[MillietheWarrior]

(Human Form)

In retrospect, strolling through a dark park at night was not a good idea.

Miriam decided she was probably not thinking as clearly as she should have been when she decided to go for a walk at midnight. But she’d been unable to sleep, and after she’d stepped out into her backyard, the night and it’s cool embrace had beckoned, and she’d followed it’s summons. She wasn’t normally a night owl. She was a very bubbly, upbeat person, and she preferred day to night anytime; she liked things bright and cheerful, not doom and gloom. So walking alone, in a deserted park, in the middle of the night…well, that was far beyond normal for her. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t exactly alone. Miriam glanced down into the open pack she had slung over her head and shoulder, smiling down at a little lab Rattigan that chattered up at her happily, before snuggling into the mound of a soft, comfy baby blanket bunched inside the pack. Miriam doubted Sunny, her Rattigan, would be much help if something were to happen, but at least she didn’t feel so utterly alone with him tagging along.

Miriam hummed to herself; nothing ever seemed to brighten her cheerful demeanor. She was a placid, gentle, and very shy woman who had a strange effect on most people she met; she made them happy. Or well, happier. Her power didn’t always work, and it was extremely unpredictable. Miriam herself didn’t understand it, nor could she control it. She just accepted what it did, and kept her mouth shut about what happened when someone in a foul mood suddenly found themselves deliriously happy. Perhaps that was why Sunny the Rattigan always hung around; either way, Miriam wasn’t going to question the strange power that improved people’s lives. Speaking of life…Miriam was starting to really begin to fear for hers a little. The park was absolutely deserted, not a soul in sight, but she could swear she heard footsteps behind her. When she sped up, so too, did the steps. When she slowed down, the steps slowed with her. She felt a chill run up her spine, and knew this had been a bad, bad, bad idea.

She clutched the strap of her bag close to her, eyes darting about in search of her pursuer. She saw nothing but darkness, shadows dancing on the trees and making her start at every turn. “Oh dear,” she whispered to herself, her little heart stuttering in her chest. Miriam had never in her life been afraid, or had reason to be, but now she found that the shadows and the darkness and the perceived footsteps terrified her, and she very nearly hyperventilated as she quickened her pace. Panic set in as the footsteps grew louder, bolder, more real, and by the time a firm, but cold hand clamped around her wrist, she was nearly running in terror. Miriam felt her body jerk backwards, spinning around to slam into a solid chest. Her bag went flying, the indignant squeak of Sunny as he and the bag flew into the darkness echoing loud in her ears. Her eyes flew towards the darkness that had engulfed her beloved Rattigan, before they shot back up to the man that had grabbed her and held her still. Her gaze roved up his hard, stony face, chiseled and pale, and cruel in the darkness and the moonlight. His hair was a blinding shade of blonde, and cut close to his head, curling around his ears.

His eyes, however, told her that whomever or whatever this man was, he was not human. Black tinged with red bore into pale blue as Miriam’s eyes widened, her free hand reaching up to pry at his stony, unmoving fingers. They clenched tighter around her wrist, and she was certain she heard, and painfully felt, something crack. The silence of the darkness would have engulfed her scream, but when she opened her mouth, another pale, clammy hand found itself glued to her mouth, and she could make nothing more than muffled cries and indignant growls as he spun her around to clasp her back against his chest. He kept her arm pinned, though she clawed and scratched with her free hand. It seemed he didn’t feel the pain. Miriam was sure he was a murderer, or some kind of crazed kidnapper; what she did not see, however, was the way his teeth elongated into fangs, or the way he zeroed in on her pale, slender neck with bloodlust and intent. “Now, now, my dear.”

His voice was as cold as his skin, and Miriam shivered in fear, her heart stuttering in her chest. “That’s no way to behave. Consider yourself lucky that I’m choosing to turn you instead of disposing of you. I could always use one more minion, after all. And you’ve very lovely. I’m sure we could find a few uses for you.” Miriam had no idea what this psychopath was talking about, but she wanted none of that. She struggled harder, and his grip tightened, elongated nails digging into and breaking her skin; blood flowed freely, and Miriam winced in pain as she felt the bite and sting of fresh, open wounds. The man leaned down as brushed his lips across her neck, before his fangs scraped sharply, leaving raw, bloody marks in their wake. Miriam jerked and cried out, but her voice was muffled by his hand. His lips brushed over the mark, and he bent his head, ready to sink his fangs into her neck and change her life -or after-life- forever. What was he going to do, bite her?! He really was a freak!

