Red Tide (Starling, Mika, Larten)

Starling had spent most of the day thinking about what she had resolved to do, she had not seen Larten today and that was how she would like very much to keep it, she didn't want to see him until she had calmed down, and she knew that each time she saw him she wouldn't be able to stop her thoughts wandering to him having sex with Arra, which he probably did do last night, as things seemed to be getting rather passionate between them.

Her mind was made up, the bad points of her plan were tiny, and she knew she would be able to beat the weak vampire hands down, she was strong, stronger than most believed her to be and it was all because of those special 'therapies' she had gone through with Desmond, at least they were going to enable her to do something useful for her. They were going to be useful in terms of beating Arra Sails into a bloody pulp on the floor.

As such, she made her way towards the sparring room, where she saw Miss Sails on the bars, high above the floor and she grinned wickedly, oh this was going to be fun. Seeing the woman notice her, she swiftly finished her other match, knocking the vampire to the floor with little effort, and Arra jumped down from the poles to land in front of her. The smirk on her face made her want to rip the skin from it so she didn't have to look at her idotic expression.

"Lilith, what a surprise, a vampire like yourself being in the sparring room." she smirked "What brings you here?"

Chuckling darkly, she picked up a heavy staff and twirled it effortlessly around in her hands, not letting her black eyes break contact with Arra's own, she could tell she was unnerving the vampire, and that was excellent for her, the best outcome to this situation.

"I'm here to challenge you to a duel. Just because I think we need to iron out a few issues." she hissed "I hope that you are ready to accept. I would be dissappointed should you not."

Arra gritted her teeth and nodded her head stiffly, be damned if she was going to refuse the duel of the woman trying to take her lover from her, however creepy and eerily strong she appeared to be, she had no fighting experience, and Arra did, many many years of it. She was confident she would beat this newly blooded vampire, without breaking a sweat.

"I accept your challenge Lilith Starling. First one to be knocked from the bars loses."

With that, both women jumped up and took their place on the bars, each of them with a staff in hand. Starling grinned wickedly, she had never been more excited to beat someone to death in her life, not like she had done it many times before but, this seemed to be the most satisfying occassion that she could have ever thought about doing it.

Arra started the fight, edging along the bar and trying to disable her by swiping the staff at her legs, but Starling merely jumped over the blows and landed perfectly on her feet back on the pole underneath her. As Arra became more and more frustrated she aimed jabs at her head, at her ears in specific to disorientate her, and one managed to hit, which caused Starling to jump up a few poles to regain her focus, her head reeling a little bit.

Gritting her teeth she decided she had given the woman enough chances and she hung down from her pole with her legs wrapped around it, jabbing and thrusting her own staff at the woman's head managing to get a rather satisfying yelp from her as she brought the end of the staff firmly down onto her skull, the weight of the entire staff and her thrust thudding down onto her.

As she swung down from her bar, dropping towards Arra she aimed a flying kick at her torso which hit, and Arra stumbled backwards, almost falling from her pole before she regained her balance. This appeared to have angered her even more and with her vampiric speed she began to jab furiously at Starling, she brought up her arms to take most of the blows, hissing as the crashes against her bruised and cut, even threatening to break the bone before she moved, dropping down, letting her hands catch the pole she was standing on, and before Arra could step on her fingers swinging herself around to kick her firmly in the chin, knocking Arra from the pole.

She landed several levels down, on her back very harshly. The crack was satisfying, but her job wasn't done yet, oh no no, she was still alive, and that meant Starling hadn't done nearly enough damage yet.

Jumping down to the level that Arra was on, she grinned wickedly once more, and as Arra jumped back up onto her feet, Starling used her own advanced powers and strength to aim a lightning fast blow at her cheek, knocking her sideways, then another on the opposite cheek, toying with her until Arra was completely boggled.

Starling seemed to have underestimated her opponent as she swiftly dropped most of the disorientated act and landed a harsh blow to her abdomen. To which Starling promptly stopped retaliating and pressed her hand to her lower torso, to her womb. It had struck just there. Pausing a few moments, Starling raised her head and growled viciously at Arra, how dare she strike her there?! How could she?! If she had hurt her child she would pay to the ends of the earth no punishment would be enough.

