Adjustment back to life in Sacrosanct had been rather bumpy. I had left without any further information, my mind panicked by the news of my parents, and I had never intended to stay gone so long. The studio apartment that I had come to love had been rented out to another and so I had come back homeless and alone. Still, my pallet at my shop was acceptable for the moment. It just meant that I could further my business. I felt an increasing amount of attachment to the tiny place merely because it had been a gift, or byproduct, of my parents, and I would not squander it. Their memory ate at me as did the words of the Coven. Their deaths had not been pretty and they had fought back but it gnawed at me to think about. Not to mention that I had heard, at the airport, a man jovially mention how another from Sacrosanct had come through recently.

So my arrival back in Sacrosanct was twofold, I suppose. Revenge and the need to find connection.

Dareios turns to face me with a grin of his own, taking his already sophisticated look into a much more roguish handsomeness. I had always found Dareios unsettlingly attractive. Perhaps it was because he was a vampire and thus always remained in peak condition - or so I thought - but once I had gotten over my wariness of him (he HAD flashed his fangs at me before, mind you), I was quite taken with him. If Booker hadn't been wooing me at the time then perhaps I would have dabbled less in business with Dareios and more in connection but I had been focused. Driven by my need to create a business. Now I was left bereft and lonely, without a single soul to call in my need.

For the moment I feel like the old me. His appraisal makes my cheeks redden in a blush and I offer a large grin in return, glancing down at myself as an excuse to not watch him doing it. At times I was shy and at others emboldened and in this moment I was curious just to imagine how he saw me. Truly, I was different. Leaner, harder, stronger. The past months had shaped me and cut away some of the softer areas that made me, well, me. My mossy eyes flick back up now to give him my own perusal. "Look at you," I say back with another wry smile. "You always are at the height of fashion," I add in a compliment, although I would like to say that he looked good in his suit.

He strides closer and I meet him halfway. My fear of Dareios had evaporated long ago. Add in the fact that I was starved for friendship - and more - and there was not an ounce of worry. I was safe around Dareios and he seemed pleased to see me. Not as pleased, I think, as I was to see him after so many months of struggle and fury. A tinkling laugh is given in response to his comment. "I don't suppose you call them yuppies at their social functions, do you? Please tell me that you do so that I might imagine the horror on their faces." My eyes crinkle up in amusement at the idea.

The moment his hand touches my elbow my own settles on his bicep for half a second before I step in and throw my arms around his neck in a hug. Perhaps I shouldn't put myself in such a vulnerable position, my neck being easily accessible, but those fears had long been put to bed. Dareios and I had been business partners, yes, but in this moment perhaps it is a tell of how long I had been without companionship for I considered him a friend. I hold that position for a moment, if he allows, and then I step back with a sheepish smile. "I am alright," I admit, unwilling to say that I am well because it is a lie that sits like ash on my tongue. My hands reach out then to grasp his own cold ones. "Forgive me for leaving before, Dareios. There was a family emergency and I... I had to go." A catch in my voice trips me up and I clear my throat, trying to push back the emotions that always threaten to swamp me when I mention or think of my parents. "I've only just returned within the last week and was planning to call upon you to explain." I search his face, hoping that he does not find too much anger for I had helped him in business and then left without notice.