Just a poor SOB trying to get by

The male vampires features remained calm, stoic. “I ..” His eyebrows furrowed slightly, “I can’t say that I mind you using me Kathrine.” Itwas so wrong, but he couldn’t help but say those words, the woman for one reason or another drew him in, she made him feel strange with the way she spoke and her mannerisms. It was all so weirdly familiar, and yet, it couldn’t have been as this was the first time they’d met.

He didn’t want her to go, but knew he had no right to ask her to stay. She was upset and him holding her longer then needed was just cruel.

When finally she gave him her hand, he held the thing as if it were something precious. His brutish hand held hers gently, the princess’s question drew his gaze for a moment..the way she’d said it was odd..but he didn’t speak on it. Instead he smiled at her and bowed down, placing a kiss to the top of her hand before he rose up. “How could one not be to someone so lovely?..” his hand lingered on hers for an instant, before he let her slip from his grasp. “Take care Katherine, I hope to see you around.”

.

Kate wanted to protest and yell at him for saying something like that, once again she felt that her being in his life would only cause him trouble, that she took from him more than she gave back in their relationship, however this was a new start, she could save him from her, tell Riley that her father was nowhere to be found, since she doubted Riley would stop at a mechanic shop and bump into him, but Kate had the impression she was going to be selfish again and place him in the middle of her mess.

Anxious even, as if she were someone who he'd been missing for a long time..and this breifly reuniting didn't make up nearly enough for the time lost. Her body was warm and soft against his own.. and despite his want to keep her close, D allowed the princess to pull free of his grasp.

The brunettes eyebrows perked at the mention of his royal partner, dark eyes swept over David in consideration. “Then that would make you a prince as well?” He offered the other a polite bow of his head. “Forgive my casual approach, I didn’t realize.”

He listened to the other, and chuckled to himself. “I’d say originality doesn’t really matter much if she loves the gift, your highness. What does she like? Flowers wise I mean, it may be cliche but why not simply get her her favorite flower?” He reached for one of the lily bouquets himself, inspecting the state of the flowers.

“If I may- what’s it like? Marrying a princess I mean.” He smiled at the other, “Is she as lovely as I’ve heard from others in the city.” He meant both in beauty and personality, though he’d yet to encounter the woman herself whether it in person or the more likely option from a far.

“It would and it does indeed. No worries. If you’re new around here then I understand you wouldn’t recognize me. Unless you’re from Ireland which is where I’m from.” The slight bow of the head was appreciated though, manners were important to David so that counted. 

David looked over the flower arrangement as he listened to the man speak. “She likes anything and everything I give, I just don’t want things to become cliche, you know? Gotta try to stay original at least and that can be a challenge when you’re together for a long time. Flowers are nice though.” 

Chuckling to himself, Darius didn't think cliche was all that bad. Then again he was a hopeless romantic at heart so perhaps he was a tad bias. "I certainly envy you a bit. It seems so hard to find a good stable relationship these days." Amusement danced in his dark eyes as he looked to his companion. "I'm a tad old school- and the whole online dating thing isn't really my jam.. women at the bars usually aren't looking for anything serious." He didn't seem all that upset about it though, it's not like he'd been actively searching for a partner. "Ah, I'm rambling. But yeah.. you are quite the lucky man."

The males smile softened a bit, as if he'd know anything about marriage in general. "Sorry, perhaps that was a bit of a silly question on my part. I'm glad to hear your two are so happy though." As the other went on about how amazing his wife was Darius beamed, it was clear the other cared for her.. and it was good to see. He'd heard of royal marriages that were merely transactions and this one didn't seem to be that way.

Darius grinned lightly at the compliment and chuckled himself. “Now all we need is a lion and we’ll be a complete set.” A little joke reference to an old movie he’d seen some time ago, Taking the phone, Darius snapped several photos of the pair.

A wide grin spread on his lips as he did so, looking down at what he’d taken her strolls over to show the other. “This one should definitely be for the album.” In the photo lily had a smile on her little tiger face, a perfect moment captured by pure luck.

“Mind if I get your number?” Darius suddenly prompted his eyebrows raising. “You seem like a pretty cool guy and I would definitely be down to get drinks sometime, or perhaps even a little play date with miss Lily her.” He wiggled his fingers at the cooing child before looking back to Sean. Darius didn’t have any friends really, despite how long he’d been in the city. It was a bit sad really and he figured it was about time he tried to change that.

.

He smirked, wondering if he could convince Rhea to paint her face as a lion, he doubted, however he was sure if Lily was the one asking, Rhea would do it on the spot, it was clean that she liked lily more than she liked him, but she couldn’t blame her for that.

