Bathed in moonlight

Alexis had awoken as soon as the sun went down and it was safe for her to go outside, she had quickly dressed and made her way down to the pool.

She knew that Tahir would be able to follow her scent here easily enough when he was ready to make his way down.

Tonight she was dressed casually for comfort and ease of changing, clad in a slate coloured maxi dress, the hem of which skimmed across the floor, she was barefoot tonight, there was no need for shoes if they were swimming.

Her bathers were already under her dress so she would not have to worry about changing when she got down here.

The vampire lay out on one of the reclined deck chairs, stretching out her slender body as she waited for him.

Earlier that day, as he said he would, he had gone shopping with Arzu to pick up some of this swimming attire.

Most of it looked silly to him, with bright patterns and the odd material they were made out of.

Finally he had settled on a pair of regular slate colored board-shorts. They wen't down to rest just above his knees.

He looked at himself in the mirror, raising an eyebrow as he took in this new look. With no shirt on again the scars on his muscular body very visible. He couldn't help but think he looked odd wearing the board-shorts, as there was never anything like that in his time. But if this was what was normal then he'd just have to try and adapt.

He'd been sure to take a nap late in the afternoon so that he'd be more awake to spend the evening with Alexis. Leisurely he strolled barefoot down the hallways, out of the mansion, and towards the pool.

He smirked slightly when he was able to pick up her scent. She had all ready gotten there. The moonlight reflected off her pale skin, casting elegent shadows on the pebble stone tile surrounding the pool.

In fact it he almost didn't even notice the modernized pool, his attention so engulfed on her frame. But once he did he couldn't help but blink a few times in amazement. There was no mud or dirt anywhere. The water was clean and smelt fresh... the chlorine coming as an unfamiliar surprise to his nose.

"So this is a twenty first century pool." He said, his tone veiled with a hint of wonder.

Alexis rose to her feet and leisurely made her way over to him, her dress skimming over the stone tiles as she walked, without her usual high heeled shoes her steps were completely silent, even to lycan ears.

He definitely was a sight to behold, his tanned skin pulled tight over perfectly toned muscle.

She could not help but admire him silently with her gaze, it took her a moment to see the extent of the scarring that covered his body, marks of war, he was a true warrior. She had to wonder, just how many times had be looked death in the face and then pulled himself back to the land of the living?

Alexis shook these thoughts from her head when she was close enough to see the wonders his eyes held.

She smiled up at him, she had a fondness for that child-like intrigue in his eyes, this was not a man who took little things for granted. Modern life had made people careless and neglectful, blind to how lucky they are to live in a time such as this.

"It is indeed, not quite what you expected?
We never would of imagined something like this when we were young."

She took his hand and led him to the stairs of the pool so he could enter.

"And trust me, it is just as delightful as it looks."

The vampire lifted up the hem of her dress to her ankles, dripping her toes into the water, the temperature was perfect, the water still held the warmth of the sun that had been there moments before.

He looked down at her when she approached and offered her an impressed smile at what was before them.

"There's no dirt! It's all man made, with stone and everything!" He stated the obvious, still excited and amazed.

"And there appears to be some sort of... potion in the water keeping it fresh yes? I've never recognized this smell before." He said as he followed her to the steps of the pool.

He watched her dip her feet in, her hair barely brushing against the surface of the water. Everything was so enticing! The world Arzu had greeted him back in was essentially the same Earth, but by no means the same place.

"That smell is a chemical, chlorine, they add it to the water to keep it free of germs, it breaks down toxins."

She explain, yes it was definitely endearing to be able to teach the lycan such things, they were little but seemed to spark his curiousity.

"Come, the water is perfect, still nice and warm."

The vampire took a step away from the edge of the water and pushed the straps of her dress over her shoulders.

The fabric fell obediently, pooling at her feet as she stepped forwards again, taking a few steps into the water so that it lapped gently against her calves.

