Lady and the Tramp (Blake)

It was dark and cold out. The streets were empty, save for some people who were out late. Couples wandering the streets. The fearless. The drifters. The ones that had the misfortune to be chained to desks or work until late in the evening. And Niko had been one of those. He’d been checking on the robots. Regular maintenance work and all that. All of them were working and doing as they should be except for one. The leopard one. There’d been something wrong with the sensors because it’d been bumping into things instead of jumping over objects or turning when it was faced with a wall as it was supposed to. He’d had to take apart the frame for the head, check if there was any damage to the parts and after figuring out what was wrong, had to dismantle the mechanical eyes to try to figure out what was wrong with the receptors. And by then, he’d been the only one left in the area. Left all by his lonesome. And his hands were all dirty. Tinged with some dirt. His hands were rough from picking up heavy things and moving them around. Hunks of metal and steel. It made them tougher, rougher especially when he ended up cutting himself on sharp edges. But it was part of his job. And when he worked hard, he played hard. And tonight was party time. Party time for an unkempt, scruffy vagabond. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black, grey-striped flannel shirt with some creases with a grey undershirt. A black hooded jacket with front pockets completed the look. Nothing fancy. Just normal, everyday wear. And he had the gloves which he was wearing. A pair of white and black ones that he’d found in his apartment. He had another pair for her inside the waistband of his jeans. Ones that were a little tougher. The jeans were worn at the knees, some slight tears in them. Barely noticeable but still there nevertheless. He was wearing a large black helmet with a visor, covering his entire head. He had a big head. He needed large. A black backpack with tapered ends at the bottom was on his back with another full-face helmet inside. That one was for Blake. It was white with a pink unicorn on it. Hehe. His hair was always disheveled in some way. Tousled they called it. He’d rolled around in his sleep last night and fallen off the side of the bed again. He’d burrowed the motorcycle from a friend. Burrowed after winning a bet on a game. Now he had a brand new motorcycle that he could only keep for a month or so. It was black with blood red stripes and on the top near the visor and the sides, the headlights shaped like a rhombuses and spilling out red beams.

The rims of the wheels were red. There were some scratches on the mirrors. A fight with a werewolf, his friend had told him. He steered the bike to a stop near a street-light, stomping on the right brake on the back with his foot to make the bike come to a stop and let it rest, the purr of the bike coming from the engine cutting short. He turned the ignition off, one foot on the ground while the other foot was resting on the brake. Holding the handlebar with his other hand, he flipped up the visor of his helmet, only his eyes showing and looked around, searching for her. He opened up his jacket pocket, reaching inside with a hand to pull out his phone and slid his thumb over it, unlocking it to check his messages. Scrolling down through his contacts, he paused at his contact number for Blake. Blue-Eyed Dragon Lady. Because she reminded him of an actress he’d seen on TV that commanded dragons the other day. Last time he’d put her contact as the Little Canary and said that it was the name of a special bird when one of the guys had snatched his phone while he’d been working on fixing some motion sensors that’d been damaged by someone dropping a miniature robot. Before that it’d been Coffee Maniac. He wondered if she’d still kept the same contact name in her phone. Beast Tamer. He’d liked that name. Chuckling to himself, he scrolled down to check to see if she had sent him any messages. She’d texted him with a message of where she was. Outside a coffee shop that was open until midnight. Must’ve been a lot of night shifts. He was glad it was there. The address was close by, on further down this street. He typed in a message in his phone. I’ll be there soon. Stay where it’s bright so I can see you. Hitting send, he put the phone back inside his jacket pocket and stood there, waiting and turned the key to the side, rode forwards.        

Helmet-http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41nmbSXse9L._SY300_.jpg
Motorbike-https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a8/f9/fc/a8f9fcc8d6c2437bfccfc124f6c903c3.jpg
Backpack-http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v3/852867934_1/motorbike-outdoor-cycling-laptop-backpack-motorcycle-racing-helmet-Bags-Motocross-pockets-RIDER-parts.jpg

Saturday night was dark and cool. The moment the sun went down, Blake had been glad for the leather jacket she'd brought along with her. Having secured the weekend off from work at the Hospital, she'd spent the morning enjoying the chance to sleep in. It wasn't much - she was up and moving by 9:30 - but it was a luxury she savoured. Unable to do absolutely nothing all day she'd fretted about the house at Monet Quarter. Now complete and standing in full glory, she spent most of her time here. She cleaned, tended the gardens, even baked some cookies, but with no other tenants and a lack of patients, her chores were completed before 11am. She still had hours before Niko was to pick her up in the city. She'd been looking forward to this all week - the chance to see an underground street race. She'd agonised for days, mentally skimming through her wardrobe when she had the chance, trying to find the perfect outfit. It had to be appropriate for the setting, but it also had to satisfy her mood on the day. Niko had warned her he'd be on a bike and so not to wear a dress. That ruled out at least a few ideas. It seemed logical though, being around fast vehicles that created their own slipstream meant a skirt might be a rather awkward choice for other reasons. Every girl, at least once in her life, had made the ill-advised decision to wear a skirt on a windy day. She had no wish to flash her underwear to a bunch of strangers. Other factors to consider for her outfit were of course the colour scheme, practicality and weather. she'd been checking the weather on her phone almost religiously to ensure she'd have the perfect outfit for the night. The slightest change in weather sent her reeling as she had to reconsider her options. But finally she'd made her choice. That morning she'd slipped on a pair of wet-look leggings and a bright red crop top with a halter neckline that managed to tease a show of the tops of her breasts and beautifully display her back. Interestingly enough, she rather enjoyed any opportunity to show off her back, believing it to be one of her better features. Over the crop top, being a little revealing for the daytime, she threw on a light grey-knitted sweater - a little big for her but it was comfy. On her feet she wore black combat boots for the day, but in her bag she carried a very nice pair of boots, laced heels with metal studs. She'd also put in the leather jacket and a smaller purse for later. Over her head she slipped the pentagram Niko had given her so many years ago, hiding it beneath her jumper.

Out in the city, she wandered from store to store, browsing the various items. She could have gone mad buying all sorts of clothes and accessories, but reigned herself in knowing she had nowhere to put them. The sun fell behind the high-rises, plunging the streets into cool shadow and the time came for the stores to close. That was when the Mender stopped at the hospital, greeting her colleagues and changing into her evening attire. The completed outfit of heels, leggings, crop top and jacket had an instant effect on her mood. She felt untouchable and extremely confident. She could take on the world. She was sure to brush out her hair and ensure she looked her best. Transferring her wallet and phone into a much smaller purse, she stashed the larger bag in her hospital locker. She got herself dinner and wandered further, watching the city as it too changed from its day time apparel to it's nightly glamour. She found a little coffee shop midway down a main street and to her delight found it to be staying open until midnight. She ordered a mocha and a blueberry muffin, taking a little corner booth to herself, settling in for her wait. From her purse she retrieved her phone, scrolling through the contacts. Beast Tamer. She'd never had the heart to change it to something better. It stood out in her list of contacts, which otherwise was a perfectly alphabetised list of people's numbers with both first and last names, no nicknames. Nonetheless she opened their message thread.

Hey Beast Tamer
I'm at this late night cafe waiting for you called the Little Hipster. Address: Shop 2b, 276 Broad St. It's downtown. See you tonight

Hitting send she checked the time. 10:36pm. Probably still a while to wait. She switched over to the solitaire app and when next she checked the time it was 11:27pm. In that time she'd nibbled at her muffin and ordered three more mochas. No sleep tonight. A text notification pinged from Niko: I’ll be there soon. Stay where it’s bright so I can see you. She nodded to herself, standing and zipping up the front of her jacket. Grabbing her purse and thanking the waitress for being so kind, she headed out into the street, hovering beside a streetlamp. Even at this late hour traffic still made its way through the city. She heard the loud roar of dozens of engines, seeing an extremely large bike gang headed down the street towards her. The first rows passed by with loud engines and silence, but there was one whose head turned, spotting the lioness. "Damn girl! You wanna come ride me?" His comment was rude and uncalled for and sparked for others to follow. "Jump on the back love! I'll have you on your back later!" Some were a little more creative. "Get on now and I'll get you off later." And some were just blatant. "Fuck me now, bitch!" One even made to snatch at her as he rode past, forcing her to jump back. After that she slipped the pentagram from around her neck. Even knowing it was useless as a weapon, she felt safer holding it in her palm.

The Outfit

Niko heard something. The roar of engines. More bikes. He looked in his mirrors and saw one biker, then another one and more. A gang. It had to be a gang. He leaned forwards, turning the throttle to give more gas to the bike to make it go a bit faster and changing gears. Not so fast he’d go right past her but fast enough to get to her quickly. He felt the phone vibrate. She’d responded. He turned down the throttle, easing up on the gas and clutch so that the bike was slowing down. He didn’t want to hit anyone. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the phone reading the message to see where the address was before the screen light went out and pocketed the phone again, grinning. Beast Tamer. She hadn’t changed it. He put his hand back on the clutch and changed gears again. Checking the dashboard he saw it go up to neutral, saw the miles clock up to 40 per hour. The address was close by. Just down the street on the corner. There. He saw her standing where he could see her, carrying s purse. He supposed she’d been having coffee and maybe eaten some treats. Done some window shopping. Good. She’d not worn a dress. She was wearing boots, a sweater and some tight pants (that’s what he thought they were) which he noticed showed off the line and curve of her legs. Some of the bikers were catcalling and harassing her. One of them tried to snatch at her as he went past. Niko watched them, eyes trained on them to see if any of them would try anything stupid and sped up, coming up behind the crew and veered to the left, coming up on the outside to the left near the pavement, closest to Blake. The riders were more focused on getting to where they needed to go, not some lone rider outside of their gang but some of them had noticed Blake. Niko slowed down, pressing the brakes lightly and changed gears by pulling the clutch so that he was coasting along at neutral speed. One of them had stopped beside him, the front wheel of his bike edged out in front. When the front of Niko’s own bike wheel passed her by, he pressed down the brake fully, coming to a smooth stop beside her. The rider still reached out over the windshield of the bike and in front of him to grab Blake’s wrist, saying something about giving her the time of her life, making her scream and dumping her body in the river. He wasn’t wearing a helmet so Niko could see him leering at her. He was a good-looking guy. But good-looking never meant good-hearted. Not all the time. Not always. In the movies maybe. In fantasy. In stories and legends. But not in reality.

Nothing was black and white even though this world would be simpler if things were. Sometimes the truth was much uglier than fiction so people preferred fantasies and stories. It was hard to hear the truth if the truth clashed too hard with your beliefs or didn’t fit into your world view. Life was just all about survival. Defending your family or someone you cared about from someone trying to kill them directly or indirectly wasn’t a bad or evil. Fighting and resisting an attacking force that was trying to overtake and occupy something that you called home wasn’t evil. Especially against a force which had superior weapons to you when you only had say, a knife but the other person had a gun. There was honour in that. It was brave and there was no shame in that. It took courage. The one who chose to bully others just because they had the power and using the power to cause more problems to benefit themselves instead of helping people were the ones who were the cowards. And killers could be extremely good-looking. Rapists could be extremely good-looking. Extremely charming while being capable of lying to their loved ones’ face. Lying about something like cold-blooded murder and acting hurt that they were being accused of it, even if it was made with the intention of joking. They could fake tears. And they could act sincere. And they could get even the kindest soul believing that they’re good but eventually, what they really were on the inside would show. And actions spoke louder than words. Every. Single. Time. And actions alone, is what people will ultimately think of. Niko never judged someone from their appearance alone. That was stupid. What he paid attention to what was someone did and why. That was more important. That was when you really got to know someone. Then you really started paying more attention to the words because then the actions made sense. Then you figured out why they were saying or doing the things they were doing. At the same time, he had to keep Blake’s safety in mind. Strangers that spoke that way to women usually didn’t have good intentions. He didn’t have the luxury of getting to know this guy. So he had to work with what he got. And what he got was that this guy was a stranger who wanted nothing good for Blake. What he was saying sounded like it was coming from a serial killer and if he wasn’t hyped on drugs or alcohol that made it worse. Made him crazy and a threat to Blake’s safety because that wasn’t something a sane, emotionally stable person would say. He could’ve just kept on riding with his friends instead of stopping. Niko turned his front wheel to him to the right to face the rider, ramming into his bike with his front wheel hard to make him shift his attention and positioned himself between him and Blake. He blocked him, switching off the ignition calmly and glanced at the rider, making his voice light and casual,“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” The rider swore at him angrily and shoved him so hard he almost fell off the seat into Blake, then grabbed at Blake’s wrist. Niko lunged forwards, grabbed the front of the rider’s shirt with both hands and lifted him up off the bike above his head so his feet were dangling high off the pedals. Niko threw him against the nearby street light, his back hitting the street light and as he closed the gap between them to punch him, Niko lunged off the bike rushing him, knocking aside the punch and slammed into him again with his entire body weight into the nearby pole, arm against his throat to cut off circulation and make him choke and immobilize him. Getting up close, he flipped up the visor, eyes a colour of ferocious gold as he allowed himself to change just slightly enough to bring on the change in eye colour and eyes widening, roared in his face. It sounded inhuman. Monstrous thanks to his being part animal, part human and him intentionally making it louder and deeper. Not completely human but something bestial and innately primal. Niko let it ring out, louder and longer than he had ever before. He couldn’t be polite about this. He didn’t know what this guy was going to do. All he knew was that he’d seen that look before and it had always ended up in someone getting hurt or killed. He just had to get him away from Blake.

He turned his head to hear yells and a gunshot. Something nicked his right shoulder. A prick of pain shot through him but he pressed his arm against the rider even harder, ignoring the stinging sensation in his shoulder and clamping hard on his tongue to stop from making any sound of pain. Great. The bullet had probably tore through the fabric of his jacket, the flannel and the undershirt and grazed his skin on the top of his shoulder. Luckily it hadn’t hit anything else. Probably wasn’t deep or he’d have felt a lot more pain from the shoulder joint when he was holding his arm up. Or maybe it was the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Adrenaline made you ignore the pain. Niko released him, grabbing the back of his head and threw him towards the ground near his bike not caring when his head made a loud thud with the brake pedal and he cried out in pain. Another gunshot rang through the air. He raised his hands, backing away from him and Blake so that she wasn’t in the firing range. A couple of his friends had come back, looking for him, guns drawn but they were looking nervous. It brought back memories. But at least they didn’t want to kill him this time or they would’ve fired. He was an easy target. His gambit with the roar had worked. The rider stood up, gasping and sucking air and stumbled to the bike, riding off after the rest of his friends in a slightly wobbly line. Niko watched them go, attention not leaving them until he saw the back lights disappear in the darkness. Niko turned back to Blake, the visor flipping back down by mistake. Starting to lift it up so she could see his eyes at the least, which were slowly starting to turn back to hazel, he reached out to touch her hand with his left hand concerned and started to say,“It’s N…”

More of them came, continuing their loud and extremely crude suggestions. She checked her leather jacket was fully zipped, not wanting to have given these men the wrong impression. Their words were stupid and useless, but they wouldn't say them if there wasn't even the tiniest bit of hope in them that she would respond. Fortunately, only one had tried to physically grab her so far. Their bikes were mostly Harleys and a few Indians. She even noticed the odd chopper. She'd seen a few television shows some years ago about a family that owned a company specialising in customised choppers. They'd created movie-themed biked, bikes for bands and soldiers, all kinds of designs. Sometimes she wondered what her bike would look like if she'd gotten one built. Maybe something alluding to her lion heritage, or something intricately designed. Then again, simple was often better. Most of the bikes she saw here were very basic, but that didn't make them any less interesting - nor did it diminish the sound of the engines. With so many similar looking bikes riding past, the more streamlined sport bike was extremely conspicuous. Red and black armour against a sea of metallic skeletons. The man astride the beast wore a helmet, his fave covered by the visor - unlike the majority of the rest of the gang. In every way he was different, including his actions. He didn't grope or yell obscenities at her, but neither did he ride past ignoring her. She wrapped the chain of her pendant around her hand, the pendant dangling against her knuckles. Her fingers curled into a tight fist, the cold chain making an impression upon her soft skin. This stranger had gained the bikers attention, a deep voice growling out from beneath the helmet. It was harsh and threatening towards the male. That didn't mean she trusted him. It could all be a play, the strangers way of gaining her trust just so he could get what he wanted. She wasn't that stupid, not this time. The stranger threw himself at the biker, toppling his sports bike in the process. She flinched, the bike would be scratched for sure and she didn't want to be around when this guy realised it. He seemed like the sort with a short temper, he'd lose it at anything. She'd been a bit like that when she was a kid - well, younger anyway. Maturity came with time, but maybe this was a time to be immature. She hovered about the two, entirely unsure of what to do, but not instinctively running. She wanted to run in and beat one of them, but she wasn't sure of which one.