“This is a great photo, thanks, it was really a good idea.” he said, it would be nice to have a few personal photos in his house, and he was sure Lily would like to see them when she was older.

He wiggled his fingers to the cooing baby before taking his leave.

He smiled at her, finding that he quite enjoyed the woman’s laugh..for some odd reason it brought on almost a nostalgic feeling up into his chest and unconsciously, Darius’s hand came up at rub at his sternum. As if hoping to relieve the feeling some.

Amusement flickered through warm brown eyes when she mentioned her possibly getting in his way. “You’d be surprised how good I am at multitasking.” He winked, though immediately realized what he did and glanced to the side. His hand came up from his chest to now hold the side of his neck.

What the fuck was he doing? Flirting with not only a MARRIED woman but the future queen. He had his priorities real messed up..

Sighing lowly, the male glanced her way once more. Putting on a tight half smile, but everything around them seemed to freeze when Kate reached out and brushed her hand through his hair.. He stared at her, wide eyed- too stunned to speak..he knew he should’ve pulled away, to stop her but.. That nostalgia- kept him in place.. Darius’s eyelids lowered a bit and a small flush of heat spread across his face. Her hand was warm, and gentle..much like the woman herself seemed to be.

She was much closer now and then scent of her skin and hair..His breath caught for a mere moment. And then, the moment came to a halt as reality crashed down around them..There we’re people watching them now as the princess kept to her feet, Darius stood as well, his mind still a buzz. “Katherine-” he could tell she was a bit panicked and he want to ease her mind a bit.

“It’s all right.” He smiled gently. “You did say that I looked like a previous lover of yours, it sounded like you cared about him a lot so it’s okay.” He offered his hand to her, “if you must go may I at least give you a proper farewell?”

This has been a bad idea, the second she noticed him looking at her from afar, and he tried to hide from her, she should have pretended he managed to get away from her and focused on something else, but her need to speak with him again was too big, and before she realized she was standing in front of him.

And now here they were, for him this was a normal conversation but for her, it was so much more, she wanted to hug him, to apologize, to just be completely honest, but instead she was playing a dangerous game.

Moving closer to him, not shutting down his flirtatious comments, now playing with his hair, she felt like she was crossing a line, as much as she missed her friend, while they had all this unspoken things between them, she felt like she was taking advantage of him, and when her eyes found his lips, it was the last drop, and she jumped away from him.

Noticing people were looking, Katherine smiled and waved at the people around, getting on her knees and giving a lollipop to one of the kids that were walking by, the girl making a small bow out of respect for the princess, and everyone returned their attention to what they were doing again.

“Is not okay.” She answered, her words coming out in a tired whisper. Katherine turned to look at him again. “You shouldn’t allow me to use you like this.” He shouldn’t allow her to be close to him if he thought she was thinking about someone else when they were together, to project feelings and memories that he no longer had.

He didn't want her to go, but knew he had no right to ask her to stay. She was upset and him holding her longer then needed was just cruel.

The brunettes expression softened at her words and he lightly shrugged his shoulders with a smile. “Lucky you then, Cause I’ve got all the time in the world.” The woman seemed sad to him, she’d expressed a loss I er someone who looked like him but..it almost seemed like there was something else plaguing her thoughts. He wished he could ease her mind, especially after hearing how difficult her life had been up until that point.

His heart ached, though he wasn’t entirely sure why. Was it for her?..or something else?

Whatever it was, he rubbed at the center of his chest with a slight grimace..he hoped it faded soon. Because despite it’s persistence he wanted to enjoy the woman’s company while her could.

Her questions momentarily distracted the male from his achey chest. “I work at the local auto repair shop here in town. It pays well, and I’m pretty damn good with a wrench-er darn good?” He wasn’t sure if he should curse Infront of her.. being the future queen and all that, then again..he’d already overstepped alot already. “anyway- I do good work there, should you ever need a repair or anything feel free to drop by.” He smiled at her, “or if perhaps you’d like to chat, that works too. We get busy, but I could forego a lunch break to have my ear talk off for an hour or so.”

Her explanation made sense, though was a bit baffling. “Shoot, that’s pretty dang impressive Katherine. I’ve got some terrible memory myself.” He laughed sheepishly, knocking his fist against his skull. “A loong time ago I worked as a club bouncer. I think I got knocked in the skull one too many times so my long terms all fried up.”

.

She chuckled. “Is okay, as long as my father is not around and is not a ball I’m pretty informal, you can say whatever you want, you don’t have to contain yourself.” Kate was always a little more informal when she walked around town, she didn’t tell people to call her your majesty, however she also understood that she still needed to be a little more formal or people wouldn’t respect her when she was Queen, so she stopped telling people to call her Kate, that was reserve to only a few people. 