Her body was exposed to him now, her slender form concealed only by a simple black, strapless bikini which clung to the curves of her body in order to stay in place.

"Are you coming?"
She asked softly as she looked back at him.

Tahir listened to her words with sparked interest, fascinated still by all of the new things she was teaching him.

Just as Tahir made his way over to the steps he couldn't help but freeze when the dress feel from her body.

The man tried not to gawk but couldn't help himself. His eyes had to behold her beauty, the soft touchable skin exposed to his vision.

Was this normal swimming attire for women at this time? Or was she inviting him to be intimate? An internal rise of panic formed inside his chest. He didn't know what to do.

He cleared his throat, the only words coming to him being "Is that normal for women to wear while they swim now?"

Typically he wasn't this awkward. Back in the thirteenth century he'd been so calm and cool.

Alexis made him nervous though. Not only was he behind in the time and she so caught up, but he actually cared about her friendship as well.

"Hmm?"
She hummed softly, glancing down at her swim suit.
"Oh, yes. It's called a bikini, most women wear them whilst swimming, it's quite common practice."

She chuckled softly as she looked over her shoulder at him, she had tried to warn him about how much freedom women had in modern times.

Not only did they have the social freedoms that men had long since enjoyed but also the freedom of their bodies, they could expose and much or as little as they pleased now, men did not dictate it to them.

"I apologize if I have made you uncomfortable, I should of given you more warning as to what is acceptable attire for women now."

Perhaps she should of bought a full piece bathing suit or worn a T-shirt over top, she shrugged it off, he lived in the twenty first century now, best he see things like this now in a more private setting than down on the beach in town.
He would look odd standing on the beach gawking at all the half naked women.

This was common!?

He could get used to this. This was even better then the dirtless pool. This was better then the boxes that washed clothes! Wonderful and yet cruel at the same time.

Perhaps this was how women free'd themselves from oppression? By realizing the wonderful and tormenting power they had over man.

"No no, I'm not uncomfortable!" He said, maybe a bit too quickly. "I mean... I just never thought this would be normal but I think I can adapt." He said, the smirk coming back to his face.

Okay, that was a pretty obvious flirt, but couldn't help himself.

He wadded his way into the pool, getting onto the first step and then diving in. He'd waited soooo long to be able to do that again. As a kid he always loved diving, even if he couldn't see through the murky water. More often then not as a kid he'd have a huge bump or even cut on his forehead from hitting a rock or something.

This water was clear enough though,and didn't even have any rocks! He came back up to the surface and whipped his hair back, the thick black locks now out of his face. He smiled big.

"Are you coming~?" He asked, much as she had asked him just minutes before.

Alexis laughed inwardly at his response, poor guy was clearly flustered, acting like he had never seen a woman exposed before.

She smirked back at him and shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"Oh that's a relief then, I was about to offer to go back into the mansion and change into something I little more, conservative."

Alexis giggled softly as she watched him dive into the water, she was glad that she had suggested swimming.
He seemed to have a passion for it and it bought her a bit of joy to see him so happy.

"I suppose so." She replied with a smile, diving elegantly into the deep water and gliding most of the pools length before popping back up, her long silver hair now slicked back against her shoulders and fanning out around her.

"Conservative? You're talking to a Persian Warrior. I don't even know what that word means." He joked, with a grin.

He watched her sleek looking frame dive under the water, traveling past him in a quick silver blur. She reminded him the little grebe birds that would dive in and about the old pools back in his home.

For the first time he got to see her with her hair out of her face. Her features were strikingly feminine and beautiful. He swam his way over to her, the liner he normally wore around his eyes started to fade off.

"Nice dive." He complimented, his arms and feet waving to keep him afloat.

"Thank you, it was a rarity that I was able to go swimming, but I have to admit I am quite fond of it."

The part of Germany that she grew up in was constantly snowing, the long cold winters made swimming nearly impossible, lakes and rivers were usually frozen over and the ocean was quite a distance away.

