Title: Shadows on a Rooftop
Rating: PG
Summary: A woman has an encounter from someone from her past.
Disclaimer: This is in no way related to any of my other works :)



She walks in shadows, cloaked in the night. She is a mystery and yet, is known by all. Her name is Natalia, but she's been known by many names.

Closing her wide silver green eyes, she turned her translucent face towards the bright white, opalescent moon, and basked in its glow. The corners of her lips were turned up at the corners ever so slightly, as if she alone were in possession of some world-altering secret, and the skin of her lips was stained ever so delicately red.

"Natalia--," a voice whispered, caressing her senses. She stood, alone atop the Fairview Hyatt, overlooking the city that was her domain, yet on the wind was a voice?

She stood perfectly still, perched upon the pinnacle of the edifice, the breeze ruffling her auburn mane, it's flecks of gold shimmering like diamonds in the starlight. She put all her energy into her hearing, and heard the very heartbeat of the night.

She heard the crickets on the street below. Cars throughout the city...voices in the hotel and beyond, but nothing that matched that voice. She opened her large eyes, and blinked languidly. She gazed out over the night, seeing the people in the cars, on the street, and knowing by instinct, none were who had summoned her.

Having just about resigned herself to a bout of lunacy, and nothing more, Natalia froze, with one boot-clad foot in mid-air. "Natalia--." the voice keened, closer this time.

Natalia jumped down from her lofty perch. "Who are you?" she demanded.

A silent and empty rooftop greeted her. Though Natalia had not been human for many centuries, she gave into a very human instinct and shuttered in spite of herself, running her slender hands over her arms, which were clad in a black leather coat.

Upon realizing the motion she had made, her anger intensified. Growling softly to herself, she threw her head back, and felt herself change. Change into her nightmare form, that caused bones to break in her face as she changed, teeth to grow, hair to lose its sheen and when the transformation was complete, Natalia was no longer recognizable.

"Come out, Child," she clucked, stalking around the rooftop, her boots crunching on the debris that was strewn about.

Something unnatural was afoot because Natalia could not longer hear birds or crickets. But perhaps it's me, she thought as she checked behind the last heating and cooling duct.

"Natalia," said the voice seemingly from right behind her.

She spun around, upon doing so, changing back, but there was nothing there, but a lone black hair tie, where there had been nothing before.

"What is this?" she wondered aloud, but she had an idea. ANOTHER VAMPIRE. She studied the leather tie intently. There was something very familiar about it

"Natalia," came the voice again, and this time was accompanied by a presence, and the crunch of shoes on the rooftop.

Knowing she had time, she took a deep breath, clutched the tie in her hand and turned around slowly. And promptly dropped the leather chord back to the gravel topped roof.

"Hello Natalia,” his voice washed over her like a warm wave, it's lilting cadence relaxing her, almost making her forget where she was.

"Hello, Jeren," Natalia said as calmly as possible. Jeren was to have been her life-mate. They were turned together, but they did not stay together. She gazed at him, feeling like a turnling all over again. She wanted to run her fingers through his think mane of golden hair, and get lost in his ocean eyes. NO! She pulled herself together.

"What is it you want, Jeren?"

"To make amends. To rule here with you, if you'll have me. I haven't found a place that I was content, and then I realized I didn't have you."

Natalia laughed, a cold sorrowful sound. "Dream on, Jeren. You don't just walk out on me in the middle of the Red Death when I was sick and very nearly died, just to waltz back in 200 years later. Bite me."

She spun on a heel and walked toward the roof edge. "No, never mind. Don't." And with that, she stopped off into oblivion.

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