Shallow Graves for Shallow Hearts

[Jisa]

Katya Deneires

Once upon a time, I used to romanticize, used to be somebody-
Never mind, don’t miss it that much now.

Katya stood in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the mundane mall. Silverthorn Crossing. It sounded like a place where all kinds of people just passed through, content with their lives. Katya took a sip of her vanilla milkshake, as she looked on with piercing eyes. She relished the life of the people around her. To still be living like that… but there was no going back. Adrian had taught her that much. The smell of fast food drifted on the air moved by many bodies passing by. There was, of course, the overpowering scent of blood. So many pulsing hearts. Katya flinched. That was not the way to think. She had fed just a week ago, human convenience food should be enough. The trouble was, nothing was ever enough.

She raked a cold hand through her dark hair and sighed. With effort, she pushed her dark thoughts into a box, and put it away to deal with later. A little girl tugged at her mom’s hand, pointing at a teddy bear in the window. A smile tugged at Katya’s lips at such an innocent, untainted sight.

Her stomach twisted, reminding her of a life she could’ve once had. She could have been a mother, but now it wasn’t an option. Katya wouldn’t bring a child, her own child, into the world with such a curse. It was cruel enough having lived eighteen years without it.

She leaned back against the cool wall behind her and tugged on the cuffs of her open leather jacket. Katya decided that she liked Silverthorn, and Adrian would never find her here.

People took double takes as they walked past her, in her shorts. For many it was still far too cold for this kind of outfit, but Katya didn’t mind the cold. Hungrily, she took in the humanity of the mall, taking in everything that she could, knowing she’d never really feel what they felt again.

I think it’s sinking in, days that I wonder where I’ve been,
In picture perfect porcelain, but I won’t lose a pound.

Outfit: Here + A Leather Jacket

[Iggy]

Christian "Iggy" LaRue

Chris loved malls, he just thought they were the neatest thing. And everyone seemed so happy when they were at malls, shopping, laughing hanging with friends, everyone seemed to have a smile on their face. And Chris loved to see people happy, ever since he got his wings all he wanted to see was people smiling and happy. And he had made it his goal to make everyone happy. I have eternity now, might as well make use of it, he thought to himself, a smile on his lips.

As he wandered in front of the store fronts, he saw many things he liked. And Iggy loved a lot of things. He tugged at the sleeves of his tunic-like shirt, he needed some new clothes. He'd had these close since the 70's. But...he couldn't just let them go...he felt like he was still human when he wore them. Like he was normal. Like he still belonged in the world of the living. I guess I might as well move on.

Iggy entered the next store he saw...of course it just wasn't his style. He still had his hippie side, he couldn't just wear any old thing, it had stick out and be different. He also realized it had to be warm...It was so cold in Silverthorn! It was enough to make his angel blood freeze!

That's why he thought it was curious to see a dark haired girl, wearing shorts in the middle of the busy mall. How is she not freezing? he thought to himself, his big brown eyes staring at her curiously. Iggy did love girls, and she was a pretty one. But she seemed different, so different compared to everyone else in this mall. She didn't seem as happy either, which bothered Chris, pretty girls should be happy. He ran his fingers through his brown hair and put on his best adorable smile, walking toward the girl.

Iggy leaned against the wall next to her, smiling.
"Hey groovie lady," he greeted smiling, "What brings you to the mall on such a lovely day?"

[Jisa]

Katya Deneires

Once upon a time, I used to romanticize, used to be somebody-
Never mind, don’t miss it that much now.

Katya looked at her empty milkshake cup and sighed. It had taken the edge off the brunt of the smell of humans from all around her, and now it was gone. You’d think after living so many years with the blood hunger, she’d have learned to ignore it. But how could one ignore such an uncomfortable desire that always raged within? She tossed the container into a nearby trash can and let her eyes wander. Within a moment, she felt eyes on her. Of course, she had felt that before, what with the shorts- but it was different, a more intense, wise stare. Brushing her hair back away from her face, Katya tried to find the person looking at her, that felt so different from everyone else in this mall. She spotted a dark haired boy moving toward her with a charming smile placed on his lips. Katya’s eyes widened slightly, humans knew to keep their distance, didn’t they? None had braved her presence willingly before.