Alexis lifted her hand up and stroked his cheeks, wiping away the smear of black liner that had leaked down his face.

"It's rare to see men wearing eye liner nowadays, I was always very fond of it. It's a shame really."

It looked good on Tahir, it darkened his eyes against his already dark complexion.

"Yeah it was a bit of a rarity for us too. Not a lot of good spots to swim in the middle of the desert." He said with a crooked grin.

He closed his eyes when he felt her hands cup his face, her thumbs wiping away the blackness dripping from around his eyes.

He liked the way her hands felt. So soft and graceful. Everything about her was perfect to the man.

"It is?" He peeked his eyes open. He hadn't' really noticed before, but come to think of it he didn't see a lot of the men in this day wearing the stuff.

He was relieved to hear that she liked it though. Because he sure as ever wasn't going to stop. It was kind of a symbolic tradition of his time for men to mask their faces with the liner, something he wasn't going to just give up.

"A desert for you and a snowy mountain top for me, by the sounds of it our upbringings were the exact opposites."

She was born into a noble and wealthy house and Alexis suspected that he was a self made man. Warriors like that don't spend their childhoods being pampered and doted on.

A small smile graced her lips as she pulled her hand away, all traces of the black smear now gone.

"There was a sift in society, men stopped masking their faces and women started, now such things are used by women to deceive men into thinking that they are more beautiful."

It was sad really, that women felt the need to disguise themselves to feel more appealing.

"And yet for both of us the chances we got to swim weren't taken for granted." He mused, the smile still on his lips.

He wanted to place his hands on her hips, to feel the soft curve of them from under the water. But he resisted, wanting to respect her more then that.

"It's used for beauty? That's... that's kind of funny!" He chuckled. What was once a way for men in his culture to hide their identities and look intimidating, not to mention keep out the sun and sand, was now a way for people to try and make themselves look beautiful.

"I sure hope to hell I'm pretty enough." He said in a mocking tone, teasing himself. He couldn't help but laugh. Ah well, he didn't care what other people thought. Even still he wasn't going to stop wearing the liner.

"It sure is, redder lips, darker eyes, flawless skin. It's amusing the lengths the human women go to in order to entice men.

Society has changed a lot, it's the women that go to extreme lengths to get a man now, not the other way around."

She remembered the days when men would do anything to impress a possible wife. Countless times she had men bring her various wealths in order to win her over, more than a few times she had received evidence of the demise of someone she had disliked.

Alexis brought her hand to her mouth and laughed, shaking her head as she looked up at him, her eyes lighting up in amusement.

"You're very pretty, no need to worry."

"Well speaking from a man's point of view, the woman that puts herself out isn't going to be seen as anything more then a piece of meat." He stated bluntly. "I hope... that didn't come out the wrong way. I'm not against beauty, but that shouldn't be what a girl's focus is about." He made sure to add.

When he had seen his sister for the first time in years, he was shocked to see how much her looks had changed. Not only was she much thinner, but chains and piercings littered her body. He didn't mind most of them, save for the one that she showed dangling from inside her shirt.

He'd reacted less then calm when he noticed that. He'd tried to make her get rid of it or at least hide it better, but she wouldn't listen. Too stubborn.

"Like you. You're beautiful, but you're not a shell inside. There's so much more to you then that." He said, his voice softening a little. He realized he might have said too much, but he didn't break eye contact with her. If she reacted badly he would apologize. If not, well, she deserved to know that.

Chances were she all ready did, but he wanted her to hear him say it.

She nodded softly as his words, agreeing with what he was saying.
"It's artificial beauty anyway, they pump their bodies full of chemicals for what? To attract men who will lose interest in them when their looks fade?"

Alexis could not really judge human women for that, she'd never know what it felt like to grow old and lose her youthful appearance but looks did not matter to her.

They were only skin deep, a persons true substance came from something less visible. Something far more important than that.