The two were pressed up against the light post, the stranger pinning the biker. To freeze the scene the two could look like lovers, not fighters. There was a guttural roar from one of them, whether human or inhuman she wasn't entirely sure. Had she known it was a feline beneath that visor, she might have been afraid. Instead she stood firm, waiting for the victor to emerge. She'd take him on herself. She couldn't be reliant on her guardian to show up every time she was in trouble. A movement caught her eye. A man rising above the rest. The flap of a leather jacket being pushed aside to reveal a holster. The weapon drawn and held aloft, shouts of fear and anger piercing the air. She had barely a second to react, ducking and rolling to shield herself behind one of the bikes. There was a sound, a gunshot in the night air. The blast heralded stunned silence, shattering the window of the coffee shop behind her. She smelt blood. Whose, she was unsure. But someone was hit. She stood with haste, wanting to find her next patient before it was too late. But there was no crowd, no cries of pain from an innocent victim. Only the ongoing brawl. The stranger released the biker from his grip. The man scrambled to his feet, desperate to escape the crazed stranger. Her fist tightened instinctively, watching the stranger watch the gang move on. She was safe, from the masses at least. The stranger finally made his move, turning, reaching towards her. She was ready for him. Her right hand whipped out with the pentagram, slapping away his hand, closely followed by a left hook to his stomach. ...Ow... He was solid and that really hurt. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that. Being immature, she shoved him back into the street. "Nah uh. No way mister. Back off before my boyfriend shows up and puts a hole in your face. Or worse, I decide to deal with you myself." She said, trying her very best to sound scary.

His voice had been light and casual, calm and not threatening. He’d hadn’t done any posturing or tried to act tough. Which is why the biker had thought he could just swear at him and shove him and Niko wouldn’t have done anything to retaliate. Big mistake but hey, sometimes people had to learn the hard way. He’d given the biker a chance to back down and move on but he’d been too stupid to see it and take it so he’d paid the price. Niko glanced down at the sports bike which was lying beside him on the ground. He had thought he’d managed to get the bike to stay standing when he’d lunged but he guessed he hadn’t. Well, he’d have to take a look at it later. He’d be paying for a new paint job but it’d happened and he couldn’t do anything about it now. Niko didn’t regret what he’d done. The guy had stopped right beside Blake and tried to grab her. He would’ve taken her or he would’ve toyed with her. Niko had been generous. He’d let the guy go without a scratch on him. And he had a gang with him. If he hadn’t been scared enough to run then he’d have brought his entire gang with him by shouting for them or just them noticing he was gone. Niko wouldn’t have stood a chance really. One unarmed person against more than 15 bikers, some armed with guns, wasn’t a fight. It was slaughter. They were the wolves. He was the lamb. And Blake was the other lamb. And he couldn’t let that happen. No one was going to die on his watch, especially not because of him picking a fight that he couldn’t win and putting someone else in danger. But he regretted showing so much aggression in front of Blake. It was a side of him that he was scared of himself. A side he barely tapped into because he had done it before, channeled all that rage into a scary place where he had seriously not cared if he’d killed someone and gone to jail for it. All for revenge. All because he thought that someone had taken the life of someone who he’d loved like his very own father. And afterwards, he’d hated himself for it. For thinking like that. He was scared of becoming something he despised. He didn’t want Blake fearing him because of something like this. But she didn’t look scared. Even when shots had been fired, she hadn’t frozen which was impressive. Instead, she’d hid behind a bike to use it as shield for a bullet, regardless of whether the bullets had been aimed at her. An instinctive reaction. He started to take off his helmet, reaching out until she suddenly lashed out with her right hand, slapping it away. He had gloves on so it didn’t affect him. He saw the left hook coming towards him and tensed his stomach out of reflex. He looked at her. Though, she couldn’t see his expression because of the helmet but he was grinning He was sure that’d hurt. Well, hurt her. Not so much him. He felt the impact though. But he wasn’t going to say anything. Not in front of her. No way.        

As she shoved him, he took off his helmet with his hand, the one that wasn’t attached to the arm to his flesh-grazed shoulder. It’d probably close up by the end of the night. But it’d be a nuisance until then. Standing at the side of the fallen bike he spread his arms out, the helmet in his hand and said, grinning widely at her and egging her on, ignoring the flash of pain that stung his shoulder as he spread his arms, “Do your worst. Maybe you can give me another massage.” He bent over, picking up the bike, standing it upright and checked the part where it’d fallen on. Chuckling at her words, he glanced at her, “Never knew you felt that way about me Blake.” Holding it in place he slid off his backpack and put it on the bike seat. Unzipping it from the top, he pulled out the pink helmet in his free hand and slipped his hand into it, turning it so that she could see the white unicorn painted on the pink background, with sparkles and red hearts on it. “Aaand since you want to deal with me, maybe by punching a hole in my face I got you this greeeat helmet.” He emphasized great, his grin growing wider. He started to put the helmet over her head and teased her.“Women like pink right? Pink and horses and unicorns. I got you best, brightest one I could find. Hot pink. Fluro-pink the guy called it when I asked him what colour it was. I liked it because it reminded me of you.” He was lying. He’d taken it from the attic this morning where he’d found it hiding behind the bookshelf before he’d gone to work. Niko made the bike stand up, looking at the multiple scratches now on the outside red metal part. He’d deal with that after. There was nothing wrong with the bike luckily. Ronny was a swell guy. And Niko had done him favours in the past, some favours that’d almost gotten his hand bitten off by a pit bull dog and Niko had let him test out some pyrotechnics just last week which had ended up in him almost getting his hand blown off because Ronny had thought it’d been a fun idea to light the fuse of a firework when Niko had been at the last stages of building it. He reached inside the jacket to pull out the gloves from the waist-band of his jeans with his other hand that wasn’t occupied with putting the helmet on her head, using three of his fingers to yank both of them out and pass them to her.“And I got you these as well in case something happens so you don’t hurt your hands.” He joked,“Or you know, in case you try to punch me again. Just do me a favour and don’t hit the shoulder with the tear in the jacket. One of the bullets hit it."

The helmet came off and the stranger wasn't quite a stranger. Niko stood beside his bike, cocky and good looking as always. Good looking? Where the hell did that come from? He's an idiot, I could've killed him! She blinked, expelling the thoughts. He had his own remarks to make, of course. Her jaw dropped at his brazen attitude, fingers tightening around the pentagrams chain. "Ah - Shit - No, that's not what I - I mean - I just - Shit..." She stammered, trying to collect her thoughts. She had to explain herself to him, she didn't want him to get the wrong idea. Well, it wasn't like she hadn't wondered - just idly - what a relationship with Niko might be like. You know, just one of those things you consider for a second. Maybe a few times - just out of friendly curiosity of course. It wasn't like she didn't know he had a line of eligible bachelorettes all the way out the door. He had that charming so t of personality that just attracted people to him. A natural magnetism. But it was nothing more than friendship between them. She took a breath, recentering her thoughts. "No, I- I just said that to scare the stranger. I thought he- you'd - try something. I figured if I said I had a... a you know, then maybe he'd back off. I could've taken him - you." He produced from his backpack an extremely pink helmet. She flinched, recoiling. Her face screwed up in distaste. "Ew, no. You can have that one and I, She stepped towards him, grabbing the black helmet from his hand. "Can have this one." She stepped back with a slight smirk, practically daring him to challenge her. From beneath his jacket he produced a set of leather gloves for her. It was something she hadn't considered, so it was nice to see he'd thought of it. "Ah my great Guardian, always thinking of my safety Tucking the helmet under her arm she reached out to take the gloves from him. Smiling earnestly she said, "Thanks." Pulling the gloves on she held the helmet in front of her torso, leaning her weight to one side she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, wondering what he might do.

It was strange. Despite his savagery towards the awful biker, she wasn't afraid of him. She'd seen him become rather violent towards another being, yet she couldn't connect the violent act with the grinning man she knew. It could be as simple a thing as her inability to see him as dangerous. But that couldn't be it. Only a week previous he'd let slip his fangs in close proximity to her, making her shrink away from him. More likely it was the helmet and visor. A simple covering of the face and she couldn't recognise him. Beneath the helmet his voice came muffled and unnatural. The simplicity of a hidden face could shield her mind from forever linking her friend with an act of fearful violence. She was grateful for that. Her arms wrapped just a little tighter around the helmet, hugging it to her abdomen. She wanted to thank the object for it's generosity. She got to keep her friend all to herself, no tainted memories, no fear of him turning against her. A lioness could not survive forever on her own. She needed a Pride to shield her, to guide her, to hunt with her. To love her. A social being being insociable for so long was a painful thing. It left a void inside, one that was confusing and troublesome. The only way to be whole once more was to return to her natural social order, working together with others like her. A community. A family.

He took off his jacket, then the flannel shirt to check how deep the bullet went. It wasn’t that painful so he figured it had only penetrated the surface of his skin but he needed to see just in case. He bent down slightly, checking the area in the mirror briefly. A tiny dash of blood dotted the shoulder area, at the top. But there was little blood and he wasn’t feeling that much pain so it was just a graze. He’d been right. The bullet must’ve just barely skimmed the skin. Now where’d that pain come from then? Strange. He slipped the clothes back on and smiled at her, letting her know that it wasn’t a big deal and he’d understood how she could’ve mistaken him for having bad intentions because of the way he’d been acting a second ago.“I know. You were going to punch a hole in the crazy stranger’s face, not mine.” He said,“We’re going to have to spar one of these days. For someone who heals others you got some fight in you.” He looked at her, patting her head once teasingly and continuing to smile at her,“That’s so cute. You think you could’ve taken me.” Niko had chosen to spend his time with her. He was happier when he was around her. The happiest. A kind of happy that he hadn’t ever felt before with anyone. That couldn’t happen with anyone else. It was a better feeling than friends. He felt like he could joke around with her and laugh with her and she wouldn’t try to take something harmless he did and throw it back in his face to hurt him when he wasn’t. Or she’d just joke around with him or just point it out. Niko knew when someone was trying to hurt him, really hurt him where it hurt. He’d been around others enough to know how that played out. But everyone he knew, of the female kind, were just his friends. The only one who he thought could be something more was Blake. He reached out, putting his palm on the helmet and pushed it down. He lifted his foot, catching it on by sticking his foot and part of his leg. He threw it high into the air above his head where he caught it in his head and it slipped perfectly on. He winked at her as she spoke about him being her guardian and thanked him for the gloves and said,“Always and forever. And I brought the bike. I get the black helmet.” He reached out to put the pink helmet back on her head with his other hand, fitting it on and said,“Just put the helmet on. I lied when I said it took 10 minutes. It takes half an hour and thee guy who wants his car fixed didn’t tell me what the problem was so it might take longer. I just didn’t want you hanging around alone on the streets out so late. Some things you need to know when you’re riding,” Niko said. “Put your hands on my hips. When you feel me lean to the side when I turn, lean with me exactly as I do and just hold onto the bike with your legs. Just squeeze it. Don’t push me forwards or slide forwards when we’re riding or I’m going to move forwards and then I’ll lose control of the bike.” He pointed at the exhaust pipe at the back,“And keep your leg away from that exhaust pipe.”

One hour later…

The buildings were gone leaving nothing but open road. They were on the highway just out of the city, the lights flashing behind them, yellow-orange orbs dancing in sequence, one after another. The only thing Niko could hear was the roar of the engine, the concrete underneath the wheels as he sped along. He was glad she hadn’t ran away. He hadn’t scared her. Someday he’d have to tell her about his life. The meaner side of him that had jammed a pen into someone’s ear with the intention of twisting it and rupturing the ear-drum. That had thought nothing of tackling someone through dry paper wall and snapping their neck when they were down. Not something that he was proud of. He had been younger then. A lot younger when he had been more prone to anger at tiny things that in the grand scheme of things, weren’t so important. But she deserved to know what he had done in his past. How he come to be the Shifter he was today. He had always been fun-loving and easy-going but the other parts had been developed out of necessity. Things didn’t happen out of nowhere. Especially something like what he’d just done and there was a reason for that. Not one that anyone should envy. Being an outsider wasn’t fun. Being an outsider (in the sense that he’d been a Shifter and had been learning how to operate and function in the human world) by association who was wanted dead or hurt by others because he was just another body that stood in the way of something they wanted could’ve killed him many times over was seven different kinds of hell. In all three areas. Mental, physical and emotional. He was that type of guy. But of course, it meant he ran the risk of being killed or hurt himself. He knew that. He’d spent years locked in a cage. But he didn’t let people hurt his friends, not if he could help it. He wanted her to know. He wanted her to know where all of this came from. But not now. Now he was here. With miles of road in front of him. With Blake. With darkness and night surrounding him. It felt good. The feeling. And it felt even better with her pressed up against him. Her hands on him. He liked it. They were coming up to the racing area. It was large, the size of a football field. Thousands of metres long. It looked like someone had taken the craziest highway, stretched it until it was double its size and plonked down roundabouts and intersections at random sections. The road even split and crossed paths. Some parts of the highway went underneath other parts and over other parts. There were a lot of sharp turns and corners. No traffic lights. Niko could see some cars, parked haphazardly along the curb and grass. Some hotrods. Some tuners. Some that he expected had been modified. As he rode further up he heard music. Loud, techno music that was electric and electic. With a lot of drum beats. Niko slowed down, steering the bike in amidst a small cluster of bikes near a Toyota Supra. Some were all lined up against the guard rail at an angle with the stands propping them up at the ground at an angle to hold them up so that they didn’t fall. Some were lying on the ground. Some had been creative and managed to position the bike underneath the guard rail and wedge the front wheel in between the slats in the guard rail to stop it from falling. The gap was large enough which was good. The guard-rail stood on the side of the tracks, extending in one straight line with the entrance further down to the left. People were already there, spread out on the grass and around their cars, hanging around and laughing. There were cars scattered about on the part where the tracks weren’t there. All cars were meant for one thing and one thing only. Speed and drifting. It wasn’t enough to roar. The Kings and Queens here had to prove their roars weren’t empty. They had to win on the road. And just for one night, they could feel invincible. He stopped the bike, braking to a slow, smooth halt and turned off the ignition. He said to Blake,“You get down first then me. It’s easier.” He placed one foot down, waiting for her to get off then followed suit, swinging his left leg over first then hopped down completely. Holding onto the front, he carefully lowered it so that it was at a diagonal angle, having to bend it over so that the side was close to the ground. He moved the front wheel in between the slats, resting part of the side against the right slat so that it was at an angle and wasn’t falling. He moved back, turning back to Blake and took off the helmet, smiling at her and said,“Let’s go.” He jumped the railing, the helmet tucked under his arm and extended his hand towards her, pantomiming a gentlemanly bow and said in an exaggerated overly-courteous voice with a grin,“May I help, Lady Blake?”