Yet the boy kept moving toward her, until he was leaning against the wall beside her. Instinctively, Katya held her breath slightly. He spoke easily, friendly… as if they had known each other for a long time. Katya brow creased in confusion. This was a strange human, then again, these days they all were. Humanity was nothing like what they had been in World War Two. She had to risk breathing, just because it would seem unnatural and suspicious if she didn’t. Katya didn’t smell human blood though, no, she smelt something of a Supernatural. What type though, she couldn’t get right away.

“Hello.”

She answered him with a small smile, wondering at his choice of words. To tell the truth, she didn’t know why she’d come to the mall. She couldn’t very well say that she came to find some humanity, to see what she was missing, now could she?

“I don’t know.”

Katya replied wistfully, looking at the strange boy in front of her.

I think it’s sinking in, days that I wonder where I’ve been,
In picture perfect porcelain, but I won’t lose a pound.

[Iggy]

Christian "Iggy" LaRue

Iggy could tell that the girl next to him wasn't human, she didn't seem human and sure didn't smell like it. She didn't have that warm-blooded smell that all the humans seemed to have. Did I used to smell like that? Being dead was really a strange concept to grasp for Iggy. It had been 40 or so years since he had died, and he still couldn't believe it. Every time he looked at the bullet hole in his chest, or even when he let his white wings show, he still couldn't believe it.

Chris winced as he shifted his position on the wall. The surface had rubbed on of his feathers the wrong way, it was one of the most uncomfortable feelings in the world. He always had to be conscious of his folded wings underneath his clothing. They were sensitive, despite their beauty, Iggy found them to be quite the hassle.

When the girl responded to him, Iggy couldn't help but smile brighter. Even in death he still had his adorable charm. That was a positive. She seemed so quite and reserved, even a bit lonely Chris. He could sense these things now. So, Iggy smiled at her and said, "Well, it seems we both don't know why were here."

Still smiling Chris gently took her hand and kissed it. "I'm Christian LaRue, but my friends call me Iggy."

[Jisa]

Katya Deneires

Once upon a time, I used to romanticize, used to be somebody-
Never mind, don’t miss it that much now.

Katya sorted slowly through the types of supernatural she knew. He didn’t smell of an animal, so he wasn’t a shape shifter or a werewolf. This boy didn’t look overly pale and unnatural, so he wasn’t any vampire she knew, of course he didn’t smell of the blood and lives of humans either. He also didn’t radiate electric energy like a warlock. That left the dead. Ghost didn’t seem quite right. Demon or Angel. Katya narrowed her eyes slightly, he seemed to innocent and charming to be a demon, but demon’s could be cunning. Somehow, demon still didn’t suit him.

Lost as she was in her surveillance, Katya didn’t realize that the boy had flinched and then started to smile brighter at her. He spoke and that brought Katya back to the here and now. Katya couldn’t help but widen her smile slightly, he was so easy going and warm that it was hard not to like him. And that was without even having gotten to know this mysterious boy at all.

“So it seems,”

She answered with a slight twitch up to her lip. When he took her hand, she felt slight warmth where he touched, but not as drastic as with a human. Katya was surprised by the gentlemanly gesture this Christian LaRue acted with. It wasn’t often people these days acted with such a manner. Katya had been used to it when she had been human all those years ago, but not so much now. Nevertheless it brought a slight warmth to her polite smile.

“My name is Katya Deneires.”

There was no shortening to her name, she hadn’t gotten close enough to anyone for them to call her anything but Katya.

I think it’s sinking in, days that I wonder where I’ve been,
In picture perfect porcelain, but I won’t lose a pound.

[Iggy]

Christian "Iggy" LaRue

"It's nice too meet such a groovey lady as yourself, Katya," Iggy said warmly and brightly.

He noticed that when he touched her hand, her skin was cold. He blinked for a moment curiously. "Are you cold?" he asked, with a laughing smile.

