First Time For Everything (Open)

[Azura]

The night was chilly, fall setting in and a cold front having hit rather early this year. The wind blew a cold burst of air about the park as the distant sounds of cars honking could be heard from the more bustling part of the city, dogs barking, sirens off in the distance. Yet in the area of the park, things were fairly quiet, which was good because tonight was a rare night indeed.

In the midst of the darkness, as a few joggers finished their final lap and as others made they way home through the park itself, a single figure would stumble out of the darkened area of the trees, onto the footpath. Though, unlike the vagrants that usually inhabited this area, this figure was small, petite and delicate looking.

There was nothing shady about her, dressed in a white dress which ran down to her knees, hugging to her little form and blowing gently in the breeze. The skirt fluttering around a bit, and for once, not being pinned down by delicate little hands, fearing that somebody would see beneath it. No, tonight, the innocent, sweet little red head was anything but timid and modest, at least not with all the alcohol currently coursing through her system.

In her hand, clutched rather tightly, was a half empty bottle of vodka, her second of the night to be honest. Truth be told, she had not thought it would take this much when she started out. No, she had assumed she could get drunk like every other person, but turned out, it took a lot more to get her there, and even now, she was just tipsy.

Raising the bottle to her lips, she took another drink, shuddering as it burned all the way down and lowering it as a little hiccup rustled through her. Though that did not discourage her. Instead, it just made her wish to drink more. She had never, ever touched the stuff. Not a single drop had passed those perfect, rose colored lips. But after everything that had been going on, after all the guilt she had suffered through as of late, she needed this. She needed to see if it was as much of an escape as everyone seemed to think it was.

So far....so good.

A little tune hummed past her lips as she slowly stumbled her way along. Not worrying about the people around her, because, yeah...she had it in her head she could take them, even though she probably couldn't right now....not with the fact she was very close to seeing doubles of everything. But, that was the point of this stuff right? To make you just not care anymore? She hoped so, because that was exactly what it was doing.

[Raven]

"I did not think you would turn to alcohol..."

A low voice would speak up, as a familiar figure would step out of the shadows, almost out of nowhere it seemed like. Dressed in his familiar black hoodie and pants, his hood up as usual, Raven would come to a stop in front of his guardian Angel. Although it was next to impossible to see Raven's face, underneath the shadows and the hood, there was pained expression upon his face at seeing Azura like this. Drinking to take away her guilt and pain.

"How long will you continue to subject yourself to this? Azura... Please, don't do this... I beg of you..."

[Azura]

Azura would stumble to a stop hearing that all too familiar voice speak up from the shadows. "Taken to stalking me now my love?" Another little hiccup given as she lifted the bottle to her lips and took another long, slow drink. Once again it burned its way down her throat and once again she would wrinkle her nose as a result.

Though as she leaned back to take the drink, her center of gravity was thrown off and she would have to stumble back a bit to catch herself and keep from falling. Finally, once she had caught herself, she would lower the bottle as well as her head, hazel eyes swimming as they looked toward that familiar hooded figure. "Why? Why can I not feel peace like everyone else?" She arched her brow, looking at him and then moving to walk around him. She loved Raven, but she didn't understand, especially in her current state, why he would want her to suffer like this. Because let's face it, drunk people are not the most rational.

"Go ...h..home Raven. It is none of your concern." She wasn't being snippy, she didn't even think it was possible to be that way with him. She just didn't want to worry him more than he already was, and clearly, being in this state was doing just that.

[Raven]

"Only when I feel I have to..."

It truly pained Raven to see Azura hitting the bottle so hard and so immensely, because he loved her more than anyone and anything else in this world, and it was taking all he had not to fly into a rage at those that caused her all this pain that she had been put through. Raven starting forward the moment he saw her stumble backwards, he managed to stop himself, because in Azura's current tipsy state, he did not how she would react to gestures he did that she was content with in her sober state.

"... Because you and I are not like everyone else. They have not gone through what we have gone through, suffered like we have suffered. Peace... is something we want to feel... But we need to be free... for it to happen..."

