Already Over

Theme : [x]

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The place was familiar, even in it's desolation. She had spared no expense to keep it completely untouched, paid experts to have it hidden to the public eye. To most, it was just an empty lot, having been cleared long ago.

To the girl who stood across the street, however, the wreckage was still completely visible, colors darkened by the lengthening shadows of twilight. The cold of the weather was already starting to sink into her bones, but that was nothing compared to the emptiness that consumed her. No matter how many houses she inherited, no matter how many friends offered her places to live, this would always be home.

Her home lay in ashes.

It was a flickering of a streetlight, the change between shadow and illumination, and the figure was no longer there, having disappeared completely. She didn't bother to check and see if anyone had seen her, the wards were too thick for anyone to witness her now that she was standing on the stone steps - the only thing that seemed to be left other than the foundations and a couple loose boards.

Bare feet padded through ash, destination known from the last time she'd made this journey, all those months ago. She paused at the edge of the carefully stacked portraits, laying her hand on the ice cold barrier. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she looked through the top of the portraits, gazing through the ice to the small bundle inside.

The temperature change that dripped from her eyes steamed as it hit the glass-like substance, her knees suddenly unable to hold her upright as she slid to the frost and ash covered ground. She was talking now, sputtering out everything and anything, admitting and accusing and apologizing to both the buried guardian she'd never appreciated and the one that she feared would never return.

"It's my fault." She whispered at last, hours later, when the tears had all been shed and the words had run out. "I'm sorry I- I killed everyone. I chased them all away. I'm always- always alone Lacey. I know you'd u-understand but- I can't- I just- I can't anymore. I'm not strong enough-" The tears came again, hot and unwelcome. "I'm weak" she whimpered finally, the words soft, the admittance too tired to be bitter. Her eyes slid shut, and she curled into a ball, moving her body as close to the constructed tomb as she could. Her words were a breath, tears still coming, even as she slipped into slumber. "I'm too weak, Lace."

Hours later, the half vampire could be found in the exact same place, fast asleep, the only thing that differentiated her from the ashes her quickly lowering body heat.

Nolan emerged from the shadows of a dark alleyway across from the ashes no one could see. For someone he had been tracking incessantly, Karma was a hard person to find. This time, however, he had known exactly where she would go. So he arrived early, and he waited. Stood entirely still in the icy chill, until he saw her figure slump over in the snow.

The man approached her slowly, eyes wandering over the final ruins of the 'Noble and Most Ancient House of Black'. All the history and the heartbreak. It ended here, with a troubled, lonely girl fast asleep and covered in snow and tears.

It's fitting, in a way, he thought as, for the second time, he picked her up in his arms, It ended not with a whimper or a bang, but a slow crumbling. Much like the Romans, or the Mayans. One day, the people of the world looked around, and were surprised to find that they had disappeared.

"And you my dear," He smiled down at the girl in his arms, "The last of the Black's, are far from weak. For the world is yours to do with as you wish. You have the strength to burn it to the ground, and the love to bring life to it's charred soil." He kissed her soft, cold forehead, and vanished back into the shadows, once again.

The sense of motion roused her slightly, but she was too comfortable to do more than curl into the heat that suddenly surrounded her, along with the scent of safety that always came along with the man's presence. It was enough to bring her close enough to consciousness to be fully recognize that it was her father carrying her, as if she hadn't known the moment she smelled him.

"daddy...?" She murmured, half opening her eyes to gaze up at the man carrying her. Still half asleep, the girl lost all pride and pretense, only wishing to know the truth. "Are... are you mad at me?"

Nolan came to a sudden halt, entirely unable to look down at the girl in his arms. Instead, he stared straight ahead of him, for once his eyes hinting at how the man hadn't slept in several days. He struggled for something to say- no, the right thing to say. That's what he was so good at, after all. Saying the right thing at the right time.

But now, he just... didn't know. "No," He finally said, a certain touch of honesty to his voice that had only appeared a few times in his entire life, "I just want what's best for you."

He shut his eyes as the world swallowed them up, and spit them back out again, this time at a place more familiar to him, less so to her. When he opened them again, there was a man standing in front of him. The only man in the world who could read the look on Nolan's face, and appreciate it for how special it was.

The girl went slightly rigid when he froze, but relaxed again at his words, giving a yawn and nuzzling closer to him. " 'at's good..." She murmured. "I dun't like actin' lik I'm mad at you..." Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, and her eyes closed again, the fabric of his shirt oddly comforting to the scar on that side of her face.

"I 'ought you didn't care." She mumbled tiredly. "You don't act like you care."

He finally had the courage to look back down at her as he said, "Karma. If I didn't care about you, what kind of a father would I be?" Nolan didn't smile. It wasn't in his nature to. If it served no means of communication, then it served no purpose at all.

The man felt a hand resting on his shoulder, his butler giving him a warm smile. He shook his head, "No, I'll take her." He carried her up the large staircase, down several hallways, and into one of the house's many luxuriously furnished bedrooms. He laid her down on the bed, and slid the impossibly soft covers over her. "Any other questions, my dear?" He murmured through the darkness of the room.

"Dunno." She murmured, opening a single amber eye to gaze up at him as she cuddled closer to him, into his chest. "Nev'r had a daddy." Her eye closed, and she seemed to slip back into slumber, letting the motion of his walking lull her back to sleep.

She felt the change in height, the difference between the solidity of her father and the unreal softness of where ever he had placed her. Even tucked in she curled back toward him, her eyes still closed. Her voice was soft, as if, even half asleep, she was aware of how much she did not want to speak her next words.

"Are... you leaving now?"

"Don't be ridiculous," He said softly as he flicked off the softly glowing lamp next to her bed, "What about Cobalt?" For a man who thought he knew everything, Nolan could be surprisingly oblivious when it came to basic emotions. To him, all you had to do to be a good father was just to be there. It hadn't occurred to him that there was anything else involved. After all, his father had never thought of anything else either. Why should he be expected to?

He gave a slight smile as she shook his head, carefully sweeping a stray lock of frozen hair off of her forehead, "Not unless you want me too. Not unless you ask me first."