The vampire territory was not one which was preferable for Orion to work in but currently they were still short staffed with the company merger in the works. Ember had offered to pick up this job but she deserved a night off and she had already put in her time for the day and he wasn't going to ask for more. Besides, despite how he made it sound he actually liked the opportunity to get dressed up since it was a rarity in his life. His suit was fresh the cleaners and pressed to perfection which was something he had never mastered. Less than thirty minutes after reaching the grand venue he tugged off the noose like tie and tossed it into a near by trash can. The tie didn't make him look anymore more dignified since eyes seemed to go straight to the large faction tattoo across the right side of his throat which curved slightly down towards his chest and shoulder blade. Most went with a much smaller tattoo but he had always been proud of who and what he was.

There was a communication ear piece in his right ear as he made the rounds before the door opened checking everything for the third and final time. "It's show time, open the doors." Those at the entrance pulled the large doors opened as the men in the security room watched the cameras countless voices coming through the ear piece. This was one of his leave favorite parts since the multitude of voice could make it hard to focus but he couldn't really take the ear piece out either. 

Orion easily blended into the crowd as everyone arrived for the event, in all honesty he hadn't really worried about what the event was for since he was more focused on the venue, entrances, exits and those in attendance. Walking through the new arrivals he kept his senses on high alert since no matter the kind of event something could always happen. Some seemed excited to be here and eagerly spoke with those they knew but there were a few who seemed out of place and nervous which always caught Orion's attention since he had to assess their threat level. Not every nervous person was guilty or dangerous but you had to check especially when the safety of this many people was placed in your hands. 

A young blonde woman who seemed to be nervously pushing up her glasses caught his attention and he watched her carefully since she didn't seem to be talking to anyone just standing alone. Normally those were signs of a person to watch and he spoke into his ear piece giving his guy in the security room her general direction and description asking them to run a check on her. She might be the first of the night but she surely wouldn't be the last.

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Sariah wasn't exactly comfortable with the situation at hand but talking to him seemed to keep her mind away from the panic that wanted to instill itself in her mind, she knew that she was in a dangerous situation but a part of her kind of liked the thrill of it all, not that she would ever spoken that aloud, she most certainly didn't have a death wish, she had a lot she intended on achieving before she gave her last breath on earth. As she listened to him speak she nodded her head in a agreement a small smile crossing her lips, she respected someone who was protective of others, mostly because she had never really had anyone to protect her, her parents never really noticed when she was hurting and the people she let in only ever let her down, it was exhausting and every time she wanted to believe in someone they gave her a reason to regret it. "Sounds like your daughter is lucky to have someone like you watching out for her" she commented as she bit gently on her lip.

"Or sometimes stupidity is just simply someone's downfall" she chimed into his words shaking her head a little, she didn't regret spraying the vampire with the serum, she hoped it hurt, Sariah had gotten past her extreme fears over time but as the vampire's hands had touched her she had felt a small rush of the panic she had back then, though this time she didn't want to stay silent, this time she had to fight and prove that she wasn't going to let anyone take advantage of her again. As he spoke about his family the name echoed in her head, it was familiar, she kept quiet while he spoke, trying to understand the story he was telling her.  She remained silent for a few moments after he finished, considering what could have happened to get 'out of hand' when you were playing a game of judge, jury and executioner, of course she knew someone had to keep the vampires in line, because without someone doing so, they were free to kill everyone and anyone they wanted to. "It uh.." she trailed off trying to find words to pin what she was thinking "Sounds like an awful lot of responsibility for one family".

After a small moment she tilted her head up towards him as the name he had spoken finally fitted to her memory and a small gasp left her lips "Valkyrie..." she spoke softly "As in the therianthrope ambassador of the city Valkyrie?" she asked her eyes widening a little in panic, her heart beating just a little faster in her chest, she hadn't realized quite how unlucky she could have been when it came to random strangers to wound.  "God I am supposed to know everything when it comes to the ins and outs of this city and I couldn't even recognize an ambassador's face" she was glad he couldn't see in that moment as her cheeks were flushed in embarrassment from her mistake.

