In The Trees And In The Sky (Alumina)

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

It was good to be out on the roads again. The familiar paths, the miles of vacant land. And, of course, the traps she had laid out for any valiant knights or guards that wanted to give her chase. Daring Jo Lockwood was out for business. But, when one loved their business as much as she did, could it really be called work?

And today had been profitable. Rich people still traveled in gaudy carriages. Lovely women still wore expensive jewels. And the weather had been absolutely splendid. Really, there had been nothing to complain about.

She was sitting on a pretty heavy saddle bag full of jewels and gold coins. The sun was drawing back and a full moon now made it's presence known. Jo brushed a few stray leaves from her cloak and kept a free hand on her hat. From the top of a tree she found a fantastic vantage point to gaze down the road in both directions. Maroon eyes were peeled for the tell-tale signs of an approaching carriage. Surely one or two of the princess' guests would be out for a jaunty trip to the country-side. Maybe even with the princess herself!

What a find that would be, to steal from Anactoria...and make a few passes. Oh, the scandal that could create.

Future Empress Consorts With Legendary Thief!

Jo grinned at the imaginary headline. She would have to try and sneak into that castle. If she didn't meet the princess on the road, she could always engineer a meeting. A profitable meeting. And she could pop in on Toph. What a surprise THAT would be! She could almost see the expression on the bounty hunter's face.

As the thief's imagination took her further and further away from the roads of Terre de Conte, she almost missed the sight of an approaching carriage.

[Alumina Nadine]

Alumina decided she needed to hunt, badly. The last time she hunted was about a week before her first arrival in Venus, as beautiful as the city was and as nice the people she didn't want her blood lust to end up controlling her.

She paid for a secret carriage and went about random places, usually feeding off of those that no one really seemed to care about anyways. Hookers, the homeless, the lost. Alumina always ended up getting away. She tried not to kill them but every now and then she accidentally would.

Alumina was afraid of showing Rin this side, Rin knew she was a vampire but didn't seem to quite get that there was more to her then transforming into a bat,sleeping in a coffin and counting numbers on a children's show.

The hunt surprisingly only helped Alumina take her mind off of such things, and there were small traces of blood on the side of her lips as she traveled down in the road in the carriage and her normally ice-blue eyes turned a dazzling red.

Which is why it caught her immediate attention at seeing a blond woman with the same colored eyes mirroring her own on the side of the road. Another like me...? Alumina thought to herself, "Stop the carriage."she commanded the driver and then stepped outside. After a bit of hesitation she walked up to the woman, with a parasol still in her hands, and stared.

Oh,it's just a human. But I've never seen anyone with red eyes like that before... Alumina suddenly grinned, revealing her sharp fangs that were normally tiny and cute that had grown over the course of the eating of human flesh.

"And you are?"

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

It was time to set up. All her little traps, tripwires and snares were in place. Jo dusted herself off, making sure that her outfit was free from dirt. After all, there was nothing worse than looking unpresentable in the middle of a heist.

When the carriage passed by, it stopped before she could even leap out in front. It's passenger exited and addressed her rather quickly. Jo tilted her head and leaned forward on her cane. There was only one chance for a proper entrance...and that moment was now passed.

"Me?" she motioned, innocently to herself. What an odd scene. Here was this young girl out and about and.....wait, were those fangs?

"I am the Daring Lady!" She grinned and soon had an arm around the girl, "Daring Jo Lockwood! Highway Robber extraordinaire!"

Jo circled around the vampire and inspected her further, "Now you, my dear girl, are quite an interesting sight behold!" she declared, resting her cane on her shoulder, "What amazingly sharp teeth! You are a....now what were the called...a vampire? How wonderful! I've never met one before! Most of the good people I stop are human. A few are elven or half-elf. I even stopped a dwarf once! Irritable little fellow, he was. Of course, I was robbing him at the time, so that must have had something to do with it. Ah, I'm getting carried away! What's your name, dear? Is our dear princess seeking the company of the ethereal? Ho ho! That would be something!"

[Alumina Nadine]

The grin fell off of Alumina's face as soon as Jo opened her mouth in excitement and began to talk. She sure doesn't know when you quiet down,does she? Alumina asked herself watching Jo spin and speak as if she were some kind of circus leader.

