New Years Ritual

[Night Tenjo]

It was December 30th, her birthday was the next night. A full moon would be shining bright, the air crisp and cool with the ground covered in snowy white fluff. Frozen droplets falling from the sky like a million unique beautiful gifts from above, from Nyx. Anyone would have to be crazy not to believe this was a perfect winter scene for the end of the year. Night took a deep breath after spending a good hour staring at her ceiling right after waking up from several tosses and turns in her bed as the memories flooded. She finally took another deep breath after what seemed like hours and sat up, turning to sit on the side edge of her black satin coaxed bed. In only satin pajama pants and a black camisole her feet began slowly decreasing the space between the wooden floor and the bottom of her feet. As the callous skin grew closer to the floor the cold radiated from the wood up to her feet until the cool feeling shot up her body as she stood. She walked from her bed, each cool step of the way to her door, past her kitchen, stopping before her sofa and looked to her right at the dark curtains covering her glass sliding doors to her balcony.

She peered at the dark purple and black sheer curtains sliding one to the side to look outside. She pushed them to one side and opened the door walking out from the cool wooden floor toe the snow dusted concrete balcony. Her steps delicate and like as the snow that fell from the scarcely clouded sky. She walked to the thick concrete railing, leaning on the lightly dusted surface, breathing the cool air, the crisp dry air filling her lungs like spearmint. Night sighed as she looked up. "Turning 20 years old... but... it feels like forever... with the nightmares never ending, never fading, never dying..." She whispered exhaling deeply causing a foggy cloud to evaporate into the thin winter breeze. She looked at the almost full moon, she felt a tear start forming in the crease of her eyes, a red bloody tear that froze before it could go anywhere. Then she felt a hand on her practically bare (except the spaghetti strap) shoulder. A very warm, worried hand. She tried not to turn and face the owner of the hand, trying to hide her thoughts and her expression.

[Seamus McAllister]

Seamus woke up, but kept his eyes closed for a while, not feeling like getting up just yet. Instead, he held a mental conversation with Jormun about the Asgard's history and how it was possible that he had been alive for millions of years already. After around half-an-hour of this, he finally opened his eyes and found himself in Night's apartment. She had invited him over for the weekend to celebrate the New Year, but the full moon the next night would make things... Problematic.

He heard light footsteps moving towards him and looked around to see his girlfriend wandering around then to the balcony. Groggily, he squinted to make sure he still wasn't dreaming then said quietly, "Night?" The werecat swung his legs around and stretched his back to try and limber up a little before standing up and going after her. He watched as she stepped onto the balcony then started to follow her.

What is she doing? Instead of sounding sarcastic or condescending as he normally did, the god actually seemed to be a mixture of curious and worried for the girl.

Seamus stepped onto the balcony after Night and laid a hand on her shoulder before asking her worriedly, "You okay, love?"

[Night Tenjo]

The warmth spread from his hand through her body as his voice rang in her ears. "Shay... What happened to your parents? Like why don't you live with them? I don't think I've ever asked before." Night asked still looking to the sky. She took deep breaths, watching as they turned into clouds that evaporated as quickly as they appeared. She felt his hand put pressure onto her shoulder trying to turn her to face him. She turned with his hand looking at him almost shamefully. Night didn't want him to see her memories as she had seen his. She didn't want him to hear her thoughts as they usually shared. It wasn't fair that she knew the full depth of his past trauma and he didn't know hers. But it would be even worst if he did get the full depth of her past. Her half brother's torture, her parents brutal (which is an understating term) murder, what happened to her after they're deaths, and then how her aunt found her and the awkward way she was raised. She wouldn't have minded letting him know about how she came to live in Chicago, how she met her best friends, any questions that Shay may have about why Alex was with Allison instead of maybe being with her. Anything but the painful parts of her memory bank.

