A Hot Summer Day (Nikolai)

[erin]

Erin McAlister stood on the edge of a cliff in eastern Russia, she already started to love it here,even though it was her first visit to Russia. She sighed as the wind blew through her long black hair, her pale blue eyes shimmering against the beautiful sky blue ocean. Erin sat on the edge, letting her feet dangle off the edge. The young vampire, whom hadn't been a vampire for very long, looked out into sea, various islands dotted in the distance. Erin stood up very carefully and quickly trekked down the cliff side slope, leading to the water.

Erin felt the sand on her pale toes, and she made her way over to some rocks, when something caught her red eyes. It was a person. It looked like a man but she wasn't quite sure. Erin decided to forget about the mysterious person and go for a swim. She stripped down to her aqua blue bikini, and dove into the water. The water felt wonderful,not cold but it was warm from being heated up by the sun. She dove under the water, and poked her head out and suddenly she saw the person dive into the water.

[NIKOLAI ALEXANDER BELANOV]

It had been a long while since he had returned to the motherland. As a rule, he preferred to stay far away, letting unpleasant memories stay buried in the frozen ground, lest he begin to dwell and forgo quick efficiency for useless remembering. But Russia had a call about her, something that always managed to draw her children back to her shores, and Nikolai was just as susceptible to her call as the most feeble of humans.

Still, he had resisted the urge to visit the old Belanov castle, where the ghosts of those long since dead stil continued to roam freely in his mind. He had no particular desire to go there; no desire to see his once-great home fallen into the often negligent care of the new government. There was nothing to be had for him there anymore, and so here he stood, as if on the precipice of the world, the grey and red colours of his scarf--once his family colours, now a silly piece of sentimentality that he still held--whipping around in the wind.

Funny how some things stayed the same. The last time he had been here there had been someone at his arm and dark red eyes laughing at him as he struggled to make sense of his new abilities. They had stood on this same small ledge while Nikolai gasped and stared wide-eyed as he struggled to take in his new look on the world, literally seeing things he had never expected to behold.

Joseph had laughed at the glee of a newborn, but it hadn't been in mockery.

Now, over two-hundred and fifty years later, Nikolai had returned to this place, the mask of an aristocrat keeping his face looking calm and composed. There were no new wonders to behold here now; no new sights to see. Funny how some things could remain the same as the rest of the world changed around it.

Eyes flickering along the coastline, Nikolai took everything in, consciously aware that there was no supporting presence at his side, and no pleasant German accent buzzing in his ear as Joseph explained this new world to him. No, Nikolai knew the rules now, and he bended them to his very will, making his own little world, of sorts, in this modern day.

His network of contacts was his sole form of concentration now.

Inhaling for the first time since he had arrived, Nikolai's blank face slowly morphed into a small frown as he detected another scent, and it didn't take long for his eyes to zero in on a girl standing a fair bit away from him--far enough that he could smell her, but not close enough that he could properly see her.

But she was of little consequence. Which was why, with careful, controlled movements, Nikolai moved forward, every step bringing him further away from the small cliff (scaled down with ease) to the lapping waters of the shoreline.

Just this once he would relive a memory. It would be a little reward to himself.

Carefully removing the expensive outerwear he wore, leaving him in just the dark blue dress pants and white shirt, Nikolai dove into the waters, tasting the salty tang of the water against his tongue as he closed his eyes, blissfully imagining that, for one second, his companion was there with him.

The illusion did't last long, not really, but by the time Nikolai came up for air, hair plastered to his forehead, dripping water into his eyes, it was enough.

Still, a curious smell made him pause and glance over, his eyes narrowing on a figure not too far from him.

It was the girl from earlier. He had... missed her, somehow, despite the fact that she occupied the same waters as him, albeit in a larger state of undress. He could tell, at a glance, that she was not from here; she positively reached of the great American beaches Nikolai had come to softly loathe. The fact that she could stand the frigid waters only helped to solidify his certainty that she was a vampire.