[occ: I had to move it forward and apologies for the length. I got carried away]

To her great surprise he removed his jacket. It wasn't particularly cool out, nor was it particularly warm. But surely he'd need the jacket for the ride. Was it not safer? He removed his shirt to reveal the tight t-shirt underneath. Was something wrong? He bent oddly before his bike, peering at his shoulder in the tiny mirror. She had been selfish, so very selfish. Wrapped up in her own thoughts and witty remarks, she'd failed to notice the blood coming from his shoulder. Where it lay abandoned for the moment, the tear in the jacket was now plain as day. As too was the bloodied rip on his over shirt. The tee beneath, she could not help noticing, was extremely fitted, clinging perfectly to his muscular torso. In a moment of weakness her breath hitched and she near swooned. She'd seen him shirtless before of course, but this rugged vagabond before her offered a depth to the artistry she'd not seen before. Selfish, so very selfish. She rushed forth, muttering a string of apologies, fingers delicately surveying the area as she peered at the wound. It was bloody, but not serious. The bullet appeared to have merely scraped his shoulder, its momentum slowed by the physical barrier his thick clothing provided. The Mender spared a glance for the jacket, appreciative for its sacrifice. She had a strange habit of thanking inanimate objects this night. Her fingers were careful not to probe too harshly and cause him distress. Taking a tissue from her purse she cleared away the worst of the blood but had no tools to fix it with. "We can go to the hospital and I'll bandage it for you. It doesn't look like needing stitches which it good. But it may scar if we don't treat it properly." In response he only relayers his clothing and shrugged, like it was no big deal. But it was a big deal. He'd nearly been shot because of her. Or did a graze from the bullet count as being shot? In any case bullets were involved and he'd been injured, she felt at fault. A Mender shouldn't be the one causing the injuries, but the one doing everything to fix them. Nonetheless she stood back, reclaiming his helmet in her arms, still holding it as a barrier between them. He was cocky and light hearted as ever, no trace of pain about him. "You'd be surprised by the things you don't know about me," she responded. "But why should I not be able to fight, just because I'm a Mender? You'll see, I'll take you down and you won't even know what happened." She grimaced as he pet her head like a common house cat. In the Feline Kingdom such an act was considered one of derision, a means of asserting oneself over another. In this sense he had every right, he was an Epror, their clans third in command, while she was a Mender, the clans only one. But she believed he could be surprised at her ferocity, despite her lack of skill in fighting. She and her brother had trained together, but he had always bested her. Blake had learnt the basics from a young age, just as all Shifters did, but she was not quite so gifted as he. She could be easily distracted and bored by the repetitious acts of training. Adventure was something she'd loved, learning all kinds of new things. Being a doctor or a veterinarian afforded her a purpose and means to maintain some relationship with her animal half after her self-imposed restrictions. But she adored children and often wondered what it would be like to be an educator. She saw the human teachers, many holding an incomparable level of passion for what they did, taking joy in the triumphs of their students. It was her love of helping people that drove her, so she believed being a doctor, a veterinarian and a Mender would be right for her. She enjoyed the practise, but she wondered often if she had made the right decision.

Lost in these old musings, her grip loosened on the helmet, allowing Niko a chance of stealing it back from her. He placed the gaudy helmet on her head a little forcefully, rathe un-gengtleman-like. She rolled her eyes. But, ever the good student she listened intently to his instructions, ensuring she wouldn't do anything wrong. Upon his instruction, she mounted the bike behind him, being extremely cautious of her placement of her leg. His warning was well founded as she'd heard the stories of people burning their legs with the exhaust pipe. Some of the images were quite graphic and would make a more squeamish person feel rather ill. Her arms wrapped around his waist, but as she felt more secure her hands slid down to his hips. The bike rumbled to life beneath her, sending a surge of energy up through her chest. She'd never ridden one before, but was eager to see how it differed from a car. They took off quickly, her stomach disappearing for a few moments. A rush of adrenaline had her grinning while she looked carefully over his shoulder to watch the city pass them by.

She quickly grew more and more comfortable atop the bike, trusting her guardian to keep the vehicle on course. She lowered her head behind his back, resting against his good shoulder. Despite her attempts at keeping her distance from him, the bikes movements forced her body to be pressed up against his. Not that she minded much. She feared if she sat too far back the wind would catch her and rip her off the motorcycle. Each turn they made made her stomach clench in fear, believing they would fall off. Each time her grip on his hips would tighten and her body would lean with his. A flooding sensation of relief came after each successful round. Sometimes, if the corner was particularly sharp, she'd bit her lip and whimper beneath the helmet, but they came fewer as the city grew further away. Long ago they'd left the grid of high-rises, hotels and shopping centres, sneaking through the suburbs and heading in a ways she'd never travelled. The road was wide and straight, with few variations. Silence and darkness made them believe themselves to be the only two beings out there. Only they and the bike beneath them were truly real. Everything else might well have been a dream. Overhead the stars were numerous, though not quite so much as they had been in the south. There was time for deep thought as the loud engine of the bike prevented conversation. These stars were in some way different to the ones she knew in the south. There was a different perspective on the universe. Her eyes drooped beneath the visor of her helmet, but she worried sleep might spell trouble for the both of them, so she forced herself to remain awake. She wondered what he was thinking about. Of course part of his brain would be centred on controlling the bike to keep them from crashing, but the rest of his brain would be working elsewhere. Some of it controlling his organs, some his breathing, some sending signals about his body to ensure his wound healed. But the rest, the rest was indulged in thought. Unable to read minds, she struggled to decide what topic would hold his interest. Or did he jump from one thought to another in a rapid transition too quick to keep track of? These questions could not be answered without being insensitive. The bike slowed and she lifted her head. There was sound now, music and chatter and that unmistakable roar of a modified engine. Some had clearly only flipped the air filter, to give their car that snarling sound, but others had put in far more effort. They ambled past row upon row of cars, each surrounded by a group of varying size. There were bikes there too, quite a few of these were choppers, beautifully customised. Niko directed the bike alongside a Supra with one of the smaller groups appraising it. She let him park it as he wished and kill the engine before even considering getting off. Sliding one leg over the back she dismounted, glad for the release of blood to her muscles. She removed her helmet and raised her arms above her head in a stretch while her companion ensured his own return to two feet and the resting position of their mechanical mount. There were so many bodies mingled with exhaust fumes, the air was thick and stifling. Blake first tried pulling her hair up into an elegant high ponytail, but that could not cool her enough. A hand reaching at her throat, her fingers gripped the zipper of her leather jacket, pulling it down until the two halves completely disconnected. It was swiftly removed and stuffed into the helmet, to reveal the red crop top beneath. The top showed a teasing view of the tops of her breasts while the haltered neck displayed the skin of her upper back proudly. She grinned at him and took his hand without hesitation. "My good man. You have done so much already. Might we find this friend you promised to help?" She mimicked his gentlemanly attitude with a more ladylike tone. This was a large group of unknowns, she was safer following his lead.

(ooc - no trouble at all. I enjoyed reading all of it.)

Cleavage. Niko’s attention was drawn to it. He couldn’t help but stare, pausing. He quickly looked away after a moment but he was grinning. He was imagining what was underneath. Couldn’t help it really. He hadn’t meant anything by the pat. Just teasing her. He didn’t think she was unequal to him in any way regardless of their ranks. Basically, he thought that everyone deserved respect no matter what rank they were. But it had to be mutual. If someone treated him badly then he did not need to respect that person because that person did not respect him. It was that simple but for some reason some people couldn't get that. And he was no masochist. And he would be more than happy if she could fight him. It meant she could protect herself and that was one of the sexiest things about a woman. That and her mind which was equally important. Looks faded over time. A mind, once honed, would stay as sharp as ever even into old age. Her fingers felt like they slipped into his perfectly, even with the gloves he had on. Holding her hand, sliding his other arm around the back of her knees with his other hand and slid his other hand across so that it was around her side, his arm around her back and once he had a secure hold, lifted her up over the guard rail, bridal style. His shoulder did not hurt that much. It was better the bullet had shot a hole in the shoulder of his jacket and torn his under-clothes instead of his body. He was feeling fine so he didn’t think it was a big deal. Her life and well-being was a big deal to him. He didn’t want anything to hurt her. A scar was a small price to pay. The tissue had gotten rid of most of the blood. He had felt slightly self-conscious when she had been surveying the area with the blood and clearing away the blood with tissue but he liked her touch. They couldn’t go to the hospital and he did not think bandages were necessary. It was a tiny graze. But he trusted Blake.

“We shall. This way, oh sweet lady o’ mine,” Niko said, carrying her while walking past the scattered array of parked cars and groups of people, socializing with one another. He just liked carrying her so he didn’t let her go yet. Some were leaning against the bonnets of their cars or sitting on them, drinking and jostling with one another and goofing off.“He never told me his real name but everyone here calls him Arnie because he’s big and muscular and he likes quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger lines from movies. He’s got this scar on his face that he says he got when he saved his ex-girlfriend and kid from a fire. At first I didn’t believe him but I heard him talking to her the other day about it. He’s a big guy. He’s older than me. Arnie’s cousin owns the place. Least that what he says. He says he owns the entire drag strip. There’s intersections, roundabouts and roads for miles. No traffic lights. He says it’s legal but we scram when security sees police cars coming up, to avoid questions. Everyone knows routes that throw the police off. Arnie keeps some bandages in his little office place. I’ll ask him if we can-” Suddenly the music stopped and a familiar melody from the movie Titanic filtered through the air. Laughter rang out along with boos rang through the air. Some people started belting out the words, earning roars of laughter from their friends. Niko looked at Blake, smirking. Someone else roared. A girl clad in nothing but a low-cut top and some really low shorts darted past them, giggling.“BREE! WHAT’D I TELL YOU ABOUT TOUCHING MY PLAYLIST!” Someone roared. They were almost the same height but he had a lot more muscle than Niko that made him look like a bodybuilder on steroids and looked meaner. He had a glass eye for one thing and half of his face had noticeable burn mark on it. The only thing that didn’t make him look so bad were the pair of cat ears on the top of his head. It stood out like a sore thumb. Niko walked further inside the mass of people and cars, carrying Blake. It was an unconscious thing. Some people, who recognized him, waved at him or looked his way. And a tiny square building at the side of the race track on the grass. Further down there was a parking lot. A big, heavyset man with a scarred face and eye was standing in front of the building, scowling at a girl in nothing but a pair of tight shorts and a top that showed cleavage. As Niko got closer, he put Blake down. As she ran past them, laughing she wasn’t looking where she was going and hit Niko. She stumbled backwards, tripping over a can and reached out to grab the nearest person’s arm with both hands. In this case, it was Blake and Niko’s. She laughed again and swayed.“Hey Bree-meister,” Niko said loudly. Her head snapped to Niko. She let go of Blake and slapped Niko’s chest,“Niko you made it!” Glancing at Blake, she smiled at her wobbly,“Heeeeeey. You a friend? His sister? Cousin? Niko never brings anyone here. It’s his happy place to go to when he’s stressed or grumpy. He’s our mechanic.” She sighed, patting Niko’s shoulder,“I thought he wasn’t like the others but nope, he retreats into his own little cave when he needs his alone time.”

“This is Blake,” Niko said, glaring at her.“She’s special. Don’t freak her out with your weirdness.” Bree grinned wickedly and put her hand over her heart,“You have my word.” She waltzed away, cackling. Niko watched her go, explaining,“That was Bree. She’s the daughter of some rich businessman.” Niko took her hand, making his way past the crowd to Arnie with her. “Arnie!” Niko shouted. No response. Niko said to Blake,“He’s half deaf in his right ear so sometimes you got to shout a couple of times.” He took a deep breath and bellowed,“ARNIE!” The big man rubbed his ear and turned. When he saw Niko he headed towards him. As he got closer Niko said, raising his hand and slapping his hand with his in a high-five.“Hey man!” Grasping it, he pulled him close for a sort of clumsy hug and slapped him on the back. He laughed as he pulled away, letting go,“Still alive after screwing around with that nitrogen in the engine?”
“Yeah and you’re still looking like a street mutt with that hair ain’t you! Surprised they haven’t taken you to the pound yet!” Arnie laughed, getting him in a headlock and ruffling his hair. Listen hotshot, I got a car that needs a look at with your name on it. Remember the Lambo that I told you I was playing with? Some nutcase took it for a joyride last week. I turned it on a couple of hours ago and smoke started coming out of the back.”  
Niko elbowed him in the stomach. Arnie had always had a pudgy stomach. It was his weak spot. He’d gotten a beer belly recently. Arnie let go and chuckled,“Watch it. You and your friend got anything on you I should know about?” Niko patted his jeans and said,“I’m clean Arn and so is she.”
He smiled at Blake, the scarred part of his lips twisting upwards. “You’d better not be any trouble Miss. I don’t want to kick out a pretty thing like you.”
Come on Arn let’s go take a look,” Niko said.
Arnie turned and started heading to the parking lot. There were more than a dozen cars scattered about, blue and white ones that looked sleek. The blue ones were Huayras. The white ones, Koenigseggs, He said,“You should’ve seen this kid when I first met him. He didn’t know crap about super cars. He was a fish out of water. Found him hiding in the backseat of my Porshe years ago with a pocket knife and a few empty bottles of whiskey around him. We had a little scuffle. I punched him. He punched me. I tried to get that knife out of his hands and he tried to carve a Halloween pumpkin out of my face. And then he ended up passing out hugging that beer like it was his life. Before that, I’d never seen a man so devoted to the crappiest beer I’d ever had in my life. It was one month old and tasted like sewer water and rotten eggs.”  
“Ah shut up Arnie. She doesn’t need to hear about that,” Niko pushed him, avoiding Blake’s eyes. Blake hadn’t known that day. He’d spent some time after work walking down the streets. There’d been a party at work and there’d been a lot of alcohol. But he’d ended up going to a dark place. He couldn’t even remember where he’d gotten the knife from. He looked at her with a half-smile,“Hey listen about what happened back then with the biker. Just don’t worry about it okay? I promise you. I’m not going to die because of you.” He punched her in the shoulder gently,“And it’s not your fault.” Niko looked at Arnie and asked, raising his voice,“Hey by the way you still got some bandages?”    
“Yeah in the Lambo,” Arnie sniffed the air. “You got shot huh?”
“Yeah,” Niko said. He joked,“Scar number three coming right up.”  
“You got nine lives Niko. You can waste a couple,” Arnie said. He looked at Blake and said,“There ain’t any secrets here. I know what he is and since he brought you, I guess you’re the same but there ain’t nothing to be scared of here. Moras and Shifters get along, just like it’s always been. You’re in for a lucky night. 30 races tonight.”

Things were so easy around Niko. She didn't feel like there were any secrets between them. She had her little hidden surprises, but with the worst out of the way, she didn't feel as though she'd die if he happened to find out any of these things. The ease with which she killed the tigers who stood in the way of her escape. How she abandoned her brother after he saved her. The simplicity to scorn her own kind, belittled them to the humans to better hide herself. How she lied to her King for years as to the status of her brothers shift, the growth of his mane. To lie to the King is a penalty of death and she had fibbed so many times. These and more she was not proud of, but nor did they matter. What was an odd past between good friends. One whom you could trust would never judge on the past, only accept that it has made you the being they met. When two people first encountered one another, they made a conscious decision to pursue a relationship of some sort with them. If they were a truly good friend, a few bad experiences shouldn't sway ones view, only make clear the question as to why one is as they are. Some revelations of course could be shocking and unexpected, but that was part of the delight of exploring a friendship with another. You learned things you never knew you never knew. Despite her near constant fear that he would run from her first true friendship in over a century, Blake was glad she'd shared with Niko what she had. Strangely, she thought, despite knowing she was the daughter of a King, he'd never once called her Princess. As a child the title was endearing, an exciting fantasy come true. Out here in the world it was a giveaway. If the wrong person were to overhear use of the title towards her, it could easily throw suspicion upon her. She had no doubt her brother still lived, but whether as King or Crown Prince she didn't know. It would certainly make a difference. As Prince he was sworn to do the duty he was appointed, as King he might be more lenient. She would love to know, one way or another, whether the southern felines were still after her. Alas, it would be treacherous to even attempt to do so, if she asked the wrong questions and the task force was still in effect her position would be given away. The Princess would be forced to flee, leaving behind her clan. Leaving Niko. She didn't want that. She didn't think she'd ever want that.

