- We're gonna burn this City - (Nes)

[booster]

What was it people called them? Flaming angels? Whatever they were called the matches Mark flicked into the distance were doing their job of entertaining him if of only a little and enough to keep his mind occupied. He abd his two 'co-workers' had recently finished setting up a rather large rig of explosives on a yacht belonging to a wealthy vampire. They'd managed to Brigette their way on during the daytime when there would be no one onboard. With the information given to him Mark was able to set up a timer to make the bombs go off about an hour after the yacht has set sail along the river. On board there is enough C4 to reduce the boat to nothing but splinters. He pauses from the match flicking to check his watch and silently counts down from ten. On reaching zero he looks up. No bang. Then a few seconds later a massive fireball lights up the sky. "A few seconds off but it's done". Smiling goes back to flicking matches.

This simple amusement is able to keep his attention for a good hour or so, at least until he smells something burning. Looking up slowly his eyes meet the orange glow of fire. His matches weren't going out when they hit the ground and had landed in a trash can which is smoking and burning nicely. He watches the fire quickly jump from the trash to the bushes beside it. Despite it been winter the bushes are dry enough for flames to take hold. "Fuck. Do something". What! What could you possibly do? His inner voice tells him to run and run fast as the flames creep up the building walls.

[Nessarose Allens]

What was she doing up this late at night anyway? Any normal person would be asleep by now. She wished she could be asleep by now. The cigarette smoke left her lips in what seemed a shaky breath as she drew it down to her side, glancing around as she walked through Paternoster Square. It had been since that night at Morrison's that she'd been unable to sleep, so much had happened, and - with half a mind to find him and get him to knock her unconscious again - she had taken to walking around the square at night. It was surrounded by buildings, she wasn't afraid of anything happening. Nessa never really felt fear until it was too late, considered both a good and a bad habit in one.

Carelessly, she dropped the cigarette to the ground, stepping on it to make sure it would not start any sort of fire. However impossible that was around here. Curiously however, she smelt smoke. Her nose wrinkled in the mild distaste that accompanied smoke and she shook her head slightly, as if to try and clear her senses. A fire? She glanced around herself, eyes widening as she did so, the fire was spreading all around her, now that she noticed it she could feel the heat. How the fuck had she not noticed this before. Nessa moved backwards, watching with widened eyes as the fire began to move up the building walls. Due to her breathing, she began to inhale the smoke, she coughed, the smoke not agreeing with her lungs. Her eyes began to water, reacting with the smoke and the heat. Jesus, how the fuck was she going to get out?

Nes looked to the left and then to the right, the fire was catching on both sides, the only part free of the flame was the wall against which she stood. Still coughing, Nes looked up ... there was no way she'd be able to climb the walls. The coughing - and the smoke - was getting worse, the flames were become hotter. Her head was imagining the pain that they would make. Nes did the only thing she could think of at that moment: called for help. "Help!!" Her voice was not as loud as she would have liked, the sound was beaten by the crackling of the menacing flame. It seemed that even her coughing was louder than her cry had been. Christ, she hoped somebody heard her.

[booster]

Looking at the flames growing higher Mark can swear he can hear something other than the roar of the flames; a womans voice calling out for help. Why did there have to be someone in there! Could he just walk away from it? Leave someone to burn in a fire that he had started? When he saw it on tv that they'd found a burnt out corpse of a young woman could Mark live with himself knowing that he had killed her. No, he had to do something to try to save her. Mark moves towards the building trying to find somewhere it isn't on fire. Though the flames had spraed inside the outside is still fairly untouched by the flames for now at least. Picking up a large rock he throws it through a window, clears away the shards then climbs in. The acrid smell of smoke fills his nostrils making his nose wrinkle and he breaths out quickly but the smell just gets back in again.

He lifts his shirt up around his mouth and nose in an attempt to lessen the amount of smoke he breaths in. His eyes are already watering from the smoke around him and he can hear the wood starting to crackle from the heat of the flames. "Gotta find this girl fast". "Hey! Where are you?". What if she can't hear him? Fuck, he has to try to find her by chance. He could probably get out of the burning building and suffer no injuries, burns and cuts would heal no problem because of his wolf blood but if this girl he has to find is a human then she's in more danger than he thought. He cringes as a few hot embers land on his face as he moves further into the building. The smoke is starting to get thicker and the flames hotter but he keeps going, he has to find this girl.

He stops in a hallway, looking around. Though a crack in a door caused by the heat of the fire Mark spies an illuminated figure in one of the rooms. Carefully he walks towards it and rams his shoulder against the door to break it apart. To his absolute relief is the girl he had heard call for help. He kicks away the burning wood on the floor and makes his way towards her. "Come on, you gotta get out of here before the whole dam place comes down around us". He holds out his hand for her to take.

