It’s a Damn Cold Night

[nikitarainjames]

Nikita could‘ve smiled at that. Hearing the woman saw nothing when she touched her. It might‘ve been because of her gloves but she hoped not. Maybe she just wasn‘t readable. That‘d be nice. For Aubrie anyway. “You shouldn‘t seem so embarrassed about it. I honestly can‘t remember the last time I held hands with someone myself. Or even hugged someone.” She gave her hand another gentle squeeze, smiling again at the feeling. It truly was nice, and different. It was things like this that reminded her what being human was like. Without it she‘d go crazy.

As they continued walking she couldn‘t help feeling Aubrie was letting her lead the way. She didn‘t mind but she didn‘t know where this place was. But she was sure if she started drifting off in the wrong direction Aubrie would correct her. “Child killer?” Her head practically spun at those words, ignoring what had been said beforehand. It was just those words. She was a mother herself so of course it caught her attention. “Did you guys catch the killer?” She asked, suddenly concerned for her daughter.

She frowned at the mention of a coma and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. She didn‘t know what it was like but she did know what hell was like. If she had to choose she‘d have rather been in a coma because at least she wouldn‘t have to explain to her loved ones how she was alive today. “What‘s wrong?” She asked when she picked up on Aubrie‘s unease as she glanced around.

[Aubrie Carpathia]

Aubrie was almost too distracted to even hear Nikita's questions.

"Oh, yeah, the cops caught the killer," she finally answered with a nod. "In fact, that's why I was so out of it when we ran into each other; they asked me if I'd do a touch-reading to try and find out where he'd dumped the bodies..." She shuddered at the memory and clutched tightly to Nikita's hand as the grisly images ran through her mind once again. "It was... It was bad. Really bad." Again came that feeling that she was dirty, and she suddenly wanted nothing so much as a hot shower to wash the filth away.

When Nikita asked about the coma, Aubrie was a bit surprised. She hadn't even noticed that she'd brought it up, honestly. It wasn't something that she tended to just talk about, especially with random strangers--random demon strangers at that--but she couldn't help but feel at ease around Nikita. Aubrie was shocked to discover that she trusted her newfound companion, despite the short time they'd spent together. It was strange, but not unpleasant...

"Oh, well..." She didn't really know how to tell the story, or how much she should reveal or hold back. Then that feeling of trust came upon her again, and she realized she didn't have to hold anything back. "I got on the wrong side of a very angry, very insane vampire... He wanted me to do something for him, but apparently the work I was doing wasn't to his satisfaction." The deep, ever-present fear that Aubrie'd held inside since her confrontation with Darian came to the fore again, and she found her pulse racing as a light sheen of sweat broke out on her brow. "He... He broke all the bones in my hands, beat me into a coma, and left me for dead."

She fell silent after that for a long time, simply walking along with Nikita, moving a bit closer to the demon as if hoping she could protect her should Darian return to finish what he'd started. The fact was, Aubrie knew that the vampire would be coming for her eventually. And that thought is what kept her awake at night, and kept her living in fear.

"He's still out there," she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just... I don't really feel comfortable when I'm out somewhere, that's all... I wouldn't have even left my hotel room tonight if I'd been in control of myself, but I was so burnt out from the touch-reading that I didn't really know what I was doing." She shivered, using her free hand to pull Nikita's sweater tighter around herself. "It was a stupid thing to do, I guess..."

[nikitarainjames]

Nikita gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as she spoke about the child killer. Luckily he‘d been caught thanks to the police. Aubrie probably helped some with it too considering the touch reading she supported them with, She thought it was nice how she helped the police like that. Very heroic of her. It was relieving to hear the killer was now behind bars too. No need to worry about Selena now but she always worried about her.

The coma? She didn‘t need to know about it but Aubrie shared that bit of information with her anyhow. Nikita bit into her bottom lip to keep herself quiet as she listened on how this vampire made her do his dirty work then harmed her like that. A lot of so-called evil beings were game players like that. Didn‘t hurt you to get their way then hurt you after anyway even if you did everything they told you to do. She had to say, she was one of the few out there she knew of that wasn‘t like that.

“It wasn‘t stupid,” She spoke up as Aubrie admitted she didn‘t make a good choice in coming out. She just needed that bit of fresh air after helping the police. Who could blame her? “I know we just met and all but if it makes you feel better…you‘re welcome to spend the night at my place.” She offered as she placed a halt in her pace for a second, staring at the face of the woman who seemed quite scared with sweat pouring down her forehead. “I won‘t let that vampire get you.” Her words were true and sincere, feeling a kind of protectiveness towards the other woman as she stood here with her holding her hand.

