A thirsty and ravaged soul (open)

[STEVEN LEE ADAMS]

Slipping into the slightly dark and inviting confines of a bar, Steven simply strided up to the counter and took a seat, quickly ordering a Scotch on the rocks, wanting something to take his mind off of the stressful day of searching the streets for a decent job, a decent place that could offer him something to bring in income.

The werewolf was new in town and was becoming more and more desperate to kind of "fit in" around this town, not minding the place and wanting to actually settle down somewhere. Sighing lowly and taking a drink of his scotch, Steven nodded and grinned slightly as a woman walked across the room after taking a slight glance at him. That was something else the werewolf was looking for while in this place, someone who at least acknowledged him, and more or less a relationship with a wonderful woman who could understand his point of view on things. "Meh, not my type... Steven thought to himself.

A very laid back and decent person for the most part, Steven looked back down at his drink and chuckled, running a few thoughts through his mind, tipping the drink back again, slowly drinking more of the alcohol that numbed his racing mind.

As he tried to chill out and relax a little, Steve had no idea about who was around or anyone that came in, his mind simply not with things. The werewolf sighed lowly and kept his eyes fixed on his drink for the time being, simply thinking to himself.

Words: 276

[IVY EVIAN NIGHT]

This fire rising through my being
Burning, I'm not used to seeing you

Drained and poorly pointed in the wrong direction Ivy had found her way upon this dusty excuse for a bar. She was lost and annoyed. She had final decided to adventure out and see the place that people would die to see - London. She had been attending the University for some time and had thrown herself into study and academics. It finally dawn upon her that she hadn't even ventured out into the wide toxic city.

Inhaling sharply as she crossed the thresh hold she could already tell she shouldn't stay. The place was cramped, closed off and dark. Three things she was not able to handle, usually. She felt small and prey like the moment her foot hit the stone dirty floor. But the growl in her stomach and the dry itchy feeling in her throat had a mind of its own.

Taking a place at the counter she pulled herself into one of the many uncomfortable stools. She placed her school bag next to her feet, the damn thing had four books in it and the constant weight on her shoulder while getting lost in the city was bound to cause some aching in the morning.

Looking around she was not able to spot a server but she was able to eye a menu left behind for awaiting customers. "Do you mind?" Ivy asked the man that was seated next to her and closest to the menu. She pointed at the menu to give him a better idea of what she was asking for. She allowed herself to glance at him, by his attire he did not seem to be from here, like herself. His hair was wild and made her think of the woods.

[STEVEN LEE ADAMS]

The man had just taken another drink of his glass of Scotch and started scanning around the room again just as a new voice had rung out at him. "Do I mind??" Steven asked himself, slowly looking over at Ivy and seeing what she wanted from him. "Oh, the menu...Why didn't you just say so dear." He muttered, chuckling lowly as he handed her the plastic book. Steven didn't much like how she communicated with him to simply ask for the menu, but didn't think much about it.

"Asking gets you more things and respect, besides...you wouldn't want to go barking up the wrong tree and making people mad would you?" Steve pointed out, talking calmly to the female that sat next to him. Of course he knew that he likely wouldn't do anything unless she did, but throwing a friendly warning out couldn't hurt. Steven's werewolf side didn't really explode unless he was pissed off, under a great deal of stress or having to defend himself.

Spotting her books next to her, a small grin crossed the man's face, "You're in school I take it? What are you studying?" Steven asked. He had a bright mind of his own, graduating high school, but dropping out in his sophomore year in college. "I figured I'd come in here and kill a few brain cells off while I drown in my sorrow, don't you do the same though little miss." He said with a small laugh.

"Oh, so what are you thinking about ordering? You look a bit young to drink..." He added, smiling slightly. "I've had the Sirloin Steak here...its to die for." Steven joked slightly, showing his slight sense of humor, while picking on Ivy slightly. As he sat and downed the rest of his drink, Steve sat and hoped that he didn't tick the female off too much, as he was simply playing around despite his slightly bad jokes and puns.

