The Wolf and it's Prey

Jaqu was standing in the court yard of the school before the first bell, looking at a cherry blossom tree. Mentally to himself, 'they may be the same tree but they are so much more beautiful in Japan.' he ran his fingers delicately over the petals

From behind him someone stepped close to him, also gazing at the tree. "Sakura...? Right? I think that is what they call these native trees in Japan.” Lark said quietly, watching the sun and wind move the branches in playful patterns beside her new teacher.

Jaqu smiled and looked at her. "Yes, that is right." his voice was gentle and the southern lilt gave an almost elegance to his words. "There are not many here as there once was. But they have kept their beauty."

Lark looked to her teacher briefly, then back to the tree. "Mmmmm...." she said softly, thinking to herself. “Well.... we should get to class don’t want to be late on your second day." she finished, turning to walk back to the school building. As usual she said very little, but what she did say always hit the point, short and sweet.

He looked down at the sun patterns on the ground and smiled to himself. He turned to watch her walk into the school. He knew her secret even though she didn't and yet there was something about her that he couldn’t help but smile over. He followed the rush of students into the building racing to get to first period before the bell rang

Lark gently set her bag beside her and slid into her desk next to a girl that was struggling with last night’s homework, desperately trying to finish before Jaqu came into the room. "Lark... I don't get it... help me or the teacher will kill me!" Lark shook her head and grabbed the paper. "He won’t kill you, I promise you" especially since he deals with Roslynn at work all day... believe me he can take it "Just try your best, or ask him"

Jaqu walked into the room stopping at his desk briefly to look at an old book he had placed earlier, a book from his child hood. He looked up at the class after flipping through a few pages in the book. "Ok, please bring your homework to the front and set it on my desk. May i remind you that unfinished work is the same as none, even if you don’t know the answer at least try something?"

The girl beside Lark meeped in surprise, and clutched her paper to her chest. Lark sighed and snatched the paper from her, bringing it to the front of the class. "Go easy on her if you can, she just moved here... maybe tutoring would help her." she whispered, glancing at the girl behind her before returning to sit at her desk, acting as if she hadn't just sprung to help her classmate.

Jaqu watched Lark for a moment but gave no indication of acknowledgement even though he had heard her. He set the girl’s paper aside from the pile as a reminder. As he handed out the day’s assignment he knelt down next to the new girl. "Is there anything you have questions about? I may be able to help." he offered with a gentle smile

The girl stared at him, shocked by how attractive he really was up close. "I-I um..." Lark kicked her foot out and hit the girl’s desk. "Oh sorry, ‘bout that... saw a bug" she said; giving the girl a chance to gather herself. "Um... yeah... I dont understand how to say verbs in a negative form at all no matter how hard I try..." Lark smiled as she continued; glad she could be of service

Jaqu gave Lark a knowing look out of the corner of his eye. He had been there before, he knew better. "ok then here...." he spent the whole class going over how to say the verbs correctly for negative and worked with her on each one in a paragraph giving her pointer and coaching her as she went till she had it down. As the bell rang he gave the girl a thumbs up and a wink. "Ok class dismissed. I want you wall to think on a project over the weekend. The project is on your family’s history and ancestry." he sat at his desk looking over the homework from the night before

As the class emptied out, Lark sat alone at her desk, still shuffling through her papers. "Um... Jaqu? Or should I call you teacher?" she began "I won't be able to do that particular project you want us to, is there an alternative for me by chance?"

Jaqu looked up from the papers. 'That’s right she was adopted and doesn’t know.' "Sure we can think of something. Is there anything in history in general that you are interested in?" he asked moving around his desk to sit on it. "And you can call me Jaqu like always." he smiled with a wink

Lark shook her head and gazed up at him. "You can wink at me in the bookstore, but school winking is off limits. It’s called jail time." she said jokingly, for the first time really being casual with him. "As far as history goes, nothing super interests me... but I would be interested in investigating the supernatural... hell Roslynn's store is like a walking library on it."