Scooped unexpectedly into his arms she protested most strongly, despite the smile in her voice. "Niko! Stop, put me down! I don't want you hurting yourself!" But he would not. To steady herself she draped an arm around his shoulders, ready to support herself should his injury cause his grip to falter. Even in her worry for him she was grinning from ear to ear. This playfulness was incredibly cute and fun. He carried her past all kinds of cars, giving her the opportunity to look at them without having to concentrate on walking. She'd figured after a short ways he'd have put her down, but he didn't. It wasn't that she minded, she'd realised the heels probably hadn't been the best choice for the evening so this opportunity to avoid walking was a welcome one. But, she liked the way the heels made her legs and butt look. It wasn't a typical occurrence for her to wear heels, but in this instance she thought they'd help her fit in with the crowd. Camouflage was her greatest defence. Unfortunately being in this elevated position drew some attention to her. People here seemed to know Niko, nodding and smiling, offering him greetings. They turned to look at him, but their gaze lingered for her. In slight embarrassment she tucked her head into his shoulder, nodding along as he spoke. The friends name was Arnie and he was scarred, like her. There seemed to be a story to go with the scar, but one that should be taken with a grain of salt. He explained that this place was owned by Arnie - or his cousin or something. She wasn't quite paying attention. Her focus had been sidetracked by an extremely tantalising scent. There was motor oil and alcohol thick in the air, but this broke through to capture her attention. It was strong and recognisable, but light and inoffensive. If she were to give it a colour, she would say brown. Not a murky, muddy, ugly brown, but a warm, comfortable brown. There was the scent of cinnamon, just barely a hint to give an edge of sweetness amongst the earthy tones. There was the scent of a cool, crisp, autumn morning and the scent of rain. These were scents she could identify, but there were others in the mixture she could not. They were indescribable, as individual as the one producing the aroma. Her eyes flickered up to the steady face of her friend as it struck her he was the delicious-smelling creature. Each person, of course, had their own particular scent to be identified by, but she'd never taken so much notice before. Scents to her had always been about detecting the source of infection, or finding the cancers location. Individual scent had not mattered for a long time. Of course she could identify the members of her family and some of the royal guard by scent, but never had she taken the time to break down each layer of the scent. This man carrying her had a very strong scent, an alluring one. She lowered her head once more into his shoulder, inhaling slowly. She could fall asleep here, peacefully. But then she'd miss the races and all this high class social activity. The music stopped, the silence altering the atmosphere and thus her state of consciousness. She was wide awake. There was a loud roar of an angry man whose music library had been altered without permission. Blake lifted her head, looking about for the source of the voice. She came face-to-chest with a freakishly large man sporting a glass eye. In her position she missed seeing the rather adorable cat ears he had. She didn't realise she was surrounded by Mora - and possibly other Shifters. The former would certainly be interesting, though the latter could be dangerous. It was a good thing she didn't know.

He placed her down gently as a younger girl, quite scantily clad, ran past them. She was sure she saw Niko linger on her, sparking a flame of unfounded jealously. The girl stumbled and instinctively Blake reached out to her, even knowing she couldn't stop the girl. This girl reached out, grabbing the first thing she could - evidently the hands of both Blake and Niko. Blake looked from her hand, clasping the girls, to Nikos. She glared at it, wanting to burn it with her gaze. This is insane! I am a perfectly rational shifter. Why should these harmless actions make me so... extreme. A low growl slipped her throat as she looked away. Apparently the girl had heard, for she quickly released Blakes hand, only to slap Nikos chest in what she could assume was a playful manner. It seemed the girl had a name: Bree. Likely short for Brianna or possibly Aubrey. "Bree" addressed her and her relationship to Niko. "Oh, um, I'm just a friend, I guess. But I'm very honoured he's brought me to a special place such as this." She smiled, despite her severe dislike for this girl. Niko of course introduced her by name, as she'd forgotten to do so, and adding that she was special. She blushed at that, she didn't think she was particularly special. This Bree, with her hand over her heart, had one of those faces and voices Blake just didn't want to trust. There was something in the way she grinned, the way she walked and laughed. It just irritated her. It made a long-dormant violent side want to emerge. The way she swayed her hips with each step, as though she expected Niko to be looking at her ass. It pissed her off to no end. But she followed Niko dutifully, unsure of where she would go if she left his side. She didn't want to get lost in the dense mass of bodies. She nodded as he gave her some more background on the situation and stood back quietly while he greeted his friend. She watched the man play with Niko like he was a kitten, ruffling his hair and pinning him in a head lock. She looked up at Arnie earnestly. "Oh no, I don't think I have anything on me. I wouldn't want to cause any trouble." She said, smiling slightly at him. She followed them out to the quieter carpark filled with blue and white cars. They were sleek and beautiful, like nothing she'd ever seen before. She wasn't even sure she'd heard of these cars. But Blake didn't want to seem ignorant, so she kept quiet, listening to the two men talk. Arnie seemed to have a story he wished to share, one of how he met Niko. It surprised her really, to hear of him being completely drunk and hiding in the back of a car with a knife. It seemed so desperate and vulnerable, something she'd not seen in the leopard. She could barely respond with an, "Oh, um," before Niko brushed off the tale. He seemed embarrassed by the story, but it was the story of the beginning of their relationship. Despite the difficulties first faced, they remained friends. Blake wouldn't be so privileged as to have this experience if not for that encounter. So she smiled at Niko, letting him tell her nothing was her fault, even though she knew that wasn't true. At the mention of bandages, Blake hurried forward towards the Lamborghini they were clearly headed for, searching the boot for the mentioned bandages. She found a first-aid kit tucked away in a corner, containing a bandage roll, a clip, gauze and some other basic items. She took the first three in her hands and turned to face Niko, grinning. "Just let me patch you up and you can go nuts fixing this thing. Now sit." She said rather firmly, indicating he take a seat either in the boot or open the car door and sit on the seat. The Mender turned to Arnie with a questioning look, "Would you have a bottle of water I could use to clean the area?" After he'd removed his shirts, baring his chest, she set about cleaning the slightly-too-deep-for-a-graze wound. "Thi might sting a little," Blake warned in a whisper. Padding it with gauze, she wrapped the bandage tightly around his shoulder, taking her time and ensuring it wouldn't slip or move in any way. All the while she thought of the consequences of this Mora knowing she was a Shifter. It was true, Mora and Shifters held a number of similarities and kept a peace between them. But she was always paranoid of her fathers wrath. She wasn't sure if she'd be so open with this stranger, or simply let him make his guesses and hope he would be wrong. Reaching the end of its length, she used the little clip, stretching it out to hold down the dressing. Her hand rested on his shoulder for a moment, breathing deeply in the quieter air of this parking lot.

Niko straightened and looked at her. The past was the past. He understood that the past wasn’t pleasant and she’d be scared that maybe he’d judge her on her past but he wouldn’t. If he judged her on her past but did not ask her to do the same thing of him and expect her to ignore it while he did not ignore hers that would be incredibly hypocritical. Niko only made an opinion of someone from what he knew and how they had been acting towards him. How they behaved towards him and other people. To those who took his kindness and took advantage of it, he would give no more though he really wished things wouldn’t come to that. Blake had a good heart. She was also part human. So of course, she had all her faults just like him. And well, kindness wasn’t some endless resource that others could just keep on digging into and take advantage of. There had to be a limit because that was human nature. No one was a saint. No one could keep on giving kindness because part of human nature was receiving kindness as well. Giving and receiving instead of just receiving. Constantly. For him, for example, if he kept on giving kindness to people but they didn’t appreciate it or they did not understand it then he had no choice to pull back and stop it. They did not care for it so why should he care? Of course, that was for some people. Not all. He wished things didn’t come to that. He really did but sometimes, he had no choice when he was backed into a corner and a hard place. And maybe, later on, when things were better, he’d try again but for now, he didn’t have any to spare. Kindness was done out of goodwill and when someone abused it so much that you had none left to give, well, they didn’t have the right to ask for more could they. It was like food. You take too much. Then you don’t help to grow food and sustain it or preserve it? Then you keep on taking and taking and taking and then there’s none left and then you keep on asking for more and you wonder why there’s none left? Same thing happened with kindness. Expecting so much and giving none in return was not cool.

And he hadn’t called her a princess because he knew it probably wasn’t safe with her father’s thirst for revenge but also because he thought that calling her one would be unhealthy in the long run. He could joke about it but he wouldn’t say it so much that it’d go to her head. It encouraged spoilt behaviour which wasn’t attractive for anyone who was supposed to be an adult. She ran towards the orange car that was there, tucked near the back. Yep. She knew what it looked like. Lamborghini Aventador LP-700 4. It was the only orange car in a sea of blue and white. She opened the boot, revealing the first aid kit. Niko looked at Arnie and said, “Thought you only had bandages Arn.”

“Took a first aid course. Something happens to someone, I can patch them up and the police don’t come looking and I don’t get any trouble. Looks like your friend took the same course huh,” Arnie said.
“Yeah,” Niko replied. He looked at Blake and smiled at her, eyes crinkling in warmth,“She’s one of a kind.” He saluted her as she turned to face him and walked over to the boot chuckling, "Yes m’am." Sitting on the edge, he gazed at her as she called out to Arnie and took off his shirt. The skin was torn but he guessed it’d been deeper than a graze. Arnie opened the passenger door and reached inside, pulling out a half empty bottle of water and passed it to her. His jacket, which he’d removed first, he was holding along with the flannel and undershirt. He said, tapping her leg with his foot lightly “I’ve been through worse. A lot…worse.” He clenched his teeth as she began to wrap the bandage around his shoulder, feeling the material touch the open welt and let it pass. “And Bree’s harmless by the way. She’s like a little sister to me and I’m pretty sure what you just saw was her being a little bit drunk,” Niko said. He’d noticed the growl and glare which had surprised him. Had she been irritated by her? But then she’d smiled and blushed. Brushing it aside, he said gesturing to the surrounding cars,“By the way, the blue cars are Pagani Huayras. The white ones are Koenigsegg Agera R. I saw Arnie take the Koenigsegg out for a spin once on the track and it finished one full circuit in under a minute. It’s a speed demon. A monster. It’ll beat any car here. There’s literally no comparison. And sometimes Arnie takes it out to make an example out of people who keeps on trying to humiliate him because their own egos won’t let them see anything past their own nose. He smokes them on the race track and it shuts them up really fast.” He paused, looking at her as he felt her hand rested on his shoulder.

He was embarrassed of that story. It was true. But somehow, everything had turned out okay. Somehow. Arnie had understood he was drunk. But Niko had still wanted to make it up to him for trying to kill him. He’d noticed Arnie’s car’s engine was sputtering and he’d fixed it. Arnie had thought he’d done a good job. It’d started out in that kind of relationship and turned into a friendship when they discovered they both liked robots and pyrotechnics. Niko was glad she hadn’t thought any less of him because of what he’d done. He knew he was the Epror. No weakness. No vulnerability. He had to be strong to take on anything. And he couldn’t fall. A guardian should never fall and if he did, then he made sure that what he stood for will never be erased. Niko would like to think that he stood for courage and strength. Moral courage. Physical courage to stand against those who was stronger than him and could crush him in an instant but he still fought on anyway. And the strength to go on when everything was falling apart or he was facing something that seemed like he couldn’t ever win. Because there were a lot of those who were strong physically but on the inside, not so much. But the alcohol brought back memories. When he was out on the streets. That had been the loneliest time in his life. Completely alone with nothing but himself to rely on. It wasn’t a good way to live. He was glad things were different now and he was glad Blake was in his life. Of her father, he would of course, protect her from him. It was what he had to do. Protect the Shifters from anyone that tried to hurt them. He’d protect her from her father. He stood up, his gaze landing down her back onto her butt, travelling down the back of her legs. He started to grin, not just because of her legs. He’d smelt her scent when she’d lowered her head into his shoulder. He guessed she had done the same for him.  Though all he thought he smelt like at the moment was some sweat and dirt but if she thought he smelt like cinnamon, autumn morning and rain and something warm then that was cool. All earth. To him it meant he was strong. Resilient. Like a rock. Or a mountain which was tougher. And he felt happy thinking that he was like that. She smelt like the sun. Like if the sun came down to earth and became a person it’d be her. Because everything felt better with her around. He just felt better. Alive. More free. Warmer. Niko said, testing the shoulder for pain by moving it in a rotating circle, “Thanks.”

He hopped off the car, putting the helmet in the boot. He said to Arnie,“I need you to rev up the car really hard. Then stop and then rev it up again.” Arnie unlocked the car, making the doors open upwards at a slanted angle and got inside. After a moment there was the revving of an engine. A torrent of blue smoke wafted out immediately, spiraling into the air and covering the area. He stopped revving and then started again. More smoke gushed from the car. Blue smoke. Coughing, Niko put his hand over his nose. The engine was a mammoth thing. He could imagine it under the casing. It had six cylinders on each side, like the holes in a six-pack of egg carton. Each cylinder would curve to make an L shape where a case was attached to the top of the cylinders. The black piece with “Lamborghini” painted on it in the middle. The exhaust system and valves. The pistons moving up and down. The carbourettor to let the air and fuel mix. That burst of power that came from the combustion system inside the second that key was twisted in the ignition. He was looking for something in particular. Any oil that may have spilled out from a dislodged pipe or tubing or a tear or crack in it. Or from a gasket or the oil line or there could’ve been something wrong with the oil plug. He leaned inside, looking further inside and said,“I’m going to have to check the oil and run a compression test. But any way you look at it, you’re probably have to get a new engine or replace this one but it looks like it’s busted bad. I can fix it for you but it’ll take a few weeks. It’s either one part of the engine that’s broken or the entire thing’s been damaged so much that you’re better off replacing the whole thing,” Niko said.
“Thought so. Alright hotshot…I’ll be back” Arnie chuckled, putting on a thick accent. He walked away. Niko looked across at Blake and said, waving away some residue smoke, “Having fun yet?”

Lambourghini Aventador LP-700 4- http://topappandroid.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Lamborghini-Aventador-LP700-4.jpg

When she wound the bandages around his arm, she took little notice of the exchange between the two men. She wound and wound, keeping the pressure over the wound to keep it from seeping. The Mender had been grateful for the water bottle Arnie had provided. Even half-full it was more than enough for what she needed. It had washed away the old blood already beginning to scab over. It washed away the fresh blood welling up to take the place of the old blood. Some gauze placed over the top, held firmly by the bandage she continued to wrap did the final trick. The light pressure of her hand on his shoulder probably gave her more comfort than it gave him. His foot tapped against her leg, drawing her attention to him. She felt him tense as she wrapped the bandage a little too tight in one spot. The mention of Bree had her tense a little herself, clenching her jaw whilst trying to make sure it stayed unnoticed. She didn't need him asking questions she was't sure she could answer. She'd not had much experience with men in any capacity other than a work relationship, but she'd seen and heard enough to know the sister line was such a cliche. She knew very well it could be true - at least on his part - but what about the girl? How did she feel about this? Blake had no doubts she could take down the child if she had to, but she didn't think that would be the way Niko would want it. Why am I even considering this? This is idiotic, this is illogical. It made no sense why she was so worked up all of a sudden. Concentrating on bandaging Niko was the best thing to keep her calm and in control. And yes, her hand did linger on his shoulder a little longer than normal when she was done. She looked around at the cars, stripes of white and blue in the parking lot. "Oh, cool. I don't think I've ever heard of those." She looked back at the Lamborghini, the corners of her lips twitching upwards. "But I've heard of this beauty... 'Aventador'," She chuckled, after saying the cars model with this funny accent. It was some silly thing she'd said once to herself as a joke and it never left her. Her eyes finally went back to his after a lengthy silence. "I'd love to see that happen, watch Arnie put the kids in their place. Plus seeing the cars go..." She trailed, feeling that familiar echo in her chest, a reminder of what it was to be around fast cars. The echo wasn't even a tenth of the punch she felt when a car rushed past, a lot of it had to do with the sound, but the speed just drove it through her. It was truly difficult for her to put into words, this was as close as it got.

