If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn [Lucian]

In the meantime, the night had become darker in color and the stars were the most brightest. The two that walk closely, hand in hand, were the only ones to barely see filling the side paths that lined empty or closed buildings. While moving from the theater where they once had been, the man next to the woman was the first to begin. She listened to him and watched him with utmost respect. The maiden was merrily in awe as she listened to the many stories, almost becoming so easily distracted she came near to walking into a pole. Thankfully, she had his hold to guide her into the right direction, wherever that was. He had spoken something of a cafe, which sounded nice, but not what she was intentionally trying to hint at by her own desire. She wasn't one for complaining very much, she was thanlful for the things she was provided with. It was only the polite of her to take the opportunity while it still rested on the table. They eventually made it to the cafe. It was small, cute and decently lit to be able to see it was open and so she she could see the details of his face. Fortunately either way for the immortals, they held nocturnal vision, though not all humans could detect that while they were in their fleshed disguises.

Eden looked directly at the lonely woman cleaning the counter tops. Her scent was determined to be in fact mortal, though it was quite easy for her to see that without using her sense of smell. The woman's face was blessed with wrinkles of age around her eyes and mouth, but gave off an almost younger glow to show that she was not yet beyond her years. She worked quietly in the darkness till the bell above their heads jingled for her attention to look up. Her eyes met Eden's first, and then, from what she could sense, moved slowly over the tigress's shoulder to gaze at the tall man behind her with green eyes. She seemed off with how she looked at him, intimidated the Regina thought. As she fiddled with the cloth in her hands, she showed her and Lucian to a table closest to the back corner, which Eden thought was perfect considering she enjoyed speaking privately with someone when it came to such personal topics. Besides, at least then there will be little distractions to keep Lucian from twitching out of control. Even when they sat across from one another, she found away to let her fingers, her skin, her touch to reach his so that he knew she were real, and not a figure of his past or imagination trying to calm him. She wondered what he would have looked like to accomidate all the trends and the materials he had to wear, how to wear and when to wear it. Then she began to smile to herself while managing to think up of how cute he must have been when he was just a mere boy sp long ago. She sighed happily in her place as she listened, realizing that she had been staring at him for so long she had lost track of time.

The cafe employee made her way of to their table and asked of they wanted anything. Eden blushed and looked out the window to hide it till it thinned back into her flesh, then glancing back with a small smile. "A cup of coffee please.." she said quietly before looking to Lucian as it was his turn to order. She was glad to see how calm he had become simce they got out of the filling theater. Crowds could be a big issue with her, for she sometimes felt claustrophobic being around so many mortals and other races at once. The feeling with so many living, breathing people around her made her tight and very nervous at times, which sends most tigers like her onto a panick to get out. Like she were an animal caged for days. With her pack however, she felt safe and most in control, like she has a purpose for being alive so long on her own. She now gazed into Lucian's emeralds for a long moment of time before parting her plush, light pink lips ajar to breathe in slowly, like as if she were going to speak, "Where were you in 2470?..." It was a strange question to finally ask, but she really wanted to know. It was the year she was born, and it only seemed right that since he was sharing that she knew where he was when she was just a cub. It didn't seem to bother her either with how large of a generation gap there was between them, which was very nice to be able to have. Without it, she would be beyond intimidated and lack knowledge, or self esteem when being at his side. "That was the year when my father was killed and the year I was born... if you must know. My mother birthed me alone, only with the help of my older brother to aid her in raising me at her side.. It didn't last very long.. but I would like to know please..." She attempted a smile and pushed back the misery from fading the twinkle of her very eyes.

The woman had then returned with what they ordered and was dismissed simply by a wave of the Regina's gentle hand that had been resting quietly upon the werewolf's. The cup of brown steamy liquid made her growls muffle under her breath. She grinned to herself and could already feel the warmth of drinking her favorite beverage tingling her insides to life. Taking the cup gently between her soft palms, she lifted it to her mouth and sipped, letting the liquid spill onto her tongue and down her throat in a matter of seconds. Eden then set it back down and looked at him like as if she were wondering if he had any questions for her instead. She would answer anything if he simply asked. And now since she trusted the wiser other, the tigress knew she could trust him to know her truer lonesome past. The roads were long and harsh, but she knew what she signed up for when being so alone for so long. But she was no longer alone now. She was happy.

