Thanks for watching as I fall

[Ace]

A pair of bright green eyes looked out upon the endless velvet night. The owner of these eyes had been sat upon the cold stone sill of the Astronomy Tower window for the past two hours, still as the breezeless night that had fallen upon the sleepy castle, apparently deep in thought.

Ace had come up to the Tower after leaving the Hufflepuff Common Room. He had enjoyed, briefly, seeing the jubilant faces of his old friends as they celebrated their victory in Quidditch; but it had not been long before he had felt out of place. His old companions were more than happy to let him stay, but the new, younger students had begun to leave the party, terrified by his presence no matter how hard Kasey protested the Vampire's safeness. He made his excuses and departed, but as he strolled along the familiar stone passages of the castle, he realised he wasn't ready to return to his dismal excuse for a room at the Hog's Head; and neither was he ready to re-enter the Vampire's Lair. On a sudden whim, he tracked an old favourite path, up to the Astronomy Tower.

With an almost inaudible exhale, Ace finally removed his eyes from the point upon which it was fixed, and stared instead into the blackness that filled the room behind him. Why was it that whenever he was here, he felt so lost? No matter where he went within the grounds of Magic Horizons, or what company he kept, he was still alone, always filled with the bittersweet longing for a feeling of contentment.

In truth, the Vampire had been keeping a private hope that in coming back here, the answers he had been searching for would somehow become apparent to him. He had left, escaped for the life he knew he had been happy with before, but it had not been everything it once was. Though he would rather throw himself into the sunlight once again than admit it, the bloodlust and twisted depravity of a Vampire's life faded in his mind's eye when compared to the depth of feeling he had once found within these very walls. He held a childlike superstition that it was this place, and this place alone, that caused him to feel, and an even more childlike belief that in coming back here, he might once again have a chance at happiness that he missed out on last time.

Ace shook his tousled head, and looked out at the stars once more, counting them one by one... one for every dream that was shattered by careless hands... one for every creature embraced by darkness but tempted by light... one for everyone praying, hopelessly, for redemption.

[Ondrea]

Ondrea was pondering around the school grounds, thinking to herself, and not noticing where her feet might be taking her.

Why are people so cruel, they are always wanting to rip your heart out and break it into a million sad pieces. Why does everything have to be so- so terrible, and not get better... Ondrea thought to herself aimlessly, she had just had a terrible experience at the graveyard, where a devilish girl had destroyed what was supposed to be a perfect, burial, for her dear friend Tony.

Once escaping her thoughts, she realized that her feet had brought her to the astronomy tower, she saw the stars that had come out to play, and decided this would be a nice place to clear her mind.

She saw a boy, who seemed to be staring into nothingness, as she often did too, and what an adventure it always would become. Deciding not to intrude on his thoughts, she sat herself down.

Staring up at the dark blue, nearly black sky, she wondered what she would be doing at this moment, if the fire had never happened, if her dad hadn't of come to her mothers funeral, if that 'Sweetpea' hadn't of come to Tonys' funeral. She drew a deep cold breath, and let out a loud sigh without thinking, possibly giving away her presence.

She looked at the boy who appeared to be vampire with her blue eyes, hoping that she hadn't bothered him too severely. Nevertheless, she was pleased if she were to meet another vampire, she found them nice, and enjoyed having convertsations with them; for the majority of them had experience some sort of disaster, loss, or were hurt in some way, and she could always relate, to them, or understand them in some sort of way. Also many people who havn't had the most 'wonderful' lifestyle, usually appreciate things, which Ondrea liked about a person, people who were spoiled bothered Ondrea so much, she would usually break out in a rant.

[Ace]

Ace listlessly turned and watched the girl enter - her eyes were as troubled as his own, so he said nothing. Who was he to trespass on another's solitude? For a moment, he thought she would try to speak to him... but, like him, she seemed to respect that he, too, had come here to think, alone.

However, her eyes remained upon him, curious, and Ace saw them linger upon his fanged mouth and pale face with something like pleasure. He no longer thought this as being strange; he had learned in the past few weeks that nothing was ever as it seemed, and not to assume that people would necessarily run in the other direction just because he was a Vampire. It was an unsettling idea, but oddly comforting.

"Hello," said Ace quietly, thinking that if she did not wish to speak with him, she could tell him.

