A Phone Call

Alyosha slumped across the yard from his previous location of the garage with his mobile pinned to his ear with one hulking shoulder.

"Chto vy delali v Chelyabinske v lyubom sluchaye?" he sighed softly, running a hand through his long hair, currently down around his shoulders rather than its usual tied up state.

A reply came from the phone and he sighed, rubbing at his brow. "Udostoverʹtesʹ, chtoby derzhatʹ yego v chistote. YA ne khochu bespokoitʹsya o vas lovitʹinfektsii i umiratʹ na menya. Posledneye, chto mne nuzhno vernutʹsya v Moskvu." His voice was low, annoyance seeping into his tone as he spoke to the person on the other end of the line.

"YA budu govoritʹ v lyubom tone mne nravitsya. YA bespokoyusʹ o tebe, no ya ne khochu , chtoby vernutʹsya. YA bezhal , i ya schastliv , chto sdelal."

He sighed again as he neared the large entrance doors of the mansion.

"Da, ya tozhe tebya lyublyu . Budʹte ostorozhny s etogo momenta. Chur , chto nogu."

___________________________________
What were you doing in Chelyabinsk anyway?

Make sure to keep it clean. I don't want to worry about you catching an infection and dying on me. The last thing I need is to go back to Moscow

I'll speak in whatever tone I like. I'm worried about you but I don't want to go back. I escaped and I'm happy I did

Yes, I love you, too. Be careful from now on. Keep off that leg

Tayce was outside, sitting in the garden. It was a cloudy and humid day in Catania, especially so close to the beach. This wasn't weather that Tayce was too unfamiliar with. In fact France and Italy were rather similar this time of year.

The young woman actually didn't mind cloudy days in the least. In fact she loved all weather. Raining, sunny, storming or calm, the Earth was such a beautiful place.

Two large suitcases that carried everything Tayce owned lay beside the stone bench she sat on. Most of the contents were books. Book after book of spells and demonology. Tayce adored the subjects.

She blinked once or twice, her contacts drying up in her eyes from staring ahead at getting lost in thought. The girl wore colored contacts to make her naturally hazel eyes purple. They didn't help her poor vision though, so she had to keep wearing glasses. She didn't mind though, she actually liked her glasses.

She had just arrived at the mansion, an overwhelming sense of calm and relief coming over her now that she had found her new home. Part of her had worried it didn't exist, and her and Pan would have traveled such a long way for nothing. But here it was, and here was she, finally somewhere she could rest.

Speaking of Pandora, Tayce wasn't exactly sure where the hellhound had run off too. She knew her companion was loyal though, and so she never worried when Pan decided to wonder.

Not wanting to go inside just yet, Tayce had taken this moment of solitude to bask in the fresh air.

Alyosha stuffed his phone into his pocket and stretched a little, giving a soft groan as a series of clicks sounded from his spine.

That had felt good.

The Necromancer's tongue lapped at his lower lip idly as he stepped onto the road rather than the grass he had previously been walking in.

His pale eyes caught Tayce from his peripheral vision and he paused to take a look at her.

Her hair was such a bright colour. Was it a wig or did she dye it?

Lyo stepped towards her. "Do you need help?" he asked, trying to gain her attention.

Tayce swiftly turned her head around to take in the source of the unexpected voice. Her eyes widened when she saw how tall the man was. She wasn't a very short girl herself at 5'6" tall. But this guy was a giant.

Naturally untrusting as she was, Tayce took a moment before answering his question.

"Why? Does it look like I do?" She asked, raising a brow. Upon hearing her speak Alyosha would be able to sense the faint French accent on her lips. Especially on her words that have o's in them. They were heavier and slightly drawn out.

The young woman had many walls that she had built around herself. In her experiences people were cruel and always out to hurt one another. So even if this man appeared to have good and even helpful intentions, it was all just a sham.

She was cute. Her face was a little plump to be the traditional thin beauty, but she held a charm about her. And he was drawn to the unnatural colour of her eyes.

The man's lips curled upwards slightly in a pleasant little smile.

She was either a headstrong woman that hated accepting help from anyone, or she didn't trust his intentions. He couldn't decide which.

"If you accept proposal then yes," he answered carefully, his accent thick, marring the words slightly.

If she accepted his proposal then he would help her. If she didn't, then he would leave her alone.