Walking with her through the brisk chill of the nighttime wind was a cooling feeling. The wolf loved the sense of this style cold. He hated snow, thought it was the worst invention mother nature had ever conjured up, but he liked the wind. The wind could tell you so much. Who had been there, if someone was there now. It could tell you if a cold front was coming, or even which direction one should begin to sail. Not that Lucian owned his own boat, but it was the simple things he enjoyed. After being alive for thousands of years, some tend to get tired of the monotony of it all. But not for Lucian. He enjoyed all things simple and pleasant. Eden, was his favorite of all, though he knew she would not be simple, and was probably more complex than most. He loved to talk to her, as he continued to speak of his funny tales, from the first time his wolf side had discovered ice cream, and all the other happy times he could muster. He did not wish to bring the mood down. When they arrived to the small cafe, he smiled to how deserted it almost looked. They would be allowed peace and silence from all others, allowed to mesh with one another vocally, listening and planning their futures together. Lucian had been alive for so long, his stories could go on for centuries. Way before the lands had shifted to how they were now, before Lunari was even called such a place, Lucian had seen it all, been lots of places. He had done many things. As he listed story after story, he finally took a break to order his drink. Looking over the menu, he had pondered over the effects of a hot tea, how it would soothe his body and relax his aches. Or perhaps a smoothie, cold and chilled, cooling his very center and allowing him total relaxation. He continued to eye over the menu, finally deciding on hot tea. "Hot tea please, no sugar." He looked to the little old woman with a genuine smile. He had no reason to be rude to the old. He had a high respect for them, knowing their end would be coming, and still being happy, even after they knew there were races out there which lived for thousands of years.

"When I was a kid, before it all happened... I lived with my mom. she was great, though she worked too hard to provide for just us. I remember one years she didn't have enough to by me the bike that I wanted, so she traded in some of her jewelry to buy the bike I really wanted. I rode that bike all the time, all day after school. I just rode in the woods, and around the house until it started to get dark. It was cherry apple red with chrome accents. The spokes and rims were chrome. The things was beautiful. That was probably my most fond memory, before I shifted." When the drinks came back to them, things seemed to change with Eden. She spoke as if she had been holding back a century of pain. Lucian knew the feeling, he had seen all too much pain for himself. The drinks were placed on the table and the little old lady disappeared. "2470," he repeated quietly, thinking back to the year. "The only thing I can recall from that year, which I often wish never happened.." Lucian grabbed his mug, staring down at it as the tea bag soaked in the hot water. He could smell the steam, the fusion of herbs and hot water. As he stared down, the memories of the day flooded to his mind. The darkness of his eyelids covered the emerald hues from the outside world, only allowing him to picture the images as if he were watching it that day. "Prior to that year, I had met a werewolf female. We fell in love and for the first time, I mated to gain my 'children'. Of the litter, I had five boys and three girls. Of that litter, I had one beautiful son, who looked and acted just like I did. His name was Jasten. I was proud of that boy, how determined he was, and told me that one day, he would take my place if I ever died. He would lead our race to massacre the vampires, for their betrayal to my mother. He would take back the world for our race, making us the leading numbers over Lunari. I was very proud of him. Very proud. Fast forward hundreds of years later.. Jasten had been fighting, against his mother's will, in the army with my building pack. He wanted to be at the front lines, and so he did just that. He was a brave boy. On the first day of the bloodiest war our race had seen, Jasten lead the charge to a human encampment. They swarmed the humans, taking them by surprise. They killed many, while I stayed back and watched as a General normally does. Jasten found a human hiding beneath a truck. I had watched him for a time, until I could no longer see him. I moved my position to see him, watching to see if he were alive and well. What I saw changed my view on the humans forever. A small female, about average height for a human, moved to save the human my son had killed. In the process, she took Jasten's life. I was enraged, but the humans came back in full force. I called my wolves to retreat." Lucian opened his eyes and looked to the cup before him once again. He looked up to Eden. "I am sorry for your loss, but I was not around when it happened, in fact I did not learn of your race until about two to three hundred years ago. I had an awkward run in with a bear, but that was a while ago."

