The day, perhaps cold and unforgiving outside, was contradicted by the warmth of their heater inside. Cold, maybe, but the sun still seemed to peek through the tan curtains that veiled their indoor activities from the outside world. Val was a man who enjoyed his privacy"luckily he had Martyr to open a window every now and then, and let the sunlight shine in. Not that there wasn't reason for him to like his privacy"for someone who tries so hard to make others happy, Martyr had more than her share of enemies, and had added another to her list. The mystery-man with the green eyes" She had not quite gotten around to telling Valcroix about that one yet' Why should she" The two of them had a nice little moment going on. Did anyone need to hear about some man that wanted to get her back with some girl"that she didn't even remember"and then gut them both, and throw their bodies in the river" She'd made the last part up in her head'she truly had no idea where or what he'd do with their bodies" Though, she could only assume, it wouldn't be fun for anyone but him'

Said moment, consisted of the two of them sitting on the couch. Val was as uptight as he ever was, and Martyr" Well, she was curled up, half sitting on him, the other half on the furniture content on laying her cheek upon his too-boney shoulder. The TV was running, though she hadn't paid attention to what had been playing, more than happy with staring up toward his face with big, round violets. With every passing moment, Martyr would lean, and lean again to try and bump her nose against his face'she felt so sneaky for it, too' Like a snake! A lady snake!

Dun-un" Dun-un" Dun-un-un-un-un"! Playing the music to Jaws in her head as she crept closer, and closer still until?"". RING!

"Gah!" Martyr was the only one spooked in this scenario, flailing at the sound of the phone and all but falling off of the furniture. A soft groan escaped copious, embarrassed lips as she lay, crammed between the coffee table and the couch. Hair all a mess, reaching the floor in her half-laying position, Martyr moved to grab the ringing phone. The eccentric immortal tripped over her hair, like a Cocker Spaniel would trip over his too-long ears. "Mmph?"

Martyr answered the phone with a meek little, "H-hello?" Val should know much, much better than to let the poor girl answer the phone. Her cheeks flushed as the voice on the other end sang into her ear. "Y-yes, h-he's h-here...C-can I ask w-who's c-calling?" Martyr asked, titling her head and biting into her lip. She listened carefully, and then got a frightful look upon her face before slowly moving up toward Valcroix...."It's the p-police....The w-want t-to talk t-to y-you ab-bout m-me..." Each broken verse sang with her hand tight around the telephone, to muffle her own voice. The princess looked devestated as she handed over the device, and then moved to pace around the house.

Oh my goodness....I hope I'm not in any trouble...I mean, Phoenix is gone....And...Well, I try to be good...But what if I did something wrong? Oh, this is not good....I bet I stepped in a big steaming pile of—-

Then she was near him, trying to listen.

What did she do' Hell, she could only hear one end of that damn conversation. Her arms flailed as he spoke of his wife standing next to him. Merely because she was thinking about—get this—faking her own death to get out of trouble....Something that, little to her knowledge was very easily accomplished. Then again, Val had no problem with it...Did he" Despite the flail and frenzy of limbs, a bit of color splashed on those round, fragile cheeks as her eyes blinked away.

He called me his wife!

Wait' Woman that's not dead" This conversation took an interesting and confusing turn....Defending him against murder" 'What did you do,' Martyr mouthed to him, scrunching her eyebrows. As the girl moved after him, she took a leading pace, leaving the unit before him. Then, when she was in the hallway, she knocked on the lovely neighbor's door. All the while she waited for the man, or woman to answer, Martyr looked for Valcroix to hurry on out. Did he kill someone" Violet eyes stared at the ground, the girl now bound and determined to go to lawschool, so that she might defend the man she loved.

L-ladies and g-g-gentlemen of the j-jury....V-val c-couldn't have d-done this b-because I l-love him a l-lot! Yeah....That'll work, Martyr!

"Um...Y-yes....H-hello..." Shying away from the situation with a furrow of brows and a dark curtain of hair shrouding her face. Val's kiss to her cheek, left her skin tingling. "V-val and I h-have t-to step out f-for a b-bit b-because...Um....W-well, um....Y-you s-see....Uh..." The truth was, she had no idea why they were stepping from the house. "B-because I have t-to g-go to lawschool!" Martyr chimed, proud of her little white lie. "Y-yes, I h-have t-to g-go t-to l-lawschool s-so that I c-can p-prove Val d-didn't murder a w-woman that isn't d-dead!" Repeating it all over to him—but really, Burt....There's no reason to fear Val.