Kate would love nothing else to stop by the shop and speak to him for hours, however she also knew that when this conversation was over she would need to have another difficult conversation with Riley and David, and maybe her husband wouldn’t be happy with her spending hours talking with someone she almost ran away with, even if Darius had no recollection of it. “I will try to stop by, but if I get on your way, you do have to tell me, deal?”

She wasn’t sure how much of his memories were gone, it wasn’t something she could ask him, until now she didn’t even know if he would notice a part of his life was missing, Kate felt terrible that she was the cause of all this trouble, if she hasn’t fallen for him, his father wouldn’t feel the need to intervene. 

“From a bouncer to a mechanic, that’s a big change.” She said, moving her fingers toward his hair, he had messed his hair when he knocked his fist against his head, she had spent so many nights playing with that hair and arranging how she liked it that it was natural, before she realized her hand was in his hair. 

Amusement flickered through warm brown eyes when she mentioned her possibly getting in his way. "You'd be surprised how good I am at multitasking." He winked, though immediately realized what he did and glanced to the side. His hand came up from his chest to now hold the side of his neck.

What the fuck was he doing? Flirting with not only a MARRIED woman but the future queen. He had his priorities real messed up..

Sighing lowly, the male glanced her way once more. Putting on a tight half smile, but everything around them seemed to freeze when Kate reached out and brushed her hand through his hair.. He stared at her, wide eyed- too stunned to speak..he knew he should've pulled away, to stop her but.. That nostalgia- kept him in place.. Darius's eyelids lowered a bit and a small flush of heat spread across his face. Her hand was warm, and gentle..much like the woman herself seemed to be.

She was much closer now and then scent of her skin and hair..His breath caught for a mere moment. And then, the moment came to a halt as reality crashed down around them..There we're people watching them now as the princess kept to her feet, Darius stood as well, his mind still a buzz. "Katherine-" he could tell she was a bit panicked and he want to ease her mind a bit.

​

Darius glanced over at the man curiously, he’d been looking over the floral arrangements himself as it would be his mother’s birthday in a couple days. He couldn’t visit her grave, but he’d planned to leave some lilies for her on the beach. A half smile spread across his lips, “Well it depends on who and what it’s for.” With a low laugh he turned his head back to the lilies on display.

“If it’s for a partner, I’d suggest taking a look at what their interested in and incorporating that into a gift or if you want something simpler try something like breakfast in bed or maybe a nice relaxing massage. Gifts don’t always have to be material things, as corny as it sounds usually it’s the thought put into it that makes it special.”

Glancing back at the man, he cocked his head.. he looked familiar, though he quite put his finger on it. “So- if you don’t mind me asking..whos this gift for? Got a hot date?”

David nodded, this was definitely for someone important. “It’s for my wife actually, Princess Katherine.” He mused while his eyes looked over the various flower arrangements that were on display, still very much undecided in the moment. Sure, roses were always an idea but maybe he should change that up. 

He listened to the other, and chuckled to himself. "I'd say originality doesn't really matter much if she loves the gift, your highness. What does she like? Flowers wise I mean, it may be cliche but why not simply get her her favorite flower?" He reached for one of the lily bouquets himself, inspecting the state of the flowers.

“London! That certainly has me beat in the interesting category, maybe you and I should catch a drink sometime and you could tell me about your time out there?”

Darius wasn’t particularly insecure in himself so the idea of getting his face painted wasn’t all that bad, especially if his new found acquaintance was also getting it done. Returning with two turkey legs, he waited for the other to get lily into place before he handed him the savory treat.. “I dunno, I don’t wanna be a tiger and crap the matching father daughter thing you have going on..”

He peaked down at the options before his eyebrows raised. “Oh for sure I’m going bear.” Laughing to himself, he settled down at let the artist get to work..in no time he had a lovely hand painted mask of a grizzly bear on his face. “How do I look?” He mused to Sean, arching an eyebrow.

Laughing warmly he glanced around, trying to think of how he was gonna do this. “You wanna picture now? Y'all look adorable.”

.

“I will make sure to try to get a babysitter so we can go out.” He wasn’t sure why was it so hard to find someone to look after Lily that was punctual, he hated people that were late, and he never gave them a second chance.

“Thanks.” Sean said already giving a big bite of the food, he had to admit he was focused so much on what Lily wanted that sometimes he forgot about himself, now that he was eating he had to admit he was actually a little hungry. 

“Bear is a good idea.” He chuckled as the artist worked on them, they were very fast which was good because he didn’t want to waste a lot of time sitting there, and he doubted that Lily would stay quiet for much longer when the little girl wanted to see everything that was happening. “You look great.” He smirked. “The bear suits you.”