She was glad when the conversation drifted away from the topic, her senses returning back to her a little as she focused on the conversation at hand. "To be honest, in Evermore City, I'm fairly sure there would be a team ready to cover it up, if there was any deaths" she spoke it in a slightly humorous tone but it echoed real thoughts in her mind about the lawless supernatural of the City, she saw them get away with far more than the average human did, she had been tasked with burying several stories before they got to the media in the names of keeping the supernatural City and like the loyal person she was, she did so without a word each and every time. As he spoke again however she laughed gently shrugging her shoulders "I never did do very well with people in general" she echoed his statement and laughed "If it wasn't blatantly obvious already" she added noting how she had been blabbering like an idiot for the most part of their time together.

As she was working on restoring his sight, her eyes remained focused on Orion, searching his gaze for clues of what was going on, she wasn't a doctor by any means so she didn't really know what to look for, in general she only every worked with tech which was easy to gauge, with technology, the answer was either yes or no, there was nothing in-between. "Probably best to do that" she answered him shaking her head a little, she had been fairly confident in her methods, she had studied the supernatural for long enough to be able to make stable judgements on how their bodies reacted to different things, it was just very different in theory than it was for real. Once he confirmed he could see red she slowly trailed the colors back through the spectrum from orange back to purple until his vision began to improve.

"It probably goes without saying but I'm sorry for doing this to you, I didn't come here with the intention of hurting anyone" she spoke sincerely and clearly for probably the first time that evening her eyes meeting his for just a moment "Especially not someone who genuinely seems like a good person" she nodded softly, from the small things she had heard from him, he sounded different from other supernatural people she had met, he wasn't full of hubris nor arrogance, it was a nice breath of fresh air.

A rumbling chuckle left him, “I believe my daughter would disagree with that sentiment but she’s stuck with me regardless.” Other than his nephews and son, Seraphina had no one. That made Seraphina protective of the people who were a part of her life and Orion was equally as protective over her. Family was what you made of it and Orion made a very big deal out of it. Blood was thicker than water and the Valkyrie family wasn’t as strong or as large as it had once been and he wouldn’t loss anyone else.

There was a simple shrug to his shoulders since she was right there had to be a balance which was what kept a person alive. Sariah would have to learn to be a little more careful since if the vampire had been well liked they likely wouldn’t be in a closest right now but near death. Granted most were intelligent enough not to attack an Ambassador but Sariah wasn’t an Ambassador, just a human with a large amount of courage and a little bit of insanity. Orion was all for going against the odd but the odd Sariah had been facing tonight were not in her favor, not in the least. In Evermore City there were checks and balances which didn’t exist in Nevada, the vampires there didn’t recognize a King because the King was not present. In Evermore they had to answer to more than just their King since the Peace Treaty was in place. “Responsibility wasn’t the issue, we became over confident and outnumbered. Kind of leads back to the stupidity you spoke of.” It had led to a thinning of his family and that was a business they had to get out of.

Orion could hear the recognition in Sariah’s voice as she spoke his surname aloud. Am amused smirk spread across his lips as she put it together. “Orion Valkyrie, one in the same.” Orion could hear the increase in her heartrate as it seemed to set in that she had blinded the Therian Ambassador. The kitsune didn’t take it personality since it had walked into a questionable situation.  “Well I wasn’t wearing a name tag. Though most wouldn’t find in recognition in my name or my states.” Which was how he knew that even though she was human, she was something else.

Sariah had a very good point, deaths were a rarity in Evermore City these days but when they did happen they were covered up and those who were part of the act were dealt with accordingly. “All the better to not cause a panic I guess.” It was much like being part of a rich family who could pay to make your darker deeds disappear. Another story would take over for the day and most wouldn’t know what had occurred. “Just because it get pushed off of the radar of most doesn’t mean the issue doesn’t get dealt with.” He knew that better than most. There were rules and none of the Ambassadors allowed murder to go without punishment nor using their abilities to hurt other. “Social endeavors have never been my strong suit and as you can tell, I’m not a people person.”

