Mah ha ha! Sorry, I don't have a coolio ti
tle. Urm... Let's see if I can whip something up here.

For years, NightHunters have lived in secracy, taking care of their pick and numbers of those bitten and those changed. For some, it is the perfect life and they would have it no other way. For most, however, it is a curse. Many debates have been aroused, causing many secret wars and disputes under Night's dark sheets. Though most of the bloodshed has come to a hault, there is a continuation of much hospitality between the two outlooks. While some go about their normal blood- seeking lives, others strive to find a cure for their unhappy situation. Others still stand alone, at peace with both themselves and their world. They have chosen their own paths and take each step with unquestionable caution.

Just when the NightHunter way of life seemed again at ease, a break through had been discovered. By mixing Their own DNA strands with the living blood, part of the changing cycle has been reversed. With the younger changelings, they become seemingly comepletely human, while the elders turn to ash and blood.

While some attempt to get their claws on this magical formula, others have changed it even further to make living weapons and m*censored*acuing creatures. They abuse this new power and are always on the hunt for more. They've devoloped a sort of Empire, a higher- ranking system. They require every NightHunter to become part of the system while others, fugitives, would rather end their own existance. Few now, mostly younglings, hide from the Empire and seek the cure they so desprately need. ...

Oh, my word, that's a horrid plot and far longer than I had inteneded it to be. I'm sorry, you'll have to read that all. Of course, it's not set in stone, so please tell me if I should change something. While I'm at it, I geuss I'll make a little Bio, too. I know, I'm a dork.

Origonal Thread~
http://www.rescreatu.com/forum/cat/games/rp/needs-rp/~page/1/

Name~ >text

Gender~ >text

Age~ >text

Looks~ >text

Persona~ >text

Other~ >text

((Actually, I asked you in the origonal form and you never answered. I'd do either, but that's why I tried to keep it general.))

Name~ Starec "Leo" Kodashine

Gender~ Male...

Age~

Looks~ Has a thin- chained, silver, rectangular locket that he wears 24/7, usually tucked beneth his clothes so that it presses against his skin. He also has a large, white scar streaching from the back of his left shoulder to the back of his right hip. (He reffuses to tell how he got it.) Other scars also cover his torso and lower legs.

http://s852.photobucket.com/albums/ab81/LunarChange98/Characters/?action=view¤t=prommale.png

Persona~ Headstrong and rather rash, Leo hardly thinks before he acts. Though usually reserved, he's first to speak his mind if he feels the issue is strong enough and, dispite the danger he may face, will always save his true friends in need. (Not that he has any....)

Other~ ....I think I covered it.

picture (c) to its artist/ owner

((alright then, sounds good. Anyway, starting now~))

Starec was never one for games. He watched his prey bumble through the trees, a large young man who owt to know better than to pick on little girls. This guy had been on the run for quite some time, Leo had noted, and now the fool had wandered a little to close to him. He was in his domain now.

Leo watched from his perch high in the tree, not making a sound. As the man p*censored*ed unsuspisous, Leo let out a low growl. The man whired, asking firmly, "Who's there?" When there was no answer, He turned around and jumped when he saw Leo in his way.

Leo took a step closer, eying him. He reminded him of somebody, but he couldn't quite place the face. With a quick shake of his head he said cooly, "You shouldn't pick on girls like you have been."

The man shuttered, eying the seemingly so young boy before him. He went pale, wondering how he had appeared from no where without a sound. Ignoring him, much to the man's horror, Leo went on: "As hungry as I am, I'd rather not kill you. Shall you promise to make amense and be friends?"

The man nodded, then turned tail and headed back for the city, mover two miles from where Leo usually stayed. Leo smirked, glad the man was gone. In a way, this was his terratory. He usually traveled from place to place, ignoring other NighHunter grounds and p*censored*ing them quickly. He had been here for about two weeks, the longest he'd been in one place. It was far enough from the city that he didn't have to hear the humans that made his mouth water, but close enough that a good walk and he could get the paper and read the news. (Not that Leo had ever been quite litterate, especialy in human characters. He had grown far more acostomed to Latin and French, which is what more comon NightHunter spoke.) The woods was quiet, and streched for many miles behind him.

The city was in a low valley, littered with pollution and abandoned sky scrapers. On occasion, Leo would climb them and watch the population below, his keene ears picking up words and sounds that he usually didn't bother to recconize. It wasn't the most peacful or beautiful place he'd been, but it was far away from the war the rest of the NightHunters seemed to be in. For now, it was nice.