[Ondrea]

Ondrea smiled a faded smile, when the boy vampire spoke, "Hey, nice night out, the skies are clear, so you can see all the stars...." Ondrea faded off.

Well that's a good thing that I didn't bother him too much, obviously because he is talking to me... Ondrea thought to herself.

Ondrea looked down at her feet, to see that one of her boot shoe laces were untied, she leaned down and tied it up, tight. Then leaning on a wall behind her, she started to toy with the chain on her black pants that she was wearing that night.

Realizing that she had been staring at the vampire, (thinking of how nice it would be to make friends with another vampire), he would have probably noticed. She started to blush lightly, but soon continued with fiddling with her chain.

[Ace]

Ace half-smiled at her. Although she wasn't by any means scared of him, he sensed from her slight ramble and the way she played with the chain on her outfit that she was unsure of how to act. Granted, thus far he had only given her "Hello" to work with, but nervousness was contagious.

He turned his own reflective eyes to the stars, where a million tiny pinpricks of light danced in their depths, teasing him, knowing he would never reach them, placed in heaven as they were.

"It's nice to be closer to the stars," he said inconsequentially, after a long moment of silence had passed between them. He turned to her, watching her half-hidden in shadow. He had felt her watching him, but she was turned away from him now, probably feeling that she had been being rude. But Ace didn't mind in the slightest. For once, it was nice to be Seen and not Feared. He tilted his head to the side slightly, his mop of blonde hair looking almost silver in the pale moonlight.

"So what are you up here for?" he asked quietly - it was an unspoken fact that anybody who wished to come to the Astronomy Tower this late at night had serious issues on their minds.

[Ondrea]

Ondrea sat there still leaning on the wall, her eyes growing a bit heavy, but she wasn't tired; or was it she just didn't want to go to sleep, and meet up with those haunting memories. Yawning quietly, Ondrea decided to lay down on the ground, staring hopelessly into the night sky.

Seeing the vampire turn to her, she looked at him, and was pretty fascinated at his hair color in the moonlight. A little smile curved upon her lips, what a rare sight that was.


When the vampire spoke once more, she sat up slightly, the question pondering in her mind.

Letting out a sigh she spoke, "I guess to clear my mind, get a breath a fresh air, before returning to those people," Ondrea said in almost a whisper, "Sometimes I come here just to think, and fall asleep away from everyone."

"What might bring you out here? Not many people are out here at this time of night..." Ondrea said, feeling comfortable once again.

Laying back down once more, not daring to so much as rest her tired eyes, that resembled many days of sleep missed.

[Ace]

Ace watched the girl, a half-smile tracing the corners of his pale lips as she lay on the floor, giving her a better view of the stars that lay somewhere beyond the silvery outline of Ace's head.

"Well, as I'm usually asleep during the day..." He trailed off, a twinkle in his green eyes. "No, I came up here today because I didn't feel like going back to the Hog's Head - where I'm staying at the moment. Let's just say that they seem to make it their mission to be as inhospitable as possible. I'm much more comfortable here... for the time being, anyway."

Ace grinned charismatically at the girl, thinking that it was interesting to find how comfortable he actually was, sitting up high in the tallest tower of the castle, having conversation with a random human being. And it occurred to him, then, that he hadn't once thought of her as a potential meal since she had entered upon his solitude. With this dawning realisation still heavy in his mind, he spoke again.

"I'm Ace, by the way."

[Shae]

The girl looked down and behind her distastefully, as she emerged from the Astronomy Tower floor. It was so stressful living with people, not because so many panicked at nearly nothing, or because they were stupid on purpose, but because they were people who wouldn't even try and help themselves.

Her eyes had been a green nearly black once, now they were a mossy green, and her soft violet hair was caught up by an ethereal wind, again.

It wasn't until she looked around the Tower room that she realised she might be intruding upon other peoples solitude and quiet moments.

She recognised Ondrea, she had been most helpful in the Hospital Wing a while ago, and she noted that the other person here was a vampire - with rather startling green eyes - but she didn't know him herself.

"My apologies for intruding." She said as she headed for a window.

Sometimes, the phantom wished she could lie down and go to sleep, but she couldn't if she wanted to see another day on this plane of reality, which she did.

There were people she cared about here, and she just had to keep an eye on them.

