A world so cold [cw]

A few hours after the topic Does it feel nice?

Dedicated to @Aaron

A dead body. Lifeless eyes of a beaten girl that starred into nothing. She didn’t feel anything anymore. Peace might have come to her now. When a mercy kiss had been placed against her lips. She wouldn’t know what would happen next. Who would mourn her? Who would stand back and even think twice about the horrible shapeshifter that had killed her sisters, mother, and father? She had gotten what was deserved. That would be what people would think, wouldn’t it? Surely, the great Rebekah Sinclair and done a service to the world this time.

A short gasp left her, as she felt the cold lips pressed against hers. Then everything turned dark. Like nothing could hurt her anymore. For a moment she felt at peace, like she finally could heal, and everything would be better.  But then the coldness washed over her. A silent scream left her, as her hands closed around her throat. This wasn’t peace, this wasn’t any better. The realisation washed over her. She was dead. And not a beautiful death, where you had grown old and could lie in the bed with loved ones around her. No. She had died, being used, beaten and disregarded. None of the promises she had ever gotten, had been kept. She wasn’t okay, things weren’t better. Her footsteps echoed in the emptiness as she started running. Feeling so weak because something off her was missing. And not in the sense of her earthly body. A piece of her was missing.

Screaming, she fell to her knees. Why was this happening to her? Why? What had she done, to deserve any of this? Hadn’t she repaid for her sins? Wasn’t she ever worthy of just, getting something in return of what had been taking from her? Or was that why she would never feel happiness, or love. Not truly.

Not deserving.

She begged, placing her hands against the cold surface she was lying on. She screamed, on the top of her lungs so violently that she almost couldn’t breathe. Coughing while her sob was enough to cut into the heart. Then she saw it. White auras. Angels? Voices telling her that she needed to come with them. They would take her to the next journey of her life. She asked if that would bring her to her family. Because they weren’t on vacation that James had thought her to believe for a moment. A moment where he had bended her mind and reshape it, so everything was okay. Only to take her against her will, not caring. They didn’t answer, as they took her along with them. That was fear ripped through her. She had no idea how, but somehow, she managed to get out of their grip. She ran, she had no idea were.

Arms caught her. A whisper of a promise that this would be better. Light illuminated her. As a scream left her, like she was being ripped apart.

So cold. Ever so cold. Darkness around her. But she was in a forest, she could smell it by the ground she was lying on. Lara was quiet at first. Something was wrong. This wasn’t her body. This wasn’t her. Was she even alive? She screamed, as tears sprung from her eyes. Fingers dug into the cold mud, sobbing as she tried to understand what had just happened.

It had been a bit of a trip the last week. He had met Lucille again, and everything seemed to have been turned upside down a little for him. But yet, despite of it he used his November evening as he always did. He went for a walk in the forest, close to the little house he had by himself. Aaron liked being out and about, he had to collected his thought on his own as well, thinking about Lucille's offer about becoming human again. He had yet to even tell his parents about this, because he wanted to weigh his own pros and cons about all of this. Because becoming human, it would grant him some sort of peace, but would he just die of old age again - or would they be able to find a way to stop it? Aaron didn't want to die. He wanted to live. So, out walking by himself, he had a stick in his hand that he used to battle the bushes he met on his path while talking with himself about all of it.

But then he heard a scream, which made him stop on his way and look around him till he sought in the direction of it. Aaron didn't think twice about moving towards the sound, coming closer he smelled someone being close and therefor he took some gentle steps forward. He saw a girl in the mud making him take a deeper breath in and press his brows a together, "hey, are you alright?" He asked not wanting to cross any lines with her, so he kept his distance yet didn't remove his eyes from her.

Oh, everything hurt, so much. Like someone had pulled her apart and crushed her together again. And she was so, ever so hungry. The scream slowly turned into small sobs when she heard footsteps come closer. Like a wild animal she got on all fours and pulled away from him. Clearly not caring about the part that she was naked. Maybe this was hell? Was he someone who had come to punish her for her sins? Lara knew she had died; she knew that someone had tried to temper with her memories, and they had been returned in the rightful order again. It was like her whole head was clear for the first time in years.


Lara looked up, her hair covered in leaves, small sticks, and mud. Looking more feral than a human. Heavy breathing as she tried to make sense of it all. “No, no” she whispered, shaking her head, grabbing her head with both her hands. “I died, they killed me, they – they killed me” she whispered, feeling tears spring from her eyes once again. Looking up. “Where am I, what is this? Is this hell?” she demanded to know, not caring about sounding like a crazy person this wasn’t even real, now was it.

