In Other Words {OPEN!}

[Dimitri Brevic]

Dimitri smirked slightly at her mention of philosophy classes. Most of his early education in the matter had been drunken arguments with Rasputin. But he had continued to read most everything he came across. If he wasn't so devoted to money or power...Dimitri would have made a good teacher.

"Psychology has never been as appealing to me, too many variables inside each of us. Everyone is different, and thinks different things and has different morals. You can't apply one clear cut way of thinking to everyone and expect it to work. There is too much confusion in that field for me. But you should look into philosophy, it is a good exercise for the mind to ponder the universe at any rate."

Dimitri looked at the wreck in the road in front of them, and then sighed and looked down at his watch. This one might just have to wait. He couldn't just disappear in front of both these mortals, and even if they did walk, he wasn't going to leave this girl in this part of town alone. Just because HE didn't want to snack on her didn't mean one of his less honorable brethren wouldn't do so.

"Yes, I will walk with you...it will be much faster than sitting through this, even if it is still raining a bit. But I do happen to have an umbrella here..."

And then POOF there was a big black umbrella unfolding. Dimitri would see her on her way to where ever she was headed, then he would hunt. He doubted a mugging would happen with him next to her, but he also was on guard for it, because if anything it would save him the trouble of chasing down his dinner.

[Dawn Phillips]

She considered his words carefully. "Well, nobody's ever put it quite that way before. We'll see; it'll still be a while before I have to decide," she said hopefully. Was it ever? Schools now were pushing students in earlier and earlier grades to decide on a career path, and Dawn was still busy trying to live.

As she got out of the car, she actually squealed in delight as his umbrella popped open. "Great! I definitely didn't bring one, but I got lucky enough to hail the cab in the first place, which I suppose would be okay if there hadn't been an accident, so... let's go!"

She was so damn cheerful it hurt. Dawn didn't have much to be sullen about, though - if you didn't take into account the whole Dez situation, but then again, that wouldn't really hold her down for long. Dawn bounced back pretty quickly.

"I'm going to meet a friend a few blocks up; hopefully it's in the same direction you're going. Thanks for walking with me, by the way. I know I'm usually not the one picked out of a crowd to get mugged, but there's always a first." Darci had already been mugged once, and Dawn didn't want to go through that again.

[Dimitri Brevic]

Yes, this girl was very lucky that Dimitri had chosen to walk with her. She had almost been his dinner, but something about her intrigued him. He wasn't a picky feeder at all, but if he got a feeling from an intended "victim" he would usually leave them be. This girl was just....lucky.... Dimitri looked over as the girl mentioned being mugged.

" It is no problem for me to walk with you, I usually travel by foot anyway...the rain just made that cab look very appealing. Yes, I ran into a mugger once. That ended very unpleasantly for him. I was in the Army for a while, and I do a good job of looking after myself. But it amazes me that I see young girls like you walking around with out anyone with them. I have seen things happen in this city that I thought I left behind in Moscow..."

Why was he rambling like this? Probably the hunger gnawing at him was shaking his usual reserve. As long as the girl didn't have far to go things would be fine. Dimitri was nonchalantly scanning the area for vampires, because he didn't want to intrude on anyone else's hunting ground...or take the wrong victim.

[Dawn Phillips]

Dawn shrugged a little, clearing her long brown hair away from her shoulders. She exposed her neck, of course, but how was she to know that the man she'd chosen for company right then was a vampire who was contemplating where to take his next meal? Perhaps luck didn't have much to do with it, sometimes.

"If something is going to happen to me, than I expect that it's going to happen, regardless of where I am. Haven't you seen on the news? Home invasions, bombings... the world is a nasty place, no matter where you happen to be standing when the time comes. I could just as easily get mugged as I could struck by lightning, but then again, I guess you wouldn't be able to beat up a bolt of lightning, would you?" she asked with a little laugh.

She smiled fondly to him, and continued her pace, wondering what she had on her agenda for the rest of the night. She idly ran through a list of people she could call to see if they wanted to hang out, go see a movie, whatever. The city was full of junk to do, and if all else failed, she could always just go bother her sister. Darci was always good company.

