The black mask (closed for heartofcourage)

[Silver_Wyvern]

It was another summer day within the bustling streets of the City, business men, tourists and the locals move through sidewalks, drive down the streets and through the subways. It was another day for everyone, including the vagrants and the homeless, applying their trade for what coin and change they can gather. Gathering bottles, playing guitars on street corners.

Even in this modern day, amongst the vagrants their is legend. The most prominent being the warning to stay away the alleyway that separates the warehouse district and a dingy restaurant within the south side. rumors of disappearing animals and people surfaced and is spoken about in hushed whispers, but normally waved off as drunk exaggeration, as no bodies have been found in the arguably small alleyway.

Still, those homeless stay clear, as one man has called it his territory. The few times he has been spotted, no matter the time of year, he wore thick layers of clothing to cover himself head to toe and a strange mask..it looked homemade..scrapped together with tinted lenses from sunglasses, it shaped into a plague doctor mask, it covers the face and has a pocket near the nose and mouth shaped like a birds beak..colored black by scaveaged paint and dark leathers he used to make it.

 

[heartofcourage]

Caroline Dawson had always heard the stories from the homeless that she catered to on the city’s north side that there was a strange and mysterious figure that claimed a portion of the city as his own. She brushed it off as fantasy, telling them that they needed to stop talking about it lest someone think that they were either drunk or crazy.

She had grown up homeless herself, living rough with a mother that was way too young to have had her until she was six and was sent to a foster home. She knew what it was like out there when no one would give you a helping hand. So, she had begun to wonder if the legend that the others at the shelter was simply someone who was lost without an idea of where to go for help.

That was how she found herself at the entrance to the alley that summer day. She was dressed in sensible black heels, jeans, a button up red blouse. Her long dark brown hair was tied back from her face in a ponytail and her clear green eyes searched the gloom of the place to see if there was someone there.

“Hello?” She called out, frowning as she stepped into the shadowed walkway.

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

The alleyway was short but the large warehouses coasted a shadow over it making it difficult to make out clearly who or what was there, even on this summer day. The call was responded with no replay..but the sound of a rat scurrying along the ground was seen..suddenly a large figure pounced..almost looking like a animal but for a breif moment she could clearly make it out as a humanoid figure, hunched down like a animal..

With surprisingly fast reflexes he caught and snapped the rats neck before it could make a noise..soon she felt a pair of eyes upon her as the figure turned to her momentary..and as the other homeless said..a figure in heavy boots, thick layers of clothing covering each inch of flesh, including thick leather gloves and a wicked black colored bird like mask..

Almost as fast as he appeared the figure stood on two legs, proof the figure was human..or as human as this strange figure could be as he ran back into the darker part of the alleyway, dead prey in his grasp.

 

[heartofcourage]

Caroline couldn’t help the short scream that issued from her lips when the rat that had scurried in front of her was pounced upon like a tasty snack and the man before her slowly raised to his full height. He was tall. Well, everyone was tall to her, considering she only stood at 5’4”.

She opened her lips to say something but the figure moved back into the gloomy darkness of the shadows. She had seen people so hungry that they would do anything for their next meal. It wasn’t unheard of for people to scavenge for animals in a particularly lean time. It broke her heart to think that this man was surviving this way when her shelter was only six blocks away.

“Excuse me?” She called, daring to walk into the shadows after the man. “Hey, excuse me!” The man seemed to have melted back into the shadows. Probably has a hiding place, she thought to herself as she looked around the gloom and couldn’t see him.

“My name is Caroline. I run a shelter for the homeless over on Grand Ave. Some of the guys that live there were telling me about you.” She was talking to the shadows, not knowing if the man was evening listening to her. “I came by to offer you a room if you wanted. We can give you a hot shower and a meal too.”

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

Caroline could not see him..well at first..as she went into the allyway, she did hear a disgusting crunch sound..she seeing the figure hunched over biting into the animal..but..something was different

The man was so preoccupied he didn't notice at first her approach..from the angle she was at..she saw the mask lifted, just to reveal pale sking tinted red with crimson from his meal he just caught.

