Sand In Your Shoes [Freddy]

[Victoria]

Raise up the ghosts of the dead - I won't die like them
Push past the point of raw emotion - I will breathe
Exist with a broken spirit - I will die complete

Victoria was in a particularly foul mood on the sunny day in Port Angeles. Although it was far from the truth, the orange-haired vampire felt as if the sunshine was keeping her trapped in the small house. Far as it was from the truth since, if Victoria actually decided to put the effort forth, the vampire could easily escape the small house, but it would take lots of layers of clothes and a half way decent plot to escape without any prying human eyes seeing her light up like a kaleidoscope. At the moment, Victoria wasn't interested in putting such effort into a scheme but instead chose to simply sulk in the small house. After all, there were plenty of people to annoy now that their numbers had grown to seven.

Victoria exited her room with slow, dragging steps. She was wearing comfortable clothes; it was what she had changed out of when she had returned from hunting that prior night. The hunt had left the orange-haired vampire empty handed, but it nonetheless had put her in a good mood. Unfortunately, that good mood had evaporated as each hour passed. So, there Victoria sat with her curly hair frizzed out in a high ponytail. Within moments, the vampire had seated herself on her favorite chair and had assumed a relaxing stance although her body remained tense.

Tucked in her lap was a book that the vampire honestly had no intention of reading. She had been saying she was going to read it for years simply for laughs (It, after all, was an author's interpretation of just what vampires were and how they actually did exist.), but Victoria never gave it the time of day. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity, but her mind was else where: dwelling on her bad mood

Ignore what the angels say, enjoy that special place where the demons speak to me
I won't pick out the lining of my coffin yet unless I am sure that color satin is me
Better yet go with crushed velvet, that way I'll be damn sure to enjoy eternity

((Living Each Day Like You're Already Dead by Atreyu))

[Freddy Umphries]

Freddy was in a particularly good mood even though it was a nice, sunny day outside. He had a belly full of blood and felt impeccably strong today. As he was walking through the tiny house James, Victoria, and Laurent resided he couldn't help, but have a little bounce in his step. That's when he spotted the aforementioned vamptress sitting in one of the chairs in the living room. He smirked. It was one of his very favorite pastimes to annoy her. It wasn't until James told him to leave her alone did he stop.

He tiptoed silently over to where she was sitting her. And when he was directly behind her, he whispered into her ear. "Boo." He couldn't help, but laugh. His arrogance was one to rival even hers and he was quite aware of the fact. I'm simply the best.

[Victoria]

Victoria, even as distracted as she was with her not so pleasant mood at hand, wasn't shocked by Freddy's attempt to scare her. In Victoria's mind, nothing was too immature or irritating for the vampire to attempt to do to simply bother her. Needless to say, he wasn't exactly Victoria's favorite newborn since she most defiantly didn't want to rip him apart because of some passion she had for him. The worse thing was he didn't even intimidate easily. Instead, James tended to have to come to her rescue to get the pest to leave her alone.

"Freddy," Victoria growled as her burgundy eyes remained fixed forward. She knew his charade by now, although it didn't help when it came to not getting bothered by it. The orange-haired vampire wasn't used to others turning on her own on her, even though she hardly saw it like that. Instead, Freddy was just a nuisance she had to put up with, no matter how much she despised his arrogance that resembled her own so much.

"This act's really getting old, you know. You need a hobby," hissed the vampire with hints of annoyance in her voice. When it came down to it, Victoria allowed Freddy to get under her skin unknowingly. It was just something about the vampire that rubbed her the wrong way; they were probably too alike for their own good.

Victoria's legs crossed dismissively. She opened her book to some random page and tried to focus on the words on the page. The day was bad enough without Freddy around. It was a pathetic attempt to force the vampire to leave the room from boredom; Victoria knew better than to try to drive him away with words, although that didn't often stop her from trying.

[Freddy Umphries]

He smirked at her tone when she said his name. "Yes Victoria?" He placed extra emphasis on the last part of her name. "What act? I'm just being myself, Victoria. And why in the world would I need a hobby when I have you?" He laughed, clearly enjoying himself. Freddy was more then glad that James wasn't in the room right now. He knew that if James was here then he couldn't bother Victoria as much as he'd like to. "Victoria, you really need to calm down. I know you're like, centuries old and stuff, but can't you just lighten up? All I'm doing is just having a little fun. I have to stay cooped up in this house too, ya know."

