welcome!

[embry alyssa st. clair]

Embry grinned happily over at Mirko. He was light hearted and didn’t seem full of himself or sure of himself in that in-your-face sort of way that could be overbearing. It was more of just an ease about him that told you he was sure of himself and his surroundings as well as his affect on people. ”It doesn’t surprise me that you’re the rebel of the family.” She said frankly, though there was the hint of a smile on her lips as she said it. Hey, she’d seen him and his coffin at the top of the steps facing off her father and his delegation. You had to have some of the rebel in you in order to pull off something like that. It may be typical of the ‘village’, but she still had a hard time picturing what it must be like. As he mentioned that his brother had died, Embry’s lips formed a circle and she let out a soft, “Oh”. Of course, now what he had said made perfect sense and she felt stupid for not picking up on it and forcing him to talk about it. ”I’m sorry to hear that.” Her words were almost a whisper and she left it at that, not wanting to press him for details or for him to continue any further. She could tell by the look on his features that it was a difficult subject and she was sorry that she had forced their conversation in that direction. Embry listened with rapt attention as he explained what his family was like. It sounded so marvellous she didn’t know how it could be the truth. She’d seen families like that, ones that lived in her television and they’d seemed so lovely there was no way they could ever be real. After all, there was no indifferent and distant father who had no time for his family, and an overbearing, prim and proper mother more concerned with what the other socialite women would think of her rather than what she thought of herself. ”That sounds like the best family in the world. I don’t even know how you left it.” She stated with a smile, picturing the large, happy family he had described to her. Some day she’d be happy with a husband and children, and a house full of pets.

Well, born and raised in the suburbs of the city, in a large house with a fairly large plot of land. There would have been room for a vegetable garden, her mother had simply figured it would interrupt the flow of her ‘garden’ and what would the garden society say if there were tomatoes growing beside her roses? Embry didn’t need to be down on her knees digging in the dirt, that was what the hired gardeners were for. And then her eyes were widening a little as he explained what his life in the village had been like. Once again it sounded like something straight out of a fairy tale, and she told him as much, not stopping to think how it might sound. ”Honestly? It’s hard to imagine... But it sounds so wonderfully free of consumerism and electricity wasting technology. I want to just... Submerge myself in that village for a summer and forget all the useless stuff we have here in the states.” She shook her head a little, smiling at the thought of it. ”I can’t believe you grew up like that... It sounds so... Free.” Of course, she didn’t know about the expectations that would have been placed on him because of who his family was, but all she could think of was the lack of pointless society expectations that she’d grown up with. Could picture the people of the village all working to keep food in their bellies, banded together as a united front to stand for their beliefs and traditions.

She grinned. ”Guess I’m pretty much a convert now.” She laughed at the idea of it. She returned his playful look with a smile of her own, amusement shining in the grey depths of her eyes. She knew what he was getting at, and it was funny that he was saying this just as she had been thinking it herself. As they pulled up in front of her sorority house, Embry shot him a big smile. ”Thanks! I promise I’ll be super quick... Well... If my sisters don’t slow me down.” She then pulled the door handle and was jumping out, carrying her sign along with her and hurrying into the house. Racing upstairs she called out to whomever was nearby. Fia happened to be upstairs and demanded to know what she was doing. When a breathless Embry informed her she had been invited to a party of sorts by a cute guy who’d driven her home, Fia had forced her into a dressier clothes then she had planned on. She had to admit that she liked the way that she looked but had to force herself passed Fia. ”Gotta go!” She stated, practically tripping down the stairs as she shouted out his name and address, clarifying that she’d have her cell on her and be sure to check it for voicemails or text messages. She was then back out the door and coming back to the car, large bag thrown over her shoulder. ”Sorry that was longer than I planned... Fia got a hold of me and demanded I put on make-up or she wasn’t letting me out of the house.” Her sorority sisters didn’t think she spent near enough time on her appearance most of the time and were constantly forcing her into makeovers of some kind.

[miroslav coposu]

He was cocky and confident but not in an annoying sort of way. Mirko knew where he stood in the grand scheme of things. When you were the youngest of a bunch of siblings, you kind of had no choice but to deal with hand me downs, sometimes. He was, however, very confident in his looks and his charm and knew that those things could take him a very long way to wherever he wanted to go. "Oh yeah? Well, you might be surprised. We're all kind of salt of the earth people, worried about the state of the planet and all. The rest of my family usually just finds better ways to fight for it than I do." After all, as an influential family in both communities, they had a reputation to uphold. The muscle in his jaw jumped as he clenched it together, tightly. "Thanks," he said after a deep breath and swallowing down the emotion that threatened to strangle his voice. He still blamed himself and the guilt was always a bit much. At least she didn't ask how. Mirko didn't know if he would have been able to tell her if that had been the case. He hadn't said that to bring the conversation down, though. No, in fact, he had only meant to make conversation. He was at a loss, wondering where to go from there but he'd been glad to have the change of topic and be able to keep speaking. He laughed and shook his head at her words. "Oh, no. We have our faults and lots of them. We bicker and squabble, just like the rest of them. We just don't have huge blow outs and we've yet to ostracize someone." In his mind, that was a pretty good thing.

