Tien kicked the door to the club shut behind her, shutting out the yelling of the bartender who spewed curse words at her like the spit from his lips. She scoffed, shoving her hands into her pockets and cracking her neck with a roll of vertebrae.
"Freaking idiots." Her voice was like thunder, mild in a sunset squall.

She fussed with the strands of her apple red hair before pulling a stick of gum out of her pocket and popping it into her mouth. She chewed noisily for a minute, stalking out of the alley from the club, her boots clunking against the rain-slicked concrete. The moon nestled itself in a cradle of thinning clouds. Back out on the street, she sighed a bit and pulled her black denim jacket closer around herself, hiding her white and red striped shirt from those passing by.

"See if I ever come back again, morons."

Nero turned the corner of a street, shoving his hands in his pockets. Human skin could be so weak sometimes. He stifled a shiver, exhaling out into the night. He realized he was nearing a notorious nightclub. The fast beat of the music filled his ears as it pulsed through out the street, drawing people into it's upbeat domain. Lights flashed and blinded his green eye's adjusted night vision. His messy black hair tousled in the slight breeze. He donned a dressy black peacoat, black slacks and leather black dress shoes. Nero tended to dress up when he was in human form. Why not? Dragon's didn't really get to wear clothes.
Once his vision altered back to normal, he scanned the street. Pale yellow light washed the streets from the dull street lamps that lined the road. Still halfway blinded, and half way annoyed from the mind-hurting lights, Nero didn't see the young lady as he neared her.

Tien pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number, still smacking on her gum. She held the speaker up to her ear and listen to the ring for a few seconds.
"Hello?"
"Hey, come get me."
"What am I, your chauffeur?"
"You might at well be," she snapped into the reciever.
"Fuck that, Tien, walk home yourself. It'll be good for your fat thighs."
"See if I get you a birthday present, whore." She hit the 'end call' button and shoved the phone back in her pocket.

She was pissed, yes. Who was that gaybo to turn her down. Wasn't like she saved his life or anything. Tien tried to blow a bubble with her gum, but it wasn't loose enough. So instead, she ended up accidentally spitting it on some guy's shoes when he walked by. She lifted her head, and her stinging yellow eyes found a black head and green orbs that were indirectly attached to those shoes. She raised an eyebrow, like he was the one to spit on her own boots.
"Sorry," she muttered, almost offensively.

Nero stopped in his tracks as he stepped in fresh sticky gum. Blinking, he picked up his foot, watching the long string of pinkness that followed. Sighing, he put his foot back down then looked up at the voice that had addressed him. He realized she had just spit this out, and managed a polite smile. He ignored her tone of voice, and replied, "That's ok. A little gum never hurt anyone. "
He replayed her conversation that he listened in to a few seconds before the gum incident over in his head. He frowned. Why would someone let a lady walk home at this hour? " Are you alone, dear?" He asked nicely, green eyes piercing , watching her every move as if she were under a microscope. He picked up his foot and attempted to scrape off the gum on the curb of the sidewalk under them. He didn't get much off, but he did stop the train of gum from following hims anymore. He made sure to set his foot down on a different place this time.

Tien twisted up her face again at the pet name, but kept quiet.
"Yeah, I'm alone," she said. "And if you were thinking about getting some, you can forget it, because I will ram my boot right up yer arse." She stomped to prove her point, the little shard studs on the toe of her shoes glinting in the sickly yellow light.

Her eyes flashed, defensive but ferocious. With the light behind her, shadows on her face, she looked like some sort of demon with fire for hair, ready to pounce on a potential predator.

Nero blinked, stunned. He opened his mouth then closed. Human males could disgust him. Dragons could never treat females the way humans did. The female dragons of course would never allow it. He wondered what type of people this red-haired girl was used to dealing with. Sorrow gripped his heart for her. He put his hands up in defense, " No, no. I was just concerned. It's very late. And you shouldn't be out with what scum has been going around lately..." He trailed off as he looked her over. His eyes quick, calculating.
She was so defensive. He pondered if she would be a threat, then decided not at the moment. But why was she so angry? Most human girls Nero had encountered were generally nice to him. Either attracted to his looks or his wealth. But this one seemed to hate his guts and think the worst of him. Humans were just so confusing.