She stepped back, thinking for a moment on her bloodiest night. They were merely flashes. Bursting through a tent flap into flame. The thwack of her staff hitting someones temple. The snap of a neck beneath her fingers. Blood, everywhere blood. Roars and growls and howls filled the air. Fire consumed the forest. The Princess couched amid a pile of bodies, drenched in their blood. All around her lips, her face, was bloody from her insanity. She'd run from them at first, yes, but, once the killing started, there was no stopping her. Only then she saw the face of a man. Balding and fat, lying on a gurney. She stared down at him with anger. The human was a convicted rapist and Paedophile, but somehow his sentence had been ended early. In his jubilance he'd chosen to celebrate with a night of drinking in a number of bars, starting fights. He picked a fight with the wrong person and ended up in hospital, under her care. He was doomed to suffer severe brain injury after being king hit unless she could work quickly enough to save him. But she didn't want to. She refused to. She tried to avoid the surgery, but it was given to her. Scalpel in hand, his body on the operating table, she had a choice. To save this mans life or let him live as a vegetable - if he survived the night. Life as a vegetable seemed too good for him, so she gave herself a third option. A tiny slip of the hand, a severed blood vessel no one had noticed previously. When the blood pooled out uncontrollably, she called to her fellow doctors, reporting an internal bleeding they hadn't noticed earlier. He died on the table and she acted distressed at losing a patient. Dr. Felicia Headley - as she'd been known then - took some weeks of sick leave before resigning the hospital, moving on to the next town, the next identity. There was darkness in her too, though she kept it well hidden. Problem was, suppressing it for so long resulted in fatal outbursts. But anyone with any knowledge of psychology could tell her that. The Mender repacked the little kit, zipping it neatly and bending forward to place it in the boot of the car. She took a step back, waiting for Niko to put his shirts back on and get to fixing the engine. She tossed her helmet in the boot with his, figuring it would be ok for the moment. Not wanting to get in the way, she stood off to the side, alone, leaning against a silver lightest that helped to illuminate the lot. Her hands tucked behind her back, taking the worst of the chill from the metal. The set to it straight away, Niko shooting of a string of instructions to Arnie that she couldn't be quite sure she understood. The extent of her knowledge of the internal combustion engine was "if it's broken, get a new one", which seemed to be the case here. Her companion for the evening addressed her once more through the smoke. She nodded."Yeah, it's interesting. I guess I wasn't expecting to play doctor but so long a I get to see a few races I'll be good." She smiled, just glad to be around him, observing him. She liked having the opportunity to do so. To see how he moved, how he worked. Blake thought it was funny when his curly hair flopped in his face and got in the way. She liked it, it hid his eyes a little, made him seem more mysterious. She liked to solve mysteries, to get to the endpoint and find an answer. Like an equation, there was always an answer.

He put his clothes back on and said,“Yeah you don’t really see them around. They’re expensive. Reeeally expensive. Only people that can afford them are the ones with lots of Denari. The ones who can afford to blow millions.” He chuckled,“Yeah you would’ve heard about it. It’s something the rich use to show off or just anyone who can afford to blow that much without denting their bank account. And maybe you might get to see it happen later. There’s usually one of those guys. Last time, it was a guy who got a brand new Ferrari from his dad. The guy was bragging about it to Arnie. Arnie walked away. Guy got angry and challenged him. Arnie laughed. Guy shoved him. Arnie grabbed him and threw him into his car and started the race then and there,” Niko waved some of the smoke away, leaning inside and taking out his phone, shone it inside over the parts, putting his sleeve over his nose to keep himself from inhaling the smoke. It smelt like burnt oil. Arnie returned with a worn towel, a container and a tool-box which he set on the ground. Niko shone the light onto the back of the engine, near the part where the cap should be and reached inside, removing it carefully and placed it on the ground near him. Everything looked okay except for the blue smoke. It was settling down but Niko had a creeping hunch he knew what it was. The oil had leaked into the combustion chamber, burning with the fuel which had caused either the valve, piston rings or the gasket to be blown or damaged to get a leak. Niko had to take apart the whole thing and Arnie couldn’t use his car for a while. He was going to have to take the car to his garage and work on it there. And he’d have to get some new parts. And if he screwed it up even more, it’d be dangerous for not just Arnie but for anyone who was in the same car and the people around it. But he’d do one last check under the car. May as well to see if there was any oil down there. Niko said,“I need you to raise the car so I can get under there and get all the bad stuff in the oil to come out.” Arnie got inside. The Aventador came in with an in-built system where the car could lift upwards, separate from the tires for roughly 4 cm.

Slowly, the car rose upwards, separating the frame from the tires. Niko angled his smart-phone so that the light was shining underneath the bottom of the car at the back. There was a large splotch of black oil that had pooled at the bottom onto the ground from the exhaust pipe. Yep, this car was sick. Niko opened up the toolbox and pulled out a wrench. He wriggled underneath the car, only his legs sticking out and still using his feline vision, looked up for the oil plug. Once he saw it, he wriggled out a little so that he could see the plug. His face was underneath it and his legs and hand was sticking out from under the car. He grabbed for the container and pulled it up underneath the car, next to him. He took a deep breath and started to unscrew the part with the wrench. It was tight. As he started to loosen it, he heard the sound of fire-crackers and car engines revving. They were starting to get restless. Niko twisted open the filter. Dark brown sludge spilled down. Niko quickly leaned out of the way, pushing the container underneath but he couldn’t escape it. Some of the oil got onto his clothes and face (he squeezed his eyes shut and kept his mouth closed) but he made sure that none of it got on his shoulder because he didn’t want it to get through his clothes onto his shoulder onto the gauze and bandage and the blood and destroy Blake’s work. He was still confused about Blake’s reaction to Bree. It was true. Niko wasn’t interested in those types, romantically speaking. Bree was wild. Too wild for him. Fun to be around but not really someone he could see himself with. She was a great friend but she just wasn’t his type. If he had any feelings for her then he’d have felt them a long time ago and made a move. Niko paused, glancing back to see the heeled feet of Blake in between the gap of the bottom of the car and the ground. He really wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of those. He wondered what she was thinking. He knew. He knew that she was good inside. He knew it was hard too to be good all the time when it was so easy to be bad. When there was so much bad in this world. But he thought that even the most despicable of people had one good thing about them. But that didn’t excuse the bad things they did. Niko would not ignore the sick things a rapist and pedophile did to someone else. Sure, that person may be a great brother. Great worker. Maybe he was a great uncle and made his nephews and nieces laugh. But no matter what, he had still done something to another person and that person would have to suffer with it for the rest of their lives while the rapist did not suffer at all. That wasn’t fair to the victim that had been hurt by the rapist or victim’s family. And that wasn’t justice.

Sad thing was, sometimes bad things happened to good people. Good things happened to bad people. Sometimes good people suffered a lot and sometimes bad people didn’t at all. That was just life. And Niko understood that Blake would’ve had conflicting feelings about saving the man’s life. One who had caused that much pain to someone in that way. It was hard and it was natural to feel that way. He really wished he had an answer for her but he didn’t. If someone had done that to someone he cared for deeply, he couldn’t say he would’ve been that keen in wanting to save that person too. Let the person die. Try to save the person. Or try a third option. The middle ground. Let the person neither live or die but suffer for the pain he caused. Niko thought that living as a vegetable would’ve been enough punishment. There’d be no power as a vegetable and power was what those types thrived on. Take that away and they had nothing. Didn’t matter if they were male or female. Revenge was a terrible thing, spurned by hatred. During that time what was right, what was wrong was where the line blurred. The only thing that mattered was justice. An eye for an eye. A life for a life. But sometimes justice wasn’t all that straightforward either. Was it justice that a rapist could go to jail and walk free after causing so much pain and feel nothing and start fresh? While the victim was suffering? No it wasn’t. But that was why you had to hold onto the things that made you happy because there was so much in this world that was so wrong that it was hard to see the light. But where there was darkness, there was always light. Even if it was a tiny flicker. The darkness, well, there were ways of releasing that in a healthy way. When the oil had trickled down to a few drops Niko reached out for the oil cap, accidentally grabbing Blake’s foot and then found the oil cap. He brought it back under the car and twisted it back on. He checked for any loose pebbles or rocks or items that could’ve been lodged in any of the parts. In the tires or the front spoiler or the axle. He started with the front tires first, then worked his way down to the sides and back. It was all clean. He pushed himself out and said jokingly, glancing at Arnie.“You got to take better care of your car or people might start to think you don’t know what you’re doing.” Arnie said,“And that’s why I got you to fix things, hotshot. Until you die.” He let out an evil laugh and took the keys from Niko, walking away,“I’ll leave you to it. Tell me who you like and I’ll see if I can fix a race for you. Kai wants one. He’s still sore you beat him last time.” Niko laughed, squeezing oil from his sleeve.“Tell him I’ll be there.” He started to emerge from underneath the car just as the sound of fire-works exploding ruptured the air. The sound of tires tearing across the concrete pierced the air. Cheers. Hitting his head on the exhaust pipe, he emerged wincing and rubbing his head. Standing up, he wiped his face and clothes with the towel to get as much of the oil off as possible, shaking his head to try to get the hair off his forehead and out of his eyes. He put the pink helmet back in the backpack and pulled off his gloves, tossing them inside the backpack and said, putting on his helmet and taking her hand and walked out of the parking lot towards the racing area,“Come on. Let’s go have some fun then. Now you’ve seen Arnie’s, I’ll show you mine.”

Blake shrugged herself away from the light post, walking slowly closer to the car. She stood by Nikos legs, offering Arnie a small smile. She wondered if she should start up a conversation with him, but had no idea what they'd talk about. What was she to do, ask him what happened to his eye or where he got that scar? That would be extremely rude. Plus, Arnie was kind of intimidating with those huge biceps of his. Those biceps connected to massive shoulders which sprouted from a really built chest. He had this bodybuilder kind of look, but not in a sickening sort of way. She got the impression Arnie was the sort of guy to not mess with. She felt if she got on his bad side she'd be toast. She couldn't ask about Niko, that would be rude, especially with him right there with them. The only other option was to talk about herself. Blake could ask him what sort of Shifter he thought she was - she didn't really think he'd figure it out. She could be coy and flirtatious, smiling sweetly, teasing him when he got it wrong. But that would be so very wrong. For one, it would be cruel to lead him on if for some unfathomable reason he developed feelings for her. For another it would be rude with Niko lying under the car listening in. In any case, she didn't think she was quite ready to be shifting in front of other people. If things went her way, Niko would be the only one who knew her primal form. She could live with that. In this place having no ears and no tail marked her as an obvious Shifter. That meant people would ask what she was, not that she had to tell them. There could be spies among them, willing to turn her in for the right price. There could even be a few Mora working against her. Niko and Arnie both seemed to think this was a good lot, but she could never be sure. People could find out what she was. She was paranoid. Paranoia did not suit her.

Blake thought it truly amazing that the car could life and support itself the way it did. Even if it was only 4cm, it was still 4cm more than most other cars. She waited idly by the car, revelling in the opportunity to watch him work. Beside her his legs dangled out from beneath the vehicle, he was only visible from the waist down. Lying on his back, his skin and t-shirt draped tightly over his abdomen, allowing her to see the movement of his muscles against one another. She was entranced, the movement was so methodical. But even as she watched she saw his shirt ride up the more he worked. The tanned skin of his lower abdomen was revealed, allowing her to watch the unadulterated show. Each time his arms moved, his abs would contract and work against one another in reaction. Watching it was like watching a visual lullaby. Her eyes travelled further down, spotting the vee that fit, attractive men were known to have. She barely saw the top of the vee before it disappeared into his jeans. Sometimes more of it would poke through when his hips moved, so too did her heart. Her breathing grew ever so slightly more ragged. She had to bite her lower lip to stop herself from doing something stupid. Ever so gently, Blake fell to lean against the car, content to watch him forever. So lost in her daydreaming, she jumped with a yelp when a hand emerged to grasp her foot. She clutched a hand to her chest, panting slightly from the sudden excitement. The Mender leaned heavily on the side of the car trying to catch her breath. "Oh dear lord," she muttered, You scared me half to death." The Epror moved about finishing his business with the car and went on talking to Arnie like he'd done nothing wrong. She raised her eyebrows at the two of them in disbelief. "You didn't tell me you were racing too." There was a loud crack, followed by a fizzle, startling her once more. Looking around frantically, Blake saw the coloured embers falling from the sky. Fireworks. Nice. Somewhere in the commotion, Arnie took his leave so only the two Shifters remained. Blake stepped back to give Niko room to move about the Aventador as he finished up. It really was a stunning car. He stored her helmet - her jacket sitting inside - in his backpack. She finally thought to remove her gloves and stuff them in as well. His own helmet he popped on his head, surprisingly. She let him take her hand, walking with him while he spoke. She blushed, knowing that sentence construct used in another setting could have a whole other connotation. She switched their grip, lacing her fingers with his - I hope he's okay with this, she thought all the while. Walking through the lot, her thumb began to stroke soft and slow over his knuckles. "Am I going to get to see you drive?" She asked curiously, thinking it would be nice to cheer him on. There were more fireworks and the sounds of tyres screeching against the asphalt, engines roaring their battle cries. She grinned wide, wanting to be a part of the action. She skipped ahead of Niko, turning to face him and walk backwards. Their hands still held one another as she tugged him to follow her. "Come on! We don't want to miss anything, let's go! They're already starting!" She said happily. Her teeth grazed over her lower lip as she smiled, tugging it into their grip before she whirled around, pulling him along behind her excitedly. She was here for the cars after all.

More fireworks exploded. These ones were a lot closer. Ricochets that sounded like snakes hissing. Yells and shrieks sounded through the air followed by roars of laughter and angry shouting but it was nothing serious. He heard this all the time. Only time something was wrong was when things got quiet. Niko was used to it by now. But he wondered if she was still edgy because of all the Mora and Shifters around. No one would recognize her now. Not after such a long time. And Arnie kicked out anyone who caused too much trouble. He knew the people who came here. He’d seen them come every week and knew their faces, knew how they behaved so he knew when something was suspicious. And if they were skulking around by themselves, he knew they weren’t here to race but they were here for something else. But in general, things didn’t get out of control. People came in groups or with friends because the only people that knew about this place were the drivers and their friends or the people who had cars and the time and interest to race and their friends. There was no one here who wanted to hurt her. They were all here to race or to watch a race. Without thinking, he leaned across, kissing somewhere near the top and side of her head and whispered in her ear“Don’t worry okay. No one knows who you are and no one’s going to hurt you. I got your back.” He added, grinning at her impishly,“And your foot.” In his other hand, the one that wasn’t holding Blake’s hand, he held the backpack. He felt her fingers moving and glanced down to see what she was doing. She had laced her fingers with his, changing the grip and stroking his knuckles. He was happy with that. It felt good and he ended up starting to caress her knuckles unconsciously. It felt natural kissing her. And he wondered what it’d be like to kiss her on the lips. Kiss those lips. Maybe they tasted like strawberries. Strawberries and sunshine. Yeah…strawberries and sunshine and sweetness. As they ventured back out into the main area. He glanced up at her, smiling at her and taking in her features. Her eyes seemed darker in the reflection of the lights, shadows interspersed with the lights. He liked that. It made her seem more alluring, more enticing. And he noticed, the way her top was made gave him full view of her back. He enjoyed that as well. He said, with a shrug,“Couldn’t resist the temptation to race. I’m an adrenaline junkie.” He wasn’t really sure if he was joking there. He liked the thrill so much. The rush it gave him. The threat of death and that sense that you could survive and it could’ve been just another second and it would’ve been death. Then the feeling of being alive and the feeling of competition. It got his blood racing. But course, he knew to keep it friendly. As they got out of the parking lot, he said,“I didn’t at first. Arnie helped me learn how to drift properly. I went through about three cars before I made any progress but I liked it. It was fun. The feeling. Like nothing can touch you. Course I had to fix the cars after I wrecked them because they were all Arnie’s but then I figured I was here for the long run. I saw the guys racing. And a couple of women too. I wanted in. I liked the thrill, the fun.” He looked at the track. The sound of tires screeching across the track punctured through the air. There were two cars on the track. They were white and black blurs. They were neck and neck, each one edging over the other with each second. Then suddenly, at the roundabout, the Mazda tore away from the Audi, turning left into the roundabout and peeled down the adjoining road. The Audi followed suit, catching up slowly but the Mazda made a sharp left, speeding down and rounding the corner to come to a stop at the finish line in front of them. Cheers filled the air. Niko led her past the throng of people over to a grey car near them with mirrors that were red on the back and red headlights that were red at the bottom. The bottom was painted red so that it looked like there was red line at the bottom and there was some skirting on the sides. Niko said raising his voice so that she could hear him over the ruckus, “This one’s mine. Nissan GTR Nismo. I bought it from a dealer years ago. I’ve been testing this out on and off during the last year. It’s not as good looking as the others but it’s a beast on the road. It's been called the son of Godzilla. You’ll know why when you hear the sound.” He set the backpack down on the ground, taking out the helmet and reached inside to pull out the black device from his jeans pockets. He pressed the unlock button. The hazard lights turned on, followed by a chime. The lights were composed of some rings that glowed orange in the darkness. He needed it to open the door. There was a little rectangular slot where the door handle should be. When he pressed it, the handle popped out like toast from a toaster. Niko grasped the handle and pulled it, opening the door. He took off the helmet, put the backpack inside and threw the backpack in after it, slamming the door shut, locking the door again. Taking her hand, he led her to the guard rail nearby and sat down gesturing her for to do the same if she wanted.    