A lonely week p*censored*ed, and Leo stood in a high tree. The sky was quickly darkening, the last rays of sunlight appearing hazy over the grey sky. Leo put a hand to his mouth and howled, like a wolf, the echo bouncing off the city walls. He missed his pack, the only family he had even known small and sickly as it was. He would go back, he decided. Back to his birth place and the horrors that slumbered in his memory. But before he left, he had one last string of buisness,

Using his unatural speed, he made it to the edge of the city in a matter of minutes. Slowing down to a human pace, he turned up the collar of his jacket and strolled down two dirty blocks to a news stand. The man behind the counter was asleep, like usual, with a mostly empty bottle of liquor in his hand. Leo grabbed a paper as he p*censored*ed, having done this many times before. He continued walking down the streets and scrolled through the headlines: Boy reunites with dog, Twin sisters separated at hospital; find eachother years later...

Leo sighed, flipping through the pages and pictures, tossing away the ones he didn't need untill one caught his eye: Another body found; Suspected to be miss Lucy Bawn

Starec choked, caught on air. He had known her, and now she was dead. Leo had ran into her on a raining day, and had helped her pick up the contence of her purse. She had given him the first warm smile he'd seen in what felt like centuries. Later Leo had seen her picture several times in the paper. She was a nurse at the hospital, about ten miles from the news stand.

The blonde cringed at the words on the paper, not all of which he understood. At the bottom of the article, however, was a similar one. It was about the man that had come in and disturbed him. Leo swore under his breath, thinking that he should have killed him when he had the chance. He snarled, ripped the page away from the others, and shoved it into an inside pocket. He began to walk along the streets, which were nearly deserted. He was in search now, and he wound't rest until he had tasted blood. He let out a low snarl that lasted a few seconds. The humans around him seemed to understand as they seemed to disapear into apartments and cars.

Leo breathed in cooly, eying the quiet pavement. He would keep calm, but would not rest until he had what he wanted: blood. His blood.

((I asume Starec is a vampire?)) 

Rosalie groaned, twitching slightly. The change would be happening soon, tomorrow night at the earliest, the night after at the latest. She could feel the tingle that meant the change would come over her in a short time, but suppressed it, knowing that she could resist up until the hour of the full moon's rising. She, unlike most other Nighthunters, preffered thewestern language of English to other Romance tounges, and therefore, did rarely *censored*ociate with her fellow creatures of Darkness.

     She shook off the sensation and took off at a great speed, going nowhere, running only to run. To get out her frustration. She did horrible things when she changed, and she always regretted them. Killing, maiming, it didn't matter to her wolf forme. So she wanted to get as far away from the human settlement as possible.

((Yeah, I went with something more familiar. I'm still getting back into the swing of RPG'ing, lol. Oh, and sorry if I power-play or god-model a little bit here, I was kind of experimenting with NightHunter-isms.))

Leo stiffened, feeling the wind change. To humans, this was nothing special, but his own years on Earth had taught him otherwise. Something was going to happen soon, usually something bad. The blonde let out another, cl*censored*ic growl. Was it another murder, another young girl being killed to pleasure to then just be dumped upon the street. It was wrong, and Leo expected the worst. He darted to the nearest building, pressing his ear against it. He wished that he had werewolf ears, but had to rely on something more primal.

0Leo was born with an inner system similar to a bat's echo- location, but worked poorly in cities. Inside the buildins were fine, his vision also helping him in dark halls. Outside of them, however, his echos were of little use, bouncing off tall wall to tall wall. So, he pressed his body hard to the cement and brick, listening, holing an unessisary breath. There were voices inside, a woman and two children, then an elder. He could not make out at all what the voices were saying, pret a few words. These included 'window' and 'breeze.'

Hopeful, the "teen" looked about. Not far above his height was a window, open just a crack. Leo grumbled, debating if he could reach it. In his last clan, made up of a spare few NightHunters, a werewolf, another vampire, and himself had gone on a walk about in a large town, not near as large as this one. The werewolf, called Chene, had lept with great strength. In a single bound, he placed his paws on the window sill, digging his back claws into the brick to support his weight on muscular thighs. Though Chene was never experianced enough to completely control when he changed forms, he had taught himself over several hard years how to control his temperment and keep a great deal of his own being.

Leo sighed. This was years ago, long before Chene was killed by the CureSeekers, and Leo was no werewolf. His skills relied in his agility and speed, not strength or self- control. Could he even jump that high and get his thin, pale hands to wrap arounf the tiny ledge? He shuttered, but it would have to be done. He closed his eyes tight, shook out his hands and lept. He missed, scraping his hand on rough, unkept brick. He winced, pocked hi back and tried again. This time, he touched the ledge, but quickly lost his grip and barly fell on his feet. Leo growled at the wall, then tried a third time.

