Returning To The Mountain (Lilith and Darren)

Lilith was busy organising things for a party that she was hosting in the Mountain, she wanted to be able to bring it to life a little bit more and bring it into the modern day - without this lift she could see them having trouble in the future. The Vampanese were developing more into fitting into the modern culture and the Vampires were being left behind in the dust.

Looking through the stores that Seba had allowed her in to have a poke around, she made a note of everything that she was going to need to feed these guys and keep them sufficiently watered with alcohol and blood. There was going to be a lot of food needed, she admitted to herself with a sigh.

Deciding that she needed to go and write this up properly she thanked Seba for his help and wandered happily down the corridors of the mountain. The trip away had done her the world of good and she wanted to be able to return and see if she was able to stomach being in the mountain again - and she could do, really rather well.

Rather happily she had not spent a great deal of time with Larten, she had barely seen him which made her very very content indeed.

Perhaps he had decided to leave her alone?
Perhaps he was keeping his distance to make her happier?
Perhaps he just couldn't be bothered?

Either way she didn't really care, as long as he didn't make her life difficult.

Sitting down in the main eating area Lilith smiled brightly at the fellow Vampires who were on the table, and went to work calculating costs and quantities for the party, with them trying to sneak looks at what she was doing.

Darren had heard that Lilith was back in the mountain and he, for one, could not be more excited to see her again! Honestly, his so called Master seemed to have distanced himself from all things even remotely related to Lilith and that included Darren apparently since he had spent enough time with Lilith to become her friend.

Even though his foolish teenage heart was yearning for something more than friendship, even though he knew it was probably never going to happen.

A boy could dream right?

Seeing her in the main eating area, Darren grinned and decided to make his way over to her, noticing that she seemed to be interested in a sheet or something like that. Seemed like she was doing something secret too if the playfully hostile looks she was sending anyone who seemed to be taking any kind of interest in her work.

Smirking, he snuck up behind her and leant over her left shoulder,

"Looks like someone has some big plans." he teased her before grinning and sitting down beside her with a happy little smile, "Welcome back Lilith! I really missed you... how was it?"

Lilith pouted when someone snuck up behind her and looked at the sheet over her shoulder. These were supposed to be secret plans! Hopefully they would keep what they had seen a secret from the rest of the vampires, she wanted to make sure that they were shown a good time for hosting her again at the mountain and for supporting her during her last visit.

As soon as she saw however that it was Darren who had looked Lilith grinned and squeaked happily, wrapping her arms around his head and hugging him tightly to her, smooshing him against her chest as she was so happy to see him.

"Darren!" she giggled "I am so happy to see you too, I missed you so much while I was away....it just wasn't the same without you around."

Smiling and releasing his head from her grip, Lilith gently set his hair back into place and she shrugged her shoulders. Honestly she should be keeping this secret but she didn't think that she was going to have a problem from Darren telling the truth about her visit to the Vampanese.

"I enjoyed myself actually, it did me good to be away from the Mountain, I made some good friends while I visited them." she stated with a light smile "They're a lot more...advanced though, so I'm trying to update the vampires in the same way lest they fall behind."

Darren could see that she was more than a little bit annoyed that her work had been discovered. But he knew that when she realised it was him she was unlikely to actually hurt him. Plus he really still didn't have much of a clue as to what she was really doing. The list was just that to him; a list. He hadn't seen more than a few words really so he couldn't guess the purpose of the list or the items lifted.

He grinned when she realised that it was him and she squeaked really cutely. If that was the reaction he got he would have been happy. But she then proceeded to glomp him, pushing his head into her chest as she clutched him tightly to her. His cheeks exploded in paleness, the vampire blush, and he tried not to panic or do anything stupid like try and kiss the chest or anything like that...

"H-hey Lilith." he greeted her with a grin, his vampire-blush still strongly in place, "I missed you too but I'm sure you had fun without me being there. I'm not the be all and end all when it comes to fun now am I?"

He grinning happily (both at the experience and that she was here), Darren couldn't help but groan a little bit and facepalm,

"That's exactly what I've been telling the Vampires to do since I got here!" he agreed before grinning, "But I'm glad you enjoyed it over there."

He paused before asking,

"So... make any new friends over there?"

Darren was blushing! That was so cute!

She didn't even realise she had put him in a very odd position if she wasn't crushing on him or they were a couple, but she didn't think that it would have been an issue. She would have apologised but she didn't want to draw any more attention to him and his blush otherwise it would surely make him more embarrassed than he was.

