"Ok! Thanks!" Nori yelled after Gineja cheerfully.


“Thank you, but you do know I’m not going to eat you right? Nori might but I won’t.” He said taking the ice and putting it on his eye.

“Hey! I won’t!! You made me promise remember!!” Nori told him lightly slapping him on the back.

“Yeah, I know it was just a joke.” He replied wincing when she slapped his back, “You know that still hasn’t gone away, right?”

“Oops. Really? You’d think after 50 years it’d be healed by now…” she said trailing off when he got up to put his knife back in the bag, she stared at his back wishing there was something she could do about the gaping, un-healing wound on his back.

“Anyway,” She turned to the man who had given Seige the ice,” What’s your name?”

Upon reaching her apartment, Gin took her time in picking out clothes for Nori. A simple black t-shirt and jeans would do, but she brushed past both several times. Her mind wandered anywhere but back to the coffee shop. She wondered what sort of job she would find herself in next. Probably another pharmacy. But one never knows where fate will land them. At last, she snatched the t-shirt and jeans and dragged herself back towards Sade’s fine establishment.

A strange laugh came before Sade’s words. “I know, I know,” he said quickly. “Heh, I just…” He just what? It didn’t matter. They two were joking between each other. Another very strange tidbit caught his ears. A 50 year wound? What the… He nearly missed Nori’s question in his momentary astonishment.

“My name?” He asked, not realizing he hadn’t introduced himself, yet. “Mm… well, yes. Folks call me Sade.” He jabbed a thumb against his chest proudly. “I own this place.” Considering the shabby appearance of the place, it would take someone had bigheaded as him to be proud of it.

“Sade, huh? Ok. My full name is Norinitna Hijinna, fiancé to THE Prince of Night, or at least that’s what my uncle always called him.” Nori said, copying Sade’s movement adding a childish flare to it.

“Nori! Shush! You don’t need to bother him with those details.” Seige came back with his bag and sat next to her. “You talk too much for your own good. Someday that mouth is going to get you in trouble.”

“Well it hasn’t so far!!”, Nori stuck her tongue out at him, then turned to Sade. “Can I have a job here? I like it. I can help with lots of stuff!”

Seige just stared at Nori astounded by her complete ignorance and how oblivious she could be. “Nori You’re so dumb, sometimes.”

Sade’s eyes widened at her introduction and even further at her blunt question. “Well… I’m… I’m not exactly hiring,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I haven’t hired a new employee in three or so years.” THE Prince of Night? Had she been talking about Siege? Where was Gin? Wait… she had just left a few minutes ago. It was going to be a while.


Gin stared at the dress in the shop window wondering how anyone in their right mind would wear it. The obnoxious swirling pattern almost made her motion sick and there were so many frills that it had no figure. “Blech,” she spat. “And they call that designer?” Yes, she was talking to herself. It made her feel safe.

“I asked myself the same thing the other night,” a familiar voice announced.

She spun around with a huge grin. “Mark you sly dog.” Out of habit, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight squeeze. “What are you doing out here?”

“I was actually on my way to see you,” he said, stepping back at the same time she did. “How have you been Gin?”

Sade opened a cabinet under the counter and gazed dully down at a few bottles of whiskey. Gin would kill him if he drank while he was working. With a sigh, he closed the cabinet door. The spirits could wait, right? A sigh blew through his teeth.

Silence fell heavily in the coffee shop. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, letting his gaze travel around his frumpy hole in the wall. Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the counter on the back wall and sighed. Home sweet home. That to-do list could wait. Something about the peeling paint and cracked tiles made him feel… in control. It was his place and it looked like whatever he damn well wanted it to look like.

Gin suddenly burst in with Mark following close behind her. They were laughing and talking about cones. “I thought the last time we tried that we’d be caught for sure,” she teased. He cracked up.

“Yeah. I know it was chartreuse, but would a traffic cone worth jail time?” As Mark’s eyes fell on the two newcomers, he fell completely silent. “Dear god, you weren’t kidding,” he said over his shoulder to Gin. “Sade actually has new customers.”

“Sure thing,” Gin said, tossing the shirt and jeans to him. “And this is Mark,” she said, jutting her thumb towards him.

Running a hand through his golden hair, Mark took a few long strides towards Seige and pushed his round-rimmed, black glasses up the bridge of his nose with two long fingers. “Fasinating tattoos,” he said thoughtfully, leaning forward a little to look upon the marks more closely with lime green eyes.

Gin winked at Sade. “I thought I’d bring him alone just to meet this guy,” she said softly as she approached the counter.