Third time's... the... charm! He pulled himself up with all his strength, finding it incredably hard to support his entire bodt weight on his forearms. He grunted quietly, knowing he had to be fast. He let out an echo into the small room, letting the unfelt vibration go through thin walls, open windows and open doors. Within a few secconds, Leo had a very basic map of the building. With releif, he dropped with a hard thud back to the ground. He sighed with releif, knowing he would have to do this many more times. He had heard voices inside, but nothing unsual or suspisous. So, Leo waslked over to the next building.

Starec repeated these actions three more times. Just as he approached the fith building, he turned, his ears guiding his eyes. A female was running past him on the other side of the street, as if she was escaping something. Again, a stream of wind wept by, changing direction much feircer than it had been before. This would be a turning point in something, Leo knew. He sighed, and seemingly flew over to the young black haired woman. She was beautiful, he noticed, heading in the direction he had come as if going to the forest.

He tenderly placed a cold hand on the woman's shoulder, putting little force upon it. The moment his icy fingers touched the fleshy shoulder, he felt a heart beat- his own. This only happened when he came in contact with another NightHunter, for a vampire's heart is usually still. (He was once told by Chene that since werewolves have beating heart, there's ofter stopped for a second or two when contact was first established between two.) Leo had learned every of his own bodily funtions. His heart thuded once, swelling, then let out two small sighs before it was again silent. This was a female werewolf he was touching.

As if nothing had happened in that ever breif amout of time, he said calmly, "Miss, what's happened?"

This immediately seemed to be a stupid thing to say, and, though he didn't exactly blush, he felt his face feel warm beneth his eyes and across his cheeks. This was the first real NightHunter contact he'd had since his small clan was brutally murdered. He had seen others, p*censored*ed through and avoided their terratories, but this was odd. Something was not right.

The wind picked up again, whipping the Leo's blonde hair into blue-green eyes. His ears pricked as he heard thunder, still about fifteen miles off. A storm was comming soon, and the wind was not happy with it. The wind pushed the lightning stedily closer to the city, thring to break up the moisturous clouds before they caused too much damage. Leo didn't take his eyes off of the young woman, not knowing the meaning of the storm. It was most likely one of two things, but Leo had never been one for interpreting signs. It was either a natural force of nature, or a bad omen.

((She has blonde hair too, silly.))

 Rosalie felt herself come to an abrupt halt, a hand on her shoulder. She felt her heart stop for a single beat before continuing on. A vampire, a male one. Not to be trusted. "None of your business", she growled, turning to face him. She took a step back when she saw him, surprised. He had blonde hair, and the most uniquely colored eyes she'd ever seen, a unique blend of blue and green. "Look", she said more calmly, "I really must get away from the city, quickly, I've got some control over my transformation, but tomorrow is the night of the full moon, I will not be able to halt it than. I must get out of here... I don't want to hurt anyone." She looked at him, waiting for his reply. She knew he might not believe her, although she was telling the truth. Vampires were that way. But something looked different about him, he didn't look like a cure-seeker, as a good percentage of Nighthunters now were. She was not, although she had contemplated it on one occasion, a long while ago.

((Oh, duh. *facedesk* I am so braindead right now. Let's see if I can pull something out of my butt here, lol.))

Leo relaxed a little, almost happy to see that this other NighHunter wasn't hostile, ay least not now. A wolf form tended to be much more hostile, as if the form itself snuffed the flame of a soul for a night or two. Though her tone surprised him, but what else did you expect from a tempermental werewolf? Maybe he was to used to Chene's memory, maybe even that had been sweetened by wishful thinking. Either way, Leo had known how Chene would have wanted to be remembered, and he had tried to keep at least that alive. Maybe that's why he was taken aback by her tone. She didn't exactly give a plesant tone twards him, but it didn't sound like that of a harsh CureSeeker's either. Leo pushed some useless air out of his body, deciding to try to be opertunistic and be nice to the girl. After all, judging be her location ond body ex
pression, she was not at all impressed with Leo's state of being, that, of course, being a vampire. But there was something else there, too; something Leo couldn't place, a hidding sort of feeling in the back her her soft, liquid eyes.

Admiration? No. Maybe a little, but it was more like... Yes, it almost had to be.

"Don't be afraid," Leo said in almost a whisper. He lossened his grip even more on her shoulder, almost letting it slip back down to his side. He gave a wan smile saying, "In time you will have control over what you are. After all," he paused, for a second, dropping his hand and turning so he faced the same way as she did. "You can't help who you are."

Leo took two steps forward, thinking and letting the wind brush his hair to his face. '...I don't want to hurt anyone." Leo hadn't, either, but his careless errors had turned brick to blood. The first few years of vampireism blured together like vauge memories, but that first week... That first week was a sort of eternal Hell. Leo almost chuckled, his light smile fading. To think he had wanted to make a differance, then this happened. Nearlt thirty secconds p*censored*ed and Leo turned back to the girl, debating how to word what he wanted to say. She had shared more than an older, more experianced NightHunter might have told him on first meeting, and he wanted to return the favor. In a whisper he asked, knowing her keene ears would detect it, "How pure be one's heart?"