[IVY EVIAN NIGHT]

This fire rising through my being
Burning, I'm not used to seeing you

The air in the room felt thick and unclean, Ivy hated this. It felt as if everyone in the room were being pressed closer and closer together, she felt she needed to gasp for large amounts of air. Coming here probably was not her greatest idea.

"Oh, the menu...Why didn't you just say so dear." Ivy smirked, the corner of her mouth tugging to the side. Wasn't that what she had done, asked. Her smirked changed into a genuin smile when he handed her the plastic menu, "Thanks." She mumbled in a whisper because she did not wish to talk over him while he continued to speak.

"Asking gets you more things and respect, besides...you wouldn't want to go barking up the wrong tree and making people mad would you?" She laughed a breathy sigh. He was right - slightly. She wanted to reply with a witty come back like "But I like trees," but she figured that would be lame and awkward; she suppressed the statement. Usually she would have no problem retorting his statement but the room made her feel shut up and dazed.

"You're in school I take it? What are you studying?" She nodded, a happier grin on her face. She liked her major and took pride in her knowledge; knowledge is key. "Botany." Her voice a little stronger now than before, "I like plants, a lot." Ivy had a love for all plants, one that nobody could ever understand. "I figured I'd come in here and kill a few brain cells off while I drown in my sorrow, don't you do the same though little miss." Her eyebrows shot up, a small hint at her true type of personality. She wasn't sure if its the fact that he thought she was young, which she was but her maturity level was probably higher than his or that fact that he called her "miss," that sparked a small fire from within her. "The legal age to drink," She smirked, "In this country, is 18 - Sir." She emphasized on the word sir, just as the word "miss" was ringing in her head. She gazed at him, laughter in her eyes, she was able to tease just as well as anyone else.

He gave her his rundown of the menu, he must be a regular. Scanning the menu she decided, "The hot green tea looks pleasing." She said as she bite down her on the corner of her lip, she hated picking out food, everything looked good! "Um, I think I will take your advice and try the Sirloin." She said with a huff to Steven and the bartender that seemed to appear out of nowhere, who scratched down her ordered and rushed off.

"I couldn't drink anyways." She told her only company, deciding to keep her reasoning's to herself. It was nice to finally talk to someone, she couldn't remember the last time she had a real conversation with someone about something other than plants.

[STEVEN LEE ADAMS]

Steven sat with his empty glass and looked around the bar slightly, before turning back to Ivy to hear what girl had to say. "At least she said thanks when I handed her the menu, which points out that she's not totally devoid of politeness, so maybe she's a little better than I give her credit for." The werewolf thought to himself with a small grin. He rose his hand to the bartender for another Scotch on the rocks and looked back to Ivy.

The moment she mentioned Botany, Steven nodded and crossed his arms. "Thats an interesting path of study, maybe you do like to go barking up trees eh?" He asked, smiling slightly. "Someone's gotta study them I guess, I always had a thing for the weather and physics when I went to college, but I couldn't cut it." He said with a small laugh, taking his fresh glass of Scotch from the bartender. Little did Steve know that he'd struck a slight nerve with the girl.

"Oh, oh geez...my apologies, I'm still adjusting to jolly ol' London, I forgot that the age limit here was different, believe me, I didn't mean to pick at your age or anything." The man pointed out, trying to show that he wasn't altogether trying to be a nuisance. "And I guess maybe it would be a little more polite if I were to learn your name instead of calling you miss?" He asked.

"I'm Steven, and you are?" The werewolf stated, trying to be a little more formal and polite towards Ivy, still feeling a slight bad vibe from his assumption about her age. He listened to her preference on the drink she was thinking about ordering and nodded, "I've never tried that, Green Tea I mean, doesn't it have citrus in it and some root extract...something weird right?" He asked.