A wide grin spread on his lips as he did so, looking down at what he'd taken her strolls over to show the other. "This one should definitely be for the album." In the photo lily had a smile on her little tiger face, a perfect moment captured by pure luck.

His expression still held concern, but he nodded when she agreed on going to have a seat, his hand hovered behind her but didn’t actually touch the woman out of respect for her and her husband. Though.. where was the guy? Who just leaves their wife on her own at a festival, vampire or not you never knew what could happen.

He looked her way when she began to speak, and smiled when she momentarily played along with his joke. Though upon having a seat his smile slowly melted away as the man listened to the others story. And his lips turned down in a deep set frown, “That’s..cruel. Why didn’t he just..” and then it hit him. Queen? His dark eyes widened, he was such a fool. How had he not realized who she was? Katherine Avery, she was a princess here. His jaw remained set even at this staggering revelation.

Her next words shook him from his stupor, and despite it being a really bad idea he took her hand, giving the thing a gentle squeeze. “It’s alright, from the sound of it youve endured alot in your life..and probably needed an ear to spill into. I don’t mind.” He smiled softly at her, “Not to overstep boundaries, but you’re more then welcome to talk my ear off whenever you like Miss Katherine, I figure it’s the least I can do since you’re family gave me such a lovely place to call home..” He opted for her name with no title, as she would’ve corrected him before if it were an issue.

His smile faltered a bit when she spoke again, “…Charlie?” He looked confused as he let her hand go, “Ah..I’ve been here some months now..Haven’t explored the island much though, was too busy working and getting settled in.” He cocked his head to the side, “How’d you know what my brother’s name was?”

.

It was always so easy to speak with him that words just go out of her mouth, she was telling him their stories pretending it was someone else that just looked like him, she still couldn’t believe she was having this conversation and maybe how she was handling the situation would have terrible consequences, but she really thought she was doing the best she could, that trying to tell him that he had a 100-year-old daughter would be too big of an information to give to someone that you just met.

“That’s very sweet of you.” Of course, he was offering to hear her complain about her problems just like he did before, she honestly thought Darius was uncapable of walking away from any situation if he could help, even if it was in a simple was as listening, but there was nothing simple about this situation, this would be so much easier if when he lost his memories he lost this kindness and was arrogant parson now. “You might regret that offer, I can speak for hours.” she decided to joke, since it was an easier answer. She wanted to tell him to call her Kate, but maybe it wouldn’t be such a good idea, getting close to him again, feeling things she shouldn’t feel for him again. “

His heart ached, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Was it for her?..or something else?

Whatever it was, he rubbed at the center of his chest with a slight grimace..he hoped it faded soon. Because despite it's persistence he wanted to enjoy the woman's company while her could.

Her questions momentarily distracted the male from his achey chest. "I work at the local auto repair shop here in town. It pays well, and I'm pretty damn good with a wrench-er darn good?" He wasn't sure if he should curse Infront of her.. being the future queen and all that, then again..he'd already overstepped alot already. "anyway- I do good work there, should you ever need a repair or anything feel free to drop by." He smiled at her, "or if perhaps you'd like to chat, that works too. We get busy, but I could forego a lunch break to have my ear talk off for an hour or so."

Wandering the festivities, he demolished the rest of his turkey leg and then went to wash his hands at the restrooms.. As he left the stall the male had been contemplating what to do next, when he'd taken notice of a blonde woman in the not so far distance.. His head cocked to the side as he gazed her way and admittedly.. he was a little dumbfounded, she was quite beautiful.

The fool with his face painted like a bear watched the woman for a few minutes, entranced a bit by her.. she looked oddly familiar, hell..with looks like that it could've very well been the big screen that he knew her from.. His thoughts abruptly halted when she seemed to notice she was being watched and looked his way-

Flush erupted across the males face and he not so gracefully ducked his head behind the crowd, as if he wasn't wearing a brightly painted bear on his face at the moment. *Fuck* did she see me?..

After a moments hesitation, he peaking up and sure enough, the woman focused on him as soon as he was in veiw.. ah God..how was he gonna explain him oogling her?

He tilted his head, eyebrows furrowed a bit. “No..I feel like I’ve seen you in media somewhere before..” His embarrassment over flirting with a married woman slowly faded as Darius noticed her distress.. it confused him some, had he said something particularly upsetting?..