[Flame]

Raven was bored.

It was simple, when you had forever to live and you knew it, it kinda took the excitement out of life. The things that would normally thrill any normal person either bored him or he simply didn’t see the appeal in it. After all, doing the stupidly reckless things that no person, mortal or otherwise, in their right mind would do was more of Rai’s specialty, not his own. Unlike his thrill-seeking brother, Raven tended to be more inclined towards things of a more refined and sophisticated nature, such as books and the sciences. Of course, Rai would often scoff at him for his less-than-exhilarating lifestyle, but seeing as they were siblings and cared for each other as such (although getting them to admit it was harder than pulling teeth), for the most part, he left his more scholarly brother alone and did his own thing, although his family could only guess – albeit it was generally no secret – what he was up to all day and night.

A vampire from birth, Raven had always preferred night to day; it wasn’t that the sun really bothered him at all…the darkness just felt more natural to him, and that was generally when he chose to venture outdoors. At this time of night, the park was usually completely deserted, with no one there to disturb him in his musings as he walked alone down the shadowy, winding paths. To his nocturnal gaze, the world around him, awash with moonlight, was as bright as it might seem to a normal person during the day. His heightened senses were aware of every rustle, the movement of every leaf as the wind whispered through the trees, the slow, steady pulse of birds roosting quietly amidst their branches. It was so different here at night from what it was like during the day. So quiet. Peaceful. He found it much easier to think when there weren’t children screaming, dogs yapping, men and women chattering busily away into cell phones. And of course, when he wasn’t constantly surrounded by what looked like a walk-in buffet.

Yeah, vampirism had its difficulties, and although his parents had done of good job of teaching him and his brother to curb their thirst, it could sometimes prove rather difficult to ignore the instincts which were built into his very body. It was like ignoring who he was…but then again, who he really was wasn’t something that he wanted all of society to see, and so he kept himself under firm control when around crowds, but generally saved himself the trouble by not putting himself in those situations in the first place. Now was a perfect example of that as he strolled leisurely through the abandoned park, alone with no one for company but his own thoughts. At least, that was what he thought.

It was the faintest of scents that reached him first, a sweet, delicate fragrance that seemed to flicker in and out of existence as it rode the breeze, and there was a moment before Raven realized it for what it was. So, it seemed the park wasn’t as empty as he’d thought tonight. He sighed lightly in exasperation, not wanting to have to deal with being around humans right now, so he adjusted his course slightly so that it took him away from the direction from which the scent originated. However, he hadn’t gone more than just a few steps when another scent, this one even more unexpected, reached him. Vampire. He could identify the other by his distinctive smell alone,  and although he was slightly surprised – he hadn’t known that there were any others who lived in what he saw as his family’s ‘territory’ – he didn’t make much out of it. He was about to continue his own way – after all, it wasn’t his place to interfere with another’s meal – when he heard muffled screams, and the sharp, unmistakable tang of the victim’s terror hit him.

Raven frowned, stopping in his tracks as he listened. He knew he shouldn’t interfere, but at the same time, there hadn’t been any need for the other vampire to terrorize his prey as such. For a moment, he was torn between his two options, then, with an exasperated sigh, he turned and stalked back towards the source of the commotion, knowing that he’d probably end up regretting his own goodwill sooner than later. His footsteps were silent as he seemed to glide effortlessly towards the pair, coming upon them within a few seconds. The other vampire, a blond, had his victim pinned against his chest, and if the powerful scent of blood that suddenly hit him was anything to tell by, he was being a little less than careful with his prey. A silent growl rumbled in the dark-haired man’s throat at the other’s disregard; human or not, the woman could feel pain and fear, and the blond was causing her entirely more distress than was necessary. Raven had absolutely no respect for the more animalistic of his kind; they were nothing more than beasts, and did not deserve to wield the power endowed upon their kind, in his eyes.