"Yeah, sure, dude," Tien said, relaxing a bit and cracking the joints in her fingers. She brushed past him, pulling out a stick of gum and popping it into her mouth, chewing. Her hands went back into the pockets of her jacket and she continued down the sidewalk. The headphones around her neck suddenly screamed with muffled metal music and she hummed to herself, glancing back just once to see if that guy was following her.

His brow furrowed as she briskly walked past him. She certainly was different. And beautiful. But a different beauty. A fierce, wild and uncontrolled beauty. Different from the tamed pretty little things he was used to dealing with. He turned on his heel and followed her. He moved with a deadly grace. Silently, stealthy, and quickly. Something was different in how he walked, how he moved. Something as equally wild as he beauty. Every movement was precise, and too fast. It seemed....inhuman.
He quickly moved to her side, flashing her a grin. He looked to her out of the corner of his eyes. " Well, I'm Nero. May I ask for your name, miss?" He said in a warm, charming voice. He knew she could see his lips moving, so he ignored the fact that she was deafened by her music.

'Yup, this one's a freak.'
Tien sighed and since she didn't perceive that man as any sort of threat, despite his strange movements, she obliged for a bit. He might be useful for keeping the creepos away while she walked.
"It's Tien." Her headphone necklace reached a screaming crescendo when she announced her name. "And some might consider you a stalker, Nero."

A lovely name, Nero decided. For such a hard to love girl. He grinned to her again. "Well, that's too bad. Because I'm going to 'stalk' you until i see that you are safe. Where ever it is that you are going." He said, glancing at the headphones that were screaming out lyrics. He fought off a shudder, as his sensitive ears strained. He took his hands out from his pocket and rubbed them together, fiercely. He looked to her small denim jacket. A thought crossed his mind, " Are you cold?" He asked her, frowning at his own selfishness. He took off his black peacoat and attempted to wrap it around her shoulders.

Tien kept quiet, thinking to herself while he spoke. And when he put his coat around her shoulders, she laughed.
"You're a classy gentleman, aren't you?" She pulled the coat tight around her shoulders, forgetting to say any word of thanks. "But yeah. I'm a cold-blooded creature, so keeping warm can be a hassle sometimes."

She smacked noisily at her gum for a while until raising a finger, pointing down the road. "I was thinking of hitting another club. You wanna come with? I haven't had a good drinking buddy for a while and you aren't gutter filth, from what I can tell. How about it? On me, for being such a chevalier."

Nero grinned. She was starting to warm up to him. Finally. He nodded to her, "Sorry, that's just how I am. "He winked and shoved his hands in his own slack's pockets. At the mention of her being a 'cold blooded creature' He raised an eyebrow and looked to her again. " Cold blooded creature?" He asked, trying not to be too nosy. She smelt human, that was for sure. But he could be mistaken. "Sure! I'd love to accompany you to a club. Which one?" He said and glanced to her.

"Yeah," Tien said, grinning a bit, slyness in her eyes. "You could call me a bug." She rolled her shoulders a bit, breathing in just a bit. The guy's scent lingered on the clothing, drifting up unto her senses. He smelled like ginger and incense. A sweet and burning combination.

"We're hittin' this place called Sange. It has nice plum wine." She walked with him further down the road until they stood in front of a corner club with reflective windows and red neon blaring into the night with a voluptuous and violent font. She smirked and pushed the door open, walking into the bar that was lit with an earthy, green glow.

Kai nodded and walked with her as they neared the neon bar. Sange. he had never heard of it. He blinked in the bright lights as his eyes adjusted, only to be stunned at the green glow. She had mentioned plum wine. Earthy and interesting. He shrugged and walked in after her, scanning the place for potential threats like he always did. He made a mental note at the guy in the corner who sat alone, he looked a bit scruffy. Otherwise, the place seemed clear. He looked to her, waiting for her to decide what and where to go next.

Tien walked right up to the bar and took a seat, folding her arms on the counter after turning down the volume of her mp3 player in her pocket.
"Mazlle, gimme a glass of umeshu and whatever the guy asks for." She turned and grinned at Nero a bit.

"They have a lot of exotic drinks here, so take your time picking something out. And don't worry about cost, I've got it covered." She lifted the glass of golden wine the barkeep had brought her and took a small sip from it. The glow of green fluorescence in her yellow eyes was eerie, otherworldly.

