Shallow Graves for Shallow Hearts

[Iggy]

Christian "Iggy" LaRue

Iggy followed Katya to the food court, just smelling the food made his stomach growl, but every time he ate he just got sick, horribly sick. Like food just didn't belong in his stomach anymore, like his organs had just stopped working. He knew his heart didn't work, he couldn't feel a pulse, and he knew his longs didn't work, he never ran out of breath, he never needed to breathe. He knew Katya could probably relate.

Christian was so proud of himself, he was making her smile. He loved that she was smiling, it made him smile. Vampires were still very human, in his opinion. They still had some humanity to them. Angels and demons...well, their's just seemed to leave them after awhile. When Iggy had first got his wings he didn't really feel any different but he knew that he was changing, but at least he was still the same old Iggy, and being Iggy was apparently a rarity.

"Really? Well back when I was alive there were a lot of people like me," he said smiling, But they all are still alive and have kinda lost themselves...I guess sometimes I think it was a good thing I died, I didn't have to lose myself."

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[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’s hearing picked up the slight stomach growling coming from Christian. She felt bad, eating when he couldn’t. Though Katya was glad she had retained that much of her humanity, no matter how unimportant it was- of course, Christian had kept everything else about humanity. Katya caught his smile and it made her feel slightly more self-concious. Strange. She blinked and concentrated on where she wanted to eat. The thought of human food instead of blood made her stomach roil, but it was better than nothing. Right?

“Well, in England there weren’t any that I met like you, of course that might not be saying much. I didn’t talk to very many people.”

She looked down the line of different fast food stores, flinching at the smell of grease. Instead of taking something way too much for her vampire stomach, she grabbed and paid for a slice of pizza. She used the napkin to wipe off the unnecessary grease, wrinkling her nose slightly. What happened to good food, home cooked, healthy stuff?

“How long have you been in Silverthorn?”

Katya asked, still focusing on de-greasifying her slice of cheese pizza and listening to the raging conversations around them. So many happy humans, and for once, Katya was content with her new found friend. Or so she hoped he was.

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]

"England? That's so rad! I'm from plain ol' America," Chris said with a laugh, "I don't know why you wouldn't talk to people, who wouldn't want to talk to anyone as groovy as you?"

Iggy really did like talking to Katya, she was interesting, mysterious even. He couldn't read her as well as he could others and it made conversation way more interesting and fun. He loved things when they were interesting, thats what made living fun.

The pizza looked at positively nasty to Iggy, he had been a strict vegan his whole 17 years of life. But right now any kind of food looked good. He had to fight the temptation of getting a slice of it for himself but he knew what would happen if he ate it. And he really didn't want to be sick in front of Katya, he liked her... a lot. He sat across from her, leaning forward in his chair so his wings didn't rub against the back of the chair.

"Ah well, I've been her for a couple years. Haven't really figured out what to do with myself quite yet," Iggy said with a sigh, "I'm glad I met you though, Katya. I was going crazy with being alone."

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[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 slightly as she remembered her hometown in England. It wasn’t really all that special, but she had loved it all the same. Some days she wondered if eternity would erode her memories, twist them, and eventually erase them. Katya hoped not, it was the one thing that kept her sane. The pizza was looking less appetizing by the second, but Katya was too mentally exhausted to try to find another poor victim to quench her thirst. Wincing slightly she took a bite and swallowed.

“Most people aren’t angels, you know, they can sense I’m dangerous.”

Katya informed him, feeling uncomfortable discussing her vampirism. It was another one of her weaknesses, being uneasy with sharing her secrets- especially the vampire one. Katya downed the pizza quickly, hating the card board taste. All her taste buds really wanted was a bite out of someone. Katya shook her head and tried to pack the feeling away. Thankfully, the thirst retreated, drowned in the taste of human fast food.

“Really? I just got here, seemed like a nice place- where the temperatures were cooler than some places in America.”

She explained, sitting back and letting her dark gaze flicker over the people. Oh, and the children. So innocent and cheerful… Katya bit the inside of her lip and shook herself out of those worrisome thoughts.

“Truthfully, I’m glad you came along. It gets a little lonely being avoided by everyone because of their instinct."