He laughed. "I’ll tell ya secret, think you can keep it?" he asked watching her

She shut her bag and sat back in her desk, looking up at him. "Sure, I can do that." she replied simply, watching him curiously

"I know more about the supernatural than anything in that book store could ever tell you." he watched her closely, listened to her internal monologue waiting to see her response

Lark's face was unresponsive; she continued to stare at him with her soft olive green eyes. "I won't say you may not have anything to do with the supernatural," she began, sliding out of her desk, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "But I don't believe in... God creepy crawlies as Roslynn puts it."

"I never said i was a creepy crawly. I simply stated that i know more about it than anything in that store. If you dont believe in it then why do a report on it?" he asked still sitting on his desk

Lark smiled softly at him, her eyes staring straight at him. "And I never said you were I merely said you may have something to do with them..." she said, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Because I dont believe in it is precisely why I want to do a report on it. Doing something about a topic you find difficult makes it all the more challenging. "
Besides, it will give Roslynn a distraction to help me out

Jaqu smiled and simply nodded at her. "Well if you have any questions that you can’t find answers to just let me know." he stood up and stretched before sliding his hands into his pant pockets.

"By the way Lark, you're 18, there for not jailbait." he whispered in her ear as she walked out the door

Feeling his breath on her ear she stopped, shivering slightly, before realizing what he had just said. "Ah-" she began before stopping, blushing slightly as she walked quickly past him, heading to the front of the school to sit and eat her lunch.

He smiled widely to himself. He knew that this could be a slight breech in the pact he had made with Tobias. He decided that he would not be going to the store today but had a few things to take care of. He walked outside to find Lark sitting on the steps. He sat down next to her. "I’m sorry if i offended you with that last statement or made you feel uncomfortable." he said looking at her

She turned to him, her usually soft olive eyes almost burning as they bore into him. However, when she spoke, her voice remained soft, if a little shaky. "No... It’s fine. I just didn't expect something like that from you is all, Jaqu." She opened her bag and pulled out a veggie wrap sandwich, offering a part to him. "Here... I know you just moved here... and I doubt Roslynn has been feeding you," she said, intentionally pushing the topic of conversation away from the event in the classroom doorway

He smiled and took a piece of the wrap. "What do you mean you didn’t expect something like that from me?" he took a bite of the wrap and watched her as he chewed

"Hm?" She inwardly sighed, wondering why he was tormenting her about this. "You seem playful and everything... but you don't seem the type to be so forward with girls without a reason." she replied. "Maybe also watching you with Roslynn who just oozes pheromones... maybe I thought you weren't interested in joking around like that is all." She finished her wrap quickly, pulling out a bottle of water. "Why did you do that anyway?" she asked her curiosity getting the better of her

He finished the part of the wrap she had offered him and thought for a moment. “Those that try that hard to get my affections will never get them. I am playful and very forward but i can’t really stand those who 'ooze' as you say." he smiled at her. "I was bantering back to your previous statement. Besides Lark, you are very attractive and shouldn’t be ashamed of it if someone notices." he winked at her again but in all honesty was serious

Her usually serene face scrunched up as she regarded him. "Just don't tell Roslynn... well I doubt she would care since all she likes to do is sleep. But, fine. I will accept your compliment, Jaqu." After she spoke a small smile spread on her face, causing her eyes to light up in a way they hadn't before yet, it was a true smile brought on by his compliment. "Ouch!" she shouted suddenly, grabbing her lower back. "God... I'm 18... Not 80... Why has my back been hurting lately...?" she pondered
As she grabbed her back, Jaqu would feel a flash of power form her, disappearing almost as suddenly as it had appeared

Jaqu smiled when he saw the genuine smile but it faded just as quickly when she cried out. "Would you mind if i took a look at it?" he asked, noting the brief raise in her magic

She blinked momentarily... "Um no it’s just..." she looked around at all the students in the courtyard. “If you are going to look under my shirt, especially after that non jailbait comment of yours... perhaps in the med room would be safer without people to spread rumors?" she asked with a smile, pushing at him a bit with a playful smile. Though her eyes still held a bit of pain as her back ached.

