A Gift For Millie (Open)

[Deleted]

Katalina watched him with amusement as he bagan a mini rant about how he didn't understand why they had to hate each other. She had to admit she was a little impressed with the passion that he put into his argument. Even if it was a little naïve. “Actually it's not because someone weote it down a long time ago and everyone just kind of went with it. I say that vampires and werewolves were designed to be enemies because a long time ago, one tried to take a chunk out of my side, and it very nearly killed me.” Now she knew what it sounded like, all werewolves were bad just because of one, but that particular one went after her because of what she was, not because she ticked it off or anything.

Ben apologized to her with sincerity for asking her age. That was a first. “Don't worry about it. I've become used to the people in the century not having the same good manners I grew up with.” Sure it was an antiquated system, but she felt like it worked. After all, even if the girls now won't say anything, they all secretly want the guy to act like that. It was something she learned over the years. Back when the Ladies and Gentlemen were dying out, people never noticed. A couple of decades later, the girls realized that they didn't like it anymore. Kat found it funny. It was one of the many reasons she didn't date.

She gave him a cross between a smirk and a smile when he mentioned that she looked good for her age. No matter what the situation, she always enjoyed a good compliment. Then the waiter came over, dropped off the drinks, and Ben did the very gentlemanly thing of pouring her glass for her. “Thank you, Ben.” If there was any way to get to Kat, this was it.

However, the conversation took a darker turn for Kat when he told her how his transition was. She wished her was like that. She remembered trying to kill herself in the most dramatic way possible. She barely remembered being bitten. She remembered waking up, buried alive. She remembered killing her arse of a fiance. She remembered going on a killing spree for thirty years. But of course, she couldn't tell him all of the gory little details. “Yes. The sights and sounds were overwhelming. My stab wound had healed miraculously. And I 'pigged out' like crazy for the next thirty years.” Needless to say, Kat's early life was a little more hectic than a broom ride.

outfit

[Deleted]

Ben frowned to know Katalina had a personal run-in with a werewolf. As far as he knew, he had no urge to attack someone like that and hoped to Merlin he never did.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "I can't speak for other werewolves, but I haven't acted vicious with anyone in my wolf form. I just have fun with it, running around in the woods, chasing animals, and feeling free in the night air."

Ben laughed about his bad manners.

"Well I did slip up there, but I do pride myself on usually trying to be a gentleman," he said. "I'll try to think ahead before further questions."

Ben clammed up a bit when Katalina spoke of "pigging out". He didn't think she meant pork, chicken, and beef from the Leaky Cauldron. Now this sort of made him worry. All this effort trying to get her to trust him, but could he trust her when her more animal-like side.

"I... see," he said. "I probably can't imagine how life has been for you. I guess I will as time goes on for me."

(Bumping up time, but feel free to reply to the other stuff)

After the tea, Ben stepped out, holding the door for Katalina. Evening was becoming night and the moon would be up soon, and tonight it was full.

"Um... I guess we should part now... you know, just in case..." he said. "It was nice meeting you, Katalina. I had a nice time."

Meanwhile, near the entrance of Knockturn Alley, two low-level dark wizards were looking for a seemingly easy target to rob of some galleons.

@angie1

[Deleted]

Katalina carefully watched his expression when she spoke of the werewolf that tried to kill her. She really wanted to gauge his reaction on that. But when she said it, he frowned and show genuine concern for her safety, which was weird. Not only was she a vampire, she was a complete stranger. Ben was very determined, it seemed, to get her to understand that he was a total teddy bear, for lack of a better word, in any form he was in. That he would never hurt a fly. And she almost believed him. Almost. As far as his manners went, she supposed he could be worse. He definitely wasn't the gentleman that she would have grown up with, but it seemed a positive step in the right direction for this generation. “Well, if only everyone were as rude as you, this generation might actually end up going somewhere.” That was the problem with being 130 years old, you sounded like you were 130 years old.

She did see that her having eaten her way down the east coast had an affect on him. Good. While she didn't view him as a threat right now, in the daylight, she could at least instil some fear into him. It was a sort of 'break in case of emergency' thing. He couldn't imagine how life was for her. “I highly doubt you'll understand exactly what I'm saying because there really isn't a scenario in your future where you almost die, then you do die, then you go on a killing spree. But let's not be picky.” No one could really understand what a hell her life was like before the 1920s, but she usually thought that that was a good thing.