[Aubrie Carpathia]

Aubrie was taken aback.

She was certain that she couldn't have heard Nikita right. After all, the two of them had only known each other for, what, a couple of hours? Had it even been that long? How could she really be offering to let Aubrie stay with her? How could she really be offering to protect her? Nikita wouldn't have been so willing to make such an offer if she'd known Darian, and what he was like, what he was capable of...

But she was a demon, after all. And weren't demons stronger than vampires? Or were there different classes of demons, all with varying levels of strength? Aubrie really wasn't sure, as she'd actually never really met a demon until now. What she did know, though, was that Darian was very, very strong, even for a vampire. He had a strength fueled by insanity, and a rage burning within him that was impossible to subdue.

He was, in every sense of the word, a monster.

"I... I couldn't," Aubrie stammered, lowering her eyes. "I mean, I appreciate the offer, but..." She bit her lip, closing her eyes and trying to ignore the slight tremble that had begun to course throughout her entire body. "You don't know him, Nik... You can't offer to protect me without knowing what he's capable of, what he can do!" Her words were rushed, her voice tremulous, and she could feel the sweat trickling down her forehead, and down the back of her neck. "He's going to kill me," she said, her voice suddenly going soft and her eyes widening, as if struck by a realization. "He's going to kill me, and there's nothing I can do..."

It was a strange feeling, to know that she was totally, completely helpless. But it was true, and she knew it. If and when Darian chose to come for her, she would be powerless to stop him. After all, he'd already killed people far stronger than her, trained hunters even, with years of training and experience. She didn't have any of that, she didn't even have any useful powers that might keep him at bay or stop him.

She didn't have anything at all.

"He's going to kill me..."

[nikitarainjames]

Aubrie told her how she couldn‘t protect her, that it was a bad idea, and dangerous. Dangerous? Nikita was already in a dangerous situation with that demon Meph. What was one more? She could‘ve laughed it off if it weren‘t for how the other woman was acting. All freaked out, shocked, frightened. It only made her want to protect Aubrie even more. She seemed sweet and didn‘t deserve this. She shouldn‘t have to face the insane vampire alone. Nikita was a demon so she knew she‘d be a better match against him then she would. But would she be able to defeat him was the question.

“No, don‘t say that. I don‘t care how dangerous it is. I want to help you and damnit, I will. I‘m already facing a serious situation right now myself so whatever you tell me about him won‘t make me back down. You‘ll be safe with me, I promise.” She tried her best to comfort the woman with her words, even leaning in to wrap her arms around her in a gentle hug. It would probably make her jumpy like the hand touching did but she had no reason to be with her. She wasn‘t going to hurt her. It should be proof enough by now.

[Aubrie Carpathia]

Of course, Aubrie's first reaction was to pull away.

Somehow, though, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Her body stiffened and she went rigid as she awaited the flurry of images and sensations that were sure to come, but nothing happened. It took her a moment to remember that she didn't get anything from Nikita. Still, being hugged wasn't something she was used to. In fact, this was probably the first hug she'd gotten since she was a little girl, and something about it just made all of her crumbling defenses melt away.

A sudden sob shook her body, and she buried her face against Nikita's shoulder without warning. It was bad enough that she was emotionally unbalanced from the earlier touch-reading, but that combined with her ever-present fear of Darian simply proved to be too much. Of course, the realization that she could actually touch someone for the first time in years probably didn't help either. So, unable to control herself, she simply wept against the demon, her entire body trembling as she was finally able to let loose all of the emotional turmoil that had been plaguing her for months.

By the time she was finally finished, Aubrie felt more than a little foolish. Her sobs had finally subsided, and now she simply stood there, encircled in Nikita's arms, letting herself slowly calm down. It wasn't easy, of course, but just having someone else with her for a change seemed to help.

"Sorry," she said, her voice muffled as her face was still pressed against the demon's shoulder. "I... didn't mean to lose it like that..."

[nikitarainjames]

Nikita felt Aubrie go stiff in her arms like a hard rock. It almost being enough to let her go, realizing she was obviously uncomfortable with the sudden change of physical contact. But she only held onto her tighter when she began to cry, gently rubbing her back in a soothing manner as she whispered in her ear. “Shhh…it‘s okay, I‘m here.” She reassured the emotional woman in her arms. She held her as she continued to cry, brushing her hair softly with one hand as the other still rubbed her back.

