`a tumble in the forest [open]

[hanariyo]

Procrastinating was not something Michaela liked to make a habit of. She was a vampire that was quick, efficient, and very thorough. She liked to know her situation and standing in things before getting heavily involved. Because of this, she had been able to maneuver through heavy office politics and life in general for such a very, very long time.

Uncharacteristically, she had neglected to explore the city she had made her home for the past ninety years as thoroughly as she had wanted. Today, she had finally stopped dragging her feet. It was her day off from work, and she was finally going to finish familiarizing herself with her surroundings. After all, it was better late than never, right? With an optimistic mindset, she departed with a small backpack as soon as the sun had set over London.

That had been approximately two hours ago. It had taken a while for her to actually get to Blackwater Frontier and a bit more before she arrived at Karan Woods. Her "vegetarian" friends back at the office had told her this was where they preferred to hunt - she was told to try it, especially the small critters. Think of them as convenient little juice boxes, they had joked.

She had to admit, the forest was beautiful. And if she was a human and left without her sharp senses, she would've thought that London she was no where near a bustling city. Even now, she had to strain lightly to hear some evidence of civilization. She didn't know if she liked it or not. It was a different experience. Adjusting her bag on her back, Michaela walked deeper into the woods.

The deeper she went, the more the forest grew around her. Everything was more vibrant - even in the dead of winter. It was quiet for a while before the forest's inhabitants dared to move once more. When she was about a mile into her wanderings, she had snagged a chipmunk. To her delight, she found out that it was almost like having a juice box. She'd much rather have a live human though.

After going through a few more 'juice boxes', Michaela had lost her enthusiasm for the great outdoors. It was the middle of winter and most if not all animals were in hibernation or migrating elsewhere. Therefore, whenever she heard a slight crackle, a sound of a branch being stepped on in the background, she would overreact. But not out of paranoia. She had also been warned that werewolves liked to hunt in the forest as well.

She didn't mind werewolves, exactly, but some werewolves minded vampires. Very much so. By the third time she had turned around, she was pretty sure she was being followed. She had shrugged it off, and hoped that whoever the person was, they'd let her be. But almost an hour later, Michaela knew that her stalker wasn't going anywhere.

She didn't know why she was being followed or what the person's intentions were, but she did not like this sense of unease. If she was going to have a confrontation - something she hated with passion - she might as well get it over with. She didn't like the anticipation, the tension, or the build up. "Is anyone there?"

[Kriss ~Dimitre Nikita Shikov~]