Seeing Azura move to walk around him, his arm closest to her would shoot out and try to take hold of her wrist with surprising gentleness, to try and stop her from walking away.

"No. I will not go home. You say this is none of my concern, but it is. I promised I would never leave your side and leave you alone, and I will not break that promise."

No one, not even yes, Azura herself, could ever make Raven even remotely consider breaking his promise. He worried about her greatly, perhaps even more than Legion ever could, and would protect her, just as she had done all those years ago.

"... Besides, home had always been wherever you are, for me. That place, is not my home. It is a hellhole..."

[Azura]

She would stop as she felt his arm shoot out, his large hand curling about her wrist. Slowly her head lowered, eyes falling upon his fingers before she would easily enough jerk herself free. Of course, this only caused her to stumble to the side, barely managing to catch herself this time. "Raven stop!" She pouted a bit, not wanting to yell at him, but at the same time...well, not really able to help it.

"Don't you get it? I just want to beeeee like everyone else." She nodded, taking out her phone as she brought the bottle to her lips once more. Yup, she was drunk dialing and nothing was going to stop her. Why? Because talk of being normal had spurred about thoughts of that thing she wanted more in her make believe "normal" life.

Who was she dialing? Simple really. One Mr. Cael Seran. Her fingers fumbling over the buttons until she managed to get the name to pull up on the screen. Lowering the bottle, she hit send, the hand with the bottle flying into the air as one finger shot out to silence Raven, the other raising the phone to her ear. When he finally answered, or when the machine did, he would be met with a slightly slurred voice, though unmistakably Azura...even in her current state.

"Cael! I don't know who you think you are...." Hiccuping a bit as she swayed in position. "....being as damn hooooot as you are...But you know...I can't be falling for you like that!" A little hiccup once more given, stumbling to her right and muttering something over the phone, though it was not meant for him to hear. "Do you have any idea what I want to do to you? Just throw you up against the wall and just...." She burst into a little giggle fit, snorting as she laughed and then struggling to regain her composure. "Technically I could throw you through the wall...but whatever. I am not suppose to like you this much......buddy!" Her tone getting about as firm as it possibly could given the circumstances. "So you just...I don't know...Stop being so freaking amazing!"

A firm nod. "Oh, and if you were here right now, I would kiss you within an inch of your life." Yup, she told him. Slamming her phone closed with a satisfied little smirk on her lips before taking another drink and then turning back to Raven.

"See?! I am fine! I want a life I can never have! Did you know that Legion has a wife and child? I did. But still I took him. Now look at me! Bound to man who could never love me on his own. Nope...took some freaky drug shit to make him love me. You know why!? Because I.....am a freak." She would nod and this time when she took a drink, she would stumble back and fall onto her butt with a little oomph escaping her.

[Raven]

Not surprised by Azura managing to free herself from his grip, nor that she yelled at him, seeing as she was drunk and all inhibitions had flown out the window pretty much, he would simply fold his arms across his chest and watch her pull out her phone and begin dialing. He knew how much she wanted to be like everyone else, just be normal, and to be honest, he felt out of the two of them, she had the best chance at blending in, becoming an average day Joe.

He? He had very little chance to, not when he was so immensely tall, he'd stick out like a sore thumb instantly. Opening his mouth to ask just who she was dialing, he'd find a finger shoved into his face, silencing him, as he slowly closed his mouth, his mouth pressed into a thin line, more so when he heard just who it was she had called. Cael Seran, the French prick. Oh happy days...

His back facing Azura, he couldn't tell if she was serious about actually falling for Cael or not, but as this was Azura, she never lied about anything. Bend the truth yes, but outright lie? Never. And while it did annoy him to no end that she had feelings for Cael, more so hearing her last sentence, which he presumed it was because he loved Azura more than anything, inevitably, there was nothing he could do to stop it, and though he was not happy, had grudgingly resigned himself to it.

Turning back to face Azura after hearing her slam her phone close, he'd frown slightly down at her, though his frown was still hidden by his hood on his head.