Furiously she stabbed and jabbed at her head, her chest, her legs, not caring for the cracks of bone she was hearing and Arra's failed attempts to get out a cry of surrender. At the last moment, Starling thrust another hard blow against her head, and it knocked her off the last level of poles, she having knocked Arra steadily down them until they reached the last level. She landed upon the floor with a thud, and Starling jumped down after she had won, a satisfied smirk on her lips as she whispered venomously;

"Does it matter who saw now?" she asked dangerously.

Larten hadn't been in the sparring room for the beginning of the match but he had been pulled into the room by the excited crowds of vampires who all came to see two beautiful women having a fight. To be honest most of the vampires were expecting something akin to a catfight. Especially seeing as rumors were flying around that Crepsley had slept with both of them in the last month. The news had made Darren stop talking to him actually but Crepsley was sure that his young assistant would stop resenting him over it sooner or later, even if he did seem to like Starling more than Arra.

The fight itself wasn't anything like he had expected it to be.

The vicious nature of Starling's attacks was something he honestly had not expected from a vampire who was newly blooded and looked so much frailer. He would have disapproved of such attacks but for a little bit Arra seemed to be getting just as vicious. Deciding that it was just part of the nature of this fight, he shrugged a little bit to himself as he wanted to see the rest of the fight.

After a particularly nasty hit to her abdominal area, Starling seemed to come alive with such vicious anger that Larten flinched a little bit. Then she savaged poor Arra with blows while she was defenseless before leaving her to tumble to the ground. Gritting his teeth in anger, Crepsley barged through the crowd towards the combatants,

"Starling! What the hell do you think you were playing at?!" he growled at her as he pushed past her, rather violently, to kneel at Arra's side. He checked Arra's vital signs and saw that she was dangerously close to death by the time two vampire healers came over to her to stablize her. Growling with rage, he pointed to Starling, "You monsterous abomination of a woman! You've damned near killed her you sick freak! Did it make you feel good about yourself? To beat her to death? You jealous that I'd rather spend time with her than one of Tiny's pets?!"

He spat in her general direction,

"I'm done with you." he scowled at her as he marched out of the sparring room to where the healers would have taken Arra, "If I never see you again it will be too soon Starling."

Starling turned when she saw Larten coming towards her and she smiled happily, thinking he was coming to check up on her to see if she was alright, her arms were in so much pain and her abdomen was throbbing like she had never felt before, it was nice that he was going to come to congratulate her for winning her fight. He would have been here to see just how strong she was, how much she would fight for his love and affection if it was in danger.

When he barged past her, knocking her to one side and harming her already injured arms she blinked, and followed him, she didn't understand....why did he not want to comfort her and look after her wounds. Didn't he feel proud of her for beating Arra?

Her eyes widened when he pointed at her, and the words that flew from his mouth hit her like daggers in the chest, each one tipped with a poison that would never make her the same again. Starling didn't understand, her world was falling apart around her, everything she had been told for months was wrong? Larten didn't love her, and he now hated her...

Abomination?
Freak?
Pet?

Her words caught in her throat, and through the pain she masked her tears, gritting her teeth, she wouldn't be seen as so weak in front of the other vampires even though her heart was ripping into tiny peices in front of them all. She had fought for him! She had fought to be with him...and he thought so lowly of her? He...he just used her for sex and then left her?

Hearing that he never wanted to see her again, Starling stood rooted to the spot in the middle of the hall and took deep shaking breaths, all of the other vampires were looking at her oddly, they didn't know what to say and neither did she. She might have been too hard on Arra, but they didn't know the full story and neither did Crepsley, nobody did. Even to them, Larten's words seemed too harsh. Starling saw Darren stepping out of the crowd and he tried to reach out to hold her hand but Starling jerked it away.

"Starling...?" he asked, anxiously.

Unable to keep back her sadness any longer, she let out a loud heartwrenching sob and fled from the hall. She had been used, by the one man she had loved unconditionally more than anyone or anything else.

Approaching her room she sat down on her bed and clutched her stomach, something didn't feel right, something felt off to her, frowning a little bit she lay down, and curled into a ball, she normally did this when she had period pains when she was human but...now it felt like them but 100 times worse. Whimpering a little bit as she continued to cry, Starling looked down at the bed and sat up bolt upright.

The bed was covered in blood.

No...no no no!!
No it couldn't be!