Lucian lifted his mug in his hands and took a sip from it. "Eden, if it is revenge you want on the humans, I would be more than happy to build an alliance with you. But if you side with me, your race will also be suited against the vampires. I will get my revenge on Demetri. I will rip his head from his cold body and serve it for dinner as an entree for my race. They will devour his eye balls as I consume his brains. I would also like to seek my revenge on the humans. Though I do not know the name of their leader, I have a feeling she was the one who killed my son. And I shall pay her a debt long past overdue." He held her hand tight in his, showing her he did care about her, truly wanting her to feel safe with him. "What of your brother? I would like to meet him." He lifted his mug and took yet another sip and placed it right back down again.

As much as she wished to pry into his tirade of continuous comments of his revenge, Eden allowed it to slide. Lucian, she believed, was in the state of rage and clustered with emotions that had never come to die, which she of course could not change, but quietly mind herself. It was fascinating to see how well he carried himself at times such as this, even through the thicker and thin patches of tragedy he had faced, yet he still keeps strong. Sympathy ran warm through her blue and dark veins that faintly showed up beneath her pale fleshy tanned skin, becoming more known if she looked in the correct places like her wrists or small hands. She was in it for the ride and would only let what life brought. If war was to erupt, so be it, but the only thing stopping her from attacking was her lack of numbers. Recently some of her pack had been failing to keep up, and sometimes she blames herself for not being there most of the time to keep them all in line. Perhaps new ranks will have to be given and taken from those whom don't and do deserve them instead, she thought, "I like the name Jasten, suits him by the sound of it, if you prefer my opinion anyway. Seeing you as a father really changes my perspective. I mean, I figured there would be lots of your kind having to do with most of your own genetics, but the fact you truly produced your knitted family makes me wonder more about you, Lucian. I, however, have never had children, or.. at least not that I know of.." Her brow arched curiously towards her own self as she looked down at her coffee cup and slightly laughed under her breath before glancing back up, "Can't say I really don't want children either.. I'm terribly sorry for your loss of Jasten, I know the feeling, as you already know, and you have my sympathy, even if you reject it. As for the vampires and humans, I don't care for. I do not believe all are bad and all are good, for we are all somehow the same, whether we choose to deny or accept it. It is where a lot of us go wrong about the world, and why wars are started in the first place. I am not against war, not at all, but it's just the fact of whom places the better card to make the first move depends the game of life." Eden slowly made the effort to lean onto one side of the chair closest to the window, peeking out of the corner of her blue hues to see a couple walking quietly on passed, hand in hand and laughing without a care in the world. The woman's smile was the most perfect thing she had ever seen upon mortals, and the man's gaze when it met hers made the tigress ponder the idea of what it must be like.

Finally removing her eyes to see straight, the Regina fidgeted in her seat to sit back up and fixated her gaze to linger upon the male's green, glimmering orbs. The topic of her brother made her blood turn cold and her body to stiffen, contracting back into a more relaxed state long enough for her to think. She chose not to talk about her older sibling, for it only made her sad to think that she didn't even know where he was. She curled a loose white strand of her hair behind her ear and solemnly looked down at her now empty cup she held between her clammy hands, "My brother's name was Darren. Upon when the time came of our father's death, Darren had already turned five, which at the time was full grown for our species. Our father had trained him enough so that he could take care of us while he was on hunts, and he swore that he would take our father's place if something were to happen. When it had, Darren had taught me everything he knew and more. But as time moved on, our mother had sadly gained a cruel sickness known to be cancer. We, as tigers in the middle of Brittany, France, were poor and far from the nearest hospital. We could not afford the surgery, and so time ran thinner and we were forced to watch our mother die before us.. Sadly, when I had turned nineteen, Darren had turned into something far worse and gave in to himself to begin drinking.. I fought him many times alone, trying to take the bottles from him and hiding all the money he would earn to afford such things.. but he became abusive, and sometimes hit me, but I still loved him as my brother and protector.. Then one day.. he got up and left. I had no other choice but to pack my things and go." Biting her lower lip, she sighed heavily by herself and leaned forwards, settling her elbow on the table to keep her head from falling within her one palm, "A few years on, I developed a love for writing, but one day, I received a letter that women would get when their husbands had died in battle. It had showed up at my office's doorstep within a cardboard box without a trace of someone's evidence of how long it had been there. When I opened it, it had said M.I.A. of him, and within the box I found several things our parents used to value and a letter from my father himself that had already been opened. It had mentioned of his plans, drawings of little things and the future for what he wished to accomplished. I cried for Darren's sake and managed a way through my tears to read my father's expectations of finding our race. He explained the experiments my mother and him had been settled in before they were freed into the wild, and that there were more animals being tested. Turns out, our race was flourishing all on its own in places I didn't even know existed.. That's when I decided to take on my father's plans and do what was to be done in the first place.. because of him, I have a family again.. and without my brother's help.. I would have never be this strong on my own thus far..." Staring at the cup now, she looked up and called over the woman before her words began to stutter, wishing her the small request if she had some wine she could drink or something strong to calm her nerves. When she returned with a small flask of whiskey, Eden almost denied it, but the woman patted her shoulder kindly and gave her a knowing smile that she knew what it was like. She looked at Lucian once before spilling some whiskey into her refilled coffee cup, sipping some just lightly and then putting it back down. "It sucks being alone.." She mumbled, tilting a weak smile up at him.