He was standing alone, nothing more than a phantom that was streaked across the scenery. A pale and lovely ghost.
Having weaved his way through the forest graceful and ghostlike, thoughts asulting his mind. Nothing but troubled memories. He was glancing towards the ground, almost glaring at it. His hands were inserted into the pockets of his faded jeans, his arms limb at his sides. He had spent hours, merely standing there in the middle of the forest. Unmoving and unfocused. The forest dwelling animals had gotten to a point in which they hardly noticed his presences, darting about the treetops just overhead, and shifting along the ground. He knew that he could catch any of them, if he set out too it. And yet he didn't feel like killing anything, despite the burning in his throat.
At least he didn't feel like killing animals. Dimitre's shouldered were slouched, his posture idle and almost strained as though some great weight had been placed upon his shoulders, and now he struggled to hold himself upright. But after an instant more of this sulking, he detached himself from this position straitening in the forest. The animals around him scattered with his movement, darting off to their hideaways. Birds that had flocked just above him now darted skyward. Of course all of these animals were small, innocent, unneeded. They were merely living their unremarkable lives in the forest.
What had captured and drawn Dimitre's attention though, was a new scent that flared in the air. Head cocked to the side as he glanced through the trees. Of course he knew he wouldn't catch sight of the new object of his pursuit. No, whoever it was was too far away for him to identify. Dimitre set off through the forest, moving with inhuman grace through the trees. He weaved his way through the underbrush, throwing askew the lower branches of trees and tearing through the underbrush. All of which he did, almost entirely silently.
Curiosity had gotten the best of him, but more than anything else he now needed a reprieve from his solitude. He almost wanted some sort of company, in fact he craved it. He continued towards whoever it was, slightly unsure as to why. Perhaps for a reason that involved nothing more than a short conversation, perhaps out of nothing more than an unwarranted interest. His keen, emerald-green eyes searched through the trees though he knew he wasn't close enough still to see who exactly he was following, much less what. But he was left to wonder, what a human would be doing so deep into the forest... alone, nonetheless. Perhaps if that were the case his encounter wouldn't be so much about conversation but more about a meal. A slight smile twitched at his lips, but it was detached from his eyes. A werewolf could mean a confrontation, hostile more likely than not. Not that Dimitre had anything against them, but it could turn hostile anyways. And a vampire... Well, perhaps that would be the most promising encounter of the three species, hopefully at least.
His thoughts dimmed, and he submitted to a thoughtless pursuit, his body reacting naturally to his whims. It was soon enough, that he had been following the strange for an extent of time, longer than he had first considered.
As it was, he now caught a glimpse of Michaela through the knurled bases of the trees. He wasn't close enough to see her face nor features through the clawlike branches, nor was he yet able to tell what she was. Dimitre stopped as her voice rang into the trees, shattering the silence that was bestowed by the forest.
It took an instant for him to answer, standing there in the distant shadows. One of his inquires had already been answered. She had to be something beyond human, to know that he was there. With that settled, now it was between a werewolf and a vampire.
"Yes," he said into the following silence that was cast across the area, by two predators in the woods.

[hanariyo]

As soon as the word had been spoken, she had turned to face the direction in which it came from. Even in the dim light, she was able to make out a figure in the shadows. She was able to discern that her stalker was a male thanks to the voice. She was rather irritated that he didn't bother step closer to let her see his face. Hopefully, she didn't have a creeper on her hands. The woods would be a convenient place to stash a body, but she really didn't want to confront anyone and ruin her day. It had been going rather well and she'd like to keep it that way.

"And perhaps you'd like to show yourself? Do you usually make a habit of stalking unsuspecting women in the woods?" Michaela called out snappishly as she glowered in his direction. Wisps of her dark hair had come out of its french braid and although it wasn't much of a nuisance, she didn't like having things in her face if or when a threat is in the area. It hinders her sight and distracts her. She would be able to relax more when she is able to pin a face to a voice.

A few moments passed with nary a movement from the general direction of her follower. If Michaela didn't have such sharp senses she would've thought that her stalker had left, but she could still detect his presence. In her mind, she thought out her options. She wasn't going to waste her time standing around when she still had so much ground to cover. She was tempted to just leave, but she knew that leaving her back unprotected while she knew a stranger was following her was a foolish notion. She was getting irritated. The taste of animal blood, the frustration of having a threat nearby, and the fact that she really wanted to get moving was annoying her. Putting her hands on her hips, she hissed, revealing her fangs.

[Kriss ~Dimitre Nikita Shikov~]

_{A small smile etched itself on his lips, reaching his eyes as her voice rung lightly in his ears through the silence once more. She seemed annoyed, or aggravated about something or another. "With all do respect, Miss, I doubt you're as unsuspecting as you claim to be." He stated, his tone of voice kind... polite even, almost sickly so.
As it was, he started to move his way through the forest, weaving through the tree's just as she was towards him. Dimitre sensed her aggravation, her annoyance. It was almost radiant in the air. This brought a light, inaudible laugh to his lips.
He was still smiling, when she came into seeing distance. He took in her features, almost with a calculating expression in his emerald-colored eyes. He stopped after an instant, waiting for her for he knew she was quickly approaching.
He stood perfectly still once more, entangled with the branches of the trees and the underbrush. Just another addition to the fabric of the forest, another silhouette, another shadow that constructed the canvas of the almost silent wilderness. Another streaking shape in the knurled branches and trunks. The twisted, leafless branches that were barren against the sky, streaking across the blue above like the clawed fingers the dead breaching the earth to grasp hold of the living above and rip the contents of the celestial heavens tearing free.
Or at least, so it seemed to the painter residing in the forest. If he were to paint the scene, he would make it in cold winter-colored hues. Grays, blacks, whites, and pale blues. He would also draw two ghostly figures almost floating in the tree's, pale and ethereal. Inhumanly beautiful. Now, at the closeness he could tell what she was and as Michaela hissed at him, Dimitre gave a long slow smile. A creeping sort of smile that revealed his teeth beneath.
And his ivory fangs, where were tapered and slender, delicate and deadly looking. "Vampire," He breathed aloud.}