In just a few quick strides, he had closed the distance between himself and the hunter and his prey. The other vampire was so caught up in his own bloodlust that he failed to notice the impending danger, and it was only when a fist connected solidly with the side of his head and sent him reeling that he realized that he wasn’t alone here either. Before he had the chance to recuperate from the first blow, a second, this one smashing heavily into his sternum, caused him to stumble clumsily back, eyes flashing in the dim light as he snarled his fury at his attacker. “Traitor! You would steal a meal from your own kin?” His gaze met a cold, pale-orange one, their depths lit with an unspoken fury. “Worthless filth.” The words were a low, disgusted hiss. “You are no kin of mine. If I catch you in this area again, you can be assured that I won’t be as welcoming next time around.” The blond, despite his wounded pride, saw the dangerous glint in the darker vampire’s eyes that brooked no mercy and promised to make good on his oath, and finally conceded to defeat. With a hiss of displeasure at losing his meal and prize, he turned and vanished into the night once again.

Raven stood still for a few moments, listening. Finally, he seemed satisfied that the other man had indeed left the vicinity, and turned to glance somewhat disinterestedly – if disdainfully – at the ‘damsel in distress’ whom he’d just rescued. His gaze was seemingly cold, although it was just habit that made it so, as he took in the face of the woman who still stood where he’d left her. “You’d best head home now, if you know what’s good for you.” His voice was gruff and somewhat stern, although not entirely unkind as he spoke. “I don’t think the man will be bothering you again anytime soon.” And with that said, he simply turned, and as if she wasn’t even there, began to walk off in the same direction he had originally been heading in earlier.

[MillietheWarrior]

The vampire hadn’t seen raven coming, but Miriam certainly had. Her eyes had widened as she watched him glide towards them, hoping he would help, but then not daring herself to hope. People in these parts didn’t exactly go out of their way to come to the aid of others. The city wasn’t exactly known for it’s good will and charity. But when the weight lifted off of her, and the man behind her was sent spiraling backwards, Miriam stumbled forwardly, relief swelling her heart, as she expelled the air from her lungs in a mighty breath. She debated on whether or not she should scream and see if that sent anyone else running, but all she could manage was a pained whimper, cradling her wrist (which she was almost sure was broken, or at least sprained) against her chest, fresh blood oozing down her neck and the cut on her arm.

She felt a stab of fear as she looked up and met the eyes of her would-be attacker, his own red rimmed and glowing with rage at the man who she would call her savior. Another blow to the abdomen sent the vampire reeling back, and Miriam squeaked and practically leapt behind Raven, eager to be rid of the strange man who had tried to bite her. Her heart was racing, body shivering in confusion and fear as her eyes moved first from raven, then to the vampire, and then off into the darkness. She could hear an angry chattering from the direction her pack had gone, and thanked the heavens that Sunny was all right, at the very least. When the vampire attacker was finally driven off, Miriam breathed a heavy sigh of relief, shivering at the thought of what could have happened, had this dark haired man not arrived in time.

She stared at Raven hard, then held up her arm and her good hand and pointed to her neck and wrist. “I’m bleeding,” she deadpanned. “And it hurts…” Worse than it should have, actually. A few cuts and scrapes shouldn’t burn like they did. They shouldn’t feel like they were on fire, like hot embers were crawling just beneath her skin. What had that man done? What was wrong with him? Had he poisoned her? And if so…why? What could he have hoped to gain from that. She hissed slightly as she touched her neck with one delicate fingertip, feeling it come away wet with blood. She sucked in a heavy breath, and then slowly raised her eyes back to Raven, who had turned his back to her.

“W-wait!” she cried, terrified of being left alone in such a state. “Please don’t leave. I-I think my wrist might be broken or something and I’m bleeding,” she repeated, holding her arm out for inspection. She used her good hand to grab his wrist in a gentle grip, fingers barely able to wind around his wrist. She felt so small and delicate compared to him; she hadn’t stood a chance against that man, and yet, he’d taken him down with two punches. “And…” Something occurred to her, and she peered at him closely. “What did he mean ‘steal a meal from your own kin’?”