[Seamus McAllister]

"Because they're half a world away," Shay sighed out in reply. "The last time I got a letter from them, they said they were moving back to Scotland. They were going to move back there anyway, but the only difference in their plan was that I wasn't with them when they did." He sighed again in sadness and tried not to let himself cry. "It's not as if they did it by their own choice, though. The night that I left, I could hear them crying in the kitchen about the whole thing. I felt so guilty afterwards that I barely even talked to Zain or anyone else for a while."

He smiled at the girl as she turned around to face him and, seeing the look on her face, asked in a concerned tone, "What's up, Night? You been having those nightmares again?" Knowing that what he was about to ask could upset Night dearly, the werecat asked her, "Do you want to tell me what they're about?" And got ready to pull her into a hug if he needed to.

You know, said the ever-present voice in Seamus' head, I could just as easily get into her memories when she's asleep.

Jormun.

What?

What'd I say about doing that type of crap without someone knowing?

That it was manly and impulsive?

That you shouldn't do it. Ever.

Fine. We'll just do it the normal and boring way then.

[Night Tenjo]

She tried to grin hiding the pain. "Nightmares, memories, same thing." She said grinning with glistening eyes. She looked deep into his loving eyes.

"Someone wants to intrude in here Night..." Yami whispered in the back of Night's head. "But that's not gonna happen... don't worry Night... I'll never let someone see these nightmares... never let you get hurt again." The dark voice said as her eyes began drying up.

"I know it's not far that I've seen your nightmares but I never want you to see mine. I never want you to carry even an ounce of these terrible thoughts." Night said replying to his worries, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"The intruder's being held back by your kitten. But he still wants in. I don't like this, but there is no chance of someone getting in here. No matter who or what they are." Yami spread a cloak of shadows into the small mental space that Night and Yami shared whenever they spoke together.

The area was a tiny room, lined with black walls that'd change from time to time. Right now the room was as though Night was standing alone at first in a wide spread garden in the twilight times of early morning everything dusted with snow as the city was from the balcony of her apartment outside of her head. The scenery was from a memory, from a familiar place, a peaceful place, her parents home, where she grew up until well she no longer could live there in peace.

But as soon as Shay touched her shoulder and there was a risk of intrusion the location changed. It grew small and dark from the wide open and snow covered bright place. The cloak that turned the innocent scene into a small dark room with only a mirror. Night would look in that mirror and what would be looking back would be herself, only different... Yami. Night spoke with Yami through a mirror unless she needed to break it and allow Yami full control which was rare and as of yet not by choice.

"I won't let them in. SO don't think about anything right now but the comfort he'll offer you for now." Yami said filling the small room with a fog. Heated mist, clouding the senses just enough to block any intruder and hide any doorway that would be visible if Night was thinking about it.

With Night thinking about other things the door that lead to the vault of memories would be shut and locked and with the added fog that was a mix of comfort, desire and some dark influence from Yami no one could find the door to even try and open it.

Night loosened her hold. Looking deeper into Shay's eyes as the fog thickened. She pressed her lips, almost desperately, against his. Clearly catching him off guard, Night kept her lips locked with his.

[Seamus McAllister]

Dammit!

What?

Yami's acting up again. She just blocked Night's mind from anything getting in or out. Even if I wanted to get in, I wouldn't be able to.

"Night," Seamus said, trying to keep Night unaware of the fact that Jormun was currently being some sort of secret agent and trying to sneak into her mind. "You're right. It isn't fair. Not in the slightest." He suddenly became serious and slightly angry. "I know you don't want me to see it. I know you think it'll only be for the worse if I do see it, but I think you're forgetting who I have in my head."

Before he could finish though, Night kissed him and, next thing he knew, he was in his head.

Shay looked over at Jormun, sighed, then said, "Really? You choose that exact moment?"

The Aesir shrugged. "I think this is a little bit more important than just kissing Night. Something's going on in her mind that I have never seen before. Yami has either more hold over Night's mind than Night does, or she has mental abilities on par with a demi-god."

"Oh great, so not only is Yami completely out-of-her-freakin'-skull-insane, but she's also as powerful as someone who's half a god."

"You have no idea." Jormungandr gestured towards a window in the room that was Shay's mind. "Take a look for yourself."

