Kiade didn't know he was about to run into an old friend (or, rather, old stalker), but then again, it had been a few years since he'd last seen her. About three, to be exact, and Kiade had done a lot of growing since then. Back then, he'd been an awkward seventeen-year-old struggling to understand the new world he'd somehow ended up on, but three years was enough time to adjust and grow, and he certainly had. Heck, he'd even grown another two inches during the final growth spurt of his teenage years, now standing at around six feet two inches, but it wasn't really his physical growth that was most profound.
Back then, he'd been awkward. Granted, he still had his moments, but he was no longer as ashamed of himself as he'd been back then. Back then, he'd covered up completely, leaving no skin bare but that on his face and hands, even when the days were hot enough to make him suffer beneath the thick robes he insisted on wearing. Back then, he'd been adamant about hiding his scars because he felt they were shameful. But, after a while, it soon clicked into his head that, wait a minute...no one here would know what the hell they meant! And jeez, there were some people here that were way more messed up than he was! Why should he care? He wasn't in his homeland anymore, thank Gods, so what difference did it really make? It was only him being self-conscious.
After one too many hot days, Kiade made himself stop caring. Now he dressed like, well, a normal, sane person. It was no longer winter, the temperature was nice, so he wore a simple shirt and short-sleeved undershirt, the material thin and breatheable, and a pair of well-worn breeches. His arms were well exposed, the claw-induced scars from an old encounter well visible, and those same scars were repeated along his neck. Heck, if his stomach or chest was exposed, they'd be there too, as well as on his legs and pretty much anywhere else. Kiade, however, though dressing more reasonably, was still very modest, so differently dressed as he might be, there would still never be a time in hell where he would wear anything less concealing than this.
His hair was also shorter. Once shoulder-length, the red and blue tipped blonde hair had been hacked short almost a year ago so that it ended at the nape of his neck, though the bangs were still long enough to get into his eyes if he was careless. Yeah...he'd stopped trying to hide his non-human appearance; his pointed ears were exposed now.
Yeah...he had become a little more open. A little less closeted. A little less cautious. Which was a good thing; three years ago he'd been jumpy as all hell with the conversational skills of a sea slug. He'd also been far more ignorant, but by now he had a pretty strong grasp on human society and most people, in this country at least, honestly didn't seem to care what species you were as long as you didn't eat them.
Anyway, so there Kiade was, making an aimless stroll through the village. Well, maybe not so aimless. See, as amazing a feat as it probably sounded, Kiade had managed to integrate himself into human society over the years, even securing a place to live and a job. It wasn't an official, job, really...nothing orthodox. He was a freelance artist...probably not the best job, but he enjoyed it, and maybe it seemed surprising that he would persue something like that, but it really wasn't all too strange. A love of beauty was instilled into the culture he came from--a love for perfection, more like, but...ah well--and he had had a lot of free time on his hands. Mix the two together, and what do you get? A hobby to pass the time which, once he had become decent at it, he was soon able to scrape a living off of.
With a bag slung over his shoulder, he had set out to collect materials. No, he wasn't an artist in the traditional sense...he couldn't paint or draw to save his life, but he did have a knack for tinkering with items, so he made jewelry using stones, shells, beads, and sometimes feathers. So, there he was, walking along and minding his own business. The last thing on his mind ever--in fact, it was no longer even in his mind at all--was that he might run into, much less ever see again in his long lifetime, the crazy vampire lady that had followed him around and made him blush horribly when he'd been younger. He also really wasn't expecting that very lady to fall out of a tree right in front of him, just before he passed beneath it.
However...well, what do you know? That's exactly what happened.
Kiade just about jumped out of his skin as a winged, purple-haired thing plopped down onto the ground in front of him, his heart lodging itself in his throat and making it impossible to breathe for a second. Kiade gasped, his body jolting, and he actually jumped a few feet backwards out of reflex, his eyes widening comically. If there was one thing Kiade hadn't gotten over, it was that he was still somewhat jumpy. He didn't like being surprised, he didn't like things suddenly jumping out at him, because it scared the hell out of him! Not just in a "whoa, that was a surprise!" way, but in a "oh dear God am I gonna die?!" way.
No. Surprises were very, very bad and they made him very, very twitchy.
He was good and ready to flee, but then reason once again began to filter into his brain and the colorful shape before him began to look more and more like a woman. A woman. He didn't even know what he'd thought it was, but to know it was just a woman...that was a relief. Suddenly, he could breathe again as his heart put itself back where it was supposed to be, and he exhaled loudly, muscles untensing. Right. He...uh...knew it was nothing bad all alo--wait, woman falling out of a tree. That had to be painful.
Duh, Kiade. Might be a good idea to check if said person was injured now that you know it's not going to chop you up.
Since it had been just so long, the purple hair didn't register as a warning sign. Neither did the wings. It probably should have, because that was a very distinctive feature. Yet, yes, Kiade had forgotten all about El.
Or...mostly forgotten.
Because it was only when she'd sat up and he'd made his way over to her, starting to bend to see if he was all right...that it suddenly clicked. Because that was when he finally saw her face. He'd only gotten the words "Hey, are you okay--?" out before he stopped, his eyes narrowing as he took in her face, scrunching up a little as he analyzed her.
Indeed. In that moment, everything suddenly fell very vividly back into place, and he suddenly remembered. The vampire girl. Oh dear Gods. It was the vampire girl.
"You!" he gasped, straightening abruptly. He might have said her name instead of that--"You!" wasn't very polite--but while he recognized her face, he didn't remember her name. He only remembered that she was a weird vampire girl that had followed him around a lot years ago. Gyah! Was she following him again? Had she found him? Oh man...