His intentions were purely to help her.

Tayce pursed her lips a little as she looked up at him. She was trying to get a read on him, he seemed so nice. And that was exactly what Tayce feared in strangers. The friendly ones were the ones that were especially not be trusted.

The young woman would be lying if she said she didn't find the blond man handsome. But that was another thing that made her uneasy. Why would an attractive man want to be friendly to a pudgy little nerd such as herself? It didn't add up.

"How would you help me?" She asked, drumming her fingers against her lap subconsciously, something she did when she was a little uneasy. Though only those who really knew her would know the emotion behind it, and there were no people who really knew her.

She figured he meant with her luggage, but she couldn't be sure.

His head tilted slightly, motioning to the two large cases laid out next to her.

"I can help carry cases."

They were large; most probably heavy. No matter what he had done in his past, his mother had taught him right. He should always help people that looked like they could use it.

He didn't know if the woman had carried the cases herself. He didn't want to think her incapable of handling her own luggage but he was more than happy to help her if she allowed it.

The pleasant little smile never faded from his lips.

Tayce stared at Alyosha silently for a moment, but it was just long enough to be uncomfortable. She was horrible at interacting with others, and was what most people would classify as "socially awkward".

She looked back again, tilting her head up so she could stare at the thick cloudy sky.

"Whats in it for you?" She asked, not looking at him still. A slight breeze ran through her layered hair, tangling it a little, but she didn't mind.

"Exercise," was his first reply. Lugging two heavy cases around the mansion would definitely be good exercise.

"Helping someone," was the second. He had tried his hardest to help people out when they looked like they could use a hand; more so in recent years than when he was younger.

The man gave a little shrug. "If you don't want help, I don't have to give."

If she didn't want his help, he could leave. All she had to do was tell him to piss off if she was annoyed with his presence.

Tayce looked back over at him from the corner of her eyes. She could use help, her muscles were sore from some much traveling.

It had been a long way from Dieppe. In fact Dieppe was literally on the opposite end of France, as was Catania was on the opposite end of Italy. She let out a little sigh as she decided to bring down some of her walls and let him help her.

"Okay." She said, standing up and facing him again. She held herself in an awkward little hug, unsure of what to do now that she was letting him lend a hand. It made her feel vulnerable and people in general just made her so uneasy.

No one she had ever met in her life cared for her or was to be trusted, even if she thought at one point that wasn't true. In the most recent months she learned that the only companion she could ever rely on fully was her dear Pandora.

Alyosha bent to pick up one case in either hand, his hair flowing out around him, caught in a little breeze.

He was right, they had been heavy. Extremely heavy.

What were they filled with, bricks?

"Do you know what room you are in?" he asked, eyes turning down to the girl. She was tiny. A foot shorter than him.

It was adorable. He almost wanted to reach forwards and ruffle her brightly coloured hair. But he had a feeling that he'd get some nasty words and maybe even a slap for his efforts.

Tayce's eyes saw his muscles flex when he lifted her suitcases. They were defiantly heavy and she was glad she didn't have to be the one carrying them.

"To be honest I just got'ere. I don't know what room I'm in..." She said, tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear to try and get it out of her face.

"Maybe... you could help me find my room too?" She asked, looking down. She was obviously untrusting and self-conscious, Lyo would be able to pick up that much. Letting him help her like this had her worried that it was allowing him to hurt her. It just takes a little bit of trust to make a victim, after all.

"Da." He gave a little nod, his hair caught in the wind again, flying away from his neck.

His neck was covered in tattoos. Just two of them. The tip of a snake tail curled over his neck from his back and flicked over his collarbone. The rest of the skin was bathed in a dark grey, a triangle of grey trailing up his neck and tapering into a point on his lip. This tattoo wasn't as faded as the green of the snakes tail. This grey tattoo was newer. Not even a few months old.

He didn't care much for his tattoos. They were there, he had had them and he wouldn't even think about getting rid of them.

He didn't care if people thought they made him look dangerous. It was true. He was dangerous. He had killed many and hurt even more.

"This way." He tilted his head towards the large doors of the vestibule he had been making his way towards before.

Tayce didn't have the best vision, but she would have to be all out blind to not notice the black tattoo creeping up this man's neck and to his chin.

It stood out to her against his light hair and she wondered what made him get ink like that. She had never had one done before but she imagined that getting something like that done would hurt quiet a bit.