Listening to the tale of her past, her parents, her brother, all of it; he couldn't help but to feel useless. She had all these pains and these hurts, there was nothing he could think of to cheer her up. He would always be there for her, if she needed him. He moved his hand to grab hold of hers once more. "You are not alone." His voice was low and his eyes stared into hers across the table. In the few weeks they had been together, dating or whatever you called it, he was beginning to like her. He didn't understand his feelings or her. She was not a werewolf, she was something completely different, but he felt drawn to her. He decided to keep these thoughts on his own, hiding them until he knew exactly what they were. "I too have lost someone very important to me. Claire, my old mate. She was Jasten's mother. She will killed by a Kitsune. The only way that I know is it left a loose hair on the bed where she was murdered. I was so mad at myself for I couldn't save her. I couldn't do anything to keep her from harm. It was my fault she ended up getting killed." He paused for a long moment, thinking about things in-depth as he stared to his cup. He lifted his green eyes to stare at her. "Eden, what I mean to say is.. I will always be around if you ever need anyone, to talk to or whatever. We can do anything you want." He took a sip of his drink, finishing it with a last big gulp. He had ignored the presence of the elder woman, focusing solely on her. He still was unsure what he wanted or what he even needed. He liked Eden, but was he ready to move on?

His touch sent her skin on fire, but she controlled her emotions to not completely brim over and flush so that she did not appear so easily read to him. Holding his hand, she stared at it with a small smile pinching at the corner of her cheeks, a single dimple that had not succeeded to rise for a long time finally coming out of the dark and poking cutely inwards of her dusted rose, pale cheek. Her thumb gently stroked along the inner side of his palm as she listened to him, her smile fading slightly with the tone of which he spoke similar to hers and raising her eyes to slowly meet his luscious green hues, "Lucian.. have you ever heard of the quote, 'Everything happens for a reason..'?" The dips of her eyes were drying from the lack of control she had before, but still irritated with a soft red around her bright ocean orbs. Her voice was shaky, but audible to the werewolf's acute sense of hearing, "I can't even count how many times someone has told me it before.. but do you believe in it? That all these things we go through of our pasts will make up for it in the future and good karma will once return in our favor?" Eden blinked hard, for her eyes were beginning to hurt from staring too long, using her other hand to lightly rub in a small circle above the round-lid of both eyes before curling loose strands of bright blonde hair behind her ear. She was so close to just tying it up and away from her face all together, but she didn't, instead she kept looking at Lucian, "Forgive me, but I am not a religious woman, however I do believe that some of it is true.. I mean, without any of those plans to arrive at my doorstep, I would've never had a new family to call mine. or-or to see more of my kind and..." She stopped and smiled softly, her eyes drifting slowly away from his and then back up, "I would've never met you.." Eden said quietly, holding back from blushing and quickly looking out the window so that he could not see right through her thoughts within her eyes.

