The Savior (Closed except for Invites)

Sleep. It was almost non-existent for Arius. Night and day made no difference to him and been awake kept him alive for the 8 centuries of his life. To him the world did not change much,the places changed,but the nature of human didn't. Fundamentally and underlying all of mankind,they had the basic instinct,to hunt to live.

Arius had lived much of his undead life been both a predator and prey depending on circumstances. He was well known for his prowess and aggressiveness in their decimating population of the undead.

Tonight it was Arius' turn again to lurk upon the darkness of the streets to hunt and pounce upon potential targets. His coven had assigned tonight to be his night.

Arius stood crouched upon the top of a building,almost like a statue,his trained eyes darting upon and his nose picking up any signs or blood. The silence did not prevail for so long as he picked up a shrilling sound of a scream. It was a female human, about a mile away from him.

His beastly instincts started taking over him as he glided towards the location,jumping across the tops of the buildings and stopped when he saw his targets and waited and watched.

There was not one but close to 8 humans,looks like he was not the only hungry one.

There were about 7 tough,toughened thugs crowding around a girl,a teenage girl,he observed,she was cornered and they looked set to rip her apart. He growled and then leap from the heights of the building onto them.

He did not even give them time to react,his hunger was overtaking him as he started attacking them,reaching for their throats and tearing them apart. The scene was bloody and they had barely time to even retaliate,but their target were no longer on the girl,as they tried defending and fleeing him.

It was all over in less than 5 minutes,he returned to the lone girl,his leather jacket covered with blood but still feeling satiated,but enough to last him though the night. His eyes feasted upon the girl and he inquired.

"Hello. Are you alright?"

Charlotte screamed.
Her eyes, filled with tears, darted round. There were six or seven men after her.
"Go away, please," she pleaded, but the look in their eyes told her her attempts were futile. They were after her flesh. She stumbled backwards, twigs snapping and leaves crunching with every step she took. Their strides were longer; they were gaining on her.

Suddenly, she heard a manly scream. She heard the unmistakable sound of bones breaking, and she gimaced. She jammed her eyes shut, standing for at least five minutes waiting for what ever pain had caused the thugs to get her.
It didn't.
She opened her eyes, to see a tall, handsome man come towards her. He asked her how she was, and his voice was velvet to her ears, though she could sense a slight lisp. "I'm-I am fine, thank you." she looked at him, squinting in the night to see him on more detail. His clothes were stained with blood. Did he fight thethugs off of her?
"You're so brave," she whispered in awe, "But you have to let me get you cleaned up"

Arius looked at the girl, his eyes making no clear distinct as it was dark as the sky and seemed empty and devoid of any kind of feelings. It could have been his liquid lust for blood or could have easily been lured by the mere beauty of hers.

She was pretty close to him that he could smell every single of drop of hers,which just started stirring his beastly instincts in him when she responded her thanks and followed by,to his surprise an invite over to her house.

He glanced down at his leather jacket and denim jeans. Sure enough it seemed he had a blood bath. And he slightly smirked with a sense of relief. The girl hadn't seen what he had done properly. She had probably been too frightened by the thugs that she had shut her eyes when he started feasting on their bodies,which laid totally gruesome and twisted on the ground.

In her eyes,it appeared as if he was a hero who saved her, not a hungry beast which just had it's nights share. At her invite, he slightly hesitated. Even though he just had his share and wouldn't be needing to feed again for at least 48 hours, something about her.clearly disturbed his mind but he brushed it off. He was sure a human man would have went with her to just get changed and left and he was clearly more than that,so he replied with a small smile.

"Yeah..probably I would have to get cleaned up or when someone sees me,there is going to be a lot of questions going on. Uh and do you live nearby?"

Bump

* Bump *

Charlotte grinned as he accepted her invitation. He had a smirk on his face, as if he was pleased to impress her. He certainly did impress her, she was such a sucker for a strong man.
"Yeah, um, I live just across this forest," she stuttered.

She began to walk to her house. The smell of the blood on his clothes made her feel a little queasy. She only breathed when she absolutely had to.

"Do you live 'round here?" she asked him, to break the silence. He had not said a word on the way. She was nervous, like any woman would be in the presence of such a handsome man.