She suddenly released him as if he was on fire, and backed up quickly, tripping over her own feet in her haste and landing hard on her backside. Without thinking, she put her arms out behind her to stop her fall, and when they hit the pavement, she definitely heard something in her wrist snap. She bit back the cry of agony as she stared up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. “He was going to-to eat me?! And...You’re related to him? Who are you?!” Had she been saved from one psycho, only to fall prey to another one? She dearly hoped not.

[Flame]

At first, Raven tried to ignore the woman as she called after him, hoping that she would simply give up and go fend for herself as she well should have in the first place. If she’d known how to take care of herself, she might have been able to avoid the attack, especially by a vampire as careless and cocky as the blond one had been. However, as the circumstances were, she had fallen victim to the monster regardless, and that made him question her ability to even make it back home – wherever that might be – without some other mishap befalling her. His reasoning though, told him that it was his problem and not hers; he’d already given her a second chance when the other vampire would have turned her without a second thought, and if she screwed it up again…well, then she deserved what happened to her.
       
Just as he turned to leave though, he felt a warm touch against his wrist as a small hand wrapped around it, as if to hold him in place. He let out a low hiss of surprise at the contact; he wasn’t accustomed to touching others in general, especially humans. It was mostly his upbringing, but also partially because that was just who he was. He generally held himself apart from society in general, preferring to spend his time alone with a book, or something of the sort. His head snapped around, his hard gaze fixing abruptly on her own as he captured her light blue eyes with piercing light-orange ones. Although his gaze seemed harsh and unforgiving, he did stop in his tracks though, his focus flickering from her face to the proffered arm, then ghosting across her body as he took in the extent of the damage that the other vampire had done.

As he did, the overwhelming scent of her blood hit him like a ton of bricks, and his mind reeled for a moment at the unexpected potency of the smell, his fortitude almost buckling for a moment under the strain. His eyes darkened for just a fraction of a second before he snapped them shut, turning his focus inwards, closing out the world for a moment as he regained control over his own impulses and actions. When his peach-hued eyes opened once again, they had returned to their original color, and Raven seemed to have composed himself once again, although he felt just slightly shaken by the experience. He growled softly, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. Of  course…she was human, and didn’t have the same, unusual healing powers that he’d inherited from his family. And of course, now this had become his issue too. He half-wondered if it wouldn’t have been easier just to leave her to her fate at the other vampire’s hands, but he knew before the thought had even crossed his mind that he would never have left anyone in that kind of situation.

“Yeah, I can see that,” he finally replied, his voice sounding faintly annoyed. “And what is it that you want me to do about it? If you couldn’t tell, I’m not exactly a doctor.” Oh, he knew of something that he could do to patch her up; the only issue with that would be the fact that 1. She would be totally weirded out by it, 2. It would be like telling her exactly what he was, and 3. In this state, he wasn’t particularly in the mood to touch her, let alone lick her. Yes, lick her. After all, it was one of the very few things that would heal a vampire-inflicted wound, but currently, not in his list of options, if mostly by his choice. At her question though, he spared her a slightly curious glance; she happened to be a little too keen for his liking right now, and he didn’t want to have to bother with these kinds of questions right now. “How am I supposed to know?” he bluffed, hoping to be able to keep up the image that he was just as clueless about this attack as she was. “The guy was clearly a psycho…there is no sensible, or even vaguely plausible answer for that.”

Raven sighed in exasperation as she released him and scooted away from him so fast that he could have sworn she’d shocked by something. Why was it that humans had to be so difficult? Was it not enough that he’d saved her life once? Couldn’t he just go on his own way, now that he’d done his good deed for the day? Folding his arms with exaggerated patience, he turned a somewhat patronizing look on her as he explained. “He was mistaken,” he replied simply, his voice matter-of-fact as he spoke. “We are not related, and we are certainly nothing alike.” However, Raven knew that somewhere deep, deep inside, there was hidden a part of him that was just as dark, just as sadistic, and just as inhuman as the creature they had just seen, and it horrified him. He kept it buried under the layers and layers of protection that he’d learned to construct around it, taming the beast which he knew still slumbered inside of him, at least for the time being. If he had any say in it, that was where it would stay for the rest of eternity, undisturbed.