Holding her hand in his own, he stared into her eyes. He listened to her words, taking them in and thinking for a while before he even decided to speak back to her. He had heard the saying before, multiple times in his years. But for once he could actually say he believed it. All the bad things that had happened to him, they all led to this moment right now. He was not sure of his feelings for Eden, but he knew he did like her, her presence, and just being around her. But he could not voice it, could not formulate the words to voice what he was thinking or even feeling. Lucian could not help but to stare into her eyes, getting lost in their blue ocean. "Eden, I think.." he paused for a moment, and placed his other hand over hers as well, holding it between both cupped hands. He stared down at his cup and took quiet breaths. He looked up to her, and for the first time, in a very long time, he felt nervous. "Eden, I don't really have the right words.. a good portion of the time, though I do try." He laughed softly about himself. There was nothing he could do to fix his ways, not now, not ever. Without another thought or idea as to what he should say, he released her hand and moved his body from the chair. He walked around the table to her side. He knelt down on one knee, as if he were going to propose. Grabbing her hand gently, he placed it in between both of his as he had done before. He stared up into her eyes, though she were only a few inches taller than him this way. He smiled gently and leaned in for a kiss. As his lips made contact with hers, he held the contact for a couple seconds, just long enough for her to get the point. He liked her. When he finally broke the contact, his eyes opened slowly to gaze upon her face. His smile returned, soft and gently to the edges of his lips. "I think that everything does happen for a reason. We both suffered through hurts, pains we will perhaps never be able to completely remedy... But it is in the way you can choose things which will allow your heart to feel better. I don't know if I will ever be able to fill the void for you, or if you will be able to for me.. But I would like to try and see where we can take this."

Her eyes fluttered to a close. The world becoming dark and peaceful for once as her lashes lowered against the tops of her cheeks. Eden leaned in closer as her lips met with the wolven male, a first in almost all of history to her a canine was providing a heavenly affection with a feline. His lips were just like she had imagined, only softer, more worn than stiff and freshly met. She didn't mind it, she only expected it, and now that theirs touched, her mind was clouded. Slowly did she realize that a pair of eyes was staring at her, a feeling one could get when it happened that usually tended to make them uncomfortable, which did for her. She didn't look to see who it was, whether it be someone walking by outside or the waitress from earlier behind the counter. As the warmth moved away, it was as if someone had punched her into the face to wake up and to get a grip on what was left of her mind. Her poor posture readjusted and she stayed still for a while till she looked down at him, "Lucian.." Slowly reopening her eyes, her blue hues shown as bright as they had in a long while, her cheeks slightly pink beneath the dark lighting of the diner's one corner. As he spoke, Eden barely listened and instead peered deeply into his eyes to find some sort of comfort. They were emerald, and probably the most beautiful pair of irises she had ever seen, except one other - Diallo's. The thought that finally occurred to her made a shiver run up her spine, a guilt inside growing and spreading throughout to her bones. She chocked, "I.. I can't stay.. uhh.."

As she trailed her words, the shifter leader stammered to find an excuse good enough to leave without entirely breaking the male's heart. She still wanted to see him, and not seem so awkward around him while they were together. It was getting rather late, and she had a curfew to work by with her pack. She had to follow her own rules too, she knew, it wouldn't be fair to the rest, she thought. "Um.." Her eyes blinked once as an idea sprouted at the top of her head, shining beneath the bright blonde strands of hair like a light bulb was trying to get free from her mind. Pets. That was a good one, "Uh.. my dog.. I mean, dragon, Armageddon.. I need to let him outside, or else my cave will be shit fired all over." She put on a convincing, tilted smile and slowly stood, leaning down to peck his cheek and grab her things from the floor before pointing a thumb over her shoulder, "So.. yeah, I gotta go do that.. then." Quickening her pace, Eden moved passed the tables and left a tip down for the waitress while she neared the counter's edge. The woman looked at her with confusion, and slight concern for her display, but Eden barely noticed, she was just ready to get out of there. Waving behind her, she leaned back to see him and put on a very fake smile to make her seem very hopeful, "Bye, Lucian! I'll see you again when I'm not dealing with my dragon so bye and see ya around!" As she shouted it, Eden hurried her words and quickly made a disappearance into the night before he could attempt to catch up with her. Crawling against the alley walls, she shifted and darted off towards home for shlfter, soon finding her scent linger closer to the Shifter regions and into the safety of her territory.