They arrived to her house. It was a little run down, on the bad side of town; a tiny bungalow with a leaky roof and one boarded up window.
She giggled nervously. "It's probably not the high class you're used to," she muttered. He looked very rich, not that she cared. She had not been on close terms with any people outside her 'class'; nobody would ever really want to know her neighbourhood unless they belonged there themselves.
"It was my parents' house, before they passed," she whispered, feeling the need to explain.
She opened the door, and the small house was much cheerier on the inside, painted a bright yellow. It juxtaposed with her all black tight clothing and heavy dark make-up.
"Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Juice?" she asked after she had sat him down on the couch.

When the girl said she lived around the forest, he nodded in understanding. He had been through the forest countless times, when he had to hunt or hide during the day. It was a known territory to him and there were not much houses in there but very strange enough,he found more refuge in the forest than in the city.

And it sure was walking distance from the city and besides walking in was the only means of traveling into the woods since there were no proper roads leading into the forest.

He could only taste the girl's nervousness and this just made him smile slightly more and he replied to her question subtly.

"I live here...for now..."

He did not elaborate further but it was close enough to the truth. He never stayed in one place. He moved to a location when he had a purpose in mind. That was how he had been living all his life for more than half a millennium.

As she led him to her house somewhere in the middle,a bungalow in the middle,which seemed to be somewhat badly taken care of but also spoke of tales and history of richness and power.

And besides,since it was part of his territory,he had been in the house before. Due to his nature to be able to be unseen if he wanted,he was able to keep from human eyes,unless they were looking carefully at the darkness in the corner.

"High class enough for living.."

He replied giving her a warm smile as he entered into the house he had been many times,secretly and he added to her,telling him that her parents lived her before.

"So you must live here alone?"

He asked curiously,pretending like he was here for the first time,his eyes run all over the house,the bright painting clearly contrasting her and him,them been dressed darkly before sitting down at her couch and at her offer he responded automatically.

"Juice...make that lime vodka and chilled. Hot drinks don't go well with me.Could do with a pick-me-up."

He said and then noticed that blood was still dripping from his clothes on her couch and her floor.

"Oh sorry. I think I'm really ruining your carpet. Maybe we...I mean..I should get washed first?"

He asked,letting his eyes gaze onto hers and he noticed that something about her eyes was mystifying and alluring to him,very unlike what he saw in the eyes of the victim,it was rather something he saw in the eyes of humans in love.

Charlotte made his drink, grateful that she still kept alcohol in the house. After her parents had died from a mysterious animal attack in the woods a couple of years ago she had drunk herself to many a stupor. She resolved not to drink any herself in case she got carried away.

"Yes, I live alone," she said, sighing saidly. "it's a lot of hassle but it's better than anywhere else at the moment."
She gave him his drink and he got up quickly. She saw the blood dripping on her carpet and couch.
She noticed she was staring at him. She blushed prfusely in deep embarrasment. He was just so good to look at; she could imagine them walking through the forest together, hand in hand, black with black.
"Um, yeah sure. Wait there," she said as she ran the water in the little bath. She took a new towel from the airing cupboard and laid it next to the bath. Then she went into her parents' room.
Charlotte knew where everything was; she had memorized the order of the room. The third draw down on the chest of drawers was where her father kept his casual clothing. She found a set of new jogging bottoms and went and put them on therail near the bath.
She stopped the water and went back to the man.
"Oh, dear, I've forgotten to tell you my name. I'm Charlotte." she blushed again. "The bathroom is over there, when you're done you just give the dirty clothes to me. I'll get the washing machine going," she said.

"I noticed."

He noted when she said she lived alone and he added to that.

"So do I. Its a lot of hassle for me on the other hand...leaving with people."

He took a swig off the drink and it went in burning into his throat and he felt warmth around his body. When he looked up at her to thank her for the drink,he noticed she was blushing and the same alluring and impressed look in her eye. It seemed to be calling him to her.

"Thanks and sorry for the mess."

He apologized as he put down the empty glass and then as she disappeared into the room to prepare his bath, he removed his leather jacket which was soaked with blood and his body vest,which was also black and stunk of blood.

When she returned, he was bare bodied to the waist and muscular,well toned body almost glittering white. He did not feel the pinch of the cold air as his body was well suited for any temperature.

He passed her the blood stained clothes and then as she introduced herself,he realized that they had not introduced formally yet.

"Must be so caught up with all that happened so formal introduction. My name is Arius...you can call me Ari."

