Dead!

[Anoushka bint Amir]

"Did you get what you deserve?
The end, and if your life won't wait
Then your heart can't take this

Have you heard the news that you're dead?
No one ever had much nice to say
I think they never liked you anyway
Oh take me from the hospital bed
Wouldn't it be grand? It ain't exactly what you planned.
And wouldn't it be great If we were dead?
Ohh dead."

The sun was set, but a few ribbons of light remained, making Anouk squint as she floated past her eyes, but nothing to seriously harm her, just a minor occurrence. With perked up ears (metaphorically speaking, she wasn't a were) she heard humans sobbing, a Priest doing his priestly duties and someone dead as a doornail. Ah yes, a funeral. Anouk could smell the embalming fluids mixed with a hint of blood still in the dead woman's veins from a few yards away. It was a weird thing, human burial rituals. She's seen many throughout her years, ranging from her own Pre-Islamic Arabia, Egypt to more modern Romania where they still cut off the head and bury the body separately in some villages to, ironically, ward off vampires.

Anouk had taken a night off from Shreveport to come back to Bon Temps, a town she visited in the late 1950's when racial tensions were at an all time high in the south, so she kept her face hidden unless it was with a crowd of 'coloreds' or whatever they called them back then, seeing as Anouk was Egyptian, therefore darker than most people, yet still had a lightness to her due to being in the dark for 2,000 years. It was a crazy time, the 60's, so when 1961 hit, she slept. As in, crawled into a Mausoleum in New Orleans and slept for about 20 years without feeding, and d**n was she hungry when some human teenagers woke her up. Her more primitive side jumped out and she fed on all 6 of them, drained 'em dry. But back to the cemetery she was in now, not 20 something years ago.

She stood there in her some new garb she picked up at a mall, a little less old fashioned than her usual get-up. Narrow leg jeans, a dusky orange t-shirt with some random pattern of design on it, flats and a green cropped jacket-It was a recommended outfit, was her disclaimer to anyone who asked what the new look was about. But there, arms crossed in front of her, she felt their emotions, the grief, sorrow and loss in them. It was an overwhelming feeling, she could only imagine what they felt; If Anouk had lost Maryam, she'd feel that way but only 100 fold that.

"The bond between a maker and their human is stronger than anything in this world"

It was what she was told by her sire many times when first made, and she wholeheartedly believed this. Despite the miles, she could still feel her inside her, a feeling she could never shake. Anouk began to bore of this life, she needed something new, fresh and exciting. Watching this display of loss was sort of a breath of fresh air. Anouk doesn't even need to breathe.

(Lyrics credit at the beginning goes to My Chemical Romance-Dead! From "The Black Parade" ))

[Henry Williamson]

It was a nice and warm night in Bon Temps as Henry walked along the roads so he could see what the town was like at night. He had only recently arrived and spent most of his time unpacking and getting ready to work as a teacher at the high school. It was a month before school started though, so he had plenty of time to explore the town and see all of it's wonders, or lack-there-of. It wasn't exactly nighttime yet, but the sun was setting and there were only a few strands of light peaking over the trees. It was actually a pretty sight, but nothing compared to what he had saw at night when he was with his pack. Still, it was nice to look at for a bit before he continued on down the road. He wasn't exactly sure where it would take him, not knowing much about the town and not having a map didn't help. But it wasn't long until he ended up at a cemetery. He wasn't quite familiar with how the human's worked when it came to their dead ones, so Henry decided to watch from a distance.

Back in the forest with the packs, it was rare when a Werewolf died of anything other than old age. There weren't many threats, they always had food in water even if it meant they had to kill innocent animals or lost humans to get it. Henry never participated in such events though, he always elected to stay behind and watch the camp or he would usually come up with some similar excuse so he didn't have to endure the death of others. Even if they were only animals, he was part of one too, right? Being a Werewolf had it's advantages, but he couldn't control himself as much as he would like to when in that form. This led to many problems earlier in his life, of which he has never really told anyone. He had always lingered on these thoughts for awhile, always thinking about that one night he did a deed he thought he would never do. Closing his eyes, he took a deep, sharp breath to clear his head and rid himself of these thoughts.

