Never before had a day passed as slowly as this one did for Avatar. He had been around for more years than he liked to think about, yet this day was by far the worst in his existence. He had been unable to sleep, and as the day passed and the sun moved, his sanctuary in the shadows had grown smaller and smaller. By the time the sun set, he had been pushed up against the wall, unable to move. As soon as the sun set, he was out of the room, grabbing his shirt from the floor as he went, putting it on as he stormed out the door. He needed to find Nickolas, needed to talk to him, needed to explain. He needed to make things right. At first he had no clue where to go, so he followed his instincts, he went where he thought and hoped that Nickolas would be. It did not register in his mind where he walked, he just kept moving, hoping that he would find Nickolas soon, that he would once again feel him, and know where he was. After a while he found himself outside the Red House, walking through it's doors and stopping on the other side, just as he had done the first night when he had met Nickolas. But this night he did not stop because of the feeling that crashed in over him. This night he stopped because of the lack of that feeling. He saw no need to go further inside the place, for he already knew that Nickolas was not there. So instead he turned around and walked out again, moving down a random street, not knowing where to start looking for Nickolas, but not able to give up and go home. It didn't matter if he had to search through the entire city, he would not give up until he found him. ***** He didn't know where he was, or where he had been that day. Ever since he had stormed out of Avatar's apartment he had been wandering around blindly. He did not care where he went, it didn't matter where he would end up in the end. In less than an hour his entire life had changed. He had gone from being happy and falling in love, to being miserable, confused, lost, and still in love. In love with a vampire, a man that would live forever. A man that could not make him immortal. He himself was a vampire, he knew that now. A mortal vampire that would never become immortal. Never because he would not let any vampire besides Avatar do that, and Avatar had said himself that he would not do it, could not. He had said it was impossible, and he had shattered Nickolas' life as he said it. The whole day he had wandered the streets, never once stopping to get a bite to eat or something to drink. He didn't feel hungry or thirsty, didn't feel exhausted or tired. He felt nothing but an emptiness inside. A few times he thought he felt Avatar close by, only to have the feeling change, turn into something evil, something he pushed to the back of his mind and ignored. He hoped that he would feel Avatar, that the vampire would have come to look for him. Yet as much as he hoped Avatar would find him, he had not once considered the idea of going back to the apartment he had left this morning. Never once had he thought about going back to Avatar. That would be too hard for him, to see the man, the vampire, knowing that what he wanted he could never have. That was something he did not wish to face, to deal with, so he stayed away, and he kept on walking. The suddenly something made him stop. A feeling of familiarity and hatred so strong that it could not be ignored. The alley he was in was narrow and dark, and no doors were leading out into it from the surrounding houses, yet there was someone there, hidden in the shadows, watching him without letting his face be seen. A vampire, he knew that know. A vampire of another line than his own, a vampire he didn't know, yet that he hated. A vampire that was watching him from the shadows, who had been following him for some time. A vampire he had let get close. A vampire that was not Avatar. ***** The night was coming to and end as he finally felt something, yet it was not what he had expected to feel. It was different than the one he searched for, yet he could not ignore what he felt, could not ignore what it meant. He changed directions, and started to follow the new feeling, moving quickly so he would not loose it, so it would not fade away in front of him. Faster and faster he walked, and soon he was running through the dark alleys, fading into the shadows as he moved towards the vampires he knew were close. As he turned around a corner he felt something else, a different feeling, hidden by the hatred from the others, now so close there was no way he could ignore it any longer. In the middle of the alley Nickolas stood, his head facing the other way, staring at three figures cloaked in the shadow. Avatar knew that Nickolas would be unable to see them, he did not yet have the keen eyesight the immortals had. Yet he could feel the three vampire, and therefore he knew where to look for them. It did not seem like he had felt Avatar's presence yet, but he would soon enough. As one of the vampires took a step closer to Nickolas, Avatar moved quicker than he ever had before, putting himself between the unknown vampires and Nickolas. He would not let them get too close, no matter what he had to do, he would not let them get close to his Nickolas. "Who are you?" the closest one asked, looking straight at Avatar. Avatar took a step towards him, and, determined to do this right, he placed his right fist over his heart, as he said, "I am Avatar of Avalon, stranger. Whom might you be, who hides still in the shadows while I stand in the open." The vampire stepped forward again, out of the shadows, placing his right fist on his chest as he said, "I am Niran of Ajax, and I have come to claim the boy. Do not get in our way, and no harm will come upon you." Avatar only looked at the man, taking a step closer. "You cannot believe that I will step aside and let you take the boy. He belongs to me, as you surely already know." Niran looked at him, taking another step forward, his eyes locked on Avatar now, standing only a few feet away from him. "Why do you want him? He is Arden, not Avalon. You have no real claim on him at all, Avatar of Avalon." Avatar looked at the man, at all three of them, as he said, "You are of the Greek Lines, and I am of the Latin Line, as is he. Therefore, my claim on him is greater than yours. Therefore, he is mine." As he spoke his tone was commanding, and his manner superior. Niran continued to stare straight at him, taking another step closer. "He is not of your line, So in truth, you cannot stop us from taking him." Avatar didn't take his eyes off him as he took one last step towards Niran, now standing right in front of him, hovering a few inches over the other vampire, looking down on him with death in his eyes. When he spoke his tone was more demanding than before, it was harsh, and it was commanding. "I am Avatar of Avalon, and I claim this boy for mine. Leave now, Niran of Ajax, before I do something