Lilith was sure that he was just embarrassed because of that, and she was a slight embarrassed now too.

"Yeah I had fun, but it would have been nice to have you with me." she admitted with a bright smile "I think you would have liked it there, it seems to be a lot more up to date for the two of us instead of hanging around these old guys." she teased, throwing a cheeky wink to the other vampires on the table who good naturedly mumbled and smirked at them.

When Darren said he had been trying to get them to modernise since he had gotten here Lilith thought that it was going to be harder than she had initially believed to get them to change.

"They do seem very set in their ways...but hopefully they would be able to see where we're coming from." she grinned "At very least to have a kick ass party like I'm planning, with some good music for a change."

Nodding her head Lilith smiled gently; "I did yes, no romantic friend's don't worry about that! But there was one really lovely guy, who shall remain anonymous, who really brought me out of that bad place I was in when I got there. I even got to stay in a Novotel for the whole time I visited them, they have clubs and everything."

No! No he couldn't be blushing right now! If she could see that he was blushing then she was bound to think of him more of a kid and less like a man! He wanted to be seen as a vampire and as a man but it would be damned hard if she was still seeing him blushing like the bumbling awkward teenager he, admittedly, was.

Although he was very glad that she chose not to comment on his little blushing and the fact that it probably made him seem like a cute little teen with a crush instead of the man he wanted to act and appear to be,

"Well now I think you're just flattering me to stroke my ego." he told her with a grin and a light blush at her words before grinning a little bit, "Oh I know... who would have thought that guys with purple skin would be able to blend in better with the human culture than these guys huh? I mean all the romance stories are about vampires but seems to me that the vampires are a bit too far behind to be a major threat."

He grinned a little bit when he heard her plan with the list,

"So you're plan is to have a sic party so that everyone knows how awesome it is to be up to date with all the human trends?" he grinned, "I love it! I mean we could totally have some good music for once in their lives! What kind you got?"

Darren blushed hard at her first words. Seemed that she was very aware of his little crush on her if she was making comments like that! Blushing still, he chuckled a little bit,

"Sounds like they've turned into the real-life versions of the modern myths about super sexy and suave vampires." he admitted with a chuckle before shaking his head, "God knows I wish we had that kind of stuff too..."

Lilith smiled brightly when Darren said that she was just stroking his ego, she didn't think that she was, she was telling the truth about him and what she thought about their time they spent together while they were at the mountain together. He seemed to have grown up a lot though since that time and she was happy to see it.

"Well you seem to have done a lot of maturing since we spent some time together in the mountain last, you still being trained by Larten? A shame...I wish that I could have you as an apprentice, pretty sure I would be more fun too." Lilith grinned with a wiggle of her eyebrows "They actually are very light purple, and most use foundation on the parts visible to them if they need to go out and about."

Running her hand through her hair, Lilith hummed happily at the sensation of comfort that it gave her to have her hair played with;

"Yes that is exactly my plan!" she giggled "Knowing our luck it'll just be you and me there bopping under the strobe lights...might be kind of nice to have the whole great hall to ourselves though, we could get up to all sorts."

Seeing him blushing again Lilith smiled softly and squeezed Darren's hand, he shouldn't be ashamed to admit that he wasn't liking the way of life now that he was a vampire living here in this cold damp mountain forced to submit to all of the horrible traditions and formalities of the Vampire race. She didn't get half the traditions anyway.

"Don't worry! It is my mission to open a vampiric hotel for you to come and stay at, none of these waypoints with horrible coffins! Black out curtains and four posters for you Darren!" she grinned.

Darren had to admit that he would have much preferred leaving with Lilith since he had spent all of his time at the mountain wishing that Lilith had either taken him or not gone away. Of course for her to have not gone away then Crepsley and Mika would have had to have been away from the mountain so she would feel comfortable even being there,

"Yeah well I did a lot of training during your time away Lilith and none of it was the fun kind of stuff... I didn't really get a moments rest!" he told her proudly before frowning, "Mast-... Mr Crepsley has had nothing to do with me for awhile now. Recently I've been training under Mika and a few other vampire warriors."

He blushed again when she said he could be her apprentice,

"I could indeed be your apprentice... but I think I'd have to beat out a lot of competition for the role as your apprentice."