Without waiting for an answer, he continued, speaking slightly louder now. His tone was calm, his eyes betraying his curiousity and caution. In a way, the first seemed to outpower the second. Then there was a third thing deeply hidden behind blue- green circles- hunger. Tonight, he knew, he would taste blood of a murderer, maybe two. He said quickly, "Down the hill there is a newstand gaurded by a drunken fool." He pointed in the way the female was faceing, the way he had come. "Past that ally is a small wood that gets dencer as one continues. About two miles from the city's edge is a dead pine with bear claws near the bottom. Meet me there." He blinked slowly, still not waiting for an answer. Again his voice lowered. "If you be foe, by all means, kill me off; if you be friend, I'll help you control your monster. Agreed?"

Leo did not wait for an answer, only walked past the girl and on past the building behind her. He then slipped into the alleyway, and lept, restarting his process. Nope, thing here. He moved on to the next building, having a strong feeling. Night was comming on quickly now, and it gave Leo a sort of energy, a sort of hope. He could almost sence where the man was now, and he would be upon his within minutes.

Trusting his feelings, Leo used his speed to accend the building from window to window. He took a deep, but unessisary breath before leaping over a small gap and landind hard on the next building, then the next. Leo almost lost track of where he was going by the time he dropped back down the the dirt streets and called into a crack in the wall, since all the windows in his immediate reach where closed. It was hard to locate, but Leo trusted himself. He climbed a little, being quick and quiet as possible to smash a small window and slip through it. He stood a moment, taking the galss out of his hair, then rushed up the stairs.

He had a plan for both the girl and the man, supposing that she would follow his orders. If she didn't and ambushed him, then... Alright he didn't know exactly what he'd do then. In anycase, he would taste this guy's blood and try to help the girl. Hopeful, he began to toy with thoughts of his clan before the betrayal and masicure. He pushed theses thoughts away, however, as he pressed his shoulder against a door and pushed, forcing it to open against the faulty hinges. He let a little echo into the room, sure now. He forced the door open widely now, to see the man inside, eying today's paper. Leo's stomach tightened as he relized he was looking at the same page Leo had tucked away in his inside pocket.

The man put up little fight, too terrified at Leo's existance than ever before. After a couple minutes, the vampire decided that he was done toying with this man. He grabbed his face and rammed his head against the wall twice. Blood cracked on his bald head, and Leo ran a pale finger over the wound and ran it over his mouth. It had been years since he tasted fresh blood, and he had forgotten how tart and sweet the taste was. But this was no time for sweets, so he sipped but a little more, but let quite a bit of the crimson fall to the rotting floor. When the murderer had no fight left, dazed from his quick loss of blood, Leo licked two of his fingersand ran them across the man's flesh. Almost instantly the wound sealed up, only small bits of crimson remaining on his pale skin. Leo hoisted the man's thick body over his own and left, begining to walk to the place where he had come, using his speed when he felt it was safe to do so. "I've a plan for you, sir." Was all he said right before they left. The man let out a pathetic groan in responce.

Leo held the man tightly so that he couldn't move even if he dared. By the time the man regained full consiousness, Leo was nearly at the tree he specified to the girl not thirty minutes before. He began to wonder what she had done, if she'd attack, and even what he name was. Leo almost blushed again, feeling stupid at just now relizing how rude he'd been. At last they arrived at the scene. With the tree in sight, Leo ploped the man to the ground and hit him hard on the head. Before the man could so much as say, "ow," Leo ran crouched over him and sank a fang into his wrist. The murder began to feircly bleed, and Leo pushed temptations away. He saw the man began to panic, and Leo knew that would be enough. No warning was needed to tell the murderer to stay put, so Leo turned to face the tree, daring to hope the near- stranger would be there. The man made no move but to shake and take off his dirty sweater and press it against his wound, as if it would help stop the furious flow.

Leo felt the man watch him, but did not turn. This was a vampire's sort of sixth sence, what they called an Eyewatch. It was just a sort of feeling that he had, could sence if one being to another was watching him. Most were born with this skill, others developed it over time. Leo, however, was quite unpracticed and could only focus on one set of eyes at a time. So, he focused his on the prey's, knowing full well that it wouldn't leave. If he tried, Leo would only bring him back. So, Leo took four steps closer to the tree, muscles tenced with anticipation as he waited.

Rosalie listened to the vampire, nodding as he spoke. "You can't help what you are", he said, and she agreed. She'd been born a werewolf, and no matter how much she hated her werewolf form, she liked the speed and strength she gained from it even in her normal state. She could run nearly as fast as some vampires, and her sense of smell was better than a regular canine's. 