Slowly, Mirko nodded. She didn't need to tell him. He was well aware of how unbelievable it was. "There aren't many of us who honor the old ways. We're like the Bedouin of the Middle East or the natives that live at the base of the Himalayas and give tours. To someone living in the West, they often think I'm lying or over exaggerating. I mean, yeah, we have electricity and we know how to drive, it's just our choice to live a little backwards. Think of us as... Bulgarian Amish." There weren't many of them but they lived lives very similar. The biggest difference was that the Amish didn't move around as much as his people did. It amused him, though, that she didn't comment on their class structuring. Though cultural, many would comment on the treatment of women in the family and that they needed to be given more rights and men needed to step up and do things that the women did and allow them to do what the men did. She had probably been in such awe that such things didn't register to her just yet. "It wasn't, really," he murmured with a shake of his head. "We were like ...carnies. People would come to the village to gawk at us, expecting to hear their fortunes and walk away with some elixir that would cure all. My father had to fight for the right to have us attend proper schooling. Worse, if you did something that the community deemed wrong, you carried around a heavy cross for a long time." Figuratively speaking, of course. Still, a few had held his brother's death against him for a short while. They still looked down on him if he did anything too "foolish" or "childish".

"Take your time." He was thinking of taking a quick shower when he got back to his place so she could take all the time she wanted. It wasn't like his friends couldn't wait a few moments longer. While he waited, Mirko leaned his seat back and closed his eyes. Wouldn't hurt to catch a quick nap, right? He didn't know how long she would take but it wouldn't hurt to rest up in case it took a little while. He didn't know how long it had taken her to get ready but, once she was back, he sat his seat up and shrugged. "No, you're fine. I'm in no rush." His friends were, as the text messages on his phone made it clearly evident. "You look nice." With a nod, he turned his attention to starting the car, again, and taking off for his place.

[embry alyssa st. clair]

She grinned. ”What? Better ways then dressing up in a suit and gasmask while being carried in a coffin? I don’t believe it.” She shook her head in a scandalized manner, that same happy grin splitting her lips. From the corner of her eye she watched him, and Em could see how it affected him to think about his brother’s death. Of course she was curious in knowing how it had happened, but she could read people well enough to know it wasn’t something he wanted to discuss, with her, here and now. And so she dropped it. Embry nodded and smiled softly. ”And that’s exactly why it sounds like an awesome family. You’re just the way you should be.” Unlike the St. Clair’s who wouldn’t know what being a true family meant if it leapt up and bit them on their bottoms. It was something that had always saddened her, that she’d sort of missed out on the fundamental family upbringing. But it merely made her more determined to have a happy family of her own one day with all that her own upbringing had lacked.

”It had to be crazy then, coming into towns where they had all that stuff you didn’t. Coming here where everyone has more things that you can plug in then they have plugs to plug them in.” She shook her head thinking of the debasement of her country and all the excess that wasn’t needed. People needed so badly to simplify their lives, they just had no idea how to do it. He was right in assuming that she was in shock and awe and not thinking about the cultural aspects of the ‘stone age’ that would still exist in a community such as that. But she couldn’t get over the idea of the simplicity of it all, and how ideal some of the aspects of his culture were. She scrunched her nose a bit at this new bit. ”People are so nosey and judgemental. They love their stereotypes don’t they?” She bit her lip a bit and then couldn’t keep back her comment. ”That’s a bit archaic, have to admit. But to be expected from a small community I guess.” Everyone knew everyone; people tended to get even more judgemental with the people they knew more so sometimes than they were with strangers. It’s hard to move on from something if everyone knows you’ve done something and won’t let you forget it. Embry glanced over at him, studying him for a moment. The way he had said it had almost made it sound like he was speaking from experience. This was one comment however she did bite down on. She had to remind herself sometimes, almost physically, that there were certain places her nose didn’t belong.