[MillietheWarrior]

Miriam might’ve been a bubbly, cheerful, and somewhat reserved woman, but she wasn’t an idiot. She saw the look that crossed his face; the almost feral shadow of hunger that passed over his face like a fleeting thought shook her to the bones. She found that he was no longer the savior she had thought him to be, but yet another threat. Yet, at the moment, he was her only option for a safe, if not ‘in one piece,’ return home. She might lose an arm in the process, but she definitely wanted someone’s help, and he was better than no one. Especially if that psycho from before decided to come back. At least this guy hadn’t tried to eat her. Or bite her. Or succeed in scraping the hell out of her neck and wrist. She let her gaze flicker to her wounds for a brief moment, and hissed again, looking around for something to wrap her injured hand in. Finding nothing, she settled for cradling it against her chest, unconcerned with the blood that stained her shirt a rich, cherry red where her hand sat.

Miriam was glad he at least hadn’t left, but she wasn’t sure what she’d do if he said he was related to that other crazy guy. That might be the proverbial nail in the coffin, and she’d probably just freak out for good right then and there. She peered up at him from beneath long, dark lashes, eyes wide and slightly terrified, but attentive nonetheless. “Is something wrong?” she asked, feeling as though she should comment on his strange face, and sudden look of hunger, but then wondering how stupid she looked asking if a big tough man was okay when she was the one who’d just been attacked. Still…she couldn’t help but worry. “Your eyes kinda did this weird…color changing thing and…never mind…Just never mind.” She hastily shut her mouth with a snap, not wishing to draw attention to what could be something embarrassing for the strange man.

“Do you…I don’t know, have at least a band-aid? A first aid kit or something? Anything to stop the bleeding and…and it hurts. I’ve fallen out of a tree before and scraped my knee, but it never hurt this bad.” She hissed again as she pressed a tentative finger to her neck, then quickly withdrew it as if she’d been bitten. She had no idea that the only thing he could do to heal the wounds was to lick her. And yes, she probably would’ve been pretty weirded out by that. But she’d probably be terrified if she found out he was a vampire. Those kinds of things only existed in horror stories and the movies. When he stated that he wasn’t related to the man from before, she let out a long sigh of relief, shoulders visibly relaxing. The thought that he could’ve been lying never crossed her mind. After all, why should he lie to her if he’d saved her, right? She struggled to her feet, careful not to jostle her bad hand, and scooted towards him.

“Look,” she said matter-of-factly, shoving her bleeding wrist up into his face for his inspection. “Can you at least take me to the hospital or something so I can get patched up. I don’t know what he did, but these scratches burn something fierce, and it’s started to really get to me.” She had no idea she was waving a proverbial dinner buffet right in front of a starving man. Maybe not starving, but offering a bloody wrist to a vampire was as good as saying ‘Come and get me big boy!’ Miriam, of course, didn’t know that. She was just concerned with her cuts and the abnormal stinging sensation that had begun to creep into the rest of her limbs and down the side of her neck into her shoulder. She was a little alarmed at that fact; maybe it really was poison.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but…I mean, I’m really sorry to ask, but could you take me? I don’t want that guy to come back and finish whatever it was he was trying to start. I can pay you or something if you'll just walk me there.” She shuddered, closing her eyes tightly, before she looked up imploringly at Raven, and silently hoped he was affected by the weird ‘happy-aura’ she emitted. Besides, she decided, he looked like he could use a smile or two in his life. Even if she was more concerned with getting herself to some real help and not just some random guy in the park who didn’t seem to care, he still needed to smile.