Rosalie felt the vampire's hand slide from her shoulder and drop back to his side. She blushed slightly, but unnoticeably, when he turned to face the same way as she was, and his blonde hair blew into his face. He was a handsome male, but he was a vampire. She'd been taught never to *censored*ociate with the bloodsuckers. But were werewolves much better? They fed off of anything they got their paws on in their canine shape, although they could eat normal food in their human state. And besides, there was something different about him, although she could not put her finger on it.

She came back to reality and listened to the Vampire's instructions, repeating them over in her head even after he had left. "Kill him? No, I cannot bring myself to kill, only when my demon takes over do I steal life from other beings." She thought, confused at why he'd even told her that. She stayed in the same spot for several minutes, contemplating this statement, before starting off at a walk, looking for the newspaper stand and a drunken man.

She soon found it, and waiting there, tried to remember what else he'd told her. "Past that ally is a small wood that gets denser as one continues" She saw the tree line and went to it, walking several feet before she stopped, noticing the trees getting thicker than she'd anticipated. Rosalie took a deep breath, than sprinted through the brush, eventually crashing into a low, thick branch that she was unable to evade.

Thrown back by her momentum, Rosalie landed in a thorn bush, groaning and holding her head. There was a long scratch on her right forearm and, other than a headache and a bruise where she'd hit the thick piece of oak, no other major injuries were sustained. 

Rosalie ducked under the branch and continued on, soon coming across the vampire, a smallish man with a blood soaked sweater around his arm, and the dead pine. "I am no enemy of yours." she said softly, smiling, "Why did you ask me to come here?"

Leo eyed the werewolf, ignoring her questions as he got his first good look at her. She saw shorter than he was, like most people he ran across. Maybe it was a good thing that his condition had forced him to stop growing, even if it made his muscles ache from time to time. She had large, blue eyes, indicating that she was probably just a little younger than he was when he changed. She was pretty, not a common trait for most girls this day of age, especially the ones he'd seen in other large cities. Leo gave his head a shake, remembering where he was. He was getting side tracked. He raised his right hand to his temple, as if to steady himself or block the growing moonlight from his eyes. To be totaly honest, he wasn't quite sure what he was doing at this point.

Again, Leo almost blushed. He would have, of course, if his blood ran freely as aposed to being still. He lowered his hand from his brow and used it to gesture to the man behind him. Leo bit his tounge, smelling the blood he had put on the man. Finally, he answered the girl's question: "I am curious. You are alone, without a pack, and did not attempt to kill me upon my arrival. Therefore, logic leads me to beleive you are not a CureSeeker. However," he paused. "You also do not have control over your lunar cycle, which can be dangerous to the few left us us... Well, non- CureSeekers." At this he cracked a smile, as if the opinion he was about to present was charming or cute. "Futhermore, if you remain unpracticed and afraid, you will become desprate and easy to manipulate."

The blonde lowered his arm, his smile fading, his tone becoming more serious. "I want you to make your own decisions, but one cannot go in a fearful dark. One will only have a sad downfall."

With this said, Leo turned his back to the female. "I am unarmed and my deffence is lowered. You could kill me now if you wish." Without waiting for an answer, he continued, staring intently as his prey. "Before us is a horrible man who has murdered and toyed with several innocent young women probably a little older than you are now." Starec closed his eyes and breifly gritted his teeth, as if he was ashamed to say all this. "I've warned him, and still he stirs dispair. Will you kill him?" Leo paused breifly, half turning back to the girl so he could look at her. "Or will you let him go to kill again?"

There was a breif moment of silence in which a light, warm breeze t*censored*led the locks about his face. "In Japan a few years back, there was one who called himself 'God' because he killed criminals. Some honored his name, others hunted it down. Over a period of time, he went insane and killed himself."

Leo fliped his hair out of his eyes so he could see better. He cracked a wan smile and streched his arms far above him before resting them on the back of his head. He even let out a little yawn, as if he was boring himself. He looked back at the man, trembling with fear as he struggled to press the sweater to the scratch. Leo continued, his tone lowering. "I am called Leo, or was years ago. I was a junior in highschool, cl*censored* of 1897 when I became prey to a vampire before the cure was even thought of. I struggled to keep my blood lust under control untill I found a small group of NightHunters who took me in and taught me to control myself. I've helped a few others around the world, and this killer is your prey tonight."

Leo opened his eyes slowly, as if comming out of a daze. Slowly, delibrately, he looked at the girl. "Who are you?"