"... I only learned Pat-- Legion, had a wife and child, when she handed a picture of their daughter to me after my brain was healed by her blood."

But Raven knew Azura was anything but fine. If she was fine, she wouldn't be hitting the bottle like her life depended on it, wouldn't be drinking herself into a stupor, wouldn't be trying to drown her guilt and pain in alcohol. It greatly pained him to hear her call herself a freak, because he could never, nor would he ever, see her as one. Crouching down in front of Azura, his feet flat on the ground, he'd continue to look down at her with pained filled eyes.

He wanted so badly to pick her up and carry her in his arms and away from here, but was hesitant to, simply because he could not gauge her reaction in her current state of mind.

"... You are not a freak... Out of the two of us, you are possibly the only one that could ever be normal. Look at me, look at how tall I am. I would stand out immediately. Who could ever accept someone as insanely tall as I am? Nobody would..."

[Azura]

As she sat there upon the ground she simply stared at her legs sprawled out in front of her and at the bottle in her hand as the liquid inside settled down from the sudden jolt of her falling. "Stop frowning like that...makes you look constipated." Her words slurred and her little nose wrinkling slightly as she fought back another hiccup...only to fail, hiccup and blink at the suddenness of it all.

Then, he started to speak, and again she found herself growing rather irritated even though she really didn't mean to be. With another swig of her drink down the hatch, she would plant one hand into the grassy earth below her and shove upward to stand....or at least that was the intended goal. Instead, she got about a third of the way and fell right back down onto her butt, sufficiently staining her white dress with grass and dirt...Not that she really noticed or cared.

Growling lightly, she would decide that in the moment, and given the circumstances of her...well....condition..that cheating was the best option. Her wings springing free from her back, she would shift them back and forth a few times...just enough to pick her butt up off the ground so she could attempt to settle onto her feet...Which she did...Sorta. Stumbling to her right and barely managing to catch herself from toppling over once more. "Oh yeah...because you are SUCH a freak!" Sarcasm dripping from her tone, her eyes rolling to further emphasize the point.

"Father was just as big as you if you don't remember....and that...that other dude..the one he taught us about....Whatever his name was...He was a big, scary guy too. But people didn't throw rocks at him...." She paused, lips pursing as she debated her statement and then shrugging slightly. "Okay so maybe they did, but point is, people still talked to him, still treated him normal....eventually." She scoffed and threw her hand up, hitching a thumb at her wings as they idly moved back and forth.

"At least you don't look like a defective bird! Or...Or have this overwhelming compulsion to have to keep your word or lest you become so overwhelmed with grief and regret you slit your own damn wrists." She nodded rather firmly, her red hair falling into her face where she would huff and puff at it in a failed attempt to remove it from her eyes. "In fact...last I checked...you didn't have anything freaky about you! You are just big! Me on the other hand...I can just be strolling down the street and BAM bleeding to death because some guy I didn't even like is suddenly the new 'love of my life'.." Her hands making little air quotes before she would stumble off in the direction she had come from...having gotten turned around by all that tripping and stumbling and what have you.

[Cael Seran]

Cael was home at the time of the call, phone held aloofly in his hand dangling at a limp wrist as though he was waiting on a call or privy to the impulse of dialing it himself. And while Azura was probably the last thing on his mind presently when her name highlighted on the screen responding with the faint buzz of the vibrating phone setting Cael drew forth a curious glance.

Hesitating but a few moments he clicked the recieve call bringing it upwards to his ear and hearing her out. The muffled sounds and aggrivated tone of hiccups meshed with giggling left him with his own little drawn blush of surprise. Never had he really been 'pursued' to this extent, and certainly not by a girl he suspected to be anything but the type.

"Azura.. I.."

Click.

She'd had hung up on him by this point leaving Cael staring at the blankness of it all letting his gaze saunter off into the distance while his lips dangled askew searching for words of course which would never get through. "You cannot know of my despair." He mouthed to himself silently even though the call had ended moments before. The boy moving slowly to pocket the phone and simply lean back against his chair to adjust the volume as though nothing had happened.