He nodded and stood up. He extended a hand to her to help her up

She ignored his hand, choosing to stand on her own but thanked him for the offer. "I may hurt, but I'm not dead nor too ladylike to need a chivalrous teacher." She led the way to the medical room, and motioned for him to come in. "No one's here,” she said, stepping behind a curtain, turning away from him. "It's my mid back," she began, wincing a bit at the pain stinging her, "Just take a quick peek, if it looks bad I can see a doctor."

He followed her into the med room and behind the curtain. "There is much you dont know about me yet Lark, I used to be a field medic." he said as he lifted her shirt up enough to see her mid and lower back

She sat perfectly still, her earlier behavior of blushing at his words at odds with his sudden movement in her space not seeming to bother her at all. "Ok then Jaqu... or shall I say Jaqu of all trades... did I cut myself or something?" Her back was unmarked, pure velvety olive, though magic seeped form her back in small waves, fighting against a lockdown imposed upon them.

He narrowed his eyes at her back, he could fix this and as he had promised to protect her from her magic till she was of age he should, but something didn’t feel right about it. He gently waved his hand in a circle over her skin in that area and weakly sealed the magic back up. Putting up the weak barrier, he knew, would allow that magic to continue to stir and release at times but with no pain to its host. "Just looks like a muscle sprain." he said dropping her shirt back down and smiling at her

She looked relieved and stretched, smoothing the wrinkles out of her shirt. "That’s good... this means Roslynn can’t make me work anymore." She rose and thanked him in Latin. "Well, I better head off, lunch is almost over and I have class, see you at the bookstore?"

"I have some errands to run, hopefully i will. If not and you want to spend some time together just call Me." he smiled handing her piece of paper with nothing more than a phone number on it.

She took it from him and opened it, noting the number to herself, "are you sure you want to give this to me Jaqu?" she asked him, looking at him seriously. "I know we are friends outside of school... but you are still my teacher here..."

"I may be your teacher's Aid, but to everyone else I appear to be no older than you and so I am not too worried. Besides you will need it outside of school anyways if you ever want to get ahold of me right?" He asked smiling at her reaching out to detect any energy of people coming near or may be close to hear them
Lark shrugged and smiled softly in defeat. "I just can't win against you can I?" she said lightly, folding the paper neatly before placing it within her bag. "Thanks for checking my back again; I'm heading to the store soon, so I guess I will see you there." She waved as she walked to the gates, turning the corner. "Hm, well at least it seems you are taking your job seriously" Tobias spoke, suddenly standing beside him

Jaqu looked at Tobias. "I take no job lightly. Not with the position I hold in Night World." his voice a little flat but not rude or bored sounding.

Tobias narrowed his eyes, and the air got suddenly cold around them as time once again as before came to a halt. "Jaqu, if you work for the Night World I cannot let you continue with this case, and I will assign someone else. If you are to watch Lark then you must tell me here and now your intention. Will you leave the Night World and join the Circle? If not, you will be dealt with accordingly."

Jaqu looked at him again noticing the change in the air. "I should revise what I said. The position I held up until I moved here. Currently you could consider me a free agent, but you must know that I used to be part of the Hunter Organization with in Night World. And what do you mean be dealt with accordingly? I have done nothing to jeopardize anything here. I have no connections to Night World as it stands now." he stepped away from Tobias, not in a movement of fear but tiredness. He sat in a chair next to a window and looked out at the cherry blossom trees in the courtyard again

Tobias continued to state at him. "Free agent? You know as well as I, Hunter, Snatcher, Seeker, Agent, it doesn't matter if you claim to be free-lance, once you join you are forever affiliated until you officially go through a binding contract. Besides... I can feel that presence clinging to your magic and consciousness still... Arianna Hunters.... that woman has always had a tendency to be where she doesn’t belong."