He grinned a little bit at the idea of having a party all set up and only having him and Lilith attending it. Even as he blushed madly he knew thoughts of what they could get up to alone would be all over his mind for days to come,

"Well if it's just you and me I'm sure we'll make some kickass dance moments." he joked a little bit, "Not to mention we won't have to watch some of these old geezers attempt to dance..."

He smiled happily and squeezed her hand in return before grinning a little bit,

"Would the bed be all soft and luxurious for anyone I have laying in it with me I wonder?"

Lilith smiled brightly when she heard that Darren had been doing lots of training since she had been away, it certainly showed because his body had gained a lot of muscle and she loved the fact that he was now looking more adult than before. He would be sure to slay ladies wherever he went in the mountain.

Speaking of slaying ladies, she wondered how Arra was doing, and if she had recovered properly enough to eat solid foods yet. It made her crack an evil little smile before relaxing and joining in the conversation again.

"Well he can just fuck off can't he?" she said with a disappointed tsk "Such a disgrace, can't even be bothered to take care of the guy he blooded. You can be my apprentice any day of the week Darren, you beat everyone else hands down!"

The idea of the two of them dancing in a sort of dance off competition in the empty great hall made her giggle a little bit to herself it was such a funny idea.

"I think that it will be a source of endless amusement to try and teach some of these guys to dance. Imagine trying to teach Seba to bump and grind?" she suggested with a wiggle of her eyebrows so that Darren would be getting such a bad image in his mind.

Raising an eyebrow Lilith grinned; "Darren the lady killer huh, you have someone hanging around I don't know about? Will she pass my inspection?"

Darren grinned a little bit when he saw her noticing the effects of his training. And yes, he did flex ever so slightly to make himself look slightly more buff than he already was. It was a totally natural response, honest! That and he had taken to flexing slightly around attractive vampires to draw attention to the fact that he wasn't the little boy who had been brought here by Larten Crepsley.

He was Darren Shan and he would be a great Vampire Warrior.

He laughed a little bit. He really had missed the refreshing nature of having a conversation with Lilith. It reminded him of when he had human friends and how they would be just as sharp with their wits and words,

"Damn straight he can." he agreed with a grin before shaking his head a little bit, "Yeah but if he leaves... I kinda have to leave with him. He's got all my stuff. Thanks for the vote of confidence Lil... can I call you Lil?"

He grinned widely at the idea,

"Oh god yes! I can just imagine Larten and Mika settling their differences... with a street dance battle!" he joked before turning to her with a sickened expression when she explained her terrible idea, "Why you do this to me?"

He laughed a little bit but blushed more than he laughed,

"Hehe... no no-one I can really take to you for inspection... she might not like me like I like her at the moment..." he admitted with a pale blush, "She's kind of an older woman too..."

Lilith smiled softly when Darren flexed his muscles and showed just how buff he had become while she had been away from him. It seemed as if he was growing more manly each time she looked at him closer, the muscles, the change in his facial structure...even the way he spoke and the way he held himself, it was strange but in a good way.

Pouting Lilith looked up at Darren with her biggest most expressive puppy dog eyes when she saw that she was losing the battle to have Darren with her as her apprentice. Hopefully this look would switch the tables in her favour.

"B-but I can buy you new stuff." she stated with a little wibble of her lip, before grinning, a small blush on her cheeks from hearing Darren's new nickname for her "Of course you can, I kind of like that I have a nickname now, I've not had one before."

Unable to stop a snort of laughter that was reciprocated throughout the table, Lilith had the most amusing thoughts running through her head right now and she only got happier when she saw the disgusted look on Darren's face at the idea she had planted in his head. Patting him gently on her shoulder Lilith grinned;

"I am just making sure that you're as hardened as you appear, I guess there are still some things that can fell the mighty Darren, and those mental images do the trick." she teased, sticking her tongue out.

Gasping when he said that the woman he liked was older, and that she wasn't into him right now, Lilith rolled her eyes; "You seriously want to be someone's toy boy? Well...I guess it's not like there's anyone around your age...hopefully they aren't like, seriously old."

Darren grinned a little bit as he thought back to all the training that Mika had put him through for him to reach this level of fitness. It had been massively, savagely, hard but in the end he had come out stronger. He had been tempered by the fire, as Mika had put it once.

He glanced back to Lilith and immediately he knew he was doomed.

He was doomed and she wasn't even angry at him or anything like that!

