Vampire's Kiss

[Akira Avelon]

As the last rays of light seeped down past the nearby mountain range, Sara went and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had shoulder length black hair and her sea-green eyes felt like they were missing something, she was lonely. It was an eventful day, but having an old castle nearly fall on you wouldn't happen all the time.

Glancing at the pendant that she had forgotten to put back. Sara decided to keep it. It's main body was that of a beautiful rose colored crystal. Like it used to be a pure one, but had been hit with a single drop of blood. ( this is what the pendant looks like ) It was a lovely piece of craftsmanship.

Sara looked at the pendant for about five more minutes before placing it around her neck. Surprisingly, it looked good on her. But of course, her parents would ask where she got it from. So Sara put it underneath her pajama top.

Sara went and closed the window and sat on her bed. It was getting a bit chilly and she had grabbed another blanket to put, and sleep with, on her bed.

Now strangely sleepy, Sara got under her blankets and turned off the bed-side lamp. Snuggling in for a long night's sleep... or so she thought?

[Tom]

Draconis awoke from his slumber with a start, hitting his head on his crypt top. Something of his had just been taken. Not paying any attention to his now aching head he tried to push off the top, but it wouldn't budge. Getting frustrated, he let out a vampiric hiss like growl and pushed with all the force he could muster, and finally the top came off. A large wooden beam had fallen on top and had impeded his awakening. He got out and looked around, the place was an absolute shambles. It was nothing like the great beautiful manor it once was. He could vividly remember the decorated halls and rooms as if it were only yesterday. He stretched his body and felt around his neck for his amulet, doing this by sheer force of habit. He felt that it wasn't there, and stopped.

"Where is it?" Draconis said almost in a panic. "I wore it when I went to rest, where is it?" He checked his crypt but it wasn't there. He looked around the room, throwing debris everywhere looking for it. It was no where to be found. He stepped back for a minute to try and remember if he ever took it off, or ever had it taken off. No such memory. Someone must have taken it while he slept. He had to find it.

He conscentrated his own power and reached out with it, searching for its other half: the amulet. It finally connected, and an aura was revealed. It was faint, so it was far off. He grabbed his sword from his resting place and dashed out of the manor and into the night.

He followed the aura through a hillside and a small wood, filled with trees and brush of different assortments. He recalled when the wood was originally planted. It was unnatural for the variety of fauna that lived there to occure naturally, but since it was planted nature took its course, and it was as beautiful as ever. Taking large bounds, covering nearly ten feet with every stride, he finally came to the outskirts of a small country town. The aura was getting brighter, and eminated from a window off in the distance. "Whoever took it will die." he said under his breath, and continued on to the house.

It didn't stand out much, it was like many of the others around it, two stories, but rather ordinary and undecorated. He lept up to the second floor window where the aura came from, and tried to lift the window; locked. He used the power from the amulet that was inside, now much easier to reach, and undid the latch. As quietly as he could, Draconis slipped inside and drew his sword. He inched closer to the thief's bed and he readied his sword to strike, but then the new holder of the amulet rolled over in her sleep, and Draconis stopped. "Its a little girl?" He said, a little more loudly than he would like to have hoped, and he suddenly saw the girls eyes open.

[Akira Avelon]

Sara felt the cold breeze of the night when she moved in her bed, she never knew someone was there.... until she heard someone speak. Instantly, her eyes opened wide and she looked up at the man that now loomed over her. He had a sword unsheathed and that was the very thing what got her attention before the clouds outside moved from hiding the moon and meekly lighted the room for her to see the intruders eyes.

The man's eyes were like deep pools of orange... a strange orange, like something inhuman. Sara blinked and shook her head. Moving up in her bed and looked for a way away from this man's grasp. There had been rumors of a teen rapist going about the countryside, attacking young girls. But this man didn't fit the description.

Sara tried to move but saw the man watching her intently. It gave her the creeps. She wondered if he knew about her metal baseball bat next to the bed? If she could get to it and get on her feet... she just might have a chance if he decided to attack her...

Sara lunged over the left side of the bed, opposite the man and tried to get a good grip on the baseball bat. Tumbling a few times and tried to get up. All the while, the crystal pendant swung around her neck softly as if it felt at home.

Not knowing exactly who she was dealing with, Sara didn't know if the footsteps she heard were close or not. But she did take a swing. Hoping it did hit... pleading the man just didn't block or even catch her swing...

[Tom]

Draconis saw that the girl was extremely frightened, and she was no threat to him at all. He sighed and sheathed his sword. He tried to move closer but the girl fell out of the bed, trying to get away. The pendant fell out of her pajama top and hung from her neck, glistening in the moonlight. She looked at Draconis as if he were some sort of monster, there to do her some sort of evil harm; he just couldn't bring himself to do her any injury. The girl swung at Draconis with some large metal instrament, he had no idea what a baseball bat was, so he simply took it for some sort of large blunt weapon. He bulled his head back to avoid being hit and grabbed the end of it with his hand, accidentally crushing it when he stopped it.

Draconis put a finger to his lips, a sign for the girl to be silent for a moment. "I'm not here to harm you." he said softly, his gaze going from the amulet to her face and back. It almost seemed as if the amulet was comfortable around her neck. The amulet always seemed to have a bit of an attitude all its own, it did, afterall, carry the majority of Draconis' life force. He decided right there what he'd do.

