Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
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Post by Ace on Aug 3, 2005 19:00:48 GMT
Nobody who saw the Vampire on a day to day basis would notice much difference in Ace as he arose on the evening of August 3rd. He got up and got dressed in his usual clothes, and was downstairs for his usual chat with Abe the bartender within ten minutes, his blonde hair tousled and messed from hours of sleep while the sun was still high in the sky. He drank a quick shot of firewhisky with the expected nod of appreciation to Abe, and grinned his usual charismatic grin at a few witches who were staring at the bright-eyed Vampire as he headed out into the street.
Nothing in his routine had changed perceptibly enough to suggest that tonight was actually the Vampire's birthday.
The summer nights had faded to a serene coolness that required the wearing of cloaks for most of the people that bustled in the early evening crowd, but Ace strolled along wearing his loosely buttoned shirt and jeans, unruffled by the chill. Slipping his hand inside his pocket, he closed his hands around a small box, and smiled ever so slightly.
Small specks of rain began to fall, spattering the Vampire. Unlike the rest of the people on the street, who quickly found cover in the nearest public house, Ace simply glanced up at the gradually opening heavens and rolled his eyes slightly, as though he had been expecting it. As he neared the end of the long high street, his green eyes lifted to alight upon the dark beauty of a stone castle - in the distance, Magic Horizons beckoned, it's tiny windows lit with flickering lights that beckoned him closer.
Flicking the raindrops off of his hair, he strode forward. His was not the only birthday on this mysterious summer eve... and although he was perfectly used to his being forgotten, he would make sure that hers was not.
{ooc: Invite Only}
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Post by Kiki on Aug 5, 2005 5:56:02 GMT
Kiki had been visiting the school for no particular reason at all, wandering the corridors and remebering her previous years within the walls. She paused by a window staring blannkly out as rain gently splattered against the panes of glass and simply pawed through memories both good and bad. She was broken out of her reverie by a shadow moving in the rain, barely noticable through the usual dark shadows that wound up the path.
Wondering who it could be, hoping that it was who she wanted it to be, she waited until they passed under a stream of moonlight pouring through a gap in the clouds and she recognised the mop of blonde hair instantly.
She wound her way down through the corridors and reached the doors that led out to the grounds, pushing them open with little effort - the heavy doors swung noiselessly open. The rain had grown slightly heavier and hit her face immediately, but she blinked away the small drops that fell upon her face and made her way toward the path that led to Hogsmeade.
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Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
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Post by Ace on Aug 6, 2005 9:18:32 GMT
The pair met at a small turnstile right on the edge of Magic Horizons' grounds, neither questioning the odd coincidence that brought them together on their special day; which was, incidentally, a coincidence in itself.
Ace eyed the familiar face as a smile curled upward - his green eyes danced, reflecting the candlelight from the hundreds of tiny windows in the castle beyond. He could not believe that two such different people could share the same birthday and inherit the same star sign - Leo, the lion, whose blazing red moon burned down on them tonight. The fire of the night sky seemed to have taken rest in Ace's chest - as he brushed a strand of hair from Kiki's face, he chuckled softly, enjoying the emotion that coursed so violently around his veins, and wondered why it was here, with her, that made him feel so much.
"Happy Birthday, Ki," he said softly, and brought a black box out of his pocket. His eyes lingered on her face for a moment before opening the box.
Inside was a silver bracelet, with tiny purple crystals set into each link, winking up at Kiki; in the centre of the bracelet was a tear-shaped moonstone. It was clear that the bracelet was an antique, but the centuries-old gems sparkled so brightly that Ace could see the quivering light of the stones reflect on Kiki's face.
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Post by Kiki on Aug 13, 2005 7:07:30 GMT
The bracelet was ridiculously beautiful and a small gasp of surprise escaped Kiki's lips as Ace presented in to her. A small smile fell onto her lips as she allowed her gaze to take in the exquisite piece of jewellry, then reached forward and slipped it from its place in the box, wrapping it around her own wrist but unable to do up the clasp one-handedly. Wordlessly, she held her wrist out toward Ace and watched him as he joined the two ends of the bracelet together. Once it sat perfectly on her wrist, she admired it for a moment more, the small smile never leaving her lips.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a rectangular velvet box, much as Ace had just done before her. She glanced at his face for a moment before averting her gaze and concentration to showing him the present she had organised for him. She lifted the lid of the box, revealing a silver necklace made of a fine chain, a small round emerald pendant hanging from the chain. It matched his eyes perfectly and she exhaled shakily, unsure if she'd gone a bit far in his present.
"Happy Birthday, Ace," She murmured, echoing his earlier words, the light rain still falling steadily about the pair, linked together in more ways than they realised.