Once back in the car Em smiled and was happy to see he’d at least used his time wisely. ”Oh, thanks.” She said with another soft smile before ducking her head down in an attempt to hide the way her cheeks were flaming with a new shade of red. She hated it. The way she couldn’t seem to get a compliment of any kind from a guy without it sending out the blush. He was only trying to be nice and here she was being ridiculous. She sat back comfortably in the car looking out the window for a moment until she felt the heat receding from her face. ”So I’m pretty excited to see what kind of wood chipper you’ve got to mulch up your coffin.” She told him with a bright, happy smile as she glanced over to look at him. She almost added that he should put in a picture of the Senator but figured that would be just a bit too conspicuous. Plus, as much as she disagreed with the man, he was still her father. Though she didn’t have to like that fact.

[miroslav coposu]

Mirko laughed, a refreshed and hearty laugh. Yeah, if his parents could see the stuff that he was pulling, now, they'd probably have a heart attack. Since being in America and talking with his American friends about protesting, he'd gotten a little creative. "We didn't have a family pet, though," he said as if he was slightly surprised by the memory. They hadn't been the nuclear family in a million ways but they had, at least, been a family unit. "My nieces and nephews, though... I'm going home every break just so that I can see them. They love the toys I bring them from America and their parents send money just so that I buy them clothes. It's insanity." This was what you did for family, though. The clothes were brand name and cheaper and the toys were just nicer. While he was bringing them toys with a little more technology involved than a ball and a grass field, the parents were strict about when they could play and how much. Usually, they were for the rainy days or sick days. Talking about it all - his brother included - was starting to make him very homesick and he was ready to just get home and be around his friends.

He gave half a frown and shrugged. "I can't say that it was, really. I mean, we weren't living under rocks." He shot her a glance out of the corner of his eye and smirked before going back to focus on the road. "The houses had basic electricity but we didn't cling to it as much. We went into the city to go to school and, if we were able to get away from the village, to even just enjoy a weekend or something. Sofia's Old World but it's still a modern city. I was always a fan of the clubs. My sisters liked going to see the new movies but I liked being stuck in a press of people who had no idea who I was." It had been a blessed change from the village. Mirko gave a thoughtful sound and shrug. "It might have been stereotypical but much of it is how we live or lived. More than that, though, it put food on our tables and clothes on our backs when times were hard and we couldn't make it on our own. The children see it as a game so it's not so bad. Not until you get to the age where you realize what's going on." Then, you felt like you were working and putting on a show for stupid tourists. While his pen pal had been one source of the English language, tourists had been another.

His hands rose up to rub at his eyes before he gave her another, quick, once over and started off. It was cute, the way she blushed and had to look away from time to time. He thought it all to be very endearing. Had she been part of his village, she would have been able to be married off with a small dowery just because it would have been enough to have her. Surely, there would have been bragging rights that would have been worth half of it. "It's a rental," he pouted, childishly. "You should have seen me get it onto the roof! It was a nightmare and I got so many strange looks..." No, he was not shredding up bodies and putting them into his garden, thank you very much. Had she suggested the picture, he would have told her no. Think of what it would do to the garden!

[embry alyssa st. clair]

”Aw really? I have one, a great dane named Gaspard. But he stays at my parents’ place for right now. I can’t have him at the sorority house.” And even if they were allowed pets, he’d be a bit too big for most people, though he was wonderfully trained and well behaved. She missed that big brute of a creature since she really didn’t get to see him often, only on holidays and the other few random occasions that she needed to go home for and be a dutiful daughter. Em smiled and nodded. ”It’s nice that you can get home on the breaks.” And that he wanted to. Embry almost hated the holidays simply because her mother expected her to be home for them and it was silent suppers or arguments with her father over the choices of her classes or her lifestyle. They were just too different to ever get along. Once again, Em couldn’t help wondering what it was like to have such a large family with nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and cousins galore. She wished she could be a part of that, even for a moment.

She couldn’t help a bit of a blush of embarrassment after his comment. She hadn’t quite meant it like that, but realized now that the way she had said it likely made it sound bad. She had a habit of doing that, not thinking about the words that were about to spill from her mouth and just how it might be taken. She grinned a little. ”And apparently you still like to be stuck in a press of people you don’t know.” Of course, referencing the protest they’d just come from and the fact that they’d met because she’d smashed into him while trying to get through that very press. ”Well, at least they were good for something I guess.” Though she couldn’t imagine that kind of lifestyle. She’d had a hard enough time just travelling in the circles her parents had made her move amongst while growing up. Everyone had known the St. Clair family, at least in the political ring, and she’d sometimes felt like she was on display, everyone wanting to know just what kind of family the Senator had.