"Arius... That's a cool name," Charlotte said in awe. He passed her his clothes and she took them, stepping back to admire his well toned body. She took a hand absentmindedly and ran it down his abs, they were rock hard and perfectly firm. She almost forgot to breathe.
"Well, Ari," Charlotte gulped, "you better go get washed up,"

Charlotte started up the washing machine, putting in the appropriate detergent.
She dumped the bloody clothes inside, and snuck to the bathroom.
"You decent?" she shouted as she opened the door slightly.
Her hand slipped inside, groping and grabbing for the trousers. They were not in immediate reach, so she backed into the bathroom, her back to the tub.
"I'm not looking," she said, moving back until she sat on the edge of the tub. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that his eyes were closed.
Should she chance a peek?
No.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
No.
Her rational side won. She took the trousers and left, closing the door as she went.
She bent over the sink and took the stain remover from the cupboard, then began to clean the cloth couch and the carpet.
It didn't take her long, because the stain was fresh. Charlotte then put the trousers in the washing machine, and setting the cycle. When she turned around, Ari was there, in only the jogging bottoms on his toned body.
"Oh, God," she whispered, too quietly for him to hear.

Arius just stood,barely flexing his muscles which were all well ones and exposed as she ran her hands over them,clearly impressed. He did not have to hit the gym like many ambitious men do to train those. He been a vampire was an excuse enough to get such a body,well equipped with strength.

"Yes I hope I do not take too long and thanks again."

He thanked her,when she finally got back her breath and then took his clothes leaving him in the bathroom. He took little time getting naked,as he removed his leather pants as he slowly got into the bath tub and turned on the water.

As he started applying soap over his body he sensed her coming over and groping for his trousers,trying not to see,not that he minded and smiling he reached out for his pants and pushed it closer to her.

When she had gone to wash his clothes, he had finished with his shower and after finishing toweling, he got out of the bathroom only in his jogging pants.

He knew that the shirt she had got him was near as as he started looking around for the shirt,he noticed she was close as he heard her whisper and he turned around to face her,and he saw that her eyes were all on his body,exposing more tones and shapes now that he was clean.

He felt himself turning slightly red on his face,as he felt blood rushing to his head as she admired his body and said softly.

"Oh didn't meant to..just wanted to see if you got the clothes...er clean."

When Charlotte saw him blush, she blushed. He had caught her ogling.
"No, it's okay, I prefer you like this," she whispered.
She walked towards him. She needed to touch him again.
"You don't mind if I..." she asked, tracing his biceps and his shoulder muscles, then down to his chest, between the groove of his abs, to the groves above his leg. She was tempted to feel his legs under the waistband of the jogging bottoms, but she stopped.
"Sorry," she said as the temperature rose on her cheeks, "I am just in awe. I love strong guys," she said reverently.
Many of the strong guys in her neighbourhood were also jerks. But Ari was so kind, so soft. If Charlotte was told that Ari had hurt somebody without good reason, she wouldn't have believed them.
He was dark. But then again, so was Charlotte. They both were in black. Charlotte didn't know why Ari wore black but ever since her parents died she wore no other colour. The only colourful clothes currently in her house had belonged to her parents, but she could never imagine throwing them out.
"You, erm, could stay the night if you want," she said slowly, "It's gonna be a while till my washing machine gets those stains out, and it's very dangerous outside in the dark," she said.
She waited for his response, hopefully and anxiously.

Ari smiled and relaxed when he heard Charlotte's whisper as she traced her fingers over his hard body and he replied to her request.

"I don't mind at all."

It seemed she truly liked guys who have muscular bodies as she touched his body and down above his leg. He knew she was tempted to touch him below and smiling he decided to test her temptation and suddenly his pants tightened and rose up slightly.

As she apologized she shrugged off and replied.

"It's ok. I like the way you touch and I could stay here for the night if you have a room I could stay,maybe I could accompany you for the night while my clothes dry."

When Ari told her that he liked the way she touched, she smiled happily. She didn't know for sure, but she thought she had some strong feelings for him. The possiblility that the feelings were mutual made her heart soar.
"Well, there are two options. The couch in the front room, or the one in my room. I'm sorry I can't let you sleep in my parents' room. It's just that I like it to be as if they never left..."
Charlotte blinked rapidly, tears threatening to break her collected facade.
She hesitated, then gave Ari a long, tight squeeze. He was cold, which was strange because he had just come out of the shower. perhaps he had taken a cold shower.
She could feel his muscle on her chest, and he smelt like her showel gel. She held him there, not wanting the hug to end.