[Azura]

OOC: Since Lloyd has become super busy with school and what not, and will likely be slowing down a lot, I have gotten permission to sorta carry this thread on and have him post when and where he can. Just so everyone is clear on that! <3

As she stumbled along, periodically bringing the bottle to her lips to take another swig, each one resulting in a scrunched up nose and a hiccup or two. Though after a few minutes, she would come to an abrupt stop, staring directly at one of the trees the lined the path, just outside of the light cast by the street lamps along the path, her head tilting as she swayed in a small little circle and scrutinized the tree as though her it were some sort of puzzle or strange, new thing.

Eventually though, her hand would lift, the one holding the bottle, and one single digit would unfurl to point at said tree, her brow furrowing slightly in a mixture of aggravation and dismay. "I have seen this tree before!" Her tone almost accusatory, as though something or somebody was to blame for her having seen this tree before. A soft growl escaping her lips as she staggered off the path and just outside of the light, toward the tree, her bottle free hand coming up to rest flat against the bark of the tree as she leaned in and used the other hand, still holding the bottle, to point to a knot on the tree that was missing a small strip of bark. "That spot. I know that spot. I have seeeeeeen that spot!" Hiccup. "I am clearly....walking in circlesssss." The last letter drawn out as she shoved herself off the tree moments before her head would have come to rest upon it.

Stumbling back, she would catch herself just as she reached the path again, somehow managing not to trip over the small edge created where the cement met the Earth below. Tearing her gaze away from the tree, she would take a moment to look around, look up, look down, and then look back toward Raven before finally pointing in the direction she had previously been heading when he came upon her. "THAT is the way I was going!" A firm, determined nod before she would begin her drunken sauntering along the path toward her intended destination, making sure to take a side step to avoid her big, burly friend, and downing a few shots every now and again.

She didn't say anything else, seeing as how a drunk mind, or at least her drunk mind, could only focus on a couple things at one time...and right now, it was trying really hard to focus on her intended destination. Where would that be? Well, she wasn't entirely sure...she just knew that she had an urge to go there, and she was going to allow her feet to carry her to wherever there was. Should Raven choose to follow, well then that was his choice...just so long as he didn't do something stupid like try to physically stop her. She was in no condition to be manhandled at this point, lest she put somebody's butt through a brick wall or something.

No, she was quite content drowning in her own misery or whatever else you wanted to call it. Her hand, which held the bottle, swaying idly back and forth when it was not lifted to her lips, and a soft little hum being issued as she strolled along. No real concept of time, and a very vague concept of where she was, she was just walking to walk, mind dancing around thoughts that she dared not share with another living soul, or else risk dying of embarrassment. Well...okay...so maybe that would have been the case any other day...but tonight, such worries were out the window. Nope, tonight she had none of the inhibitions that usually plagued her, that strong, unwavering morality that she held onto so firmly now flimsy and waning. The beauty of alcohol, as she was finding out, was that you just didn't give a damn about anything.

That point never more clear, than when her feet finally decided that she had reached her destination, leaving her to look up at a house she had visited only a handful of times in the past. Of course, none of those times had led her to the door, but then, that was because she was usually way too shy.

Tonight on the other hand!

Well tonight, she wasn't exactly thinking clearly, and so...very stealthily, she would maneuver her way toward the front door, finishing off what was left of her bottle, and making sure to toss it as far as she could across the street. Then, turning back to the door, she would to about trying to smooth out her dress as well as her hair, some failed attempt at making herself look more manageable, more.....presentable and much less drunk.

A minute or two given to this quest of self presentation before she would finally give up, assuming she looked as good as she was ever gonna look, and reaching out to ring the bell, or knock on the door...or both..(Depending on how long it took for somebody to answer.) Not a single second thought given to what she was doing, though God knows she should have been.

After all, what kind of girl showed up on the doorstep of Cael Seran's home, drunk as a skunk, with absolutely NO game plan in mind for if he answered the door?

