(Mika) Sometimes You Have to be Lost

[Cassie Gray]

(Mika Ver Leth) Sometimes you have to be lost...
In order to be found(Cassie Gray)

Click, click, click....

She walked down the large tunnel, bright blue eyes drifting over the walls.

"I wont be long. Take some time to explore. Alex never brought you here, right?" Mara suggested.

The chill of the mountainside worked it's way over her.

"Mara had said something about a place called Vampire Mountain. Where is it? And why haven't we been?"

The white of her dress was stark against the gloominess of the tunnel.

"You're not ready yet," Alex had said.

Am I ready now? Cassie stopped, a soft sigh making it's way past her lips. She was utterly and completely lost, in more ways than one. Mara hadn't told her what to expect. Hadn't told her why they were even coming here. They had just showed up, made a trek through the snow covered land. (Cassie was still amazed that Mara didn't complain....that much) And then BAM, here they were. The two of them had found a cubby hole (aka, a room) and had fallen asleep only a little while after arriving. When they awake, Mara left her to her own agenda and practically disappeared. So now, here she was, lost and alone in a tunnel.

But it just wasn't in the tunnel that she felt lost. Aside from Mara and Alex, she had met only one or two other vampires--her editor Johnny, and a couple that worked for Mara. She had no idea that A. there were very few female vampires, even fewer currently here, and B. this place was very warrior-chic. She was surrounded by men. Burly, scarred, (some delicious) manly warrior men. To say that she felt like a joke was putting it mildly. Here she was in a short-ish white dress, heels, and jewelry--feminity personified--while everyone around her looked like they were ready to pounce into battle. And the very archaic kind of battle.

"But what is it like?" she had persisted.
"It's not like you," was all Alex had replied before squishing the matter entierly.

"You were right Alex...this isn't like me. I'm not ready..." she whispered, her voice echoing around the empty tunnel. With a sigh of defeat, she leaned against one of the (practically freezing) walls, banging her head lightly against the rock.

Outfit

[Mika Ver Leth]

Mika curled his lip as he walked down the dank passage. He had never liked these tunnels. Not at all. Dark, cold, and empty might seem like his type of environment; after all, he was a dark, cold, and empty person. However, in this case it was not. For one thing there were the spiders. Many people had secret phobias that would surprise others. Mika was one, and spiders were it. Yes, he'd willingly face an army of vampaneze, and all the trials that one had to endure to end up a Vampire Prince, but not one of those horrible little buggers. The spiders down here were especially creepy, with their thin, pale bodies and awful blind eyes.

And there were so many. Mika shuddered as he brushed past a web. Maybe it had something to do with that incident involving a spider as a young child, but he would probably have hated them anyway. So, why was he here? Well, something or other always needed to be checked, and while he could have refused, he didn't like people talking about why he would want to refuse. Besides, it at least was a chance to go for a walk alone. Or just go for a walk. Maybe he hadn't run into any people yet, but he didn't feel alone.. uneasiness settled in as he thought of them all in the shadows, watching.. Ugh!

He quickened his step, eager to come across something else to focus on. There was no way to tell how far he walked; he was getting deeper into the tunnels now. Suddenly, there was a heavy prickling sensation on his right arm, and he looked down swiftly, right into the eyes of one of those hideous little monsters. And well, he didn't actually scream, but took a sharp breath as he jumped back and rather dramatically, hastily flung it about fifty feet away.

Shuddering, he moved back into the middle of the tunnel, but before he could say 'I hope nobody saw that' his nervous eyes were drawn to the white dress of a fellow vampire. Oh, no. However, she appeared to be acting strange herself, and he was sure he had never seen her before. With a lot of luck she would have no idea who he was. "What are you doing down here?" he demanded of her defensively, before she could say something.

[Cassie Gray]

Footsteps echoed down the tunnel, reaching her. She stopped banging her head against the wall and turned her gaze down the tunnel. What emerged from the dark surprised her. Dark hair, dark clothes, general cloak of gloominess. She had heard about this particular individual. He was a Prince, Mika Ver Leth. Her eyes widened. She had heard about the Princes, both from Alex and Mara (two very different stories). She knew that she'd meet one or more of the Princes here, but not so soon. And not in a dark tunnel.

Since it seemed that he hadn't yet noticed her, Cassie took a moment to study the Prince. The most striking thing was that he looked so young. Somewhere between....25-30? She knew that all vampires aged slowly, and she had seen many a vampire here who looked so very young when they were so very old. But, it still shocked her every time. He was handsome, with long black hair and dark eyes. Black clothes covered him and while he wasn't as burly as other vampires, it was obvious that he was a warrior. A small smile flitted across her lips. Starting to wonder if I'm destined to meet only rocker-looking guys from now on.