He took the bat from Sara's hand and held his sheathed sword out in front of him, bowing politely. "I am Lord Draconis Vesparil of the Vampiric Order." he said. He looked up to see a confused look on the girl's face, Draconis xpected this. He looked outside, to check on the progress of dawn, and over the hill he saw a slight lining of orange. Dawn was only a few hours away. "Listen, I don't have much time to explain this." His tone suddenly became very hurried. "You are wearing an amulet that I crafted many years ago, it is a part of me and I apart of it. I was originally here to reclaim it but it seems to have taken a liking to you. So long as you hold that amulet I will put my life on the line to protect it and you alike. Whenever you are in need of me, the amulet will reach out to me and I will know." He looked back outside. He could survice in the sun with the amulet, but without it in his posession, he was affected like any other vampire by it. "I must ask a favor of you. I do not have time to reach my manor, I must ask you if there is a dark place I can stay for the day until night approaches again. A closet, a basement, anything. Please, lead on."

[Akira Avelon]

Sara nearly stumbled after the man had crushed the bat... but noticed that he wanted her to be quiet for a second.

After hearing out his story and learning his name was Draconis. Sara looked him over in more detail within the dim light. She was still getting over the fact that he had said he was a vampire... but when she remeniced about her bat being crushed in the palm of his hand... she was a believer. No one human could have done that bare handed. Sara sighed when she saw that the sword was sheathed... but became perplexed when Draconis had asked her to stow him away somewhere where he would be out of sight... too bad she didn't travel around her castle of a house that much.

Sara snapped back to reality and remembered her manners. She hadn't properly introduced herself to the lord. She was still mesmerized by his eyes and decided not to look them square in the eye. Too many horror flicks that said that a vampire could hypnotize women with their voice and eyes.

Sara quickly bowed and tried not to stammer. "My name is Sara... Sara McNeil. My family just came to own this place and have moved from overseas... I'm sorry if I took this. I had merely picked it up and the room collapsed on my head. It was only lying on the floor so I thought nothing of the danger of the deterating room." Sara finished and stood up straight. She looked around at her room which was barely un-packed. She knew he needed a place to stay... but she really didn't have anywhere to stash him...

Then, she remembered! There was something strange about the wall at the back of her closet... Sara wondered if it was indeed a secret passage? But she couldn't budge the wall and thought nothing of it since the first day, of her stay in her new home, and now.

"I might have someplace... But I can't tell if it's a secret passage or just my imagination..." Sara said as she walked towards her closet, walking backwards to keep an eye on Draconis. He still creped her out. But that would be natural for the time being... It wasn't everyday that a young seventeen year old girl would meet a vampire lord...

When Sara had reached the closet, she opened the door and stepped aside. She would let Draconis take a look while she got out of his way... more so for her nerves than his personal space.

[Tom]

Draconis got into the closet and grabbed Sara's hand before getting all the way in. He handed his sword to her and said "Here, take this for now, as a token of my loyalty." He looked at her with an honest and kind face, he then shut the door in the closet and went to work finding the possible hidden passage. He pushed back into her closet, which as it turned out was a walkin closet. It was extremely dark, but Draconis could see as clear as day. A passage way... passage way, if I were designing a secret passage for a house like this, where would I put it? He'd run into such a scenario before, since he'd help build a few vampire manors in his day. He checked everywhere, behind clothes, around boxes of stuff that still hadn't been unpacked. He felt around the carpeted floor with his feet and didn't feel anything special. He finally sat down in a corner to think. Usually we'd have some sort of device or hidden item somewhere to activate a hidden passage, but this closet is extremely plain. he thought. He gently knocked on the floor with his fist in frustration, remembering what happened with the bat, and when the sound met his ears it was hollow. He knocked again, and got the same sound. He knocked around a small area and found that the sound only eminated on a square patch of the carpeting in the corner he was in. This has to be it. and he reached into the very corner of the closet and started peeling the carpet back. Sure enough, there was a small trap door in the floor, and he crawled inside.

The interior was filled with cobwebs and spiderwebs; it apparantly hadn't been used in quite some time. He slid down the ladder to the bottom and found an old wooden door at the bottom. He pushed on it to open it, but it wouldn't budge. He then punched the door, and the door broke through, only to reveal a concrete wall behind it. So much for that. The passage had been unused for so long that it had now been built over. He decided to climb back up the ladder and rest in Sara's closet, it was definatly big enough. He started climbing back up when the ladder started to give way. He lept up the last few rungs on the ladder, threw open the hatch and crawled up, just as the ladder snapped in half, and fell to the floor with a sickening crash. By Dracula's fang, I hope that didn't wake anyone else up. He closed the hatch and pulled the carpet back over it. He arranged some boxes in Sara's closet to create a makeshift tight sleeping space, and it would also sheild him from view should anyone walk into the closet. He shut his eyes and tried to sleep. His hybernation was more of a state of rest than actual sleep, so he had a few hundred years worth of REM cycles to catch up on. The last thought in his mind before he dozed off was I can see why my amulet chose this girl, she's actually quite beautiful.