This question was the first test. By reveiling a bit about himself, he could only hope that the girl would return the favor. The question was not ment to be direct, for it was different for every one. Leo would ask this question three times if the stranger coperated. The first time was now, before the 'training' started to see what the subject immidiatelly thought og themselves. The seccond was after their first prey, in this case, the murderer. Would her opinion of herself change after what so does? Does she feel remorse, joy? This was, though quite a bother, an important process. The third time was when the pupil had learned to control their demons, weather they be blood lust, lunar cycles, ect. This final time the pupil was allowed four days and four nights to decide who they were, and this was key. Leo know, and hoped the girl would to, that who one is is very different from what one is called.

Leo whispered more to himself than the two around him, "One cannot help what one is, but can help who one becomes."

Starec's eyes flickered to the girl, seeing what she would do. Some demon deep inside him hoped that he was wrong and that she would kill him. He wouldn't fight; Death would be quiet and without worry about the cure or the murderer before him or the state of the human race... It could all be behind him with one good blow, even if Leo would never admit it to himself nor anybody else.

((AH! Leo, shut your trap! Your monolauges are making long, boring posts that hurt my fingers!))

"I will not kill you, Leo", Rosalie said softly, "You have done nothing to me that deserves that consequence. Besides, I cannot bring myself to kill in my human form. Only when my demon shows it's ugly face do I lose control and wreak havock. If you truly want this man dead, I will have to relinquish my control over it and transform into a wolf. It is near enough to the full moon that I can do so. But If I do, I suggest that you run." 

She paused, contemplating Leo's next question. "If you are asking my name, I am Rosalie Arden, a werewolf, and one of the few Nighthunters that is not a cure-seeker. Aparantly I am also your apprentice of sorts now. What you say is true. I cannot help being a werewolf, but I can control what I choose to do with my ability." 

She took a chance to study him now. He was pale like most vampires, and had blonde hair like she did. His eyes were a strange greenish blue color, mezmerizing. He was handsome, for a vampire, and seemed to be staring into her eyes the entire time.

Leo cracked a wicked smile, and, almost laughing, said, "Rosalie... You have much to lean." He paused, his smile fading a bit as he said, "Though I geuss one never stops learning."

For a few moments he felt their gazes catch eachother. He felt his eyes warm again, then turned away. He lowered his hands, and rolled his shoulders back, creating eary poping sounds in the night. A sort of smile dawned on his pale face again, revealing his canine- like teeth ment with the soul pourpse of penitrating skin and bone. He looked at the man, now his turn to ponder the murderer's fate. "If I were in your position now, I would kill him and leave his blood for others to find, then leave; however, I am in control of my demons, and such a task is trivial. You, on the other claw, are unpracticed and willing to what I may do for you. I'm surprised by your trusting in me."

Rosalie, an old-fasioned, feminine name. It was pretty, and it seemed to hang in Leo's ears. It was fitting to her, it seemed. Her large blue eyes, silky blonde hair... How fitting, as if her parents had had foresight of her beauty.

In "Leo fasion," he went on without waiting for an answer. He took two stepps back, pulling himself onto a tree limb so that his feet dangled not even a foot above the ground. He began to swing them childishly, still grining slightly, like the chesire cat swishing his tail knowingly. "You're only my apprentance if you choose to be. If you walk away with anything tonight, it is that only you can choose your actions. That is how, with practice, you control your demons. Besides, I can tell you how, but you must teach yourself."

The blonde turned then, so that his legs were on either side of the branch and his back was pressed neatly against the trunck of the tree. It was a little uncomfortable, but what was comfort for a vampire? Sucking blood on the prey's own couch? No, Leo was one of those that refused to do that. Instead, he let his eyes flick from the man, to Rosalie, to the first stars that began to show overhead, dispite the light polution and smog the city produced. There was something about Rosalie's precence, he relized, that made it eisier to breath in bitter air.

Leo's ears unconsiously pricked. He shot upright, his muscles tencing. After a moment, he brought his feet under him in a crouching position on the branch, facing the trees on the other side, to the south. Something wasn't right. Suddenly, the air stired, breathing a foul breath. Leo stiffened, cautioned for what might be comming. Could it be just his own paranoiam or were CureSeekers headed this way?

The eood seemed quiet now, unearthly still. Leo tried to be just as still, un moving. He didn't even breath so that his only movement was his hair, being whipped occasionally by the wind when it dared to stir.

"If I would do anything to this man, I would steal his sight away so that he may not see where he's going, than lead him into the deepest depths of the woods. He'll have time to think about his wicked deeds before he bleeds to death from the wound you've given him." Rosalie said harshly, glaring at the pathetic looking prisoner. Her eyes softened as she turned them on Leo, watching him as he climbed into the tree. 

 "Yes, I wish to become your student. I have much to learn about being a nighthunter, although I have been one since birth." She added in a quieter tone, looking down and blushing slightly. When she looked up, Leo was tense and crouching on the branch.