Iggy knew that other supernatural creatures existed but he really knew nothing about them. Perhaps that was a mistake on his part. But this girl seemed nice regardless of who or what she was. And she was pretty, and Iggy was a sucker for pretty girls. He always had been a sucker for girls. They were the one thing that had managed to be constant in his new life.

But he knew that Katya wasn't human, and that fact threw him off a bit. It was so hard to believe the world of the supernatural still existed
he had barely gotten over the fact that he was an angel now. he wondered if she could sense that about him. It was still all a mystery to him. But Katya seemed wise and perhaps a bit dark, it was curious. He felt his wings twitch with his own curiousity. He hated when they did that.

Chris moved from his place on the wall and stood in front of the dark haired girl and smiled.
"I'm going to be honest, Katya, your like no girl I've ever met before," he said warmly and with a wink.

[Jisa]

Katya Deneires

Once upon a time, I used to romanticize, used to be somebody-
Never mind, don’t miss it that much now.

Katya took her hand back, flinching when he asked if she was cold. No. She didn’t feel the cold, but her skin was and always would be the same chill that was carried in the air today. Katya sighed, knowing that he hadn’t meant to make her feel the way she did with that question, that much was clear with his laughing demeanor. He didn’t seem to have a mean bone in his body, which would mean that he was an angel. It was saddening to know that such a nice person had… died, even if he had become an angel afterward. In a way, that was better than becoming something of a nightmare, a curse, a demonic blood-sucker. Absent-mindedly Katya worried over her thoughts. It was nice to talk to someone, but would he stay once he knew that she was a person that ruined lives? Especially if he was an angel, surely he wouldn’t be able to stand her presence. Katya didn’t realize that she had been wringing her hands while thinking about the possibility of being left alone, without anyone to talk to until some other brave soul dared to get within twenty feet of her.

Her dark eyes flickered up in surprise as Christian… or Iggy… stood in front of her. His outgoing attitude was amusing, and ambitious. If she could blush, she would have, but as it were she gave him a small, timid smile.

“I should hope you haven’t yet met a girl like me. Tell me, are you an angel?"

I think it’s sinking in, days that I wonder where I’ve been,
In picture perfect porcelain, but I won’t lose a pound.

[Iggy]

Christian "Iggy" LaRue

"Are you alright? Your look like your trying to choke a chicken," Iggy asked her his eyebrow raised. She had been wrining her hands for minutes now. Perhaps she hadn't fallen for his charm? Chris almost sighed, perhaps he was getting a bit rusty. He hadn't talked to a girl in a long while, he was always afraid of where it would lead. What they would do when they came face to face with a large set of white wings and a bullet hole. Iggy was pretty sure they'd take off running. Unless someone wanted to be with someone that would live on as they withered away. That scared Chris, watching everyone around him die while he stayed forever immortal in the same body he died in.

After becoming an angel, Iggy had visited his younger brother, who was 50 now and had several children. It was so strange. Iggy still felt like he was in the 70's being a teenager, but everyone had moved on, almost seeming to forget about him. I died for something worthwhile...didn't I?

Iggy shook the thought of his head and looked at the girl before him, he blinked as she asked if he was an angel. He laughed, thinking that she was just playing along with his own flirty nature.

"I think I should be asking that question to you," he said flashing he best smile. Yeah, he maybe dead but Iggy still had his groovy lady charming skills.

He sighed...he also didn't want to tell the thruth. Who wanted to be with a dead person? Whats more morbid than that? Chris hated the thought of the sympathy he'd get if people knew he died so young. He was technically 58, he wasn't young. But,He was pretty sure at this point that Katya knew her stuff and that he could no longer deny the fact that he was supernatural, so he sighed again and frowned, "Yeah, you caught me. Not human that's me. Just a ghost with some wings."

[Jisa]

Katya Deneires

Once upon a time, I used to romanticize, used to be somebody-
Never mind, don’t miss it that much now.