A woman with wavy black hair walked onto the middle of the track, in a pair of short shorts, boots and top that showed midriff. Some people wolf-whistled and a few howled. She raised her arms and swung down, signaling to go. The cars roared to life, tearing past her down the track. It was peaceful here somehow. Even with the noise of the car engines, the cheers, the music and the voices all mingling together. A couple of people were revving up their engines of the cars on the side of the track, flames spurting out. Niko watched the cars go, starting to stroke Blake’s thumb with his. He liked the feeling very much of her hand in his, her fingers wrapped around his and her stroking him. It calmed him. Made him feel better. It was exhausting being different. Being the outsider. Sometimes it made no difference. Sometimes people didn’t bat an eye. But other times, the things he did, things he said marked him as well, something else. Some people lashed out at him because of it. Misunderstood the intentions behind things he said or did. Other people, well they were a lot more polite and less rude about saying so. He didn’t feel that different with Blake. Didn’t feel like he was an outsider. He felt like himself. He knew he was kind of strange but Blake didn’t seem to care about that. And he just felt happy with her. He was reminded that there was something left worth preserving when he was with her. Something good that came from love instead of resentment or hatred and it was something worth building. Because he’d seen it. He’d felt what hatred could do. Felt the cold steel of the knife in his hand when he’d used it on another living creature to try to kill him. It’d felt good. And he hadn’t felt any guilt at all. He’d hated looking at himself in the mirror because all he saw was someone he didn’t recognize anymore. Someone who was willing to kill without remorse. There was such a thin line between what was good, what was bad and sometimes he didn’t even know if everything he did was good but he hoped. He hoped that he did the right thing. Because hope was all he had. And when he looked at Blake all his worries melted away. He liked seeing her smile and her eyes light up like he could see the whole universe in her eyes. They seemed slightly darker now kind of like the same colour as the skies above them. He liked the way her top showed her back and the way her heels and pants seemed to highlight her curves. And cleavage. As the cars raced by, one after another, switching up the match-ups at times Niko watched for one in particular. The Porsche Spyder. They were starting relatively easy. The ones that couldn’t go that fast were starting first. Later on, the ones that could go even faster would race. The ones who had brought cars like Mercedes and Porsches and BMWs. He finally saw it after the 15th race pulling up beside two other cars that drove up. A Mercedes AMG and the same Audi from the first race. The driver of the Porsche looked out of the car at him. He had short black hair, cut at the sides. He drew the letter 3 in the air with his finger and formed a zero with his thumb and index finger. Niko put his hand to his forehead and saluted him in an exaggerated manner, two fingers outwards. It meant he’d seen him. Niko raised his voice as the cars gunned it, speeding off without any signal.“The driver of the Porsche is the guy I’m going to be racing, Kai! He’s in the running to drive for the Italian team next Grand Prix!”

Links:
Mazda RX-9-
http://img.modifiedcartrader.com/uploaded/XL/2010/10/Mazda-RX-8-40th-anniversary--for-sale-custom-26048-7697.JPG.      
Audi-
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/03/zatmosphere2_031908_opt.jpg
Porsche Spyder 918-
http://blog.wtwcorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Porsche_918_Spyder_wtw_giovanna_gfg_fm-707_rims_wheels_luxury_concave_3-piece_custom-paint_high-performance.jpg
Lamborghini Gallardo-
http://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/news/lamborghini-gallardo-superleggera-tuned-by-evs-motors-42731_1.jpg
Nissan GTR Nismo
http://etikakris.com/519/nissan-gtr-r35-nismo-2015/nissan-gtr-r35-nismo-2015-2015-nissan-gt-r-nismo-live-reveal-hompage-lead/

Her heart still fluttered after watching his "pelvic display" as she'd so tastefully labelled it. There was skin bared, hips moving in a taunting manner and certainly a number of forbidden thoughts and feelings on her part. Lips planted themselves gently against her temple and her eyes slid closed in natural response. It was a warm and comforting gesture from the friend she was scared she might be getting some feelings for. The feelings were not ordinary feelings, not the loyalty and limited love of a friendship. She was clearly seeing him in a different light, a more romantic light. She had to be careful not to see his every action as a gesture of affection in her direction. It tugged upon her heartstrings and only hurt more when she remembered how highly unlikely it was. one of the women at these events were probably more his type. Beautiful, they were, so extremely confident and self-assured. She was too, but it was different. They seemed so wild and outgoing, carefree, just like him. Bree seemed pretty interested in him. Maybe he was just afraid to be too forward with her and jeopardise his friendship with Arnie. She guessed she could see them together. She was short, especially next to him, and had this curly, bouncy hair to perfectly frame her pretty face. Of course he claimed she was like a sister, but didn't all guys do that? It had only been twenty-five years since her horrible breakup with Wesley. That relationship, her first relationship, had made her extremely wary of the things men said. After very slowly moving through her post-breakup blues - admittedly she had fallen into a sort of depression - Blake had done some research. She researched what it was like to be in a good relationship, what a bad relationship was like. She watched thousands of films from the past, depicting a number of scenarios in which couples find themselves thrown together, having some rough moments before finally coming together in the end. She read books, thousands of books, depicting ancient love stories and some of the more modern variety. Some were considered fantastical for the time - vampires and werewolves falling in love with humans - but were now considered perfectly normal. She smiled for him, the darkness her eyes could see was bliss as his lips lingered, whispering to her. Don't, she thought, it will only hurt more. The girl inhaled, opening her eyes and nodding. They were friends. Just friends. It was better that way anyway. No complications or awkward, one-sided feelings. But friends could hold hands could't they? She thought they could, if the friendships guidelines allowed it. Their friendship seemed to leave room for more intimate gestures. They were playful and friendly. So they continues to walk, hand in hand, towards the main attraction. She kept pace with him, rather than running on ahead. they were only going to miss one race, what harm could it be? Her thumb continued to stroke over the back of his hand while she looked ahead, her eyes cast into shadow by the angle of the lighting. It was interesting to hear he considered himself an adrenaline junkie. She wasn't sure if that's what she was, but she certainly loved the idea of fast cars. Just moving fast. The only thing she believed could top the feeling of racing along the ground would be flying. She dreamed of a possibility of having wings, soaring above the clouds. She'd been in a plane and seen the beauty of the worlds hidden above the clouds. But she wanted to see it for herself, not through a window, breathe the air into her lungs, cold and thin. She could fly out of the sun, blinding her enemies. But a lioness cannot fly. She stalks in the long grasses, runs long and hard to catch her prey. She sleeps in the heat of the day and raises her young when the time comes. A lioness does not fly. A lioness will fight. She would fight. It was useless. Whatever she told herself to believe, she couldn't help but ignore. There was a thumping in her chest every time the man cast a glance in her direction. She had to fight these feelings, but she wanted to fight for him all the same. It was harsh and confusing, sending a tumultuous wave surging within. What a mess she was inside.

They drew into the crowd, bodies pressing close around them. Everywhere was noise and colour. Every sense was assaulted. She smelt the foul cling of alcohol. She could taste the bitter cigarette smoke. All around was shouting and yells of laughter, arguments. The lights were glaringly bright for a time before her eyes adjusted. Everywhere she was being touched as they pushed through the crowd. Someones elbow knocked her here, a foot struck her there. It didn't hurt really, it was more a nuisance. But finally she caught a glimpse of two scars screaming past. Being a good few inches shorter than Niko, she only saw what she could in the little gap between two people, but she saw enough of the black and white blurs to know the black blur won. The crowd erupted into enormous cheers and celebration, but Niko wouldn't let them stop for that. He pulled her onwards, their hands still clasped with one another, and she followed on dutifully. He led her to a car built in graceful simplicity. A Nismo. She knew very well of GTR's, but this was the King of the GTR. It wasn't nearly as dolled up as some of the other models she could see parked nearby, nor as classically fancy as the high-end cars she'd seen. It had a masculine elegance about it that drew her closer. The Son of Godzilla, he claimed was its title. She wanted to hear the beast scream. His tamer would handle him with strength, she knew. He had helmets to move about, dropping her hand in the process. She shuffled forward, her hands hovering over the bonnet. Words failed her, her hands shook, afraid to touch the vehicle. Every other vehicle here made their owners appear fraudulent in comparison. It seemed plain that their fancy cars and elaborate paint jobs were a compensation for something lacking in their lives. She was still standing stunned when he reclaimed her hand and pulled her over toward the guard rail. She took a shaky seat to his right, her hand gripping his tightly. Blake took a few shaky breaths, supplying her brain with oxygen and returning her coherency. "I can't wait to see you drive that beast," She turned and said to him over the din. From the corner of her eye she saw a rather attractive young woman enter the track. But she was watching his face. Was there emotion there? Was this sort of woman more his type? If she was, was Blake jealous? Or rather disappointed? Did she want to tell him he could do better, or walk out there herself and start a race? She gently held her lower lip between her teeth, bringing her free right hand up to her mouth.  She couldn't chew her nails, that would be unseemly, but she ran her thumb back and forth across her plump lower lip as she wondered these things. The race set off and she watched excitedly as the cars sped past. They punched that familiar hole through her chest, but now it didn't quite have the same effect. His thumb started stroking over hers and she made no move to stop it. It sent a shiver shooting up her arm. A good shiver. The consistency of his stroke was calming, it kept her grounded when so much was going on. She was thankful for that. The more she watched him, the more she could see he was searching for something. As each race went by she noticed more and more how often her eyes would switch between the track and his face. She would study his features every chance she got and soon enough she saw his expression change to one of recognition. Her head turned to see what he saw. Three cars in a row, the closest one a Porsche Spider. The driver of the neon green and black Spider showed his face, signalling to someone. It was Niko who responded with a casual salute of recognition. The strangers eyes found hers next and held them for a moment, smirking just slightly before speeding off. She turned to Niko, the better to hear him. "Was he saying you'll be versing him in race thirty?" She said a little loudly, her voice cresting over the music and chatter. She continued, "He seems like a real douche. You'd better ruin him."

He was happy that she was impressed with his car. It was true. It wasn’t as fancy as the rest but he wasn’t rich like them. And he’d liked the Nismo. It was sturdy and strong. And very, very fast. And it handled corners exceptionally well. And he did not like spending what he earned on lavish cars when he could get a car for much less and use that Denari on something more useful or practical. He never really thought about why the others painted their cars. He’d just kind of shut himself off from thinking too deep when he was here. Just concentrating on the environment. All the little noises. The atmosphere. On working on the cars when Arnie had jobs for him. Just enjoying the fun. He’d noticed the women. There was always women. And he could not help but be attracted to them on a physical level as he knew a good looking woman when he saw one but they would never give him what he needed. A one night stand? It would be shallow, empty. Without sparks or chemistry. Niko wasn’t looking for something like that. His type was and had always been that of the fun, outgoing type. He’d seen a lot of those here but they didn’t have the body he was interested in. He always called friends of the female gender sisters, if they were close enough and he had no interest in them beyond friendship. She had to understand that not all men were the same. Some were very bad. Some were very good. Most were somewhere in between. He fit in there somewhere. Maybe some guys lied when they said that. But for him, when he said someone was like a sister to him then he meant it. And he was no damn player. He just liked having friends. A friend was a friend. A girlfriend was a girlfriend. And no one here was his girlfriend. He hadn’t and didn’t really think about anyone here like that. But he was starting to think about Blake more.    

As the woman walked off Niko glanced back at Blake, concerned. He’d noticed her acting weird when he’d been taking her through the crowd. Had someone touched her? He tapped her leg with his foot, trying to tell her that things were okay. She was running her thumb over her lips for what reason he didn’t know. Was it the woman? He wasn’t attracted to her on an emotional level. His heart didn’t beat fast when he looked at her. But that was all she was to him. Some woman on the race track. His attention lingered on her for a few seconds and that was it. He didn’t get that fuzzy feeling in his stomach when he looked at her. Or at anyone here. He did when he looked at Blake. Niko shuffled closer so that he was side by side with Blake, leg touching hers. He looked down at the ground, tapping his foot against the grass. Why was he thinking this way? Why had he kissed her? Did he…? No. Nah. But it made him feel jealous when she mentioned someone else in that way. The thought of her with someone else made him feel angry and weak at the same time, if that made any sense. He hated that. He did not want to think of her with anyone else. The thought of it pissed him off and he did not like that feeling. He didn’t like being angry. And he didn’t like hearing or seeing her with anyone else even more. No matter who it was. And he would like it if she did not mention it because it made him feel angry. And anyone who was in his position who said otherwise was lying through their lying teeth. No one liked it when people brought up their past loves because they wanted to be the special someone. They didn’t like someone else on their territory or the thought that someone else was on their woman and they wanted to know that they were better. And it made them feel like you were still thinking of them. This was meant to be something special he shared with her and no one else. It ruined the occasion. She wasn’t supposed to be thinking of someone else. He stared ahead, seemingly past the cars. Of course, he wasn’t her first. He let go of her hand, stone-faced. Was she thinking of someone else? Did she have feelings for someone else? The jellyfish? He could do what he did. Take her places. Give her stupid roses. And unlike him, he’d be more sincere about it. And he had to be better in bed than a boneless blob. But he still hated thinking about it. It may have been selfish of him but he didn’t want anyone else by her side. Didn’t want anyone else giving her pleasure. He wanted to be her only shield, her only sword. Not a damn canary. Something fierce. Like a dragon. Or a tiger. An eagle.    

Love was confusing. Why’d he care so much? Past was the past. But then why…? Was he scared? Scared that if he got too close something would happen to her just like Randalf? Like his parents? Scared that in the unlikely chance, he wasn’t that…? Niko looked at the cars, mulling those thoughts over. Cars were less confusing than feelings. Just bits of metal and glass and rubber. Maybe he’d gone too far in kissing her but he’d wanted to. He didn’t like the others staring at her in that way. Some of them looked like they wanted to come up to her and take her away. But generally, people respected each other enough here not to go up and start something with someone else. Manners and boundaries it was called. But then there were those few who had to spoil it for everyone. Kai smirked at her. Niko stared at him. As he raced off, Niko shook his head,“That was weird. Kai’s usually not like that.” He said, raising his voice,[/color]“Yeah race 30! Might let him win this time! Arnie didn’t tell you but I beat him once before too! Makes it 2-0! I can throw this race! He’s been a good friend to me!” As the cars raced off, Niko looked back at her, looking into her eyes for a moment before straying down to her lips. Fuck it. He was better than the jellyfish. He leaned in closer until he heard a firework explode near him. Niko snapped his head around towards in general direction. A couple of Moras were nearby. They were playing with some small firecrackers and had dropped some near them. Niko looked across at them, waiting to see if they would point or laugh but they were looking at them slightly sheepishly. It hadn’t been done on purpose. Niko laughed,“Hey it’s cool! No blood no pain.” They weren’t looking at them. One of them looked up at him, abashed. It looked like they hadn’t known. He heard the cars racing by and when it got to the 30th, he got off and taking her hand, walked to the car, unlocking the car doors, opening it and stepping inside the driver’s seat. He gestured for her to follow and get into the passenger seat. He drove the car onto the track, sidling into the spot that the Mazda that’d raced against the Spyder had gotten into. He eased it inside, driving up to the right side of the car. He said, opening the door and stepped out,“Kai will show you his car. He loves showing it off to anyone who’ll listen.” He walked to Kai who was getting out of the car and said,“Hey Andretti!” Kai said,“Hey Tesla!” It was their nicknames for one another. Andretti was the surname of a Formula One driver and Tesla was the name of a company of a famous engineer. Niko whistled,[color:29ed=0099ff]“Saw you hitting 10 seconds out there! Record time hey amico?”  Kai laughed.“Yeah think it was a stroke of luck!” Niko laughed, “Yeah sure…hey listen, you think you could let my friend see your car? I promised I’d let her see some super cars and she’s seen the Paganis and the Huayras.” Kai said,“Sure…” He caught sight of Blake and wolf-whistled, extending his hand out to her,“Hello bella. Where’d you come from?” He gestured to the car,“Take a look.”

