sparks fly~ paul lahote

ⅶ. in the rain

It was raining. Diana didn't exactly love the rain, so, as she stood in the middle of the forest after the skies started pouring mid-hike she wasn't quite happy. Could she have run home? Probably. Did she? No. There wasn't any particular reason for this, though she wasn't happy to be soaked with rainwater, something told her to stay put. So, she did.

Who was she to argue with her instincts? Who was she to argue with fate? Though it had been years since Diana had even thought fate existed, she still believed it. And, really, belief is all it comes down to.

So, Diana slowly started her trek to whatever destination her feet (or fate) deemed necessary. The rain-drenched her hair, her jeans were now colder than she was and her sweatshirt rendered useless, as it held no heat for her.

The girl begrudgingly walked on, through the trees and dense bushes, through the mud and the rain. Diana had no clue where she was going, now too far from her usual scent trail, when she realized that she felt almost naked.

Her hearing was being interrupted by the steady downpour of rain, her sense of smell was overwhelmed in the cold of the forest and her sight was diminished by the cold rainwater drowning her face and eyes.

She didn't hear him approach until he stepped on a branch. Diana froze in her place. Now, having something to focus her senses on, she could hear his heartbeat, feel his warmth, smell his scent. She knew, without turning around, that it was him.

She avoided looking at him, she couldn't be sure he would imprint on her, but if he did, she wasn't sure what she'd do.

She knew he wouldn't want her, he would reject her, he would hate himself and everything that he is, his natural wolf instincts. Not that she'd blame him, the absolute last thing she had ever wanted was to be imprinted on again. She had decided she wouldn't let him look her in the eyes, but she turned. She quickly glanced at his face before averting her gaze.

His dark hair was wet and his brows were furrowed. His tan, shirtless body was glimmering with raindrops, and his cut-offs looked as about uncomfortable as her jeans. His stare hardened as he realized this was the girl Billy had warned them about. The girl they couldn't harm. He hadn't officially met her, but he could tell she didn't have that air about her, the one most vampires had- the one that reeked of death. No, instead, she had no air about her, and the shifter felt like he was suffocating.

"Who are you?" He asked. He wasn't sure he should talk, but there was something about her, something that brought pleasantness to the clearing... he just wished she would've looked at him. Instead, she glanced up slightly, then back down again.

"Diana," she spoke quietly as if she was frightened by his presence as if her voice might shatter the invisible barrier that was holding her together.

She shivered, she didn't want to allow him to imprint on her, but she still wanted, more than anything to be near him. Diana could tell he was frustrated with her lack of eye contact, she could see his fists clenched at his sides.

"What are you doing out here? In the rain?" He wanted to know, but from the looks of it wouldn't get a straight answer. The girl before him kept glancing up, almost longingly, but before he could catch her gaze, she'd duck down again.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said, unable to think of an explanation for her wandering. She realized she must've been on their land, and a flash of guilt flooded her chest; Billy told her not to roam alone.

"But you know the answer to that."

Diana nodded, and turned slightly so she could look up and away, without looking at him, "Yeah, I guess I do."

"So, what are you doing out here?" He tried again, his frustration was building. She wouldn't look at him, why? She wasn't communicating very readily, either. It was like she was avoiding anything to do with him.

She was.

"I was just walking," she muttered. Her perseverance was wavering, she wanted it to happen. She wanted to look at him, she wanted him to look at her. But, she knew he'd hate her for it, and she would too, more than she already did.

"You decided to go for a walk? In the pouring rain?" He asked, his frustration bubbled just beneath the surface. He was ready to snap at her, but, in his human form, she might kill him for it.

"Well, it wasn't raining when I started out, earlier." she snapped, losing her patience.

"Well, it is now. So why are you still out?" He wasn't taking her inability to acknowledge him very well.

Diana felt the urge to smile at him, she felt she needed to run and hug him, and hold him, and laugh with him, and talk with him, and just be with him. But, she knew he didn't want any of those things, and neither did she, really. It was just the bloodlust, just the imprint; the forces of their opposing natures pushing them together.

So, overpowered by her anger, she growled at him, "None of your business, dog."

This turned out to not be the best thing she could've done, he let out a growl and Diana sensed imminent danger. Her head whipped up to watch, terrified, as he began shaking and breathing harshly. She stumbled back, preparing herself for a long run home when he unleashed a wild growl and phased, suddenly standing on four paws instead of two feet.

He snarled menacingly and Diana swallowed, backing away slowly. She nodded to his dark silvery wolf, as it stalked closer to her. She knew she was fast, faster than the average vampire, but she didn't know just how fast he was. He barked at her, and she held out her hand, "Easy, easy! My god! I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry."

She was genuinely scared, truly terrified; she looked as if she were about to have a panic attack... And the wolf registered this. Somehow, her voice cut through his anger and reached out to him, I'm sorry. That is what she said; I'm sorry. And he could see in her eyes, though they still weren't looking at him, that she meant what she said and the terror in which she said it. The wolf stopped snarling, backing down. He let out a final growl and huffed, falling back on his haunches. Diana sighed in relief and collapsed to the ground.

She ran her hands through her hair and stared hard at his form never meeting his eyes. He stood and came forward a few paces then sat back down again, this time trying to catch her gaze. She scoffed, at him and turned her head away. He let out a quiet but mean growl, and she rolled her eyes but turned her head to look at the ground in front of him.

He let out a whine and Diana stood angrily, "What do you want from me?" she asked, throwing her arms up in frustration. She looked over his form, sitting there with a playful but stern look on his face. She scoffed again and turned to leave him, "I am sorry," she sighed, pausing her walk but not turning around.

"I'm not here for conflict, you know. I don't exactly like your kind, but I know the feeling is mutual... so, can we just agree on that much?" she turned, just slightly to see he had tilted his head at her. He nodded slowly and she smiled softly, "Thank you."

Then she turned and headed home.