Soon the man looked back noticing her approch him in the shadows..he turned to her, his shoulders puffing up like a animal splaying it's fur as he let out a like hiss..far from inhuman..he taking a moment to shift his mask down to hide his face as he growls out "Leave me be.."

 

[heartofcourage]

A shiver went through her as she approached the crunching sound and found the man crouched over the body of the rat that he’d just plucked off the street. She stood there in silence for a long moment, wondering if the man had a mental issue or a physical disability. His skin looked too pale, his actions too feral.

She let out another scream when he suddenly turned around and stood to his full height, his shoulders seeming so much larger than they had a moment ago. He hissed at her. Actually hissed at her and Caroline backed up until her back hit the dingy wall behind her.

She was terrified of this man, that fear rolling off her in waves as she stared at the man and trembled. Still, it was her job to get him the help that he might need.

“Sir…” Her voice trembled over the word and she cleared her throat to center herself. “Sir, I would like you to come with me to get some help. I promise you that no one will hurt you, but we can give you a safe environment.”

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

Seeing the woman stay in the alley way instead of run away from him was confusing to him. Normally even a armed police office would have ran away from him by now. His shoulders slowly lowered again..almost as if he was apologizing. The corpse of the rat slipped from his grasp and hit the ground with a wet splat..the only wound upon it was a pair of bloody pinholes.

"..I am far beyond your help.. " the man spoke again, softer but it didn't lose it's firmness. He kept his distance as he began too slowly walk away "It's better..that you just..let me rot here.." with those last words, he returned to his feral stance ready to bound away again. But he hesitated, he slowly looked over his shoulder at her..for a brief moment before he began to crawl away and under a burrow of boxes and wooden planks..

 

[heartofcourage]

Caroline let him back away, the words that left his lips breaking her head. No one should ever just be thrown away. She waited until he was gone before she moved. She walked away just as he had told her to, but she wouldn’t be gone for long.

When she made her way to the shelter, she gathered a few items like blankets and a fresh pillow, some food and packed it all in a bag. She even managed to come up with some toiletry items. She was pleased with what all she was going to offer the mysterious man and it was a few hours later that she found herself back in the alleyway.

“Sir?” She called out, slowly approaching the place where he had disappeared before. It was a little hovel carved out of trash, one that he’d probably been living in for a long while now. She knocked on a wooden plank, standing a respectful distance away from the entrance so he wouldn’t feel threatened. “Sir, I brought you a few things.”

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

"What..I told you to leave me alone.." the man responded from the collection of planks, rags and boxes..within the shelter, she could not see he had taken off his mask. His face was a white pale..his eyes were golden..though he's lived in this hovel for years..he does not look a day over 30..surprisingly handsome still, he didn't even have a beard.

After a few moments of silence, Caroline could see a gloved hand slowly reach out to take the offered bag and pull it back into his lair. He began to pull out the objects from it: Human food, a pillow, a blanket and some other items. "..I..thank you.." this was the first time it sounded like a normal human being ..soft and polite. Using his dagger sharp teeth, he opened the packaging of the food and woofed it down..even though it did nothing for him nutritionally, the dead man still could taste..and human food was strangely comforting.

 

[heartofcourage]

She smiled when she heard his voice lose some of the savageness that it had first contained. Sometimes all that was needed was simple human kindness and contact to draw people out of their shells. She listened to him rip open the package of food and wondered when the last time he’d had a decent meal was.

“Alright, I’m going to go and I’ll leave you alone.” She said as she stayed crouched down and peered into the darkness. “Would you mind if I came back by tonight and brought you something hot to eat? I think we’re serving chicken and rice. That way you don’t have to come to the shelter if you’re uncomfortable.”

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

After a moment he heard her question "..T..that is fine.." he spoke in turn as he then took a moment to finish his meal "..unnecessary for you to do this.. but thank you.." as she looked into the darkness she could make out the the man shifting about inside..that distinct mask off the shadows covered his face..but she saw a gleam of something white briefly as he finished his meal. He taking a moment to pull the pillow and blanket into a area that was most clean in his hovel, shifting as he begin to pull into them to rest for the time being.