For someone who wasn’t sure of the effects of her serum she was sure on the procedure to reverse it and for that he was grateful. Orion was sure she was just taking a chance and since she seemed the sort to experiment he was glad her hypothesis in this situation was bearing fruit. As the colors played across his site he waved off Sariah’s apology. “You were just protecting yourself, you thought I was someone else, or something else in this case.” Clarity finally began to return to his vision as his eyes focused around the room. “I honestly think that’s the first time I’ve heard that in a long time.” Most just saw him as strong, confident and assumed that as an alpha he was arrogant and egotistic which was not the case.

“You can turn the lights back on, I think I can see, at least in the dark I seem to be able to.” His head turned as he heard a noise coming from the wall, a very aggravated noise. “Seems I might not be the only one who got their sight back. Stay in here.” He tone was firm as moved past Sariah and opened the door. The light momentarily burned his retinas as a fist slammed into his face. An annoyed snarl left his lips as he closed his eyes focusing on his other senses. Ducking the next blow his own fist slammed into the stomach of the vampire before he rolled behind the man and grabbed his arm twisting it behind his back and slamming him against the wall before slowly opening his eyes again the pain and bright blinding subsided. “Do you know who I am?” His voice snarled into the vampire’s ear, “I’m Orion Valkyrie and you will leave the nice woman be. You deserved what you got, well you deserved more so you will forget about this because she’s under the protection of the Therians and I don’t think your King would appreciate it.” The vampire nodded his arrogance disappearing as he realized the position he was in. "Now leave." He growled out. 

Sariah laughed softly and shook her head imagining that he probably had a badass kitsune daughter who very much didn't need protecting from anyone. Sariah's parents had been supportive but she had never really been close with them the way she may have wanted to, it wasn't for lack of trying, it was simply because their lives had always been far too busy to give her too much attention, she hadn't really minded, being a naturally closed off person from a young age meant her world kept spinning regardless of whether people were in it or not. "Well she may not realize it now, but one day she will" she nodded slightly making a mental note to call her parents at the weekend, she was way overdue a catchup.

Inside of her mind, Sariah imagined what it must have been like to live in a constant war with vampires, she didn't like the images that came to mind and a physical shudder rolled across her body at the thought, she wasn't a fan of any supernatural species members but vampires just make her skin crawl, their arrogance and their lifestyle were the exact reason she did everything she could to avoid them and protect herself from them. Her gaze however softened as she heard his words about becoming overconfident, Sariah was by no means confident when it came to people, she was good at putting a brave face for the sake of her own safety but it just as easily faded away the moment she stepped away. "Sometimes confidence, or the illusion of it, is the only thing that keeps people alive" she assured him, she could tell easily that something bad had happened back then but it wasn't her place to ask what it was.

As Sariah finally put name to face she nodded gently, she still felt pretty stupid for not realizing off the bat, hell she had probably had a hand in leaked news stories about him in the past but the craziness of the situation had taken over and she wasn't sure in that moment if she would have even recognized her own mother in the room. Despite the fact he hadn't asked or seemed interested in knowing her name she followed up his introduction with her own, feeling it rude not to. "My name's Sariah" she said slowly as she met his eyes for a short moment "Sariah Holloway" she repeated "Though my surname means pretty much nothing, it's about as common as common gets" she followed up before laughing softly and falling quiet. "Well I've found knowing everything about the inner workings of the faction system in the city helps me get ahead of the game" she answered smoothly choosing not to speak about the organization, she really didn't feel up to explaining to Violet how she ended up blinding the Therian ambassador.

Sariah couldn't help the scoff that left her mouth in response to his thoughts about the dealings with the supernatural that broke the law, in her mind nothing went punished in the city in the right way, murderers were allowed to walk the streets simply because they ranked high in the faction standings and justice that came to others was hardly a solution to the problem that the city saw. "If you count everyone killing each other in cold blood as justice for more murders I suppose" she commented with a wave of her hand, it bothered her no end how the supernatural saw death as the only way to solve their problems, they were quick to resort to vengeance. 

Sariah's apology was sincere however, whatever her views on the supernatural she didn't want to cause harm to anyone who hadn't done harm to her, she believed people were defined by their actions and Orion hadn't let her down with his actions. Sariah was about to move to turn on the lights when she came to a stop as she heard Orion's voice once more, she hadn't heard anything herself but she knew that a Therian's sense of hearing wasn't something you disputed. Despite his words she found herself nearing the door where the light was pouring into the room as she watched the vampire throwing his weight in punches. Despite the vampire being clearly younger than the therian, Orion easily overpowered the man. As he spoke she felt the hairs on her skin raise a little, hearing the commanding tone to his voice as he insisted the vampire leave.