He looked back to him and smiled slightly looking at the floor. "Tobias, I never made any contract or binding to the Hunters or Night World at any point, you can check my memories to confirm that. I never was truly part of anything. I simply worked under Arianna for a few hundred years. And yes she does tend to get in places she does not belong. Arianna has always been a friend and companion, a mentor. But I am not hers to command by any contract, I did it simply as a favor for her, as a friend. Search my past thoroughly Tobias before assuming I was ever affiliated to them." He was not trying to be cocky or step on toes but he wanted Tobias to know the facts and the truth

Tobias gazed at him briefly, before bursting out with uncontrollable laughter. "Oh you poor poor naive soul." he said, shaking his head. "DO you truly think Arianna Hunters wouldn't make a binding contract with you? Even if say.... you don't remember it?" He turned and approached the gate of the school. "Until you make your choice, I will place a geis on you and the girl, you will not be able to be within twenty feet of one another without consequences. SO you better start thinking hard, Jaqu. I won't force you, but I want you to make the choice. I admire your strength and loyalty as a previous hunter.... but if you work for me... you will no longer be a Hunter... you will be a Snatcher. Let me know your choice by the end of the week."

Jaqu stared at him for a moment. He knew there was a connection to Arianna deeper than even the love he had for her, but come to think of it had it really been love or had it been something she had placed on him causing him to contract him into staying. He knew he cared for Arianna and wondered what it might be like if he ever returned to Sector 7 and whether or not he would be accepted back in. Hunting was something he loved, something he enjoyed, would joining the Circle be the same? Would joining blackball him from Night World forever? However he knew that as easily as denouncing the Hunters and joining the Snatchers would be the same going reverse. Having to stay 20 feet from Lark was going to be hard, especially since he was her teacher and worked in a shop of her friends. Sighing he dissolved into the air and returned to his apartment.

Tobias smiled to himself, running his hands through his hair. "Yes Jaqu.... believe what you will, I know your mind and heart will fill in gaps, and you will soon be ours." At that same moment Lark entered the bookstore, stopping to stare at her friend lighting a candle with her eyes. "Roslynn?" she asked, startling the girl. "Ah sorry. Practicing for when Creepy Crawly gets here." "His name is Jaqu, not creepy crawly." Roslynn looked up at her startled. "Wow... don't jump down my throat or anything bitchy like that." she said with a voice ripping in sarcasm

Jaqu stared at himself in the mirror. 'Perhaps it is time for a change.' he thought to himself. Nothing had changed for him in hundreds of years. 'I believe, sadly, I understand vampires a bit more.' he thought still looking himself. Using a bit of his axel magic he forced his hair to begin growing again. is hair would grow a bit more of an accelerated pace then a humans but not fast enough to freak people out about it going from the short he had had for years to suddenly long. He sighed as he saw the half inch his hair grew just from releasing the control on it from years and years ago. He pulled off his shirt and pulled on a low cut v neck collared shirt and appeared at the book store

Roslynn was still flickering a candle on and off with her small but steadily growing magical power, before she noticed him. "Oh, hey Creepy Crawly... oh I mean JAQU" she said with extra emphasis at Lark who was beside her, her turned to glare at her. Jaqu felt a sudden deep impulse upon seeing Lark to stay exactly where he was, moving no closer.

He noted the feeling but gave no indication to noticing it. "Hey. Looks like you are improving Roslynn." he smiled at both girls. Not moving any closer he walked over to a book shelf and leaned against the end of it watching the two

"Really? You think so?!" she asked, her tension rising five times at his praise. "Hah! I told you I could do it, Lark." Lark merely gazed at her and said nothing, instead opening a book on occult occurrences listed in the area for the past fifty years. "Creepy Crawly! Dont just stand there! Come and watch me in action up close and personal!"
Roslynn waved her hands dramatically making the candle flame disappear and relight many times, hamming up her performance. As Jaqu watched her with a smile, Lark suddenly felt a pang in her chest, and gasped softly, rising to go to the back room.