"What is it, Leo?" she asked, barely whispering, "I feel something is wrong too, but what is it?"

Leo didn't answer Rosalie. At the first question, he turned slightly twards her, but at the seccond he only tensed more. So it wasn't just him. He turned back to the south, sniffing the air slowly before he said, "CureSeekers, a band of them, maybe a mile off."

He lept from the tree, the force of the shock rippling through his tence muscles. He walked to the murderer, licked his fingers, and them ran the solution down where he had scratched him to begin with. He said to him, his eyes hard and cold, "This is the third time I've spared you, but you will not get the same treatment from what comes."

He turned again, walking faster now twards Rosalie. "Unless you want to be interogated and have your blood paint the forest, we move now. If the catch us," Leo took Rosalie's hand delicately in his own left one, his heart letting out another few vibrations in his chest, stirring not only blood but also sleeping endorphines and adrenaline. He breifly bared his teeth, thinking about fighting off the group that was steadaly growing closer. "...than don't say anything and play along with anything I say. If they catch me, go north. Don't stop. I'll catch up to you."

Leo took his right hand and turned to her. His long pale fingers reached out to her face so that he forced their gazes to meet. "I promise."

Why did I do that?!

Starec lowered his pale hand, almost wishing that his heart would beat again, but they had already been touching by the hands. Almost effortlessly, the young vampire began to pull Rosalie north, fortunately, the direction he was planning to go anyway.

The blonde paused, however, looking back on what they were leaving. He was leaving a breif encampment, she was likely leaving a home. He noticed that the murderer had gone, but left his blood- soaked sweater. His innards turned, knowing that the CureSeeker band would hunt him down just because they could, however it was highly unlikely that they would terrorize the city. It was in the nature of NightHunters to remain unseen by humans. Maybe it was instinct or common sence, but Leo didn't have it quite as bad as most did. Then he noticed, he and Rosalie were leaving a trail. Moving side by side like this, they broke quite a few brambles, even if he had only pulled her a few steps.

Leo pricked his ears again, noting how much closer the band was. He snarled and turned around completely. He didn't look at Rosalie as he said the following, "On seccond thought, Rosealie, go north as fast as your legs will cary you. If your demon wants to take over the run, let it. For once embrace it, but do not fear it, do not touch it and whatever you do, don't achknowladge it."

He let his hand pull away from the girls, and he immediately felt like his body went cold. Well, colder than usuall, anyway. He quickly eyed the options: The CureSeeker group was coming from the south, Rosalie was going north. The man had gone east, so that left west for Leo to go. He eyed the sweater, discarded by the man he had healed twice. He ran over to pick it up, becoming a blur and he used his speed. Using the wet, bloody sleeve (slowly breathing in the sweet scent as he did so) he gave a sort of paint to the surrounding trees, making them all smeel sweet. Finally, he acsended the dead, bear-clawed tree and hung the sweater there, tearing it as he went down as if it had been left there more on acsident than on pourpose. Leo know it would not detour the Cure Seekers long, but it might give him more time.

He scented the air again, noting that the seeker band had paused. They were on the outskirts of the city, likly decided weather or not it was likely other NightHunters lived there or not. Leo couldn't stop now, he was too far in, sunk too deep.

In an instant he slit his own wrist, feeling nothing that could be noted quite as "pain," as he had told himself prior that it would hurt. He rubbed his wrist on the bark of the tree, then stepped back, leaving a sort of trail first to the east, then across the narrow clearing to the west. He pressed his wrist to his mouth, and pressed his lips to one end, so it left an empty scar, still hot pink and irritated from the dead blood that russed through the open vein. He then took a few steps back, and drippled a little more, not holding his wrist to keep the blood from pouring through too feircly. Since it was dead cells, they no longer processed DNA or clotted up wounds to form scabs like other races.

Supposing Leo's plan worked, which was probably a 50/50 chance, the CureSeekers would chase after the fresh, human blood first before chasing his own, false trail. They would likely catch on quickly that it was a vampire male, and give up and start heading north. By this time, Leo would use his demon speed to catch up to Rosalie. Hopefully she would have gone far enough to be out of the Seeker band's reach and they would change course before tomarrow night, when Rosalie's form would change.

Leo knew this would be very risky, and was all but in the mindset of fighting off the band, even if only to escape later and give Rosalie just a little more time. Run strait, Leo prayed to no God in particular. The more you move, the more your scent will linger.

Rosalie listened to everything he told her, shaking her head slightly when he told her what to do if he was captured. "I won't leave you to them, Leo", she whispered. When Leo began to pull her North, she went willingly by hiss side, but stopped when he did, looking at her companion. 