Upon the confirmed the she was indeed a mother he smiled softly, “Devon and Riley? Not bad.. I always wanted to have a daughter myself.” He mused, “I already had experience raising a body- and I wanna try my hand..” he trailed off as she apologized, Darius looked shocked as Katherine began to cry. “Hey- hey woah..” He stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, concern in his dark eyes. “Are you alright?” Husband or no husband, Darius wasn’t about to twittle his fingers as the woman cried Infront of him. “Do you need to sit down? The concessions aren’t too far from here.”

At the reveal that he somehow reminded her of the father of her child, shock was clear in his face. “I..uh..” Well shit- was he suppose to apologize? “I’m..sorry, uh..Did he pass away or something?” He remained close, but he removed his hand from her shoulder, fishing a unused napkin from his pocket and offering it to her. He felt bad, even if her tears weren’t really his doing, he hated to see women cry so woefully. “Did he also frequently wear bear face paint?” He said the joke in a soft tone, hoping to make the sad woman laugh at least a little.

.

She knew how much he wanted to have a family of his own, which was why this conversation hurt so much, sure she could ask her father to give him his memories back, but would that be the right thing to do? Even if he remembered, he would still have lost Riley growing up, her first steps, first words, however he would still be next to her at her wedding day. The problem was that Kate didn’t felt this should be her decision to make, it should be Darius decision, but she couldn’t exactly ask him.

“Yes, I think that’s a good idea.” It would have fewer people there, so it was a good decision, the last thing she needed was her father yelling at her or a photo of her crying on the internet. Feeling his hand on her shoulder brought goosebumps to her body, a touch she hasn’t felt in over 100 years, a touch she thought she would never feel before, and strangely it was comforting, like returning to a holiday home that had been close for years, it was dusty but seeing the same view was heartwarming and for a few seconds she didn’t felt like she wanted to run away from him.

“It is a little more complicated than that.” His joke made her smile. “Only when I painted his face.” She pointed out, as she started to walk, so they could sit down. “When I had Riley 100 years ago, my engagement wasn’t exactly good, I felt like he hated me because seeing me for one hour every century was too much of an effort.” Sometimes she wondered if David father didn’t force him to stay if he would still be running from her or not, like Jeremiah said, he just needed some time to understand his own feelings. “Me being a hopeless romantic wasn’t exactly happy with my situation, which brought me to a bar where I met Riley’s father. We talked for hours and became instantly best friends, and we fell for each other. My father wasn’t exactly happy about it, and went he found out I was willing to run away with this man, break my engagement and even not be the next queen, he intervened. He locked me in a dungeon before I even knew what he was going to do, and he only let me go when he found out I was pregnant, so I was locked in my room instead, and I never saw Riley father again.” Until now.

He looked her way when she began to speak, and smiled when she momentarily played along with his joke. Though upon having a seat his smile slowly melted away as the man listened to the others story. And his lips turned down in a deep set frown, "That's..cruel. Why didn't he just.." and then it hit him. Queen? His dark eyes widened, he was such a fool. How had he not realized who she was? Katherine Avery, she was a princess here. His jaw remained set even at this staggering revelation.

Her next words shook him from his stupor, and despite it being a really bad idea he took her hand, giving the thing a gentle squeeze. "It's alright, from the sound of it youve endured alot in your life..and probably needed an ear to spill into. I don't mind." He smiled softly at her, "Not to overstep boundaries, but you're more then welcome to talk my ear off whenever you like Miss Katherine, I figure it's the least I can do since you're family gave me such a lovely place to call home.." He opted for her name with no title, as she would've corrected him before if it were an issue.

Wandering the festivities, he demolished the rest of his turkey leg and then went to wash his hands at the restrooms.. As he left the stall the male had been contemplating what to do next, when he'd taken notice of a blonde woman in the not so far distance.. His head cocked to the side as he gazed her way and admittedly.. he was a little dumbfounded, she was quite beautiful.

The fool with his face painted like a bear watched the woman for a few minutes, entranced a bit by her.. she looked oddly familiar, hell..with looks like that it could've very well been the big screen that he knew her from.. His thoughts abruptly halted when she seemed to notice she was being watched and looked his way-

Flush erupted across the males face and he not so gracefully ducked his head behind the crowd, as if he wasn't wearing a brightly painted bear on his face at the moment. *Fuck* did she see me?..

After a moments hesitation, he peaking up and sure enough, the woman focused on him as soon as he was in veiw.. ah God..how was he gonna explain him oogling her?

“No kidding.” He mused, though he had a feeling deep down Sean kinda enjoyed the little bonding moment he’d had with Lily, especially since he’s had Darius snap a photo of them.

Katherine. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” He mused with a polite tone, bowing his head slightly. “You seem familiar some how, though I definitely would remember meeting you previously..” He looked at her quizzically as if hoping she could clarify where he knew her from, Darius didn’t much follow the royal family much, he just followed his day to day.

