A night at the metal tavern >Raven<

[Leticia]

Not-so-silent night. Definitely no holy night, Leticia thought to herself, having in mind the whole of the bars, pubs, joints, brothels, dangerous streets and shadowy corners out there. The world after sunset often meant cruelty, pain inflicted on others, violence, revenge, or merely self-selling.

It hadn't been any different anytime she could remember it. Without the colourful lights, fancy cars and guns sounding at times, nothing had changed. "And nothing will" the woman thought, while she took a left corner, onto a street which was nothing different from the one she had just left.

Her heels clacked in a rhythm on the pavement, the wind blew streaks of her hair on her face. A few times, some idiots had whistled at the sight of her, making some not-so-Orthodox remarks about her and the way they'd spend time with her.

She ignore them, like she always had. Maybe she'll return and feed on them later. Now it was time for her to relax and have a good time. It was time for some music.

Finally she reached it. To be honest, on the outside, the bar didn't look any different from any other, but inside its gray walls, Leticia felt at home. They played only good music, metal and rock, and, most of the times, it was rather of a quiet place. Somehow, troublemakers kept away. It was like an altar.

Leticia entered the pub once more. Her appearance, long black hair, black leather overcoat, down to her knees, and matching boots, didn't make a contrast with anyone there. They all looked like that: black jeans (not so clean at times), t-shirts with some band name on them (Poisonrose, many times, Lety thought with a smile), short leather skirts, fishnets. Black hair. Red hair. Long hair. Spikey hair. They had it all.

A Nox Arcana song was played. It was a big difference, from the noise outside. She felt at ease. Sitting herself at a table, she ordered a gin she'd never drink, and looked around. It was as if she was waiting for something. She didn't know what, though.

[Raven]

The night was quiet and a bit dark as the time passed by slowly. Here was London with his nights, with the beauty into the city and the crap at the borders and bad neighborhoods. Unfortunately or fortunately Raven was on the bad side of things. He had grown used to it a lot. He fought and struggled and fought to survive into this. Now there was time for fun, for once. It didn’t happened a lot but sometimes it happened. Raven liked music and liked the loudest side of it. So he sometimes went to certain places and listened to his favorite music.

This night he was supposed to see a band live, one of the good ones he listened to. It was the fist time to see them so it was pretty exciting. As he walked the streets he wore his usual black clothes, black sports shoes, black pants and a t-shirt with the name of the band. After all he decided to fit it with what he was going to listen to. It would have looked pretty weird to have another band onto it and a bit disrespectful probably.

Raven smiled thinking of the vocalist and her stunning beauty. That was something to be seen really. Raven remembered many times when he would want to meet her but he didn’t had way too much hope with that. It was hard to get to know the singers and in a pub there were no meetings organized anyway probably. He was going to get to the first line though. That was the aim.

The young human went inside the pub and found the familiar atmosphere that was usually present in such locations. He saw people drinking and having fun and that was good. He liked to be out of danger for some time. Slowly he went to find a table, even though the place was almost full. Frowning slowly he went to sit in a corner table knowing that when the show will begin he would move up fast to get to the first line. He had no idea if anyone was going to sit down during it. That would be plain weird anyway.

Raven sat down slowly and listened to the background music which was interesting. It sounded very goth like and it fitted well enough. The young human ordered a beer and waited for it to come, gazing around at the other people. They all seem to be waiting the show, drunk or conscious. He grinned and drank from the beer which he found soon onto his table. He didn’t even saw when it was brought.

[Leticia]

Leticia shivered when thinking of how many people had come there tonight. For the reason she was there was a special one: soon enough, she and her band, PoisonRose, would concert there. She had arrived really early, but she had done it on purpose. The bar was far smaller than their usual concert halls, but as she loved the pub, she had made a surprise to the owner by telling him they'd concert there. For free. Something her band mates had agreed on, as they were nice blokes, and loved a good surprise here and there.

Soon enough, she saw an interesting man coming in. Sure, he was dressed in black and everything, just like the rest, but there was something to him. as if he were a real rebel. As if he knew what it was like to live an adventurous life. He lived what others pretended. He was the real thing. Plus, he was really, really handsome.

Dark haired, slim and slender, yet inspiring force and certainty, the man wore a t-shirt with PoisonRose on it. The beautiful artwork on their newest album adorned the black cloth. This somehow made Leticia proud. So he was there for them. For her.

She watched as he sat at a table, watched him from the shadows as he drank a beer. His movements, though full of self-awareness, were somehow tender, in a strange way. And he had a wonderful hair. She was half-dreaming when the message tone of her Nokia woke her up. "Hi Lety, Alex here. Where are you?" "Already there" the vampire answered and put the phone back. Time for some more watching.