I died, they killed me - Aaron pressed his brows together, "what, who killed you?" He wondered, perhaps it wasn't the first question to ask, but it was one of her first responses, and it had him look around shortly, as if he should be looking around for hunters or something else. But she cried looking up and he caught her eyes again. "You are in the East part of the large forest here in Athena - not hell, I'm sure," even if could debate it being like hell for some people time to time. Aaron wanted to assure her this was a real place. "My name is Aaron, real person and all not dead," ish. Aaron gave her a warmer smile bending down in his knees till he almost sat down just looking at the shapeshifter. "What happened to you?" He asked her curious and worried, still observant of if someone was out there to get her. Because Aaron didn't wish for an ambush of any kind, he had dealt with to many of those in the past. Yet, he kept himself very much aware of how she talked and moved.

Wild eyes, eyes that had seen the other side, that harbored something dark that couldn’t quite be explained, looked back at the man as he asked who. “The Sinclair’s” she whispered with a hoarse voice. “They took my soul, my blood, my –“ last innocence. She silenced herself, as she felt the pain spread in her chest. Athena, east forest? So, she wasn’t dead? But she had felt it? Last, she had known anything, she had been in a bed in the mansion of Rebekah Sinclair. He smelled, so good. She shook her head, as the unwelcomed thoughts intruded her mind.

“Aaron?” she whispered, as he introduced himself to her. He seemed so, kind, which made her retract herself even more. Curling together as if she was a ball. “I’m Lara” she whispered “Lara McKenzie” she added, wondering if he knew the case. The rich girl that ended up killing her family. “I, I was killed” she said once again, almost sounding more and more insane by the minute. “A demon, an incubus, he, he altered my memory and then – he” the words died out, she had to be dead. Right? This was hell, and she was tested, so why shouldn’t she just share her story. Maybe he would take pity on her and make his punishment on her soul less. “He –“ she couldn’t say it. “When, he had taken most of my soul, she, she came, and she kissed me, and that’s when, I think I died, then” she added nodding, looking around. Scared that there would be others. That he was just distracting her. “I died” she whispered again. “I saw the angels, I felt the emptiness” Lara whispered, as if she was talking to herself. “Then he, he told me – that” she looked back at Aaron widening her eyes. “That everything would be okay – Am I not dead?” she finally asked “Truly, not, dead?” that thought only scared her more, what if JJ, Rebekah or James came after her?  "I'm so hungry" she once again broke the silence, complaining. It hurt her entire being just how hungry she was

Sinclair's. Souls and blood. It sounded like them. Bloody lunatics who simply only could see anything through a dusty mirror of how things were done back before logic and common sense apparently was a thing. It made him groan. What was all that about even, if it were up to him they should just take the Sinclair family and everyone involved with them to a pocket dimension and send them far far away. Aaron took a deeper breath in and folded his lips a little bit, not wanting his annoyance with the Sinclair's come to act on how he was approaching the young shapeshifter.

He nodded when she said his name, in a lower whisper, but he could hear it so ever clearly because of his vampire senses. Lara, he noted her name mentally as well as her surname. He couldn't recall having heard it before, but then again he travelled around and didn't really go into too much about what was going on around him. She was killed? Then why could she smell so alive? But truly, he understood why she was confused, she carried a rare scent he couldn't place. "Hey Lara," he gave her a small comforting smile. She was attacked by an incubus - nasty beats that deserved more or less to be put down, and a mind altering one, even more reasons to put the bastard in the grave. She. Sinclair's and she did typically only meet one person, one with lips powerful enough to kill, it had to be Rebekah Sinclair - and well, connecting the dots she was married to his knowledge to James - an incubus demon. Aaron took a deeper breath in, and exhaled. "You are not dead. You are very much alive," he informed her with a tender smile. "I live nearby. In a small cabin, I can cook you something if you want?" Aaron suggested. Not that he counted on her to trust him, far from, but it still didn't mean he wouldn't offer.

“I’m not dead?” she whispered, clearly not sure that she believed that it could be true. Because how, was that even possible? She wasn’t an angel; she was very much still a shapeshifter. Then her fingers danced over her collarbones, looking down she could see that her tattoos were missing. A small gasp left her, as she looked down her arms, and tried to look at her back. Her body, it was completely tattoo and scar free? What on earth. Her eyes turned towards him, as he told her that he lived nearby, that he could cook her something if she wanted. There was something, almost instinctual that told her, that normal food wouldn’t satisfy her. But as the other part of the brain couldn’t believe that she would need anything but food, in the sense of bread and butter. She pushed it aside. Swallowing she weighed her options, to go with him. Give a little trust, even though it was hard. Because where had that ever gotten her? “Okay” she nodded slowly, placing her arms around her as she slowly stood up. It was awfully cold anyway. So, if this wasn’t hell. She would freeze to death if she didn’t find something worth soon.