Jaqu looked up at lark as she gasped and took off to the back room. It was then that he remembered exactly why he had stayed a distance away from the girls when he had first gotten there. "Hey Roslynn, I need to take care of something. I’ll be back later." he said as he stood there watching where Lark had ran off to

"Hm? Oh no prob, no prob," she said, waving him off. "I gotta get more practice in anyways." She ignored him then, finishing her practice, not looking towards the back room where Lark had run to. In the back room she stood leaning against the wall, hands clutched to her chest, breathing heavily as if she had run a race

Jaqu mentally measured the distance from where Lark was standing and the door to the back room. It was 24 feet. He walked back to the door and opened it enough to stick his head in to see her. "Hey you. Are you ok?" he asked with a gentle voice

"Hm? Yeah, I must be more stressed out then I thought I was is all. Don't worry too much about me, I'll just stick back here and do homework for a bit and comeback to the front when I feel rested." her breathing had finally evened out, though a small sheen of sweat beaded her hairline, she had fought hard against the geis cast upon them without knowing it

"Ok, well I’m going to go run a couple errands, I’ll be back in a bit ok?" he resisted the urge to comfort her mentally kicking himself. He ran a hand through his hair and paused for a moment at the length before realizing that earlier he had taken the magic off of his hair, it would be shoulder length by the end of the week

She sat at a table and opened her book, pausing to glance at him. "Did you do something with your hair? It looks nice." she complimented, looking back at her book, turning a few pages

He smiled to himself before taking off. He appeared in the White Rose and sat at the bar, just waiting

The club was empty as it was still late afternoon, the bartender behind the counter prepping things for the busy night to come. "One blue dragon on the rocks, please Deidre." Tobias said from next to Jaqu, taking the proffered drink, sipping it gently. "I see you have been around Lark since I cast the geis on you both... how was that?" He asked casually

Jaqu didn’t look at him; he was used to his smell now and tone of voice and energy that he could practically anticipate his actions. "Didn’t seem to affect me much. Lark on the other hand seemed to have a moment of an issue, but she got over it quickly." he said just as casually

"Hmmmm I see..." he said with a hint of curiosity to his voice.” I wonder if it means the geis has actually accepted you...?" he thought to himself. "No matter. Just wanted to see if you had changed your mind since our little chat this morning,"

"accepted me?" he asked with a slight tone of curiosity, this time looking at him out of the corner of his eye as he sipped on a glass of water

Tobias ignored his remark and looked at him again. "If you still have no reply, Jaqu... I shall take my leave." He downed his drink and tossed a wad of bills to Deidre. "Keep the change, doll" he said with a flirtatious grin, before rising from the stool

"Sit Tobias, I am not done." he said while he stirred his water with the straw

Tobias grinned wider, settling back in his bar stool. "Really? Well excuse my rudeness at trying to leave early"

"If you answer a couple questions for me I will give you my answer, based on the answer to the questions." his voice didn’t waver or change much other than the southern lilt disappeared and his words were hinted with a slight Japanese accent

"I see, that seems fair enough, Jaqu." he replied, turning to face him in his stool. "Ask away, and I will answer completely honestly."

"What did you mean earlier about it accepting me? I dont know much honestly about geis." he asked being honest in return to Tobias's agreement to be honest

Tobias smiled wider this time. "A geis is a magic spell of binding, it can be used to link people together, take them apart... it forces an agreement between the caster, and the castee. The one I cast on you and Lark was to keep you apart by a certain degree, if that geis is breached, there is pain inflicted on those who are under its spell. But, if one of the party seems to accept the other being close to them, the pain won’t be as high for them... and since I casted it on the both of you, since you didn’t feel pain upon being close to her, then somewhere unconsciously her magical self accepts you being near to her."

