Chapter 10: Rainclouds

Oddly enough, it started to rain. Sporadic thunderstorms were routine this time of year for the city, and they were often short lived. Yet the rash of temperamental weather was…not normal to Rose who was used to Miami's curtain of sunshine and brilliant heat waves. Minutes ago it was bright and sunny outside, the morning radiance seemed to pour through the newly washed windows for all to admire, but now a torrential rain drenched the outside landscape. Looking out the large window, it appeared as if they were underneath a waterfall.

Rose Sexton sat at the edge of her chair. The small hotel restaurant was tucked neatly towards the rear of the buildings lobby. She sighed at the plate of bacon and eggs laid on the table in front of her. She wasn't used to having to pay for breakfast when staying at a hotel, their prices seemed criminal. The menu was saturated with options and specials, and half of it seemed catered to New Orleans tastes. French food was in abundance, and there were a few things Rose couldn't even pronounce, let alone understand.

All the furniture was pristine, and fairly comfortable, although there was a hint of flimsiness if one looked hard enough. The stitchings in the fabrics of the chair were loose along the edges, and if Rose leaned back she could feel the solid, weak, wood modeling the frame. When she leaned on the table it groaned to expose its less than hardy design. Everything was built to look refined, and yet it was a facade.

The truth was that Rose didn't want to talk, she was still overwhelmed with embarrassment. Part of her wanted to scold her girlfriend for sneaking up on her beforehand in the hallway. It was foolish to walk into another persons room, lured in only by the sound of music, but not as foolish as lingering nakedly like a spy. Rebecca wasn't even dressed when she flowed down the hallway, daring to exercise her vampiric gifts by fading into a light mist, to sneak up behind Rose who had taken three steps into the strangers room. Once she had surprised Rose, Rebecca's body re-solidified in all its…bountiful glory.

The duo had to rush back to their room, trailing the woman's outrage. Rose was paranoid that hotel security would come to punish them, but after half an hour of waiting for a knock on their door nothing happened.

Rose was too hooked on adrenaline to simply collapse on the mattress and shut her eyes, and Rebecca couldn't help but offer pathetic pleas to sate her appetite. Luckily it wasn't of the blood variety.

Now that they were downstairs, and had something to eat, Rose felt some renewed strength. Her mind was overtaxed, her shoulders cramped, and her skin still felt sticky. What made matters worse was that she could feel an argument on the horizon, one that she didn't have the strength for.

"What'cha reading?" Rebecca's voice was fluid and slightly sensual. It was a modest tease aimed at grabbing Rose's attention, and this time it wouldn't work. They were seated across from one another, waiting for the waiter to deliver a second plateful of food. Actually, they were waiting on Rebecca's second serving, she had devoured the first order of waffles like a fiend.

Originally, Rose intended to bring their food to their room, but Rebecca was eager to stretch her legs. There was a gleam in the vampire's eyes that always seemed to stir whenever she was especially hungry.

Rose wasn't reading anything important, her eyes merely gazed at a small pamphlet that had been left behind by the tables previous occupants. It was a brochure for all the most attractive and popular restaurants in the French Quarter. They looked fancy, which meant they were all probably expensive.

Rose refused to respond to Rebecca's prying curiosity. This was meant to scold her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Rebecca's mouth twitched, she gave a lopsided grin before leaning back in her seat. The vampire then pulled the large neck of her sweater down over her right shoulder to expose smooth pale flesh, there wasn't a bra strap. On its own, the cotton shirt wasn't very appealing. It was simply a soft garment Rebecca liked to wear when wanting to lounge around comfortably. The cotton shirt had an old stain near the front logo etched across her torso. The words read 'I'm a wild lesbian' over a flag that was once vibrantly colored, but after two years of washing it had faded.

Rose did her best to fight the seduction. She had yet to change out of her sweaty clothes, and couldn't wait to take a shower. It bothered her that she hadn't had time to clean herself up.

"I'm not looking at you," Rose's voice was somehow a stern whimper. She continued to look at the brochure as if it held long hidden secrets.

Rebecca chuckled, "Come on, you like looking at me. And you like it when I sneak up on you." The vampire adjusted her position ever so slightly so that her forearms pressed her cleavage together.

Rose gnashed her teeth, "I'm not looking." It was impossible to disguise the hint of excitement in her voice. An antique clock chimed nearby marking the start of a new hour, it was loud enough to startle Rose.

Rebecca barely gave the ancient clock a hint of attention, "Because you know you'll crack?" The vampire adjusted her position again, this time she rested her cheek in the palm of her hand.

Rose felt her hands grow clammy. Her eyes betrayed her, shooting her girlfriend a quick glance before looking away.

"Even when you try to fight it's cute," Rebecca stroked her own ego. "Why are you angry anyway?"

Rose groaned, "You ambushed me, and nearly had us kicked out of the hotel!" Her voice was loud enough to be heard nearby.

"That…may be an overstatement," the vampire fiddled with the plastic straw in the cup of water next to the empty plate. The cup was still full.

"An overstatement?" Rose questioned sternly.

There was a short pause as Rebecca weighed her response, "I was just protecting you…"

"You were naked," this time Rose kept her voice down.

That made the vampire laugh. "I didn't have time to put anything on," Rebecca was blushing.