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Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
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Post by Ace on Aug 23, 2005 20:23:47 GMT
Ace smiled self-consciously as he placed the bracelet on Kiki's wrist. There it sat perfectly, just as he knew it would. The antique had been sitting in his vault for almost three decades, waiting for a sunlit moment where it would find its place - and it seemed to Ace that it had find it on Miss Ki's left wrist.
He grinned slightly nervously at her as she presented his gift. As she opened it - in much the same way he had - his grin faded to the faintest of smiles, his green eyes alight with an eerie twinkle as he looked Kiki in the eye, a mutual understanding passed somehow between the couple as the rain fell between them. Apparently speechless, the Vampire shook his head in bemusement, droplets of rain flying from the tips of his blonde hair. He reached out and touched Kiki's hand, squeezing it gently, as if to say thankyou, then stepped closer to her, and bent his head forwards.
"Put it on?" he said, smiling softly.
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Post by Kiki on Aug 25, 2005 11:37:40 GMT
OOC: Lovely to see you face again, Mr Aecus.
BIC: Kiki smiled and relaxed as Ace accepted her present, the twinkle in his eye betraying his pleasure at the gift. She ran a fingertip over the moonstone before slipping the chain through her fingers and bringing the edges of the necklace together at the end of his neck and fastening together, smoothing down a nick in the chain as she did so. She withdrew her hands from around his neck, smiling at the emerald stone settling itself snugly against Ace's neck.
Kiki ran a hand through her wet hair - although the rain was light, it still had enough density and moisture to saturate whatever it came into contact with. She fingered the bracelet again, the rough yet smooth paradoxial edges of the stones rubbing against her fingertips. She glanced up to Ace and stepped forward, kissing him lightly on the cheek.
"Thank-you," She explained as she stepped back again, recognising a twinge of regret that the pair had lost their playfulness. She smiled reverently at the old, first few memories of the two of them and admired the irony that they had first talked properly on their birthday - Ace venturing away from his birthday celebration to talk to the lonely girl perched of a rock watching the flashing lights in the distance.
Impulsively, she hugged Ace, determined not to cry. Their relationship had been more tumultuous than most for sure, and there was a sinking feeling in Kiki's stomach that she wouldn't be able to see as Ace easily as this for much longer - meeting occasionally in the street, catching up for lunches and the like. The rain caught in her hair, the droplets flicking into her face and settling between her eyelashes, blurring her vision slightly.
There was nothing she could do about anything. There was no point in dwelling on the past.
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Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
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Post by Ace on Aug 28, 2005 13:18:15 GMT
Ace felt Kiki's arms around his neck, felt her slender body press against his, and her hair tickled his nose, sending the scent of her to his brain, opening up an immediate torrent of forbidden memories he had been very keen to keep at bay. Everything told him that to get too close to her now would be to get dangerously close; and yet still he found his arms lifting to support her back, winding his fingers through her sheet of black hair, holding her close to him. It was as though he was on autopilot, and everything was slowed down, but unstoppable.
Feeling her heart beat against his empty chest felt so hollow. Everything inside of Ace was dead from the core, but close to him the Vampire could sense life, and emotion, and feeling, and a part of him never again wanted to let go of having Kiki so close, simply because he knew it was the closest he would ever get to feeling alive.
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Post by Kiki on Aug 28, 2005 13:30:32 GMT
There was something about the gentle movement of Ace's arms as they wrapped around her back that covered Kiki in a feeling of immense security. She had most definately missed this, the lack of affection and love in her life had hit her hard at the sudden disappearance of people who had meant so much to her. She took as much as she could from this moment, trying to remember everything through her senses other than sight, trying to remember everything that she could concievably document about this moment.
Without realising she was doing it, she turned her head slightly and nuzzled gently into Ace's neck. Her head rested easily on Ace's shoulder, breathing softly onto Ace's neck. In the back of her mind she had a thought that pointed out what she had just done, but she didn't move. She was comfortable in Ace's embrace and the entire atmosphere simply felt perfect.
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Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
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Post by Ace on Aug 28, 2005 13:50:30 GMT
Ace sighed into Kiki's hair just as she turned to nuzzle into his neck. He looked down at her half-closed violet eyes, and thought for one impossible moment that the past eight months had never really happened... he had never left, he and Kiki had never fought or fallen apart, and she was still there, laying in his arms with unspeakable trust barely seen even in couples that had been together all their lives.
"How did we get here, Ki?" he said in a gentle whisper, lifting a hand to push a damp strand of hair back from where it threatened to fall into her eyes. "How did we get to a place that was gentle, and caring, and easy, after all that we were? How..."
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Post by Kiki on Aug 28, 2005 14:04:10 GMT
Kiki didn't move to show that she knew Ace had spoken. She had heard and was contemplating the answer. The question was a complicated one in itself and she, in truth, wasn't sure of the driving force behind it. His touch on her forehead was a tingling, ticklish feeling against her dampened skin and she drew one of her hands up to trace over the rounded emerald settled against his neck.