Within the night he slowly began to peek out of his hole, he not wearing his mask still, but it was pretty much made to cover his face from sunlight so he felt it unnecessary to take a peak outside. He was curious of that woman..Caroline would come back. She had grabbed his interest..she was the first in easily 70 years to show him any form of kindness..

 

[heartofcourage]

She was running late. There had been an incident at the shelter that involved one of the men that lived there being taken to the hospital for emergency surgery. Caroline had gone along to provide comfort and fill out the mountain of paper work that would accompany the hospital providing services to an indigent patient. When he was out of the surgery and resting, she felt it safe to leave.

She stopped by a local diner and picked up a sandwich that was piled high with ham and cheese. She spent money from her own pocket to feed the man that was in the alley, but she felt that a little kindness towards him would go a long way. She remembered what it felt like to be treated as less than human and she knew that he was probably in that same situation.

The area of town that he was in wasn’t the friendliest at night and as she walked down the streets, she felt her skin crawl like there was someone following her. She kept glancing over her shoulder, not seeing anyone but unable to shake the feeling. As she came upon the alleyway, she was grabbed from behind. She screamed out in terror as a hand clamped over her lips and she dropped the bag in the scuffle. She scrabbled her feet across the pavement, her heels unable to make any purchase and she was dragged into the darkness, her heart pounding a million miles a second.

Was it the man she’d met earlier? No, she decided as a bearded cheek pressed against hers as he dragged her away fro the street.

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

He began to slowly slip out of his hovel, he figuring the woman was not coming tonight..it was growing late..by the position of the moon it was about midnight. She most likely told to keep away from the crazy..but maybe something came up. He was sure he would see her again soon. Anywho he was hungry and needed a few sips of the life force that drove him. The need of distracting him from putting his mask back on.

Sharp pointed ears picked up picking up the faint points of struggle..he bounding off to see who was there..he's scared off a drunkard of a worker who stalks the alleyway to mug a unsuspecting target before..this was about the fifth time the man attempted this by his count. When he made it to the sorce of the noise..he saw the woman..the woman who was brave enough to reach out to him being grabbed by that drunkard.

Something in his mind snapped, and like a animal he pounced, throwing all of his weight into him and tearing the man away Caroline with his immense strength pinning him down. When he was atop of him like a beast that pounced upon unsuspecting prey, he let out a violent, inhuman hiss to his face, baring his gleaming white fangs..he was in such a rage he was not thinking. The woman that showed him such kindness could see his face..

 

[heartofcourage]

Caroline was surprised when she was knocked to the ground and the man that had been holding her hostage was ripped away from her. She landed on the pavement on her hands and knees, scrambling away from the fight that was taking place behind her until she pressed a brick wall on the opposite side of the alleyway.

Her eyes were wide as she watched the man being attacked by another man who hissed and bared long white teeth. Hissed? The homeless man from earlier? No, it couldn’t be, she thought to herself as she tried to catch her breath and calm her nerves. Her eyes were wide as she watched him brutally take care of her would be kidnapper, the sounds of the struggle loud in her ears.

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

The action was so quick, the poor bastard was unable to make a noise before gleaming white fangs quickly snapped through the man's throat..gashing through the mans throat like a knife. As he pulled himself off the man to let the filth choke on his own blood..a slender tongue cleaning his lips of blood before he saw her staring at him in horror. The realization hit him..immediately attempting to cover his face he returned down on his haunches and scurried into the alleyway to take cover back into his shelter.

Pulling into his box and rage fort, he began to just curl up and hide in the blanket Caroline gave him. He knew now what little contact he made was effectively ruined by he reveling his nature...he then paused..hearing someone approach..

