The Carnival Before The Storm {Sastre}

[madison]

I Still Hear Your Voice When You Sleep Next To Me
I Still Feel Your Touch In My Dreams
Forgive Me My Weaknesses
But I Don’t Know Why
Without You It’s Hard To Survive
Cause Every Time We Touch I Get This Feeling
And Every Time We Kiss I Swear I Could Fly
Can’t You Feel My Heart Beat Fast
I Want This To Last
I Need You By My Side

Madison was practically bouncing in the jeep the entire way to the carnival. She was giddy and excited and almost felt like a little girl again. Sastre had that effect on her. He managed to do small simple things that made her feel special. Like opening the door for her and helping her out of the car. Madison was never one for big displays of affection. She didn't need to be wined and dined at fancy restaurants or taken on lavish vacations. To her it was the little things that said how much a person loved you.

Like taking her to the carnival because she had told Sastre a story about how it was one of the last things they had done as a family before her father died. It meant more than Sastre knew that he had done this for her. She intwined her hand in his as they went to the ticket booth. Oh yes, they were going on rides.

She didn't notice Sastre sizing up the place and looking for potential threats. Those were never things that really crossed Madison's mind. She was focused on the laughter of children and family, the delighted screams from people on rides. Then there was the scent of funnel cake and cotton candy and the bells and whistles from the carnie games. Yeah, they were rigged, but so what. They were still fun to play.

After obtaining the tickets and the hand stamps so that if they left the gates, they wouldn't have to pay to get back in, Madison leaned against Sastre, smiling as they walked. "So, see anything you want to do first?"

[Florian Raniari]

Madison's obvious enthusiasm was infectious.

Squeezing her hand a bit, Sastre continued meandering between the rides and booths with her, his eyes darting about, but not necessarily looking for dangers this time. That wasn't to say that Sastre wasn't ready for anything bad that might happen, but for the time being he was just trying to enjoy his time out with Madison.

When she asked him what he'd like to do first, the hunter actually found himself completely unsure.

"I don't know, really," he answered, shrugging. "I mean, I've never been to a carnival that didn't involve me trying to kill something. And you'd be surprised how many nasties choose places like this to hole up..." Pushing the worried thoughts that came with these words aside, Sastre smiled down at her. "So, you'll just have to show me the ropes, I guess. What do you want to do?"

[madison]

I Still Hear Your Voice When You Sleep Next To Me
I Still Feel Your Touch In My Dreams
Forgive Me My Weaknesses
But I Don’t Know Why
Without You It’s Hard To Survive
Cause Every Time We Touch I Get This Feeling
And Every Time We Kiss I Swear I Could Fly
Can’t You Feel My Heart Beat Fast
I Want This To Last
I Need You By My Side

Shaking her head Madison could only smile. She couldn't even imagine all the simple things that Sastre had missed out on. Carnivals, holidays, birthdays, and so much more. Everywhere he looked Sastre had been expecting a monster to jump out at him. Whether it be Darian or otherwise.

Standing on her tiptoes Madison kissed Sastre's cheek. "Well there will be no killing of things today." She smirked at him and looked around trying to figure out what it is that Sastre would enjoy. "Just good old fashion fun." Her smile widened and she tugged on his hand. "Come on. We'll do something easy first."

Madison honestly felt honored that she was the one who was getting to share these times with him. She knew that it was hard for Sastre, trying to adjust to some of things in her world, just as it was hard for Madison to adjust to some of things in his world. They were both trying, and Madison knew that no matter what happened, they'd make it. She didn't know how she knew, but she did.

Leading Sastre over to the ferris wheel, Madison gave the man the tickets before sliding into the seat and waiting for Sastre to join her. "Come on," She patted the seat next to her. "I promise you'll like this."

Madison did anyways. She loved it when she was on top of the ferris wheel and she could see the entire city. The view was breathtaking and to her it was one of kind. With Sastre she knew it would be truly memorable.

[Florian Raniari]

Sastre slipped in beside her.

A thrill of excitement ran down his spine, to his complete and total surprise. Putting his arm around Madison's shoulders, he held her close, kissing the top of her head and sighing happily. A part of him still couldn't believe this was happening; that he was with her, and that they were here together, just enjoying being with each other. Sastre was almost able to forget all of the danger that was looming over them, and he made a conscious effort to force his worries aside and just enjoy the day with Madison.