Katya froze and stopped wringing her hands when he asked her if she was alright. Wow, she really needed to get a hold of herself. Instead she took a deep breath and convinced herself that it was alright if he left and she didn’t get to talk to many other people. If she was desperate enough for company, she would have gone back to Adrian, but that didn’t yet sound good enough to go for. No. She’d be fine. Just a little disappointment in a lifetime of them. Christian laughed at her when she asked if he was an angel. She blinked and did a double take, no? Then… he was either a very strange human or a demon. If anything she hoped it was the prior.

“I’m hardly an angel,”

Katya scoffed, but her eyes flashed in recognition of the comment. This Iggy really did lay it on thick, didn’t he? He looked dispirited for a moment, as if seriously considering her question, before confirming he suspicions. Katya knew she should have felt pity toward him for dying so young, but she didn’t. They had both lived beyond their deaths to see the world. That was a slight consolation, even if it came with many trials of it’s own.

“It could be worse,”

Katya informed him with a wan smile.

“You could be a demon or a vampire."

I think it’s sinking in, days that I wonder where I’ve been,
In picture perfect porcelain, but I won’t lose a pound.

[Iggy]

Christian "Iggy" LaRue

"Vampire or demon, you look like an angel to me," Iggy said smiling at her, "Just because of what you are doesn't make you a bad person, ya know?"

He looked around, making sure that no one was watching them. he cupped his hands blew into them, a small ball of light appeared into it. He loved doing that, manipulating light and air may not of been the strongest powers in the book, but hey at least it was something. Of course whenever he used his powers, his wings seemed to twitch with excitement a few feathers falling at his feet. They seemed like they were going to burst free from their containment. To Iggy, his wings had a mind of their own.

He lifted his hands and presented the small ball of light to Katya.
"Everyone had a little bit of light in 'em, even demons and vampires," he said with a wink. "But your no demon. I'd sense it if you were."

Iggy shrugged, remembering his prior encounters with demons. They never truly went well. He got some pretty nasty wounds from a few of them too. He could sense a demon from a mile away. And he was pretty sure Katya wasn't a demon. His senses would've picked up on it. His wings would've hurt, his skin would've itched. All and all, Katya was a vampire, thats all that was left.

"Beside your to pretty to be demon...demons...aren't high up on my list of Iggy friendly folks. Vampires are always pretty, that much I know."

[Jisa]

Katya Deneires

Once upon a time, I used to romanticize, used to be somebody-
Never mind, don’t miss it that much now.

Katya smiled and shook her head disbelievingly. Why hadn’t she expected such optimism from an angel? An angel that looked like a hippie no less. His explanation of being good made her feel slightly better, but she knew she’d never truly be okay with herself. How could she? Vampires… it wasn’t a joke, nor was it something that would ever just go away. But they were the cards Katya had been dealt for life, and she’d have to deal with that. She watched in interest as he created a ball of light between his closed hands. Katya’s eyes widened in astonishment as a few feathers floated to the ground and he presented the ball of light to her. It was so pure. She tentatively reached out to touch it, no heat radiated out of it. It was just a ball of light, in essence.

“That’s good to know. I don’t fancy meeting a demon today.”

Katya answered, still thrown off balance a bit by his wink. In her time, things were more discreet, but of course, Christian probably wasn’t from her time at all. Silently she wondered how he had died.

“Well, thank you. Though I hear demons can be pretty good-looking themselves.”

It was what made them as dangerous as vampires, if not more so.

“I would ask if you wanted to go get something to eat, but, do you eat at all?"

I think it’s sinking in, days that I wonder where I’ve been,
In picture perfect porcelain, but I won’t lose a pound.

[Iggy]

Christian "Iggy" LaRue

Chris allowed the ball of light disperse from his hand, it flowed between his fingers and disappeared. His brown eyes followed the light as it disappeared. As soon as he saw the feathers on the ground he frowned and bent down and gathered the feathers in hands. They, just like the light, seemed to break down and flow through his fingers. He did love his feathers, he just wished he could grasp onto them. He wished that they were real, that he was real, not a spirit of some sort. But oh well, those kind of things happened.

"Ah well no one ever wants to meet a demon, that much is for sure," he said.