"C-can y-you w-watch M-max f-for a l-little b-bit, p-pretty p-please?"

"Thank y-you!" Martyr said, before dipping her head into a bow before skipping off to the elevator after Val. And for a moment—just longer than she'd like to admit—as Martyr stood in the elevator with Val, she felt herself nervous about lawschool....Nervous about her first day, and wondering how she'd do....It wasn't long before her mentality smacked her in the face, and she jolted. "Oh, r-right.." Martyr said out loud before leaning upon the railing.

Where exactly were they going? Martyr had not a clue in the world, nor did she really care. What mattered mostly to the strange little immortal, was that she had been next to Val while she was getting there. Her fingers curled into his as she tugged on his hand, when the elevator stopped, she headed on outside.

Martyr's eyes trailed to him, those brilliant violets looking long and hard at the sky as she stopped walking. She was listening for something....Yep! Her heart had definitely been thumping along in her chest. Bah-bum! Bah-bum! Her mouth pressed hard together, as her hand squeezed his. "B-but Val..." Wait for it...."I'm n-not d-dead..." There it is! The girl decided to inform him on this matter, as if he didn't already know. Lengthy and dark mocha tresses tickled the lining of her jeans as the wind shook the locks in its chilly wrath. Big, deep breaths were sucked into lungs, and yeah, she might have been making sure that her lungs were carrying needed oxygen to her renewing blood.

Well, I can't say that I am... Martyr thought to herself, lowering those violet perfections as she slowed her pace. What if I am dead? What if I just don't know it....But, if I don't know it....How will others know it' Plus, isn't a beating heart the surest sign of being alive....I don't think I know how to deal with this right now...

Deep breath taken, in with the good, and out with the bad, Martyr nodded to him. "W-well then, l-let's g-go, so that w-we c-can p-prove y-you're n-not a m-murderer, and g-get me into l-lawschool..!" A firm, sure nod there, as she headed toward the police station....Maybe she'd been smacked in the head, or stabbed a few too many times....On the tips of toes, Martyr dragged him right on inside. Of course, upon seeing people, she began to shy away. A soft squeak exitted her mouth, as she moved to hide behind the lengthy corpse.

The girl he was going to marry in the near future, had been in fact, standing right behind him....Though, nobody would be able to tell. His back sheilded her form, and she clung to his coat-tails so that he couldn't move. "Nn..." Martyr, not quite as amused as he, bit into her lip and sighed through her nostrils, carefully....She listened to the conversation, and hid like the shy little angel she was.

That flawless featured face hid beneath a waterfall of mocha parted only enough for a single pupil to peek out and hopefully save the already-clumsy girl from bumping into stuff....Lord knows she didn't need anymore scars or bruises on her legs...That was a joke, she has not a single scar or bruise on her body. Go her!

Scraped off of his back, and stuck right onto his front, Martyr's eyes widened fearfully. "B-b-b-but..." A protest singing from lips as the broken lyric trailed off to no words at all, while the girl moved forward per request. The girl walked upon the tips of toes, as if she were wearing heels instead of the flat boots she had stuffed her little feet into. An unsure glance to Val, as she slowly entered the room.

It smelled funny. Not of home, yet...Not quite of death, either....More like, a hospital...It was strange to her. The further in she proceeded, the more it smelled like some sort of vapor rub. Her nose crinkled at the scent, and she lifted it high in the air—that didn't help—so she lowered her head and continued on.

"It's n-not m-me it c-can't b-be m—" The girl took the time to look in mid-sentence, which left her speechless. She approached the 'cutting board' slowly and carefully. Her eyes were wider than ever, as she looked back at Val, and then the body that could have been her twin. Twins didn't share DNA, though....Did they"

There was a buid-up of strange fluids within her eyes. Tears. Mourning the death of the creature that she could only assume was her twin sister. A finger came out to stroke the cheek of the cold woman who beared her appearance so strongly. Then, she was pulling the sheet down to look at the wounds that undoubtedly didn't close up for the girl. Fingers ran along them, too, paying no mind to the naked breasts—cheeks too drained to blush. "W-who w-would d-do this.." It's b-because....She l-looked like m-me.." Words spilled from her lips for nobody save herself.

