<span style='color:purple'>Ah, okay just asking because we don't want you getting yourself caught or killed if you couldn't.</span> She said in referance to the mental barrier. She oculd have taught him if he didn't know. It possibly would have been uncomfortable to painful though, so it probably was a good thing that he knew how to put one up. When he said he'd been around the Market and 'working' since he was about 16 or 17 she thought for a minute and looked him over again. He couldn't be much older than 25 or 26... maybe 27? Doubtful. Any more questions? She had quite a bit to ask, but in the end settled on one. <span style='color:purple'>Yeah I've got another question actually. Why am I asking all the questions?</span>
Korif just replied with a shrug. Aside from not really having the guts to ask anything, he wasn't sure why. He didn't exactly want to come clean, as he figured he would have looked kind of stupid. <span style='color:red'>All I can say is I'm glad you're not asking her some of the things you were thinking when she wasn't paying attention, my friend.</span> Korif shook his head, to try and dispel the voice in his head. <span style='color:red'>See, hard to control.</span> Korif laughed nervously. <span style='color:red'>Sorry. So, you've decided to stick around, huh?</span> He'd only just realised how long she'd been there for, and it felt odd. It hadn't seemed like it was long ago that they came inside.
Leah nodded, she would stick around. There was really no point in leaving at the moment anyway, she'd probably just land herself in trouble. <span style='color:purple'>Yup, I'll stay for a bit, it's not like I've got anywhere to go, 'cept jail if I stay out there for too long... the fuzz aren't all that fond of me to begin with.</span> When he had said it was hard to control the voice in his head Leah did a mental back track and replayed the thought to herself. Now she was curious. Korif had wanted to ask her questions before, but he hadn't. With out knowing what he had, had in mind she couldn't do any of her usual slgith verbal prying. <span style='color:purple'>I'd ask you what you were thinking of before, but that would probably result in you not answering or blithering about it.</span> She said, teasing.
<span style='color:red'>It would, so I won't answer. Ok, no worries. The feds don't really get on so well with me, either.</span> Korif smiled. He yawned a little. He was tired, having been up quite early, and he hadn't done so well that day, most of his time spent evading the police or mob thugs. <span style='color:red'>You ever stolen from someone? And I don't mean your mother's purse, I mean proper theft?</span> Korif also found he had an odd habit of asking random questions, which sometimes fed his curiosity. Other times, he did it just to be awkward.
<span style='color:purple'>I'll answer your question, though i really suggest that you sleep sometime soon.</span> She said. Her mind drifted to Korif's question. Of course she had stolen from others, the girl, Em, had only been around and giving her money for about 400 years, she had to make a living outside of the schools somehow didn't she? <span style='color:purple'>Yes, I have stolen from others, though it was for -well not a good reason- but I did need to live somehow. For a while I ran with another vampdragon, the one that changed me actually, His name was Jagger, showed me a few good tricks, some that helped later on during exams to give you an idea. He had me, i guess the right words are 'grow-up' with the saying "other 'dragons are your dinner not your date" so that I'd run into less ethical barriers. Although it just goes to show how smart he was, slept with some thill and then got himself stabbed the next morning after she found out a few things with her mental prying and... wait, why am I telling you this?</span> Leah looked at him quizically and then realized that her muscles had tensed up as she had begun to talk about Jagger. She slowly made herself relax and sighed.
<span style='color:red'>That's a very good question.</span> Korif smirked a little. She was right, though. He did need some sleep, and he felt that he needed it soon. He yawned again. <span style='color:red'>You not tired? Hmm... better question. How long have you been up?</span> He tilted his head to the side, and his neck gave a piercing crack. He fidgeted for a bit, and finally found himself a comfortable position. Comfortable enough to sleep in, but he wanted to hear the answer to his question. Or not seem ignorant or rude, at least.
<span style='color:purple'>Oh, I'd say I've been up for about two maybe two and a half hours.</span> She said, as though it was perfectly normal for one to sleep during the day, and for her kind it was fairly normal. Although if it really did matter she could probably convince her subconsious to make her fall back asleep, it wasn't all that hard seeing as how she had over eight millenia to practice the art of making herself fall back asleep to evade certain individuals or events. When Korif cracked his neck she flinched a bit, she had never liked the sound of cracking joints. It just didn't seem right to her mind or her ears.
<span style='color:red'>Oh, yeah, the whole sunlight thing...</span> Korif yawned again, and found himself drifting to sleep. The voice in his head demanded that he stay awake. It was most likely getting paranoid about Leah and the fact that Korif could soon be asleep. <span style='color:red'>You know you don't want that to happen.</span> The Anuban ignored the voice. He'd gotten good at it now. As the voice ranted on, it soon silenced, having found that Korif was asleep.
She watched as Korif fell asleep, as the voice silenced itself she smiled a bit. She let her eyes drift around the space and over various pieces of furnature that were being made to last among other things of the sort. It was a nice place, not in the sense that it was well-off nice, but for the fact that it felt lived in. When Korif's breathing had evened out and become slower she looked him over for what felt like the millionth time that night. Finely drawn features that were typical of his background seemed much softer now that he wasn't awake and aware of what was around him. She lay next to him, her head lightly resting on his chest and forced herself to fall into lucid nightmares of her past.
He could feel Leah being a little unsettled, and he opened one eye. Last he saw of her, she was at the other end of the sofa. He didn't mind, as long as she didn't try to eat him while he was asleep. He had a feeling that she had some pretty nasty memories, but he decided it'd be best not to ask about it when she woke up. His own memories weren't too much different, though they were a little less... Vampdragonish. He rubbed his eyes and steadily drifted back off to sleep, where he could dream himself to better days and places.