Sobbing frantically she stood up and looked at the bed, looked at her legs and put her hand to her mouth in shock, and dispair as she saw on the sheets, a tiny form, surrounded by the pool of red blood. Her life in a matter of a few moments had been ripped apart, and as she terrifed, approached the bed and scooped the little form into her hand, she felt a shift in her heart, she would never forgive Larten, or Arra for this...never. Gently she took some water and washed herself, placing the form into a small white towel as she did so.

What was she to do now...? Her love had gone, her child had died, and her sister had been right. If she had only listened.

Mika had come rushing to the sparring hall as soon as he heard about the fight and was able to get away from Arrow, who had glared at him for trying to escape the meeting of the Princes. In the end Mika had pinned Arrow to the wall by the throat and told both Arrow and Paris that he was leaving the meeting and if they tried to stop him, he would see to it that the Vampires only had one Prince able to stand under his own power or drink without the aid of a straw.

He had flitted to the room but he had arrived too late, the fight aready over and the crowd disappating. They were all whispering about a very brutal fight and something that Larten had said to Lilith afterwards. Mika gritted his teeth. If Crepsley had hurt her with his words then Mika was going to beat the vampire to death. Before he could rush off to kill Crepsley, Darren Shan had tugged on his arm to get his attention,

"Prince Mika..." he began, obviously very nervous considering it was common knowledge that Mika liked Lilith as more than a friend, "Starling rushed off to her room. She didn't want to talk to me after my master's very, very cruel words... she was wounded and crying... please make sure she's okay? I don't know where she is..."

Mika looked at the half-vampire for a few seconds before nodding and giving Darren a little pat on the shoulder before he flitted away. Arriving at Lilith's door, he once again found that it was locked. Having come prepared for this, he unlocked the door with the master key he was given as a prince, a key that unlocked every door in the mountain. As he opened the door, he poked his head round it uncertainly,

"Lilith? Lilith where are you?" he called out, concerned. If Larten had rejected her then he wouldn't put it past her to consider doing something drastic and stupid. It hurt his heart so much to admit but she was obviously in love with Larten after all. Slipping inside, he locked the door behind him again. Seeing her standing up by the dresser he saw that her shoulders were shaking with controlled sobs, "Lilith... Lilith what happened? Please just tell me what happened... let me help you..."

Starling didn't know why she bothered locking the door now, if Mika wanted to come in he would come in, right now however she needed him, she wanted him by her, as this was something she knew that she couldn't handle on her own. Her hurt was so great, she...she didn't even know where to start to feel better about what had happened, if she ever could feel better about it that was.

Looking down at little Olivia on the dresser she couldn't help but continue her sobbing, she would have loved to have born his child, a part of her still loved him, a part of her still thought he would come back to her, on his knees and beg her to take him back, that he would fix all the wrongs he had done to her. But the bigger part of her...knew and accepted he would never be able to make up the wrongs he had done to her, and he didn't love her as she loved him.

Allowing herself to pick up the small flannel, she turned around and walked over to Mika, her face had returned to normal, her eyes their usual light shade of blue, but she didn't look into his eyes, she felt so ashamed, so ashamed she hadn't managed to protect her baby, she had died and it had been all her fault. How could she live with herself?

Unfolding the flannel she presented it to him, the small form in the middle hadn't been cleaned, she didn't want to risk hurting it, but there was no mistaking what it was.

"I...I lost her." she sobbed softly

Starling didn't know what else to say, a crushing sense of grief was overwhelming her and she just stood in front of Mika, completely and utterly hurt, ashamed, and guilted, wanting nothing more than to get out of this hellish existance that was nothing like she had been promised it would be.

"I...I lost her...and...and he doesn't love me." Starling sobbed, this simple statement, summed up the root of all of her hurt.

Mika could tell something was very wrong when Starling didn't so much as bat an eyelash at the way he had casually unlocked the door and let himself in without permission. It spoke of her emotional state right now that it didn't get any kind of reaction at all. He moved closer to her as quietly as possible, not wanting to spook her or have her think that he was being aggressive in anyway. He just wanted to help her after all.