She was pouting and looking incredibly cute while doing so. But the puppy dog eyes and the slightly wobbling bottom lip meant that he was doomed. He couldn't look away no matter how hard he tried and the idea of denying her just made him feel like a massive asshole,

"I... I er... well I can get some personal stuff from Crepsley and stay if you wanted me too..." he agreed with a bright white pale blush, "Then if you would still have me as your apprentice Lil I'd love to accept the role..."

He smirked when everyone agreed that his idea would be a very funny sight to behold but he knew he might have lost a little street cred for flinching at the idea that Lilith had put forward. And seeing as how twisted and wrong that idea was, he couldn't really say the flinch wasn't deserved,

"Well come on... some things just go against all laws of god and man and that is one of them! I think I deserve a bit of slack for that one."

He laughed a little hit and shook his head,

"Well as Vampires and Vampanese go she's not that much older than me." he admitted before chuckling slightly, "Even you're older than me Lil."

Lilith giggled softly when she heard that Darren would go and get the personal things that he needed from Larten so that he could be her apprentice. Honestly she thought that he was being far too cute and she was loving the fact that he would do those things for her because she had asked, it meant that they were closer friends and Lilith liked that idea very much.

"Awww Darren I don't want to push you into anything, I was only teasing. If you do feel like you need to swap your mentors though for any reason do give me a shout, even if its just for emotional support seeing as he's not here right now for you." she stated with a soft smile "I'll always make time to listen."

Unable to stop her giggle Lilith shook her head when Darren said that the image that she had given him went against the laws of God and of Man. To be honest it was a deeply disturbing image, and the people that he was doing it to were faceless in this little imagining, to attempt to assign them roles would be too much.

"Alright alright, I'll give you some slack for that one, it was an especially nasty image." she stated with a wide grin "Especially for those of us who know what bumping and grinding actually is." Lilith tacked on as a whisper, giving Darren a conspiratorial wink.

Pouting when Darren mentioned she was older than him Lilith playfully flicked his nose; "Hey didn't anyone ever tell you its rude to remark on a ladies age!"

Darren blushed a little bit more when she giggled at the fact that he was offering to go and get his stuff and join her right now. Did that mean that she didn't want him to do that or that she just found it cute that he would offer to do that purely for her? He wasn't sure either way though and that was kind of annoying to him to be honest.

When she told him that she didn't want to push him into anything he just smiled at her happily,

"You wouldn't be doing much pushing, Mr Crepsley seems to be doing enough of that on his own if you catch my meaning." he told her with a little smirk, "Well then may I respectfully ask to become your apprentice on the grounds that my current master is a complete douchebag to me?"

It was a truly disgusting image and Darren was glad that it was gone from his mind for now,

"Damn straight it was! Oh god... just imagining that was enough to make me fearful of actually being rendered impotent." he muttered in annoyance at the image before smirking a little bit and winking back at her, "Just like we're the only ones who know what twerking is."

He grinned,

"Oh don't worry, the woman I like is around you age." he told her slyly with another wink, "So it's not that rude... is it?"

Glancing at his watch, he swore a little bit and stood up from the table,

"Sorry but I've got to go and train now." he told her with a small grin, "But don't worry, I'll find you again... my new master."

With a grin he left the room as fast as he could before his blush would reach nuclear levels.

Lilith grinned and raised her fist to give Darren a fist bump as an acceptance of her becoming his new master, and thought that it was going to be strange, she hadn't really thought about what she was going to teach Darren when she was his new master to be honest. Perhaps it was best that way, it would be more of an equal relationship she supposed.

"Alright then I expect to see you after your training so that we can have our first meal together as Apprentice and Master." she stated with a grin "We can have some seriously good times and discuss what we're both going to do together."

Running her hand through her hair to push it back from her face, unable to stop herself from pouting when Darren said that he had to go and train, leaving her so soon, Lilith thought that it was probably for the best.

Instead of planning this party she now needed to plan what the hell she was going to do with Darren when he got back, she didn't have a clue how this sort of thing worked, although she was glad that he was on her side with the whole modernising the Vampire way of life. It would mean they were on the same wavelength when they left the mountain.

"Alright Darren you make sure that your pretty face stays nice and bruise free!" she teased, sending him a wave as he sprinted away to his session he was late for, blinking a little bit Lilith grinned "Well, that was unexpected." she mused to herself, tapping her chin lightly.

Mika had been looking for Darren but he had run into the teen in the corridor. When he asked why he was late to the practice he had set up for him, Darren had merely shouted as he ran down the corridor. Apparently Lilith was back from her visit to the Vampanese. And that on it's own was enough to make his eyes widen and his heart soar a little bit.