Steven got a slight kick out of Ivy ordering the steak, and had a small grin on his face. He wasn't lying about the taste of it, but in his case, his tastes were different than hers, considering she was going to have it more cooked than he did, as whenever he ate a steak in a restaurant, he had it cooked rare, where it still bled slightly, it was even more of a twist when he had steak on his own, eating it raw out of instinct, but he'd never tell her that.

"Good choice, You'll like it..." He said with a smile.

[IVY EVIAN NIGHT]

This fire rising through my being
Burning, I'm not used to seeing you

It had been months since she had one of her "episodes," her father liked to call them, "mother nature fighting back." But still, the constant feeling as if Ivy had to look over her shoulder chilled her to the bone. That is why she was here in London, besides being drawn to this location, she had to leave home; there wasn't a home to go back to. She had thrown herself into study, for multiple reasons, and for a brief moment, felt normal.

"Thats an interesting path of study, maybe you do like to go barking up trees eh?" She blinked, unaware that she allowed herself to get caught up in the past so suddenly. "Yeah!" She said in a cheerful tone and meant it. She did enjoy her studies; or did her studies enjoy her? "Plants and stuff have always been my thing." She told him, a hint of a smirk barely on his face. "Someone's gotta study them I guess, I always had a thing for the weather and physics when I went to college, but I couldn't cut it." The weather was also another thing she thought of as interesting, a destructive element. "At least you tried with school, its not for everyone though." That is one thing she believed in greatly, College was not for everyone.

The food had yet to arrive, still and her stomach screamed at her in protest, demanding something. If she weren't in public she would probably address her stomach, looking down at it and demanding that it obey and wait but she was in public and that would probably be considered odd.

Resting her elbows upon the counter she waited for her meal to arrive. The bar was not packed but the service was slow. Her company decided to apologize for calling her miss, she wanted to sigh and apologize as well, no point in getting upset over something so mall. He introduced himself as Steven, which seemed fitting, "Ivy." She replied, sticking out her small frail pale hand, a gesture for a better start, "Ivy Night." A bright smile portraying on her face.

"You aren't from here either, are you?" Ivy assumed. "I'm an American." She said with pride, no matter how much flag her country got she was still proud of her homeland. "Do you call somewhere home?" She asked, not wishing to be too nosy but needing some sort of conversation.

[STEVEN LEE ADAMS]

"Like I said, Botany is a very respectable field, its nothing to sneeze at, well...unless you run into pollen or something and have allergies." Steven said with a small chuckle, trying to be his normal laid back self. He could tell she was analyzing what he'd told her about his academic pursuits and simply shrugged when she replied that it wasn't for everyone. "Yeah, I can really relate to that statement." Steve muttered, sipping on his drink.

The Werewolf sat back and waited for the girl's steak to show up so that he could see what she thought of the meal, considering he was the one who suggested it, he wanted to make sure she was at least happy with it, although he seriously wasn't planning on Ivy actually listening to him in the first place.

"Ivy? Thats a very unique and beautiful name, it fits right in with your botany background." Steven said with a small chuckle. "Anyways, Ivy...Its very nice to meet you." He said with a nod and grin, shaking the girl's hand politely and then letting go. "Ivy Night...What a cool name..." He thought with a small grin to himself.

"Hmm?" Steven grumbled as the girl had interrupted his split second of thinking as she asked about him not being from here. "As a matter of fact, I am not from here as well, I'm from America, was born and raised in California, but I had to get away...enjoy some new scenery." He pointed out.

"What exactly do you mean about calling somewhere home though Ivy?" Steven asked, downing more of his scotch. "Its like I said, I've only been here for a couple days, I'm not really settled in here yet, but if you ask me, I enjoy it here...not that I'm not homesick or anything from time to time, but I like it here."