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]

"I guess when your dead, your instincts dull a little bit,"Iggy said with a shrug.

It was true, Iggy had gotten himself in a lot of deadly situations in his years as angel, just because the feelings of danger just never hit home. He had already died once, dying a second time really never scared him. He remembered dying so vividly too. That was one of the only few memories of his past he could remember. The memories of the death of his death popped every time he saw the bullet hole in his chest. He sighed, he wished he could've remembered other things instead.

"It must be hard," he said to her, "being a vampire and all. You must have a lot of self-control."

Iggy ran his fingers through his hair, perhaps he should talk about her vampirism. Some people just don't like to talk about those things. It was probably a more sinister thing than being an angel that's for sure. He often wondered if there were other angel's around Silverthorn. He knew that there were demons but he had yet to come across another angel. He hadn't really come across another angel for awhile. Sometimes it's just nice to have someone who could understand. But at least Katya understood what it was like to live for eternity, someone who shared the pain of watching life go by. Niether of them had been ready to die.

"I'm curious...what's it like to be a vampire?" he asked his eyes wide with curiosity.

[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 smirked humourlessly at his comment. Instincts sure did dull, the human ones anyway. The dark haired girl rarely felt fear, but other senses had been heightened. The instinct to hunt, for example. Katya cursed at herself in her head, her thoughts always seemed to round back to one thing. The one thing that she thought to escape from. Her mind was her own prison. Bringing her eyes up to look at Christian again, she shrugged.

“Maybe, I never seem to have enough self-control though.”

She answered guiltily, confiding in this angel she had just met. It was less uncomfortable, talking about her vampirism, but nonetheless still an unfortunate topic. It always circled back. You’d think after nearly a hundred years she would have accepted it, but it wasn’t something easy to come to terms with. Christian pushed the topic further and Katya descended into silence. What was it like? Katya hadn’t ever thought about it, hadn’t ever paid much attention to it. After a while she answered.

“I don’t know, it… just feels different. Like human, but not. I don’t have to breathe, or eat- it just feels like emptiness where everything should be, most of the time. But you get used to that, and then you don’t notice it. More it’s just the constant burning in your throat, the thirst.”

She flinched, hating having to explain how lifeless and empty she felt- a whole existence based on something as simple as thirst, but converted into something so sinister.

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]

"I can understand the empty thing," Iggy said with a sigh, resting his elbows on the table.

Christian had found things to be less fulfilling these days. And there was an emptiness inside him, but it was more the feeling of being human. Just simple things like eating and breathing. He figured that one day he'd get used that feeling. And maybe one day he wouldn't feel the need to seek out something to make him feel anything alive again.

Iggy reached his hand across the table and grabbed Katya's hand.
"I'm sorry I brought it up, I didn't think it would bother you so much," he said with a small frown, "I should've guessed."

He smiled at her and made another ball of light appear in his hand and handed it to her. "Sometimes I feel the same way about being an angel. Your so used to being human and then all of it just goes away like that. It's just hard to move on, ya know?"

Iggy let go of her hand, and the ball of light remained. He laughed and smiled and winked at her once more.

"No one who's bad can hold light," he said, "Light's really tricky, it only sticks to those that it likes."

[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 nodded, so Angels felt empty inside too. The vampire had thought that maybe they felt more human, since they were just shadows of their former selves. Apparently not, strange. Oh well. Why had she come to the mall? Just to torture herself it seemed, but if she hadn’t come, she wouldn’t have met Christian. Funny how things work out like that, without even meaning to. Katya felt his slight warmth over her hand when he apologized for bringing up such a demanding topic. She nodded, it was alright.

“It’s alright,”

Katya chuckled slightly under her breath, without amusement.

“I probably should be over it by now anyway.”

Katya looked at the ball of light as Christian handed it to her, still mystified by its presence. Attentively, she listened, her eyes on the ball of light as it hovered between his hands. He removed them, and still the light remained, in her hands. She couldn’t help the fragile smile that lighted on her lips as Christian explained how light was.

“How something so simple, could be so beautiful, I’ll never know.”