She wasn't acting weird... was she? Sure she could be strange and a little quirky, maybe little too excited about some things. Maybe she was acting a little odd because she cared. She really cared about him. He was her closest friend, her confidant. She could share anything with him, no secrets or lies. Their relationship held no boundaries. To her, at least, no topic was taboo, no discussion too strange. In their time as friends, they'd never had those crazy conversations she'd heard of good friends having. Conversations about nothing and everything. She had this fantasy of the two of them lying in a meadow somewhere in the spring time. They stared up at a gorgeous blue sky watching the clouds float by. Blake would point out that this one looked like a dragon or that one like a turtle and he would laugh. They would talk about the intricate details of a rivers journey: from a melting glacier atop a mountain all the way down to the sea and beyond. They would talk about the politics of the world and their own ideas to make things better. He would talk for hours about his robotics, teaching her all about how they worked, how he managed to created them from a single thought in his mind. She would teach him useful medicinal practises. Tying a tourniquet, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, correctly cleaning and dressing a wound, even how to put in stitches to seal a deeper wound. They would lay there for hours upon hours until the sun went down and even then she didn't want to leave. They enjoyed each others company too much. But in the real world, they spoke to each other on chance encounters at sparse intervals. All they ever really discussed was each other. Where they'd been, what they'd been doing since the last time they saw each other. There was only so many times they could do that before it became monotonous. Outside of him she led a very boring life. She worked in the hospital or held the fort at her small practise in Monet Quarter. Her most exciting moments were with him. She didn't mind. They'd built a house together, explored the city together, swam at the falls together. And now, they were at an underground race together. Around him, there was excitement to be had and she wanted that excitement in her life. Watching him work on the car, he was totally in his element. He could joke with Arnie and the other car-guys around here, he could focus on fixing the vehicle and do something he enjoyed. She liked seeing him so at ease, it made her happy. She wanted nothing more than to see him happy, in whatever capacity that was. His happiness and wellbeing was the most important thing to her. That was friendship wasn't it?

She didn't want him thinking she wasn't enjoying her time with him. She couldn't be having more fun. There were so many wonderful cars to see and enthralling races to watch. She had a wonderful man sitting beside her to keep her company, a man whose hand she was holding so very tightly. Should I let go? Maybe he's sick of holding my hand. Oh no, i think my hands are sweaty. Her thoughts were nervous and panicked, unsure of what she should do. He seemed cold and stony, like he was trying to keep his emotions in check. How could she know he was so upset? She hadn't intended to think of Wesley as she had if even for that tiny second. She didn't want to be jealous and it scared her that she was. She didn't want to be having all these violent thoughts towards women she didn't even know, yet they came unbidden. She had no claim over him, no right to feel the way she did and yet she had no control over it. It was all so confusing and useless. She kept fighting, telling herself it was just a strong bond of friendship, that he'd been there for her in a dark time. He'd held her while she'd cried over something so despicable, over someone who'd never loved her. He'd helped her continue on on some days where she would have preferred to have stayed curled up in a cave somewhere. There were times when he wasn't there and she'd had some bad moments. Where she'd curled up and cried into her pillow, stayed alone for weeks. She wouldn't talk, she wouldn't interact with anyone. She just kept trying to deal with the pressure that kept building in her chest. Crying helped some, but sometimes it made it worse. But when she'd pulled out of the depression it was because of him. Because she knew that, like the rest of them, he would have had some difficulties in his past, yet he was still a happy, outgoing person. She wanted to be like that. She forced herself to get out of bed, even though it took longer than it used to. She'd do things, go places and meet people. And one day it didn't seem so difficult, not all at once, but over time. She didn't take as long to get out of bed. She smiled more often at her patients and greet strangers on the street. She made little changes into her life to inject a force of positivity. But he hadn't known that and she would probably never tell him. She felt indebted to him for saving her on so many occasions and now as their friendship grew, so too did her debt and the depth of her feelings for him. She knew deep down that it was impossible, that she should try to pull away while their friendship could remain intact. Her hand squeezed his tightly, like a final goodbye. But he threw hers aside before she'd had the chance to slip her hand away quietly. She let slip a quiet, "Oh," hidden by the sound of the racing cars. Blake pulled her hand back into her lap, lancing and unlacing her fingers. She looked up, returning her focus to the cars, only the cars. Two sped past, the sound sending that familiar rush through her body. It still didn't have the same effect. She looked up at Niko. Pow! Like she was punched in the gut. Her eyes flickered to his lips for just a moment. Race 30, yes, that's the one. Niko leaned in closer, like he was going to whisper something meant only for her to hear. Shit! she jumped, startled. She clutched at his arm in sudden response. Some young Mora had set off firecrackers near them, startling them both. He was so casual, shrugging off the mistake. He hopped down from his perch, taking her hand. She hopped down and followed him back to his car. She was still in awe of its simplicity. She couldn't wait to see him race. Better yet, she actually got to sit in it. The rumble of the engine flowed through the car and into her, like it was giving her an extra jolt of energy. He drove them to the starting line, pulling up alongside the Spyder. She hopped out, certain she wouldn't be allowed to ride shotgun during the race. "Really? He will? She asked excitedly, unable to believe a stranger would let her look over his car. Blake followed a few steps behind him, right hand clasping her left wrist behind her back. The Porsche was beautiful, green glowing against the black. It was low and streamlined for a more aerodynamic performance, but she was sure the Nismo would break it. It would be better on the corners and faster on the takeoff. Niko knew what he was doing. Her head snapped up, following the sound of Nikos voice and she smiled. Their nicknames were kind of cute. She blushed as Kai wolf-whistled and took his hand graciously with a smile. "Really?" she asked disbelievingly. She hurried over to the car, stepping lightly around the vehicle so she didn't harm it. She'd been studying up on a few cars, not wanting to look ignorant in front of Niko. Of course the Spyder had come up in her searching, so she knew a couple things. Blake turned back to look at them. "It's a 918, right? V8 engine and a bit over 600 horsepower?" She asked, sounding as though she already knew for sure. She was so excited to see a real V8 up close, it gave her chills. She knew this car would roar, making her heart skip a beat. But she was still intrigued to know the source of the Nismos title.

He looked at her. He had thought about it. Maybe not the lying in the meadow part and cloud gazing. Star-gazing? They could make dragons and turtles out of stars. She could teach him how to do medicine. Some medicinal practices. He would teach her how to write code and create interfaces and program robots. 1,0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1…you could program the robot to move however amount of steps you wanted or move through water or even get into tight spaces. Course, it never worked all that well because you could program it wrong and it could end up smashing into something when you wanted it to stop and turn. Then there was one time the thing he made ended up exploding because one of the parts had been worn out. But it was such an amazing world. A hilarious, amazing world. He worked at the studio, here, at wherever he could that needed his skills. He guessed he was part-contractor. After all, he had to find some way to survive. That was one part of him and the other part of him was the part that pushed him to be what he was. A guardian. The part that despised seeing the strong pick on the weak. Not that he thought Blake was weak. She wasn’t. She was fun and confident. He did not know she had thought of him that way. He had just wanted to be there for her not really thinking that much of anything else because she had such a beautiful smile and he liked it seeing it every day. Niko said to her, “Yeah he will.”
“You raced anyone else tonight?” Kai asked.
“Nah man,” Niko said. “Listen can we make it fast? Just one lap okay? No going over the bypass and making crazy jumps. I want to get home early.”
“Yeah sure Arnie’s going to close the place soon anyway. Two roundabouts and one split road on the last turn sound good to you?” Kai said.
“Yeah,” Niko said. He looked at Blake, squashing those thoughts he had before in his mind. Forget about the other guy. He always had. He knew someone was worth it. He thought she had moved on. He hoped he was right. He looked at her in surprise as she started rattling off facts but smiled. Kai stared at her, stunned then whistled and said, “You’d better keep her Nik! She’s special.” He looked at her, “You’re right bella. It’s 800 over. V8 engine. Better than the V6 over there.”
“Don’t listen to him. He knows his engines don’t have anything on mine. Mine are turbo-charged,” Niko said. But he was impressed. How did she know about the engines?
“Yep but guess who handles corners better?” Kai said.
“You are going to lose my man,” Niko said.
“Hey!” An unfamiliar voice called out.
Niko turned to see someone coming their way. A guy with tattoos and dyed black hair. He said, stopping in front of them. “I want to talk to Kai.”
“What’s up man?” Kai said.
He looked at him, “I want a race. With you and the mechanic.”
“Three-way huh,” Kai said. He looked at Niko. Niko leaned back against the side of the car, “Your call. You wanted the race with me.”
Kai said, looking at the guy. “Sorry not tonight. But I’ll be around next week. Niko will be here. So come talk to us then and we can make a race happen.”
The guy looked at him, then at Niko then turned around and stomped away, swearing. Niko said, “Great friend you have there.”
“Slim pickings Nick,” Kai said, getting into the car. “Good friends are hard to find, amico. I take chances like you. You turned out okay in the end.”
“Yeah so did you,” Niko said, opening the car door. “Thought that frown on your face was permanent.”
Kai glanced at him, staring at him for a long time. Niko stared back, stone-faced mimicking what he looked like. Kai broke out into laughter, turning back to face the front and putting his arm on the seat of the top of the car door, looked back at him. “I was thinking of the time I’d waste wiping you off my car because I thought you’d keep on sucking and crash.” Niko laughed, stepping inside the car and said, “Hey you want dinner tomorrow?”
“With you and your girlfriend?” Kai said, looking at Blake.
“Shut up she’s not my…she’s…,” Niko faltered, feeling his heart beat faster. He looked ahead, avoiding Blake’s eyes.
“Yeah sure and I’m a Carbone,” Kai laughed. He revved up the engine and raised his voice, “Listen if you’re not going to make a move I will! She’s bellissima! Dea!”
Niko reached out, grabbing the front of his shirt and dragged him over the car window, growling, “She’s my bella. You have a girlfriend.”
Grinning, Kai said, “There’s your answer. Why do you want dinner?”
Niko let go, pulling back and said, “Because you’re going to need a consolation prize after you lose.”
“It’s on your tab,” Kai said.
Niko started to rev up his engine, grinning at him wickedly, “It’ll be raw fish. Might give you some tapeworms. You heard of them right? Go to the wrong place…”
Kai’s face dropped. He turned back to the front, glaring at him. Niko knew that Kai hated the stuff. A lot. He was teasing him. Niko looked up at Blake, searching to see if she’d had any reaction to what Kai had said. Did she understand Italian? He looked up at her, into her eyes. He was wondering what he should say. She had seen his jealous side at the hospital. At the time, he had seen her as a friend. But things had changed over the decades. He didn’t know why. It just did. And all he knew was that he had almost been ready to punch his friend’s face for joking about making a move on Blake. Niko knew he wouldn’t have done it because he had a girlfriend and he loved her. He was planning to get propose to her. But he had reacted on instinct. He was usually calmer than that. Niko started to say something. Then-
“Hey lover boy tell your girlfriend to get off the race track before I run her over!” Kai shouted.
The race was starting. Niko smiled at her and said, reaching out and giving her playful slap on the butt, “You’d better go. If I end up crashing they can find another Guardian but they sure as hell won’t find another healer like you.”

[occ: I want to get this out during this week but if I put the font colours I don't know if I'll have the time]

It was funny, she thought of meadows, sunshine and clouds, while he wanted the stars of the night. How different they were. Maybe she was the silvery moon to light his way in the night. He certainly was the bright sun on her cloudiest of days. Seeing his smile made everything simply brighter, like the sun had come out. But she could imagine it, a dark starry night, the two of them laid side by side on a grassy hill, making images out of the stars and finding constellations. It would be cool for her to learn code, though none could say where she might use it. But any skill learned was a useful one; you never knew when it would come in handy.  Blake didn’t know much about Niko as a mechanic, a freelance and a racer. Not much aside from his injury 25 years ago after an accident at his workplace. Tonight she was learning much more about that side of him. He was still his carefree self, but she got to see him interact with his friends here, to see what he was like outside of the clan. In the clan he was still fun and carefree, but he had an air of authority and solemnity overcame him. He was their Guardian, sworn to protect the clan with his life. To protect the weak from those who sought to abuse them. She really hoped he didn’t think she was weak. But then, she was only a Mender. Her basic training as a child included a minimum of self-defense and combat and she hadn’t practiced in a long time. The last time was… well, a very bloody night. A dark time when she had no moon to remind her of the goodness in the world, the light that still survived even in the darkness.

She heard their voices raised once more. Blake continued studying the car, circling it slowly, admiring it from every angle. She stooped at the front left wheel, crouching to see with her eyes what a human could not. She could see into the darkness behind the hubcaps. She could see machinery and metal, things that worked to make the wheels turn. The tread looked good, a little worn from his earlier races but otherwise fine. She straightened up, peeking in through the window to get a glance at the interior. The steering wheel looked light and easy to handle, good for quick maneuvers. The colour scheme was classic black, but the seats were definitely designed for racing in comfort. If only she could actually see under the hood, to see the V8 engine with her own eyes. Her head snapped up as Kai addressed her. He kept tossing in the odd Italian word. She knew they were Italian since the language was quite particular. She was pretty sure bella meant beauty or beautiful or something along those lines. It was why she blushed in the first place. He asked who would take the corners better. She answered softly, “Um, him?” she said, pointing daintily in Nikos direction. “You are going to lose my man,” Niko responded jovially. But another approached them, offering to enter the race. Blake preferred to stay out of that particular conversation, turning her attention back to the Spyder. She was glad Kai had turned away the stranger; she just wanted to see the two friends race one another. She grinned, watching them tease each other, before Niko suggested they have dinner. It seemed so mature and refined for these two grease monkeys. But it was nice to see. Of course Kai teased, asking whether his girlfriend would be attending. Blake wasn’t great with sarcasm, but she was pretty sure “girlfriend” referred to her. She looked up, wondering how Niko would respond, but he avoided her gaze. Carbone, what did that mean? Moron? She only really knew some basic Italian, picked up from watching television or overhearing things. She knew enough to count to ten, say hellow and even a rather rude swear. The odd word here and there she might be able to figure out but she certainly wasn’t fluent. Bellisima, didn’t that have something to do with pizzas? She was sure she’d seen TV chefs use the word when making their Italian pizzas. And did he mean to say ‘deal’, not ‘dea’? Deal being short for ‘deal with it’? Maybe she just misheard him. She didn’t think “dea” sounded like any word in Italian she’d ever heard. There was a scuffle and Niko suddenly Niko was right in Kais face, growling something at him. Had she missed Kai saying something to upset him? Stupid Blake, stop being so unobservant! She thought.