The sobbing seemed to have gotten worse and Mika wanted to rush over to her and pull her into a comforting hug but he knew that wasn't what she wanted right now. Right now she needed to tell him what was wrong before he could try and help her. Seeing her pick something up and carry it in a flannel towards him, Mika blinked a little bit. This was not what he had expected at all. He tried to looked her in the eyes but she doggedly avoided his gaze until he looked down at the unfolded flannel and froze.

Mika froze up completely upon seeing the dead baby in the centre of the flannel. It was clearly not alive, it was clear that it had been a miscarriage simply because of how small and underdeveloped it was. The blood on the bed sheets, and on Lilith, let him connect the dots and he immediately softened, the entire warrior's body slumping,

"Oh Lilith..." he whispered, if anyone understood the desire for a child it was a vampire. To have one and then lose it, he could not imagine the pain.

He gently took the flannel from her hands and gently laid the small form back on the dresser. Staring down at the sad little sight for a few seconds longer, he gently covered it with the flannel again. Seeing that the could-have-been mother needed him now, he pulled her into a tight hug to let her sob against his chest as he rubbed her back,

"Lilith... gods my poor Lilith..." He whispered quietly, a stray tear rolling down his cheek, "Gods I'm so sorry this has happened to you... you don't deserve this..."

Starling couldn't help but feel even worse when she saw Mika's expression, she really thought that she was going to be able to have a child with the man that she loved and everything was going to go well between them. How could it not? She would have done anything and everything to be with Larten, to give him anything he wanted whenever and however he wanted it. But that didn't seem to be good enough for him. If that wasn't good enough, then, what else could be?

When she was pulled into a tight hug, her head laying on Mika's chest, she closed her eyes and continued to sob softly. Starling didn't know where to start, she didn't know where to begin to tell Mika the horrors she had been through in the process of Mr, Tiny creating her, the way that Larten had been treating her, and the way she felt now, how could she begin to put this all into words? She didn't think that it was possible in the space of time that she had.

His reassuring touch did wonders to calm her, Starling just wanted some small comforts, someone to tell her it was all going to be alright even though she knew it probably wouldnt be.

"I'm ready." she whispered softly "I'm ready to tell you what I should have told you a long time ago, maybe now, maybe now you'll understand the reasons I did what I did today."

Taking a deep shuddering breath she wiped at her eyes, she wanted to calm herself down, she didn't want to be all shakey and stuttery when she spoke, but the tear she saw rolling down Mika's cheek spoke of the pain he felt at the loss of her baby, and she couldn't help the stray thought that maybe he would have been a better father than Larten, at least he seemed to care.

"When, Desmond Tiny approached me, I was dying of lung cancer, and, when he offered me this wonderful new life I jumped at the chance. He put me through these...these 'therapy' sessions which felt more and more like torture every time I went through them, each time a little bit of me was changed and altered to what he wanted it to be...but he told me, that I was made to be with Larten. He told me that I was created for the sole purpose to be with him, and that he would love me as soon as he met me...and that thought alone helped me through what he was doing to me..."

Biting her lip she looked up at Mika and felt tears well in her eyes again;

"But now it's obvious that was a lie, he doesn't love me, he called me an abomination, a freak...a pet." she sobbed "If the man I was created for hates me, if the sole reason I'm alive never wants to see me again...what do I have to live for?"

Mika could tell that she was hurting more than he would ever know right now but he wanted to be with her now, to help her in whatever way that he could. He couldn't believe that Larten could be so cold as to throw this woman away when she was carrying his child. It led him to believe that she hadn't told him about the baby at all or even her capacity to have children. So Crepsley's leaving her was based in ignorance but it didn't excuse him. Starling was obviously in love with Larten and had been since the beginning after all.

Holding her in the tight hug, he could feel her crying into him because of her shaking, heaving, breaths. Poor woman had her entire life crash down around her ears so he wasn't going to think any less of her for feeling this way. He could tell that his touch was actually helping and that made him want to smile a little bit but he didn't. This wasn't a time for smiling,

"Tell me at your own pace." he assured her with a reassuring rub of her back, "It's okay, I realise that you were more than a little bit distressed so you didn't tell me earlier."

He could tell that she was trying to pull herself together and she was doing a good job of it, all things considered. After all... how could you pull yourself together after losing a child this way? He respected her strength and will that she was even able to speak right now,

"You were human... and he changed you into what you are now? I can't imagine that was pleasant." he muttered before stiffening a little bit when she said she had literally been made for Larten. He slowly forced his body to relax, "Makes your instant feelings for him much more understandable. It was your hopes of being with him that helped you through it..."

