Ecstatic to read the new addition of the Bee, Ariana quickly bolted to the door of her apartment when she woke up the next evening. Her article for Giselle performed by the Russian National Opera was quite possibly some of her best work. Keeper Villiers had accompanied her to the performance and assisted with some note taking as she had interviewed the two leads after the performance. One of her secret guilty pleasures was reading her creations which unfolded in print for all to read.

Sitting down at the table in her small dining room, Ariana unfolded it and looked for the Arts & Entertainment section. Her editor, Frank Brandt, said the paper had stock photos from the Russian National Opera to use for the article, so it was not a concern for her. Page by page she skimmed through the 10 page section of the paper. What was at least an 800 word article was diminished to three lines on the page before the back of the section.

“Giselle, performed by the Russian National Ballet was a moderate production. It was entertaining at times. The dancers did a good job. – A. Donovan.”

The section fell out of Ariana’s hands and on to the table. “I am better than this.” Was the only thing she spoke. Something had to be going on. Ariana knew that business and people bribed or coaxed newspapers and magazines to slightly change the truth. It was part of the industry she worked for, however, who would pay to have an article about the ballet curtailed in to nothing. Unless it was the venue it was performed in that someone did not like, she thought.

Frustrated and upset, Ariana looked out the window for a moment. It was raining, she decided to go for a run. She quickly changed into a normal looking black running suit with blue striping on the seams and slipped on running shoes. She did not need them, she did like the challenge of running in heels, however, she wanted to fit in. She jogged to Riverfront Park in the area of the communal hunting grounds. Of course Ariana did not need to exercise by any means, it just helped her unwind and relax. The cool slow rain crept slowly at first through the tendrils of her hair turning them into a rubiginous color. Only a few hardcore runners would be out in the rain at the park, which would make everything a lot less conspicuous. A dark and dreary night was definitely a night suited to her mood which was very dark.

Ariana entered the park and stopped at a bench to pretend to stretch. The lycra did wonders for her shapely body, which never failed to at least get one look. Which just happened to work on the next runner passing by, who stopped while she was stretching. He was wearing a thin gray rain suit made for frequent runners, and he was quite handsome. [/COLOR]

“Hey, you’re gonna catch pneumonia running out here like that.” The runner laughed a little as he spoke, definitely a little flirtatious.

Turning to look at him Ariana cast a flirtatious smile back at him. “Oh, I am quite certain I will be fine.” Giggling somewhat, “A little like an outdoor shower, one would think.” Smiling again with a quick wink to top it off.[/COLOR]

Ariana started running and the man quickly ran to catch up with her. She made sure she gauged her pace properly so they could run side by side and chat. As they continued running and talking, she was well aware that park was vacated in most areas. They had ran at least 4 miles by this time and Ariana noticed the man was getting a tired, so she pretended to be exhausted as well. On one of the rounds through the route, she had noticed an area with benches well out of the way of public view and under some trees.

“Hey,” Ariana said huffing a bit, faking it to sound out of breath, “Do you want to sit down over there under the trees and talk while we catch our breath?” She sat on the bench and he sat next to her, his hand on the back of the bench behind Ariana. Typical, she thought. While he talked and she listened she gazed into his eyes. He kept tripping over his words while he spoke, perhaps because his focus was elsewhere. When he paused for a moment Ariana said in almost a siren’s voice, “When is the last time you kissed anyone in the rain?” She so did love to throw mortals off, it was easy. She thought to herself, it has been far too long since I have drank runner’s blood.

A few minutes later and teeth marks licked and sealed, Ariana thanked the man for his company. He looked a little bedazzled and completely oblivious. “Oh and next time you try to keep up with a woman to impress her, make sure you do not exhaust yourself in the process.” She smiled and winked again, then she ran off.

When Ariana arrived home she instantly undressed completely at the door placing the wet clothes on the tiled entry. It had nothing to do with the cold, she did not want to have pools of water in her apartment. She glanced at the window she looked out prior to leaving to make sure the curtains were still drawn. With her appetite suppressed and her frustrations subdued, Ariana grabbed the newspaper and first ripped it in half, then threw it in the trash. She grabbed her wet clothes on the way to the bathroom to shower and get ready to go out that evening. Ariana ponder on what she would do with her position at the Sacramento Bee.