Sariah had never really had anyone to protect her in her life, her parents were absent, her best friend died when she was young and she never really made friends again, not the kind whom would be there when the worst happened anyway. She had quickly learned to get by you needed to be able to protect yourself. Stepping out into the hallway she blinked a few times adjusting to the light as she tried to think of something to say. For once however, words escaped her as she stared in somewhat of a daze. After a moment she shook her head a little "Remind me to never get on your bad side..." she commented before she widened her eyes a little "Well any more than I already am" she added turned her eyes on the exit of the room, part of her wanted to run for it like a child afraid of a monster under their bed. Instead she turned her eyes on the Kitsune for a moment "Thank you" she said softly holding his gaze for a moment "I wish I could say I could have gotten out of here on my own but" she nodded a little "It'd be a lie".

Orion had grown up with the kitsune and lycans on his family all of them being trained to care for and defend themselves and others. That was something he instilled in his own children because life was harsh and he knew it was never kind especially not to their kind and their family. That however had been life in Nevada, not life here in Evermore. “I think she gets closer to that realization every day.” That and losing her mother had been a hard time to them all and Orion was just trying to give her time.

People who lived in war torn countries probably understood what Orion had grown up with, it wasn’t a war that was easily seen by those outside of it and thankfully left the human population mostly untouched. The Valkyrie family however had been in the middle of the war for a long time and he was glad to at least for the time being be a civilian. Even outside of a war torn state he still had no love for vampires since many still acted on instinct alone and with no regard for the lives they affected or touched. “That’s how most animals in the wild stay alive and we aren’t too far from them. We learn, adapt and evolve in order to survive in this world, we have to.”

Orion wasn’t the most vocal or recognizable of the ambassadors in the city nor had he been in his station for as long as most. For a human it was rare for them to know who he was so Sariah was far more interesting to be sure. As Sariah introduced herself he knew it had been rude not to introduce himself ahead of time but he had been a bit distracted, “I’m sorry, I didn’t ask because I already knew your name. Part of being security we run checks on people who act fishy and you were acting odd when you first entered the building. That’s no excuse for not introducing myself though.” He wasn’t one for introductions to be honest and often missed them if possible. “It will happy with a lot of things to know how things work within the city, it’s something I still struggle with on occasion.” Which was true since this was a whole new way of life for him.

It was very obvious that Sariah didn’t approve of the factions taking care of their own problems and he could understand that. It was hard for a supernatural to be put on trial for things when you were trying to keep the supernatural word from the prying eyes of others. People often lashed out against the things that scared them supernatural species specifically. Many supernaturals had been killed in witch hunt type situations because like Sariah they believed the species weren’t policed. The truth of the matter was Orion was harder on his species than the police force ever could be since he knew how one bad apple could spoil the bunch. “Murder isn’t the answer for everything. And there are other forms of punishment.” He could tell that Sariah didn’t like the answer given but there was no right answer in these sorts of situations.

Sincerity seemed to be a rarity in the world today especially when it came to apologies but Sariah was sincere in her words and he knew that she hadn’t meant to rob him of one of his senses. Which was why he had made sure Sariah stayed put for her own protection, he wasn’t one to risk the lives of others. Despite his focus on the vampire in the hall he knew Sariah wasn’t exactly staying put but she wasn’t placing herself in unnecessary danger as well. The vampire was on the young side and probably still fighting his primal urges and learning control but Orion was putting a very quick end to that.

The elder Therian could be terrifying at times he knew that which was what he was counting on at the moment. No one should live in fear or spend their life looking over their shoulder and he was making sure the events of the evening didn’t follow Sariah in such a way. The vampire gave a short apologize and quickly bailed realizing the Therian Ambassador was not a man to be pushed especially on this matter. The treatment of women was something he had a very strong feeling about and that was something he wasn’t shy about showing. Hearing Sariah’s voice he glanced in her direction and took a few steady breaths to calm himself. “I don’t believe you could ever get on my bad side the way he has this evening.” A soft chuckle left him, “You were only on my bad side for a short time, you made a mistake and you fixed it that’s all anyone can ask.” He watched her eyes moving towards the exit, “You’re welcome Sariah Holloway, let me get you cab. Unless you’d like to stay.” In the same turn he wanted to leave as well but that wasn’t an option until the event was over.