As the ride started, and they were slowly lifted higher and higher, Sastre chuckled as he realized that he was a fifty-three year old man who had never once been on a ferris wheel. It seemed preposterous somehow, but it was the truth. God... All of the things that he'd missed out on, all of the experiences he'd never had before, it was mind-numbing to think about.

But all of that had changed now. He was with a beautiful, wonderful woman who would show him all of those things, often times whether he thought he wanted it or not. Sastre hoped that, as time went by, he'd be able to relax easier, and stop looking over his shoulder all the time for some lurking danger. He doubted it, but a man could hope, right?

Pulling Madison closer, Sastre grinned and kissed her, praying that she really knew just how much he loved her, and how much he had needed her in his life.

[madison]

I Still Hear Your Voice When You Sleep Next To Me
I Still Feel Your Touch In My Dreams
Forgive Me My Weaknesses
But I Don’t Know Why
Without You It’s Hard To Survive
Cause Every Time We Touch I Get This Feeling
And Every Time We Kiss I Swear I Could Fly
Can’t You Feel My Heart Beat Fast
I Want This To Last
I Need You By My Side



Madison could almost feel the excitement rolling off of Sastre when he got into the seat with her. She couldn't help but smile. She loved seeing that light in his eyes that seemed so rare and hard to find. She loved that right now, he wasn't worried about hunting or what the next day would bring. They were simply in the moment as the ferris wheel went higher and higher until they were finally stopped on top as they let someone onto the bottom seat.

When Sastre kissed her, Madison's heart fluttered and she brought a hand to his cheek. The rest of the world melted away and to her there was nothing, but the two of them a top the ferris wheel. She loved him so much and every time he kissed her it set off fireworks in her mind. She didn't know how she lucked out, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She did not want to lose Sastre, ever.

When they broke the kiss Madison felt so giddy and light she couldn't help but grin like a fool. She leaned into him as the ferris wheel started going into full rotations. As much as she loved the view she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from Sastre. He was everything she could have ever dreamed of.

She laughed and shook her head. "Wow. I can't believe how....perfect this feels." Madison wanted to kiss him again, but it was his first ferris wheel ride, and she didn't want to take the experience away from him by having them both lip locked for the entire ride. "So, what do you think?" She gestured towards the view.

[Florian Raniari]

Feeling elated, Sastre took in the view around him.

It was breathtaking. That was the only word to describe it. And it wasn't just the view, either; it was the fact that he was seeing it with Madison. And, for just a brief moment, Sastre found himself feeling just a little bit jealous of Darian, who was no doubt able to see the world like this all the time from the window of his private jet. The vampire, though, would never be able to share this feeling with someone, and it was that fact that pushed aside the jealousy and filled Sastre with determination.

He would not let Darian take this away from him. Not this time.

"It's beautiful," Sastre said softly, holding Madison closer and rubbing her shoulder gently. "I'm glad we decided to do this, Madison. To come here, and just have a good time for a while. I wish you didn't have to stay cooped up in that house all the time... I wish I could be there with you, and spend more time with you..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Hell, I wish we didn't have to worry about all of this madness at all..."

[madison]

I Still Hear Your Voice When You Sleep Next To Me
I Still Feel Your Touch In My Dreams
Forgive Me My Weaknesses
But I Don’t Know Why
Without You It’s Hard To Survive
Cause Every Time We Touch I Get This Feeling
And Every Time We Kiss I Swear I Could Fly
Can’t You Feel My Heart Beat Fast
I Want This To Last
I Need You By My Side


Madison was glad they had come too. The day was only just beginning and she could see how it was affecting Sastre. He seemed lighter, not as bogged down by worry. That alone made Madison feel lighter as well. "We're just getting started," She told him with a wink.

When he fell back on hunting and the bad things, Madison put a finger to his lip. "None of that," She said shaking her head with a smile. "We're not going to think on it. We're here and we're going to have fun. Everything else can wait." Pulling her finger away she kissed him gently.

It seemed like the ferris wheel ride was over entirely too soon, but they could always do it again later. If they stayed until it was dark she would most definitely make him ride it again. When you could see the entire city lit up it was breathtaking.

Once they were off the ride, Madison clasped his hand again as they walked through the booths and the rides wondering what it was they should do next. Tilting her she looked up at him. "I know you're pretty big on eating healthy, but today you're gonna splurge a little." She didn't make it a request as she pulled him over to the cotton candy stand. "I'm willing to bet you've never had cotton candy, and everyone should have it, at least once in their life."