The girl coninued to stare, waaay after he had pulled her into his protective grasp. Tears were blinked away, and the girl with too-big of a heart finally looked to Val. "If I g-give h-her m-my b-blood....M-maybe sh-she'll....W-well...It's worth a t-try, isn't it?" Another glance to the corpse. "Isn't it"..." Then she buried her little nose into Val's armpit, which, thankfully for her, she dated someone with decent hygene. "W-what w-was h-her n-name" D-did she act l-like m-me" D-did she s-stutter" A c-c-copy' B-but d-doesn't h-heal" N-no, any c-copy of m-mine w-would have b-been f-fine through this....I've g-gotten s-stabbed m-more than this b-before...D-did she even h-have a n-name?" A look to the corpse, and then to Val as her ramblings continued. "W-why..?"

Martyr had died before, sure....Never before had she to look at her own body! One that was flawed a thousand times to Martyr's....For she never owned a scar, nor did she a bruise....It was a hellish thing to look at. Now" Now she was getting blamed for this" What was worse" Her love was getting blamed for it....It burned her up. There was a black tint in her eyes, her pupil beginning to bleed into iris. Teeth chattered with something that was angry. "Why!" Why her!" If someone was attacking me! That'd be another thing! I would have healed but....And how dare they!" Yeah, she wasn't stuttering....

As the little thing began to lose control, her teeth became exposed. How could Val not think that this would upset her" Even if the woman on the table didn't rival her appearance....How could he think for one second, that she wouldn't be upset to see anyone she couldn't save lying there?

"What," whispers the shoddy Russian, expression ajar, shock running in. He steps closer to his sergeant, head turned slightly to soak up every drop of audio.

"Yes"I swear, Roman, the woman's a spitting image of the corpse." The sergeant that had fled the room ducks his face below the cap, masking his lost expression. Pinching the brim, he shakes his head for the Slav. "It's damn-screwy"a twin, maybe, but judging by her innocent demeanor and shock at the sight, I don't think so. In any case, be careful with them, her boyfriend, fianc", whatever he is"I don't like him, don't trust him."

Roman acknowledges and straightens his uniform, newly-appointed pins and brass buttons, a blue-pressed, long-tailed dress-uni. February's end would signal the end of his freshman month on the force. Military agencies, Law enforcement"partners to an extent, both pageants that sing the songs of protection, of service. The former proved facetious in Roman's experience, the latter"he'd just have to wait and see. Roman's cold blue eyes follow the shadow of his sergeant before snapping to the sound of an opening door.

Shock" Internal, absolutely, but he didn't let the sight of the pair rattle his exteriors; this job was his last escape, and he'd be damned to let it slip-away through leniency. He had a job to do.

"Ahem. Mr. Valcroix, Miss Slane"I" know we've met before, I'm Lieutenant Apalkov with the thirteenth precinct, here in Rhy"Din, obviously." His slewed, Slavic tongue had improved, but still remained at the forefront of each vowel, consonant.

"First, Miss Slane, I am happy seeing you well, I was first-responder to the scene"one of the first pairs of eyes on your body. Well," embarrassed, he lets his pupils loose to run upon the walls. "The body of the Jane."

The less-than-thrilled man shrinks his eyes, leering back at the sly Russian with some high-noon stupor. He didn't like the feel of the man when they'd first met'didn't like the cop-out reciprocation of his handshake, didn't like the trembling, guilt-full shake of his pupils. Then there's the matter of Martyr and her more-so than normal stammering, queries festering. She was rattled with it all, but suspicions further as her body seemed to lighten for the sight of the man. "Lieutenant, "eh' Think you're jumping ahead of yourself, Officer Apalkov,? the keen-eyed hellion rebukes, taking note of Roman's lax chevrons.

Martyr couldn't give Val a helpless look. Not without him knowing something was up....Then he'd know she lied to him—and he wouldn't understand why....He's never changed into a murderer. But still, the fear against the man was strong. It left her knees trembling. "Y-yes, of c-course...I w-want us t-to c-c-c-c-clear our n-names as s-soon as p-possible..." Her voice seemed to grow more shrill with every broken lyric, as she took in a deep breath. She gave Val's hand one more squeeze, before slowly breaking away. Her head was low as she walked.

"There is no negotiation here, Mr. Val." The recruit's surly tongue folds and licks behind too-long, too-dangerous teeth, mincing each word, an unbalanced mixture of English and Russian. "We do things the way I say, or we can put you both in holding cell and simply slap charges on you, Okay?" Toying with a smile that held eons of reservations, Roman extends a hand to tap upon Martyr's shoulder.