[Akira Avelon]

Sara didn't like being pulled. but his strength was far superior to hers. She let it slide for now.... Trying to follow Draconis's movements in the closet was hard, but she did catch that he had found a secret... but to her dismay. He soon came back up and a huge crashing sound rang out. She winced and knew that her mother and father weren't heavy sleepers.

She ran out of the closet, after leaving Draconis's sword beside him, and raced through the house just as her parent came out. they were shocked and her father had a fireplace poker in his hands while mom held a candle out to see in the dark.

Sara quickly ran up, but ducked when her dad took a swing at her. She nearly yell at him and quickly ran down the other side of the hall. Her parents yelling at her asking where she was going?

Sara ran down one flight of stairs and jumped the other set. The place looked simple from the outside but it was quite huge inside. Sara ran to the kitchen and saw that nothing fell in the crash. Her bedroom was right above and to the right of the kitchen and her parents had alot of glassware. Sara looked around, after turning on the lights, and sighed with relief. She looked down at the amulet and it had a strange glow now to it...

Sara turned off the lights after getting a glass of water and a plate of food, from things left over from dinner that she warmed up in the microwave, and took them up to her room. Seeing that her parents had gone back to bed... She'd hear about it in the morning for sure... she just knew it.

When Sara reached her room. She quickly put the glass on the floor, turned the knob on the door, picked the glass back up and headed back into her room. Reaching the closet, Sara opened the door and walked in. She nearly stumbled a few times, since Draconis had moved things around on her, and set the glass and plate down for him. She set out a fork and knife and left the closet. She closed it, looked back and shrugged. Putting her left hand to her face and shaking her head from side to side slowly.

'Why am I doing this?' Sara thought as she went to her Window, closed it. She then headed to her bed and moved the covers back, got into bed and placed her covers over her. She looked straight at the closet door. Wondering if her new room buddy would come out while she slept the last few hours before morning?

[Tom]

Draconis ran though a forest glade, and came upon a clearing with a small pond in the center. He aproached it slowly and looked into it, it was filled with blood. A smile of satisfaction came over his face as he knelt down to drink, and he cuped his hands and brought some of the blood to his mouth. He went to drink, but his hands were empty, infact, they were dry. He looked puzzled, and tried again; but the same thing happened; empty hands met his lips, void of any trace of blood. Draconis decided to go with a direct approach and put his lips into the pond, but the blood pulled away from him. He leaned over more and more, despirate to get the drink he wanted. He leaned too far over, and fell into the pond; but instead of a pond, he fell into a black void. He landed on a floor what felt like hundreds of feet down. When he looked up, he saw Sara beckoning to him. It almost looked as if she was offering her neck to him. Draconis got closer, his blood lust growing, now only inches away from the blood he had been seeking. Suddenly, chains wrapped around his wrists and neck and pulled him back. He struggled to try and break free, but nothing was working. He saw Sara again in front of him, laughing at his current situation, holding his amulet in front of him just barely out of his reach. He tried to grab it, but every time he got close she would pull the amulet away, and Sara would just laugh harder.

Draconis woke with a start, breathing heavily and with a severe case of blood lust. He felt as if he had never tasted blood in his life, and he needed it more than ever. He opened the door to the closet, and looked at Sara, she was asleep. Draconis walked like a phantom over to her bed; she was on her side, she would be easy prey. He looked out the window and saw the orange glow of dawn was closing in, but it had not yet arrived. He got closer to Sara's neck, bared his fangs and got ready to bite. He'd have his amulet back, and everything would be settled. He went to bite down, and he pulled his head back violently, clenching his jaw shut. He didn't even touch her neck. He was frustrated with himself that he'd almost bitten the one he swore to protect, and he was also upset that he hadn't satisfied his hunger. He took one last look at Sara in her sleep, she appeared so peacful...

Draconis went back into the closet and quietly shut the door, still questioning what he had just done. It was then that he realized the gift Sara had left for him on the floor. He picked up the food and looded at it observently. What he didn't realize was that he was analizing a slice of reheated home made pizza. He took a bite of it, trying it out. Seeing that it was actually very good, he ate the entire thing rather quickly. He downed the glass of water just as fast and set them aside. He went back to his makeshift bed and tried to get some sleep. Hopefully Sara's not having crazy dreams like I am. He thought. He didn't actually know what the affects of the amulet were on the human mind; but casting these thoughts aside, he found a comfortable position, and went back to sleep.

[Akira Avelon]

Sara slapped her neck in reflex and slumberily got up... she looked around and then to her hand. A dead and bloody mosquito was there. She frowned and went back to bed. She had a strange dream... but thanks to the bite and it now starting to itch. She never got back to it. It had something to do with wolves and bats. Utter darkness and a sole shadow looming over her. It kinda gave her the creeps but intrigued her at the same time.

Sara wiped her hand on her covers and moved around in her bed, unable to get comfortable. She got up and took the smaller quilt off of her bed and moved towards her closet. Once turning the door knob and moving in. She squinted to find Draconis asleep and placed the blanket over him. It had become a bit chilly and she knew that he had nothing but what he was wearing. She didn't know why? but she felt like she needed to get closer to him... in a trust worthy sense.

Sara then saw that the glass and plate were empty and she smiled. Moving back to her bed, after closing the closet door, and got back in. She laid on her other side and watched out the window before falling back asleep before her parents came to get her up a few hours later.

