There was an oddly peaceful tension in the air as the pair did their dance of formality and restraint. Both parties were aware something serious was happening in the apartment, but curiously enough, neither one knew exactly what it was that was going on. So many unknowns hung in the air, it completely ruined any pleasure their interaction might have held.

The handsome young man dropped a towel on the fox spirit’s head but before she could protest, she felt hands on her shoulders. She shivered faintly under the unexpected touch, but she told herself it had nothing to do with this man’s ability to make her feel vulnerable and instead was just from the cold. It was that same thought that wanted to resist as he tried to remove her coat, but she complied, holding out her arms behind her slightly.[i] He is far too bold.[/i]

Now standing in only a clingy, black cocktail dress that was too revealing for such a cold night, the woman quickly grabbed the towel from her head, her restored vision finding the human in front of her once more. She only made eye contact for a moment before immediately going into the acts of drying herself out. As she wrung her hair in the towel, he talked about names, causing her to smile softly.

“You all are always so preoccupied with names… It’s the same everywhere you go, did you know that? I suppose it always has been…” Her mind flickered back to when she had traveled Asia centuries ago, where humans readily fought and killed each other all in honor of their family’s name. [i]So very trite…[/i]

Despite her dismissive comment, the woman continued, “I've had many names over the years, far too many to count, but none of them truly belong to me. I suppose for convenience sake….” Her head tilted up slightly as she thought, until a smile graced her blood red lips once more, “I do recall an old woman accused me of being Lilith once, I rather like the sound of that. Yes… Aleksei Titov, you may call me Lilith.” She did a sweeping gesture with her right arm as she bowed slightly, a mocking gesture of respect, “It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I take from your tone that I am supposed to know who you are?” It was a snide remark to be sure, but the fox spirit meant no particular disrespect by it. She didn't care much who any human was. How many kings had claimed to be a deity, only to die at a pitifully young age? What was the lifespan of even 90 years to one who had seen a millennium come and go?

As she waited for some undoubtedly unimpressive explanation of who he was and all he had accomplished, Lilith continued drying herself. She bent over at the waist to run the towel over her legs, her head level with his groin, which was only about 20 cm away. The fox doubted it, but it might not be too late to win over his more primal instincts. It couldn't hurt to try, at least.