I am sure to regret." Niran looked at him, and then at Nickolas. His mind seemed to be racing, his eyes flashing from one to the other, as if he could not make up his mind. Then he gave Avatar a nod, stepped three steps backwards, and inclined his head before he turned around and walked away, the other two mirroring his movements, following him. As they moved away, Avatar turned to look at Nickolas, his eyes shining with joy over having found the man. He neither spoke nor moved, wanting Nickolas to be the one to make the first move. ***** Nickolas had looked at the exchange with interest, wanting to know what was going on, yet not understanding half of it. Now Avatar was there, standing right in front of him, smiling at him, looking at him with those ice blue eyes that he just wanted to drown in. He smiled back, let the familiar feeling wash in over him, and took a step forward to claim Avatar's lips. And for those blissful moments that the kiss lasted, he didn't care about anything. He let the world pass him by, ignored it all, and let himself be part of the feeling that was radiating between them. When he finally had to pull back, he did not move, but stayed standing close to Avatar, his arms around the vampire, his mind standing still now, having given up the race it had been in for almost a day and a night. "Why so formal?" he finally asked, breaking the silence between them. "Formal?" Avatar asked, not understanding the question at first. "When you talked to them, you were formal" Nickolas said, his hand pointing in the direction where the vampires had faded into the shadows. "Because that is generally how you talk to the Three. At least when the situation is like this one" Avatar explained, leaning in to give Nickolas a soft kiss, not wanting to go for long without doing that, needing to feel those lips upon his own. Nickolas looked confused for a second, not understanding about the Three. He did not want to ask about that now though, not when he could be kissing Avatar instead. There was one more question he needed to ask though. "You once told me that Avatar was your real name, as real as the one I go by now. What did you mean by that? What makes you think I will not always got by Nickolas. It is my name after all." Avatar smiled, remembering when he had said that, remembering the first conversation they had, at the bar in the Red House. He raised his hand to Nickolas' face, letting his finger trail a path down his cheek to his collarbone. "Every vampire has two names. The one they are given by their parents when they are born, and the one that are revealed to them after they have Become. Nickolas is the name you go by now, but when I make you immortal, you will get another name, a name that will not be revealed until after you wake up again from your death. A name that I will see, for I will be your at'hethan, your maker." Nickolas looked at him, ignoring the foreign word that Avatar had used, ignoring the fact that he would have a new name soon, and that Avatar has said he was going to die. There was something else that Avatar had said that was much more important. "You will make me immortal?" he asked, unable to believe his own ears. "Yes I will" Avatar replied, giving him another soft kiss. "But you said.."Nickolas started, before he was silenced by another kiss. "I know what I said. Ignore it. I am falling in love with you Nickolas, and I will not let another vampire be your at'hethan. I will be your maker, no matter what the law is." Nickolas smiled and kissed Avatar again. He could stay like that for hours, just kissing him. But the day was coming closer, and he had no idea where they were. All he knew was that Avatar needed to be inside before the sun rose. "We need to get inside" Avatar said, as if he had read Nickolas' mind. Not waiting for a response, he grabbed Nickolas' hand and started to lead him quickly back the way he had come. ***** Avatar seemed to know where they were, and to Nickolas' surprise they were not that far away from the vampires' apartment. Avatar lead him quickly inside, and as they entered the place, the sun slowly started to rise. They still had time before it was high enough to do any damage though. Nickolas quickly walked into the bedroom, closing the curtains before he turned to wait for Avatar. The vampire was close behind, so he did not have to wait long to feel those soft lips upon his own once more. They kissed for a while, satisfied with doing that and nothing else. Avatar then pulled away, looking into Nickolas' eyes, a smile forming on his face. "Will you sacrifice the sun for me, or must I watch you from the shadows, for all eternity?" Nickolas leaned in to kiss him before he gave him his verbal answer, a smile planted on his face the entire time. "I will follow you through everything. I will be with you for all eternity, til the dying sun fades above our heads, and darkness swallows the earth." When he was done talking he muttered under his breath, "poetic enough for you?" Avatar smiled at him, voicing a "yeah" before he kissed him again. This time the kiss was more fierce, more passionate, and Nickolas felt himself being lost in the kiss. His head moved to the side as Avatar started to kiss down his throat, the soft kissed slowly turning into something else, until Avatar had pushed his teeth through Nickolas' skin and was drinking his blood with a hunger Nickolas had not seen in the vampire before. He felt his body going numb, his eyelids became heavier and the air harder to breathe, until he was unable to breathe at all. Then everything turned black. He didn't know how long he had been lying there himself, but he remembered Avatar telling him that after the Becoming he would be dead, or sleep perhaps, until the coming night. So he had been sleeping for merely a day then, yet it felt like it had been for years. He opened his eyes, amazed by what he saw. He could see everything now, even though none of the candles in the bedroom were lit. Avatar was sitting by the bed, smiling, his ice blue eyes shining, though there was no light there to make them shine. Everything felt different now. He could smell better than before, his feelings seemed stronger, his body moved more easily. He didn't understand all these changes, but he knew that he liked them. "Avatar" he said, as he sat up on the bed, already moving towards the other vampire, wanting to be close to him. Avatar let him come close, let him kiss him and hold him, before he pulled back a little so he could look into Nickolas' eyes. No, not Nickolas anymore. From now on he had a new name, a name so different from the one he'd had before, yet it was a name that fit him better than any other name ever had. He leaned close, resting his forehead against Avatar's, as the older vampire finally spoke. "You're going to be the source of great things, young one. I can feel it. You have a glorious future ahead of you, Thiery."