*** Five hours later***

Sara got dressed, in the clothes she had placed out the night before, and went downstairs for breakfast. It was the normal thing her parents made. Bacon and eggs with toast, jelly and orange juice. Sara had a plate of bacon, scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast and a glass of O.J. but only ate half of everything. She would give the rest to Draconis if he wanted it...

'But, if he was a vampire? Wouldn't he prefer blood instead?' This thought perplexed her and Sara didn't notice her parents getting ready to leave for work before her mother came up to her and kissed her on the cheek.

Sara instantly came back to reality, looked up and smiled her fake smile. Her father looked at her and was still mad about last night. But couldn't figure out what happened because of no evidence of anything broken could be found where ever he looked.

Sara walked her parents to the front door and after they left, she locked the door and ran to the Kitchen. Grabbing a new plate, putting everything that she hadn't touched at breakfast onto the plate, grabbed a tall glass of O.J. and walked back upstairs and into her room. Sara put the food down and looked at the windows and closet. The suns rays were flowing directly onto the closet door... Sara knew that she'd have to block it out.

She went over to the drapes and looked at them. She didn't know quite how they worked... but she'd give them a try.

Moving the large tassels that held the one side. Sara found a small rope behind it and after undoing the tassels... the rope easily gave way and the drapes closed. Making that part of the room as dark as it was five hours ago. Sara quickly went back over and got the food, headed to the closet and went back inside. She placed the food down and took the other dishes with her to go clean downstairs. Sara didn't want to really wake Draconis.. but she did hear something stir... She just hoped it wasn't one of the two rats that had ran across her room for the last few days.

[Tom]

Draconis woke up again, this time to something that was in his ear. Instinctivly, he threw his hand down on it; but it was sort of big, and hairy. He opened one of his eyes to see that he had just crushed a rat, his fingernail dug into its neck, killing it instantly. Draconis pulled his finger out, there was blood on it. Suddenly his eyes went wide, and he was fully awake. "Blood!" He exclaimed, still half asleep. He picked up the rat in both of his hands and bit down onto its neck, hard. It felt like the elixer of life trickling down his throat, and the rat was sucked dry within a matter of seconds. He dropped the rat from his hands, and not a single drop of blood remained in the animal. He leaned back, his eyes closed, almost entranced by his first real meal in centuries. He licked the blood that was trickling down his chin, then wiped the rest with his finger and licked it off. It wasn't so much a meal as it was a snack. There wasn't much blood in the animal, but it had satisfied his hunger for now and he fell back relaxed. His thirst was quenched, and now he was hungry. He looked out of the cracks in the door frame to see if it was day out. He could see small shimmers of light, which meant that the sun had risen, but it wasn't too bright.

He looked down and saw another plate of food, and a blanket that had been covering him before he awoke. Draconis got up and stretched. He'd only had a few hours of sleep, and after finishing off the meal Sara left for him he was going to go back to rest until nightfall. The food was nothing unfamiliar to him. The glass was filled with some unknown orange liquid, and he set it aside. The food was a little cold but he didn't mind too much. Usually a vampire lord would detest having a cold meal, but considering his current circumstances, he wasn't going to complain. He finished the food and once again set the plate aside. Now for the orange liquid.

Vampires didn't have orange juice, there was blood and there was water; that was all and that was all vampires ever really needed. He'd seen humans drink a similar yellow liquid - lemonaid - but never this orange variety. He smelled it, and it smelled sort of sweet, but tart all at the same time. He figured Sara wouldn't poison him, so he took a drink. It wasn't bad, and tasted a lot like how it smelled. Draconis was able to drink three quarters of the glass before being completely full, and he set it next to the plate. He once again, went back to where he had been sleeping and got comfortable. He pulled the blanket over his body and closed his eyes. He could smell Sara on the blanket, and upon closer examination, it had been one of the blankets in her bed. The smell was very soothing to him, sort of calming and even relaxing. He had no trouble going to sleep this time, and didn't wake up to anymore horrible nightmares. His last thought was of how Sara somehow looked familiar from somewhere, but Draconis couldn't quite remember from where.

[Akira Avelon]

Sara had gone downstairs and cleaned up everything in the kitchen. She even got out the vacuum and started vacuuming the main hall. It always needed going over for some reason? It always looked dirty. Sara was no clean freak... but her mom was.

After that was all said and done, Sara went back up to her room and closed the next drape next to the one she closed earlier and got her keys, helmet and her black leather trench coat.

Sara peeked inside and saw that Draconis was sleeping like a baby. She smiled once more and closed the door quietly not to wake him.

Sara left her room and locked it after writing a letter just in case she didn't quite get back before sun down. She then headed downstairs and went out a side door. She was now just below her bedroom and removed the tarp from her motorcycle.

Placing the tarp in a safe place, Sara got on her bike and started it up. Letting it rev a few times before releasing one of the handles and punched it. She left the yard and went down towards the beach. She'd spend her time there for the day since she had packed a small lunch in her back pack that she had made while washing the dishes.

Sara was there in about two hours, looking over the road to see the beautiful seascape that unfolded. She found a nice area that was shaded by a tree and set up there. She'd just stay there and go home in three or four hours.

