Private Finished Discovering the Strip

Natasha laughed when she saw Eve’s fire, “That will certainly do the trick too, and it’s probably just as effective.”

“Cool flames? That’s a new one for me. I’ve never seen such a thing before.” she remarked truthfully. Thinking that it was a very useful way to frighten people away. “Can it actually burn, or is it just a defensive thing?” Natasha asked very intrigued by his abilities and wondering what else he could do.

Smiling when Eve made the remark about not needing ball gown skills, Natasha turned sideways while they walked and sized Eve up. Looking at him, his trim body, height, delicate features, she then said, “You’d actually look very good in a ball gown, just the right figure for one too. Too much bust actually makes the coresting of the dress harder to do up.” she said with a wide grin.

“My skills with champagne flutes comes from my sordid past.” Natasha remarked in a mock whisper, pretending it was a secret. As she considered how much to tell him, Eve then asked about her past, also hinting at the fact that he knew she was older than she looked, making Natasha chuckle softly at this. Glad in way that he had guess that about her.

“Remember how you said I fit in with the Strip, but was above it also..” Natasha said as they continued along the Strip, neon lights everywhere, “Well, you were right in many ways.” she said as she looked at Eve more seriously now, “I was born in Russian in 1769, and when I was 11, my mother sent me away to be part of the royal family household. There I was taught to read and write and given an education. I also learned how to be a "lady"." here she emphasized the word and let Eve make of it as he would.

"Later, I became a courtesan, lady-in-waiting, whatever you want to call it, to Catherine the Great. I entertained men - and sometimes ladies” - here Nastasha grinned at Eve playfully, “Attended and hosted dinner parties, spied for Catherine if needed, and became the friend, confidant and often the mistress or lover to many great men of the period.” she explained calmly.

@EmiRose

“Using your soul, yes, that makes sense… “ Natasha nodded very thoughtfully when Even explained to her how his abilities worked and how he could manipulate the intensity of the heat.

“Yes, corsets, at least the ones back then, were not comfortable. Half the time you could barely breathe in the them.” she said agreeing with Eve wholehearted, “You like jewelry?” Natasha said with a wide grin when Eve showed her his bangled arm, “Guess what gifts powerful men used to give ladies to impress them? And guess who is a pack rat and couldn’t sell off anything sentimental?” Natasha said, thinking of her many trunks and chests of fancy dresses and jewelry that she carried with her from hiome to new home.

“I can show them to you one day, if you like?” Nat offered, she enjoyed sharing her collection with people who were interested.

Natasha looked at Eve, “Thank you. It’s not pity when you understand. It’s only pity when you pretend you do.And I sense you do.” she said looking at a rowdy group of people across the way.

“A past like mine always sounds glamourous because few remember or know what life was like back then. The castles were cold in the winter, they often stank, the food - even for the royal house - was scarce at times and we’d be hungry, and the illness and chance of dying was so very great.” she said with a grim look on her face. “And people were just as cruel or crueler than today. Back then, my life meant nothing. I was a pretty play thing basically.” she stated simply and without any emotion.

“One of my lovers was a vampire.” Natasha said as she looked at Eve and suddenly she just felt a bit better, it was like he understood the pain that she kept hidden deep inside her. “I didn’t actually know it at the time, I should have, I was a witch, I knew things and felt things, but with him I didn’t, I felt safe around him at all times…” she said with a shrug. “And one night, when I was sleeping he drained me, and left me. He probably thought I was dead.” she mused.

@EmiRose

“You can talk to fire?”” Natasha stated, extremely surprised by Eve’s admission.She had never heard of such an ability. And when he told her the conversations got boring fast, she actually laughed. “And here I thought the conversations might be about “hot” topics.” she remarked jokingly, not being able to resist the bad pun.

Natasha nodded in understanding at Eve’s clarification of his passion for jewelry. “I think you will like it. The craftsmanship is so precise and so detailed. I have a teardrop emerald broach, that has leaves and tiny birds with ruby eyes around each emerald setting. It’s one of my favorite pieces.” she said as she made little hand gestures as she talked about the broach.