Kai nodded and took a seat next to her, enchanted by her eyes. They seemed to put a spell over him. So....once again, his word was fierce for her. He glanced to the bartender and said, " I'll have whatever she got." He said with his charming smile to the bartender. He then looked back to his company. Why was she so different?
"You know I'm not going to let you pay, right?" He said with a chuckle.

"Shut up," Tien laughed. "I said I would pay, and I'm going to. People don't do things for no reason, mister escort-stalker Nero. Plus, I don't like owing people. So, you better let me pay." She drank a bit more of the plum wine, running a pointed tongue around the rim of the little wine glass with an absent mind for one brief moment.

"So, why were you out wandering the streets this late at night?" She pulled the gum out of her mouth and folded it up in a napkin, setting it aside. "I mean, I always go club hopping on Sunday nights, but the rest of the world tends to sleep early since work starts the next day."

Nero pondered what to say next. "I don't work on Mondays. My schedule is very.....free most of the time, so I do what I like." He said, taking a sip of the strange wine. He didn't mention that he really didn't have a job. When he needed money, he would get some. But centuries of stored money and gold seemed to last him when he didn't feel like working. He looked at her eyes again. They were so....fascinating.
Of course he wasn't going to let her pay. Somehow, before the night was over, he would slip what he owed her in her pocket or something. "Why clubbing? What are you looking for, exactly? " he said, interested. She was very pretty. If she wanted a boy, she could have one easily. So why continue searching all the time?

"That must work out nicely for you," Tien said, setting her glass down again and shifting her shoulders as she turned towards him. "I'd love to not have work on Monday, but that's the day most people are way exhausted, so they want a break. Thank god it's only for the evening, though. Still." She shed herself of his jacket, handing it it over to him. "I like to take a break on monday nights too."

Tien took off her other jacket, her red and white striped shirt looking a bit more brown and green in the light. At her back, there was a strange layering of her sleeves and the torso of the garmet, so there was actually a sort of oval shaped hole stretching across her spine, revealing smooth, pale skin.
"I'm looking for entertainment," she said to Nero, tucking her jacket in her lap. "Home is boring and this isn't."

Kai nodded along, listening to her as she told him about her schedule as he had to her. He wondered what she did for a living. He took his jacket back with a smile, and set it on an empty bar stool. When she shed the other jacket, something didn't seem....right. He spotted the oval, and became intoxicated by her bare skin.
Something about her had captivated him more than any other girl he had met. And suddenly, he wanted to be alone with her. Now. But, polite gentleman he was, this was very very out of character. It just seemed the girl brought out a..different side in the man. A side he was not used to.

"Ugh." Tien pushed her wine glass aside and then folded her arms on the bar, resting her head there. She breathed deeply for a few moments and then turned lifted her head up to look at Nero for a second. "You'll have to forgive me. It's nothing I can help." And as she went silent again, there was a cracking of tendons and something moved at her back.

Long spikes of bone curved out of that open space along her spine, until the flesh peeled back. Two minutes later, Tien had a pair of wings resting gently behind her, like a dragonfly's. They were a soft iridescent color, glittering in the light. She laughed a bit. "Must've been weird for you, eh?" Her face flushed, embarassed.

Nero watched her fall silent, schock and worry struck through him. He reached out to touch her, but then stopped. His mouth opened, wanting to say something, but he didn't. He watched in intrest as the bones split out. He wanted to help, or comfort her, but he didn't know what to do.So he watched, waiting.
When the wings were complete, he looked at them in growing intrest. "Well, that is....different." He said, with a smile to her. So, a faerie? Pixie? What was she? He knew she couldn't have been human. And this proved it. He noticed she was embarrased, and smiled. So she was capable of showing other emotions besides gruffness.

"Yeah, I guess so," Tien said, rolling her shoulders and sitting upright again. "Clarification: I'm a pixie. The wings come out every now and then without my conscious effort for them. But there's not much I can do about it. Don't mean to startle you." She took the glass back in her hand and drank from it a bit.

The papery extensions of her back waved slightly, making a gentle sound in the air. "So, what do you do to fill your time, Nero? Besides stalking people, of course."