 

[heartofcourage]

Caroline watched the figure as it ran away, leaving the man that had grabbed her to drown in his own blood. She watched the man die, afraid to even more a muscle. He hadn’t attacked her, but retreated back to his hovel like a scared animal. She slowly stood, her legs shaking. What had she just seen? She wasn’t exactly certain, but her mind was still racing at what she’d witnessed.

She walked back to the entrance of the alley and picked up the dropped sack. Side stepping the dead man, she slowly approached the hiding place and crouched down as she had that afternoon. She looked into the pitch darkness, her hands shaking as she waited for an attack that never came.

"Thank you." She said in a shaking voice, her heart still pounding. "I...um...I brought you this." She pushed the sack through the small entrance, the rustling of plastic loud as she placed it on the ground. What are you still doing here, Caroline, she asked herself as she took a seat on the pavement, stretching out her legs before her as she kept looking into the darkness.

"What's your name? I told you mine earlier and now I want to know yours."

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

"I'll take care of the corpse.." the figure responded first..almost insticvly..a gloved hand reaching out to pull the bag into his hovel as he did last time, unwraping the food and woofing it down. After a few moments the voice responded "Demetri..Demetri of Russia. Though I have lost my accent through my..many years here within the united states..I am..a strigoi..a vampire..as you saw Caroline.." the being responded.

Soon he finished as there was a long moment of silence as he spoke. "..You see now why I was unable to follow you..sunlight harms me..hence..the mask..and clothing.." he spoke as he paused "I..will be coming out.." Soon Caloline saw the entrance shift as the familer figure formed and just sat across from her..that black mask fixed back onto his face.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Demetri.” She repeated in a soft voice, listening to him explain to her exactly what he was. Somehow the explanation wasn’t very hard to believe after what she’d just witnessed. He’d taken a man’s life with a single bite to his throat and saved her life in the process. She owed him so much now.

She watched as he appeared at the entrance, sitting down across from her with the mask back in place. She wanted to see his face and look into the eyes of the man that had saved her life fro a very bad ending.

“Stuck here? How did you end up in America?” She asked him, scooting closer as she talked to him. “You must be so lonely out here all alone.”

Caroline reached out her hand to touch his mask and she was surprised when he jerked away. She pulled her hand back, taking a deep breath to steady herself. “Demetri, I’m going to remove your mask.” She said in a soft, steady voice, her hands shaking as she reached for him one more time.

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

"Exile..over 300 years ago.." he responded "I..don't even remember why.." he spoke "..yes I have been alone.." he froze a moment hearing that request to take off his mask..soon he lowered his head to allow her to remove that mask allowing her to get a closer look at that face of his..the more animal like nose..the pointed ears..the pale grey skin..the short black hair that topped his head..and those golden eyes that looked back warily "..I know I am not what you've seen your books or your films.."

The creature looked to her directly with his golden eyes..silently appraising her reaction to him as she did the same to him. "...anything else..you would like to ask?" he spoke softly that tense stiffness from showing his face slowly beginning to soften.

 

[heartofcourage]

Caroline pulled off his mask, holding it in her hands as she looked over the sharp angled features of the man before her. He wasn’t grotesque in any way. No, in a way he was handsome. She gave him a slight smile as he tried to make light of his appearance.

“How long have you lived out here?” She asked him, knowing that the little hovel had to be at least a few years old. “Three hundred years? You must have seen some fantastic things in your lifetime.”

She didn’t ask about his time on the streets or why he lived out there. He had his own reasons for that. No, she wanted to know about the things that he’d experienced in his long life.

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

Demetri paused watching her with his golden eyes as he gave a weak smile in return hearing her question he softly spoke "I've lived here for over 150 years.." he responded softly "..moving from alleyway to alleyway..avoiding making contact.."

After hearing her comment he gave a slow nod in response "You..could say that..I watched this city be built up and develop" he spoke as he watched her as they talked..still amazed she was not disgusted by his face golden eyes for the first time taking in details of the beautiful woman.

 

[heartofcourage]

“It must be hard to be so far from home for so long.” She said softly, her fingers tracing over the mask that she still held. “I never had a home growing up and it was one of the first thing I did when I became an adult. I wanted to set down roots somewhere. Helping the homeless just seemed natural.”