"You are long way from home," he commented absently, knowing she could hear him and the accent that identified Russia as his native home.

[erin]

Erin stayed very still,so maybe the person wouldn't see her but the constant movement of the water made it hard. It was already too late when the man had spotted her and had spoken to her. "I just came here for the peacefulness. Its so beautiful here." She took note that he had a Russian accent. "I take it that your a native from Russia?" She thought that it was so interesting to actually talk to someone that was of different origin. Well, her family was originally from Scotland,and on occasions the thick accent of her ancestors would fill her speech, without warning. She spoke up again, the Scottish accent in her tone. "My name is Erin McAlister and whom may I be speaking to, kind sir?"

Sometimes she hated her ancestors for cursing her with their ways and especially their accent. Erin looked at the man, he had dark hair, dark eyes, the man definitely looked like he wasn't from North America. She didn't look like she was Scottish on the outside, with her long, black hair and pale blue eyes, no one could mistakenly taken her to be foreign. Her thoughts returned to the unknown man. He had yet, to speak his name,from the way he looked she guessed he was a vampire just like her. But, she had been turned a few months ago and her diet consists of human blood but she had heard of the Cohen's that drank nothing but animal blood. She wouldn't be able to ever drink from an animal, especially since most of them are furry and cry out when they are being attacked, unless you killed them painlessly and overall quickly. Just like she had to do with humans.

[NIKOLAI ALEXANDER BELANOV]

He sensed rather than say her trying to still her body, the movements of the ripples against the clingy fabric of his wet shirt alerting him to the fact that she had tried, in however futile a gesture, to prevent him from seeing her. Almost instantly the amusement flooded his system, and all at once he could practically taste the newness of this young vampire. It was obvious to him that she was no newborn, of course, for she wouldn't be allowed out unaccompanied unless she and her sire wanted to be paid an impromptu from the Voltuiri guard, but that regardless of that fact she was young in both body and mental age.

Her observation about his heritage enhanced the feeling of amusement he felt, and he carefully pushed some of his wet hair away from his face before turning to her, surveying her with an eye that was both critical and placating all at once. Yes, this one was little more than a child, especially to Nikolai, who had lived to see multiple centuries pass him by. He was not so ancient as the Volturi, of course, but he had lived long enough to begin showing signs in his eyes and in his very behaviour.

The referral to his person as kind sir only served to elicit a small laugh from him, and as he turned to face her fully he estimated that she could be no older than seventeen years of age--far too young to be here alone, really, but that wasn't for him for point out, so he withheld comment.

No, Nikolai wasn't entirely kind. In his years he had developed a more ruthless edge to him, and while he did people favours, there was always the manner of payment. He would not stand for people not paying their dues as they owed.

The girl was so amusingly American in her mannerisms that it took him a couple seconds to reply, though it wasn't out of shock. Already he was falling into his practiced movements; stuff that didn't betray the faint sense of disinterest he felt. It was the mask courtiers use when they were trying to stay on the good graces of a monarch, and Nikolai had near-perfected it.

"Alexander," he told her simply, forgoing the use of his first name in favour of his middle name, which he often used when he didn't want something to come back and haunt him later. "And yes, Russia is home, and has been for... long time."

[erin]

Erin listened as the man spoke his name as Alexander. "Well, hello Alexander, my name is Erin McAlister." Alexander had said that Russia was his native home,she smiled. She started to imagine all of the great and wonderful things she had seen eariler in the day,what if she could see it every day like Alexander could. It was something she would Surely have to think about later on when she went home later.

Erin began to wonder if this man was also a vampire since he had said Russia has been his home 'for a very long time.' So, curiosity got the better of her. "How long have you lived him, Alexander?" Although, she probably knew the answer to her own question it still didn't hurt to ask questions. Erin began to question herself with this man. Who is his family? Are they royalty? Why is Alexander out here by himself? She mentally told herself to stop getting distracted, and to focus. Who knows,maybe Alexander could purposely kill her and no one would ever know. Patiently, she awaited her question to be answered.