[Nessarose Allens]

Nes was not usually one to be afraid of death; she knew it was inevitable, she knew it would soon happen but this was not the way she wanted to go. Burning to death? It would be slow and painful, the heat that radiated onto her skin was nothing compared to what she would feel if the flames got any closer. They were coming closer, shit, what was she going to do? The acrid smoke was burning her lungs, now her coughing sounded more like choking, any air she breathed was poisonous. There was no oxygen in the air, the only oxygen was being used to fuel the fire. It was a race between what killed her first, suffocation, or the fire.

Her eyes were watering, making it difficult to see anything, even the wall that she pressed her back against was getting increasinly more hot. Her breath came in shallow gasps, threatning to buckle her knees from the lack of air, it wouldn't be long now. Nes prayed that suffocation would kill her before the flames began to lick her body. Atrum would replace her of course, she'd made it so that nobody would mourn her if she died, they'd regret her death, but it wouldn't cause anybody much sorrow.

Suddenly, the door to the room she was in crashed down. A muffled scream escaped her, and she could only just make out the figure of a man moving into the room. Somebody must've heard her cry. She could barely make out his features, but she could easily see the hand he presented to her, he was speaking but she could not make out the words. Nes realised only two things, somebody was here to help her, and she was not going to die - hopefully - in these flames. Slowly she extended her own hand, placing it in his own and walking towards him somewhat. Just get me out of here. She thought.

[booster]

Quickly he takes off his jacket and puts it over Nes's shoulders to stop the flames and embers from burning her arms. He takes hold of her hand again and pulls her towards the doorway. "Don't stop moving but stay behind me okay". Mark doesn't know if she can hear him, he can only hope that she's going to follow him, but then again if someone is willing to risk their life to get you out of a burning building wouldn't you follow them? Holding her hand firmly so that she didn't accidentally let go and slip out of his grip Mark leads her back the way he had come. There are a few fallen wooden beams in their path but he easily moves them out of the way with his foot. Every now and then he turns to look back at Nes, just to make sure that she's still okay.

From behind them there are sounds of the roof giving way and collapsing and he knows that it's not long before the roof above them does the same thing. With Nes trailing behind him Mark can't move as fast as he would like, giving him only one option to get them both out in time. He stops and turns around to face Nes. "I'm doing this to save both our lives". Before she could even ask him what he's talking about Mark puts one arm around her back, the other under her knees and swiftly lifts her up. With her held in his arms Mark turns back around and moves quickly towards the door he had come in through.

Once outside he doesn't stop until they are a safe distance away from the building. Gently he lowers Nes to her feet and moves her so she is leaning against a nearby low wall. The glow of the fire can be seen not far off and parts of the structure have started to collapse and sag. Breathing out slowly Mark looks at the girl he had saved. 'Lucky for you I was able to hear you eh?". Mark joins her in leaning against the wall, dusting off a few smoldering embers from his shirt which is covered in tiny little burn holes. "I liked this shirt too".

[Nessarose Allens]

Nes followed him in a stumbling pace, he moved fast and with her lack of air it was all she could do to keep up. It couldn't be helped, she knew the building would soon collapse, it was not built to sustain itself in light of fire. Nessa was coughing, holding his hand with one of hers and holding the jacket he put around her shoulders with the other, the only thing she could do was turn her face to her shoulder to try and breath properly.

Suddenly they stopped and when they did she turned around, hearing a loud screech and then a thud. The roof was caving in. Nes started when she was pulled around to look at her rescuer, he mumbled something which she couldn't quite hear over the noise. It didn't seem to matter, in an instant he had swung her into his arms and was running again, quicker this time so as to outrun the roof that was swiftly caving in behind them. It is obvious as soon as they escape the building, the air was still acrid with smoke but there was more oxygen in it now. Nes was coughing more now, mainly because of the change of air temperature.

Her hands steadied herself on the wall as soon as he set her down, holding herself up while taking deep breaths. "Th-thankyou." Man, could she go for another cigarette. She looked at the man now that her gaze wasn't hazed by smoke and offered him a slight smile. As he spoke of his shirt she laughed, handing him his jacket back, Nes never cared much for her clothes. "I'll buy you a new one.

[booster]

Taking back his jacket and putting it on Mark glances at Nes. "What were you doing in there anyway? Sorry it's probably none of my business anyway why you were in there, but you're damn lucky I was around when you called out for help I hardly heard you over the sound of the flames. Mark runs a hand through his hair, sending up a small puff of ash. He is used to having ash and dust in his hair and on his clothes, doesn't mean that he likes it. "Th-thankyou". "Not a problem little miss, just doing my duty". He makes a motion as if he were tipping his hat at her.