Why was she confessing this to him? She’d only known him for a few hours and she was pouring her heart out to him. She raised her eyes to his and smiled softly as she handed him the mask back.

“Why don’t you come with me and I can put you up somewhere safe for the night. It’ll do wonders to get you off the streets for even just a night.” She really did want to help him, to take him from the hovel that he was living in and give him something normal.

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

Demetri pauses a moment hearing her watching her softly run a finger along his dusty old mask "..Not really..when the people home loathed you.." he responded as he paused hearing her "..I..see..you..knew what it was like to be abandoned..so you wanted to help others..admirable.." He took the mask back but did not place it on his face

"I..will follow you..but..please..someplace not in public with others.." he responded to Caroline as he then paused for a moment "Oh! one moment..this will only take a few minutes" with that he bounded off to the alleyway to pick up the pale and bled out corpse of the would be mugger..he taking a moment to lift his mask to quickly clean the ground of blood like a animal would..then he bounded off with the corpse over his shoulder.

Soon enough he returned, moving back to his hovel before going back inside..looking to pull out the bag she gave him ealier, packed with not only the pillow and blanket, she gave her along with his mask and some personal affects. He remereged from the hovel as he looked ready to follow her on all fours before he paused a moment..slowly standing up again letting out a little laugh "..old habit.." with that he took a moment to pull the hood of the thick coat he wore on his head and over his face to hide it..he felt strange without his mask..but it'd bring them both more attention if he wore it.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Old habits die hard.” She said with a smile of complete understanding. “Got everything?” When he nodded, she motioned for him to follow her and they were off.

It wasn’t a long walk to the building, maybe six blocks. They made it in companionable silence. There was no need to talk. She was incredibly happy that he was coming with her and getting off the streets even if it were only for a while. She kept glancing at him, studying him in the dim light of the street lamps. Oh, he was most definitely handsome, she thought to herself as they turned down a street and came upon a small apartment building.

She pulled out her key and unlocked the front door, stepping into the foyer and guiding him to the fourth floor. Outside apartment 4C, she opened the door and turned on the lights, letting him enter behind her.

“Home sweet home.” She said softly, turning on lights as she went.

Why had she taken him to her home? She didn’t really know, but when she was with him she didn’t feel that she was in any danger. She felt that she could trust him, no matter that she’d only known him for less than a day. Caroline turned and looked at him as he took everything in.

“This is the kitchen and help yourself to what I have. Living room is through there.” She pointed down a small hallway. “Bathroom and then bedroom. Not huge, but homey enough.” She smiled at him as she moved into the living room and pulled out the fold out couch. It needed fresh sheets, but it would only take a few seconds to grab them from the linen closet.

 

[Silver_Wyvern]

Demetri gave a nod in turn of her comment "..mmhmm..it's second nature to me..sometimes feel more comfortable on all fores then standing.." He kept quiet on during the walk to wherever she was leading him..mostly focusing on how he presented himself..to look as normal as possible so not to draw attetion. Hewas surprised at the action she was taking..to bring him..a vampire of all things back to her home. But he was to be a respectful house guest. as they reached to the door of the apartment building, he stood outside for a few moments after she stepped in enough for her to notice, he offering a smarmy little smile and a "You havent invited me in yet.." a little joke at his own races expense. But in truth that bit of legend did hold for him, mostly out of the fact his mother raised him to be a gentleman, as it was appropriate for the time but he stepped in any who, seeing the action of allowing him to follow her home enough of a invitation in.

As he walked in, golden eyes followed her as she pointed out the various places within the home. He then spoke up "I require no food as of now..though if you may.." pulling out the blanket and pillow "I can use these to sleep upon your couch..though..not to be demanding..I would wash them first..my former hovel was not the cleanest..and I rather not make a mess of your lovely home." After hearing the words of the bathroom he spoke up "..Might I use the shower? I am sure the smell of my presence has not been the most plesent.."