Sariah had always been uncomfortable with the supernatural and their wars, they weren't like human wars which tended to be over land or justice. Supernatural wars ran so much deeper, the segregation between species almost visible to the eye once you knew how to pick out the signs. "That statement has more truth to it that I'd like to admit" she answered smoothly with a gentle shrug of her shoulders, it was true that to live in this world you either had to be supernatural or smart, everyone else tended to be easy pickings.

Hearing Orion's words about her identity she laughed gently, of course he would know her name, it would make sense, she knew how security software worked, she had hacked into it more times than she should probably speak out loud. "Of course" she answered, a chuckle escaping her lips for a moment "I just find it rude not to tell someone your name, even if they already stalked you for looking suspicious" she spoke the words without really thinking them through and then laughed gently "Not that I'm calling you a stalker or anything, you were just doing your job" she added as she tilted her chin up a little to catch his reaction.

Sariah nodded a little thinking about how the city did work, she couldn't say that she saw the benefit in the faction system, all it really did was segregate species from one another, make them separate entities with separate rules, in her opinion, with a cell capable of holding any supernatural creature, there would be no need for separate laws for different factions, everyone could be treated equally, regardless of their species. "Murder solves nothing when there is no trial" she answered candidly, she hated the number of deaths that could be tallied to supernatural indifferences, she disagreed with the idea of factions blaming one another for things without any proof nor giving the person a chance to prove themselves innocent.

Sariah had been taught from a young age that if you were going to say something, you had better mean it, it hadn't seemed to sway her tendency to over talk but it had taught her to hold back before saying something she may regret. When Sariah gave an apology, she meant it. After watching the therian and vampire stand off against one another her eyes followed the vampire as he skulked away into the night, she sincerely hoped she never saw him again, people like that were the reason her past was such a sad story.

Hearing his words about wanting to stay she abruptly answered his words with a shake of her head and the word "No" she had experienced just about her limit when it came to vampires and talking to people she didn't know, she was quite looking forward to a date with a glass of wine when she got home. "As much as this has been a..." she searched for a word that wasn't too negative "interesting evening, I don't think I even want to be in this corner of the city for at least a few days" she admitted and smiled gently in his direction "A cab would be nice" she answered before ducking her head and heading towards the exit door.

Sariah hadn't even noticed how fast her heart had been beating until she stepped outside into the night and didn't feel even the slightest chill against her skin. As soon as she moved outside the building she released a breath reminding herself that she had done well to keep herself together through everything. Her eyes scanned the streets of Evermore, watching as cars sped along the streets, oblivious to everyone else in the world. Perhaps the evening hadn't been all bad, she had after all, met someone who seemed to be genuine in a city of pretenders, that was a rare find.

It was obvious the two were going to agree on some matters and disagree on others and Orion had no qualms with that since it was unnatural for people to agree on everything. The way the city ran was still something new to him and it was far different from any city in existence. Human laws were still expected to be upheld by all species but there were certain laws within each faction as well that if broken the Ambassador did punish the one who had broken them in the first place. To some it seemed like the supernaturals thought themselves above others in this way but in truth he just didn’t want anyone to get caught in the cross fire when it came to species issues.

“I rather enjoyed hearing you name coming from your own lips than those of my employees anyway.” There was a curve to his lips as he smiled at her before beginning to chuckle at her words, “Yes well I was stalking you purely for the safety for yourself and others. Though as I say that out loud it doesn’t really make it sound any better. From this point on I vow to end my stalking ways, until my next job.” He joked trying to keep the mood light since the evening in and of itself had been a rather heavy one.

Orion listened to what Sariah had to say, she was right in many ways and difference in how each species dealt with those who broke the law did in fact cause an even larger rift between them. Humans could, with the things Sariah seemed to be able to invent, contain supernaturals who broke the law but it would add an even bigger target on their back which was not something Orion wanted to see.