[Raven]

Raven kept gazing around and soon he saw someone at a table which resembled a known face. He knew that he had seen that person before, it was a woman and it remembered him of something. Suddenly he turned his look away from her direction realizing that he knew very well who she was. It was the vocalist of PoisonRose. That was freaking amazing, she was there and not many probably noticed.

The young man looked again into her direction. She was amazing, amazing as he knew her from videos, she was a real star and her attire was amazing as well. Raven didn’t had the guts to go to her, not now anyway. He would try after the concert with the others, but only with her? He had no idea if he would act normally. Besides he didn’t want to reveal her to the others which might come around in great numbers if they found out that it was her.

Raven took another sip of his beer and smiled gazing at the table. This was amazing. He looked to see if there were any other members of the band as well but he found no one. This night was going to be interesting and he became pretty impatient in hearing the music, the music he liked.

Sipping from the beer he resumed in gazing at Leticia from time to time and try to remember as many features as he could to make an image that would remain in his mind with her drinking at a table like many others. That was a part of her he rarely had the occasion to see after all.

[Leticia]

Leticia was rolling the glass between her long fingers, pretending to sip from time to time. Her eyes were still, fixed on the man. But she didn't see him as a victim. He was something else to her. She admired him. She liked him.

Her phone announced she had a new message, the Japanese tone she had set waking her from her reveries. "We'll be there in 20 mins. The Merry Gang". Lety smiled. The thought of her band mates filled her with warmth. She loved them.

When she turned her head to the man once more, she noticed he was gazing at her. She smiled. She really liked him. Did he know who she was? Probably.

He had turned her head away, so she left her table, walking firmly towards his. She patted his shoulder and smiled. " Is this seat taken?" she asked on a pleasant voice

[Raven]

Raven turned his gaze from her to sip from the beer and finish it for once. He didn’t like sipping way too long. It was boring. Probably he was the perfect customer for a bar unlike the ones drinking very slow. As he finished the beer he slowly placed the bottle onto the table and gazed to where Leticia was not so long ago but she wasn’t there any more. He frowned and thought that she went to get ready. Oh damn... he wanted to see her more but then he would see her while she was singing.

Raven then suddenly felt his shoulder patted and turned around not really knowing what to expect. Yet he would have never expected that. He gazed in amazement at Leticia, the one that he liked so much, she even spoke to him and asked if the seat was taken. Raven blushed slightly knowing that she might have noticed his looks. This was both embarrassing and amazing at the same time.

He spoke slowly: “Erm, no it’s not taken... Hello Mrs. Evans.” He gazed at her and went up and pulled the chair from under the table for her. His moves were pretty weird and he felt honored for she chose to sit there. He took a seat back to his own chair not being really sure that she will stay.

“I... Well, I am honored to have you talking to me. I like you very much.” He gave a pretty lost look and tried to gaze into her eyes and not allover her as a crazy in love fan. He never expected to talk to her, not like this anyway. Now he would have liked that he would have ordered more than a beer, maybe something better, something she would enjoy.

[Leticia]

Leticia smiled, as she heard the attractive young man babbling. He didn't strike her like the type to do so, but then again, she remembered Alexander the Great himself having some not-so-self secure moments. It happened.

He was indeed handsome, the young man. And there was that something that had lured him. The speakers seemed to explode in Eric Adams' of Manowar powerful voice, as they played Heart of Steel. One of her favorite songs ever.


She closed her eyes for a second, feeling the strong voice, the wonderful lyrics, living them. She inhaled the smell of him, and it was war that ran through his veins, she thought. A warrior he was. HE should've been born 1000 years before, somewhere in Sweden or Norway. A warrior.

A waiter passed, and she ordered a gin for her, and a scotch for the dark-haired man. She liked the smell of gin. She wondered how it tasted.

"come and sit with us after the concert" she said. "we can all grab a drink and chat. Oh, and" she said, looking through her purse "here's something useful around here."

It was a VIP pass. "You can sit in the front row, I'll talk to the guards. Plus, come backstage afterwards. Drink's on us! "she smiled. She liked the stranger, though she had no idea why.

[Raven]

Raven was amazed but he sat down and gazed at Leticia. It was amazing. As he thanked her for the scotch he drank slowly as she stood with her there. She then invited him to drink with them after the show and gave him a VIP pass. Now that was amazing. Raven gazed at her and said: “Well, thank you. This is indeed amazing. Thanks a lot. I will be there for a drink or more.”

He took another sip from the scotch and gazed at Leticia again. “I never thought that so much interesting stuff were gonna happen today.”

[Leticia]

"You know, the most interesting things" Leticia smiled "are those that happen to you out of the blue". The vampire put a hand on his shoulder and gripped gently. She looked into his black eyes and saw the whole world inside of them. "I wish I could read your thoughts, boy" she thought "I bet they're pretty interesting".