"Come. This will be quick, will be easy with cooperation. You tell boyfriend to calm down, or this will take all night."

Val's reception of her kiss is cold and impotent. Suspicions run around in his head like eight caffeinated six-year-olds in a closet; bumping and yelling, turning on each-other, asking 'why"'. Martyr wasn't one to lie, wasn't one to sneak around, peddle deceit, keep things locked up. Val blinks and nods as she slipped away"not her" right"

?I love you too. Have fun," dank, airy.

Martyr'd like to say she had her head held high....She'd like to say that she didn't look guilty....But her head was low, eyes on the floor—and it screamed guilt to all the people she passed. It was pure nerves. She had a solid alibi, and so did Val....Plus, he wouldn't hurt her....Any form of her, he couldn't...If he had, he would have told her, surely....Right'

Val" Trying her hardest to rekindle that connection they shared. She knew that she'd have to start feeding him blood once more...

Those wandering eyes hit the table, and she moved to press her rear end to the seat. She grumbled softly to herself as she rested her elbows on the table, in a way that denied her likeness to a lady. She was quiet, mortified....She didn't like to be alone with this man....How long had it been since he fed..." She knew better than to run and fight, where had she to go' She was willing to bet the room was locked—so the little lamb began to tremble from the spine up.

Martyr's eyes were glued to the table. "The t-twenty f-fifth...?" The girl asked, eyes trailing down, and then up as her brain began to steam thinking of the date....She wasn't one to follow dates, but....Something about that one....Well, it was strange to her. It stuck out within that little head of hers. "O-oh! V-val and m-me w-were at the B-bristle C-crios Sn-snow m-moon ev-vent...I am the n-nurse t-there, and I d-dragged V-val along...H-he d-doesn't l-like p-parties, y-you s-see....b-but I w-wanted t-to d-dance w-with him b-before our w-wedding.." The girl rambled. "I w-was there until after m-midnight, and w-we t-took Angel h-home w-with us...She's M-miranda's d-daughter....M-max and h-her are v-very g-good f-friends."

"I d-don't know m-much ab-bout this, exc-cept V-val g-got a c-call s-saying I w-was d-dead t-today, w-which is strange b-because, w-well...I'm n-not d-dead....Then I s-saw J-jane..." Martyr assumed that was her name. "She l-looks j-just l-like m-me....And w-well...It m-makes m-me v-very s-sad, b-because I h-have a l-lot of p-people w-wanting m-me d-dead, s-so...I f-feel like....W-well....She's d-dead b-because they thought s-she w-was m-me..." The girl lowered her head to the table, laying it upon the crook of an elbow.

Martyr's eyes dropped. She couldn't lie...Only because when they found out she was lying, that would only hurt Val's case. "W-well....N-no....V-val had t-to leave early....Ar-round eleven....b-but he w-went straight t-to the office..! H-he h-had t-to w-work that n-night..." Then she was taking a deep breath. "V-val w-would n-never h-hurt m-me, and I d-don't think h-he c-could h-hurt anything that l-looked like m-me...Unless th-they w-were trying t-to h-hurt me, and even t-then, he'd t-tell m-me about it.."

"H-he was at the office all n-night....I j-just know h-he w-wouldn't l-lie ab-bout that..."

"W-well...D-different j-jobs c-call f-for d-different h-hours....L-look, m-mister....I know y-you d-don't know h-him, b-but I d-do....H-he's n-not l-like y-you....H-he d-doesn't j-just attack p-people f-for n-no r-reason." That was a little something for his phone to record, now wasn't it' Martyr shook her head and sighed softly. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say, but it flew out of her stammering little throat.

"W-well..." Martyr started. "There's a w-woman interested in m-m-my b-blood....K-Kairi R-risvold...She's t-taken s-some f-from m-me b-before...S-samples of it....Other t-than that....S-she's the only p-person I k-know that h-has s-so m-much of it....I d-d-don't know w-what she's d-d-doing w-with it all....She s-stuck a n-needle into m-my h-hip once, and t-took out this st-strange st-stuff....She h-has a m-man w-with h-her, a w-wolf m-man....J-jack, I think h-he w-was c-called...She's the only n-name that c-comes t-to m-mind..." Mostly because well, she didn't bother to ask people their names while they were draining her dry.