The sheer amount of paperwork that was and is required for things to be transferred to the new Master of the City was staggering. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had wanted a city to call her own and the tenure under Darla was supposed to help finish grooming her for such a mantle. Arraka did not even imagine that the great boogie men of the vampire society would come down on them and cause her former mistress to run and thus thrust her into the lime light. She had not been prepared for that and on top of it all the support and power structure that had been built around her collapsed that fateful night and stills he was attempting to recover. Though she had inherited a large house, library, and army of servants willing to be donors to her healthy she was unable to take any more than a few sips from them before the urge to wretch came upon her.

The short of it, she was starving, hurting, blind, and basically miserable with now having to look at past and present relationships and try to defend her city from the few new powers that have entered without coming to her. That would mean simply that they were looking at the city to have as their own which would only mean that her people would suffer and she was not ready to accept that yet. She had even let her thoughts drift away from the task at hand as the servant read each paper to her. “I am sorry Belinda, please start that one from the top my mind was wondering.” She had wrapped her eyes in a simple red cloth that matched the former color of when they held her power to stop from bothering the servants that had nto seen her that night. It was a bit of her vanity showing through too but she was not quite ready to admit that.

“I feel like I am signing my unlife away, just how much property did Darla own anyway? Yes I know the list still you read it to me not too long after but I suppose with citizen ship and taxes comes legalize and paper work.” With a soft sigh she nodded and let her hand be guided to sign her name once more. “I think we will keep the name of the Estate to be that of Strigori. Yes she ran from her responsibility and her people and will be faced with much ridicule if she was to come back but we must not forget what brought us here and those that took care of us in her own way, perhaps it is overly sentimental but I think it fits strangely.” With another slight nod she signed another paper before putting it aside. She was all ready getting light headed and weak from having to finish blood bonding the rest of the kiss draining her all ready weak reserves of power to not only animate herself but all of her people as well. If she did not start to find a solution soon they would finish bleeding her dry until one day none of them rose and that was something that she refused to happen.

Lauraina walked into the room, letting her skirt rustle slightly to announce her arrival. She had been spending more time as of late here, in the manor. Since the night that the Harlequin had come to them, the night that her ever so carefully constructed walls had cracked and crumbled, she had not strayed far from Arraka’s side. She had gone home for a brief respite, and the conversation she’d had with her Master had been quite interesting. Instead of punishing her, as she had thought he would, he had given her one of his very rare true smiles. Later that evening, on her way with Gerard’s blessing to be by Arraka’s side, she had found a copy of one of Machiavelli’s works nestled with her things.

Her mind was still reeling from the past few night’s events, something she wasn’t entirely used to after so many years of quiet within her thoughts. Even her face had calmed, giving her a softer appearance as she entered and moved to stand by Arraka’s side. Setting down a wrapped parcel on the desk, Lauraina looked at the servant who stood nearby in a befuddled state. “That will be all, Belinda. Please inform the servants that all paperwork for the city must be written with raised ink from this point forward so that the Mistress can read at her leisure.” Belinda nodded, curtseying as she backed away from the desk and left the room.

Lauraina then turned her eye to Arraka, sending her hand to move softly along Arraka’s cheek, lightly brushing over the red cloth. She then reached for the paper that Belinda had just been reading, holding it and preparing to continue where the servant had left off. It was then that she noticed that the ring that had been on Arraka’s finger before was now gone and a new necklace now adorned her sister’s skin, tucked away underneath her dress. “How does this night find you, my Raka. Have you fed?” she asked softly, reaching out to touch Arraka’s hand.

Arraka smelled the subtle scent of Isabel before she even heard the rustle of the soft material of her dress. She had spent the last few nights after her site had not healed back working on her other senses until they could in some form or fashion make up for the lack of a 5th sense. The mere presence of her beloved Sister put her at ease. She was the one person in the city that would be honest and forthright with her at least in their own way. Her Bella was the one that she could trust now when no ones else could be looked to without wondering what exactly they wanted. With Laruiana it was simple she wanted to be with Arraka and thus was never far from her side.