Just as she kept looking at him, she herself felt a hand on her shoulder. Three men and a girl, not even in her twenties, were behind her, smiling. They were her band members and friends.

"Oh" Leticia said "my friends are here. We have to get ready. You've got that pass, I hope to see you later." She bent and kissed his forehead, inhaling the smell of his hair at the same time.


With a notch in her stomach, she went away, with her band mates. The concert was soon to begin, but there wasn't much to do, as the sound check had been done in the morning.

As she got to the small room she shared with Amy, the keyboardist, to change in the clothes she'd wear on stage, she felt another type of notch, and this time it wasn't because of the man who had left her such an impression.

She felt something in the air, like a sort of a change. It was as if the balance had broken. Like the frail equilibrium between the forces of Good and Evil had been destroyed.

The air smelled weird. Not in the way that humans would've seen it, but it was there. She heard, as if in a dream, Amy's voice telling her that, 3 days afterwards, Mark, their bass player would become 43. And then it clicked. The day that had just passed was the 3oth of April. It was the night between it and The 1st of May. That explained a lot.

The concert began soon and Leticia felt happy to see what she wanted to see in the first line. They had a great public altogether, and, between them, there were some who, Leticia thought, would never afford a concert otherwise. "We have to do this more often" she whispered to Alex between two songs.

Two hours later it was over. She winked to Raven and invited him backstage with a wide gesture. She sat on a couch and waited.

[Raven]

Raven smiled at Leticia’s reply and a few moments later he was more amazed than he was ever in his life. Leticia actually kissed his forehead and indeed that was a different feeling. First of all it was in front of the other band members, something which was weird. Then it was the shock of seeing the others of the band as well. Besides Leticia’s lips were very cold and that was interesting.

Raven finished his scotch and went up from the table to prepare for the incoming concert. It was interesting to know that after that he will see the entire band again and mostly Leticia which he loved so much and which was unusually friendly almost. Anyhow, he never thought that she was the same with the other fans and he wondered why, why she gave him the pass and why she was so close to him. Maybe each rock star wanted his share of fun and maybe that’s what she wanted as well. Raven thought that he wouldn’t mind at all, even if it was just a fun night.

The young human used his VIP pass to get to the first line which apparently was now guarded. That sucked as he thought that he was going to get there without problems. Anyways, he would have tricked the guards somehow. He had done it many times and the fact that he was never put in jail was a proof for that.

Soon the concert began with the usual loud sound and Raven gazed at the members of the band coming and taking their places. He liked Leticia the most but the other ones were as awesome, besides the other girl was nice as well. He began listening and with the loud music came the unique atmosphere as well, the moves and the shouts and the singing. All was perfect indeed all along the concert. Raven gazed at Leticia and smiled at a certain time. He was grateful to her anyway and he loved her even if he wouldn’t say that while she was close. Sometimes he imagined not so innocent stuff that he would have tried with her. Thinking of that he smiled and decided to shut up on those anyhow.

As soon as the concert was over, Raven showed the pass to the guards and went into the backstage. It wasn’t that fun to show a pass. It was better to get through sometimes and he noticed that. The pass held no thrill but at least he got to the destination in one piece.

Leticia’s invitation held something very appealing and he followed her and took a seat onto the couch near her. With a happy look Raven spoke: “It was amazing as always. I liked it a lot.” He kept watching her, a few crazy thoughts intruding but being fast put aside. He watched her waiting to see what she was going to say.

[Leticia]

While sitting on the couch, as the Alex, Mark, Ian and Amy had gone to catch their breaths (something she indeed didn't need, and that passed as her being in an exceptional physical form) Leticia thought of the man who had so much troubled her soul, and why she liked him so much. it was as if he was a long-forgotten friend, someone she had met long before.

But no, he wasn't a vampire. She was sure of that. And she'd never met him before. He wasn't more than 23 she thought and she definitely hadn't seen him before. "I'd remember those eyes, goddamn it" she though.

She looked at her boots, up to her knees, covering her feet, which she had stretched before her. It had been a beautiful night, she thought. The concert had been a real blast (and Alex had approved of repeating the experience) and she was happy.

There he was, soon enough. The others hadn't returned yet (and they were out for a smoke, probably, which she hated, because not long ago Amy had started smoking herself, and it was because of all her troubles with the unshared love she had for Alex), so she could spend a few moments with the young man who had intrigued her so much.

He sat next to her and told her how much he had liked the concert. Leticia felt uneasy. She looked at him, at his fair skin, black hair and big eyes, and realized how many things she wanted to know of him, and how much she wanted to have more time together with him. And.. how much she wanted him.

