Two Eagles

Avira gritted his teeth.

There she went again with the....'my love' thing. Avira was tempted to blush again but held all urges down in his gut. Instead, he said;

"Do you insist on calling me such names? I've given you my own, is it not satisfactory?"

He quirked at eyebrow at her, his clear amethyst eyes sparkling in the moonlight. If he'd been the type to notice his own looks, or even know he had them, he would have exploited them.

Avira however, hadn't actually much looked in a mirror in the last....very long time.

she smiled

i'm sorry, Avira. it was just an endearment. i call everyone love at some point *chuckles* it's just the way i am in all honesty. sorry for teasing you....but aren't you not suprised? you truly are a beauty, and many have probably drooled over you only for you to blank them completely. *grinned* oh, the amount of heart you've probably broken, Avira.

it took all of her will power to not be dramatic and to keep her tone light, even as she wanted to roll on the floor laughing.

she, however, yelped when Altair bit her ear, reprimanding her for her rudeness.

mutteredsorry Altair....

she huffed slightly before her urge to laugh faded and she smiled again

Avira's expression went from questioning to mildly confused, head cocking to the side. He hadn't much thought about breaking hearts, or about his own for that matter. Hell, he barely remembered the last time he'd even thought someone attractive. He just...didn't seem to ever bother.

"I tend to go unnoticed." he murmured. "I blend in well despite my....odd coloring."

Inwardly he grimaced and winced at the same time. he disliked calling his coloring 'odd' or 'weird'. It was indicative of his heritage.

His very long gone heritage.

Avira stopped thinking about it.

'odd coloring'? *scoff* hardly! you're unique *chuckles* it's actually very attractive. you could say you're a very rare jewel if ya think that way. you have an ethereal beauty. it's unusual, yes, but in a good way. and you should be proud of it. it's who you are, so, stop calling it odd

she grinned broadly. she like uniqueness that made them stand out in a crowd. and this one was quite a jem

take me for example. i've never seen anyone with eyes quite like mine. they're a gold color or yellow, or whatever you wanna call it. people got scared of it, but i love my eye color. it makes me different, not to sound egotistical or narcissistic.

she raised an eyebrow at his comment though

i guess i shouldn't expect anything less from a bounty hunter...i guess you're supposed to go unnoticed. just like the assassins in white robes back home....they'd melt into a crowd of black easily.

Avira shrugged noncommittally.

"Whatever you say." he muttered.

He liked his coloring well enough, or he used to. He had hair like his mother (straight and flowing), and eyes like his father (almond shaped and a lighter purple in the light). But that just made him easier to pick out now, for....them.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned his eyes back to the woman before him.

"Your eyes are golden like the sands of Arabia." he said honestly, words flowing without intent. "It is a common color for vampires, but I doubt there are many of our kind in the desert areas, so perhaps you've never seen another with your coloring."

she grinned, flattered and pleased at the comment

well well well! look who's the charmer then *grins* and no, i haven't seen other vampires, not even Dhampires like my self or the Created even in Arabia.i guess that's why people never really spoke of Vampires in the legends, even when i was young and often drained people due to the thirst of a little one. they just passed it off as a psychotic killer from the west trying to mimic their legends else where to inspire fear. they always spoke of Vampires lightly and laughed at the 'Legends' of them.

she studied the vampire in front of her again, this time noticing the colors, or lack thereof. his sheer whiteness was glowing in the moonlight and emphasized his amethyst eyes. it was an unusual color, but it just made him all the more interesting

Avira noticed the eyes on him, but didn't mind. Let her observe. He wondered what the observation would tell her.

Not nearly enough, murmured a voice inside him in amusement. Ah, how true.

"Unnatural colors are as common as natural in our society." he murmured, indicating vampires. "Perhaps not in combination with more unnatural coloring, but there are...exceptions."

He was one himself after all. His whole bloodline had been. Had being the past tense, because, after all.... He stopped himself again, closing his eyes to cut off the all too painful thoughts.

if your past hurts you, or the reasons of your colouring hurts you, don't think about it. what's the point in being a masocist and opening up things that should be left alone?

her tone was a little off as curiosity got the better of her.
she decided to look at his abilities. to see if it would tell her more about him.

her eyes dialated and then focused again, looking deep into him and felt around for his abilities.

aaaaah, so he's a spirit user......a water manipulator.......*concentrates even harder* and can transform.......into a bird it seems....a raven......but the colour's wrong...it's....white?

she then felt the backlash off concentrating too long and was swiftly withdrawn from Avira and back into her own mind.

she hadn't looked outwardly any different, just seemed lost in thought, as though the topic of discussion had been sensitive for her. but now she had a headache.......

damn

what was your full name again?

had a theory on his last name.