Sara let the time pass as she laid out on the grass just above the sandy beach, looking up at the cloudy sky through the tree branches. the smell of the ocean was nice and she nearly fell asleep, holding the amulet in her hand as she looked it over. It seemed to get brighter as time passed. But there was no shadow to the strange light that came from it.

It seemed to glow the more Sara looked at it but stopped when she saw two other shadows loom closer to her. Sara got up and looked over. They looked like drunks.. the way they wee stumbling around.. but they also looked like her mom after just waking up with a mud mask left on overnight... they weren't moving too fast and the fact that they made chills go down Sara's spine gave her enough initiative to get her things packed up and ready just in case she needed to book it out of there.

When Sara did this however, the two started to come right at her and built momentum. catching up to Sara's position faster than she anticipated. Luckily for her, Sara had everything packed up and ran to her bike. the beach had gotten too quiet and she could see that two more were coming .... but they were coming straight from the ocean?

Sara didn't care. All she did was get on her bike and try to get it started... "Come on... Stupid piece of junk!" *Strange noises started to sound as Sara had kicked her bike.* "Okay, you're not a piece of junk... please start, precious?" *It started after giving the engine a tad more gas.* "Yeah baby, that's what I'm talking about!!" Sara exclaimed as she ripped up the grass and sped towards the road and zooming past the 'people' that had shown up. Not looking back to actually see them fall apart...

Sara slowed down after a few miles and kept at the speed limit. She would get home soon and it was going to be just past three when she got back. She'd have to go into town to refuel and stock up on some strawberries. She thought of making a strawberry short cake for desert after supper. It'd be a treat for her parents, when they got home after ten, and for Draconis after the sun set at seven. By that time Sara would be done everything else she needed to do and have supper almost done in the oven, A nice Beef roast, with sauteed Portabelo mushrooms, fresh from the butcher. Sara would save all the blood that came off of the roast for Draconis.. she didn't know if he'd drink animal blood... but it didn't hurt to try. Plus roasted baby potatoes with mint and fresh green beens soaked in butter. All fresh from their garden.

It'd be an all out dinner... she just hoped that Draconis and ever her parents would like it. Her parents were very picky. they'd just want take-out after work instead of sitting down and eating a big meal usually.

After getting everything else that would be needed that she didn't have at home, Sara started her way back home to start cooking the rest of supper. The roast was already in and probably half done already. She had set it to a lower temp as to slow cook it to keep the juices inside. She wondered if the smell hadn't woken up Draconis yet?

[Tom]

Night had finally fallen, and Draconis woke up from his natural vampire instincts. He looked out the door to see it was completely dark. He then opened it slowly, seeing if it was just a trick of the light, but it wasn't, night had finally came. He let the door swing wide open, stretched his arms and yawned, stretching his jaw at the same time. He could finally go out again. From the smells that were wafting in the air, Draconis figured that Sara must have been cooking downstairs. She was more than likely making extra for him later on, but for now, he needed to feed, he needed a real meal. He opened the window and jumped out. If Sara needed him, he'd know, so it was safe. He stepped out onto the sidewalk and started to simply blend in with the locals. They all seemed to be the quiet type of people, a sort of small and well knit town. Not the ideal place for him to feed, but having been in a state of rest for so many years he had no idea where the bigger towns were any longer. He found a small park, and sat at one of the benches, looking at those around him. It was still early in the night, many humans don't actually start to leave the streets until later on. He sat there for a few hours, figuring that he must look sort of out of place. He was young looking, he only appeared to be about 22 or so, and he was wearing the clothes that he had went to rest in. He looked old fashioned, but at the same time he didn't look poor. The streets started to think out finally, and another young man came along through the park and sat next to Draconis. There was an air about him though that didn't feel right, and he was kind of shady. Draconis didn't like it very much, so he got up and started to walk away. As he started to do so, the young man stood up, he was extremely tall and imposing, he was even bigger than Draconis. He stood up behind him and put a knife up to Draconis' neck, "Your money, or your life." He said very calmly.

"I'm sorry?"
"I said, your money, or your life."

This young man was a mugger. Unlike the violent muggers of his time though, this one was very calm and collected. Now was the time that Draconis wished that he had braught his sword with him.

"I won't say it again, next time I'll just slit your throat, give me your money."
"I don't have any."
"That's what they all say."
"But I'm serious, I don't possess any money"
"Give me your wallet."
"What?"
"You've got to have credit cards or something of value, hand it over."

What in holy hell is a credit card? Draconis thought to himself. Whatever it was, he didn't have any, and he didn't appreciate being handled the way he was.

"Let me tell you something," Draconis said, as cooly as he could giving his position. "You have two seconds to let me go and be on your way, before I shove my hand down your throat and rip out your spine. Am I clear?" The two seconds had passed in the time it took for Draconis to finish what he was saying, and he grabbed the man's knife arm and pulled it away from his neck; he spun around and squared off with the mugger.

The mugger reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun, and pointed it right at Draconis. Without saying anything else, he started firing off rounds. Draconis swung to his left to try and avoid being hit, but got hit twice in his right arm. He bared his teeth at the hostile bandit, and for the first time, Draconis saw a flicker of fear in his eyes. The mugger still had the knife in his hand and he knew he could easily overpower him. He lunged for the mugger, grabbed his hand and held it up to the bandit's neck. Draconis swung up behind him, and held the muggers own hand, with his own knife, in a position to slit his own throat.