“It was a difficult time back then.” Natasha agreed, glancing at Eve when he mentioned having seen, and by the sounds of, it experienced and lived through a dark past too, a part of her went out to him. She had always felt she could carry her own burdens, but never wished such burdens on others. “Art can be cathartic and healing. For me it was travelling. A few months after I was turned, I became sullen and wistful, melancholic. I missed my old life, the old Natasha. And I hated everything around me, and resented everyone around me, even wished I had died, I hated myself and my circumstances..” she said with the passion of a forgotten but hurtful memory… this was the first time she actually confessed in 250 years to anyone how much the change had originally affected her.

“Because of my “moodiness”, I was asked to leave,” here her tone changed, "I still remember Catherine’s loving words that "it was my time to fly, to test my wings and live life outside the castle walls,". She then gave me all my jewels, paintings, gifts, clothing, a large chest of gold coin and a private escort out to the Russian border.” she said, “And from there I travelled straight to Spain, and moved from place to place over the years. I saw new beauty, new and worse ugliness, and slowly forgot my own pain.” she confessed as she looked at Eve knowing her understood what she meant.

“Revenge? And regret? Oddly enough, no, neither…” she said with a shake of her head, “I guess that I always believed it as my fate. You see I was a witch in my human life, I did seances and tarot card reading for the court, it was more a parlour game to them, and, well, I could never see my own future. It was always unclear, and I never sensed anything for myself in a reading.”

“You? Have you ever wanted revenge for something? Or had a major regret?” Natasha asked curiously as she swatted the hands of a groper away.

@EmiRose

Natasha couldn't help but laugh at Eve's heated pun. They both obviously had a fondness for bad jokes and puns. She loved it when people could laugh at their own bad jokes. He obviously didn't take himself too seriously despite looking all serious and stuff.

"Anytime you want.... I'd be more than happy to share my jewelry with you. Some of them are tiny pieces of art." she said, only to happy to be able to share her passion for jewelry with someone else.

"I honestly feel I can talk to you without being judged." Natasha explained, "There's something, a vibe of sorts, that makes me trust you and feel there's more behind the stoic face that you present to the world." she said as she looked at Eve with a warm, yet understanding look. Thinking that she'd like to see him again after tonight, and hoped he'd actually take her up on her offer to sketch her jewelry.

"Yes, my powers have become stronger. It's crazy how much they amplified afterwards. I almost ended up in a loonie bin because my empathy started to grow so strong that it would make me overload and black out. I also couldn't feel or control my own feelings for a while, that was maddening...imagine being turned on in a shoe shop just because some person has a fetish involving women's shoes." she said with a grin. She still found that situation quite funny.

Seeing, or feeling Eve's anguish, shot through to Natasha's heart. Life was not fair. She did not know what happened to him in the past, but she could feel it wasn't good. "I think we all have regrets. It's normal, we make choices and sometimes, we wish we had taken the other path instead." she said as she side-stepped a drunk in the middle of the street. "Don't worry, I understand if you don't want to talk about it." she replied truthfully, totally understanding his need for privacy.

When he said had already gotten his revenge, Natsha just nodded. "Revenge is never as sweet as we think it is.Nor is life as fair as it should be." here she looked at Eve and for some reason, wanted to hug him reassuringly.

@EmiRose

“Sometimes people just click,” Natasha said when Eve told her that he found her pleasant company to be around. She felt exactly the same way as him. She liked to talk to strangers, she wasn’t shy about that, but this conversation with Eve seemed like one you’d have with a trusted friend. “And there’s that instant connection like tonight. And, wel, I feel very flattered that you feel comfortable around me.”she admitted almost shyly.

“Yes, I was a witch in my human life. I could, still can, see and talk to the dead, and I was always empathic and quite skilled at reading things like tarot cards. As you can guess, I was popular at seances and readings.” she said laughing.

“Empathy is useful, you will almost always know a person’s true feelings, though sometimes, you find people do disappoint. People often act one way, but actually feel another, or sometimes outright lie. It can be frustrating to hear somebody say “It’s fine, I’m not mad at you” and actually, they have feeling of hatred toward that person.” she admitted. “Life would be somewhat easier if people were more honest or just aware of their own feelings.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s life and circumstance, probably even fate.” Natasha said as she looked at Eve, he was such a kind soul. She wished she could take away whatever was hurting him. She hated that part of empathy. A lot of time, you knew people were in pain but you couldn’t do anything for them.

“If you ever want to talk, and need an impartial, understanding and non-judgmental ear,” she offered reaching out instinctively to lay a hand gently, and reassuringly, on his arm., “sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger than it is family or friends.”

@EmiRose