His good mood died with her next words, husband. Right, of course. There was no way someone like her would be single, and here he was all over her. “oh-uh fuck..ah..I.. didn’t realize you were married Miss Katherine.” He said, pulling his hand back and rubbing the back of his head with an awkward laugh. “You’re husband is quite the lucky man.” He offered a mild smile of apology, as he inched back a tad to put a bit more space between them. “Then I’m assuming from your earlier statement.. you also have children?”

.

Every word of his was like a knife in her heart, Kate was very good at giving people fake smiles, but she couldn’t, not with him, since the day she met him at the bar they promised each other to be honest, that she didn’t need to pretend to be happy when she wasn’t, she knew he didn’t remember that promise, but she did, she remembered everything.

You seem familiar some how. Kate wasn’t exactly sure how much her father made him forget, so maybe something way back would still be in his brain? “Maybe you saw me at a very boring ball.” She couldn’t help but remember all the things they told each other, about his brother, his family, how much he missed his mother, how his father lost everything and how she manage to get his house back and restore one of his old family paintings as a gift for him, she was so lost in her memories that she didn’t notice him moving a little way.

Upon the confirmed the she was indeed a mother he smiled softly, "Devon and Riley? Not bad.. I always wanted to have a daughter myself." He mused, "I already had experience raising a body- and I wanna try my hand.." he trailed off as she apologized, Darius looked shocked as Katherine began to cry. "Hey- hey woah.." He stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, concern in his dark eyes. "Are you alright?" Husband or no husband, Darius wasn't about to twittle his fingers as the woman cried Infront of him. "Do you need to sit down? The concessions aren't too far from here."

Wandering the festivities, he demolished the rest of his turkey leg and then went to wash his hands at the restrooms.. As he left the stall the male had been contemplating what to do next, when he'd taken notice of a blonde woman in the not so far distance.. His head cocked to the side as he gazed her way and admittedly.. he was a little dumbfounded, she was quite beautiful.

The fool with his face painted like a bear watched the woman for a few minutes, entranced a bit by her.. she looked oddly familiar, hell..with looks like that it could've very well been the big screen that he knew her from.. His thoughts abruptly halted when she seemed to notice she was being watched and looked his way-

Flush erupted across the males face and he not so gracefully ducked his head behind the crowd, as if he wasn't wearing a brightly painted bear on his face at the moment. *Fuck* did she see me?..

After a moments hesitation, he peaking up and sure enough, the woman focused on him as soon as he was in veiw.. ah God..how was he gonna explain him oogling her?

Like a coward, the male had considered running away from the approaching woman. She almost appeared upset for a moment, and he was certain that she was coming over to give him an ear full for staring..

However, she reached him before he had the chance to make a decision. “Hi.” Was the first word she said to him, which admittedly surprised Darius, not-‘whats your problem?’ or possible 'could you stop drooling over me from over there?’ The male was totally baffled when the stranger went on to compliment his face paint, suddenly reminding the vampire that his face was currently a crude caricature of a bear.

At least she wouldn’t be able to see his flustered state. Speak idiot. Upon realizing he’d left the woman waiting for a response, Darius clears his throat. “Ah- Hi..um..thanks..” Laughing a tad, he rubbed the side of his neck. “I was helping a dad with moral support earlier, ended up getting this done.”

Falling silent for a few more seconds he put his hand out to her with a slight bow of his head, “Ah- where are my manners. I’m Darius, it’s a pleasure to meet you Miss..?” When she took his hand he would bring it up and lightly kiss the tops of her fingers. “Sorry Im tripping over myself I just..” You’re lovely. “I guess I’m a bit flustered cause I got caught admiring a beautiful woman.” He smiled at her sweetly.

.

Even if he was a stranger, Kate would never yell at someone for just staring at her, she always tried to be nice and polite, at her time with David she realized that maybe she was being too nice in some aspect, and it was fun to let a wilder side of her loose, but things on the island were calmer, which means most of the time she was the old nice Kate.

She smiled a little easier when he mentioned Sean, seeing him with a tiger face had truly made her day, it was something she never expected to see since she knew Sean true nature. “The things we do for our kids.” She whispered, she could relate to that, unlike most pureblood, Riley and Devon weren’t raised by nannies. Of course Darius was helping, he might not be her Darius, but he was still him, someone with a golden heart.