The thought of not having to have someone read to her made her smile all the more. She had not thought of the raised ink and the ability to read on her own even for pleasure was something that she had been missing. She could feel the servant take a quick look at her Mistress and she just nodded softly. It was something she was going to have to get used to with people looking for her for not only permission but their own lively hood as well. “The night finds me, my darling Bella, though for the moment it has for once found me well.” She settled a bit more relaxed in her chair letting her back fall against the rest. Only in the presence of her sister would she ever let it be seen that she was relaxing in any form.

“I have fed tonight yes.” This was technically the truth. She had only been able to keep a mouthful down and she could not help but wonder if it was showing in her skin. She could not ask anyone what they saw when they looked upon her for that would be a weakness. Weakness was not something she could afford in the eyes of anyone of her household. “What of you? How has your respite back at the Manor, I hope you found it restful?” tilting her head slightly so that a single lock of her hair drifted in front of her face she waited before speaking next. “I did not think of raised ink, thank you.”

A soft smile settled on Lauraina’s lips as Arraka spoke, relaxing ever so slightly against the chair as the servant left them. She settled her hand on that of her sister’s letting the warmth of the touch calm them both. The warmth did not come from the cold of her skin, but from the feeling behind that one small gesture. She clasped Arraka’s hand as they always had of old, letting their fingers intertwine as Arraka spoke. Arraka’s words were calm, as if she were trying to soothe Lauraina with the timbre of her voice and the unspoken misgivings of her words. Forever the game of half truths, just as they both had been taught.

Lauraina let loose a small sigh, though she had no need for the breath to give it. The sight of the red cloth tied across Arraka’s fine features pulled at her found again heart strings. With her free hand, Lauraina reached across to brush the errant hair away from Arraka’s face. “There is no need to thank me, Raka. I do all that I can for you, as I always have.” She then gave Arraka’s hand a gentle squeeze as she looked over her appearance. She had not gained enough from the blood she had taken, that could be seen quite easily. But the pallor of her skin had another cause. The heart that she had always hidden, the one that was so tightly guarded, had been given freely and then crushed, something that had sapped away the rest of the fire that Lauraina had treasures so in her friend.

Placing the paper back on the desk, Lauraina settled herself in the chair next to Arraka, never letting go of her hand. “You may have fed, but it does not seem to be enough. Please, my Raka. Do not put on these airs with me. Speak to me, my sister. My love. My friend.”

That one single hand intertwining with hers brought a very human and content sigh from her lips. They both knew that breath was not required unless they wanted to speak but some habits simply refused to die like they had done. That very same sigh that echoed softly from her own lips came from that of her Bella, but there was something underneath it all. Though they had been raised in a world of half truths, deception and lies all rolled into one together was the only time that they had ever let down enough defenses to just be themselves and not the porcelain doll or beautiful masterpiece that they were created to be. “ I know this my darling Bella, that has meant the world to me and has let me get through these nights. I could not have done it without you.” She blinked a few times through the scarf that was covering her eyes to stop any of the precious blood from her system for leaving her.

“I would do anything for you Bella, anything. As long as the people that were sworn to me are safe anything.” She turned enough leaning into the hand that pushed the hair from her face so that her face touched more of the other woman’s hand. When she spoke next her face lowered at the desk knowing full well that she could never hide anything from her former lover and her friend. “You are right, we have been through too much to hide behind these masks. Masks are left for other more daunting things then between the two of us. Yes I have fed but I could not keep anything down, the only thing that keeps me and my people moving is my stubbornness and the last of my reserves.”

She tried to turn her head and blankness face away from the other woman, “I am dyeing Bella, if it was not by the clown’s hands then it will be by something else. I can feel like my foot has all ready crossed the threshold and it is just waiting for the rest of me, “ She had said food but deep down they both knew what the real part that wanted to die was.