[hanariyo]

With all due respect... Michaela couldn't help but smile a little at that - a terse and meager lift of the corner of her lips, but it was a smile. The bastard had the nerve to follow her around for an hour and he still thinks he's being respectful. The gall of men these days, it's quite unbelievable. And what did he mean she wasn't as unsuspecting as she looked? She couldn't find any way of twisting that into an insult, yet Michaela found herself offended. What was with her today?

He was aware that she was not happy with him. Definitely not pleased with the invasion of her privacy, yet he still did not turn tail - even when she showed her fangs as a warning. Since he didn't immediately change into a werewolf and try to maul her, he was either a vampire or an unprejudiced werewolf. When she finally got a good look at him, she found that he was smiling. The nerve!

With carefully balanced strides, she made her way towards him. When they were only a few feet apart, he smiled. And revealed a pair of ivory fangs. They weren't long as hers - since females had longer fangs - but they were a decent size. He was a vampire, then.

Now that she had finally seen her pursuer and confronted him (or semi-confronted him), a great weight, the anger, lifted itself from her shoulders. She was left feeling empty and rather cool. Although disoriented, after all, she was not prone to fits of anger, she recovered quickly. Quickly enough to spread her legs further apart to station herself firmly on the ground. Once again, her hands are on her hips, and a disapproving look crossed her face, "Well? What have you got to say for yourself, mister?"

[Kriss ~Dimitre Nikita Shikov~]

Lips once more were placed over glittering ivory teeth. In truth, tension was lacking in his frame, his posture taking on an indolent looseness to it, whereas perhaps with the seemingly hostile nature of which the women approached him, he should have been more cautious. And yet, he wasn’t acting that way. He was acting like time didn't exist-- like he didn't have a care in the world.
"Nothing but hello." He stated voice monotone and idle. A slight twitch at the corner of his lips was the only show in his expression, and that was only faintly amused. Or perhaps it could be mistaken for anger or annoyance. The interpretation was left to one's ability to read people, and Dimitre had times could be a very difficult person to read.
Shifting slightly to the side he leaned against a nearby tree, eyes locked lazily upon the still unnamed women. Arms were crossed over his chest, almost in a defensive manner though of course he wasn't afraid. Blond hair was unruly about his face, seeming disheveled and for the most part unkempt. The general amount of his hair was pulled into a halfhearted pony-tail. In general his appearance wasn't comment-worthy. Not truly. Perhaps is tall, lean frame was worth some notice though in truth he looked just like anyone else, though with pale skin and fangs.
"You seem rather... aggravated." He stated, nothing betraying what he felt in his voice other than that slight courtesy. That sickly politeness that drowned each word of his voice... despite its monotone it was almost seemingly insulting. The way he spoke, the list to the words twisted the courteousness into something that resembled being sardonic. Brows lifted in the slightest, inquiry clear in the feigned expression of his face. He straitened, glancing at her. His green eyes were perfectly expressionless... other than that slight hint of malice within their depths, barely decipherable against the other faked expressions.

[hanariyo]

He was very relaxed, easy going. Michaela cursed him in her mind. Had he no shame? No sense of propriety? At least he wasn't a werewolf. She'd much rather this - a verbal, rather one-sided semi-confrontation - than a physical one. His voice was laced with monotony and only when she detected the faintest of twitches that belied his amusement with the situation. "Hello, to you too." She replied snappily, "Now do you mind leaving me be?" Already, she doubted he'd let her be in peace.