[IVY EVIAN NIGHT]

This fire rising through my being
Burning, I'm not used to seeing you

Ivy often wondered if people got the same feelings as she did. She was brought up knowing she was different, so she often wondered if others had the same inter alert system. Ivy could always sense when something bad was going to happen. Like on a day when you an just smell a storm approaching or you constantly thinking you forgot something, something important. That same feeling was growing slowly and steadily from within her, crying out for her to run and not turn back. And these warnings seemed to be vibrating off of - Steven?

He had called her name unique, she enjoyed that. She knew she was not like others and she shrived to remain different. She smiled shy like, the comment had caught her off guard. "Thank you."

He was an American, she was kinda right! She settled her chin into the palm of her hand, wanting to be apart of the conversation and wanting this off feeling to go away. He was a Cali to add to the list - interesting. "New York." Ivy said the name of her own state, happy the two had something in common to share and talk about. He talked about having to get away, "new scenery," Ivy wanted to laugh, this place was hardly what she would want to graze upon.

This time she did laugh, she had failed to ask her question properly, "No-" She said in a airy laugh, "I see a home as a place were you feel as if you belong. Not a shelter, not four walls." She shook her head, allowing her blond hair to shift, falling into her face. "I see my home as were my family is. My father to be matter of face." She tried giving him a better detailed description of what she previous meant.

[STEVEN LEE ADAMS]

It was instinct, or at least Steven believed it to be instinct to almost be cautious around anyone he talked to. You never knew what someone was capable of, when danger or adrenaline drove someone to the brink of defending themselves, obviously if Steven found himself cornered, it wasn't hard for him to shift and fight brutally to get himself out of a jam. At the moment however, the werewolf didn't feel any danger from Ivy, nor did he feel like inflicting any problem with the female.

Even the beast inside him seemed content to just sit and relax instead of raise havoc somewhere, it wasn't often that his lycan side would raise up against him as he'd had a number of years to rein it in and nearly had it where he could call upon his shifts on demand, and for the most part, he didn't lose control of his beastly side unless stress or anger pushed him to it.

Sensing that she was a little edgy, Steven sighed slightly and ran a hand through his hair and tried to think of a way to sound not so weird or different. "New York huh? I've been to the Big Apple twice in my life, both were very interesting trips, I love the big cities..." He pointed out. "I guess thats part of the reason I'm here now."

The lycan sat back and took in the explanation from Ivy on how she defined what home is to her, and nodded. "Sure, like I said, its in small town California...but I don't think I could ever return there, nor do I feel the need to do so." He said lowly. "My mother and father are much better off without having to worry about me there." Steven said, finishing his second glass of Scotch and sitting back to let his mind work a little better.

"Its time to get on with my own life now anyway, so why not start it in a place away from the folks and other people I knew...right?" He asked with a chuckle.

[IVY EVIAN NIGHT]

This fire rising through my being
Burning, I'm not used to seeing you

Ivy smiled, the thought of sharing memories of her home town warmed her. She felt a small string tie them together in a sort of way. Granted, after their meeting here they would probably never meet again but still, he would be the American she met in this Toxin City. The city were she felt cramped and agitated. She had a bad feeling about this place and she wasn't entirely sure she wished to stick around to see the beginning. This place hung with a feeling of death. The wind carries it upon its current and the plants reveal messages of fear - something was coming.

Back home she and her father replied heavily upon their "gifts." They stuck close together and had each others backs. The world was full of beasts, witches and vampires but Ivy was not in that category, like her father she was unique, born with gifts that did not link to spells or the transformation of ones self. Back in New York Ivy and her father had made sure to keep themselves out of public eye, they just wished to live for themselves and not get caught up into issues, that is until New York was over turned and her Father was forced -

Shaking her head Ivy refused to think anymore. "You are right!" She said nodding her head slightly and taking the green tea the waiter finally brought to her. She blew on the hot liquid first than tasting it, it was smoothed and prefect. She smiled as she sipped on it. "London is a place or new beginnings." She said, even though it weighed heavily on her heart. "What do you plan on doing here?" She asked, since it was obvious that she was a student. "Fine anything worth doing around here?" She said with a scuffled laugh.