"I'll buy you a new one"

He looks down at his shirt then at Nes. "No no it's okay, it was a cheap shirt anyway so it's not really worth replacing, I can use it when I'm working on my bike since it's already got holes in it a few grease stains aren't going to hurt". "Seeing as how you just survived a fire and getting out of a collapsing building why don't I get you something to drink to celabrate? Just a drink at a bar, nothing fancy. I'll even pay for it".

[Nessarose Allens]

Yes, she nodded as he spoke, she was lucky that he'd been within earshot. The consequences to her death could have been immense, not that she wasn't replaceable or anything but they were down on members as it was, they needed people alive where they could get them, not burned to death. Nes inhaled a shaky breath, not bothering to answer a question that she did not know the answer to, why had she been wandering around there? For the simple reason that she had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. Yeah, she was a strange one but it wasn't his place to know the personal things in her life. He may have been the one to pull her from a burning room; but did that grant him access into her life? No, she did not think so.

When he offered a drink she could not help but to crack a small smile, it was as if he was reading her mind. A strong whiskey was just what she needed at the moment, something to quench the taste of smoke in her throat and the flames in her head. Finally, with a small laugh she looked at him and shrugged. "Sure, why not. If you're buying." Nes wasn't foolish enough to turn down the lure of a free drink, wherever it may have come from. Besides, the one who saved her just offered to buy her a drink, she'd had a hard couple of days herself, why not? Emotional stress was not something that she was accustomed to, nor did she want it. Wasn't this why she ostrasized herself from society to begin with? "Where did you have in mind?"

[booster]

"Sure, why not. If you're buying"

"Well yeah, you think I'd make you pay for the drink after I was the one who just saved your life? No, you are been treated tonight to some free drinks food even if you're feeling a bit peckish. I know I could go for something to eat along with a drink". The food Mark would rather have to eat is not what Nes would want; some nice exspensive steak cooked a little raw or even the meat of an animal he'd hunted down, it has been a while since he went out hunting a nice run would certainly help to relax him a little and give him time to think about the report he would have to give about the yacht explosion.

Stepping away from the wall Mark takes out a pack of smokes and a lighter, after tapping one out he holds the pack out to Nes. "I really shouldn't be smoking them but fuck it. Only live once right so mays well enjoy it". Or in his case live once for a very long time."Where did you have in mind?"."I was thinking about just hitting one of the bars, doesn't have to be somewhere fancy".

[Nessarose Allens]

If she hadn't been who she was then she probably would have hugged him when he pulled out the packet of cigarettes and a lighter. She was really needing one now and it was the best form of a 'pick-me-up' that was available at the moment. When he offered the packet she took one gratefully and held it between her lips while she lit it. For a brief second she closed her eyes and let the smoke wash through her, she smiled slightly before opening her eyes and nodding towards the man. "Thankyou, just what i needed right now," she laughed slightly, taking the cigarette from her lips and holding it with a practised manner.

Vaguely she nodded as he spoke of a random bar. She knew there was one quite near to where they were at the moment. Nes glanced around herself in the nervous manner that seemed to hover around victims of drug abuse and she nodded once again. "A drink sounds good, lead the way." She could not help but wonder why she was being so 'nice' tonight, perhaps it was because he had just saved her from a fire, perhaps it was because said fire still burned nicely in the background. Nes could hear the sirens starting up, soon the authorities would be here and she did not want to hang around to watch them come. Despite saying he could lead the way, she began walking in the direction of the nearest bar.

[booster]

"It's fine, you looked like you needed one, besides I thought it would have been rude of me to have had a smoke and not offered you one even if you didn't smoke. After lighting his own cigarette Mark puts the lighter in the packet then holds it out to Nes. "Why don't you take the whole thing you look like you need it way more than I ever will". Without giving her a chance to repsonde Mark puts the packet in her hand and then puts his hands in the pockets of his jacket so that she can't give it back to him.

"Right then, bar it is, no better way to unwind after a stressful situation or a dear-death experience". The threat of police was never really in his mind at the sound of the sirens. He had existed as a human before becoming a werewolf but that was years ago and as a human he'd never been caught for any crimes, that he could remember, and even if he had surely they wouldn't still have his prints on file... Would they? Best not to find out". Mark smiles a little as Nes starts to take lead of their walk towards the bar despite having said he could lead the way. Blowing out some nose from his nose Mark follows her.

The bar they find themselves at is not the best looking around town. Infact if he had a choice Mark would avoid the place all together and find somewhere else but he's isn't alone and he had offered Nes a drink or two or more. When they reach the entrance Mark holds the door open for her. At the bar he orders a simple Jack and Coke then turns to Nes. "So what're you having miss?".