The Kitsune found himself giving Sariah a supportive smile as she quickly responded to his inquiry, why would one want to stay after that? There was no shame in wanting to leave since she probably needed to be away from here to compose herself and finally be able to relax. “That was kind of you to say interesting since I’m sure that’s not the original word you wanted to use to describe it. It’s been a roller coaster ride I’d like to get off of as well.” There seemed to have been more downward slopes than upward ones but the two of them had made it through, “Thank you for sticking through it with me. If you thought I was panicking with you there can you imagine how it would have been if I was forced to try and figure it out on me own?” She quickly began heading towards the door and he rushed to keep up with her.

The chill of the evening air hit him as soon as the door opened but it was something he was used to. Sariah on the other hand didn’t shiver and seemed unaffected by it but she was probably still running on adrenaline. “Here, I know you don’t think you need it now but you might before you get home.” He shrugged off his blazer and placed it over her shoulders before easily hailing a cab to take Sariah home. Opening the back door for her he moved around to speak to the driver. “Make sure she gets home safe, she’s had an…exciting night,” In a lower tone, “Say until she gets safely inside.” He moved to grab his wallet from his blazer before realizing he had handed it to Sariah without thinking.

Moving back around the cab he reached into pocket of his blazer and grabbed his wallet, “That was the only thing I left in there.” He assured her before moving back to the driver and pulling some bills from his wallet which should be enough for any fare along with any extra to keep the driver happy. After handing over the bills he moved to close the door. “Good night Sariah, may the rest of your evening be far less eventful than the start of it.”

Sariah chuckled gently as he spoke, her eyes dropping briefly to the glimmer of a smile of on his lips, returning it herself “Well you know what they say, the original is always better than any copies” she teased an amused expression evident on her face. As she looked up at him she couldn’t help but notice the way that his face seemed to light up when he felt the mood lighten, she couldn’t help the thought that perhaps he didn’t often have all that much to smile about, much like herself at times. She laughed gently in response to his words, happy that she wasn’t the one feeling awkward for once “I’d like to hope that there won’t be a repeat of tonight, with any luck, next time we’ll meet on better terms” she commented tilting her head just a little, somehow, she just knew this wouldn’t be the last time, especially if her application for ambassador was accepted.

Sariah smiled softly a gentle nod of her head acknowledging his praise for her wording and she shrugged her shoulders gently “Call me old school but my parents always taught me to focus on the positive instead of the negative” she laughed gently before continuing “I mean, yes, I did almost get eaten by a vampire, but then I also got to meet you” she gave a sincere smile as she looked up at him once more, taking his gratitude for face value “You’re welcome” she answered as she came to a stop just outside the building. She would never have left someone in need behind unless she had no choice, Sariah was a very moralled person when it came to the wellbeing of others, she liked to think she did her part to help other.

Sariah opened her mouth to protest when he offered his blazer out to her but she quickly quietened realizing that she had in fact left her jacket in the hall and she really didn’t feel like going back inside to get it. The material felt warm against her skin as she finally felt a little of the chill the night had to offer. She smiled “Thanks, I’ll make sure it finds its way back to you” she spoke with a gentle smile as she moved closer to the cab which had come to a stop and climbed inside, smoothing down her dress as she settled herself in the back.

She hadn’t been paying much attention to his conversation with the driver however she caught parts of the words and she smiled gently to herself, her slightly flushed cheeks hidden well by her hair which was falling around her face as she leaned forward. However, when he came around the cab to collect his wallet she snapped her fingers and laughed, a playful expression on her face as she met his gaze “Darn, almost got away with it” she chuckled gently before settling herself into the seat, feeling almost as though the blazer was like a blanket around her.

Looking up at him as he moved to close the door she nodded gently “Good night Orion” she echoed before allowing a smile to cross her lips “and thank you” she added as she heard the click of the door close. She quickly told the driver where she was headed and the cab pulled away from the venue. She took a moment to wave in his direction before she turned her head to the front window, watching the cars as they all sped by. The night had been ‘interesting’ in many different senses and not all of them had been bad.  

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