Blake started walking back to Nikos car, thinking she’d seen enough of the Porsche and once more the boys were teasing one another. She smiled at them, whatever it was must’ve been nothing. His hazel eyes caught hers as she approached, though he seemed deep in thought. She smiled, hoping to ease his burden; he needed his concentration for the race. Kai called out, telling Blake to get moving, but she had one more thing to do. Before he got back in the car she stood up on tiptoe and pressed her lips lightly to his cheek. “For good luck,” she said softly so only he could hear. He sent her off with a slap on the butt, guiding her away. She chuckled, moving quickly to the sideline where she clambered to sit on the guard rail where it hovered at waist height. With no one beside her, she gripped the cold metal in both hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. She begged softly, “Please be safe.”

He liked the stars, as much as the sun because he liked the universe and how it big it was. He wasn’t that much different as mechanic. The same. It was slightly more freeing than being an Epror. He didn’t like hiding. Carbone was the family name of the Italian mob. Dea meant “goddess”, belissima meant “beautiful”. She hadn’t said anything about him grabbing Kai so he guessed she hadn’t noticed or realized. Niko was relieved, though he didn’t know why exactly. He was caught off guard by the kiss. He stared after her, heart thudding then slowly turned back to the front and started to grin. There was a bobble-head of a Minion with goggles that was standing beside a globe. Niko adjusted the mirror and patted the bobble-head, happily watching the head bob up and down sporadically while the rest of its body just stood there. He’d liked it because it reminded him that the world was a big place. A big, scary place with lots of different people and not everyone would like him but he did not care. It reminded him that it was so easy to lose yourself in a crowd. But home was always where your friends were. Where your family was. Where you felt you belonged. Where you felt you could make a difference. Where you could make someone’s life better or try to help someone even if they didn’t appreciate it. Where you were happy. It was calming. A woman onto the track, the same one he had been watching. Niko focused on the road. “You know the rules! First one over the finish line wins!” The woman gave a sultry, seductive smile to both of them, holding two flags in her hands. She raised them and shouted, “Start your engine boys! On three! One!”

And they were off. The roar of the engine seemed to split the skies. His foot was on the accelerator. He could feel it. The power surging through his body through the accelerator up his feet, his legs straight through his heart. He could hear just the wind and the tires, the raucous cheering for fun (mostly, they didn’t really care that much who won or lost) because it was just a race and people were here to unwind. Some of them could be hustling, making bets but that was normal and it changed all the time. The bets. He wondered if Blake was cheering for him. He couldn’t hear over the sound of the engine and he didn’t look at to the side to check for if he did he would crash. And anyway, he wouldn’t be able to see because when he was driving this fast, all he could see were blurs. He flicked his eyes to the right as a green blur zipped in front of him, swerving to the left to round the corner on the first turn that was coming up. Niko followed right behind him, veering up behind him on the other side and eased up on the accelerator, changing the gears and hit the brakes with his foot and spun the wheel to the left. He felt the back end of the car skid to the right, heard the tires skid, grabbed the clutch and yanked it hard to change it back, slamming his foot on the accelerator. The road was elevated at an upwards, curved slope that extended for miles. It split at the end into a figure eight track with an intersection with separate highways going off in loops that went under each other and over each other. The road split wide at the center, into two loops that was curved to the left over another loop, leading down into another three split roads that converged into a roundabout, into two more roads and then there was another roundabout and the finish. Kai was halfway up the slope. Niko shot up the slope, tearing up the sloped road towards the split road at the center. He could see the hazard lights of the Porsche coming up fast. Niko veered to the left to cut in front, almost scraping the side of the Porsche in the process, inching forwards ahead of the Porsche. By then, they were side by side. Kai broke away from him, going into the loop on the farther right. Niko went for the loop on the left and as he went into one of the split roads Kai came up beside him. They almost hit each other when they went into the roundabout but separated at the other road. Kai on his right. They were nearing the last roundabout. Kai was right beside him. Niko sped up, spinning the wheel and heading into the left side and almost crashed into the Porsche swerved in front of him a little bit into his view as he made the turn that went into the road that headed for the finish line. Niko spun the wheel back to the left, going into the road that led to the finish line and turned it to the right, then the left again to make the car go straight. He felt the back end of the car tilt as he did but while he still had speed, he slammed his foot on the accelerator. The engine roared to life and he felt the car pelt forwards down the road, his back going into the seat from the sheer force. He caught up to Kai in seconds. And seconds mattered a lot. They were neck and neck. They were nearing the finish line. He could see the banner. And he heard the deafening sound of fireworks rip through the air as he raced over the finish line. He pressed his foot on the brakes, easing off on the accelerator and turning to the left to bring the car to a smooth stop. He looked back over his shoulder to make sure the space was clear and there was no one there, putting the car into reverse and began backing up. He did not know if he won as Kai had been right beside him. His foot left from the accelerator and he jerked the wheel to the left. The car spun in the same spot in a 180 degree circle, peoples’ faces blurring together. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he jerked the clutch to P, hitting the brakes and it screeched to a stop, front end facing the crowd.

Where was Blake? He saw her, in the crowd. He laughed, hi fiving people who came up to him and patted him on the shoulder. Oh yeah, he won. He guessed that some of them had won their bets. Kai slapped his shoulder with a hand and said, “Good race! Just so you know, I let you win!” Niko laughed, “Yeah sure! Thanks I’ll beat you fair and square next time!” As the crowd dispersed, he went searching for Blake. He found her, grabbed her and dragged her towards him, grinning. Holding her close to him he grabbed her around the waist and back with his other arm. He didn’t know why but he wanted her to be right up against him. Feel her against him. He was breathing hard. He could feel his heart thudding so fast, so very fast like a jack-hammer against his rib-cage. His nerves felt like they were on fire. He could hear the blood rushing, feel it rushing through his veins. Feel the cool night air which felt warm on his skin and his skin feel even warmer when he felt Blake up against him. He stared at her, directly into her eyes, running the tips of his fingers through her brown hair for a second staring at her face, caught between an interplay of shadow and lights from the multiple car headlights surrounding them. His eyes travelled down to her lips and he closed the distance between them, crushing his lips against hers, feet moving forwards in the gravel, feeling her legs against his as he shoved her down against the open car door so that the small of her back was up against it, wrapping his arm around her back and squeezing her around the waist and back, as if he was trying to take every inch of her. He did not think about it. Not the people around them. Not the car door that had slammed shut as he put his weight on it when he pushed Blake down while holding her. He just wanted to kiss her right here. Right now.

She fidgeted nervously where she sat, anxious for the race to start. An extremely tall, well built man wearing a pretty nice set of chinos and button down approached her. He would have been pretty intimidating, were it not for the floppy black ears poking through his dark hair and thick black tail swaying from his behind. He was closely followed by a slightly shorter, olive-toned Mora with the pointed ears of a German Shepherd. It was the labrador who spoke. "Excuse me ma'am, but you can't sit here. It's dangerous." He said, gesturing for her to hop down from the railing. "I'm with Niko, he's in this race. He's..." she searched for a viable explanation, one that would allow her to remain where she was. "He's my boyfriend," she said, sounding as though she'd been searching for the right term for their relationship, rather than an excuse to stay. "Be that as it may," he began, "It's unsafe to sit there. You'll need to sit or stand behind the railing like everyone else." It was a fox who came to her rescue. "Oh come on man! If she want's to watch her boyfriend from the railing let her!" She smile at him in thanks, but he had more to say. "She'll have a better view of Kai winning from there. Now move along, we don't want to miss the race because of you." The two dogs shook their heads, muttering something about "your funeral" and walked off. The fox in his maroon hoodie turned back to his friends, ready to watch the race. She heard him mutter, "I've got five thousand on Kai, he's one of the best here, especially in the Spyder. It costs a fortune. There's no way that other guy can beat him in that thing." He said thing almost with a tone of disgust, like the Nismo was some useless old piece of junk, a vehicle never designed to race restored by an amateur. She only turned away and held her silence. Her eyes held the track, watching the girl start the race. "Come on Niko," she muttered, her grip somehow tightening over the warming metal. She adjusted, preferring the colder touch. They were off before the girl had dropped the flags, clearly wanting a quick race. The bellows of the engines like great beasts roaring a challenge to one another. The Nismo had a deeper grumble than the Porsches lighter snarl. An older, wiser dragon warning off his younger, more foolhardy opponent. The sound was everywhere, cracking the dark night sky above, rolling out in waves around them, punching through that chest in that familiar feeling she'd so loved. The track was strange and confusing, full of curves and roundabouts, even what looked like a figure eight. Somehow, Kai managed to cut in front of Niko before the first turn, leaving Niko to follow closely behind. And how smooth his turn was. It seemed almost graceful or elegant. To think of all the harsh prodding of the gearstick, his foot switching from the accelerator to the brake and back again on the interior, so that the exterior might appear to simple and effortless. Driving in itself was an art form. Racing was a lifestyle. The two cars were speedy blurs, holding steady positions of even rank, she could hardly guess who would win. When the final turn came she felt a change, like everything in the race was just right. The way his car moved and responded, the way the wind felt. Everything seemed still for a heartbeat as the Nismo exited the turn, swerving into place. Then it seemed to just take off down the final stretch, Kai desperately keeping pace. She could see it when the flag dropped, she heard it announced. He'd won. A slightly smug smile danced upon her lips as she turned to look at the fox who cursed violently. "Looks like 'that thing' far outclassed Kai's expensive rig. Sorry to hear about your loss of profit, of course, but I suppose that's what you get for betting on price rather than ability." The look on his face was priceless. He was pissed. Blake just hopped off the railing and pushed her way through the celebrating crowd to get to Niko. Grinning from ear to ear, she'd been ready to launch herself at him and throw her arms around his neck, but he was quicker. He took her by the hand and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her; one down around her waist, the other a little higher on her back. She grinned up at him and he grinned down at her. She could feel his chest rising and falling against hers. His heart, her ears told her, was racing rapidly within him. From chest to toe their bodies were pressed right up against one another, only their faces remaining unattached. It didn't remain that way for long. The hand on her back found its way into her hair for a moment before his lips cam crashing down upon hers. Her eyes closed easily and without hesitation, sinking into the kiss. He guided her backwards, shoving her up against the door of his car, trapping her. But it was a good kind of trap. His body and his car were her prison and she was a model prisoner. Never attempting to escape, not even flinching when her movement was restricted. He squeezed her waist, keeping her as possibly close as he could. She leaned against the car, placing her hands against his hips so they felt less useless. The kiss never started simple and romantic, like it did in the movies. It was gentle and caring, but rough and full of need. And she kissed him back with the same fervour. But they had to come up for air sometime. She was panting for breath, he'd literally taken her breath away. When finally she had enough air to speak, she said, "If a little peck on the cheek wins you a race, how lucky does this make you?" Her hands went to his neck and she raised herself just a little more on her toes, bringing their lips together once more in a heated passion. She didn't hold back once. She let herself feel the happiness she wanted to feel and it flooded through her system. Her lips pressed against his was the happiest she'd ever felt.

He picked her up slightly, his hand squeezing the curve of her butt and slammed her against the car door as he felt her lips leave his. He felt her hand around his neck. He was breathing hard, mouth open and looking at her in the eyes, wanting more. He said, breathing hard, “Really damn lucky.” Much more. More than a kiss but for now... Adrenaline pumping through his body. His left hand caressed her back, going up and grabbed the back of her head, lunging in to kiss her again. Her lips tasted good. Sent electricity shooting through his brain. Someone grabbed his shoulder, dragging him away. It was the guy from before. He threw a punch at him. Niko blocked it, grabbing his arm and holding his arm, swung him around to send him into a nearby car. He growled, “What’s your problem? Kai said you could come talk to us about it next week. He didn’t say no.” The guy staggered to his feet up and spat, “Damn filthy foreigner.” He shoved him, grabbing the front of his shirt and threw a punch at him. Niko slammed his palms directly into his shoulder with both palms, attacking the joint so that the punch would be stopped. The other guy faltered for a few seconds, caught off guard from the strike. That was all the time Niko needed. He grabbed the guy’s arm, yanking it away from him to get his hand away from him and holding it, hooked his left arm around the back of the guy’s neck and twisted to the right, sweeping his left foot with his left foot to throw him off balance and threw him, slamming him down into the ground. He landed partially on his side as Niko had wanted, wheezing. Two seconds. It’d taken two seconds. As Niko knelt down beside him, he pulled out a knife from inside his jacket and slashed upwards at him aiming for his throat. Niko leaned out of the way, grabbing his knife arm, one arm around his elbow and the other across his forearm and putting his knee on the back of his neck twisted, yanking the arm to the side, not enough to break it but enough to cause a lot of pain and broke it with a snap. And not at an angle that looked normal. Niko said, “Come back next week when you’ve got your head on straight.” He stood up.

“Congratulations Shaggy!” Arnie clapped him on his back, handing over a bouquet of blue and red roses to him. “The hell Arnie?” Niko laughed, taking the bouquet. “You got something you want to say to me?” Arnie squeezed his shoulder and laughed a great booming laugh, “Yeah I got a secret life as a woman who wants to jump your bones. You were supposed to be racing Bree tonight and I was pegging her to win. Her sugar daddy got her a Koenigsegg Agera. But I’m a man of my word and to the winner, goes the spoils.” Arnie let go and walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Niko took them and turned to Blake, extending his hand to give them to her with a smile when someone pushed him, catching him off guard and making him drop the roses. Niko spun around to see a knife flying at his face. He couldn’t dodge or duck fast enough so he stepped back with one foot, leaning back. He felt the knife skim his neck. By then, he’d grabbed the wrist, elbow going over his arm and twisted the arm while it was still in mid-punch, dragging him forwards using his momentum. At the same time he squatted down, spreading his feet so that his left foot was away from his right foot and turned. It caused the other guy to fall to his feet, the arm twisting upwards in an unnatural angle as a result. Niko stayed standing, throwing the arm over his right arm so that it was hanging over his arm at the elbow. With his left hand he grabbed the back of his neck and shoved him down to the ground, forwards a couple of inches. He knelt down on one knee, rotating and spinning him around to the left so that he was facing sideways to Niko’s body. He kept a vice-lock hold on the guy’s neck, getting on both knees once he had a secure grip and moved his hand on the side of his face and pressed his left knee on the back of his neck applying pressure. He grabbed his right arm with his, at the elbow and said, “Last chance.” Niko stood up, gazing at him. He couldn’t take his eyes off him. Not until he started walking. The guy pushed himself up with one hand, standing and glared at Niko. He started to walk away then suddenly turned and tackled Niko, catching him off guard and sending him down onto the ground. Niko hit the ground, yelling out as he felt pain shoot through his back as he hit something hard and metallic. Probably a large piece of broken bottle. No time to care. Niko held up his arms across his face to protect it as he saw the punches coming for his face. He felt them hit his arms but it was better than his face. He didn’t want to go to the hospital. The guy was trying to get on top of him, throwing punch after punch at his face in fury. Niko had kept his legs close to his chest, knees up against the other guy’s chest to keep him from getting the upper hand by trapping his own legs and to protect his stomach.

Niko lunged upwards as soon as he felt the punch leave him, grabbing his arm to throw him to the side to make him tumble. At the same time he placed his hand against his face with his free hand, getting into a somewhat kneeling position and slammed the back of his head against the ground among the rocks scattered about. The punch that was coming to his face landed on the back of his shoulder, glancing off weakly. Niko reared his hand back and threw a vicious punch, his fist landing near his eye and nose. Blood spurted out. Niko didn’t care. He stared at him. The guy staggered to his feet, spat at him and disappeared into the silent onlookers, spitting blood out. Blood tinged the rocks. It was on the back of his head as well, probably had cut through the skin but it wouldn’t kill him.
Niko looked back at Blake, his expression softer, lowering his eyes to the ground and mumbled, “I’m sorry you had to see that.” He regretted that. Shaking his fist to try to flick off the blood muddying the back of his hand, he walked over to the roses near them, kneeling down and tucking some of them that had fallen out back inside the bouquet. Some of the petals had been torn off too. He scooped up the fallen petals with a hand into the bouquet so that the rose was whole again, stood and going back to Blake, handed the roses to her, voice husky from the energy from the fight and smiled at her slightly, “For you.”