Watching him, Cassie saw the (hideous, creepy, and little-girl-scream inducing) spider drop from the ceiling onto his hand. Before she could let him know of it though, he dramatically flung the creature away with a sharp intake of breath. A grin spread across her face and she had to put her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing at the dramatic scene. She was still watching him as he turned forward, their eyes meeting. She sobered at the harsh tone he addressed her and stepped into the middle of the tunnel.

"I was simply exploring. Was this tunnel off limits, Sire?" she asked. After a second of wondering if one bow, curtsied, or what to the princes, she sank into a low, perfect curtsy. For once in her life, Cassie silently sent thanks to her etiquette teacher at school. She straightened, coming a bit closer. Her hands were clasped in front of her and her cobalt eyes lowered demurely. Alex and mar didn't exactly cover this part of her vampire-lessons, she only had her normal-human ones to fall back on. She stopped a couple of feet away from the Prince, smiling softly at him.

[Mika Ver Leth]

As was his usual expression, Mika scowled at her. He wasn't pleased to meet anyone here, especially at this moment. The way she seemed to be acting perfect didn't help. Although it was not a good idea to cross him or do otherwise, the curtsy and the whole sire stuff was, at the same time, kind of irritating. Taking a step back, he looked more closely at whom he had run into. Someone like her was a rare sight in Vampire Mountain indeed, though admittedly Mika wasn't hard to recognize either. He watched her suspiciously. The white dress made her look almost ghostly in the darkness. Judging by her youthful appearance, she was probably just new here, despite that not being true in his case. Either way, they were both out of place. Huh.

"No, though I can't imagine why you would want to explore here."

[Cassie Gray]

Cassie's eyes lit up and her smile spread from a small ghost to a radiant one.

"Are you kidding? It's amazing down here!" she said excitedly, spinning to face toward the darkness that lay ahead.

"It's perfect for a story! Imagine it: The hero--or heroine--is lost, alone and scared in the tunnel of pure darkness! They're terrified of what lies ahead, but they must continue, for going back would spell certain doom for their love one who is captured and held in the heart of a mountain. Or! A tunnel carved in stone to connect two warring villages, a secret way for lovers to meet! A Romeo and Juliet of their time. Forced apart, but destined to have a love so strong, it destroys them."

She moved around the tunnel as she spoke, venturing further ahead with energetic, bold movements. She had all but forgotten Mika, lost in the endless stories she could create within these tunnels. She was vibrant, her voice getting faster as she ended up babbling, talking more to herself than him at the moment. Suddenly she stopped, blushing as she turned.

"Um...but it's also a nice place to walk and think, of course. Though, it is easy to get lost," she said, embarrassed by her tangent. She smiled at him, curiosity turning her attention away from her books to him.

"What about you, Sire. What are you doing down here? You don't seem to like it very much," she inquired, taking in his scowling face and the memory of the spider.

[Mika Ver Leth]

Well, the girl was unusual in more than just her looks. Mika moved to lean against the wall slightly as he watched her rather long rant without comment. He was a much too gloomy and hardened person to entertain such fantasies. In his youth things had been different; he had spent so much time locked up in his room, wishing for an escape, and sometimes accompanied by a novel like the other vampire was imagining.

However, that was well over two hundred years ago. Time and space had changed things so much. And, here and now, there was hardly a book to be found in the mountain that did not have purpose. The speech made her seem younger and naive. Reality sucked but if one wanted to live in it, then that was all there was to it. Fantasy seemed foolish. All Mika could see was a cold tunnel that was as empty as his soul. She awakened nothing but the usual disdain in him. When she finally came back to reality, he returned her smile with just a slight sneer.

"Yes, and apparently it is easy to lose your mind in here as well. I just happen to like the rest of the mountain even less."

[Cassie Gray]

"Then, why are you even here?" she asked, hands on her hips, inquisitive as ever. It may be out of line, but Cassie had a feeling that Mika didn't really care for the whole prim-and-proper thing. She continued to study him. The young handsome face clashed deeply with the frown lines forming.

"If you hate it so much, leave. Princes don't have to be here all the time, right?" So, maybe she was overstepping her boundaries. Maybe her words were a bit too bold to be addressing a Prince. Ad maybe she was going to be in a load of trouble for it. But, oh well. He was so very negative, the total opposite of Cassie. Gloomy didn't even begin to describe the man that stood before her. Darkness seemed to radiate off of him in almost a tangible form.

He was complaining, as simple as that. Cassie had been raised to see complaining as a useless activity, much like pouting, which he seemed to be doing a bit of too. If he hated it so very much here, he should leave. Alex hated it here and that's what he did. As far as she knew, the Princes really didn't need to be here all the time.