After sighing again, the young Scot made his way to the window, only to say, "I can't see anything."

"Exactly. Yami's made such a powerful shield around Night's conscious that it's going to take a long time to get in."

"So you can't do it?"

"I never said that." The golden-eyed man made a sword appear in his hand. "You keep Night distracted, I'll deal with her psycho side if I get to the other side of that of in your lifetime."

Seamus was back into the real world, where it seemed like only a split-second had gone by. He pulled himself away from the Vampyre's kiss and said, "Come on, let's get you inside. You must be freezing out here." Before starting to lead her back inside.

[Night Tenjo]

Night followed her imprinted were cat back into the apartment. "Shay?" She asked with a shudder in her voice. She wasn't sure where things were headed but she couldn't think right now. Whenever Night had her nightmares she would become vulnerable and Yami would make her defense. But this time Yami was taking advantage of how Seamus McAlister made Night feel.

"Enjoy him, Night." She whispered thickening the fog, rising the heat, and increasing the need. The dark room changed as it did when Yami was alone, or mostly. The room turned to a dungeon with a single mirror with an elegant black trim and framed with dark sheer curtains. A vast and deep pool with a dark red liquid filling it. a mix of miscellaneous flower petals floating atop. Yami was barely clothed with a Greek bikini like outfit. Silver bangles and bands on her arms, wrists and ankles, she walked toward the edge of the pool. "A little blood lust to strengthen the desire and increase the sensations." She grinned stepping slowly into the pool, letting the blood engulf her. She closed her eyes as she soaked in the literal blood bath. Opening her senses to the fog surrounded walls until she felt the strange disturbance that was Jorum trying to find the way in. She smirked opening her eyes as the pupils dilated in to slivers instead of dots. "Go ahead and try but even if you manage to get in the past is even hidden within." She smirked resting her arms along the rounded edge of the pool with her head tilted back looking to the high bricked ceiling.

"Shay..." Night whispered lustily waiting for his reactions.

[Seamus McAllister]

Noticing the change in Night's behaviour (the whisper was a slight give away), Seamus grabbed her waist, partly trying to reassure her somehow, and partly to keep her from trying to bite him. He could definitely see that a bloodlust had set in and he needed to keep her partially sane for both of their sakes. "Night, you're not thinking clearly." Jormun, please tell me you know what's going on.

The Aesir still hacked at the mist with his sword, then became alarmed as it turned from black to a deep crimson. "Oh no..." He started swinging his sword more, glad that the bloodlust had made it weaker, but also worried about what it may mean in the physical world.

Just keep at it, Shay. I'm almost...

Suddenly, Jormun burst through the last part of the mist and found himself in a dungeon.

Wow, Yami is fucked up.

He directed his attention to the rather psychotic looking alternate personality who was, of course, sitting in a pool of blood. "Evening, Yam," The Aesir said whilst waving to her. "You want to tell me why you're making Night lust for blood or are you going to be enigmatic like you always are?"

[Night Tenjo]

Yami tilted her head back to see the Asgard in her domain. "Welcome." She said turning to fold her arms on the edge and rest her upper body on them. "Didn't hear you knock. Are all Asgardians so rude?" She asked deviously. "But to answer your question," She said moving towards the blood submerged steps, walking out of the pool the red droplets falling from her body. "This behavior is better than what she tries to do every year. Your Seamus has actually helped provide a brilliant solution. The past several years she's attempted suicide, gotten into brutal fights, pretty much a whole death wish deal." Yami stated walking behind a curtain and slowly removed her bloodied clothes tossing them to the floor just outside the curtained area. "Rather than her suicidal and masochistic tendencies taking over forcing me to come out with my blood lust and go on a blood stained raid as a result of her injuries... why not sedate her with your lovely Shay's kindness, body and blood." She said picking out a new dress. Purple with black lace. "Tell me Jormun, would you mind lacing the back?" She asked as if the situation outside this small world weren't important.

Night leaned her forehead against Shay's, breathing hard as she rubbed her nose lovingly to his. "Shay..." She whispered needily.