Avira twitched. It was momentary, but he twitched. He didn't like being intruded into, or at least, not when he was readily aware thereof it. Had she been an experienced user of her ability, he wouldn't have noticed. As it were, he did.

"Avira Revenwyte." he said coolly. "And yes, it does have to do with my secondary form. No I will not tell you why. And while I appreciate your curiosity you would do well to remember I am not fond of people peeking into my mind when I am aware or have not given permission."

Spirit had enhanced his mental senses, and his own walls, from years of training to combat this very technique (though he'd never gotten a change to complete said training), made it easy to pick out the prickle in the back of his mind. And he didn't like it.

it took a moment for the headache to pass enough for her to speak

forgiveness......i forget my manners.......

she head throbbed and Altair chirruped in his version of a laugh. he thought of it as pennance for being so rude.

muttered yeah yeah i know, Altair....no doing things like that without permission.....*points at head* i'm kinda feeling the effects of not asking permission in the first place

with him being a spirit user, Sharifa's backlash was twice as worse

Avira was silent a long moment, then sighed, closing his eyes a moment then reopening them.

"Please, forgive me." he muttered. "I am still unused to this environment wherein not every acquaintance can be viewed as a potential enemy."

He calmed his nerves and decided he might as well stop being so...uptight, as she had said. Thus saying, he reached back and undid the scarlet ribbon in his hair, letting the silver locks fall completely down his back and momentarily frame him in a silvery halo.

Unawares of any strange looks or stares he may be getting, he held the ribbon between his teeth as he quietly began to tie comb his hair with his fingers, to work it back into a managable ponytail.

she raised an eyebrow

forgive you for what? i intruded on you and messed around in your head. you've nothing to apologise for *chuckles*...accept maybe the headache...that hurts a lot *grins*.

she watched Avira fix his hair, and smiled a little before closing her eyes and sighed quietly.

she felt a sudden peace fall over her, maybe because he lost some of the tension around his eyes and shoulders, and allowed for a calmer environment.

just then, Altair decided to hop down from her shoulder and onto the grass to look at the cats better, not giving of even the slightest intent of harm, only curiosity of the creatures, tilting his head slightly and keeping a respected distance from the felines

Caterva could very well mind his manners around the bird. Hell, he could mind his manners around the bird when the bird was on the grass. But excuse me the damn bird was too close to his Ignis and the hell he was just going to let it eye her.

The one eyed cat leapt between Altair and his white counterpart, bristling slightly and pulling himself up to his full height. Which wasn't very much. But enough.

Avira cocked an eyebrow, tying back his hair at last. He hoped the eagle knew what it was getting into. Caterva was liable to scratch its feathers out if it got too close to Ignis.

not one for being dominated by those not even half his size, he rose to full height and let out a screech and spread his wings in a display of 'i'm not gonna be pushed around', but he then settled down again, sharp eyes on the felines, but not getting any closer, showing he'd show them respect if they did the same

Sharifa opened her eyes at his display and blinked...Altair wanted to try and....what? get closer to another animal?! this was unusual....they must have really sparked his interest a great deal for him to even look at them, let alone go up to them, and even show them respect!

she looked up at Avira and blinked again before looking back at the little display unfolding

Avira eyed Caterva warily.

Caterva eyed Altair.

Ignis eyed Avira.

In the end, Caterva turned his gaze away with a sniff and curled his tail around Ignis'. It clearly meant he didn't mind the bird, just watch it around the lady. Not that Ignis was incapable, Caterva was just protective.

Avira looked incredulously at his one-eyed cat. Seriously? Caterva didn't even let people that close to Ignis.

"That's different." he said idly.

blinks

you're telling me....Altair is actually interacting with others!

she reached out and stroked the feathers on Altair's back

however, what shocked her the most was when Altair actually settled down next to the cats and wasn't ruffling is feathers as he did it willingly

she couldn't stop her mouth dropping open

Caterva didn't settle down, but he curled his tail around his paws and closed his one good eye.