Jaqu nodded and noted it. To him this bit of information was good to hold onto for his training later. "My next questions then. You agreed to train me, does that mean I must be part of the Circle?" he asked sipping on the water a bit more, he still had not looked at Tobias since he sat back down

"Yes. I will not train you if you are not a part of the circle. Given your parentage, I am sure you can manage enough on your own... but there will be times when guidance will help you greatly.” He watched him intently, looking for any reaction to his conversations

Jaqu simply nodded. "I see. Then I must ask you, why did you agree to train me? And why have you asked me to look after Lark before I was even part of your group when you already had someone on her?" he asked a few a questions this time hoping to find out more quicker

"I agreed to train you only if you fulfill the conditions, and because a dark wizard running around untrained with magic leaking at will is dangerous for everyone, human and nonhuman alike. Besides....” He paused and smiled. “I think you and Lark have a future together in some way... my magic feels the magic within you two call to one another, it is interesting that her magic only started to leak through her seal after coming into contact with you, so it seems fair to place the one responsible for it in charge of her, yes? I am a fair man after all."

Again Jaqu simply nodded. He was silent for a few minutes pondering all that he had gathered. He too had felt the pull between them as well. Slowly he was losing the love for Arianna the more he was around her for some reason, perhaps Tobias was correct.

"Well!" he said with flair almost reminiscent of Roslynn. "That’s all for today folks. No answer? Then no more questions!" he rose then, and waved at him. "The Night World has no idea what they play with in regards to dark wizards... just because a little wolf girl is in cahoots with the dark wizard Christopher means nothing. If you want to really grow... then you will join our side" he said darkly, before heading to the door

Jaqu stood up suddenly looking after Tobias. "I said I would give you my answer. Are you so quick to leave without?" he asked. his voice was deep now, and held not only the wolf magic in every word but the tiniest tiniest hint of the wizard magic that stirred deep inside of him

there we go Tobias thought to himself, just a little push "well, well, no need to get hasty But I am a busy man as you know, I dont have time to sit around drinking cordially with people who can’t seem to give me a straight answer." he said kindly, leaning against the doorframe as he watched him

Jaqu narrowed his eyes at Tobias. 'Cocky shit' he thought to himself. "I will join the Circle on the condition that when I choose to leave you freely let me and remove the Bind as well as Lark if she chooses. I also want you to remove the geis." 'I hate seeing people suffer because of me' he thought to himself as his fists clenched at his sides

Tobias considered him for a moment. "No, once you join... you join. There are no second chances, you will be bound to our organization, and can never return to Night World or another. That is the condition"

Jaqu stared at him blankly. 'Is it worth losing everything?' he thought to himself. Could he teach himself? Could he take Lark with him and lift the caging on her magic without Tobias's help? What would Arianna think? "Then
I must consider this deeper. Grant me a few moments." it took everything in his power to control the walls as he reached out gently to Arianna's mind. "I love you. Never forget that or me. Bye." he said to her mentally

In her office, Arianna almost jumped out of her seat. "Jaqu!?" she cried mentally, only hitting a wall. "Jaqu! Jaqu! Where are you?" she asked frantically, surprised that after being missing for nearly a month he had suddenly spoke to her. "So.... do you have a decision ready for me, Jaqu?" Tobias asked him, dark eyes watching him

Jaqu looked up at him again. "Will you remove the geis if I join you?" he asked watching him with cold eyes. "For a wizard of the light you can be rather....dark." he whispered under his breath

Tobias grinned widely, his eyes narrowing. "Just because I am of the light, does not mean anything" he said intensely, waving a hand. "I shall remove this spell if you do join, this is a promise."

He breathed deeply. The connection the Night World had been weakening over the past month already, it was going to be painful but he felt that it was something that he needed to do. A change. He looked at him again, "done." he said extending a hand

"Perfect," He replied, reaching to take his hand, when he touched it a brief flash of pain passed up his arm, and when Tobias pulled away Jaqu saw blood on his palm. "Blood tied contracts, it is not just yours but mine as well, I must keep my end of the bargain to train you, teach you and protect you as one of my allies in the Circle. You will be with the Snatchers and the Dark Magic department; your new manager will call you when she is ready. Oh... the geis is lifted as well, which is perfect timing since little Lark and her friends are about to arrive." He vanished after that, disappearing right as Roslynn drug Lark through the door. "See! I told you we could get in now!"