If he’d said any of that out loud she would have been blushing even more and then stammered some sort of nonsensical response. Embry wasn’t used to being the type to be thought of as desirable or ‘valuable’. She saw her blushing as an annoyance and inconvenience and in no way was it something to be desired or bragged about. She couldn’t help smiling at his pout before it turned into a laugh while she pictured his getting up to the top of his building. ”Is it a big one?” She asked, attempting to picture for herself just how you would go about moving it up there. As they drove, Embry attempted to take note of what part of the city they were headed to. ”Do you live by yourself or do you have roommates?” She asked him, curious to know if this roof thing was sort of a combined effort. It wasn’t too many people that could afford an apartment on their own in the city however. She knew that when she’d been looking for a place it had been rather daunting trying to find a place she could afford. Though her parents weren’t exactly hard off, Embry refused to take any money from them except for her education. Beyond that she paid for everything herself. Even the money for school was a hard pill to swallow, but they owed her that much right?

[miroslav coposu]

"I thought I would get one when I got here but, I can't. The tower won't let me have one and, between the protesting and school, I wouldn't be able to give it the kind of time and attention that it deserves. Guess we're both at a loss." He wouldn't tell her that he'd never found Great Danes to be the best of pets. To him, they were just really ugly. "I mean, growing up, we had animals but they were more or less for the community. Horses to ride or pull carts, chickens and pigs to provide nourishment, that sort of thing." They'd made a game of it. They were always making bets on which animal would outlive the others. The winner would get chocolate. As they aged, the reward became money and so on. He didn't think that she'd appreciate him telling her that, though. Sure, they killed those animals but they weren't mistreated before their deaths so he didn't think much on it. He just didn't eat them. "The family is always fighting over me, though. You know, which house I'm staying in and all that. Sometimes, I just sleep in a tent so that no one argues." He went to see his family but rarely the village. The older ones and friends of his brother often resented him for his happiness. "It'd be nice to get them to come to America but none of them want to travel that far and there's too many of them, I couldn't put them up while they stayed." There simply wasn't any room.

It was fine. Too many people made that assumption. Sure, it was a lot different than what they were used to but that didn't mean that they were aliens or stuck in the stone age. It couldn't be helped. Then again, they still thought that Texas was like the wild West with horses and no electricity, too. It worked both ways. "Yeah, but the attention they give me is way better," he flashed her a devilish grin, taking his eyes off of the road for a fraction of a second. She just ha no idea what angle he was playing at. By strangers, he wasn't talking about just regular strangers, he was referring to those who didn't know of his title status. Abaddon Hazard wasn't the only royalty she'd met, now. Mirko shrugged. "They weren't so bad and they helped me with my English. I might have an accent but I don't trip over words. Something to be glad for when dealing with the ones who think everyone should be speaking English." Americans didn't even speak proper English!

She would have blushed and stuttered? Wow, he would have liked to see that. He'd mentioned basic rules about relationships to other girls and they'd told him that it was barbaric and disgusting. It would have been a refreshing response to get. "Bigger than I am! Just glad that the only stairs to deal with were the last ones from the top of the block to the roof. If it'd been a ladder, I might not have ever made it." Fortunately, he and his friends were young and strong. "Just the one. I tried living by myself but it was too lonely and I wasn't used to it so Jeremy moved in with me. He needed a place, I had a room... It worked out pretty well." It was, in no way, a money issue. "We don't get up in the morning and hang out until the sun goes down but it's nice to know that I'm not alone in the flat and we take turns making meals. Fortunately, he's on the same page as me so there's no issues over the menu. You'll get to meet him. He was one of the pallbearers." Mirko chuckled, amused that he could tell people he'd already been in his coffin and destroyed it. Taking a turn, Mirko pulled the car into a parking garage and passed an entry key over the scanner and drove through once the gate lifted. He circled a few times before reaching the third level and parking in a spot marked 309. He shut off the engine, removed his seat belt and collected his things before removing the keys and getting out of the car. With his door shut, he hopped up and rolled over the hood in time to open Em's door with a grin and a bow. "M'lady."

[embry alyssa st. clair]

Embry nodded. ”That’s one of the worst parts about living in the city, besides being surrounded by cement and not being able to see the stars because of all the light pollution, being unable to have a pet in most places really sucks.” She missed Gaspard since she didn’t really get to see him all that much. She would go get him and take him to the park, spending the afternoon with him whenever she could. But it wasn’t enough and she hated that she was such a terrible pet owner. Especially since she was always declaring the rights of animals worldwide. As he mentioned the chickens and pigs, Em made a bit of a face. It always made her a little physically ill to think about animals being slaughtered for food. She understood that it was the only means that some people felt they had in order to feed themselves, but she didn’t understand why it was the animals that always had to suffer. ”I don’t think it counts when you... when you eat them.” She could hardly say it, because all she could picture was the way they would likely kill those creatures and it horrified her. She smiled over at him, green with envy. ”That must be nice. I mean, not that they argue.” She laughed. ”But that everyone wants you to stay with them that much. It’s gotta be hard to be away from them all for such long periods of time. I mean, if you’re all so close.” What wouldn’t she give to have a family that fought over where she was during the holidays not complaining over the fact that if she was coming to eat they had to pick up some tofu on the side just so that she’d eat something?