"You are not dead," he repeated her words back to her, seeing how she looked at herself, as if she was trying to figure out why and how. Well, he was very curious of that himself, because it didn't make sense, and he had seen a little bit. He also knew who they could turn to and perhaps ask, but not now. Right now, Aaron just knew he would try to do whatever to make sure she was comfortable, because she seemed alone, lost in the dark as the afternoon hit them. He didn't expect her to trust him, far from, why would she? He was just a stranger finding her in the dark, but he had been rescued by the dark before. And now he was the dark, but most people had to find out at some point that darkness didn't always mean bad. It could mean a lot of things.

However, the shapeshifter slowly stood up and nodded to him. "Okay," he nodded back and got slowly up himself before he nodded in the direction of his smaller house in the woods. It wasn't a long walk to get there, and once they got there, he opened the door. It was warm, simply and cozy. The fire place lighted up, mostly because he just liked the warm aura of it, made it feel more mundane. "Make yourself at home."

She took in a deep breath, feeling the many sensations and smells in the area. Before with her arms around her she walked on her naked feet. Not that she was all that problematic about being naked. It was just cold as hell. So, getting some places warm, she looked forward to that. Even though she had so many questions about what was going on, and what had happened. She didn’t truly understand, because she knew that she had died. And that she and died a totally differently place than here. Was it planned then? Meeting this man, whose name was Aaron? Would he be up to the task of what it meant to giving her shelter? She was getting ahead of herself, and slowly walked after him, before they came to a small cottage.

Lara stepped inside, looking around. The warmth from the fireplace hit her naked skin in seconds. Making it almost ache in pain because her skin had been so cold. Make yourself at home. She let out a small exhale from her nose before turning towards him. She was still covered in dirt, leaves and small branches. “Could I, maybe get a bath – and borrow some clothes?” she asked, just as a reminder to herself that she had absolutely nothing to her name anymore. She had truly hit rock bottom. Gone from living a life where she needed nothing, to losing her family and live with a cult. And now? Now, she was just her, no one else. She had no home. She had no money or family. She had, absolutely nothing.

He locked the door after they had entered, just wanting to make sure that no one sought to trespass not that it would stop anyone desperat enough to make a move. He looked towards her, covered in dirt and the shadows of her loneliness, broken his darkness could feel it. Longed eat it like dessert, but he didn't allow it. "Yes, come with me," he gave her a smaller smile as he walked towards the bathroom, it was small, but had a shower, sink and a toilet - everything you needed really. He found some towels from the top shelf and placed on the edge of the sink, before heading out towards his bedroom opening the drawer and pulled out a larger sweatshirt, most likely it would fit her like an oversized dress, he went to the guest room after, looking to see if his mother had left some spare clothe behind, luckily she had left some leggins and sweats he had bought her the former holiday season. So he took both things up and went to place them on the other edge of the sink. "I found these, they are my mother's," he smiled softly before looking around the bathroom, making sure everything was there. "You hungry? I can fetch you something for after your shower?" Not that he was taking no for an answer, and he had food for whenever family came over to visit.

She silently walked after Aaron as he took her to the house bathroom. She looked around as they walked past his things. It was funny how you could somehow pinpoint a person’s attachments when it came to how they decorated. He seemed like a man, despite the fact that he was a vampire, wanted to still feel some sense of family home. Maybe it was the fact about the fire still going in the small cottage, where he didn’t really need the warmth. It all seemed rather, well put together and very, welcoming. She liked that, and she felt more at ease here than she had done after stepping foot into the Sinclair castle. “Thank you” she said with a low voice as he placed some towels on the sink and went out. Her eyes caught herself in the mirror and for a moment she almost didn’t recognise herself. She looked like she had been eating healthy. Not skinny or underweight. Her hair was long, almost down to her waist. While her tattoos she had on. her chest and arms, they were now gone the same with her many scars. She looked reborn, without feeling much different than the obvious things missing from her skin and body. She turned around and got the shower started, as he walked in again. She nodded at the clothes and gave him a soft smile. “Thank you, again” she whispered, not feeling like thanks was even enough for what he was doing for her. Her tongue glided over her lips “food would be really nice, I’m so hungry” she mumbled, even though she still had a nagging feeling that food wouldn’t sate her enough.