They seemed to stand like this for a while. In silence as the only thing that could be heard was Aubrie sobbing. Then she finally stopped, apologizing for the sudden emotional outburst. “Don’t be sorry. Everyone needs to cry once in a while. At least you got me here to help you get through it.” She offered a warm smile as she pulled her head back, reaching up a hand to gently wipe the tears from Aubrie’s face.

[Aubrie Carpathia]

Aubrie gasped in shock.

Two things had elicited this reaction, actually. Firstly, Nikita had been gently stroking her hair, with a bare hand, and Aubrie had gotten no sort of psychic feedback. That particular realization came as a major shock to her, of course. The lack of any sort of psychic effect from the hand holding and the hugging could be explained away by the lack of actual physical contact. With her gloves and clothing between them, Aubrie figured that was enough to shield her from any backlash...

The second, even more unbelievable thing was that Nikita had brushed away Aubrie's tears. That had required direct, skin to skin contact as the demon's fingers had lightly touched her cheek. Earlier, Aubrie had wondered if she really, truly couldn't feel anything from Nikita, and now she seemed to have the truth.

It was safe around Nikita.

Pulling back a bit, but still remaining within the circle of Nikita's arms, Aubrie bit her lip and studied the other woman carefully, searching her expression for something. She found no signs of deception in Nikita's face, no sign that she was simply using Aubrie for something, or wanted something from her. It seemed that the demon genuinely desired to help and protect her. And wouldn't she be safer with a demon then on her own, if Darian really did come for her?

Hesitantly, taking a deep breath, Aubrie removed one of her gloves, her eyes hovering over the multitude of scars that marred her hand, from all of the surgeries required to repair the damage done by the vampire. Reaching forward slowly, she let her own fingers brush against Nikita's cheek, prepared to pull back if something happened. Nothing did, though, and it emboldened Aubrie enough to actually let her hand rest on Nikita's cheek. A slight smile came to her lips.

Then, realizing that she may have crossed some line, she pulled her hand away, lowering her eyes.

"Sorry... again," she apologized, laughing a bit. Changing the subject, she said, "If you really want me to, I'll stay with you. I mean... I'd like that, actually. I'm just so tired of being scared, I guess..."

[nikitarainjames]

At this point, Nikita was no longer surprised by Aubrie‘s shocking intense expressions whenever she touched her. She was pretty used to it by now and knew each time she touched the woman in a different way she would respond in some form of shock or tenseness. However, even as she pulled back from the hug she remained locked in her arms, not even trying to escape. She just stared, looking at her as if trying to read her mind. Was she able to read her after all?

The thought went through Nikita‘s head until she saw Aubrie remove her glove. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the hand before it touched her face, seeing the scars that covered it. They didn‘t bother her or freak her out but they made her feel bad as she figured how she ended up with them. Because of that vampire who broke her hand.

Before she knew it the woman was apologizing again and Nikita smiled. “It‘s okay, I don‘t mind at all. You don‘t have to be scared while you‘re with me. I‘ll see to it.” She spoke as she caught the hand she took from her face, gently caressing the scars with her thumb. “I‘m sorry about your hand but it didn‘t bother me when you touched my face.”

[Aubrie Carpathia]

For a change, Aubrie didn't pull her hand away when Nikita took it.

What was the point, really? It seemed pretty well certain that if she hadn't picked up on anything from Nikita yet, she probably wasn't going to at all. And besides, it felt so good to be able to touch someone, to have someone holding her hand. It felt good to have Nikita lightly rubbing her thumb over her scars like that...

A shiver ran down her spine at the sensation.

"Well... shall we?" she asked, laughing softly and squeezing Nikita's hand as she continued on down the street. "I could really go for a cappuccino or something right now, if your offer still stands." Giving the demon's hand a light tug, she smiled.

If she'd thought that the simple act of holding hands with her gloves on had felt incredible, then this new feeling of skin against skin was nearly indescribable. Aubrie was certain that she'd known this feeling once before, a long time ago when she was a child, before her "gift" really started to become so uncontrollable. But it was different now... It'd been so long.

"Ummm..." Aubrie began, clearing her throat as they walked. "You're sure it won't be a problem? Me staying with you, I mean? Because its okay if you change your mind, NIk. I'd understand..."