Alumina picked up her parasol and lightly tapped it on the top of Jo's hat,"Enough."she said sternly. She took a step back ready to make a grand introduction of her own,"I'm Alumina Karen Nadine,"she said giving a curtsy,"High-way robber,you say?"

Alumina removed her parasol from the top of the hand and placed it by her side again,"Forgive me,I didn't quite catch everything you said,"she removed herself from Jo's side and dusted off her shoulders where the High-way-woman had touched her.

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Jo grinned brightly and stopped moving as the parasol tapped her hat. It was a fine hat and she certainly didn't want to drop it on the ground. The other side of the conversation did appear to be all that thrilled with Jo's theatrics. Twirling her cane about, she planted it on the ground again and leaned forward, eager for the girl's introduction.

"Alumina? A very pretty name!" she said, "I must confess, I am in a bit of an excited state. Today has been quite a fine day! Now then...yes, I am a Highway Robber. The very best, if I may be so bold."

Jo was trying very hard not to move about. She didn't want to further agitate her fine guest, but her taste for the dramatic flare was quite overwhelming. And that carriage of her's would make for such a fine stage.

"So! Here we are, two travelers of the roads in quite the abrupt encounter. Tell me, what sent you out of that fine carriage of yours to come and greet me?" she asked, quite genuinely curious.

[Alumina Nadine]

Alumina was never the kind to be amused with people's shit easily. Being amused with people's shit was what got her scolded by her mother. Being amused with people's shit was what got her turned into a vampire. Being amused with people's shit was how she got into the situation she was now.

Alumina stared at Jo's cane and began to speak,"I'm a lady of the night and the moon is my lord, if it comes to command me to be hungry, then I am...as a matter of fact,right now,I'm very hungry. And I was traveling in the carriage looking for some delicious snacks."

Alumina began to step closer to Jo,"You see I'm a big eater but there is one snack I'm particularly fond of. I like the kind of snack that's loud and over the top. It tastes so..."Alumina paused to lean in and smell Jo's neck after she got close enough,"Spicy..."she smiled and licked her lips.

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Jo quirked an eyebrow, but didn't react much further to the nearing Alumina. "Well, then it would seem that I have provided myself as a rather tempting morsel, haven't I?" Jo smirked, "But, then, I've always been trying to impress the ladies I stop! Ho ho! You're an interesting one, my dear."

She took a step back and spun her cane around before resting it back on her shoulder. "You know," the fidgety thief resumed her pacing, "As fantastic as today has been, I would not have guessed I would be treated to such an encounter!"

Pausing, she leaned against the carriage, still eyeing the vampire curiously. Normally, she at least liked to acknowledge the drivers and all parties involved in a heist. But Alumina had proved to be far too interesting.

"So...illuminate me further. You've left the castle on a hunting excursion, yes?" Jo asked, "And yet...with a city full of people, you elect to feed out on my humble roads?"

[Alumina Nadine]

Alumina was rather surprised at the question. "Your humble roads...?"she said squinting one eye,"Ah well...to answer your question..."suddenly Alumina's face turned red and her expression softened. "Y-you see...there's this girl and if she caught me hunting in the city..."

Alumina suddenly stopped herself and pressed her hand against her forehead,"Stupid Alumina,don't talk about these things out loud."said stupid Alumina,out loud. "Besides an idiot like you wouldn't know anything about romance!"

Alumina in typical fashion crossed her arms and pouted in nervousness,"How can I expect an idiot like you to understand? You probably don't care who you sleep with as long as they're pretty,right?"she said in a distrustful tone of voice.

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

"Now, now, my dear..." insisted Jo, "Let's not get hurtful! I may sleep with a lot of women...and they may be very pretty...but, that doesn't mean I'm oblivious to the notion of romance! I ensure each of the lovely ladies I invite to my bed have the most splendid of times! I do all that is within my power to ensure they leave happy and content."

Jo hoisted herself up the passenger's step to the carriage and extended an arm towards the heavens, "I've loved everyone I've ever been with!" she hopped back down, "But, for a thief such as myself? Who would stay with me? There is no safety by my side. But, yes, my dear...in short, I do know a thing or two. Probably more than most of my fellow mortals."