Well....apparently this girl.

[Cael Seran]

The ringing doorbell would meekly draw his attention. Hues drawn slowly upwards to the closest of doors managing to glare at it and perhaps suggest through some telepathy that the pressence being made at the door would understand that he was not to be bothered at this hour. Cael was much too entranced in the television set playing out boring repetitious novels to which people were so easily drawn. To be fair he was bored himself but enough so that his limbs defied him, there was nothing out there from which to clasp at, no sense in daring against the outside world for adventure. His body just could refuse it. And thats when the knocking came.

Hmph.

A slightly little frown on his features waiting it out a little longer before a phantom sense of movement, his body being dragged along by a spectral sense dictating his actions across the bedroom and through the doors before finding himself down the flight of stairs and on the other end of a large door. Granted it was a little surprising that security hadn't managed to scoop up this drunk girl but once more Cael knew her secret, drunk or otherwise she was impecably strong.

The door would part and Cael would stand in the door way not offering a smile but rather glancing at her curiously. His emerald hues not afraid to trail up her figure starting at her feet and riding their way up managing to settle on her hues. She was clearly drunk, stinking of it, he was no stranger to the source.

"Hmmm?"

[Azura]

She waited, annnnd she waited....and then she waited some more. In fact, she waited so long, that she started to get a little bored and distracted with her own thoughts, her feet turning for her to move away...simply figuring that perhaps he wasn't home, or that he didn't want to be bothered. Even drunk she still had some sense in her head, that told her she might want to just walk away. But then, as if in some silent answer to her already wandering mind's questions as to his whereabouts, the sound of the door being trifled with would snag her attention and bring her back around to face it.

A slight hiccup rattling through her entire body and causing her right foot to slide outward just a bit, trying to remain upright, as the slight grass stains on her skirt would suggest she had failed at previously in the evening.

When he opened the door, hazel eyes, though swimming with booze and whatever else was running through her head at the moment, would fall upon him...instantly drawn toward his own captivating eyes. Though, it didn't take her long to notice the complete lack of ....well...anything...on his face. That slight sound escaping him coming across to her as him being bored. Perhaps with his night? Or perhaps with her presence in general? She wasn't sure really and would open her mouth to ask, only to snap it closed again as her hand came up to wag her little index finger at him, another hiccup causing her to jostle slightly, her nose wrinkling just a bit.

"Why do you have to be so freaking amazing?" The slurred words, and that soft, angelic tone creating an odd mixture of sound to leave her lips. Though he was given absolutely not time to respond before her hand shot out, wrapping fingers within the front of his shirt and jerking him forward and into her, her lips pressing firmly against his own in a kiss much more heated and passionate than even she could have imagined she was capable of.

Tongue grazing his lips, her hands would remain in place. One curled within the front of his shirt, the other on his side. Despite the passionate and fiery nature of her kiss, she did not make any sort of sexual advances. Did not start playing grabby hands, and did not slide her body up against his in a suggestive and seductive manner. Even drunk, she couldn't fake the skills she did not have. However, she would hold that kiss for as long as she possibly could, deepening it as much as he would allow, and then, once her lungs screamed for air, she would simply work past it and continue to kiss him.

When she had said she was going to kiss him within an inch of his life, she damn well meant it. This may be the only chance she ever got to kiss a boy she genuinely liked...her first ever crush...and she was darn sure going to make it count.

[Raven]

While it was true Raven did not look like, as Azura so eloquently put it, a defective bird, nor could he die at any given moment, he still was a big ass giant that literally towered over everyone else in this damn city. Everywhere he went, people stared up at him with their jaws dropped, or worse, made fun of how big he was, and it annoyed him to no end. Keeping silent and saying not a single word back to Azura, simply because he didn't want to provoke her any further, he would follow after her quietly, beefore stopping at the end of the block that Cael's house was on, staying well back and in the shadows, which was a little difficult for him, but he managed.