"You should have listened." Draconis said, and pressed the muggers hand back, and sliced through his neck. Just for insurance, when he reached the side of his neck, just under the mugger's ear, he pressed down, and threw the knife into his throat, severing his jugular. Draconis let go and the mugger fell to the ground, dead. Draconis looked at his arm, one of the bullets was caught right below the skin, and the other shot clean through. Baring his teeth in pain, Draconis pushed on the bullet below the skin, and forced it out. It fell to the ground with a soft *cling*.

He looked down to observe his work on the bandit. And seeing as he was already dead, there was no reason to let his blood go to waste. He knelt down and started to suck the blood from the larg knife wound in his neck. It was what he needed so badly the morning before, and it was so much better than the rat's blood he had for a snack. Finally full and rid of the blood lust, Draconis stood up and wiped his mouth, unknowingly doing it with his injured arm, and he winced and held it. He heard sirens way off in the distance, and figured someone must have called for help when they heard the gun shots. He had overstayed anyway, and he took off.

He made it back to Sara's house and standing on the ground below her second floor room, he looked at his arm. Vampires don't bleed that much, and there were only a few streams of pale red blood coming from his wounds. The wounds would heal up perfectly in the end, but that still took time. He used his teeth and started to rip the bottom of his shirt into a long strip. He tore it off and tied it around his arm. Satisfied that the wound was taken care of for now, he jumped up to the window sill, and climbed in through the still open window, and shut it behind him.

[Akira Avelon]

Sara had put out everything and had it all ready, she had gone upstairs when the sky had fully darkened and wondered if Draconis was awake. She had walked in right as he jumped in from the window. Making her jump up and nearly scream... but something stopped her from doing so. She looked up after catching her breath and looked at him. She was that he had some sort of bandage on his arm.

Sara didn't pry but did walk towards him, trying to get the courage to speak to him. She still felt nervous in his presence... but stopped dead when about ten feet close to were he was. Sara opened her mouth and quickly closed it. She had lost her train of though.

Looking at him from the back, Sara saw that he was indeed taller than her and he did have long hair... it was a good length to be tied back. She had a strange thought of braiding it but stopped and shook her head. Nearly smacking it for the due course of her even thinking of such things.

Sara cleared her throat and simply said in a clear voice. "Dinner is ready. Please follow me." As she bowed and turned back towards the door. Trying very hard not to show the blush in her cheeks.

[Tom]

Draconis had a thought of telling Sara that he had already eaten, sort of, but not to be rude he followed. He was suprised that she bowed. He figured that she did it more out of context than for respect, which was fine by him. He followed her downstairs, the smells of what Sara had been making wafted up the stairwell. He could here the amulet around Sara's neck pat softly against her chest as she went down the steps. There was something so familiar about her, but he just couldn't place it. Even the way she acted reminded him of someone that he once knew, but his memory must have lapsed somehow. It seemed so important, like he was mentally kicking himself for not remembering. He sat at the table that Sara had set up, which was quite elaboratly set. She'd really gone out of her way to make him something nice. Draconis couldn't help but feeling a bit touched. For now he put the thoughts of him forgetting something important away.

"So," Draconis bagan. "Tell me about your family."

[Akira Avelon]

Hearing Draconis ask about her family made a sour face turn on Sara's face.... she hated the parents for moving here and taking her out of the place where she had grown up in. She even had a scholarship waiting for her after the year was out but thanks to the move she lost it...

Sara turned away and walked towards a window, placing her right hand up the sill and looking straight out. Giving a small sigh and slightly turned her head so that she could just barely glance at him. "I loathe my parents. They hoisted me out of my promising surroundings to excel in my future and brought me here. It's been dull, boring and down right uneventful.. I have no one to talk to at all and they won't even let me call a internet company to get satellite internet so I can talk with my friends overseas...' Sara sighed and turned around. taking a deep breath in and trying to calm down. Getting back to the conversation at hand.

"My family is originally from around here. Actually this small castle has been in my family for about four generations. My Great aunt and uncle lived here before they died and left it to my dad who's the last living relative in the family line... next to me of course... I was told that after my father passes on.. I have to take care of this place..." Sara hung her head low and looked at the ground. She kicked a piece of stone that she had seen and it skipped over the garnet - tiled floor.

a long pause filled the room as Sara didn't speak for a bit. She'd let Draconis eat before continuing if he wished. She did however walk over to a portrait that had been covered. Her mother, Laura, wanted to get rid of it but Sara's father, Alan, said that nothing was going to be moved. Her mother instead made sure that the dust sheets were secure and never touched them after taking a look at all the portraits.

Sara peaked in and took it off. It was her great, great, great grandmother, Alisa. Who surprisingly looked alot like Sara. Sept for the historic clothing and hair color.. Alisa's hair was a light brown and her eyes were green. She was very beautiful and even made Sara envious. But what amazed her was the fact that Alisa was wearing what looked like the pendant that Sara was wearing now.

Sara turned and looked back at Draconis. Looking perplexed. She simply asked. "Are there any other similar pendants like this out there?" As Sara held the pendant close to her heart unexpectedly. Looking straight at Draconis's face.

