One night butterfly [klaus]

[alexine]

Alexine wandered out in the open, but it wouldn't be wise to say she wasn't alert. Alexine was someone who was always watching and waiting, even when she didn't want to be, and she never missed any sort of movement. She could taste the air as well as smell it. Her reptilian tongue flicked out by instinct, but she appeared to be alone. Alone. That was a word she hated above all else. Alexine gritted her teeth as she turned to face the old, decrepit studio. She saw the paint peeling in places, red and blue mostly, and she knew if she stared at it long enough, she would see it move about an inch. It'd be much more exciting than what life had to offer for her lately, this... emptiness.

Letting out a huff of air, Alexine sat on the ground. She didn't care much if her leggings got dirty -- they were black, and dirt was a staple of Menagerie life. Whenever Alexine cleaned in streams with obsessive tendencies, she got many strange looks afterwards. Apparently there was such a thing as too clean around here; shifters had a lot more to worry about. She let herself get dirty ever since, although never enough to subtract from her looks. That would defeat the purpose. Alexine pushed her hair behind one shoulder and gathered it in a fist, combing through it with her fingers. Sticks and leaves loved to get stuck in hair like hers, and it grew tiresome after a while.

Alexine knew she must have looked crazy, grooming herself in front of a studio that was falling apart on her own, but she was so bored it seemed to carve her insides. She pulled at her shirt, and she knew she would have to move to a different place soon. It seemed like shifters were deliberately not where she was; a smart decision on their part, but Alexine's mouth twisted at the thought. She looked up at the sky, dark with the brief light of the stars, and shook her head. She would have to try again tomorrow. She got up and brushed herself off, and made to leave.

OOC: Evkav Short and rambly, but hopefully it's good enough. I owed you this like, what, three months ago? Sorry >.<

[Klaus]

The heavily painted building stood out against the dull, stark dome it was situated in. The area was overgrown and the colours were somewhat faded but somehow they still shone through, providing some sort of hope to the poor creatures trapped inside the cruel world of the Menagerie. Some creatures within the place needed no hope. Klaus was one of them, and as he looked up at the building he snarled a little. He was still a fair way away from it but his pace gathered a little as he smelled the blood that hung on the air nearby. Death was close. It was dark by the time he reached the building. Still covered by the bushes he slowed as he caught sight of another strange being grooming herself in a peculiar manner out the front. Tilting his head to the side, he frowned and craned his neck forwards to get a better view. What was that thing? It had ears and a tail and strange markings along its arms. Was it one of them? Or was it more like him? An abomination either way you look at it. Though it wasn’t cold, Klaus quickly wrapped his coat around him, concealing the spines that ran along his arms and back. The only hint of what kind of beast he was lay in his eyes, his marbled blue and green eyes. Licking his lips, he pushed through the bushes just as the other creature stood and turned towards him. A smile tugged at his lips and he stopped where he was, holding up his hands a fraction and forcing his face to take on a more innocent tone. “I’m sorry,” he laughed a little, shaking his head. “I seem to have got quite lost on my way back to Nakoma. I don’t suppose you’d fancy helping me out?” Klaus tried to keep his expression as calm and innocent as possible, playing the poor little anthromorph card. It was his best trick this one, worked nearly every time. She seemed sweet of course and his tiny voice told him to just close his eyes and let her leave. But there was always that other one, the drumming deep in his temples, his Keepers telling him to infect, always infect. ooc | Noir sorry for the epic wait! hope this is alright

[alexine]

Alexine froze for a moment, her fingers stuck in her hair as she waited. She had taken to combing it again as she walked away. Her body established a minute stillness, a stillness only possible in a natural-born predator. She heard as much as felt the change in the air, a slight change from vocal chords. Her eyes narrowed to slits, and in a choppy, deliberate manner, she let go of her hair. Her fingers still remained outstretched as the blonde strands settled back against her shoulder. She recognized the sound. It left her own voice many times. A snarl. Excitement bloomed as a molten core in her stomach.

Her shoulders clenched forward as she heard a rustle in nearby bushes, and a gentleman (perhaps) emerged, holding his coat around him. Alexine tilted her head for a moment, blinking, but then it occurred to her it didn't much matter what he was doing here, what he wanted from her. It was contact, it was a call for her whether this being before her realized it or not. In order to properly infect, the Keepers also gave her the need to be around others. Plenty of her prey died in her arms. 

And she was starving.

A shudder flew down her body like electric shocks, starting at the crown of her head and ending through her fingers and toes. When he started talking, she gave him a little smile that she hoped looked less than dangerous. It barely picked up her lips, only slightly curving at the corners. She crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow.