Tall, blond, green-eyed, and really irritating, he leaned against a tree. He was completely confident in his abilities to defend if the case that she'll attack arises. Michaela rolled her eyes, "Oh, I'm sorry. Do I seem a little aggravated?" Michaela replied sarcastically. "I wonder why..." She tapped her chin and looked out into the distance, as if actually contemplating the answer to her question. "Why are you even here? Are you a vegetarian?" She asked, irritation and curiosity seeped into her voice unwillingly. She cast him a distrustful glance. Just because he was of her own species did not mean he wouldn't try to pull a fast one on her somehow.

Was she truly that amusing when annoyed? She was pretty sure she was an all around witch when bothered, so why was he finding her so amusing? He must be touched in the head or used to working with hotheads - not that she was one, of course.

[Kriss ~Dimitre Nikita Shikov~]

"Oh?" Dimitre murmured in response his voice hardly rising out of inaudibility. "What have I done so far to annoy you? Is it my fault you’re so aggravated?" He inquired, a perk to his brows.
As it was, he straitened from his slouched position, looking her in the eyes. His own optics took on a darker tone, as his neck craned downward, face tilted slightly towards the ground. They filled with a dark filtered light, from the obscured sky above... everything was darker than it should have been, everything colder in the winter. Branches streaked across the glacial blue hues above, leafless and skeletal, clawed and tapered. After an instant of studying the women he threw his face skyward, glancing towards the expanse of frozen, velveteen blue. Beautiful.
"No I'm not a vegetarian, are you?" He scoffed. "I'm here because I like the forest better than the city... I caught your scent, and followed." Dimitre gave a slight, nonchalant shrug redirecting his gaze back towards Michaela. He waited for some sort of rude comment, knowing he had just left an opening for one. Brows upraised, he waited for her response with not retort to her aggravation.
The amusement he felt was still there, though there was not a true change in expression to show this. Dimitre's face, for the most part was emotionless save that faint questioning look. Still though, the mockery was there in his mind... Though there was nothing that shone across neither his face nor voice. But, perhaps if one were adept at guessing what a person was feeling they would know it was there. Held within his posture, the list of his upraised brows and the indolence at which he stood at.

[hanariyo]

Taking a deep breath, Michaela willed herself to calm down. Stalking a woman for an hour or so apparently meant nothing to this man. She had no idea what time period he was born in, but she had been living long enough to know that following a woman around especially when she didn't know you was and always will be unacceptable. Perhaps, he is crazy? She'll have to stay calm and find an opportunity to escape. If she ran, she'd probably be able to outrun him. She was small, lighter than him, and is quite fit, after all. She will not reply and rise to the bait he dangled in front of her.

"I prefer humans myself," Michaela answered honestly. Well, she thought, at least the man had good taste in his meals. She had nothing against her vegetarian acquaintances, but the taste of animal blood is vile compared to that of a human's. Of course, her irritation spiked once more when he reminded her of their current situation.

The ass had been following her - and for no good reason too. She should be grateful he hadn't purposely followed her for some malicious reason, at least.

Taking a deep breath - the feel of oxygen rushing in and out of her lungs relaxed her and helped her think, Michaela smirked, "And what if I was a werewolf?" Most werewolves would have no problem ripping into him, after all.

She was annoyed, but slowly losing her momentum, her drive. Anger was exhausting, and she didn't like expending energy in such a useless way. Pale gray eyes traced over her company's visage, taking in everything. He seemed quite relaxed in this environment. Michaela was rather envious of that. She was rarely at home in any environment. It was hard to discern a vampire's age but Michaela guessed that he was either older than her (old enough to have mellowed out throughout the decades) or still fairly young (young enough to believe in their own new-found invulnerability). She wanted to ask, but kept silent.