He looked down into her eyes, wiping a few of the tears that had already run down her cheeks. Mika honestly hated Desmond Tiny more than he had ever hated anything before. He held her to him again, stroking her hair soothingly,

"Just because Tiny made you for Larten, doesn't mean that's your sole purpose in living." he told her quietly, "You are alive Starling, you have a choice. You can make your own mind up as to who to love and why you enjoy living. Live for yourself Starling... live for your friends.... live for me if nothing else, please Starling?"

Starling nodded her head, it was one of the most painful experiences she had ever had, she hated every second of the sessions she had with Mr, Tiny and yet she had been able to get through them with the thoughts of being together with her love, the man she was destined to be with, the reason why she was being made into the thing that she was.

"I heard about all of his stories, he told me everything about him, I couldn't help but fall in love with him, even though I had never seen him, and Desmond stoked that love, nurtured it and encouraged it. I would have done anything for him, I went through hell for him...and then he does this to me?" she asked, the question coming out in a hiss, she didn't understand why he would treat her like this, she hadn't done anything wrong.

The thoughts about him and Arra still burnt through her mind like flames every time she thought about them, and she shook her head, with a small sad smile as she decided she would move on with her story. She hadn't said everything that needed to be said after all, and it felt good to unload herself onto Mika, she hadn't spoken to anyone about this, and it was making her feel better.

"When...when Larten and I first made love together." she whispered softly, leaning herself into Mika's body "I woke up in the morning and he was gone, he left no note, and I went to find him, I found him talking to a Miss Arra Sails, but I didn't think much of it, I thought he must have had good reason..."

Biting her lip she forced down a sob and steeled herself;

"Then that night you saw me, I spotted them on a balcony, they were flirting with each other and he kissed her, the passion and tenderness in the kiss was something he had never graced my lips with, not in the same way." Starling explained "They went further and, and I couldn't bare to watch any more, I felt...I felt like my heart was breaking where I stood."

Hearing that Mika wanted her to continue living, for him if nothing else, Starling didn't know what to say, she wasn't seriously considering killing herself, she was too much of a coward for that. But her life would never be what she had been promised, it would always have upon it this dark stain, and that was Larten's fault.

"But..." she whispered "He hates me...all I ever wanted was for him to love me, and he just doesn't care!" Starling cried out "How can I live with that knowledge, would my love be good enough for anyone else or would they all treat me this way?!"

Mika could believe that Tiny would sink that low. The man, if he was even a man or creature of any kind, was regarded by most to be very wise and very powerful. And Mika acknowledged that he was powerful but the main thing that Mika thought when he thought about Tiny was simple; evil. He had basically brainwashed her into thinking that Crepsley would fall in love with her as much as she loved him. When she said that she heard all about him he raised an eyebrow slowly,

"Tiny knew all of these things about him?" he asked, it was very odd. Tiny hadn't spent much time around Crepsley. Meant that he probably had him spied on. He sighed a little bit as he hugged her to him, "Larten is a fool. He should never have hurt you this way because if he had any sense then he would have realised that you are the most wonderful woman in the world. No one could compare to you."

Mika could tell that just talking about her fears, about her worries and about her sadness, was helping her quite a bit. She was no longer shaking with silent sobs, even though she was sniffing and the tears were welling up continuously.

When she mentioned sleeping with Larten he flinched a little bit. He knew it had happened, he had seen the fallout and the pregnancy cause by it, but it still hit his heart hard to have in confirmed by her. But when she explained he'd left in the night to go and see Arra he gritted his teeth. Crepsley had once been a good man, despite their rivalry,

"So that's why you were so upset... he hurt you more deeply than anyone else could because you loved him more than anyone else." he whispered quietly and shook his head slightly, "He is the monster, never doubt that. The man cruelly broke your heart and didn't care."

He knew that she wasn't about to go and kill herself because of this but at the same time he also knew that she wasn't likely to be happy again until she had something, someone, else to focus on. Mika hoped that it would be him but honestly he was expecting his 'friend zone' to last forever. People often missed what was right in front of thim,

"He doesn't deserve you if he's found it in his heart to reject yours and hate you." he told her quietly. He rubbed her back gently as she cried, "Your love is too good for him! He's proven that he's not worth your time! No one else would treat you and your love this way... I know I would never treat you this way..."

