It was a quiet moment in the climbing hall. Rose was high up on the wall, taking a short break from her work while Azura was belaying her. She got to the top easily and let herself go so Azura could let her down with ease.

"Break?" Rose unhooked herself and headed to the bar.

Azura followed, quite thirsty herself after the short but intense climbing session. Lucas had just gotten in, preparing the gear for a new group coming in for a short first-time experience. Rose walked straight past him without even acknowledging him and started to heat some water. Azura raised an eyebrow at him and mouthed 'what the fuck.' He just shrugged and grabbed the last harness he needed.

"Two days ago, I just warned her about an old friend of mine who moved back here. I guess she didn't appreciate it."

"You're an idiot sometimes, you know that." Azura sighed, knowing this was hopeless.

He gave her a puzzled look. “What did I do wrong now?”

Azura just rolled her eyes and followed Rose to the office as soon as she finished making the tea. Rose sat with her feet up on the desk grinning widely as Azura handed her her tea and sat down herself.

"Thanks, Azu." She accepted her cup and placed it down for now.

"Thank me after you enlighten me about what that just was. I thought you guys were finally back on speaking terms again."

"Oh we are, he just doesn't know it. I like to give him a hard time." She winked and laughed heartily. "Yesterday I joined him and a very nice old friend of his at the cafe. I have to admit, he's kinda good looking."

"And he's just the one Lucas does not want anywhere near you."

Rose nodded and grinned even harder.

"Little does he know I met up with Steffen yesterday evening. And it turns out, he's actually a cool guy. Lot's of talk but he does have a moral code. Like not trying to get your friend's ex in bed on the first time you meet."

Azura snorted loudly as she said that. "So this Steffen likes to torment Lucas as well?"

"You should have seen Lucas yesterday, Azu! I swear he was about to kill himself or Steffen while I was there. It was hilarious!"

"I never knew you were this sadistic, Rose. I almost feel sorry for the poor guy." The girls both started laughing. Rose turned on the screen of the computer to check for new appointments and e-mails and let out a deep sigh as she read what was on the screen.

"Work calls again... Sorry but I really have to do this now or else I'll get Jeff breathing down my neck again."

"No problem. Just, Rose," The blonde woman looked up at Azura from behind the computer screen, "You're not the one living in the same house as him. I beg you, don't torment him for too long, otherwise, I'm the one who has to endure it." Rose stuck her tongue out at Azura and she returned the joking gesture by making the I'm-watching-you sign at Rose.

Azura walked out of the office and saw Lucas on the other end of the hall working with a small group of teenagers and their teacher. She cleaned some of the mess behind the bar and turned her attention to a male voice behind her.

"Hey, gorgeous. Has anyone ever said that you are the striking image of Selene from the movie Underworld?"

A pair of sparkling hazel brown eyes looked her up and down. Azura frowned at the man before her. He was good looking, just like Rose had said. Just a tad taller than her and well-toned from what she could tell with him wearing clothes. It had not taken her long to figure out who the man was as she noticed Lucas had started to throw some anxious looks their way, unable to make his way over.

"No, no one has mentioned that before, but thanks for telling me. It reminds me I have to watch the movies again someday soon." Azura leaned on the counter closer to Steffen, occasionally throwing a look at Lucas to see how he would react. "Steffen right? Are you here to actually climb or to see Lucas?"

"I see you already heard of me but I didn't quite catch your name, beautiful." He gave her a wink and leaned in a little as well as he had caught her glancing over at Lucas.

"It's Azura. I live at Lucas's place." She flashed him a sweet smile when she noticed Lucas was looking their way again. No pain in tormenting the guy some more for now.

"Of course, he said something about him having a roommate. Nice to meet you. I'm actually here because I do want to talk to him. We didn't end on such good terms yesterday..." Steffen paused as Azura placed her hand on top of his. "And this...surely ain't gonna make that talk any easier. But it's too good of an opportunity to pass up." He grinned, reading her intentions remarkably well as he caressed one side of her cheek, making sure Lucas was seeing it.

Azura involuntarily dug her nails into his hand at his touch. He quickly retracted his hand from her face and she immediately leaned back, placing some distance between them.

"Sorry, that was a step too far I guess?"

She just nodded in reply, glad he had acknowledged it. "It's ok. I initiated it." She pointed to one of the tables. "Just wait there. He's busy at the moment with a group as you’ve seen but will be done soon. He does look as if he is ready to whoop your ass though. You want something to drink in the meantime?" She grinned as Steffen glanced over at Lucas again and muttered a small 'crap'.