Two fingers extended in a “V” as Mark said, “Yeah, sorry. No worries mate.” He put his hands behind his back, holding his left wrist, and took a few steps back with a nervous grin. Are they scars of some sort? He wondered but did not ask.

Gin leaned against the counter, one arm folded over the other and spoke in hushed voices with Sade. “Did you do fine without me love?” She smiled wickedly before blowing at a curl of red hair that had crept towards her right eye.

A sliver of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips at her entirely unnecessary and far from fitting pet name. “I’m still standing,” he murmured thoughtfully. A sly glint passed through his dark brown eyes.

“Don’t get any ideas,” she joked just as Seige announced his departure.

“Goodnight!” They said in unison; Mark waved, Gin turned her head, and Sade only raised a brow.

As soon as the door shut, Sade was quick to say, “He sure has hell better not be back in the morning. I’m going to need a few drinks to get over tonight.” He rushed to the window and flicked a switch to turn off the florescent “Open” sign.

“Going to the club?” Gin asked knowingly.

“Oh yeah.”

She nodded shortly. “I’m coming. Someone needs to keep an eye on you.” Mark shook his head as she turned to invite him. “Suit yourself.”

Unmired crouched five stories below the Contra Tower. For seven years and nine months, Sade had been a regular of its dimly lit corners and neon blue lights. He had succumbed to the pulse of its electronic calls and promiscuous nature. On good nights he had Gin’s company to keep him out of trouble and from sleeping with strange men considering he was straight.

The two stepped off the escalator arm in arm. “Behave,” she said over the music, the bass coursing through them. He only laughed and slid away from her.

Mark stumbled into Gin as a tall man pushed him through the elevator doors. “Sorry,” he growled. He looked around the hazy club and frowned.

“You okay?” She shouted. He nodded in response. “Come on!” Holding out a hand, she took a step towards the mass of dancing people.

Mortified, he only stared at her with widened eyes. “You don’t mean to dance, do you?”

She laughed. “What else would I mean to do?”

When he was sure everyone was out, he went back to his bag and got his lock picks out after making sure Nori was asleep again.

Seige went to the front door of the Mensten and quickly unlocked the door, slipping inside to find some paper to make a list of what he needed to repair the inside of the shop.

With that done he left to steal the things he needed , mainly red paint, tiles, chairs, cleaner, and a new toilet.

Once he returned with the things he got to fixing and cleaning.

“Mark!” Gin shouted his name over the heads of more than a hundred sweating, drunkards who practically foamed at the mouth for close quarters and a good fight. It was nearly 4 AM, and Unmired had gone above and beyond in raunchiness and insanity. The last she had seen of Sade was an intoxicated smile and a woman’s leg curled between his legs. Disgusting. He really couldn’t dance. At least not when he had more than a few drinks of rum or whiskey or whatever it was he favored. “Mark!”

“Here Gin!” He grabbed hold of her elbow and pulled her back.

“Thank God,” she said, exasperated. She wanted to leave; she hadn’t eaten all day other than munching on assorted nuts and crackers in the club. A dull spinning headache throbbed in her head. “We need to find Sade!”

“Right,” he nodded. “He’s slumped in a booth over here!” He took her hand and began to lead her through the crowd.



Half an hour later, Mark had said his goodbyes and Gin was dragging herself to the Mensten Coffee House with Sade slumped against her shoulder. “I—luv—you…” Sade’s words were strung together. Even his laugh was slurred until a burp cut through it.

“Oh yeah?” She snorted.

“Yeah babe.” In an attempt to look up at her, his head lolled against her shoulder. “You aaalways take care of meeee.” He practically sang, his voice reaching obnoxious heights she often forgot he was capable of.

“That’s nice.” She spoke hollowly as she fumbled with the key, jamming it into the lock almost desperately.

As the door swung open, Gin’s eyes fell on a monstrous tall… thing. A cry of surprise jumped through her lips, and she dropped Sade to grab a chair, which she brandished like a lion tamer. “Get out!” She practically screamed.

Sade was on his knees, swaying a little. His eyes narrowed, trying to focus on the huge man-thing. "Ooooh... Heeeey Seeeee.... Seeee... Seige." His hand extended, pointing at him and then falling to his side triumphantly as he finally spat out the name. “Yooou got taller—but—I’m—ooon the---ffff---floor—uh. Sooo… you—know.” He smiled stupidly.

“Shut up Sade!” That’s not Seige!

Seige turned around hammer in hand, his volleyball sized stinger ready to attack, the six inch tip able to inject super powerful venom, one drop of which could kill ten men. He took in his surrounding through his real form, his now puiplless gold eyes, his hematite skin glistening in the light. The marks had disappeared.