Starling sniffled softly and she nuzzled her head against Mika's chest, she didn't think that she was a
wonderful woman, she thought that she was one of the most awful women on this planet, she couldn't have impressed the man she loved, and she had just failed in protecting her child whom she loved almost as much as Larten even though she hadn't been born unto the earth yet.

Wrapping her arms around Mika's waist she felt herself beginning to relax softly into him, she wanted to be able to relax, to forget all about this, but she couldn't, she knew she would never be able to forget what had happened, and what she had done as well, even if in her mind Arra did deserve it.

"I do not feel like the most wonderful woman in the world, I feel like the abomination that Larten said I was, like...like the freak he said I was." she stated, her voice cracking painfully.

Although she knew that Larten had broken her heart, broken and bent her out of her right shape, she couldn't quite blame him wholly, she thought that in some odd way it had been her fault, maybe if she had done this it would have been better, maybe if she hadn't have done that like that it wouldn't have ended up like this. Such thoughts weren't helpful at all, but, she couldn't stop herself from thinking them.

"That is why I was so upset...I felt as if I had been used, as if he and Arra were laughing about me behind my back, and I ...I just did not understand why!" she stated, emphasising those last few words "I couldn't think...of anything I had done wrong to deserve being treated like this."

When she heard what Mika said, her eyes widened softly and she stopped crying, was it perhaps true that he had feelings for her? She was in no position to indulge in the idea of being with anyone else before, but she had overheard some rumours that he did have feelings for her, and she was now only seeing that as being possible. She had been so blind to her love for Larten she didn't even think anyone else could love her.

"I have just been so sure, that I was made for Larten to love, that nobody else could. That I could never give love to somebody that wasn't him but...Desmond lied." Starling whispered "So...maybe I can, and maybe people do,"

Looking to her bed she coughed slightly and moved out of Mika's arms, she needed to occupy her thoughts, keep them off what she had just gone through:

"Would you uhm...help me change the bedsheets?" she asked, turning away and starting to peel them off the duvet, but she saw the duvet underneath was stained too "Or...maybe a whole new duvet would be better."

Mika could imagine that she wouldn't feel her best right now, what with how Larten and Arra had treated her and the fact that she had just had a miscarriage. If she had suddenly ended up feeling wonderful again just because he was here to comfort her, despite being thrilled, he would have had to question her sanity. She wasn't going to be admitting it to herself any time soon but being told that she was the most wonderful woman in the world would do wonders if someone else said it,

"I know that you don't right now Starling but I promise you... I'll do my best to make you feel that way again. To feel like the beautiful person you are and not all those cruel words Larten threw about." he told her softly, looking into her eyes, "You are no freak. You are not an abomination. You are Lilith Starling and you are a wonderful woman worthy of love and affection."

He could understand that all too well if he was honest. The only times she had spoken to him when not upset had been to get information about Larten. It really had left him feeling like he had just sold himself out to her just for one of her smilies. He would do it again in a heartbeat though,

"You haven't done anything wrong!" he told her, hugging her tighter, "Larten and Arra are the ones in the wrong here. You've done nothing that anyone else in this mountain would not also do in the same situation."

Mika found that he couldn't look her in the eyes at the moment. She had, no doubt, connected the dots and correctly concluded that he did in fact love her. He thought he could see some hope at the end of the tunnel though when she spoke. She felt she could love others? His heart threatened to beat out of his chest,

"I hope that you can find it in you to love someone other than Larten." he told her quietly, holding one of her hands to his heart, "I hope that you can find it in your heart to love someone else as much as you have loved him. As much as that someone else loves you."

When she asked for help with the duvet he hummed a little bit before flitting towards the bed at high speed. Taking the duvet, he flitted it into the hands of a passing Vampire outside the door and told him to wash it but never to mention it to anyone. He then flitted over to the room's linen closet and smirked faint,

"What patterns and colors?"