She grinned and shook her head at him a little. She was sure they did give him attention since he was out going and attractive. Of course, she had no idea about his royal status and it’s hard to say just how she’d have reacted if she did know. It wasn’t like that would change her opinion of him and she’d suddenly become a gushing mess, but she’d certainly be happy to know he was using his life for something meaningful as he joined in on the protests. ”I’m... not really a fan of attention.” She said with a bit of a laugh and a careless shrug of her shoulders. Unless of course the attention was coming from people in an audience or at a rally, otherwise it always seemed to be bad attention as she embarrassed herself in one way or another. He was right, he really did speak English amazingly.

Well, once she’d gotten past the shock of finding out that she’d be prized by the men of his culture, she would have then had time to focus on the rather outdated dating practices. He couldn’t really be surprised thought, not since he was in a Western society, clearly they were going to find such practices rather old fashioned. Her eyes lit up. ”It sounds awesome. There’s so much you could mulch up with that.” People so rarely stopped to think about what their waste could be turned into. It was a nice change to see someone like Mirko who had actually thought about it and was going so far as to do something about it as well. ”You’re lucky that you do have your own space. I love my sorority sisters, but sometimes you really just want some space to yourself. It’s not so easy to do with so many girls in one house.” Sometimes you just needed to be able to breathe, especially for someone who had as busy a schedule was Embry did. She spent so much time around other people that sometimes she just wanted to be alone.

As they pulled into the underground parking of his apartment building, Em’s brows rose a little at the apparent fanciness of the apartment complex. She was starting to think more and more that Mirko might be in possession of a little money. That didn’t lower her opinion of him, in fact, it was nice to see someone who might just be well off but took the time out for what really mattered. She had unfastened her seat belt and was about to go for her door handle when he rolled over the hood and was suddenly there opening it for her. Laughing, Embry climbed out of the car. ”That was a nice hood roll, you’ll have to teach me how to do it without landing on my face.” She smiled up at him, tugging her bag strap up over her shoulder as she let her door be closed behind her and fell in step alongside him as they headed up to his apartment.

[miroslav coposu]

Slowly, Mirko nodded to her assessment. "And the traffic, the smog, and the pollution..." He could point out quite a few issues he had with living in the city but there were also plenty of reasons behind not liking living in the country, too. Either way you looked at it, everything had a downside to it but the city had an upside, as well. Still, he missed being able to lay out in front of the cottage and watching the stars for hours while he spoke about whatever to whoever. Sometimes, there wasn't even talking, there was just laying there and enjoying silence. The cities were always far too polluted with a little bit of everything and that included noise as well as light and garbage. Mirko laughed at her, shaking his head at her reaction from the woman beside him. He didn't like eating animals, either, but they didn't abuse the ones that they raised to eat and they tried to make their deaths as quick and painless as possible. They also made sure to use every bit of the animals that they possibly could and, therefore, were nothing like the monsters that ran the slaughter houses. He nodded and chuckled at her wonderment. "A bit, yeah. It's a shame when you have to schedule who you're staying with for which holiday. Sometimes, I think they insist on getting us together for weddings and the like so that they can have me stay with them sooner than what they might be able to."

He wasn't going to complain about how he got the attention or why - at least not here. He was rather pleased with what was offered to him and no one knew about his royalty in America so he was fairly sure it wasn't for the title that they were interested in him, either. "I can imagine, what with the people who give it to you. You should find the right people." She didn't need papers, she needed people who were willing to listen to her protests and maybe a guy or two. Those were always nice to have when a chick wanted attention but it had to be the right one. "That's why I love my roof. When I get tired of being with my room mate, I can always go up there to hide and just be myself." It wasn't just his place and his room mate would have friends over from time to time. That way, if they were there and he needed time to himself, it was still possible.

Yeah, he was spoiled. She'd get to see that in full effect when she finally got inside of his place. Mirko laughed at her, his laugh echoing through the empty parking lot to make it louder than what it really was. "I'm not looking to do that unless there's loads of matting underneath of it." With a jerk of his head, Mirko led her to the elevators and punched the button for his floor. "So, I'm going to shower. Did you want to wait or go on ahead of me and mix in with everyone?"