Lilith was back! She had returned to him!

Entering the great hall, he spotted her sat down with some other vampires, vampires of no real importance he admitted in the privacy of his own mind. Grinning, he sat right down next to her, unknowingly filling the gap left by Darren,

"Well well, look who's come home." he greeted her happily before leaning in and kissing both cheeks once each with a wider than average grin, "It's good to see you again Lilith... I missed you, you know!"

He took a sip of blood from the flask he had brought with him before offering her some with a small smirk,

"You seen my latest student... not my apprentice or anything but I've been helping him out."

Lilith saw that someone else was coming to sit in the gap that Darren had just filled and she dutifully moved her books and papers back out of the way so that they could use the space at the table. When she saw that it was Mika however Lilith's face broke into a large smile that threatened to split her face in two, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a large hug which lasted for several minutes.

"Ooooooooh Mika!" Lilith sighed "You have no idea how much I've missed you! I'm so glad to be back and seeing all my friends again, I bet the corridors have been darker and colder without my tender presence here to warm them." she joked with a playful smile on her lips.

Letting him go out of the embrace that she had given him, Lilith took the time to look over Mika, he hadn't changed much she had to admit but he didn't need anything changing about him. He had always been nicely muscled and toned. Blushing softly when she recalled the way he had told her he had feelings for her, Starling wondered...if he might still do.

Now she had her head back in the right order, maybe, they could see what happened between them? If her blush was anything to go by, it was quite obvious she was quite over Larten and even crushing, perhaps, on the vampire prince?

"Well he's my apprentice now." she stated with a cheeky wink, accepting the flask of blood and taking a sip "I heard how useless Larten was being and decided to offer my assistance, and he took it. How could I refuse him, he's just the cutest thing!" she exclaimed with a bright smile.

Mika grinned at little bit at her enthusiastic greeting, hugging her back just as hard and for just as long. He had missed her after all and that included as a friend and as someone who thought of her in a romantic light. He chuckled a little bit at the length of the hug but gave no indication that he was going to be letting her go any time soon either,

"I missed you little Star!" he told her with a grin before chuckling, "Glad you missed me too, I knew you wouldn't be able to keep me off your mind. The corridors are, as you say, much colder without you in them. So are the people too. Without talking to you at least once a day, they all seem to get a little bit boring."

He looked her over and he had to admit that she looked damned good. He was afraid that the Vampanese would hurt her but it appeared that they had kept their word and had been good to her as he had wanted them to be.

And was she blushing?

He smirked a little bit and stroked her cheek to show that he could tell she was blushing, merely raising an eyebrow at her in askance. Chuckling a little bit, he nodded his head,

"Yes I thought you might take in that particular stray." he admitted with a small smirk before sipping at his the blood again, "Larten has gone off the deep end I say. I've been helping him but you're probably better for him than me."

He raised an eyebrow with a small smirk,

"I'll be sure to tell him that."

Lilith giggled softly when she heard Mika calling her by his nickname for her 'Star' it was perhaps a little bit obvious and a little bit cringy, Lilith adored it because it was something that she only let him call her. It was a special bond between the two of them. It made her feel good inside that he had missed her a little while she had been away, that was what she wanted.

"Well you have me back now Mika, and I will make sure that I talk to you as much as you need me to." she grinned "To keep that boredom at bay."

The sensation of him stroking her cheek, stroking her blush, and letting her know that he had caught her blushing, made Lilith blush harder at being found out. She didn't know why he was having such an effect on her, but she assumed that the trip to the Vampanese straightened her head out to a more, unbrainwashed state where she could realise her feelings for others.

Choosing not to answer his silent question, Lilith pouted slightly.

"I had hoped that while I had been away he would have come back into his own and started to engage again, especially with Darren." she stated with a sigh "How can he just leave him like that after flinging him into this world...it just baffles me!"

Giggling a little bit Lilith stuck her tongue out; "You're the second cutest thing ever, especially when you're hair goes all floppy like this..." she grinned, running her hand backwards through his hair "You've just been for a shower haven't you?"

Mika knew that Lilith loved his nickname for her even though both of them knew that it was cheesy as hell and didn't really need to be there. After all, she was much more like the bird Starling than the star in the sky kind. But he was happy with this none the less. Grinning a little bit wider, he laughed a little bit,

"Yes to keep the boredom away and to keep me and the rest of the gang around her sane and close to human." he agreed with a small smirk, "It's amazing how bat-like we become when there's no bright Star to guide us."