Avira stared him in shock and awe.

".......Well alright then." he muttered. "If you like him."

Caterva only minorly twitched. That was an answer, at least. Better than he had expected. Like was a...strong word to use with anything related to Caterva besides him and Ignis.

Still though. He didn't DISlike Altair. That was something.

she chuckled quietly and relaxed back against the tree once more, sighing a little

well, you and the felines must be interesting for Altair to get close *chuckles* that's pretty much him saying he'll help whenever he is able. which also means, i'm here should ya need anything, my love.

she didn't say such things lightly, but she also trusted Altair more than she had anyone, and would follow his judgement. the fact Altair was near and comfortable around these strangers means a lot.

you, my love, are very interesting. your eyes hold a lot of secrets. you're turning out more and more to be a jem among others. rare, beautiful, and mysterious...and you still are unable to see why you're attractive

she sighed and grinned...the boy was hopeless

Avira shook his head idly.

"I haven't the slightest what you mean." he murmured, indicating the statement about being a gem.

Indeed, he didn't. Avira had never thought himself special or interesting, even when he had not been as he was now. Even when he'd had a mother and a father and all those things. No, not even then had he had any particular interest in his own being. Nor had he thought he was anything besides normal amongst his family.

Now he just thought he was a sore spot on the world, easily sticking out and always in danger of being wiped away.

she chuckled

of course you don't. you're not self centered like many nowadays. what i mean is, is that you're special. something about you that draws people in. you're hard wearing as well, or wouldn't have lived this log in your line of work, as your scent says you're quite old, and i can imagine you're good at your work. sure you're about as sociable as a hermit, but hey, who gives a flying fuck about that? and i can imagine that you're a good person, even if ya don't know it yet.

she grinned broadly and ruffled his hair lightly before leaning back

it's in your eyes, i can see you think yourself less than what you are. trust me when i say you're a gem

Avira made an undignified sound as, of all things, his HAIR was ruffled. He gave Sharifa a relatively scandalized look.

"I don't have any idea what you mean by any of that." he grumbled.

Ignis was laughing at him with her eyes and he glared at the cat until she turned away, smirking in her own way.

she sighed and laughed quietly. the boy was hopeless

of course you don't *grins* and i take it your hair is precious? that was quite the look ya gave me

was trying so hard not to laugh hard, and settled with a small chuckle

Altair's eyes were laughing at the banter, shifting to get more comfortable

Avira didn't dignify her with an answer. Instead he simply flicked his hair over his shoulder without a word and went back to petting his cats with a small sound of discontent.

It was not so much that the hair was important as it reminded him. Of what he would never say, but he'd never cut the long mane. Never ever. Not even if his life depended on it.

Trim it, yes. But cut it? He'd cut your heart out first.

sensing that it was a delicate subject, she bit back her laughter again.

but then an idea came to her

she riffled through her pouches muttering and curing in Arabic as she looked for something in particular as she got up and then sat behind Avira, getting an odd look from Altair.

she made a noise of success, and pulled out a delicate and ornate silver comb as she removed the ribbon binding Avira's hair, and gently began pulling the comb through the silver locks, gently teasing out the knots that couldn't be taken out simply by running his fingers through his hair

she remembered loving having her hair brushed by someone else, and hopped that Avira liked it as well

if ya hair is so important, you might wanna take better care of it than just combing through it with your finger

everything about her had softened slightly, and gave a gentle smile as she ran the silver comb through the hair

Avira did not like having his back exposed. And he really didn't like that Sharifa had just pulled out the ribbon without asking either. He caught it before it hit the ground and clutched it tightly.

Don't panic. He told himself. Don't lash out. It's okay. It's all okay. Okay no it's not abort abort abort.

He bore the gentle combing though, knowing the other vampire was trying to be kind. He bore it as long as he could, then Caterva was kind enough to take off.

This gave Avira ample reason to grab his hair away and tie it back up, Ignis jumping onto his shoulders.

"It was an honor to meet you ma'am." he mumbled. "I apologize that my departure must be so hasty."

And he took off after Caterva in a blur of white, trying in vain to beat down the thoughts in his mind of a time long dead.