...A deep red 'dragon with white hair and eyes shoved her into a wall. She could feel the bones that connected her wings to her spine break and unwelcome tears sprang to her eyes. <span style='color:red'>Well aren't you a pretty one.</span> He said, moving his paw from the side of her face to her neck and to the edge of her shirt. She felt an odd sleepyness come over her as the arden continued to whisper nonsensical words to her and keep her from crying out. A sharp pain was felt at the base of her stomach and she yelled, at which point the 'dragon took full advantage to let a few drops of his own blood into her. Leah's eyes flew open and she was breathing hard. Her eyes darted from one object to the next in a paranoid manner as she tried to slow her breathing down to no avail. <span style='color:purple'>Damn him, damn Jagger to hell and back. It's already been done. Screw you.</span>
Korif woke again, and looked at Leah. <span style='color:red'>Hey, you alright? It seemed like you were having a bad dream, but I hadn't realised...</span> He could see she was breathing much harder. He started to move his paw to try and calm her down, but he didn't feel it would do any good, especially as he was still something of a stranger. He would have eased her back to sleep, but he doubted that would've helped, too. He was seriously worried about her. He had a feeling that she would go mad if these dreams kept following her, but if she had lasted this long, she must have been extremely resilient.
<span style='color:purple'>I'm... okay... scared as hell... but i think I'm okay.</span> She said, her voice shaking as she spoke. She put her arms around Korif's torso and hugged him close, it was very uncharacteristic of her, but she was scared. That particular segment of the nightmare just replaying over and over again in her mind's eye. She wondered even now how she could have run with Jagger, aside from his hypnosis she had been in control of more than a few things. <span style='color:purple'>Oh my god, I'm sorry.</span> She said her eye's glazing over somewhat as she held back tears of fear. <span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class='ooc'><tr><td>Can't think</td></tr></table>
<span style='color:red'>Hey, hey, it's alright, don't worry about it.</span> He put a paw on the back of her head and looked down at her, a little upset. He didn't like seeing her like this. He was a little confused as to why she was hugging him, but it didn't bother him for long. He started gently stroking her head as she kept her tight grip. <span style='color:red'>You sure you're okay? You don't look it. You're still shaking.</span> Korif was ready to offer a sympathetic ear, but it didn't seem Leah wanted to discuss it.
Leah closed her eyes and let a single crystaline tear fall. She began to take deep breaths and didn't breath out until her lungs seared with white hot pain. She forced herself to calm down, trying to lock away the memories like always, see if she put on her emotional mask like she usually did. <span style='color:purple'>It's been a long time since anyone gave a damn.</span> She said. Her voice was bitter as she spoke and as soon as she had said it she wished she hadn't. She sighed heavily and nuzzled Korif. <span style='color:purple'>You're too good for this place.</span> She said.
<span style='color:red'>It's the best I can do, though...</span> Korif sniffed a bit. He was a little more comfortable now that Leah had calmed down, but he was still unsure as to whether or not she was definitely alright. He thought about what she said, and hadn't thought that she was without friends. <span style='color:red'>You don't have to keep it bottled if you don't want to, you know.</span> Korif tried to comfort her a little. He didn't like seeing his friends and family upset or frustrated, and whenever they were, it would always seem to rub off on him.
Being emotional wasn't always the greatest thing, especially if you felt emotions so strongly that there was no "i kind of hate them" it was either you hated them or you didn't care. She'd been half-anubi at one point, she remembered the high-strung realitives of her father's side of the family and how they thought to show emotion was a sin. Yet her mother's realitives had always told her it was alright, it had always been confusing to her, doing all the wrong things at all the wrong times. Then factoring in walking around Bhim, she had learned that it was like a sin to show emotion, it could very well be the end of you. <span style='color:purple'>Life is what you make of it, something to fall back on always helps though.</span> She said absently. She could tell that Korif was mildly upset. She herself had calmed down quite a bit by now. She stoped hugging Korif though one arm was still around him. She moved a hand from her brow around his eye and down his face, resting it there. She leaned up and kissed him lightly. No darkness, no devious intentions, just tender touches as she move her paw down farther along.
Korif was about to say something, but the kiss silenced him. He could only look at Leah in confusion. No one had shown him this kind of affection, save for his parents. He didn't know why she was doing this, and frankly, he didn't care. Korif had only just realised how much of a toll the years spent alone had taken on him. He suddenly started missing the things he had left behind, even if the memory was for but a few seconds.
<span style='color:purple'>It's been a long time since you lived for any reason other than the fact you felt you need too, hasn't it?</span> She asked, pulling away slowly, her eyes showed concern as she looked at him. The confusion in his eyes was easy for her to pick up. He probably thought she was just exercising her skills on him, she didn't feel bothered enough to check though, she wasn't even sure she wanted to know. All she knew was that she was in the living space of an anubi that she had met only a semi-short while ago and that she got the feeling that she didn't need her emotional mask around him. A thought crossed her mind, but she dismissed it as quickly as it had come. She moved back, sloser to Korif, and sighed. For some reason she got the feeling that she had done the wrong thing at the wrong time yet again.
Korif nodded. When Leah gave a sigh, he sensed that she felt she had done something wrong. He felt guilty and spoke. <span style='color:red'>I'm sorry, it's just... my worldview has been severely narrowed only to what I've been practicing, and it definitely hasn't helped.</span> Having realised his mind was about to speak, Korif set up a mind barrier, effectively muting his mind's voice. <span style='color:red'>Dammit, Korif, you're leaving yourself open again!</span> <span style='color:red'>I require no input from you. Leave me be...</span> With that, he shut the voice out again, and dropped the barrier.
