of the problem. Something out there is interested in her, and the mystics say that's bad for all of us. Fuck if I know what it is, though. Or why."

 

[Vailyn]

Aria didn't recognize the way that they were traveling but it was nice to go somewhere new. The ride wasn't very far but it was winding and intriguing in the way cityscape turned into the burbs and that turned into a wild woods. Wide brown eyes watched the changing landscape and somehow she felt more free in this pocket of wildling place than in the heart of the lively city.

They pulled up a driveway of a well loved home with garden begging to be explored. She linked her fingers with Varg's and followed him to the house. A tall man with old fashioned round, wire rimmed glasses answered the door. He spoke with a thick accent that rounded out the vowels and accented the consonants in a harder fashion than American English. She was going to make a targeted guess and say that this is Pavel.

She followed the men into the house and sat down on the sofa. When Pavel offered coffee, Aria smiled and said, "Yes, please. Thank you."

The words dried up when small ape like humanoid creature came into the room. It's rude to stare but she couldn't help but watch in utter fascination as the somewhat delicate looking creature set out mugs of coffee. She felt an almost irresistible urge to reach out and touch its fur. It looked amazingly soft and silky.

Her attention returned to the men as the domovoi left the room. A part of her needed to touch Varg. She felt more grounded when they connected in some manner. She laid her hand on his thigh and squeezed it as he told Pavel about her situation.

"I'm not sure why I'm targeted by anyone. Until a few days ago, I would have said that my life is rather predictable and boring. Varg... he thinks that maybe the identity of my Father may be a clue but I don't know anything about him." She bit her lip in distress. Her voice lowered in sadness as she continued, "I-I may have been the reason why my Mom died. I want to know what's going on. Can you help me figure it out?"

 

[DrStein]

Pavel listened like a university professor weighing his student's question. He held his chin and closed his eyes in thought. There was a long silence as his brows slowly knitted together while he lapsed deeper into thought. When he opened his eyes again, he seemed to be searching for something even as he looked directly at Aria. He walked over and extended his hands, palms exposed. "May I?" he asked gently. Varg looked to Aria and nodded to her to let the Russian warlock do as he needed.

With gentle hands, Pavel turned Aria's head to look at him. He looked at her eyes individually, then her neck and throat, and eventually turned her head to the side to that he could part her hair. "Do you have any birthmarks?" he asked as worked.

"None that I've found," Varg muttered under his breath with a cocky smirk.

"Let the lady answer, Varg," Pavel said without looking away from his work. "There is most definitely something unusual about the lady, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

Varg's smirk faded immediately. "We think she might be half-blooded. Her father might have been... something nonhuman."

"I see..."

 

[Vailyn]

Aria blushed bright red at Varg's comment and give him a playful punch on his arm. "Hey, hush you!"

She turned to Pavel and her playfulness faded back into quiet confusion. "I don't have any birthmarks. I've had a very ordinary life in general. I really don't know anything about my Father. I only know that he wasn't a part of my life. I know that Mom loved him with all her heart. She never even tried to date. I'd see her looking out the window and watching the moon. She always looked when the moon was full and when it was close to the new moon phase. Does that help at all?"

Her small hands lifted to her face. Her fingers lightly touching her features. "I don't look entirely Asian. I could pass for someone of mixed blood. I... I don't know. I--" Her hands fell to her lap in a listless manner and she stared at them. She whispered, "I'm trying to accept that I may have been the reason why my Mom wasted away and died in the prime of her life. I... I just don't know what to think."

 

[DrStein]

Pavel withdrew and lapsed into deep thought again. His brows knit tightly as he stroked his beard and let out a long, deep groan that sounded like a Russian mass played on an old tape recorder. Varg reached over and took Aria's hand. For a while, the only sound coming through the house was the soft footfalls of Ilya the domovoi as it cleaned up the kitchen.

Finally, Pavel went over to a bookshelf on the far side of the room and ran a finger across the spines of a collection of old leather-bound books that looked at least as old as the house itself. "There are old legends in Asia of shapeshifters taking humans for mates. The offspring that result are... Well, information is, as you Americans say, thin on the ground. I have a theory that your father was some manner of shapeshifter. Likely followed your mother or her family from the Old Country." The Russian warlock pursed his lips after seeming to find nothing of use on the shelves. "I will need to do more research, but I believe that whatever you inherited from your father is of great interest to whatever it is that is pursuing you."

"How do you mean?" Varg asked. There was an edge in his voice. Like he was almost afraid of the answer. He took one of Aria's hand in his, his hand like steel under warm skin with a grip to match. He didn't hold tightly enough to hurt her, but the tension in him was obvious.

Pavel frowned as he decided the best way to explain his thoughts. "Well... It's just guesswork right now. But it is entirely possible that whatever is pursuing her believes that she'd make an easier target than a full-blooded shapeshifter. Not an unreasonable assumption. Especially since a human, even a half-blooded one, would not only be easier to subdue but also... dispose of."

Varg's nostrils flared and his eyes burned yellow. If Pavel's theory had even a sliver of truth to it, that would only confirm his worst fears.

Pavel nodded in response to the change in Varg's demeanor. "Unless anything changes, we must assume the lady is in mortal danger." He looked to Aria, sadness softening his eyes. "I regret to be the one to bear such news. By the sound of it, you already have much unpleasantness to think of. But better you know now and keep your guard up. The two of you are welcome in my home anytime. I swear you will be safe here."

 

[Vailyn]

Distracted and lost in her own thoughts, Aria wasn't entirely present when they said goodbye to Pavel. She held onto Varg tightly as he drove them back to the loft apartment. In a handful of days, she went from being mostly solitary to living with someone, falling in love with a man that should only exist in stories and finding out that what she has known about her whole life may only be a smidgen of the truth.

It felt odd to think about food and figuring out what kind of Chinese to order with Varg. Such ordinary things to do when everything else felt absurdly surrealistic. A short laugh burst out when Aria realized that she has to return to work. "Varg? Will I have to change everything? Do we really need to go into hiding? What about my work? I love teaching dance. I really love my apartment and the life I've created. I love you."

She went to him and hugged him tight. How strange that he's become a vital part of her life. In many ways, the sound of his heart beating mattered more than her own.

Aria tilted her head back to look at Varg's face and made a decision. "I love my life but if I can only have a few things to stay the same, I choose you. I'd change everything else as long as I can be with you."

 

[DrStein]

Varg was quiet for a while. Her questions... her promise to him. A million things turned over in his brain in a cascade of memories, pain, loss, the events of the last few days, and trying to connect it all that would get it all to make some kind of sense for him. Something to help him figure out what was next. He held Aria in his arms and just stared first into space then her eyes.

"Most of my life has been... getting kicked in the face." He cupped her cheek in his hand. "You deserve better than that." The things he endured were painful. The loss of his parents, the loss of several friends, the contempt for his living relatives, his brushes with death. All of it left physical and emotional scars all over him. He would not see the same happen to the woman he loved. "We stay here. Keep going like things are normal. We'll hole up with Pavel if we have to, but I'm not gonna make you give up what you still have.

"Whatever's out there, I'll find it eventually. And if it can hurt me, I can hurt it back."