Lauraina sat still in her chair, fighting an internal battle that waged strong within her. Seeing Arraka prone on the floor, no more than a melting pile of vampire flesh, had broken down every wall that her Master had given her so many years of training to build. Emotions she had always felt, but had learned to ignore, had come crashing back with the brunt force of one of the many modern shipping vehicles that frequented the streets as it crashed its way at full speed into a solid wall. Seeing the one person she truly loved, without looking for something that could be gained from it, so close to the final death was too much for her too take. That realization, that knowledge that she truly cared that much for one person, spiked a fear in her that was irrational in its design. Love is what made her become what she was. For love, she had given and lost everything. For love, she had ended her life.

Even as Arraka spoke, her soft voice always a comfort during hard and trying times, the quiet terror that had lived of late behind her own eyes, seemed to move closer to the walls she had attempted to cage it in. A slight tremble settled in Lauraina's hand before she could stop it, stilling herself as Arraka talked. The fact that Arraka had to turn away with her next words were almost too much for her.

"No, my Raka. I... No," she said. She did not say the thought that pulsed inside of her. She didn't think she could survive if Arraka no longer walked the earth. She tightened her grip on Arraka's hand, for once, not truly sure what to say.

Arraka could feel it slowly building and pressing in at her from the depths of her one and only true family and friend. She tried to ignore it but her body hungered for it to keep her moving and alive and if her Bella did not control it soon she would run out of the necessary will power needed to fight of the effects that her emotions were causing. Still she held out against it strong for the moment as she felt the first effect of fear move to her usually perfectly control body. It was like a small banquet within a desert calling to her but she held fast against it. Her thumb moved over that soft movement offering comfort in the simple touch that they shared.

Then she felt that tremor again work its way from the depths of her body until it spilled out over her hand and another wave of that wonderful delicious fear broke to the surface. If her mouth could it would salivate at the feeling of it but her heart would not allow it. Though it had been shattered on the rocks of mortal whims she would not let herself feed from her former lover no matter what the personal cost to herself. She turned her face back to the other woman pulling her slowly so that they were closer. “I am sorry, I will not give into despair, I am so sorry Bella, please forgive me..” Her lips were cool to the touch as they pressed on her sister’s trembling wrist.

She was hungry almost painfully slow and with the way she had been fed lately if she did not recover soon the delicious fear would roll over her tongue and she would be eating a small part of her Bella. Perhaps only a sip, she could not help but thing to herself, to help drain the fear from her. Yes that would be okay, the inner voice spoke back as she opened her shields and kissed at the line of skin drawing in a small amount. Soon the trickle became a flood and twice now she drank deeply of her sister.

Arraka's thumb moved gently across the back of Lauraina's hand. A normally comforting gesture, though it had no reall effect on Lauraina in that moment. Arraka turned back towards her, and though her sister would not be able to see it, Lauraina wanted to look her in the eyes. Even as she was pulled closer, Lauraina moved her hand upwards, pulling the loosely tied red cloth away from Arraka's eyes and letting it pool around her neck. Her fear spiked once more as she looked into those deadened eyes, fearing that she would never again see the brilliance that they once were. "Do not ask for my forgiveness, my Raka. There is no need. I come to be near you, to help you as much as I am able, and here I sit making things worse. I know only this. The world would not hold as much interest for me without you in it somewhere. The thought of you not walking amongst it..."

Lauraina's words trailed off, softly shaking her head as she closed her eyes. Her heart beat fast, pulsing the blood she had taken this night through her in an almost panicked state. That was when Arraka's lips brushed over her skin and she felt the first pull at the ever increasing fear that built inside of her. The slow pull became something much more in no more than a breath's worth of time, feeling the fear being pulled away. Lauraina let her head fall back, opening herself to let her starved Raka feed as her body needed. "Take it, my Raka. If this is how I can help, then take it all."

Once the torrent of fear started to nourish her frail body she could not stop it, even before Lauraina could even tell her to drink deeply she was pulling as much as she could and letting the sweet nectar nourish her body in a ways that she had previously forgotten. In a single moment her skin came back to full color no longer the deathly pale that was hanging around her earlier this morning. When she felt the hand touch the scarlet scarf at her face she almost jumped away. It was the single thing that still ashamed her when in the presence of her Bella and she tried to pull away before she could take it. That only caused her to be able to pull it faster away. She felt the night air touch her dead eyes and turned them to look at Isabel.