"I can't tell you the answer to that," She admitted softly. "I don't know." She realised that there were tears mingling with the rain and in that moment it dawned on her just how much a part of her life Ace was, had been and always would be. Kiki didn't know how she could've missed this - the simple trust and affection between two friends; and there was at least one who loved the other completely: Kiki could not speak for Ace.
"Perhaps it's Fate," She whispered, her eyes admiring the way his blonde hair fell matted against his cheek. "Perhaps it was all a test. I don't know," She repeated again. "All I know is that I missed you."
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Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
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Post by Ace on Aug 28, 2005 14:17:07 GMT
Ace smiled softly. He had missed her, too. This feeling he was lost in, whatever it was, was deliciously addictive. By simply being around somebody, his cold, dead existence could suddenly erupt into something almost beautiful.
"I need to tell you something," he said, suddenly. The change in his voice was clear; his soft, dreamlike tone had disappeared and its place was a tone of secrecy, of urgency. "The other day I ran into Claire and we got talking. I asked how she was managing to run the school without Rose and she said good, but that they were a little understaffed... some of the Professors felt there was a risk of attack upon themselves, or something like that, and left. I think that was basically what she said. But the point, the point is, that... she asked me to take the position of Potions Master."
The last words came out in a rush, as though Ace had forced some deep, terrible truth out into the open. He looked at her, something desperate in his eyes, but he said nothing more, waiting anxiously for her reaction.
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Post by Kiki on Aug 28, 2005 14:26:47 GMT
The spell was broken and Kiki shifted from Ace's shoulder, taking half a step back so she could watch him as he spoke, his voice holding a different tone that held her full attention. Once his news had spilled from his lips, Kiki paused for a moment. Potions Master? She'd never been very good at Potions and she admired the irony. Her heart leapt into her throat as she realised that if Ace took the job he'd be staying, but she held back in case it wasn't exactly what Ace wanted.
"What do you want?" She asked softly, brushing the lock of hair she had been admiring earlier away from his cheek, slipping it into its rightful position with the rest of his dampened hair. The next question rose to her lips and it tore at her heart to say it, but knew she had to:
"Do you want to stay at Magic Horizons?"
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Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
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Post by Ace on Aug 28, 2005 14:41:57 GMT
Ace shook his head, slowly. He knew what he wanted - the answer to that question was easy. Since Claire had shocked him with her proposal, a beautiful, light-filled future had filled his every hope. He saw himself helping others, staying in a place he loved doing something he was exceptionally good at. It was a wonderful dream... really too good to hope for.
And that was where the problem lied. A black cloud would steal over his thoughts now and again and a nasty little voice whispered in the back of the poor Vampire's mind - but what happens when you get hungry and all that's available are your eager young students?
"Ki... I'm a Vampire," Ace said, with some effort. He felt like it was stating the obvious but he was fairly certain that sometimes Kiki forgot what Ace really was, what his lifestyle must always be. "I could tell Claire was only offering me the job because it's what Rose would have suggested... nobody in their right minds would want a Vampire locked in a room for hours a day with their students. It's insane. I can't guarantee that I will never slip up. I'm not a good person because I'm not a person, and there's no point in trying to fool myself. I'm evil inside."
It wasn't hard to see how difficult it was for Ace to say all he had said - but it was also easy to notice that Ace had still not yet said what it was he actually wanted.
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Post by Kiki on Aug 29, 2005 11:00:22 GMT
The desperation that Kiki heard in his voice accompanied by the harsh words of degredation were cruel and Kiki sighed. What Ace said was very true, but he'd always had access to the Hufflepuff Common Room and the like, and he'd never attacked a student. He'd always exercised his willpower and disappeared. She nodded thoughtfully and lifted her eyes to look in Ace's, sliding her hands down his arms to hold his hands.
"I think you're selling yourself short, Mr Aecus," Kiki squeezed his hands supportively and her eyes flickered to the bushy scene around them. The rain was still falling, but in shorter bursts now, although the clouds were still heavy with water. Her violet eyes returned to the dark figure in front of her and she spoke softly again.
"But that's not what I asked. I asked what you want, not what you are."
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Ace
Professor
Vampire
Passion rules us all
Posts: 495
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Post by Ace on Aug 29, 2005 11:08:43 GMT
Ace's eyes finally raised to meet Kiki's. There was an innocence of longing in them, a faraway light that was promising and yet, to Ace, still unreachable.
"I... don't think I've ever wanted anything this much," the Vampire admitted in a whisper, squeezing Kiki's hand back. "I would never have even considered it... but now I can see it. I want it. I want to help people, and stay here..." he gestured up towards the castle, "... and for once in my life, not let what I am determine who I want to be."
Ace sighed. "But it can't happen. I can't endanger people's lives."
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