She looked up at him as he spoke the second time, her expression gave away nothing about what she was feeling.

Alexis was oddly happy to hear him say that he believe that about her. Perhaps this one actually saw her as more than a pretty face and a set of boobs to look at.

"Thank you."
She muttered softly, leaning up and placing a soft kiss onto his cheek.

Tahir nodded in agreement to what she said.

All though she gave no real facial expression for the Persian man to go off of, she thanked him gently.

And then she kissed his cheek.

His eyes widened momentarily and he couldn't help but get a goofy satisfied grin to his face.

This was a side to himself not even he knew existed, but she brought it out of him effortlessly.

Alexis' face broke into a smile as she saw that grin on his face, honestly by the expression on his face you'd think he had never been kissed before, it was strangely satisfying to see the effect she could have on him.

"Oh Hündchen." You're such a dork...

She shook her head and chuckled softly before splashing him with water and darting off under water, her body gliding easily under the surface, that should of cooled him off.

Once he saw her smile up at him like that, he knew right away he must look like a grinning idiot. He quickly got composure of himself again, the grin turning into more of a smirk.

He laughed out even when she splashed at him, diving away quickly right after.

He submerged himself under the water and swam after her, he peeked his eyes open and found that in this water the...what was the word she used again...chlorine... was burning his eyes.

He closed them quickly and came up to the surface.

"Alexis!" He called out, keeping his eyes closed.

"I think I may have done something...bad? I opened my eyes and now they're burning." He said, keeping them closed. He wasn't sure if exposing his eyes to this toxic cleansing potion was causing them to erode. That would have been nice to know beforehand.

Alexis turned to him as soon as he called her name, darting through the water to his side.

"You're fine Tahir, the chlorine in the water just makes your eyes sting if you open them under water.
It wont damage them at all."

She shook her hand dry and ran it over his eyes, pushing the water and his damp hair out of them.

"There you go, that should make them feel better, blink a few times and it will go away.
I should have warned you about that, but your eyes can adjust to it to the point where the chlorine doesn't hurt anymore."

Alexis held his shoulders gently until he could see again, looking up at him, a hint of concern present in her gaze.

As soon as she let him know he was okay he relaxed quickly, blinking his eyes open after she'd wiped gently over his eyes.

"Ah, so my eyes aren't being acidically burned from my sockets! Wonderful! In that case..." He got a mischievous grin and splashed her, getting the vampire back for having done the same to him before.

He laughed out and pushed himself back in the water to try and avoid any splashes she might throw back.

"Do you think I would of let you in the water if there was a chance of your eyes getting burned away?"

The vampire rolled her eyes slightly, if there was a chance of him getting injured she would not of let him near it.

Alexis gasped slightly as he splashed her.
"Cheeky devil..."
She murmured to herself, he had asked for it now.

She ducked back under water and swam beneath him, grabbing hold of one of his feet and pulling him under water and darting away again.

He restrained from laughed out as she pulled away his balance, sucking in a deep breath before falling under the surface of the water. Without even coming back up for air he swam after her, blinking his eyes open again now that he knew it wouldn't destroy his vision.

He was a decently fast swimmer, and caught up to her quickly, grabbing onto her ankles and pulling her towards him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun them both around. He then gave her a playful throw into the water, being sure to not hurt her in the process.

He'd never rough housed with a woman before, and he was enjoying it quiet a bit. He knew that Alexis was tough enough to take it, he liked that he didn't have to treat her like glass.

If she had been above water Alexis would have yelped softly in surprise as Tahir grabbed her, instead a small stream of bubbles escaping her mouth.

After she was thrown Alexis pushed off of the bottom of the pool and darted back towards Tahir, grabbing hold of his foot and pulling it up from under him, forcing him to tumbled around in the water.

She grinned to herself and popped back up for air, a satisfied grin gracing her lips and she chuckled softly, wiping the water from her face.
Finally, a man that understood that despite her size and appearance she could take a hit.