(Skipping the tea and crumpets)

After spending practically all afternoon in the shop with Ben, they were going to part, not total besties, but at the very least, not enemies. It was a good start for Kat. She went from being pretty sure they all wanted to kill her, to actually knowing one personally. At this point, the woman probably wouldn't write him, and ask him to go on vacation with her, but if she ever saw him in the streets she would probably say hello to him. It was a weird sensation for her. They both got up to leave the cafe because it was getting dark. He walked ahead of her, and opened her door, to which she gave a small curtsey. A curtsey?! Before she could stop herself, she gave Ben the half-hearted bow because it was a reflex reaction. Mentally, she shrugged it off. Couldn't take it back now. “Thank you.”

Nervously, he said that it was about time they go their separate ways, and hinted at the sky. She looked up with her deep green eyes and saw the full moon. Great, another full moon running from a werewolf. Then she looked at him with a half smirk, half smile. “Probably. I'm not taking anymore chances. It was nice to meet you too, and so did I, Ben. See you around..” she said as she turned to walk in the opposite direction. But her words were stopped when she saw two grungy, oddly-dressed wizards standing in her way. Obviously some kind of petty dark wizards. “Boys. This is not the night, okay.” All she wanted was to get out of there before Ben turned.

outfit

@benmaxwell

Okay so I didn't know if you wanted me to stop here, and let you post his reaction and stuff before kat tries to be all macho, and ends up in trouble, or if you wanted me to just get into it, so I'll wait for you.

[Deleted]

(It's all good. I'll pop in.)

The convo over tea was a bit awkward at points, but Ben was glad that in the end, Katalina at least seemed cool with him in his non-wolf form. He liked her a great deal too. It was something about the odd combination of being a lovely young lady a year under him in appearance and having the wisdom of a 130 year old. She intrigued him. With a wave good-bye to her, he scurried off to find a private place to transform. He heard her say something as he did so, but he didn't want to waste time at this point. He already felt the change coming on.

Meanwhile, the two wizards tried to block Katalina's way of escape, removing their wands.

"Just shut your mouth, little lady and play along or we could hit you with a nasty curse... perhaps even an unforgivable one," threatened one of the wizards.

"Should have walked on home with your boyfriend," said the other. "Tooooo baaaad."

When Ben had turned, he picked up Katalina's unique scent. She hadn't moved far from the spot when she should have moved a good distance by then. Something was wrong.

@angie1

[Deleted]

Katalina had just gotten out of a really stressful situation, and even though it turned out better than he had expected, it still took a lot out of her. The blond was definitely not in the mood to deal with this now. She didn't even hesitate, or try to talk the men down. They didn't listen to her when she said that it was not the night for this. All they did was threaten her with a sad little curse, that probably wasn't going to even do anything to her. She glanced up at the full moon over head, hoping that wolf boy got far enough away from her. He was fine when he was human, she wasn't so sure about now. Her vision hazed over red, her face pinched, and her fangs popped out. Then she looked back down at them. “He's not my boyfriend.”

Clearly, they had no idea that the little blond girl was a vampire, she could see that clearly in their faces. She blurred her way from where she was originally standing to mere inches in front of them. “You really should learn to listen to women. You could learn a thing or two.” One of them used his wand to send some kind of spell towards her. It sliced a gash across her torso. She looked down at the blood that just ruined her top, and watched the gash heal. “That wasn't very nice.” She picked him up, and tossed him against the nearest post. Then the other one tried to attack her too. This time, she wasn't going to toss her food out. She grabbed his head and his shoulder, and sunk her fangs into his neck.

As he was busy screaming she couldn't watch the other guy. All of a sudden she felt her wrist sizzle, then her arm, and the pain was becoming too much. Kat let the second guy go, and he was still alive. She turned around, and saw the guy that she threw against the post with ropes in his hand that had water dripping off of it. “What the...” She was silenced by the stinging rope being shoved in her mouth, and it felt like acid on her lips. Kat threw out her hand to grab at the guy, and she heard something snap. Obviously it wasn't something important because he didn't let go. She started to feel like her mouth was expanding, but she realized when her blood started dripping that it was because the rope was actually cutting through her cheeks. A groan escaped her lips involuntarily.

outfit

@benmaxwell

[Deleted]

This was definitely something Ben enjoyed about being a werewolf when it came to those he cared about, and in the short time he knew her he did care about Katalina. Not only could his eyes and hears aid him in telling something was off, but his nose as well. True, a non-werewolf could smell smoke or something at tell that, but Ben's sense of smell was a bit more enhanced. Just smelling Katalina still in the same place was enough to bring him back, even if he was in his werewolf form now, though like Milo and Millie his form did not look like that of a large wolf. One could still see a great deal of his humanity and in Ben's case, part of it was still there. Whatever the case, he had to risk a negative confrontation with her if she was in danger of being harmed by another.