He loved the feeling of her soft, soft skin against his fingertips but he knew that he probably shouldn't do it too much. After all, she was blushing and he didn't want to keep on drawing attention to it. Otherwise she might eventually stop blushing! And he would not like that at all considering how cute it made her look.

He chuckled a little bit at her pout before shaking his head a little bit,

"You'd think so but Larten is a very petty man so I don't think he will be speaking to Darren again for a long old time." he told her with a small sigh, "Which is a shame since before coming here Darren saw Larten as something of a father figure."

He smirked a little bit,

"Well as long as there's someone cuter than me..." he joked before blushing ever so slightly, "Yeah I just got back from training and needed a shower..."

Lilith couldn't help but roll her eyes at how sappy Mika was being, she thought that he was being rather cute but then again, there was never a time when Mika hadn't been anything but sweet to her in the time that she had known him. It had been such a mistake to be with Larten when it was so obvious that Mika was the better choice, but her heart had been more than a little bit blind to that when she first arrived.

"Uh-huh, I think someone has missed me a little bit too much to be coming up with all of these endearments hm?" she teased, gently poking his arm "But thanks Mika, it means a lot to hear you missed me as much as I missed you."

The fact that he was still stroking her cheek made Lillith aware of the fact that maybe he did still have some feelings for her underneath. It would be nice if they could try something together but she didn't want to force anything, last time she was here that was the problem, so now she would just move nice and slow.

"Well I guess that I will have to be his father figure from now on." Lilith joked, striking an imposing figure and shoving her chin up in the air "Grrr. Look at me aren't I strong and a most manly man?" she grinned, flexing her almost none existent bicep muscle.

Smiling softly now, Lilith let her hand ruffle up Mika's hair;

"I knew it, you hair always goes like this after you shower." she grinned "At least you don't have to run off to suddenly train then, want to walk me back to my room? I still get lost in this place you know." Starling laughed, getting up from their seats and smiling softly at Mika.

Mika laughed a little bit at what she was implying but she wasn't wrong to be honest. He had been missing her and he was sure that some people would say that he had been missing her too much. After all, he had been crushed by her moving in with Vampanese and taken it as a personal blow until people started to convince him that it was anything but personal,

"Well I'm not going to deny that I missed you a great deal." he admitted with a little bit of a chuckle and blush before grinning, "I'd say we both deserve some uninterrupted time with each other in return for the sadness of separation we had to suffer through right?"

He couldn't resist touching her cheek even though now it was a sign he still had feelings for her, a road he had been down and gotten only pain from. But this time she was damned sure not going to end up with Larton so perhaps it would be safe to let his heart decide something for him instead of his head?

"I was about to suggest that I be his father figure." he joked a little bit before spanking her ass with a small smirk, "Oh very manly... totally manly... yep, totally not a hot woman here."

He pouted a little bit,

"You can stop messing it up any time you want..." he joked before grinning, "I would love to walk you back to your room Star... you know the general way to get there?"

Lilith smiled brightly when she heard that they deserved some time to spend together after they had been apart and that made her heart thump softly in her chest, how could she resist him when he was making such a sweet face at the idea of spending some time just the two of them? There was no way that she could! So she gave up happily and was glad to spend some one on one time with her favourite Vampire.

"I would say that was right to assume!" she grinned "When are you free my Prince and I'll make sure I'm around for you?" Lilith asked with a grin on her lips, she wanted to be able to spend time with him as soon as possible but as a Prince he probably had duties to attend to.

Unable to stop her gasp when Mika spanked her ass, Lilith looked at him and her face turned bright white with a blush. That was completely unexpected! She didn't think that he would do something like that in front of all of the vampires in the canteen...and so she was more than a little bit mortified in case any of them had seen.

"Mika!" she gasped, her blush deepening "Whatever has gotten into you while I've been away?"

Nodding her head, Starling linked her arm with Mika's and began to walk slowly towards her room, as soon as they were in some of the quieter corridors she felt like she was able to speak properly to him, without someone overhearing.

"Uhm...Mika?" Lilith asked with a soft smile "I just uhm...wanted to let you know that, uhm...while I was away I managed to get everything sorted in my head, and deal with all my issues, especially the ones concerning Larten. I wanted to thank you, for all that you keep doing for me."

Gently kissing his cheek she murmured; "I truly appreciate it."