He shook his head and made his way over to the table leaving her alone. Azura headed back to the office and said goodbye to Rose, but not before telling her Steffen was here as well. Rose squealed in joy and hopped out of the office in an instant after hugging Azura, neglecting her work once again.

*

It was past midnight and Azura started to watch the first Underworld movie. She was alone as Lucas had not come back yet and she suspected he had gone out for drinks.

Outside, it was raining, a sign that summer was coming. An occasional lightning flash followed by some soft rumbling could be heard in the distance. Azura wrapped herself tighter in a blanket, trying to ignore the flashes, distracting herself with the movie. With every lightning strike a shiver ran down her spine, and with every rumble, she could swear she could feel pain flare up in her side.

She put on her headphones and grabbed her laptop, hoping it would be enough to distract her. As soon as the movie started playing and the sound made her deaf to things going on outside, she was slowly able to relax a bit. Her fists were still clenched tightly together, nails digging into her palms, but the tension in her jaw was slowly releasing the more she focused on the movie instead of the thunder outside.

It was thirty minutes in when the door opened and Lucas came in with a woman next to him. She clung to his arm, laughing and teasing him. As soon as they entered she grabbed him, pulled him down into a full-on french kiss, and started fondling him. He responded eagerly, taking off her jacket, his hands disappearing underneath her clothes.

Another shiver ran down Azura's spine as a cold wind brushed past her neck. The volume of the movie was so loud she hadn’t noticed the front door opening or the couple making out behind her. As another gust flew past, Azura paused the movie and flinched as the thunder could be heard far away. She dreaded taking off her headphones but did so anyway as the cold wind was driving her nuts. She turned around seeing the door wide open and the couple next to it who were too engrossed in each other to notice her.

"Hey, lovebirds!" It came out louder than intended. The woman let out a shriek and quickly removed her hand from his crotch. "Close the door and get a room will ya? I really don't want to see this."

Lucas just dumbly grinned at her and kicked the door shut, too lazy to even remove his hands from underneath her shirt. He was not at all bothered or ashamed of being caught and guided the woman up the stairs. She just giggled after her first moment of shock, trying to secretly feel him up at every possible moment. Azura turned back with a groan, not wanting to see any of it.

"Headphones on again and I'm not moving for the next couple of hours..." She softly muttered to herself. There was a bright flash illuminating the room and Azura cowered, clutching her side. She cursed and quickly put her headphones on and pressed play to not hear the sound which made her cower in fear even more.

Why do you let it dictate your feelings? It's just a thunderstorm.

She grit her teeth as the voice spoke up. "You know why."

I was not there when you got hurt so I only have your memories to feed on. But you won't like it when I do.

"Stop it." She hissed at herself.

Close your eyes.

Azura did the exact opposite. She ignored the voice and tried to focus on the movie. Deep down she could feel the frustration and a bit of anger build up. It was heating her up, but she kept ignoring it like she had discussed with Nicolai during one of her sessions.

Eventually, the feeling ebbed away, and by the time the movie was done, she felt exhausted. Not wanting to hear what was going on upstairs, she immediately turned on the second Underworld movie, but it became hard to focus. In the end, she paused it and closed her eyes for just a moment, not able to resist it anymore.

A strange heat covered her body. Azura slowly opened her eyes again. Flames danced around her feet, the rest was pitch black. She felt constricted and it got harder to breathe. She tried to move but her body was locked in place. Her eyes darted around, searching anxiously for an escape. A sense of panic erupted inside and she tried to not let it rule her. She had to keep her wits about her and thoughts clean. She curled her hands into fists, focusing on that instead of the panic that wanted out.

Why do you fear me?

In front of Azura, the flames coiled together shaping themselves until there was a gigantic bird-like shape left. Its fiery wings stretched out far behind it. Flames dropped down like it was melting and its eyes were two black shiny orbs looking down upon her. It was gigantic and just as she remembered it.

Azura started to tremble as the Phoenix took its shape and addressed her directly. She tried her hardest to get her breathing under control. Tears of fear started to form in her eyes but she was still unable to take a single step. Her legs felt like jelly, ready to buckle from underneath her at any given moment.

I can feel your distress, but why do you fear me?