In a flash, she was back beside Alumina, "Now tell me of this girl you've found." she inquired, a friendly smile residing in place of her usual smirks and haughty laughter.

[Alumina Nadine]

Alumina's tomato-colored face looked up in surprise when Jo popped out of God-knows-where. "How does she do that...?"Alumina mumbled. "Yes,well this girl of mine...see.."she paused,"See...she's allot like you....except less annoying."

Alumina scratched her head in thought trying to find words to describe weirdness that was Rin,"She's really flirtatious, and hyper, a bit eccentric. She owns this shop and always smells like cookies for some reason, oh and she has these little fox ears."

Alumina set her hands on the top of her head to show Jo, and then placed them down by her side again,"..oh and she wears these clothes-like she's some kind of oriental shrine maiden." Alumina shrugged,"I have a tough time figuring her out myself sometimes."

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Through the sheer force of will, Jo prevented herself from lifting the vampire off her feet in a vice-like hug at the imitation of this mystery girl's fox ears. Jo cleared her throat, once the description was finished, "Well...she does sound like quite the woman." she couldn't help but smirk, "Ah, but do go on! Just how is it you two met?"

The quest for further information continued. The more the vampire spoke, the more she was intrigued with her situation. It certainly was the last thing she had expected. And Jo always found those to be far more interesting than the expected.

[Alumina Nadine]

Alumina continued to explain, scratching her chin and looking at Jo in slight weariness. "Uh...well. When I first moved into Venus I waited inside the main hall of a castle. And in runs Rin hiding from these gaurds...she called me a doll..and I get kind of mad when people call me that, so out of no where she pops up and steals a kiss from."

Alumina became visibly annoyed and the grip on her parasol became tighter,"Well later on I see her at this shop of hers and I get mad at her and we somehow end up kissing again...and then later on that night I come home and she just goes into my room completely dirty,takes a bath in my bathroom and then somehow...we ended up sleeping together."

Alumina held her head in one of her hands and her eyes widened,"It was all so...confusing..."she whispered a bit breathless.

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Despite paying attention to the story, and not moving frantically about, Jo was still fidgeting quite a bit. Almost as if she was moving in place. And certainly was a fascinating story to hear. Jo folded her arms and tapped her chin in contemplation.

"What a whirlwind affair!" she concluded, "So...you spend an evening together, and now you sneak off outside the city, for fear of the impression this Rin would have if she were to witness you feeding."

She could see how this would be a problem. Especially since it would be difficult to determine how this erratic fox-eared entrepreneur would react.

"Now tell me. Despite your confusion, you obviously care for the girl. Otherwise, I highly doubt you'd be sneaking off in such a manner. This point, I do believe, we should make very clear. So, if I'm mistaken, do not be afraid to correct me! But, I'm quite confident you are, in fact, head over heels for the dear girl, aren't you?"

[Alumina Nadine]

Alumina looked down and blushed,"Y-yes."she said. She then positioned her parasol like a golf-club and hit a rock, sending it flying into the air and skipping across the street. With a sigh she looked back up at Jo.

"It'd never work between us anyways..."Alumina frowned,"I'd out-live her. Sure, foxes like her live for hundreds of years. But she's like paper,she fades away anyways. I'm like plastic,no matter where you put me I'll never decompose. I'll just be trash and all alone."

Alumina looked up at Jo, her eyes began to drain of their red color and began to turn blue, the girls eyes no longer mirrored each other as it had earlier once Alumina's blood lust began to die down. "I'm curious,why did you want to help me anyways?"

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

"Ah, 'It would never work'...." Jo smirked, looking off towards the stone that Alumina had sent skipping down the road, "My dear, the answer is rather simple...I see in you're situation, one of many that I have encountered myself. I have said and been told the exact same sentence. For two strangers, so very different from each other,"

Jo turned her maroon eyes back towards Alumina, "we are actually quite similar. Sure, I may not be a vampire. I shall, in fact, die. Most likely not at a ripe old age. But, I fully intend to enjoy myself till that very last breath! If it's one thing I've learned, it's never regret anything. You will only second guess yourself more."

The thief patted the vampire on the shoulder, "You are not trash. I can never let a pretty girl say such a thing of herself!" Jo's smirk widened as she winked at Alumina, "Now then...the way I see it, you have a couple of hundred years to enjoy."