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Kaz allowed one eye to slide open slightly as he heard movement near his tree yet again that night. He shifted on his stomach slightly and allowed one foot to fall and dangle idly from the high branch he was resting on. The night had been active. He could smell human blood on the wind, and he had been awakened more than once by the passing of beings he was quite certain by thier scent were not mortal. One, he recalled, had even yelled loudly and nearly caused him to fall. He was relieved he had not because he would have lost his masking which which allowed him to blend with the leaves and branches.

This time passing near him, it was just some human. He toyed briefly with the idea of letting a stick fall and startle the man, but Kaz was still too sleepy to conjure his powers and let the fellow pass.

He looked up, the street was dark and there was only one light to be seen still on. It was a cafe down the street, and from the looks of things, it too was shutting off its lights. He closed his eyes again but he could not quite sleep. He preferred the night to hunt, but there were so few people out. Not worth the trouble of getting up. He needed a good throng of people for a decent meal. So he remained where he was, somewhat bored, drifting between waking and sleeping, trying to decide what to do....

Raven walked with quick, purposeful steps down the sidewalk. Not a very comfortable pace for talking, though James didn't seem to have any trouble with it. It was true she didn't mind walking at night anymore, but she also knew it was dumb to linger very long. Her shoulders hunched slightly as she held her bag close against her side. Even with James near her, and maybe even because he was, she wanted to get out of this side of town at this time of night and into the more brightly lit residential areas.

"Well... thats sort of the way...." she spoke in a low voice and paused speaking to glance over her shoulder. Not seeing anyone, she set her eyes forward again.

"....that's sort of the way I am too. Once I decide to be friends with someone, thats pretty much it. You can't get rid of me." she said the last bit with a light laugh, but her tone was still hushed.

James smiled inwardly extremely thrilled... he liked friendly humans.. maybe because it was his whimsical nature but he liked it when they shared qualities with himself.. outwardly he smiled but not as nearly as happily as he did on the inside.. he chuckled slightly." But the making of friends is a slow process at times.. there are times when trust is given at the first meeting and is contained between the two.. and other times when it is earned.." James new exactly where the men were now.. they had heard them talking.. and they were waiting.. in the alley on right side of Raven.. they were going to go after her first to get him to give up his wallet and take her backpack.. then try to kill James and rape raven in the alleyway.. they would try.. but they wouldnt even graze him..

James was now silent.. he was a hunter now.. he was looking for his prey.. his senses picked up Raven and two mid-20's white males.. one smelled of gun cleaner and the other smelled of blood on his hands.. like he weilded a knife.. James merely watched and listend.. as soon as they attacked he would lay into them.. and suddenly it happend Rave had just turned to say something to James when suddenly the two men jumped out and grabbed her.. James was gone.. " Well hello pretty little thing!! have you got some money for us or are we going to have to take it out of you." The one with the knife was infront of her and slid the knife just above the waist line of her pants..

Tears fell with soft pats to the floor as Vivian fought the thrall. The tears were for Rachel, and for herself.

Centuries ago, Vivan had been a happy maid living in the Romanian countryside. Her best and dearest friend was Rachel. The girls would roam the countryside, picking flowers, whispering about who they might marry, dreaming of a bright future. That future was stolen from them, however, one fateful night in the late fall. The girls were on one of their usual walks, but this time they encountered a man. He was darksome, and charming. Vivian found herself both allured and repulsed by the man. He spoke to them of starry nights, of beckoning darkness, and children of the night. "Will you give yourself to the night?" he had asked.

He came to them, every night after that for two months. Vivian couldn't get enough of his presence, neither could Rachel. And every night he asked them if they would surrender to the darkness. One evening, Rachel couldn't leave. Her mother was sick, so Vivian went out alone to meet the mysterious stranger. He sent her mind spinning with his strange speech, talking of the future- their future. "Will you give yourself to the night?" he asked again. Vivian whispered yes without hesitation. He folded her into his arms and kissed her.

When she woke, she was lying in a coffin in the darkness. She screamed, and a soothing hand wrapped around her wrist. "Shhh..." he whispered from the darkness. She had awoken in a new world- a world of darkness, mystery, and blood. He had taken her on her first hunt, and she reveled in her new found power, in the taste of blood. It was thick, succulent, and intoxicating. She killed and killed again, never seeming to get enough. When the blood lust faded, her lessons began. Discretion, secrets, and power.

One night, Vivian returned to her own village to see Rachel. But something was wrong- Rachel was old. Vivian couldn't understand how this had happened. Rachel cried in her arms, and told her how she had missed her, asked her if she was the ghost of her friend come to haunt her. Vivian then showed her what it meant to give yourself to the night. It was as if they had never been separated, the way they began to dream and whisper about the future. When Vivian returned the next night, though, Rachel lay dead on the floor in a pool of blood, and her dark angel stood over the body, drenched in the liquid crimson. "Ours is a world of secrets, child."

Oh, Crap Raven thought to herself when she felt the gun pressed to her head. Then a lot of things happened really fast and she barely had time to think anymore. She saw the man with knife fall forward and before she could process what had happened she cried out in pain as she felt herself yanked back by her hair. The man asked about a friend.... James? she wondered. Then suddenly she was free, and she fell stumbling forward onto the sidewalk.

Her first impulse was to run like mad, but she heard gunshots and ducked down. Then to her relief and surprise she heard James' voice! So instead of running she turned quickly to see what was going on as she began to pull herself to her feet. She turned just in time to see a great white wolf lunging at the man. She watched in horror as he was ripped to shreds. She swallowed hard to keep from retching and began to slowly back away from the gory scene.

"Holy..." Raven choked on her own words. It was James... and yet it was not James. This was not a man... this was... something else. This man or whatever he was might have saved her, but Raven wasn't sure that he wasn't something more terrible than those men who attacked her could ever be. She saw the blood all over his body and dripping from his face and all she felt was horror.

"Me... I-I'm fine I..." she stammered her voice shaky she tried to get up and found her legs had turned to jello.

This couldn't be real. What she had seen, what she was still seeing was impossible. His eyes were red... he had fangs? She must have hit her head.... the floor of the Moonflower was very slippery when wet. This had to be a dream. It just had to. She pulled herself together enough to back away a little.

"What are you....?"