Katya sighed, keeping the light shielded from any wandering human stares in the food court. For a moment she debated with herself and then handed the light back to Christian. She hadn’t done illusions in a while, but for a second she thought about a ball she had once gone to by herself. So many pretty gowns and strapping men in their suits. It became reality around her and she reached out for Christian’s hand, drawing him into the illusion.

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]

"It's still a mystery to me and I am made out of light," Chris said laughing before winking at her once more, "But beauty can come from the most mysterious of places."

He smiled as he took the ball of light back into his hands. The feel of the ball of light in his hands felt so natural now. When he had first discovered his ability to manipulate light, he had no idea what he was doing, it was probably the most confusing moment in his life...or one of them. The most confusing had to be when he was still on Earth, even though he saw his body being taken away on a stretcher. Now that was confusing.

Iggy allowed the light to dissolve through his fingers once more. He was glad she enjoyed the light as much as he did. And it made her smile, and that was his permeant goal now. Katya seemed so sullen, he detected a sadness in her. The kinda sadness that made you want to fight it off tooth and nail. Chris had seen this type of sadness in demons on occasion, it was a lost sadness. Like they were just trying to find their way out of the dark. But Demons, unlike vampires, had a choice to get out of dark, they chose to shun the light. But vampires were just lost, not living or dead. And the world was a bad place to be lost in.

Iggy took Katya's hand as she reached for it. The image she was showing him was brilliantly beautiful, so fancy, and delicate. he wasn't a fancy type of guy, he didn't like the frills of high society, but he could appreciate beauty when he saw it.
"We didn't have balls like these in the 70's" he said laughing, "Well...we had something kinda like a ball, but it was a lot different."

[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 reveled in her illusion, those were the days. Everything was so graceful and properly done, as it should have been. The vampire didn’t understand why humanity had strayed from this life, where there were plenty more chivalrous gentlemen and polite ladies than there was now. However, she could feel the illusion creating taking a toll on her mind, weary she removed both herself and Iggy from it. Before, Katya had wondered why she had stopped making illusions, and now she remembered why. She felt so tired though she couldn’t sleep, and that made everything worse. Also, the blood-hunger was worse. But it had been worth it, to show someone what she could do. Her existence had little meaning, and though she didn’t know what meaning her illusions had- it was still something to hold onto, wasn’t it?

“What was your version of balls like? I was never in America during the 70’s. I think I was still somewhere in Europe.”

Katya waited for his explanation, if he would give it. At this point she was willing to assume that he would, seeing as he was such an agreeable person. It didn’t seem like Christian would be found anywhere near the pompous balls Katya had grown up with. Just the thought nearly made her laugh.

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]

Iggy wished he could make illusions like that, that seemed like such a marvelous, beautiful gift. Though, he had an idea that there was a more sinister side to the power. To make someone see something that wasn't there can be a gift or curse depending how someone used it. Nothing was worse than finising out something wasn't real. Perhaps that's why he was sad that the illusion ended.

Or was he? Iggy shook his head and noticed that he was feeling Katya's emotions not his own. That had been happening to him more often now. It was so hard for him to tell how he felt from how someone else felt. His mood picked up though when she asked about his type of balls.

"Well...back in the day. My friends and I and some other strangers would just have a huge bonfire and dance," he said, "There would be music and laughter. Everyone was just happy, there were so many colors. In fact I remember one time th-"

Iggy stopped, and frowned. His memory escaping him for a moment. He rubbed his temples with intense focus, where had his memories gone? He closed his eyes, still searching for the memory.

He managed to find it and continued, "One time, my friend Ryan and I...He went by Digger in those days, we had this huge bonfire in the woods by our high school. All the other hippies came to it and I played guitar and we spent hours there. Just singing and dancing, and the girls...oh the girls were so happy and fun. I remember I had to go save Digger from drowning because he was so out of it that he thought he had found a mermaid in the nearby pound and he chased her! I laughed for hours!"

He paused and smiled at his memories, "It was a little more grungy than your kind of ball, but it was a lot of fun to me."