Her eyes would have been down casted if they could show such but they would still be the deep brown with a slight tinge of white from the deep feeding she experienced. She pulled herself away from the lovely taste of her skin. Being blind held a few benefits, the sense of taste was increased so much that she was able to taste new nuances of her lover’s flavor the clung to her skin. Things she never thought she would taste she found within the confined of her beautiful Bella. When she had her fill she pulled away, “Do not say such things Bella my dear, I know. We always knew in a way did we not. We were just perhaps foolish to not be able to see it until we did.”

The cool material of the scarf fell against her neck pooling around the necklace that held the last vestage of her former life.

Lauraina sat still, letting out not a sound as she felt the fear pulled away from the depths of her. Her body began to calm without the weight of that terror pulsing beneath her skin. Slowly, she opened her eyes, letting them fall back to where they wished to rest, on the face of her Raka. Already, her skin had lost that deathly pallor that had held itself firm on her. Arraka had tried to pull away as Lauraina pulled at the red cloth, but it was no use. The cloth continued on its way, settling itself over the necklace. But, that helod no interest to Lauraina. No, her eyes were loked to that of her Raka. In amazement, she stared at those deep brown orbs, watching as a small tinge of white appeared in them once more.

"Raka, your eyes... they are healing," she said, the softness of her voice holding within it a sound of happiness and hope that was rarely heard before the events of these past few nights. The lips of her Raka moved over her wrist, their touch changing from the softness they had begun with to something that held with it a promise of something they had not shared in so many years. Both a love they had never been able to see or admit, and an intimacy that went far beyond that. Arraka spoke, her words conveying the thoughts that were winding their way through Lauraina's mind.

"Perhaps not foolish, but following the training we had both recieved," she said softly. "My life within the House began with a love that stood above all else in my mind. I gave up everything to save that love, to protect it from what could harm it. When my training began, I hated that I had followed something so blindly that my human life came to an end because of it. The thought of feeling that again..." She didn't need to say anymore. Her beautiful Raka knew all that there was to know about her. She would understand.

Her eyes stayed on Arraka's, mesmerized by them. That small showing of healing had changed them from dealth like to something else. Something Lauraina couldn't quite put a name to.

Arraka could tell something changed but she was not sure exactly what. The room seemed almost brighter but that could not be the only way that would happen is if either she had lost track of time or something truly unexpected happened. When she fed so deeply from such a pure source perhaps… just maybe… her eyes were coming back slowly but surely. It was enough to send a silent thrill up her spine that caused her shoulders to shiver slightly. Without thinking her hands came up to touch right under her eyes as her Bella spoke and she believed her. Hope, such a fragile thing but with it all ready her shoulders sat higher and she held herself all the more brighter. It could be healed, it was not permanent. The death she spoke of would not be something that she would just accept now she would fight not only for herself, or her people but now for her Lover, her sister, her friend.

She felt something between them change in that moment when her lips were still on that skin. It was something lingering underneath them both rising to the surface. If she had enough blood in her system the thoughts that were starting to roll through her head would have caused her to blush. “Yes we were doing only as we were taught but to go so long and not be able to experience it together. It is an absolute shame Bella.” She let her words remain soft as she felt her way up her lover’s arm slowly until she could feel the face of her Bella.

Her face felt just as she remembered it before that night, the face that was forever held in her memory. Moving over her cheek bones to feel her lips so that Arraka could understand the way her face looked as she stared at her mesmerized. All too soon the room was slowly starting to go dark again but even when she was completely descended back into darkness there was still a ray of light. That ray was hope wrapped completely within the lovely frame of her Bella. “Bella…kiss me...please"

She could not stop staring into those eyes. Arraka's hands left her, moving up to touch under her own eyes. Her entire demeanor changed, her shoulders lifting as if a great weight had been lifted from them. That only added to the draw that the beauty across from her held in that moment. Lauraina shifted slightly in her seat, leaning in closer and looking deeper into Arraka's eyes. Yes, even the color of the skin around them had brightened, but the white was already receding. Still, Lauraina stared. Even as Arraka spoke, her voice soft in its regret.