[Ondrea]

"That would make sense, seeing that your a vampire." Ondrea said, thinking how stupid of a question that would be, vampires didn't do well in the light.

Nodding at his comment about Hog;s head, Ondrea laughed quietly, "I have been there before, I didn't quite enjoy it there, either. I would much prefer to be up here then there, then again I prefer being here over many places." Ondrea said.

"I'm Ondrea," Ondrea said after Ace had introduced himself.

Looking around the usual scenery of MH, almost as if she was expecting something to be different, Ondrea spotted a familiar figure approaching them.

"Hey Shae." Ondrea spoke quietly.

[Ondrea]

OOC- *points to Ace* it is his birthday *starts to sing* "Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Ace..."

[Shae]

ooc: Laughs.

BIC:

"Hey." She said, answering Ondrea.

Looking out at the sky, the dead girl sighed, a wave of deathly cold briefly filling the Tower.

It could be so difficult. Metaphysical representation in one's original plane of reality wasn't for everyone, and now she was beginning to wonder if it was for her.

"Damn it." She said to herself. She couldn't just lie down. Strange though it was, for the first time in her life her walking out on something would not be welcomed.

The spectre laid her head in her hand, and ran her fingers through her long purple hair, resigned to keep on going.

"How are you keeping Ondrea?" She asked, not turning from the night sky.

[Ace]

"No worries," said Ace to the ghost, surprised but not shocked by her appearance. He thought it must be the first time he had ever actually seen a ghost within the grounds of Magic Horizons, and he was somewhat intrigued as to why any phantom would choose this place as their final resting ground.

His eyes flicked to Ondrea as she responded in kind. "Well, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said politely, more cordial than he would usually be. He heard that the ghost's name was Shae, and kept his eyes upon the silvery form of the ghostly girl, mildly bemused as she tried to lay down, but could not. He also saw Ondrea shiver, and assumed that the temperature had dropped in the Tower - he himself could not feel it, but he supposed it made sense.

"And what brings you here at this time of night?" he asked the ghost rather pointedly - he was not irritated by her presence, far from it, but he was curious as to the pastimes of a ghost who was to forever walk the halls of a magic school.

[Shae]

An almost-laugh escaped her lips at the vampire's question. Guessing that he was also wondering why she would hang around at MH, as much as why she would be in the Astronomy Tower.

"I wonder almost every night why I don't go back home to Romania, so I come up here and remind myself that I can see the stars here just as well as I could from my adopted family's caravan." The dead girl shugged as she turned around to face the vampire.

He really was handsome.

"I wouldn't exactly be accepted back by the caravan as a ghost, and really there is less for me back home than there is here. I'm helpful and for the first time in my life - sorry - in my exsitance I have friends, and they're all here."

The girl let her own green eyes meet the vampire's. It wasn't a challenge, it wasn't anything, just that he had her full attention, and she would listen quietly if he wanted to talk.

[Ondrea]

Yawning quietly Ondrea looked at Shae, "Fine- I guess... How about yourself?"

"Is it just me or is it co-" Ondrea cut herself off, a lot of creatures couldn't feel the temperture, and some were sad that they couldn't, so she decided not to go there.

Ondrea listened to Shae speak, and she felt bad for her, usually when people were dead, they were not alive to feel their pain, but she had to live on... maybe it was her choice, either way it would be hard.

About to comment on what she had just said, she turned to Shae, who was looking at Ace, she seemed to be waiting for a reply from him, so she decided to face the sky... "Wow..." she said quietly.

[Ace]

Ace's mouth curved into a small grin at the words of the ghost - he understood exactly what she meant. By nature, by character, he should be anywhere but here... but it was here he felt accepted. Here, he didn't have to bare his fangs and be the bloody murderer he had been before MH - if he wanted to, he could sit up of an evening and have a chat with a girl and a ghost.

"I understand," he said, feeling an unexpected wave of sympathy for the ghostly figure. He always thought he had it bad, living his cursed life, but at least he knew from past experience that lives changed, sometimes for the better, even his. Hers was eternal, and apparently, miserable too.

"You know, I've travelled the whole world... Been to places that nobody even knows exists yet. But the stars are always the same, no matter where you are - look up, and you'll be seeing the same thing you saw a hundred years ago." He glanced at Shae. "An odd kind of thought, but comforting..."