[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 listened intently, she couldn’t imagine herself going to the parties Christian was talking about. It seemed so free for all, just pure fun. In Katya’s day everything was uniformed, done a certain way. She tilted her head, thinking about all the differences sixty years made. Wow, sixty years. It seemed Christian was doing all the deep talking and cheering up when Katya supposed it should be the other way round, seeing as she was so much older than him. She frowned slightly while Iggy grasped for memory, she felt terrible for him. Katya wasn’t yet dead, nor alive. All of her memories were painfully vivid in her mind, though most unimportant ones evaded her grasp. Of course, that was expected as it happened to most humans in their short lives anyway. She smirked as Iggy went on about girls.

“A bit of a ladies’ man are we, Christian?”

She teased, slightly jokingly still unable to use his nickname. Katya laughed and listened to the tale about his friend almost drowning. It didn’t quite seem like fun to her, but the way Christian talked about it… she knew that he had absolutely loved it.

“Definitely, though it was just the way that I was brought up that I find things like balls fun. The years you lived in probably had input in what you enjoyed too."

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]

"Well I wouldn't say I was a ladies man," Iggy said with a smile and a blush, "I was the guy that flirted with the girls but they just thought I was 'adorable' and nice. Digger was the ladies man, he was the trouble maker and bad boy, he always got all the girls."

He was so glad that Katya understood his kind of fun, even if he had began to forget all those memories. He only had 17 years of them, he should at least be able to keep some of them. But time had began to run on, and the longer he was her the less human he was becoming, he knew that much. He remembered visiting Digger a few years back. He went by Ryan now, and he had two small grandchildren. At the time when Iggy was alive he never wanted to grow up, but now he was kinda jealous. He wondered what it would be like to have a child or a family...

"Yeah those times were great," he said softly, he looked up at Katya, "There were tons of bad times too. I remember my dad going of to war in Vietnam...he had been drafted. And he died out there. I started going to all the anti-war protests, I was planning on burning my own draft card...but I never got the chance. I never got to finish the fight for peace...and well...apparently they needed me because they really didn't get anything done."

Iggy shook the sad memories from his mind and smiled at Katya, "But that was all years ago, the worlds a lot different now. So I guess I did die for something."

[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 laughed as he blushed, enjoying just conversing normally with someone. It was so refreshing. Also it was kind of strange listening to Christian about his friends and flirting. Katya was still stuck in the past somehow, and had managed to stay that way for nearly a century. Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t sure how she’d managed it. Even going back as far as thinking about Adrian, she hadn’t ever really flirted with anyone or even bothered to try to fall in love. It seemed such a weird thing to do to her, of course, she died young and hadn’t expected to ever have to marry until she was older. When Christian spoke of war and his dad, Katya’s eyes saddened. How she missed her father and brother. At least she’d held on to her mother until she broke under the Spanish Influenza, two years after she’d been turned.

“It’s too bad humans still haven’t learned, with wars and all.”

Katya commented sincerely. Why couldn’t they have learned after the first World War? Things could have been… so different. Katya had to remind herself that had the circumstances varied, she wouldn’t be here and Iggy would be quite old.

“I lost my father and my brother to the Second World War.”

She thought out loud, feeling as if she had to relate to Christian somehow.

“Of course you died for something. Everything happens for a reason, I guess."

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]

Chris grabbed her hand and squeezed it. He knew what it was like to lose someone, and he could sense her sadness.

"I'm sorry you lost them that way," he said sorrowfully, "War makes me sick. I just don't understand. At least World War two had some justification...but still war is an evil thing. Violence is an evil thing."

Violence had killed Iggy, it had killed his father, and even killed a few of his friends. He had seen a lot of things now, being an angel and all, and the one thing that never seemed to change was violence. Violence was such a nasty cruel thing.

Then Christian got a good idea, and he loved getting great ideas. It made him feel smart, and worthwhile. He stood up and pulled her up from her seat.

"Would you like to fly, Katya?" he asked excitedly, his brown eyes shinning with excitement, "It's a lot of fun! The greatest thing I've ever done!"

His wigs twitched with the excitement of being used. Iggy felt bad for keeping them strapped down all the time, he hadn't quite figured out how to make them disappear naturally. He hadn't really had a teacher to teach him these things, but he was figuring out the whole angel thing.

"Please?" he begged smiling.

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