“Oh. It’s you, I’m sorry, the place was a disaster and I had to fix it.” He said lowering his tail while handing her the hammer, “Here let me help you, this would do more damage.”

Folding his legs underneath himself and leaning down to get eye to eye, he leaned forward. “I know I’m scary, Nori’s uncle didn’t call me the Prince of Night for nothing, but you have to believe it’s me, Seige, and that I won’t hurt you.”

Gin snatched the hammer away from the scorpion thing as she dropped the chair, feeling sure it wanted to kill her. The voice finally squirmed through the buzzing in her ears, and she recognized it. “S—Seige?” She lowered the hammer. Sade was right? “What the hell are you?” Her voice shook a little. She had known he wasn’t normal, but this was… too much.

Tossing the hammer aside, her hands fell limply, shaking slightly. He was still very tall, but now he… looked… different. More dangerous, that was for sure. And a scorpion tale? He most certainly could eat her. Kill her easily, she was sure. She took a few steps back, feeling for the wall with her hand. Once she found it, she leaned against it and closed her eyes, trying to sort out her thoughts.

With a strange, gurgling laugh, Sade stumbled towards the Cinsaid. “Hey—roo—rooo…” His lips moved, trying to form the words for a moment. He finally gave up. “Guessss—where—I’ve… been?” Reaching up with clammy hands, he grabbed Seige’s jaw and pulled himself closer. “I—wasss-aaat… the club-uh!” He belched loudly.

Gin shook her head and took a step forward. Paused. Took a step back towards the wall. Her chest rose and fell quickly. Words, Gin, words. Say something. Damn it, Gin. Speak! “Sade get off the floor,” she muttered to him before sinking to the floor herself, legs spread out in front of her and palms resting against the cold tile. The stupid drunk had already fallen out of the chair.

For some reason, it occurred to her that she shouldn’t be sitting on Sade Mensten’s floor. Her lips curled into a grimace, but she felt too dazed to stand. Green eyes snapping down to the tile, she saw that it was spotless and crack free. “Oh my God,” she whispered, running her fingers almost lovingly across the ceramic tiles. “Oh my God…” She was definitely dreaming.

“I could—eat off of this—shhh—uh…” Sade’s cheek was pressed against the floor, and he looked confused.

Nope. Not dreaming. She looked back up at Seige who was hanging up Sade’s license. Her eyes slid over his spidery legs and scorpion tale again. Then, she gazed with a knotted stomach at the wounds on his back. “What… what are you?” She demanded, her voice finally coming out strongly.

“Um—thank you,” Gin said. Before taking a sip, she gazed into the water almost suspiciously. When she finally swallowed a few gulps, she was thankful. It helped calm her nerves.

After a while, she finally rose to her feet, glass in hand, and walked behind the counter. Putting it in the sink, she asked, “A Cinsaid, huh?” She looked over her shoulder with a clever expression more usual and fitting to her. Back to normal, mostly. “We’ll talk in a moment.”

She went to Sade and hoisted him up. “Let me tuck this big guy in,” she said in a babying voice, pinching his chin.

He smiled like a schoolboy. “Anytiiime—babe.”

“Oh hush,” she hissed before dragging him to a door in the back corner and up some stairs. His weight bothered her little; she was used to pulling him up the stairs.

His apartment was on the second floor consisting of just a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. She pulled back his covers with one hand and dumped in the bed. “Sleep tight love,” she said gently, brushing a hand through his dark hair gingerly. He drove her crazy, but she was one to love her friends no matter what. She tucked him in briskly as he mumbled something before quickly slipping into sleep.

Once she walked heavily back downstairs, she quickly set upon asking Seige questions. “First of all, what is Cinsaid?” She wasn’t even sure if that was the question she wanted to ask. She wasn’t sure what she was searching for as far as answers went.

“I mean…” She splayed her fingers across her forehead for a moment, thinking. “I mean, where are you from? Are there more of you? I just… I’ve never seen anyone like you before.” She had walked right up to him, standing only a few feet away and looking down into his eyes. He was much less intimidating when he sat down.

“I’m… sorry about your mother,” Gin said quietly, looking away for a second. Dealing with death had never been one of her high points. After a short pause, she skipped ahead to another question.

“A hundred years?” Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “How old are you?”

As he lifted one of her curls and pulled at it, she wasn’t sure how to react. After all, she dealt with Sade who was more or less a 29-year-old kid most of the time. A gentle tug at her hair far from bothered her. Besides, Seige was sweet… a big scary looking sweet… Cinsaid. She decided not to swat his hand away in the end.

“Thank you,” she said, graciously accepting the compliment.