1x1 Silent Symphony & Of the Falls

[Falls]

Tessa arched an eyebrow at the stubborn Lucien, suppressing a smile as she gave a nod. "Indeed it is." She decided she was done with walking for now and plopped down onto the floor right where she was, letting her injured leg sit there limply while she brought her good leg closer to herself. "I'll let you two do all that heavy lifting junk. As for me, I'll be messing with all the wires."

[Veins Of Opal]

Lucien flicked his syrup-brown gaze to Tessa, giving a nod after a grumpy "Fine". He slid the t.v out of the box, scooting the wires and plug-ins to the side as he looked to it, grumbling for Vicente to "get off his butt and help" lift the t.v. Vicente gave another amused chuckle as he set the book to the side and made his way across the room, his bare feet silent on the floor as he walked. He bent down and lifted one end while Lucien took the other, moving back and to the side until it was placed by the wall. Lucien straightened his back with a groan while Vicente returned to his chair, curling his legs up in the chair as well.

[Falls]

Tessa contented herself with taking a seat right there on the floor in the middle of the living room. She watched the two set the TV in place, taking the opportunity to compare them in her mind. Vicente was a little leaner and much more pale. Lucien had more of a rugged beauty to him. They were both quiet, but Vicente's quiet was calm and gentle while Lucien's quiet was dangerous, like a muzzled street dog at bay.

She wondered (not for the first time) why she had to fall in love with both. It would have been simpler if she just hadn't fallen in love at all! But something inside her knew something was off. Her emotional ties to one of these men wasn't quite "love".

Well, what was it then?

When the two finished, she lifted her thin hands from her lap and softly applauded. "Well done," she said with a grin. "I nearly thought the TV had you two strong men beat though!"

[Veins Of Opal]

((I'm not in the mood for FoN right now, and I read through this again the other night, and I wanted to post in it. If you no longer have muse for it, that's understandable. ))

Lucien looked over to Tessa as she applauded them, and he scowled. "It's your turn, now. I'm not messing with the wires, and I don't trust him to not explode my Fort." Lucien grumbled, giving a glare at Vicente in his chair, who glared in return. There was a little war waged in silence between the two, and whether or not Tessa noticed it, well... Lucien was determined to make Tessa his, and his only. He didn't know Vicente's thoughts on it, but, he was still competitive for her. Lucien wandered over to Tessa, folding his arms across his chest and looking at her, a bit of jealousy, if that's what it was, bouncing around inside of him as he glanced at Vicente. Sure, he had played women before, but now, he knew he had true feelings for Tessa. He wasn't searching for some one-night stand with her like the others, no, he was searching for a return of the affection he held for her.

Vicente, however, was a bit lost in his own thoughts, even as Lucien taunted him about his lack of knowledge with modern-day technology. Vicente found he had grown a bit more irritated at Lucien as the other assassin seemed to be trying to make it obvious that Tessa liked him just as she liked Vicente, and it made the vampire jealous, as well. And yet, Vicente wasn't sure what he wanted. He found he had feelings for Tessa, and he'd even be as bold as to admit to himself that he loved her, and yet... He didn't know if it would be right of him to. He was a vampire, he was immortal. She would grow old and die, while he lived on. His mind suggested and alternative, the alternative of her joining him in his curse. The idea wasn't all too appealing, because the transition from living to dying, to being undead was an excruciating process. One he didn't really want her to have to go through.

[Falls]

[Wow, it's been so long since I've looked at this thread! Hmm, let's see here... Ah, there you are, muse! No, nap time's over. Get out here!]

Tessa grinned at her jeer's effect on Lucien. Some days his ego seemed enough to sink a ship. She wondered how many problems that caused while he was out [oh, more than you can imagine, Tess], but she did not doubt that he could handle himself. Unless someone pulled a gun on her arrogant friend, Lucien could probably manage on his own. Tessa watched the sudden bitter staring contest break out between the two men, giving a soft frown of curiosity. They chose the most random times to quietly go at it and she still was a bit confused about why they rivaled so often. Her lack of confidence in her "feminine allure" or whatnot had caused her to rule out romantic rivalry immediately, the poor naive thing....

Tessa rose to her feet, the limp barely evident in her walk as she made her way over to the TV. Leaning down and bracing a hand on the wall next to her, she reached out and picked up a clump of wires with a sigh. "...Thank god for color coding," was all she had to say on the matter. "Vicente, I think even you could do this. If you're not leaving too soon, I could help you give it a shot," she offered to the technologically illiterate vampire. She straightened again, casting her silver eyes to the dark-haired man on the couch as she tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. As the days passed, she had begun to grow increasingly aware of the added length to her hair. She wondered if either one of these men was skilled in the ways of simple hair-cutting. Long hair was inconvenient.

[I just had a hilarious idea... Tessa is the only female in the place... Females get pretty psycho once a month... And most males aren't very prepared for that...]