Taking a seat on the grass behind one of the bushes at the end of the block, hiding all but the top of his head from view, he'd just sit and wait here for Azura. He very wasn't going to follow her, but this way, he'd at least be nearby and be able to step in should the need arise. He just hoped he didn't really have to, because the last thing he wanted, was a more annoyed Azura on his ass. So here he would sit, wait, and stare up at the night sky, all while keeping his ears open for any sounds of disturbances issuing from Cael Seran's home.

[Cael Seran]

Cael could stiffle a laugh. Him amazing? Hardly, if he were more humble he'd scoff at the idea and probably encure a good tongue lashing from her but he kept silent. His eyes rather cold and distant a look that wasn't very appealing in any sense while he normally was a pillar of confidence, overtly so, now he was mostly just blank.

That would have to be cut short though as her fingers meshed within the front of his shirt pulling the surprised boy downwards to her level being forced into a heated kiss. Not that he particularily minded making sure to respond with as much vigor but for him the boy tried not to linger on it for too long. But that seemed against Azura's decision taking to deny him of air, deny herself of air. It was harsh because though she couldn't die he invariably could.

Hands shot to grip at her waist though pulling her in closer did peel her down so either she'd proceed to lose her pants at some point, or lose her grip eventually. It wasn't as though Cael was distancing himself, or rather that was very much the point he was drunk a tad bit himself. That past couple of nights in fact but that only meant there was a guilt inside him baiting at the surface.

[Azura]

Azura felt her lungs burning for air, and though she was still very much aware of the fact that he could die, and she could not, she had no intention of actually killing him. That would just be silly, she thought he was great. Why on Earth would she kill him!? But that didn't mean that she didn't lose herself, just slightly, within the heat of the moment, the passion of the kiss...especially once she felt it returned with just as much vigor as she gave into it.

Though it was indeed his hands about her waist, pulling down upon her, that would eventually pry her away from that kiss. Soft, hot breath rushing forth in a gentle pant as those hazel eyes looked up into his, still swimming with the booze she had consumed, but also with the emotions she felt. She wasn't entirely sure what to do about the latter, and as such, she would bite down upon her lower lip while one hand rose to drag delicate little fingers along his jawline.

"I just..." She struggled to catch her breath as well as to work through the haze in her mind to form the proper words for the moment. Perhaps being a bit more open and honest than she wanted to be, but not really caring right now. Leave such nonsense as that for tomorrow when she sobered up. For now, she was rather enjoying the art of not caring. "I just wanted....to know..what it would be like to kiss a boy that I liked...of my own free will."

Speaking softly, her body swaying forward and into his both as a result of her drunkenness and as a result of her desire to steal from him another kiss....though she refrained herself as best she could, having to literally bite down on the inside of her cheek to keep from doing so. "Should I apologize?" She asked the questions in earnest, because right now...she had no clue if she should or not. No idea if she had just committed the ultimate wrong, or if she had done something very right. But looking into his eyes for some kind of sign because up until she had kissed him, there had been absolutely nothing....that silly, childish part of her....the silly girl within...hoping that maybe, just maybe there would be now.

[Cael Seran]

Of her own free will? Cael's hues narrowed slowly in on her taking in her expression and sizing it up curiously. He didn't know the extent of her trauma only that it was enough to burry her within a world or fear and regret, pain and torment, much like his own self encased prison but moreso. To her or people like her they must look to him as though he were some spoiled brat, bred out of pride and priviledge. The boy would furrow his facial features into a frown his brows rustled with a bit of ambiguity trying to search for what he needed to say and coming up with nothing worthwhile. Ultimately he remained silent.

'Should I apologize?'

The words came somewhat rattling his frame of thought coming along the own words in his head as though they were meant for him to say not the other way around.

"No.. I just."

Cael's lips quivered going nowhere with that very same train of thought managing only to sputter between the ideal of keeping quiet.

"Thank you."

Cael would say making an effort to force a smile, though its genuine appearance might manage to fool her, Cael was a good liar. Without much of another word he'd step back inside offering no suggestion for her to come in or anything of it but left the door askew.