[Dimitri Brevic]

Time was running out. Dimitri was starting to hear Dawn's heartbeats in his head. The thump thump, thump thump...it was maddening. It was seductive. His hunger was reaching its boiling point. The girl was indeed correct, bad things could happen anywhere, and to anyone. And when she tossed her hair and exposed her neck, one of those bad things happened to her. He hadn't really meant to, but..just seeing that jugular exposed and with that heartbeat in his head, he couldn't resist it any longer. Honor be damned.

Dimitri used the old distraction trick, shouting "Watch your step!" while grabbing her as if to steady her, but instead seizing her to him. He quickly bit into her flesh, opening the vein. He drank as much as he dared...and did it as swiftly as he could. He also ripped into her mind at the same time. As he was draining her, he made sure it felt fantastic to her, no point in traumatizing the poor girl. He also made sure that she had blacked out far before he was finished. As he stood there holding her, he couldn't bring himself to abandon her in some side alley.

Thinking quickly he looked around and slipped his pistol out. With a sigh of regret, he smacked her forehead with the butt just hard enough to leave a nice bruise and a knot. As soon as he had the pistol safely out of sight he released his hold on her mind so she would wake up. He was gently shaking her, so as to make his illusion complete.

"Dawn, Dawn!...Are you ok? You had quite a fall there!"

[Dawn Phillips]

Dawn had no idea what had just happened. One moment, she'd been walking with Dimitri and talking, and the next? She must've tripped. She'd felt her balance go out from beneath her, but she couldn't remember what had happened. A quick study of her watch told her she'd lost about five minutes - what on Earth?

"Fall?" she repeated, hands gripping his arms as she tried to steady herself. All the shaking he was doing was making her nauseous, though she had no idea it was from loss of blood. Dawn had fainted before, so she was aware she was probably as pale as a ghost at the moment - Dimitri was a pretty smart vampire. "Of course," she muttered, taking a shaky step or two.

"I think I might need to call someone to come get me. There, to the book store - do you think you could walk with me?" she asked. She managed a small smile. "I guess I must be paying for skipping breakfast and lunch," she commented absently, a hand pressed to her head to hold back the throbbing. "I can just grab something there while I wait," she added. She didn't want to burden him any longer.

[Dimitri Brevic]

Dimitri was relieved that his ruse seemed to have worked. Dawn would probably never realize that she had become a snack for a vampire. He was careful in handling her, and slowly helped the girl to her feet. She was very light, and Dimitri tried to play down his immense strength as he helped her up. He had to go along with this illusion. He liked this girl, and she might become a frequent if unknowing "donor" for him if he played his cards right.

"Easy there, you took a good spill there on that sidewalk. I can take you to the book store no problem. You must make sure to eat when you can....I wasn't lucky enough in my childhood to get meals all the time..but you seem to have no reason to skip them. Yes, lets go to the store...I will treat you to whatever you want since I wasn't fast enough to catch you..."

Dimitri was trying to be as much of a gentleman as he could. This girl had been delicious, and he didn't really want to risk running her off. A detour to the book store was no big deal to him, he could always find his "associate" later.

[Dawn Phillips]

Dawn nodded and walked mostly silently until they got to the store. She felt sick to her stomach. When they got inside, the warm blast of air in the foyer was a welcome to the cold rain that had begun to grate on her nerves. Her hair was starting to curl from the humidity. As they walked to the coffee and snack area, she began taking an inventory of the food they had available. She finally settled on some vegetable soup and a turkey sandwich, and lead Dimitri to a seat close to the Humour section of the store, while still remaining within the confines of the eating area.

She pretty much stuffed her face while they sat there, looking over at Calvin and Hobbes a few times. She was mostly trying to determine which ones she'd already bought - she needed to make a list for herself, because she didn't want to buy the same ones over and over again. As soon as she'd finished, she nodded to Dimitri. "Thanks. A lot, actually. I really appreciate you looking out for me. I'm sorry if I made you late," she trailed off, looking a little guilty.