"You're a long way from home, stranger." Her laugh sounded like bells after her husky response. He sounded so harmless and innocent on one front, but he was far too calm to be lost. She knew creatures when they were lost: they practically vibrated with their useless panic. They latched on to anyone who offered assistant, like a newborn babe suckling. But speaking of... she found his eyes. He existed as a paradox, just like her. She wondered how he tasted.

She wondered how easy he'd be to infect... if he was a shifter at all, that is.

"I doubt I can give you specific directions, but I will accompany you, if you wish." Alexine motioned with her head in the opposite direction of the building. She reached up, tracing up her neck slowly with her scaled fingers, up her chin, stopping at her lips. "If you think it would make a difference."

OOC: Evkav As you can tell, I'm not a shining example of timeliness either.

[Klaus]

The blonde watched him closely and it unsettled Klaus just a little. She didn’t seem afraid of his approach, despite his towering figure. What kind of creature was unafraid of him? Usually they ran in fear, screaming, crying, burdened by their terror. They never got far. They always ended up within his grasp as he clawed at them, drawing blood and infecting. He didn’t like the kill, he preferred to follow them as they slipped further into his disease, watching them deteriorate until finally they slept for eternity. That was the kind of kill he preferred, not something so instant as tearing out a throat or ripping limb from limb. The slow kill was satisfying. She questioned him and he smirked back at her, dropping some of his innocence for a tinge of rebelliousness. She was cute, he thought, but the thought confused him. He had to infect her, not befriend her. He couldn’t befriend. Yet the human-like creatures were so fascinating to him. What was she like? Her laugh was sickeningly sweet and he had to control himself in order to stop from licking his lips. He wanted to taste her flesh. But there was something about that flesh that confused him. The smell of it wasn’t quite like he was used to. There was something non-shifter about the woman. Nodding along slowly, his expression relaxed into a soft smile, pretending to enjoy her words. Klaus did not wish to walk with her, he wished to dig his claws into her. Time was of the essence but he had to play the slow game today. It was all about the chase and this would be a long one, Klaus thought. “I would certainly appreciate some company,” his words were smooth as they fell from his tongue, but he kept his mouth slightly closed so as not to expose his fangs. If she saw more than one mutation his secret would be out. He had to play anthromorph, not virus, tonight. “I can’t promise wonderful conversation, but there is safety in numbers I believe.” Mischief played on his lips as he curled them upwards, almost in a challenge to her. His eyes flickered over her body as he breathed her in. She still didn’t smell right. Klaus thought perhaps he should work out why before unnecessary bleeding occurred. Best to make sure she was a worthy target. He could always kill her for fun, but that wasn’t really in his nature. No, he would walk like the pathetic beast he was until he could determine her true form. Then he could strike. ooc | Noir I did the thing again!

[alexine]

He was like a mystery to solve, a puzzle with several missing pieces, maybe ones that were supposed to be missing. He looked at her like he... expected something, and that was entirely new. Alexine let her lips fold inward, playing the dummy, but she doubted her eyes cooperated with this. Prey either feared her, or were enraptured by her. His eyes flashed with something dangerous, and that drove Alexine crazy. She shuddered before taking a step, then two, in his direction. This man, towering in his coat, looked like he wanted to make a meal out of her. She wasn't sure if she objected to that.

Not unless she couldn't taste him, too.

She caught his unwavering smile, and tilted her head. This was a trick she loved to use, especially when her shifter prey had a carnivorous background. Exposing her neck had two intentions: prey that was bleeding out and surrendering its life, or calling for a mate. Granted, she chose neither, although the latter was more accurate. It was all a facade to get them close enough to strike. They almost always fell for it. But somehow, Alexine knew that this particular encounter would not be so easy. It thrilled her to no end. Who cared if he smelled wrong, looked wrong? A smaller giggle fell out of her mouth. 

"Conversation is not what I'm after," she said with a brisk, matter of fact tone. It had been a long time since she could be so direct. "But I can more than fill the space, if that is your desire." She put emphasis on the last word, and she had to fight the urge to lick her own lips. Her tongue would give her away in seconds. Forked and following two paths: one for pleasure and one for death. She put her hands on her cheeks for only a second, and then bounced towards him.

Alexine stopped when she was close enough to extend her arm, close enough to touch him but not quite. Handshakes were only polite, after all. She wondered how he would react to her touch. How she would. It was all very fascinating, this little game she had never played before. 

"Alexine," she said, tilting her head again. The smooth planes of her neck felt warm from the sunlight. "My name, that is." She had to force herself to remain still, but not so still that she would lock like a statue and give herself away.

OOC: Evkav I also did the thing... kind of. Alexine muse has not been cooperating.