[Veins Of Opal]

{{That sounds like a lovely trip to the store. XDD This should be entertaining.}}

Lucien watched as she worked, silently admiring the way the clothing fell about her petite form. His mind had already done its best to break the connection between Tessa and Allison, for they were two different people. However, the similarities in their appearance was almost startling. Upon hearing her words to Vicente, Lucien snorted, casting his syrup-brown gaze to the vampire. "I think it would be best to hurry and get the contract over with. But, that's just me," Lucien spoke with an innocent facade, shrugging his shoulders. He wasn't sure how obvious, but yes, he was trying to get rid of Vicente to have a bit of alone time with Tessa. He wanted to make her choose, because her obvious indecision was a serious stab to his poor pride. The assassin watched Vicente, who's calculating crimson eyes looked at him for a moment, before giving a weary sigh.

"I suppose I should get it over with, soon... I'm going to get what I'll need. I estimate I'll be back either tomorrow, or the day after," Vicente spoke in a somewhat somber voice, getting to his feet and cracking his knuckles. He gave another glance towards Tessa, before turning and walking down the hallway, silently entering his room. He took a moment to change into his darker attire, lifted his hood and donned his gloves, grabbing a vial of poison and a knife. He exited his room a few minutes later, looking over Lucien and Tessa. "Keep Lucien in line while I'm gone, eh?" Vicente spoke to Tessa, giving a grin that showcased his pointed canines. He shuffled over to her and knelt down for a moment, giving a gentle hug before standing and turning. The vampire lithely climbed the ladder, and exited the Fort.

[Falls]

Aaaaand, there goes another stare down, Tessa grumbled inwardly, her eyes darting between the two until Vicente stood. His departure to his room made Tessa visibly deflate and she began to helplessly gesture at the wires. "They... they're just wires... I don't see why he has to avoid... ehh..." She drooped, sad for Vicente who might never know the convenience of the modern computers around him. As a hacker, computers themselves were games to her. Cracking them was the best part.

Vicente returned in full assassin garb to which she couldn't help but deliver a quick once-over. Snazzy. Very snazzy. And maybe a bit handsome too. Perhaps even borderline sexy? Hmmmm... She snapped out of her appraisal when Vicente strode towards her to give her a good bye hug. She was too late to wrap her arms around him in return, so she settled with sinking happily into the hug the way a feline stretches up against something it likes. And then he was gone. Tessa felt as though a light had gone and left her in the room with an unpredictable, possibly hostile dog. When Lucien was gone, Tessa had felt 100% safe and secure around Vicente who was too much of a gentleman to deliver more than a kiss. But Lucien...

She looked to the man with an eyebrow arched suspiciously, looking him over for a moment before pointing a finger at him. "Do you remember my first threat about shoving tweezers up your a**? That still stands." She maintained the look of suspicion for a moment before breaking down into a smile and a soft chuckle. "What am I doing, you're just a big teddy bear at heart," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she walked away towards the door. "Hey, you hungry or something? I'm hungry. Let's raid the fridge."

[Veins Of Opal]

Lucien looked to Tessa, arching his eyebrow in question. "What did I do to deserve that?" he grumbled, his gaze watching her as she chuckled. "Pfft, I'm not a teddy bear," he growled with a playful undertone, his brown eyes following her as she stood and walked to the kitchen door for food. Lucien gave a sigh, following her into the kitchen. "I don't keep much in my fridge. I've got fruit, and meat, that's about it. I haven't stocked it up in awhile," he informed her as he entered the dull kitchen, resting a hand on the table as he stood there, looking over her watchfully. Her wound had gotten better, but the stitches in her thigh needed at least a day or so until they were ready to come out. He was glad she was okay, though. Were it he with those wounds, they would have seemed minor, to him. But on her, they seemed monumental, possibly even frightening.

"I can run to the store if need be. You're welcome to come along, I don't care either way," Lucien said to Tessa, meandering over to her by the fridge. He wore faded black jeans with a leather belt, and a form-fitting black t-shirt. He had his long hair pulled back in a ponytail, as usual, with wisps and strands escaped here and there. He still looked dark, suave, and mysterious. Vicente wasn't as mysterious, of course, he was more open with himself. Lucien, however... It was obvious he had more than his share of secrets locked tightly inside of his head.

[Falls]

Tessa opened the fridge, disappointed at this small selection laid out before her. As she leaned lightly against the door, she waved away his offer to go grocery shopping. "Later. This is pathetic, but we don't really need to shop yet." Her silver eyes roamed over the shelves, each food catching her eye. She wanted to eat it all! Hmm, bananas looked good. But maybe not. What's this? "Hey. Hey you." She addressed Lucien swiftly as she reached into the fridge and pulled something out, shoving the pack in his face. "You should make me some bacon."

[Eh, short post is short =( Off to chores!]

[Veins Of Opal]

Lucien pursed his lips, his eyebrows furrowed slightly whenever Tessa thrust the package of bacon in his face. He scowled, reaching up and snatching the package. "I like it crispy, and I'm not cooking it any other way, so you'll have to deal with that," he told her, a small smirk upon his lips as he bent down and opened the bottom cabinet, pulling out a frying pan and placing it on the flat-top stove. He laid the bacon out in the pan and turned the oven on as he grabbed a fork to flip the simmering bacon. He did his best to be careful, because we all know how much it hurts to get burned by bacon grease.