"As for eating..." he said with a laugh, "I've tried...It just doesn't work out so pretty. I don't even sleep either. But do you eat?"

Iggy did miss the simple things like eating and sleeping, the normal things. He had begun to forget what food even tasted like. All those things about being alive, almost seemed to flow away like the light. Iggy feared that over time, he might even lose his memories.

[Jisa]

Katya Deneires

Once upon a time, I used to romanticize, used to be somebody-
Never mind, don’t miss it that much now.

Katya watched, entranced at the disappearing light and feathers. Angels had to be the most magical of supernaturals, it was as if they were made of the light they created. Not even witches and warlocks could contest that. Katya wondered what would have happened if she would have stayed human and died when her time came, instead of having eternity in front of her? In a way, she supposed everyone had eternity in front of them, whether trapped in an eighteen year old body, or passed on into ghost form. This world had seemed so strange even before, but with knowledge of forever and supernaturals, it was so much more complicated. She nodded hesitantly.

“Yes, I eat. It takes the edge off…”

Katya flinched at the end of her statement. At least she could still eat, even if she couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t dream, it was a distant memory that she couldn’t even hope to relive again. Such a simple thing as dreaming… how it could be missed. Katya’s teeth ached and she closed her eyes for a second. It had only been a week! She swallowed and tried to get rid of the thought. She could stave it off with human food, for now. Perhaps it was because she never drained her victims, she only took a little. It wasn’t in her nature to take what wasn’t necessary, but she was beginning to think that more blood was necessary. The thought frightened her, but she couldn’t let it get to her.

I think it’s sinking in, days that I wonder where I’ve been,
In picture perfect porcelain, but I won’t lose a pound.

[Iggy]

Christian "Iggy" LaRue

Iggy took her hand in his and smiled at her. He could sense that something was bothering her, probably the same thing that bothered all the creatures that should be dead. He felt incredibly bad for vampires though. Katya looked like she still would've had a long life in front of her before she was turned. It wasn't her time to die. It had been Iggy's time to die he was sure of it, but she still would've had a life to live. She had to continue on in this modern world, while Iggy could still be trapped in the 70's and it never mattered to anyone.

"Well, how bout we go get something to eat? I may not be able to eat but I still like company," he said, as he squeezed her hand.

He had been so lonely lately. He yet to meet anyone that had been in his situation, anyone that understood what it was like to walk the Earth for eternity. But Iggy kinda like being an angel, it made him feel like he died for something better. But on occasion he just wished he could eat a burrito and drink a coke. He wished he could actually lay in his bed in his apartment and sleep instead of looking at the ceiling.

"I have a kitchen in my apartment and sometimes I just cook to feel normal again," he said letting go of her hand, Whatever I make though I give to the homeless. They could use a meal, they can enjoy it better than anyone."

[Jisa]

Katya Deneires

Once upon a time, I used to romanticize, used to be somebody-
Never mind, don’t miss it that much now.

Katya looked down at his hand on hers and felt her stomach twist. Stupid memories. Nothing could be changed, and that’s what she needed to get through her thick head. Katya sighed and reined herself back in to reality. Suddenly she laughed under her breath. This was pathetic. Her first chance at socialization and she couldn’t handle it? It was all backwards.

“Yeah,” She agreed. “I think I need it.”

Katya knew she did. It was unfortunate, but the truth. She liked Christian’s presence, and couldn’t bring herself to call him Iggy- she had been brought up different, ninety-odd years ago in England. She smiled at him and tugged at his hand, gesturing toward the food court. Already, she counted him as a friend, even if it was only temporary. She listened to his story with a wistful smile, she couldn’t understand how anyone could be so purely good in this world. Katya herself never knew anyone like him, and she knew that she could never hope to be as light as he was, she was too damaged and had too many short comings. That was alright though, she knew it was what made her Katya Deneires and what made him Christian LaRue. She shook her head with a smile.

“You know, I haven’t met anyone like you."

I think it’s sinking in, days that I wonder where I’ve been,
In picture perfect porcelain, but I won’t lose a pound.