Freddy was in the middle about becoming a vampire. He knew he was one of the stronger ones. Probably the strongest one... But he knew that he couldn't have a normal life anymore. That fact made him hate James just a little for turning him. Except he was 18. Eternal youth and, paired with good looks, he could have any woman he could possibly want. "Please, like you're actually reading that book...besides, I'm much more entertaining then that old, dusty thing you have there in your hands." His ever present smirk widened.

[Victoria]

Victoria subconsciously grimaced at the specific way Freddy seemed to spit her name out. The emphasis on the latter part of her name seemed taunting in nature to the orange-haired creature. It took hardly anything to set her off when it came to Freddy Umphries. She wasn't quite sure how anyone could even stand to be in the same room as him for any decent span on time. Her current theory was that they had lost their sanity or rather the ability to gouge irritating things around them. On top of which, Victoria had yet to figure out how James had skipped over one of her more important criteria for the newborns; they couldn't be annoying. Just because the orange-haired vampire could list hundreds of traits that annoyed her about the human race with ease didn't mean James (Despite the fact that he ranked higher than herself, and that he had the ability to do whatever he pleased) could skip what ones he pleased.

"Maybe you should invest in a hobby that won't rip you to shreds," commented Victoria as she flipped a couple of the dusty pages absentmindedly. It wasn't a real threat. After all, the boy was James's thing. Although the vampire doubted her mate would hold a serious grudge against her for any length of time, it would most defiantly complicate matters.

The vampire's burgundy eyes narrowed at Freddy's comment. She wasn't sure just what she was supposed to feel. In a way, her age rooted a sort of pride within herself; after all, it was just a number to her. It wasn't like the decades had actually taken a toll on her physically. However, the fact that the comment had come from Freddy made her aware that the words weren't delivered out of respect.

"Entertaining?" repeated Victoria with an emphasized laugh. "Entertaining implies enjoyment. No, the right word is irritating, and that's putting it mildly."

[Freddy Umphries]

Freddy could tell, even before he came into the room, that Victoria was already being bothered by him. "Rip me to shreds? By you? Sorry Victoria, but I don't think you'll be able to catch me. I am a newborn after all. I'm much stronger and faster then you," he taunted. Freddy knew that Victoria had some power over him seeing as she was James's partner and therefore what James says goes. Wait...you know what? I don't listen to her even if James tells me to. But he couldn't stop himself when it came to Victoria. Freddy loved seeing her mad.

"You know what? Being an old hag suits you Victoria." Freddy knew that he might have gone too far with the "old hag" comment. On the outside, Victoria was far from being an old hag. Freddy could go so far as saying she was beautiful, vicious, but still beautiful. But, technically, she was a couple of centuries old. He wasn't quite sure. He mother had taught him not to ask a lady her age. Freddy smirked. "So, really, how old are you? You've never told me. And I know I'm not supposed to ask a woman her age, but...you're more of a rabid animal then a woman." He laughed as his joke. Ever so slowly, he stepped backwards towards the front door.

[Victoria]

"Newborn," hummed Victoria, as if she was contemplating the thought. Sure, newborns were known to wreak destruction and were the vampire weapon of choice in the more southern parts, but, in Victoria's opinion, that was only because they were so easily replaced and lost without a care. They were strong, sure, but the human blood that flowed so abundantly through their veins was the only thing they really had going for them as far as Victoria was concerned. "And that's you're problem. You newbies let it get to your head and forget that actual fighting ability conquers brute strength. Easily." Sure, she was exaggerating, but what did you expect from Victoria? As if to emphasize her point, the orange-haired vampire turned to the irritating creature near her and patted him on the head as if she was consoling an upset child.

Her teasing and mocking demeanor quickly changed at Freddy's comment about her appearance. It was needless to say that the volatile vampire had thin lines, and the irritating newborn had just blindly crossed one of the more delicate ones; Victoria's appearance wasn't something that was easily dismissed. For one thing, Victoria found herself to be beautiful in a more startling and rare way. To say she was vain would be taking it too far, but nonetheless the orange-haired vampire still found pride in her appearance. The sensitivity derived from the occasional negative comment from other nomadic vampires about her untamable orange hair and her sharp features.

Only moments later Victoria's face hovered threateningly in front of Freddy's while her burgundy eyes glittered dangerously. Her pale hands dug into the tender fabric of chair while her fingernails threatened to tear it. A dangerous sound emerged from her throat.

"Take it back," she hissed with her teeth barred.