Silently she followed along behind the man, looking around the exterior of the coven to get a feel for it. Such a lovely place, she was glad she had found it.

The man carried the cases easily.

His strength wasn't quite that of a Lycan's, but he was still much stronger than an average human.

The product of drawing small amounts of power from each creature he unintentionally bought back to life in his five years as a Necromancer.

He kicked open the large door of the vestibule and stepped inside.

"Have you been told which house is yours?" He looked back at her over his shoulder with a curious glint in his blue eyes.

Tayce shook her head no. She wasn't even sure what he meant exactly.

"Uhm... this one?" She asked, motioning to all of it. She wasn't aware the coven was divided into two different houses.

It was clear she had no idea what she was talking about.

Okay then, she had no idea what he was talking about.

That made this a little more difficult.

He motioned to the large carvings on the stairs in front of them. Each was a carving of the house crest with the names of all members of each house beneath them. "Aria or Terra."

She could pick a house and he'd take her to that wing. Simple enough.

He shifted a little, eyes flickering between her and the carved crests as he waited for her to make a decision.

Oh, okay, that made more sense. She walked up to the crests and studied them.

"Does it make a difference?" She asked, looking back at him over her shoulder. She felt bad for making him carry her bags for so long, but not bad enough to have him stop. It did give her some eye candy to see his arm muscles work like that, and although the girl had no intentions of relationships, she of course was human and wasn't opposed to enjoying what was displayed in front of her.

He gave a shrug in response, the muscles of his shoulders rolling under then thin wifebeater shirt he was currently wearing. Today had been a hot day so instead of wearing his usual thick tee and jeans, he wore a thin wifebeater and jean shorts.

"I don't know," he replied truthfully.

It probably did matter to some extent, but right now he had no idea if it mattered or not.

He shifted from one leg to the other as he watched her.

"Zen... lets go zis way" She declared, heading down the hallway to the Terra wing. She walked with a lot of precision for someone who didn't even know what she was fully doing.

Just so long as she had a roof over her head she was happy. A bed would be a wonderful extra. It had been so long since she had slept in a nice bed instead of some filthy cheap hotel. This place seemed elegant and classy, not at all somewhere crawling with bugs and greasy sheets.

She expected Lyo to follow even though he had been guiding her only moments before.

And follow he did.

His long strides shortened when he fell in line with her and his eyes flickered down at her, sizing her up slowly.

She was small but there seemed to be a confidence about her.

Tayce walked with purpose. A purpose that she shouldn't have given that she had no idea where they were going. It amused him and it was also something he admired about her.

Tayce suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, looking around.

"Wait... how do I know what rooms are available?" She asked, looking back at him as if he had all the answers. She'd gathered from this point that he wasn't the head honcho in charge, because he didn't know what the different houses meant. But he was still a lot more knowledgeable than her when it came to this place.

"Check," was his oh so helpful reply.

He stepped past her and carried on down the hallway, turning into the Terra wing and passing the living room.

He opened a couple of doors. All male rooms.

When he finally found a room for females, he opened it wider and set the cases down at his feet.

"Four people share room."

Tayce followed him, taking in the interior of the coven as she went. Her eyes were always wondering, trying to see everything even though it was all blurry. Even with her glasses on she was near sighted.

Once he found a place for her she let out an ungrateful groan. She didn't want to share a room with anyone, especially three people. She had shared a room with a lot of people her whole life, orphans on the streets of France couldn't be picky.

Stepping into the room she looked around, no one was in it now.

"Well, I have a dog. A hell hound actually. So zese people better be okay with zat because she will not sleep outside, she sleeps with me." She said bluntly, more out loud to herself then to this man directly.

It suddenly dawned on her that she didn't know this strangers name. He was Russian, she could pick up that much. He was probably named Ivan Lovskisky or Popovski Mudak. Internally she snickered at her own horribly racist sense of humor.

Alyosha ignored the ungrateful groan.

He had had the same reaction when he had found out that he had to share a room with someone. He didn't like that idea at all. He had always had his own room. Now he had to share a room with three other people and Tuzik. They could all touch his books as much as they wanted. He hated the idea of others touching his books.

"I also have Hell Hound. Is no problem."

No one seemed to care about Tuzik running around. They shouldn't care about another Hound running around.