"What do you mean by that...? Embrace it but don't...?", she asked softly, "Leo, please, don't get yourself killed... I will go, but never make me leave you behind again." With that she turned to glance at him one last time before taking off into the Northern part of the forrest, running as quickly as she was able in her human form. She couldn't have gone much faster, even if she had let her demon take over. 

She stopped after traveling fife miles, barely having exhausted any energy. "Leo, please be okay..." , she whispered to herself, "I don't want you to die in their hands..." She began to run again, but not as quickly as she'd been earlier. She wanted to give her friend a chance to keep up.

Leo continued the trail went for a little more than a quarter mile when he pricked his ears and relized that the CureSeeker group had stumbled upon the narrow clearing where he had sprayed blood. He hoped his plan would work. Even he sprayed so much blood he was begining to drain, not an easy task for a vampire.

Though the blond's eyesight wasn't very spectacular (when he was alive, he was dilexic and more near-sighted than far. Unfortunately, the changing process was hardly any help to this prediciment) and his hearing could use work, he could taste the air in combination with his echo- system. It wasn't the most effective method by far, especially since his first few attempts had ended in his echoes bouncing off several different trees and just confising his head. After a minute though, he was able to map out that most of the Nighthunters had gone east, after the man. Four where comming his way, two where going back south to look for more trails. None where continuing north.

Leo sighed with releif. These where not the brightest of NightHunters.

He licked his wrist lightly, letting it take the still few secconds it took to heal the dead flesh. He had no time to lose and he wouldn't have as much time to catch up to Rosalie as he had dared to hope. His wound had stopped bleeding, but was very irritated that LEo had continued on without waiting more.

Because a vampire's flesh and blood where no longer living and their blood did not clot, centuries of evolution had made the race able to heal wounds with saliva. When Leo was turned in the late 19th century, this was a fairly new skill. The vampire that changed him had developed it and had origonally intended to seal Leo's bite- marks as a test of his abilities. It failed and he had bleed to death before the vampire venom revised him. It was a "survival of the fitest" sort of things. The vampires who couldn't seal a victem's wounds were caught and excecuted by the humans. Those that developed or where born with the skill, however, were caught less often and changed more humans into vampires with this ability. Though Leo was not amoung the first to have healing property in humans, he was amoung the later, but first cases of vampires that could heal themselves. His own was potent enough to seal the dead cells together, even it it didn't always work well and it took far more time.

Dispite these leaps in vampiric acheivment, the method didn't seem to work on werewolves. They had an antibacteria on their toungs much like a normal wolf, but they often waited for their wounds to heal and still risked an infection. (If a vampire got an infection, however, they were doomed to die within the hour.) Expiriments were soon conducted between vampire saliva, werewolf wounds and human DNA. This had lead to the "Cure." Even further expirimentation had lead to beings of supiroir strength, skill and blooslust. Their demons had been given a sort of steriods and now completely controlled the body. It was a horrible form of tourture.

As soon as Leo dared he began to head north, east, sniffing the air in any hopes of locating Rosalie or the CureSeeker group, only one of which he had wanted to run into. Leo was quick as he dared, refusing to use his demonic speed to catch up to quickly. He would leave a trail that the seekers would probably follow. Leo hadn't gone very far when he heard the seeker group stuble upon where he had just been and ender the trail. Leo geussed he was a little less than a quarter mile away, but he left only two broken branches in his slow, careful efforts.

He heard the group talk to one another, but did not achnoladge what they were saying. edranaline was attempting to move through his body, and Leo could feel it in his veins every time he moved. So, when he heard the seekers behind him begining to argue and bicker, he rushed off, being more careless in his effort to catch up to Rosalie.

A slow moving two minutes p*censored*ed before Leo caught her scent, more wst of him that he'd expected her to go. There was little sign of the CureSeekers now, besides the faint smell Leo now carried on him and their cries echoing in his head. He blinked, then continuing on, often changling course slightly in an attempt to find Rosalie. Five minutes p*censored*ed, ten, and something in Leo's stomach told him that the group was begining to move past the diversion he's made in such haste. He dared to hope they'ld be going slower now, being more cautious for more trails they would mostlikely rack.

At last, Leo saw her, Rosalie's long blonde silk being tossed occasionally by the light breeze. He took two deep breaths, an unnessisary but comforting movement, before slowly approaching. His blood began to cool, and Leo again noted how pleasarable her presance was. There was something in her aura, her very being that peaked an intrest in him, something he hadn't felt in a long time. It was almost fastinating and, at breif times, overwhelming.

Leo cracked a smile as he walked over and stood enxt to her, breathing in her scent deeply. Werewolves may have better sences and strength, but vampires had better speed and memory, these being probably the most noticable differances between the races, besides that werewolves change form and vampires are usually quite expressionless. But then again, Leo did always hate stereo- types.