"I don't sleep..I'd lay down till morning so I could pick your room if you don't mind or I could do with the couch."

Ari responded and it was true,he never slept,sleep was non-existant to a vampire like him and as she spke of how she like her parents' room to be how it was,he nodded in understanding and hugged her back and squeezed her arms in response,his hands must be cold as she shuddered and he whispered quietly in her ears.

"It's ok. I can understand the emotional meaning you must feeling on that."

"Okay then..." Charlotte said, surprised that he didn't sleep, "The couch in my room it is,"
She loved the feeling of his breath at her ear. It was soft, and she wished he could nibble on her ear...
She pulled away, blushing for about the thousanth time that night.
She looked right into his eyes, searching for something. She didnt know what she was looking for.
"Well, erm," she said, moving away to her fridge again. "I don't have much food to offer you. I have to be quite frugal at the moment. Money is tight." she almost slapped herself.
Did she just admit that she was poor?
"i'm sorry," she apologised, both to herself and Ari.

"That'll suit me.."

Arius replied with a smile that would easily melt the heart of just anyone and as she pulled apart,he saw that she was blushing but she was not the only one. He was surprised of his ownself. Never before had he blushed this much in the presence of any other girl.

As she gazed into his eyes seeking for something,he saw the same look in her eyes,like she wanted him and was pulling him to her,despite himself. After a while she moved back and said she did not have food because she was poor.

"It's ok..I had my fill..."

It was true,he had his fill with the men he attacked earlier. He could go without food for a day or two and his eyes returned to her,his voice dripping with concern.

"Are you hungry? When did you last ate?"

Charlotte saw the look in Ari's eyes, and his blush. She wondered why he was blushing, but she didn't press it.
"I ate before I got back here," she said. It was not technically a lie, but it was not strictly true. She ate late this morning, and she was hungry. But she was also tired. Sleep was free.
"I'm fine, really." she said.
"I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna go sleep. You coming?" She asked before she heard how bad that sounded.
"I mean, you don't have to come, if you don't want to. And I have to get ready first so erm, yeah," She said. she cursed under her breath.
She chose a cowardly escape, rushing to the bathroom to remove her make up. She wore her usual Pajama tank top and shorts.
She slid quietly into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. when she turned, she saw that Ari was laying on the couch. She switched off the lights.
"Good night," she whispered, laughing nervously.

"That's fine then.."

Ari replied with a smile when she said eaten the morning and was feeling tired and needing to sleep. He casted a casual glance over the wall clock and saw that it was past 3am. And he forgotten humans of course,needed to sleep.

"Oh yes I almost forgotten. You must have been tired after all that happened. And yeah I guess I could just lay while you sleep..."

He didn't know how awkward that must have sounded and she said said she had to get ready,he nodded,not inquiring further about what she meant by getting ready but he walked up to her bedroom and glanced around and saw the couch she had mentioned earlier.

He laid on it when she entered and had appeared washed and changed to something more comfortable.

He whistled and said jokingly as she switched off the lihts and came over.

"You look way better like this than before. Good night to you as well."

He smiled and watched her,laying where he was.

Charlotte shuffled blindly to her large bed. she was glad the lights were off, because she was, yet again, blushing. He had just told her that she looked better with out make-up on.
She went to sleep, her little snore sounding through the room.
A few hours into her sleep, she couold sense her nightmares returning.

She had had recurring nightmares for the last three years. the dream was always the same.
Her and her parents, eating a Sunday lunch. Charlotte would turn to get some Coke from the fridge, and then her parents would disappear when she turned back. She would look through the house for them, in vain. Her search extended to the forest, where she would find them, dead. Green in complexion, purple lips, bruised all around their bodies.

Charlotte woke up, screaming. She was in a cold sweat, and she burst into tears. She remembered where she was, and who she was with. Suddenly the bed dipped, and Ari put his arm around her, cradling her in his strong arms.

Ari laid on the couch,gazing up at the ceiling deep in his thoughts when silence prevailed over the room for what seemed like hours. Ari was comfortable with silence, silence was very much part of his life and was powerful to him, he could use it against those he had to hunt.