When he opened them, he noticed that he wasn't the only one watching the events of the funeral unfolding. Just ahead of him was a woman, quite young looking, but Henry wasn't as naive about Vampires as most Humans were. In his pack, he was trained to fight Vampires and recognize them easily without any noticeable traits sticking out, like fangs. But Henry himself harbored no hate for the creatures, unlike most of the town. He had heard many things in the bar about Vampires being this, and Vampires being that. Apparently the people hear didn't like Vampires at all. He knew there was a hatred between his kind and theirs, but he wanted to fix that because he thought there was no need for it. Why did they dislike each other so much? The thought crossed his mind many times, but he could never come up with a legitimate answer. This wouldn't be any different, as he decided to walk up to the Vampire and see what they were like face to face. This would be his first meeting with one, after all.

[Anoushka bint Amir]

As Anouk watched the procession, a scent passed her nose that was rather familiar, yet different. A were. What's with this recent influx of man-beasts lately in Bon Temps and Shreveport. Of course the faint figure in the dark got closer and closer, but she couldn't sense any hostility, so Anouk let herself relax. As he finally approached her, it was a bit awkward seeing as he didn't say anything, so Anouk made the first move.

"So, are you a fan of funerals?"
It was a weird opening question, but they both were watching the humans grieve, or he just happened upon it, but either way they were there. he wing began to blow and make her neat hair a bit messy, she unfolded her arms and tucked a few pieces behind her ears and looked back at the funeral.

[Henry Williamson]

It was only until she started the conversation did he realize that he hadn't said anything in his approach. That must have seemed suspicious to her, but she didn't seem altered by it in the slightest. Still, it was a bit awkward to him that he hadn't said anything. It was even more awkward with the question that she asked. How could one be a fan of funerals? They were always so depressing and the death of a loved one was never fun, even if you were dead. But maybe when they died, the Vampires that is, they lost their emotions? The thought tumbled in his head a little bit before he decided to answer. "I've never seen one before... I'm new to town actually," he muttered quietly. He turned his head to the side to look at her as the wind messed with her hair. How old was she? He knew that Vampires didn't age, and it was almost impossible to tell how old one could have been, especially if they were older. Most new-born Vampires were rowdy, loud, and obnoxious some times, but she wasn't any of those things.

[Anoushka bint Amir]

Anouk could sense some sort of awkwardness in the conversation, and she didn't need to be a vampire to tell. She smiled and looked back at Henry, pushing her hair out of her eyes still.
"I could tell, well, a bit. I've visited Bon Temps a while ago, but I'm here again, just visiting."
Anouk could tell he was sort of nervous, maybe because she was a vampire? She knew all about the long standing rivalry between the two supes, one she never really understood, just something she was told.
"I'm not going to hurt you by the way, so don't feel threatened. I know what you are and it's fine. Just two people, watching a funeral. Not weird at all, eh?"
Anouk laughed softly, trying to ease the awkwardness.

[Henry Williamson]

Henry smiled at her sympathies. He wasn't exactly scared per say, just a little cautious because of how old she might possibly be and how more intelligent she probably was compared to him. She could probably out think him right now. But she didn't seem hostile at all so he decided to keep talking. She had also mentioned how she had been here before, but was only visiting now. "It's a charming place, I'm sure," he spoke in regard to that. He wouldn't know since he hasn't been here that long, but he would probably find out sooner or later for sure. The funeral comment made him laugh also, it was rather funny. Nothing was funny about a funeral though, and watching one from so far away even though you don't know who could be dead just didn't seem right. "I would believe society looks down upon this kind of thing... I shouldn't be watching this, it's not right." he looked over to her to see her reaction. Maybe she felt the same way he did.