Starling knew now that Mika felt for her, she didn't know how she could have missed it before, she must have had blinkers on and only wanted to see Larten's affections, how could she have been so ignorant? No doubt she had hurt Mika in her lack of response, and she felt awful that she had mostly asked him about Larten whenever they had met up by themselves, although, other meetings had been more personal,

"Thank you Mika." she whispered softly, giving him another swift hug, she felt much better when she heard Mika saying things like that, it made her feel like they might actually be true "I hope that in the future I will be able to feel receptive to another's love and affection, although I hate to admit it, a small part of me still loves Larten, I don't understand why but...it is going to take time to extinguish that part."

As she was hugged tighter she felt so relaxed, and so...so loved that she couldn't help but feel the tears well up in her eyes again, being with Mika made her feel so much more calm, like the time he had been there for her after she had seen Larten and Arra kissing together. Although he hadn't known what had upset her, he had been there for her regardless.

"What would I do without you, Mika?" she asked softly "Thank you, for being here with me, for helping me. I will never forget it, I will never forget your sweetness to me while I was hurt and weak. I promise, if you ever need me in a similar time, I will be there."

Although her hand was tremoring lightly when Mika held it above his heart, Starling found it to be a good kind of tremoring, right now she was so confused and so upset, she didn't want to say something she would regret because she didn't think clearly about it, and right now, she didn't need the kind of comfort that she was having thoughts of. Kissing would solve nothing, it might only make things worse.

"It is a large heart, I am sure that when it is healed, it will have the capacity to love another with as much fierceness and strength as it did before." she stated, in a soft quiet voice.

With a small smile on her lips she pointed to the silky red sheets; "I'll have those, please."

Biting her lip, she looked down at the floor, Starling wanted to ask something but she didn't want Vampires, or Mika to get the wrong idea, she just hoped that he wouldn't take it the wrong way;

"Mika, would you...would you stay with me tonight, until I fall asleep?" she asked softly "Please?"

Mike smiled a little bit when she pulled him into a tight little hug and thanked him. She didn't have to thank him though. Even if it had hurt him to know she was so desperately in love with Larten it didn't affect how much he loved her. How much he was willing to do to make her happy, even at the cost of his own or anyone elses happiness. Perhaps not too noble but it was true,

"You never need to thank me for helping you Starling. I consider it my duty and my honor." he assured her with a smile before nodding a little bit, having already expected it. It hurt to know that a part of her still loved Larten despite all the shit he had put her though, "I suspected as much. You can't be just forget feelings like the ones you had for him. I understand."

He understood but he was not happy about it for obvious reasons. A part of him hoped that she would just forget about Larten completely but it was never going to happen in real life. It was nothing but a dream. He smiled a little bit,

"Oh I'm sure you'd be alright. I'm quite replacable they say." he told her quietly before smiling a little bit, "I told you, you never have to thank me. I wanted to help you and that you're happier is all the thanks that I need."

Feeling her hand trembling, Mika held onto it for a moment longer than was necessary when she moved it away from his chest. He smiled a little bit,

"The biggest heart I know."

Submitting to her request, Mika quickly put the new covers and sheets on the bed. It was done almost instantly thanks to his constant use of flitting. When it was all done he heard her requestion and smiled slightly, giving her a soft hug as he led her to the bed,

"I would love to stay with you tonight." he told her quietly, "When you're asleep I'll relocate to the sofa so it's not awkward in the morning for you but I'm still close... alright?"

Starling smiled softly when Mika lead her over to the bed, it felt nice that she was going to be able to have the capacity to love someone else again, and perhaps someone as wonderful as Mika, even though he didn't expect her love in return for all that he did for her. It was so noble that she couldn't help but wish she could save him further pain and return his love now.

But she couldn't lie, it would make it all the more painful if it was found out to be untrue, and so, she would have to wait until her heart had healed itself and maybe after that she would be able to think about loving someone else. Her heart would still be fragile, and she wanted to be able to be sure that nothing was going to hurt her again, even if it was someone who would never hurt her, she had at one point thought Larten would never hurt her.

How wrong she had been in that assumption.

Laying down on the bed, she snuggled herself in Mika's arms and rested her head on his chest;

"Yes, that sounds good to me." she stated with a soft smile "You're so respectful Mika, it's nice. Goodnight, and sleep well."

With that, she closed her eyes, and like the other night, she tried to loose herself in the feeling of his arms holding her as Lartens never did, and, the smell of his scent which was musky and sensual. Slowly she felt her eyes getting heavier and heavier as she dropped off to sleep.