Thank Merlin he came. With a snarl and growl, he leaped at the two dark wizards. Slashing one of their faces with his claws, he then knocked him against the wall unconscious. The other tried to flee, but Ben ran him down and took him to the ground. The coward of a dark wizard panicked until he fainted. Ben sniffed him a moment, then turned to Katalina and walked over to her. He lifted a furry, clawed hand and took the rope that had been placed in her mouth. He then did something Katalina would probably not have expected. More like a loyal dog than a wolf, he nuzzled him head against hers for a moment, showing affection.

@angie1

[Deleted]

She could feel the blood dripping from her cheeks, and it was really taking a lot of energy out of her. Of course she was still trying t escape, but the men were beginning to be very pleased with themselves for having caught a vampire. They hadn't exactly 'caught' her yet, but they were pretty confidant that they would. Then, even though she had been weakened, she could still smell, and the blond had just gotten a big whiff of wolf. It smelled just like Ben, but stronger. Slowly her eyes went up to the moon, and then back down. He must have shifted. This was shaping out to be one of the worst days she ever had. She was practically being tortured by two sad thugs, and now she was going to be killed by a werewolf.

Kat just knelt there on the ground, and closed her eyes. She really didn't want to see this coming. There was a rush of wind, she flinched, then it rushed right passed her. In her confusion, she peaked through one eyelash and watched the big wolf lunge at the first guy, and run the second guy down. By the end of it, both of them were incapacitated. She closed her eyes again, waiting for it to turn on her. She could smell it coming closer, feel the body warmth as it was right next to her. Then the ropes were ripped from her body, and fur was replaced. In utter shock, confusion, and exhaustion, Katalina tried to run away. Her flight instinct had kicked in. Unfortunately, she had absolutely so strength to go anywhere. Her blur of a figure ran straight into a brick wall, where she sunk to the ground, her breathing ragged.

The vampire looked up through her eyelashes, and saw the wolf that remarkably resembled Ben. She could feel the wounds in her cheeks and hands and wrists beginning to heal themselves, but the large amount of blood around her mouth still trickled like it was fresh. With a confused and worn expression on her face, she tilted her head sideways at Ben. The fur she felt.. was he.. nuzzling her? Like her cat would do sometimes early in the morning to wake her up. “Ben?”

outfit

@benmaxwell

[Deleted]

Ben continued to nuzzle Katalina until she spoke his name. He then looked at and truly noticed how much her mouth bled. He took his hand and wiped off what blood he could. With a somewhat more savage mind now, he thought that would perhaps be of some help. In his usual form, he would know a bit more knowledge about how to help her in that area given he was trained to do so should any of the students he tutored fall ill or hurt. But now that knowledge was not quite there.

But he could do something that he and his pack could do that many werewolves couldn't.

"It's me... Ben," he said, his voice a bit deeper than it was in his usual form. "The Aurors will be here soon to investigate and I must run, this much I know. But I want you to know something as well before I do. You are my friend, Katalina, and no matter what I will always try to be there for you when you need me."

One last nuzzle and he turned and sped off into the night, which was just as well as two Aurors were now running to see what the noise was about.

@angie1

[Deleted]

Well, then her suspicions were confirmed when he responded to her calling his name. Kat just called out Ben's name from where her panicked body ended up, and he responded by coming closer, and nuzzling her again. Like a giant, killer puppy. She leaned against him, just for a moment or two, just until her healing could set everything right. Then he took his paw, and wiped, more like smeared, some of the blood away from her face. The blond gave him a halfhearted smile for that. Then came something she hadn't expected. Kat wasn't sure how it was possible, she wasn't even sure how he was doing it, but somehow she heard wolf-Ben speak to her. The confusion was painted on her face clearly.

He told her the Aurors were coming, and that he was her friend. She chuckled. “Yeah, I guess not all werewolves are scum of the earth. To me anyway.” Kat watched him take off, and heard the two Aurors that were coming to check out the commotion. She had to get out of there before they saw her. She pulled herself off the ground, and right before they reached her, she was gone. The only evidence that anything was there was a rush of wind.

outfit

THE END
@benmaxwell