After some time, the silence was interrupted when he heard what seemed like murmurs from Charlotte from her bed. He turned sharply and looked at her as her murmur got louder,like she was talking in her sleep and she started thrashing in the air apparently,she seemed to be very much disturbed by a nightmare.

He moved over to her effortlessly as she started screaming and woke up, looking very pale and in tears.

"It's alright...it's just a nightmare..."

He said soothingly,his arms around her as he squeezed her shoulder and pulled her into his arms,holding her trying to comfort her. She seemed covered with her sweat and tears and he whispered into her ears.

"Want to talk to me about your nightmare Charlotte?"

Charlotte leaned into Ari further and let him rock her gently, like a father would his crying baby.
He asked her to talk about her nightmare.
"It happens every night," she said, sniffling. "I would be at the table with my parents..." she began to describe the dream in alarming detail, not forgetting what tablecloth was on the table or even which t-shirt she was wearing.
"It's been going on for a while. Part of me wishes I couldn't sleep," she said. she was feeling much better. She had never told anyone about her greams, and getting it out of her systems seemed to temporarily soothe her.
"Do you ever get nightmares? Scary thoughts or dreams?" she asked.

Aidan nodded in understanding as he gave her shoulder another comforting squeeze and ruffles her hair lightly and he listened quietly as she described the details of her dream on the table cloth and t-shirt and when she ended,she sniffed and as she asked him about whatever he got nightmares,his face became still like stone and he replied.

"Yes a long time ago..."

When I was human...800 years ago...he thought to himself and then he comforted her.

"I believe nightmares and dreams sometimes signify something you are missing out, or some kind of connection you are trying to establish and failing to do so,like a broken mission and so it's returning to you and reminding you what you need to finish or seek."

His voice dropped now as he looked at her,his dark penetrating eyes, directly into hers as he asked.

"I hope you don't mind me asking,but what do you see your parents doing or saying to you in the dream? Is it recurring? And maybe you want to talk to me about how they er...died on the day they died?"

Charlotte had never though of the angle that Ari mentioned to her.
"Erm, I think my mother was talking about finding a boyfirnd or something. She thought I was lonely. she was quite obsessive about that, actually," She said.
she looked into Ari's eyes. She was going to tell him what happened. She took a deep breath.
"Well, my parents went out late one night to get something from town. It was a usual thing, noithing special. But then after about three hours, they didn't come back. I was worried. I called the police. They did a search, and the following morning, their bodies were found," She sighed.
"They didn't know what killed them. It was loss of blood, but nobody could explain how they lost the blood. They let me see the body. It was horrible. i nearly couldn't recognise them."
Charlotte started to cry again. She deeply missed her parents.
"How are your parents, Ari?" she said.

Ari's eyes did not leave Charlotte's, as he remained focused on her as he listened to her. He was trying to establish some kind of connectionw ith her so that he could see through her thoughts and envision what she had went through but it was difficult as they were very disconnected but based on her description, he had a dark feeling, the nature of death was too familiar to him.

As she asked him about his parents, he replied as a matter-of-factly.

"They are died too..a long time ago..."

He broke contact with her eyes and he knew he had one way to get into her mind and confirm his suspicions.

"Charlotte..I'm really sorry about what happened.. but I don't think the police could help you...neither could anyone else..except yourself..and me.."

He pulled her close to him and ran his hands up her hair and then moving very close to her, their lips made contact and he kissed. The second their lips met,he saw through every single memory of hers and within a minute he pulled back,his eyes all disillusioned and filled with some kind of unknown expression.

"I think I know just how you could get back your revenge."

He was very right about what he saw. He saw a body with the familiar marks and the place looked familiar. He was there. He knew the killer. It was his coven brother. Jason.

Charlotte was saddened when Ari told her that his parents were long dead.
"I'm so sorry to hear that. I really am," she said.
She saw his lock on her eyes break, and she whimpered slightly.
He spoke of how she herself and Ari could help her situation.
"You can help me?" she asked, "I can help me?"
but before she could ask how, she felt his lips on hers, cold but soft. She felt a searching in his kiss, a yearning also. All too soon he pulled away, his expression pained somehow. Was Charlotte that much of a bad kisser?
"Revenge? What do you mean? You know who did it? How can I get them back?" she had a dark glint in her eyes. She had gone through so much pain, so much difficulty. She wanted revenge.
"Let's do it."