"We can not dwell on that, my Raka. The past is just that. It is behind us and can not be changed by our whims or desires. But what we can do is not let it happen again. We know the history. Let us not be doomed to repeat it." Lauraina's own voice was just as soft as it left her, keeping her eyes on Arraka's even as she felt the fingers dancing their way up her arm. Arraka's hands found her face, their ligt touch moving softly over Lauraina's cheekbones as they made their way to her lips. Without thought, Lauraina placed a soft kiss on those fingertips as they brushed over her skin. It was as if they were replaying a distant memory, a night when they both had only eachother for comfort and solace. This time though, was different. Now, so many years beyond that far off remembering, they both carried with them the knowledge of just what that touch meant. She waited for the fear to return, but it didn't. Arraka had fed of the fear so deeply that it had no place to begin. That could change, but for now it was a welcome gift to feel without the weight of that terror crashing down on her.

Even as she watched, the whiteness that had returned to her Raka's eyes was gone. But, that didn't matter. If it had come once, it would come again. Of that Lauraina was sure. She would make sure that it would. She heard Arraka's words and a soft smile settled on her lips, with Arraka's fingers still settled against them. "As it pleases you, my Raka," she said, and without another word, she closed the distance between them, moving Arraka's hand to her cheek and settling their lips together.

Arraka shook her head softly as the other woman spoke. She was right, if they dwelled on what happened in the past they would forever be doomed to repeat it but now, now was going to be different. Though her heart was still tattered she felt the usually slow pulse begin to speed up with the excitement that the moment was causing. “No, we will not dwell, we will blaze new trails for us. We know too much now, have grown too much to let it slip through our fingers once more. Even with a lifetime that can be measured in centuries we can still fall victim to not living in the moment. Never again my Bella we are going to Live now” She emphasized the word live so that there would be no doubt that she meant it with a capital L.

When she felt the face and mouth of her beloved Bella move she was actually surprised when her lips pursed and she brushed them against her own fingers. Her heart jumped up to her throat and for a moment the breath she did not even know she was taking caught in her throat. This time was so different they were no longer inexperienced in the art of love and lust but she felt like it was her first time all over again. It was foolish but tonight was going to be a complete different experience she felt it in the air hanging about them. Though she could not see her, there was no need. Like the many nights that they had laid together in the deep dark only having their hands and lips to know where the other was she could not help but smile at the similarities that it was beginning to share.

Then her lips moved in smile and with her mind’s eye the face of her beloved Bella changed taking on the perfect beauty of her smile. Then Arraka felt the other woman move forward as her pulse was now hammering in her throat until they finally came together. She could not stop the soft noise that was coming up from her throat at tasting her Sister…no her lover’s lips for the first time in too many centuries. She savored it pulling the other woman closer with her hands that were moved to her cheek keeping her there. They did not need to breath and for the moment the kiss never had to end. They could be forever locked within that wonderful first kiss and Arraka did not feel the need to end it only cause it to deepen slowly until anyone watching would be hard pressed to find where one woman began and the other ended.

From the moment that her lips found Arraka's, everything else just seemed to fade away. The only thing that mattered was the touch of the hand on her cheek, the pulling of that hand bringing her closer, the taste of her Raka's lips against hers. Lauraina's eyes fell closed, her arms closing the small distance between them to settle her own hands on Arraka's face. If her Raka could not see in that moment, than neither would Lauraina. Her fingers danced across that soft skin, lightly at first, carefully dragging across Arraka's cheekbones. Her heart pounded, thudding within her chest as her body swam in the feelings that one kiss stirred.

Slowly, her Raka deepened their embrace. A small and soft noise left her, almost a whimper, a sound that hadn't left her lips in centuries. It felt almost as if the ardeur were touching her, pulsing it's warmth behind her skin. But, at the same time, it felt entirely different. Wth just as much heat, but softer, a warmth that did not threaten to burn you from within. Instead, it offered the warmth of a small and steady fire, welcoming in its caresses but carrying with it the threat that it too could consume you.