[Tom]

Sara caught Draconis in the middle of a bite of food.

"There are, actually." He said swallowing. "Each one is a bit different. They each do something a bit different and look a bit different, but they all require a sort of binding of the vampire's blood and power. Mine is sort of a human quality giving amulet. When I wear it I can walk in the day and any material objects that usually affect us vampires don't work. A friend of mine, Thaladin, had a green version of the one you wear, it allowed him to ignore any form of blood lust, and he survived just fine on normal food. He was a bit of a recluse so it just gave him one more excuse to stay away from everyone." He rolled his eyes remembering the excuses Thaladin gave to stay away from the other members of the manor he resided at. "The leader of the Order I'm from, Zewd, she had a blue amulet, very decorative and very odd, she never actually told anyone what her's did. She was public with those she trusted but wasn't much of a talker to anyone else outside of the Order meetings. Jestaun, his was interresting. His was white and was supposed to make him immortal. Somehow something went wrong though and he did die, or his body did anyway. He ended up walking around as a decaying corpse and he had his amulet destroyed so he could pass on." He racked his brain, there were a few others he remembered quite clearly, but there was one that he only vaguely remembered, and he didn't know why. "There was one other that I don't remember so well." He looked off for a minute, trying to clear the fog surrounding the memory. "It was kind of like the one that you're wearing, but the gem had different qualities. It wasn't vampire's blood that was bound, it was human, had to do something with how the amulet worked." It was on the tip of his tongue, what was it? He got up, frustrated that he couldn't remember. "What is that you're looking at?" He walked over to Sara and moved the painting covering and looked at it. His eyes went wide, she looked like Sara, a lot like Sara. She even had an amulet around her neck. Wonder what her name is. He thought. He looked down at the name plate on the frame.

"Alisa"

Draconis looked at the picture of Alisa, then at Sara, then at the amulet in the painting, then at the amulet on Sara. His mind cleared, like a strong southern wind had just blown all the fog away and left his mind with warmth.

"Sara, you're Alisa!"

He stepped back, so many memories had just cleared, so many warm memories, and also a few painful ones.

"Sara, this is going to come a bit fast, its all coming back to me so fast. You're Alisa, the original Alisa was a vampire, she was my soulmate. She was the one who helped me deal with the crisis our people were going through, I did the same for her. We completed eachother." There was so much coming back, so fast. "The amulet, the one she's wearing, it was made when she was forced into a relationship with a human. It gave her complete human characteristics; so long as she wore it, she was human. There was another stipulation, we had it made with a reincarnation spell, so that when her human body gave, she'd return by means of a blood relative. She only lived for another two years after her marrage though, she was murdered by her husband and they only bore one child, a son. No one ever knew what happened to him, we all thought he died. When they found Alisa's body, the amulet was broken, so I figured the reincarnation spell wasn't to work.
Her husband somehow found out about our relations and put some sort of curse on her soul, saying that should she come back he'd find a way to come back from the grave and destroy her and I together. I thought it to be empty because the amulet broke."

He turned away, his mind racing, trying to think of what to say and what to leave out. The things they did, how they met... the nights they shared.

"I remember now, I went into my slumber from heartache, hoping against hope that you would come back. I wasn't to wake until you had possession of my amulet, and you got it, somehow it was taken from my crypt, and you found it." He turned back to face Sara/Alisa. "The amulet must have broken after you originally passed. My amulet wouldn't react the same way with anyone else, its you. I'm sure its you! Do you remember anything? Anything strange? Do I look familiar to you?" Then his mind suddenly snapped back to reality. "Wait, have you seen anything strange, besides me. Has anything attacked you? Tried to do you harm, something you couldn't quite explain?"

Draconis knew that he was presenting her with a rush of information, but he pleaded in his mind that she made sense of it. Her life might be at stake.

[Akira Avelon]

Sara nearly fell backwards... Her? A vampire? She shook her head. She didn't remember anything of the sort. All she remembered was her childhood in the States. Florida to be exact. she had never really been to Scotland other than a visit here to see her grandma before she died when she as little.

But he felt sorry to hear about him and her triple great grandmother.. She guessed they had been in love.... the ironic thing though was that every time Sara looked into Draconis's eyes she felt like she'd be swept away to another place.

Coming back to reality when Draconis asked about anything peculiar? She looked back at him and into his eyes. They had a worried looking in them and Sara felt the power behind those same eyes as well. Nearly falling to the floor but instead, looking away.

"Umm... well. I guess so." Sara began as she looked back at Draconis, but not with direct eye contact. "I was laying on the beach under a tree as I was watching the sky. I was holding the amulet in my hand. It started to glow and I looked away when I thought I heard something. I saw two people slowly coming closer. They looked like drunks but also they looked like they had come from under a dumpster and their face looked like someone had taken mud and everything in it, whether it be worms of plants and plastered it all over their face. They gave me the creeps and I bolted out of there on my bike and saw a few more come my way..." Sara paused as she felt a pull to look at him in the eyes and did so.

"They however didn't just come down the beach.. they came straight from the ocean... I sped off as fast as I could and I wasn't followed. I never looked back anyways... but that's a bout it that happened..." Sara had finished and didn't notice the amulet now glowing the same hue it did earlier...