She hesitated a little to give him her hand, now that she was face to face with him again she was truly feeling how cruel her father punishment was, at the same time she wanted him to remember her, she was worried about what those memories could do, he was always so close to his family and learning that he had a grown up daughter wouldn’t be easy, but she also couldn’t lie to his face, so the best to do was just to avoid the topic, maybe avoid him all along, he had clearly been on the island for a while, and they haven’t bumped into each other, so it wouldn’t be hard to continue avoiding him. “Katherine.” She couldn’t bring herself to say that it was lovely meeting him because she already knew him, damn it.

Katherine. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman." He mused with a polite tone, bowing his head slightly. "You seem familiar some how, though I definitely would remember meeting you previously.." He looked at her quizzically as if hoping she could clarify where he knew her from, Darius didn't much follow the royal family much, he just followed his day to day.

Wandering the festivities, he demolished the rest of his turkey leg and then went to wash his hands at the restrooms.. As he left the stall the male had been contemplating what to do next, when he'd taken notice of a blonde woman in the not so far distance.. His head cocked to the side as he gazed her way and admittedly.. he was a little dumbfounded, she was quite beautiful.

The fool with his face painted like a bear watched the woman for a few minutes, entranced a bit by her.. she looked oddly familiar, hell..with looks like that it could've very well been the big screen that he knew her from.. His thoughts abruptly halted when she seemed to notice she was being watched and looked his way-

Flush erupted across the males face and he not so gracefully ducked his head behind the crowd, as if he wasn't wearing a brightly painted bear on his face at the moment. *Fuck* did she see me?..

After a moments hesitation, he peaking up and sure enough, the woman focused on him as soon as he was in veiw.. ah God..how was he gonna explain him oogling her?

However, she reached him before he had the chance to make a decision. "Hi." Was the first word she said to him, which admittedly surprised Darius, not-'whats your problem?' or possible 'could you stop drooling over me from over there?' The male was totally baffled when the stranger went on to compliment his face paint, suddenly reminding the vampire that his face was currently a crude caricature of a bear.

At least she wouldn't be able to see his flustered state. Speak idiot. Upon realizing he'd left the woman waiting for a response, Darius clears his throat. "Ah- Hi..um..thanks.." Laughing a tad, he rubbed the side of his neck. "I was helping a dad with moral support earlier, ended up getting this done."

He chuckled warmly and nodded. “Sounds like youd arrived just in time to get the full experience then.” He assumed from how fondly the other spoke of the experience that itd had been a good one. “Maybe ill catch the next one, when ever that is an ill see you there.” His eyebrows rose playfully, “I may not look it now,” He gestured to his jeans and leather jacket-Tshirt combo. “But I can clean up pretty nice if given the right incentive.”

When the woman introduced herself final, the brunette bowed his head a little to her as a small sign of respect. “Its a pleasure to meet you, Meena.” The males eyebrows rose slightly at the others hesitation, his head tilted ever so slightly and when she finally spoke he understood why. Hed known the other was witch due to the scent coming off her but he acted suprised in a attempt to humor her big reveal. “I see, well that sounds like quite the important job to have, far more so then me.: He laughed warmly, “I just work on cars and basic equipment at the local auto shop not far from here.” As she went on about her work, Darius listened intently, quite enjoying the way the woman seemed to light up as she spoke. “It sounds like you play a very important role here.” His dark eyes crinkled at the edges as he grinned. “Puts someone like myself to shame if you ask me~ But I feel im far to clumsy to really do anything apart from auto work. Its easy and profitable for myself.” He leaned his back against the table, “Other then work, what do you like to do around the city?”

-

Meena chuckled softly as the other spoke. “Well, this is only a carnival, casual is allowed.” She teased the other before continuing, “Yes. The island loves its celebrations, but there is plenty to celebrate! The island gives people a safe place to live freely- it makes someone want to party all the time.” She laughed lightly. 

He gingerly grinned at her when the other almost scolded him for talking down on his job, the reassurance was sweet even if he hadn't really needed it. "I suppose you're right..it IS the only shop in town after all."

The brunette laughed warmly, “Well thank you for being so honest~” Then again, he didnt really mind all that much. Hed done stuff like this with his brother when hed been young. Darius smiled giving the other a pat on the back, “Say no more my man, ill happily accompany you.” Its not like he was gonna meet his future wife here of all places anyway.

WIth a light shrug he gave their surroundings the look around. “I suppose I understand what you mean a bit, but I came from a small retirement village out in the middle of nowhere, peaceful is kind of what ive always known.” His eyebrows rose, “WHere did you move from if I may?” He smiled down at lily, wiggling his finger at her playfully. “Oh yeah? Well, if you think its bad now, just wait for the teenage years.” He laughed warmly, “I hope it does, but you seem like a rather outstanding guy so im sure itlly be fine.”