Lauraina let one hand stay where it was, settled against the softness of Arraka's cheek, and moved her other arm, letting it slip to wrap around Arraka's waist and pull the two women even closer together. With one final thought, she pushed out with her power, letting it slam into the door and push it shut. She wanted the world to disappear, even if only for an instant. This feeling was something she didn't want the world around them to ruin.

There would be no denying it after this night. The very air was charged and polarized by the events that were unfolding. To anyone else it would appear that it was just a kiss but to the two women that kiss represented centuries of longing, of desire, and everything that had fallen in-between in the name of training, politics, or the whims of there once shared master. Such a simple yet meaningful kiss as she tasted those lovely lips and the mouth in-between. Arraka honed her since of taste all the more further by not having her site so that she would forever remember the feel of those lips, the taste of her mouth, the smell of her hair and skin. Her Bella, was simply wonderful and her breath was caught in her throat as the small amount of blood rushed around her franticly beating heart.

With each moment the kissed deepened and she felt the first noise emerge from the other woman and without thinking she drank it down only to return one of her own. It was soft almost alive as she gave her complete self into the loving embrace of her beautiful Bella. For once it was not about the subtle fight for dominance that they were taught, Arraka was not the Master of the City they were simply two women enjoying the touch of one another for the first time in ages. She let Lauraina lead as she pulled her body close and molding herself to the other woman. She felt the way her lover’s power pushed at the door and even though she was expecting it the slam of it made her jump and away from that wonderful kiss.

With a smile and an almost inner radiance she laughed. It deep and gave the feeling of velvet to anyone within earshot bringing a smile to all that could hear it.

Lauraina let herself further melt into the embrace, holding onto her Raka. Nothing else mattered in that moment, only the knowledge that this was her Raka in her arms with all other pretenses absent. As the door slammed shut, Arraka was suddenly gone from her lips, though Lauraina's arms held tight to her prize. Opening her eyes, her gaze settled on Arraka's face as a laugh of pure joy slipped past her lips. That one sound brought a similiar smile to settle on Lauraina's own face, her laugh leaving her to join Arraka's in the air.

Lauraina's hand stayed on Arraka's cheek, her thumb gently moving across the expanse of sofy skin. "Oh, my Raka," she said softly, her voice still coupled with the laugh that had begun to leave her moments before. "How could we have ignored it for so long." Her hand moved still, gently touching along Arraka's face. Slowly, she leaned in once more, but this time she settled her head to rest on Arraka's shoulder.

Closing her eyes, Lauraina took in a deep breath, taking the scent of her Raka deep within herself. She savored that scent as if she would blood, tasting the bouquet that had always left her feeling almost lightheaded. The scent that was her Raka.

If the vampires smile could grow any larger in that moment it would have been hard pressed to yet it tried none the less as the feeling of those arms tightening around her. She did not want to be let go, not in that moment and not by the person that was holding her. Though every good thing is not without a consequence and even though her Animal to Call was beyond her ability to call her heart still longed for the comforting touch and that warm energy. Pushing those worthless thoughts aside, for they were indeed wasted because it was obvious still that the Rat never did truly care for her it did not stop the pain though. Giving herself completely into the feelings as she listened to her Bella all previous thoughts gone from her face.

Arraka leaned heavily into those hands letting her improved sense of touch write the memory to her mind for as long as she could still hold it. “We did not know better, I know for either of us claiming ignorance is a far stretch to the imagination but we were young, inexperienced, and trying everything that we could to survive to the next lesson. It is easy to loose sight of everything else.” With the extra weight of the other vampires head on her shoulder she let her hand come up and play through her hair. Though it was not with the long fingernails of old they were short and brittle still it would take time for her body to completely recover from the after effects of that faithful night.

She felt her sister breath her in and she let the feel of her power rise to the surface of her skin so that she would not be holding anything back. “We were foolish Bella, not any more though now we see everything.” She smiled more to herself then anyone else in that moment. She would find a way to regain her sight no longer just wallowing in the silent despair. She had a city and a people to look after and now she had a new lover. One that would demand no less then everything she could offer and give the same.