A strange fog had come in and Sara nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard something slap the glass of one of the windows behind her. A disgusting hand print was all that was left. As well as, a few worms and sea sludge...

[Tom]

Draconis heard the slap, then looked at the amulet, it was glowing red. "We need to get out of here, now!" Another slap on the window, this time the glass from the window shattered. Draconis stepped in front of Sara and held her to protect her from the glass shards. He then grabbed her hand and started to lead her the other way, but the muck creatures were already in the house, and closed off their way out. Draconis looked back at Sara, she seemed pale, as if she was going to pass out. There wasn't time for anything to go wrong, so Draconis picked her up, cradled her in his arms, kicked over the nearest creature and ran up the stairwell. This place isn't safe anymore. He thought. I lost you once Alisa, I won't lose you again. He got to Sara's room and kicked the door in. He laid her down on the bed, grabbed his sword from the closet, picked her up, kicked the window right out of its frame, and jumped over to the next roof, twenty feet off.

"I'm going to need this back for a while." Draconis said, taking the amulet from Sara's neck, and he put it around his own. "We're going to be going a long way, and we won't make it there before sunrise, but you'll be safe there." He took off, gently holding Sara in his arms. He lept through the air, from roof top to roof top, covering large distances with every stride. His right arm was screaming with pain, and he grit his teeth to try and get through it.

They reached the edge of town, the road went off in two directions, one lead to one of the bigger towns that Draconis could recall, and the other went further into the country. He took the road that led them into the countryside, but ran into a blockade of the muck beasts. "You want her? You kill me first!" Draconis roared at the line blocking the way. He threw his shoulder forward, and crashed right through one of the creatures, barely even slowing down. The muck from the creature started to fall off almost immediatly as Draconis started to get back to full speed.

He ran for hours, and breathing heavily he took a sudden left from the road, heading into the nearby forest. Running through animal trails and creating his own path, he kept on his direction, straight on through all obsticles. Off in the distance, the sun had rose, and as it started to show through the trees, a small cabin was illuminated. Out of breath and barely able to stand, Draconis ran the rest of the way and banged on the door with his shoulder. An fair young woman with a bright blue amulet answered the door.

"Yes?" She answered.
"Through the Order, our blood survives." He started to say, gasping for breath. "Zewd, it has happened..." He trailed off, and fell to the ground, still holding Sara in his arms. He had just recited the Vampiric Order's credo, signifying that he was indeed a member, and before he could then ask Zewd, the Order's leader, for assistance, he passed out from exhaustion, still cradling Sara.

"Mara!" Zewd called back into the cabin. "I need you at once! Get our brother and his guest a room. They require our aid."

[Akira Avelon]

Sara saw only the first few bits before Draconis took back his amulet... the rest was a massive blur.. she had fallen to the speed of their travel quickly and as well as the surprisingly comfort she felt from being in Draconis's grasp.

she soon fell asleep in his arms and had a very and I mean very strange dream...

It was dark, the night was vaguely illuminated by the few stars in the sky as a young brunette walked forth through an open glade. She turned and saw another come forth. He was young, handsome and had black hair. They looked at each other and the two had almost the same amulet. The woman left towards the city, while the man stayed where he was. almost wanting to follow but some sort of honor to the woman's wishes were preventing him to follow.

It was a strange dream and Sara unknowingly cried during her sleep. She awoke to the birds chirping as she saw that she was no longer in her home... She woke up fully in that time and clutched her neck. 'The amulet!!' Sara said within.. she looked everywhere before seeing that she was alone in the room and a plate of cooked Venison and a glass of water was beside her bed.

She was about to get up but a pain went through her left arm. It was bandaged, but it seemed that the wound was deep, for the blood stained on the wrapping was a fair size. Sara held her wound and hoped for the only one she could think of that might be near. She hoped that Draconis would come in and take her home.. even though she despised her parents.. she was worried sick to know if they were okay...

The thoughts of uneasiness filled her mind. the 'What if they're hurt? What if they're surrounded? What if... they're dead? Or even... What if they're looking for me right now?' these questions that filled her mind made her uneasy and she finally broke into silent tears.She didn't hear the door to the room start to creak as it opened...

[Tom]

"Are you okay Alisa?" Zewd came into the room, she was a very mysterious looking woman, but with an aura about her that radiated a sense of leadership. She was tall and blonde, and her hair went down to the floor. She was dressed like a normal person for present day times, and was intrigued to see that the reincarnation spell had worked. She looked into Sara's eyes, being able to see her very emotions and intentions without requiring Sara to say anything. "I can see you're worried about your 'parents,' but your father is actually your very own great-great grandchild. And they'll be okay, as far as they know you simply went out. There's a message on their answering machine saying you met some friends and are staying the night. Draconis will be okay; he ran fifty miles into the country to find my retreat. He will need some rest, however. Fifty miles is a feat even by vampire standards. If you wish to see him he's down the hall, the second door down on the right side. Your arm will heal, I'm not sure how it happened, you arrived with it. If you have questions, or wish to regain your old memories, come and talk to me." Zewd finished and left. She always got to the point, never sugar coated the truth, and meant every word she said. She knew that things would become more clear if Sara wanted her old memories, but that was up to her, Zewd couldn't force her to take on memories she didn't want.