Jogging away the male let out another laugh as he shook his head…he returned some 15ish minutes later, totally baffled by how long the line had been. Coming back to find sean in the painters seat, having lilies face painted over. He chuckled to himself as he approached. “Looking good.”

.

Sean was normally very honest, maybe he bent the truth a little or forgot to mention a thing or two, but besides that he almost never lied, it wasn’t like most people would ask him if he was a serial killer and when someone heard Riley calling him Jack the ripper they just assumed she was joking, which worked at Sean favor.

He was glad the other didn’t need more convincing to join him in getting his face painted, he knew most people would not join him, not even if he paid them, so this guy was really something, it was hard to meet genuine good people even around the island. “I moved around a lot.” Which was true, you couldn’t exactly kill people for 700 years and stay in one place. “I normally go from a big city to another big city, quiet places are not for me, but I’m originally from London.” He chuckled. “I really don’t want to think about her being a teenager.” He could already imagine that they would involve a lot of yelling in both behaves. 

Darius wasn't particularly insecure in himself so the idea of getting his face painted wasn't all that bad, especially if his new found acquaintance was also getting it done. Returning with two turkey legs, he waited for the other to get lily into place before he handed him the savory treat.. "I dunno, I don't wanna be a tiger and crap the matching father daughter thing you have going on.."

He peaked down at the options before his eyebrows raised. "Oh for sure I'm going bear." Laughing to himself, he settled down at let the artist get to work..in no time he had a lovely hand painted mask of a grizzly bear on his face. "How do I look?" He mused to Sean, arching an eyebrow.

Darius chuckled warmly when the other relented and decided to go ahead and get his face painted too. “Now thats what we like to hear.” His step seemed to perk up slightly, excited to see the others grand reveal. “Maybe ill even get something done- why not?” He teased with a grin. When the other revealed his job title Darius’s eyebrows rose, “No kidding?” He smiled lightly, “Well- isnt it kind of a good thing its so peaceful?” The other seemed almost annoyed by the safety of the city, then again- he could imagine the job being quite boring after a while. “Well atleast youve got plenty of time to spend with lily? You dont have to worry about this place being too dangerous for her.” Laughter bubbled from the males chest as sean told the story of his attempt to fix a car. “Maybe next time you should just give me a call and ill come have a look.” he smiled, spotting the stands they were look for. “Oooh theres the drumb sticks- want one? Ill buy while you get in line fore the face painting.”

.

“I would recommend you to do it as well, but I must admit, I do have selfish motives to want you to do it as well.” Sean pointed out. “It would be nice not to be the only grown up with  paint in my face.” he chuckled, he was already calling a lot of attention because of Lily, with paint in his face, there was no way he would be able to go unnoticeable.

“Is good for the king and for everyone else, but I do miss a little chaos.” He admitted, which was why sometimes he left the island to get in touch with his old habits, but now with Lily he wasn’t sure how he was going to do that, it wasn’t like he could leave her or take her with him. “I’m more worried about her being too dangerous for this place.” He joked it. “You’re right, I think this place will be a good influence on her.”

WIth a light shrug he gave their surroundings the look around. “I suppose I understand what you mean a bit, but I came from a small retirement village out in the middle of nowhere, peaceful is kind of what ive always known.” His eyebrows rose, “WHere did you move from if I may?” He smiled down at lily, wiggling his finger at her playfully. “Oh yeah? Well, if you think its bad now, just wait for the teenage years.” He laughed warmly, “I hope it does, but you seem like a rather outstanding guy so im sure itlly be fine.”

“Youre a life saver honestly, I couldnt navigate my way through a grocery store let alone a huge festival.” Chuckling he started walking with the male. The brunettes eyebrows rose when he mention getting lilies face panted, and darius looked down at the little girl with a smile. “That sounds adorable, I could take a picture of the both yall if youd like? Since ill be near by.” He shrugged lightly.”You gonna go matching with her?” He teased, cocking an eyebrow. “I think the two fo you would make adorable twin tigers.” He couldnt help but laugh a bit. “If you dont mind me asking Sean, WHat do you do for work? Im a mechanic at the local auto shop myself.” His eyebrows rose curiously.

.

Sean didn’t mind guiding the other around, specially since they were going toward the same place, he was happy that people didn’t normally ask orientations for him, he was good at directions, he just normally didn’t care about others.

“That would be good, actually.” he pointed, he could have that photo in his house and he was sure Rhea would laugh every time she stopped by to visit them, and hopefully she would visit more often as well. “You know what, why not? If I’m gonna do it, I might as well go all in.” He didn’t care if people laughed at him, he could easily kill most people on the island anyway, he didn’t felt less man for doing something for lily.