"You were naked…" Rose felt like she needed to restate the fact. This time there was more grit in her tone.

"Again, I didn't have time to put anything on." The vampire's reluctance to speak the truth, that she honestly just wanted attention, troubled Rose.

<i>It took you all of three seconds to put on that shirt</i>, Rose thought to herself. "You made the woman scream."

"Well you did sneak in her room," Rebecca's quick response was meant to be another tease, but it came off as a little snarky.

"I was just listening to the music."

"You were practically creaming your pants," The vampire instantly regretted saying it. She bit her lip and recoiled back in her seat.

"What!" Rose stammered.

"I mean," Rebecca rubbed the back of her neck, "you were sweating bullets."

"I had just dragged all the luggage inside, without your help by the way." This was what Rose truly wanted to argue about.

Rebecca sensed this, and seemed to want to glide over the topic. "And I thank, it's why I protect you so dearly."

Rose just looked around the lobby, as if there was any threat that would require her protection. Of course there wasn't. "We are so going to get kicked out, how has security not come to evict us already?"

"Oh, I'm sure it's fine," Rebecca noticed Rose's own reluctance to further drag on the argument.

"YOU!" A woman's voice caught Rose and Rebecca off guard.

This time it was Rebecca's turn to act surprised, "huh?"

A woman, sort and slender, rapidly approached. She was clearly agitated, and seemed to exude a level of wrathful intent that greatly outmatched her size. "You…what were you doing in my room!" Rose had only seen the woman's backside, and seeing her now was incredibly awkward.

The woman was short and slender, there was no meat or thickness on her bones. Yet it was impossible to deny her youthful beauty. Her gown was parted deeply down the center to show off her perfectly shaped breasts, while her stomach was flat with a slight knot of abdominal muscle. The woman's cheeks were pinched, and her blonde hair cropped back above the ears. Her eyes were a pale blue, so that they almost looked white. But what most surprised Rose was the woman's accent. She had a deep and heavy voice that accompanied a thick northern drawl. It almost sounded Canadian. Rose found it interesting in that she hadn't heard that accent in person before.

At first glance, Rose guessed the woman's age as somewhere close to her own. She felt ashamed for having disturbed the strangers privacy, and cursed her own stupidity for the intrusion. Clearly an apology was necessary, although Rose wished she could hide instead. "Sorry," Rose paused to arrange her thoughts, "I was just captivated by your music, I didn't even realize…"

"Back off," gone was Rebecca's usual charm, in its place was a cold and hard temper. Her eyes narrowed onto the newcomer with a predatory ferocity.

The newcomer looked at Rebecca, "Who the f-ck are you!" It wasn't a question, but a rude outburst.

Rebecca snarled, "Just a little bat in the wind…" Her eyes seemed to shine as she spoke.

The woman was about to advance when someone tapped the woman one the shoulder.

"Sweetheart, why don't we go back to our seat?" The man behind her was broad shouldered, and extremely handsome. He stood barely an inch shorter next to her, although he made up for it in sheer physical strength. In fact, Rose found him a little too good looking for his mate. It was evident that he was her boyfriend, at least, and clearly wanted to prevent a scene. The mans warm brown hair was slightly unkempt, and his eyes looked extremely tired. He wore a henley with several buttons undone to show off some chest hair, and his chest was firm and strong underneath the fabric.

"She's the b—" The woman brushed her man aside to express her anger.

"Shush," the man grabbed hold of his girlfriend firmly, and bent low to whisper something in her ear.

Suddenly the woman froze, "Seraphine..."

Rebecca instantly flinched, recognizing the name of her clan uttered as if it were a vulgarity. She perched her cheek back in her palm, and let her fingers tap the side of her face. She didn't respond immediately. Instead, after a few seconds of thought, Rebecca bared her teeth at the woman.

During their time together, Rose had learned some of the ways vampire's liked to express themselves when using their fangs. Rarely did they ever bare them, especially among humans, but there was a way they could offer a hostile smile. Only a few times had Rose witnessed her vampire return such a gesture, but each one of those times sent shivers down her spine.

This was one of those times.

Rebecca offered the poor girl a fearsome snarl, one ever as spiteful as it was cruel. It lasted only a brief second, but it was more than enough to cause the woman to clench her fists.

There was some grit to this woman, Rose couldn't help but admit that. The woman returned Rebecca's snarl with a smirk of her own, one that was devoid of sharpened teeth.

"Savage creature," the woman spun around and walked away. The man that accompanied her observed the confrontation with some caution. He followed close behind, but not before showing off his own fangs in kind.

"Can you believe how childish that was?" Rebecca spoke the second they were out of earshot.

"I don't know Reby," Rose sat back in her chair. Thankfully, the waiter had finally returned to deliver Rebecca's recent order. The platter of pancakes was still smoking as he offered a list of syrups and toppings.

As Rebecca watched him pour a sweet layer of maple syrup, Rose took another long look outside. Already a ray of sunlight was melting through the rain clouds. The spark of illumination exposed a continuing stream of tourists walking toward the front of the hotel. Rose noticed the lobby was growing more packed with each hour. A couple of new guests were trying to check in at the front desk, they were carrying heavy suitcases.

Rose found the steady patter of raindrops streaking down the glass as therapeutic. Her eyelids grew heavy and fluttered until she could no longer keep them open.