She swallowed her fear, she wasn’t capable of doing much else anyway. "Because you killed Nora! Because you killed Theresa! Because you killed tons of other people who meant the world to someone else! I fear you because you are a destroyer of everything I care about!" She screamed at the Phoenix, letting out all her frustration. Tears ran down her face as she let it all out.

I killed your friend and many others, yes. I even killed you, yet here you are. Why does death anger you so? Did you not take three lives yourself before you came before me? Did you not come to me with any other reason than to kill me? Isn't death a part of life and destiny? Why do you fight your destiny so much? Nora knew hers and accepted it so it gave her peace.

"Stop with the questions already! Stop it, just stop it!" Azura placed her hands over her ears as her words turned into a pained scream. She fell to her knees, screaming turned into sobbing. Her whole body was shaking with every sob. Eventually, she was able to calm herself down a little and looked up at the flaming bird-like creature before her. Her voice was reduced to a mere whisper.

"If... If you really killed me, then why am I here? Why didn't I really die?"

Because a Phoenix never dies. But it looks like our time is up.

"But I'm not a-"

The Phoenix was gone and the flames around her were suddenly doused by a big wave of ice-cold water that came crashing down on her.

"-Phoenix..."

Water dripped down her face as she gasped for air. It took her a moment to realize what had happened. She glared up at Lucas who, as her deadly gaze met his, took one step back as his grin melted like snow.

"In my defense, you were absolutely screaming again and did not respond to anything else." He had raised his hands in a defensive way as he spoke up.

Azura just stared at him, not able to decide on which swear words would emerge first from her mouth. Her look told him everything he needed to know though. There were so many thoughts running through her head she had difficulties keeping them apart. The conversation with the Phoenix, the questions she had and was not able to ask... Had it all been real or was it just another nightmare?

"Fuck!" It took her a while, but in the end, it was the only word able to express her feelings. She rubbed her face dry with her arm.

"That's it?" Lucas had lowered his hands and seemed to relax a bit. "I don't know what’s going on, but I kind of get the feeling that was not an ordinary nightmare."

"It's a Phoenix, the voice is an effin’ Phoenix and it's in my head and it talks to me and I don't even know what is real and what is not anymore and what the hell are you doing here while you should be up there doing whatever you're good at with that woman!" It was one long stream of words with no break in between.

"It's been two hours. I don't know about you, but my sexual escapades don't last that long." He cast her a playful smile hoping to get her mind off the nightmare she had.

"Too much info! Especially now." She eyed him suspiciously, not trusting him yet after he had doused her in water once again.

"You asked for it, but I get the hint and will stop. Skipping to the next subject...what was that nightmare about and what do you mean about the ‘Phoenix’?"

"If I'm going to tell you that, you first need to put some pants on. This-" She waved her finger up and down while pointing at him. "This is way too distracting right now."

He was only wearing a t-shirt and black boxer briefs. Nothing she hadn't seen before, as he usually wore this during their nighttime talks.

"Now it’s distracting? What about all the other times?" His grin grew even wider. He wanted to tease some more but at the last second decided not to.

"Drop it please and just do it!" She waved him off.

As Lucas left she untangled herself from the blanket. She had been sweating a lot. Her clothes were damp and wet. She took off her sweater and sat back down in the black tank top she had been wearing underneath.

He returned swiftly, wearing an old pair of tracksuit bottoms. As he sat down next to her she pulled the blanket up to her chin again.

"Start talking, Sunshine." He adjusted slightly so he was facing her.

She began to talk, starting from the beginning when she and Nora had to face the Phoenix, up until this nightmare.

It was deep into the night when she finished. Once she opened up, she told him almost everything except for the fact she was a snow leopard. She did make sure not to leave any hints about that while she talked.

"I always suspected you had something to do with those rumors of the Phoenix. Can't believe you and Nora actually took it down!" Lucas paused for a while and seemed to think things over.

"This... ‘voice…’ in your head... It belongs to the Phoenix? And it's been in your nightmares ever since?"

Azura nodded. "Ever since I came here it has also started to talk to me when I'm wide awake. It's driving me insane!"

Lucas got up from the couch and paced around.

"Tomorrow you will contact Dr. Jensen. We need to have a chat with him as soon as possible. There is something I'd like to discuss about this matter."

He helped her up and then he noticed the laptop with a frozen image of the movie still on it. "Steffen was right. You do look like her." He gestured to the image on the laptop. It was close up off Selene while sporting the blue eyes.