Lark looked towards Jaqu and the strange man she had never seen before, and nodded in response to his wave. She glanced at Roslyn and asked her what her plans were. "To dance of course, silly Lark, and who knows... maybe not go home tonight" "Wh-what!?" Lark began to protest, but only saw an empty space where Roslyn had vanished into the newly forming crowd in the club. She made a brief look of distaste and gave up, approaching Tobias and Jaqu "Hi, Jaqu," she said softly, glancing curiously at Tobias.

"Hey Lark. Wasn’t expecting you two to come out tonight." he said smiling wider at her. For some reason this girl was pulling him to her deeper and deeper every time he saw her, and the strange part, he didn’t care one bit. He kind of glanced at Tobias as Lark did

"Well you know Roslynn, she goes where the creepy crawlies are." she commented, running her hands through her hair to pull it into a messy ponytail at the base of her neck. "Friend of yours?" she asked, looking at Tobias again. Something seemed different about Jaqu today... but she wasn’t able to place her finger on it exactly... he seemed.... as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"More like a colleague." he said casually. He smiled at her again. "Care to dance? Or is it too weird to dance with your teacher?" he teased winking at her and extending his hand to her. Pretty much ignoring Tobias now

Lark thought about his request for a moment and took his offered hand. "If my teacher has already called me non jailbait, flirted with me and seen my naked back, I suppose one little dance won’t hurt" She began to head to the dance floor, hoping this time that their previous dance session where he had taught her how to move to a beat would make her look more graceful instead of like a flailing zombie

Jaqu smiled and walked with her to the dance floor. He moved with her to the beat, swaying and turning, spinning. He tried to stay at her pace
"You’re doing much better this time."

"Well... I have always tended to learn things fast, one time is usually enough for me." she replied, spinning once, rolling her hips from side to side with ease and grace. “You came from Japan, didn’t you?" she asked him. "I overheard two teachers talking about the young man from Japan. Why would you come here of all places from such an exotic place?"

"Well sometimes you have to change things up a bit in life. When you have lived somewhere for so long it no longer seems exotic." he smiled keeping pace with her

"Mmm I suppose its each to their own then. " she responded, swirling around him in a circle before coming to dance in front of him again. She had come to the club in skinny jeans and a black tank, simple but striking on her small frame. As she began to start to dance when the song shifted she froze, wrapping her arms around herself and wincing. "Sorry.... I... I think I need to go sit..."

Jaqu looked at her surprised for a moment. What was going on? "Ok. Let me help you." he wrapped an arm around her carefully and walked with her to a quiet booth, he glanced at Tobias for a moment as they passed him

He remained seated at the bar, not looking towards them even once as they passed. "Sorry about that...” she said, settling down with a look of relief on her features. “I definitely think I tore something in my back... though I am careful..." she ran her hand along her lower back, trying to see if anything seemed out of place. Across the way Tobias rose and was on his phone. "He has been processed officially, and all ties have been cut with Night World... they won’t be getting him back either"

Jaqu looked at Tobias as he overheard his conversation. Something about the way he said that made him a little weary. He looked back at Lark. "I told you it looked like a pulled muscle. Perhaps asking you to dance was a bit reckless. Let me see." he sat next to her to block the view of her from anywhere and lifted the back of her shirt. 'Thought I had made the seal a bit stronger.' he thought to himself. He ran his hand over her back again sealing it a bit tighter this time. "Any better?" he asked smiling at her

Lark sat at ease as he checked her back, which had begun to leak even more magic since he had resealed it this morning. "Yeah... I feel a little better." She said, once his new seal took hold. "I'm only 18; maybe I should work out more often to keep my back from getting cramps. SO dont feel bad about asking me to dance, it wasn’t your fault, Jaqu." As she spoke to him she felt her chest tighten again but not in pain. The hell? She asked herself. She usually left men alone in general, but for some reason Jaqu made her want to venture out and do more, to learn about the crazy occult like her friend... and when he touched her... she felt safe leave it, Lark she said to herself, pulling her shirt back down. "Thanks again"