The revelation came as a shock to Leticia herself. It wasn't normal. She had never been like this. She wanted him, and, also, she wanted to drink his blood, to know how he felt and to know him in so many ways.

She gasped slowly as she tried to chase those thoughts away, but the wonderful scent he spread made come back again and again. So, before she could stop herself, she asked "so, later on, do you wanna go for a walk? I could use one."

[Raven]

Raven gazed at Leticia and he was indeed having crazy thoughts now but he knew how to hide such things pretty well, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. She mentioned something about a walk and he spoke slowly: “Sure, that would be amazing. Where are the rest anyway?” He gazed at her waiting for the answer and at the same time thinking how lucky he was to even be here. After all no one granted half outlaws nice meetings.

Leticia was interesting, she was nice and warm and apparently she didn’t act like the big star which was a bit weird. She surely wasn’t doing that. No such one would have invited him to have fun with the band after the concert. They would have kept it to their own. Raven looked around to observe the surroundings. The backstage didn’t have many special things but it was the backstage after all. It was the place where everyone would want to come.

Raven gazed at Leticia and spoke: “You are very kind to grant me the honor of meeting you. I love you and appreciate you.” Raven stopped with a short gasp and then he went on: “do you always choose people to meet the band?”

[Leticia]

Raven's last words came as a strike. Leticia would've expected anything but those. She smiled in an insecure way, asking herself whether she should tell him the truth or not. "Well no lies. Not in this, anyways" she thought.

"Actually, friend, I never did this before. Of course, I talk to fans at signings or so, but no. It's new for me too. And I just felt like I had to do it." she stopped to see his reaction.

"My band mates are probably out for a smoke. I hate smoking" she laughed "Do you smoke?" Just then, The Nightwish cover of Pink Floyd's High Hopes was played in the speakers that were put besides the wall.

Losing herself for a moment in Hietala's enchanting voice and again charmed by Holopainen's piano skills, she asked dreamily "And what is your name, stranger?"

[Raven]

Raven was kind of startled when he heard that this was the first time she did that. It was weird and amazing at the same time. He wondered what he did to get that after all. He listened to Leticia and found out that the rest of the band was out for a smoke and he spoke slowly: “Um, smoking is not my favorite activity I’d say. It happened a few times but just because of the surroundings. I’d like to see them too tonight as well. Anyhow I am glad to be with you here. I have always listened to you and never thought we’d get to talk like this.”

Raven moved a bit closer to Leticia. She looked amazing, so amazing. He gazed down her legs which she kept stretched but he moved his look fast and gazed to her. It wasn’t that wise to stare at someone so close to you. He spoke slowly: “What do you do while not singing? Do you like doing anything special?

Raven waited for an answer and at the same time he thought that he would find one as well as he wasn’t all too proud of what he was doing otherwise. He was just making small and insignificant deals on the streets of the town, one of the many lowlifes that went around, a lowlife with dreams of becoming a greater lowlife. Inside his mind a bitter laugh sounded with many echoes. That was his life and the meeting with Leticia was just a small sweet part of it.

[Leticia]

Leticia looked the man in the eyes once more and asked herself whether she wasn't too overwhelming in what she did. Her eyes seemed to ask many questions "Who are you" she thought "what do you do? And moreover" she gasped "Why do I like you so much?"

She liked him a lot, and she had to admit it. Furthermore, she realized that the feeling she had had before, of knowing him, was only partially true. She liked him not because she knew him, but because she always knew that she'd like a person like he was. "You're a true rebel, aren't you? You're a fighter."

She smiled and then went to the small fridge in the corner of the room, opened it (bending so that her skirt wouldn't rise too much, what the hell!) and took a bottle out. She poured a glass of vodka and came back with it, giving it to the man.

"Here you go. I won't have another, I don't want to exceed." She sat on the sofa, closer to him than she had been before. Actually, her left knee was now touching his feet.

She turned to him and started playing with the ring she took off her index, the big onyx stone shaking between her fingers. She couldn't help but look him in the eyes, while her vampire senses went wild at the scent he spread.

She put a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled "Well, what else do I do? Hmmm, I read a lot. Mostly history books, and fantasy also. I've been hooked to this series now, The History of The Caladrim. It's by a Romanian author, she's pretty good. I should lend it to you sometimes. It's a good read."

She paused for a minute and put the ring back on, letting her hands rest on her lap. "I travel a lot, too, and I love buying souvenirs from the places I visit. I also collect fairy figurines. I must have like 200 by now. And I buy books and antiques. I sometimes write songs or lyrics. And I watch a lot of movies. I've been engaged to this guy who was a director."

Again she paused, excusing herself, and texted Alex "Kids, come on already. we're waiting". Then she looked at him once more and smiled. "I'm also trying to write a book. About vampires."