[Florian Raniari]

Sastre chuckled at Madison, shaking his head as she dragged him off to the stand.

"Your bet would be right," he told her, smiling. "I guess the chance to eat cotton candy just never really came up. You know, what with the hunting, and the starving, and the being homeless and all." He chuckled again, winking at her to let her know he was being light-hearted.

The truth was, though, that there were a lot of things he'd never tried. Sastre had been living like a wandering monk for some twenty or more years now, and he'd purposefully denied himself any luxury, even something as simple as cotton candy, and all other manners of junk food. Back then, there was no point getting used to having things like that, because if you weren't used to them, you wouldn't miss them when you didn't have them. He knew it was going to be difficult to break that habit now, though he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to.

Still, he supposed a little bit here and there couldn't hurt.

Stepping up to the vendor, Sastre paid the man for one cotton candy, taking it and staring at it for a moment. Finally, with a sigh and an amused smile, the hunter picked a bit off and popped it into his mouth. Of course, it melted away almost instantly, leaving nothing but a sweet taste behind, but he supposed it wasn't too bad really. Laughing lightly, he handed the rest of it to Madison.

"Happy?" he asked, chuckling and slipping an arm around her waist as they walked. "The rest is all yours. So, what next, expert-carnival-goer? What other wonders have I yet to experience?"

[madison]

I Still Hear Your Voice When You Sleep Next To Me
I Still Feel Your Touch In My Dreams
Forgive Me My Weaknesses
But I Don’t Know Why
Without You It’s Hard To Survive
Cause Every Time We Touch I Get This Feeling
And Every Time We Kiss I Swear I Could Fly
Can’t You Feel My Heart Beat Fast
I Want This To Last
I Need You By My Side

Madison stuck a tuft of fluffy cotton candy into her mouth, smiling when the spun sugar melted on her tongue. "It's probably a good thing you didn't eat a lot of it." She told Sastre with a smile. "There's still a variety of other treats you have to try before we leave."

She winked at him. Madison was enjoying herself immensely. It had been so long since she'd been to a carnival and the fact that Sastre was with her, just made it perfect. There were no ghosts or demons or vampires. No threats on their lives. Just simple, fun.

"Well," She said looking around. "How about a game?" Madison looked around at the booths, knowing they were rigged, but it was still fun to play all the same.

Tossing the cotton candy, Madison grabbed Sastre's hand and pulled him over to the 'shoot out the star' game. "Okay, so here's the object," She said as she handed the carnie the money and took the BB gun. "You have to shoot that circle around the star and then take out the star itself." She smiled, resting one hand on the booth. "Let's see how good your aim is."

[Florian Raniari]

Sastre smiled and shook his head, following after Madison.

He wasn't entirely keen on the idea of eating a bunch of junk food, really. It wasn't something he wanted to get used to, because when--

He stopped, realization dawning on him. He wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't going to be leaving, he wasn't going to be living out on the streets again, he didn't have any reason not to enjoy himself. This was a thought that he still wasn't entirely used to, and he had to laugh at himself for it. Sastre had no doubt that eventually he'd get used to the idea, but it hadn't really sunk in yet.

So, he'd just enjoy himself, just let go and have a little fun for a change. Grinning, he pulled Madison in for a kiss before slipping his arm around her waist and walking with her to the next attraction she had in mind: a simple shooting gallery type game.

Taking the gun and listening to her instructions as he nodded. Sastre may not have ever been to a carnival for pleasure before, but he'd done a job or two at carnivals before. He knew how the games worked, how they were rigged more often than not. There had even been a time when he'd been forced to use a gun just like this one to keep a creature at bay until the Old Man had been able to take it out.

Furrowing his brow in concentration, Sastre aimed and took a shot, missing altogether. He'd been expecting that, though, and the shot had only been meant to gauge just how inaccurate the weapon really was. Nodding to himself, the hunter was now pretty certain that he could compensate for the gun.

Aiming again, Sastre began shooting around the star in the same cold, detached manner that he'd shoot at anything else in his line of work. In a matter of seconds, much to the carnie's chagrin, the paper star fluttered to the ground, and Sastre shouldered the gun, grinning.

"That wasn't so bad," he said, chuckling and handing the gun back to the speechless carnie. Turning to Madison and winking, Sastre asked, "So, what prize would you like?"