[Flame]

Oh yes, this one was definitely too sharp for her own good, but only at all the wrong times. Where was this attention to detail when she’d needed it? Maybe if she’d put it to use earlier, then neither of them would have been in this position in the first place, Raven grumbled to himself. Trust a human to somehow manage to mess things up. “No,” he replied calmly, his voice completely smooth and giving away no secrets that he didn’t want it to. “Besides the fact that you seem quite intent on bleeding to death right now, everything else is just fine and dandy.” His voice was dry and somewhat sardonic as he replied, hoping to throw her off his trail. The last thing he needed was for her to start getting suspicious, in which case, he might be forced to take some measures which he really didn’t want to take.

“Are you sure it wasn’t a trick of the light?” he asked, one eyebrow raised, although he was sure she probably couldn’t see it in the darkness. “But perhaps you’re right. Maybe I do have magically color-changing eyes.” The sarcasm was clear in his voice as he spoke, as if questioning her sanity for suggesting the possibility of eyes being able to change colors that quickly. “Next thing that you’re going to tell me is that I can somehow instantaneously heal your wounds, right?” He watched her silently for a moment, then seemed to relent and sighed. “I’m a guy; do you think that I’d have a band-aid on me? You know how it goes. If we hurt ourselves, we pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off, rub some dirt in it, and move on.” It wasn't a lie, but more of a half-truth; the fact that he didn't carry bandages had a lot less to do with being a guy and a lot more to do with his healing powers.

Raven was doing a pretty good job of ignoring the powerful scent of blood that surrounded them, tempting him, calling to his most carnal of instincts. It still flowed freely from many of her wounds, and it took all of his practice and control to maintain a steady hold on his self-control. For now, his resolve seemed to be holding up, but he didn’t want to test his luck against it. After all, what worked in theory might not necessarily work when he was actually faced with the reality of having a bleeding young woman all but shove herself under his nose. “I can’t say that I’ve ever been bitten by anyone before, so I can’t exactly provide much expertise on how it’s supposed to feel afterwards. I doubt it’ll kill you though. Worst case scenario, it might give you an infection.”

However, Raven seemed a little more concerned when she mentioned the fact that her wounds were beginning to sting. He glanced a little more closely at her, as if half-expecting her to sprout fangs right in front of him and turn into a vampire right there and then. But seeing as it had already been several long minutes since her attacker had fled and she wasn’t exactly writhing in pain on the ground, he figured it was probably a pretty safe bet to say that she’d be alright, considering she could get those wounds sealed to keep from suffering too much bloodloss. Maybe she’d suffer a minor side-effect or two; he couldn’t be entirely sure of what was supposed to happen. After all, he never actually seen anyone changed before, so he couldn’t be entirely sure of exactly what was supposed to happen during the process. But from what little he did know though, he could guess that it was supposed to be considerably more violent than this.

When the young woman requested his company to get the hospital, he almost asked her whether she had a problem finding it or something. However, he had to admit, if somewhat grudgingly, that there was a little sense to her logic (only a little, mind you), when she admitted to being afraid that the other man, the blond vampire, would return for her. Raven wouldn’t put it past him to do so, if the man saw that he wasn’t around to protect her a second time. However, he highly doubted that the blond would come back for seconds, especially this soon. He sighed lightly in exasperation; he’d been right when he’d thought that there would be no getting out of this one easily. He finally seemed to relent, if only with the utmost reluctance. “Fine, I’ll walk you there, but that’s it,” he warned. “As soon as we get you there, I’m gone. I’ve fulfilled my end of this deal…as one-sided as it may seem.” He snorted lightly, eyeing the woman carefully.

“You should be afraid of me,” he commented, somewhat offhandedly as he scrutinized her critically. “The fact that you don’t seem to be as scared or suspicious as you should be somewhat worries me. After all, it’s fear that helps keep you out of trouble.” His gaze seemed mildly curious now, as if trying to puzzle out exactly what it was that was going on inside of her mind. “For all you know, I could be a dangerous fugitive on the run, and placing yourself in my hands could just be asking for trouble.” The old, sardonic tone was back in his voice again as he spoke. He couldn’t help but wonder how she got along day-to-day like this; was she always this inattentive? “Perhaps you’re more of a danger to yourself than I’d originally thought,” he mused, although mostly to himself this time. However, he shook himself out of it just as quick, and with a jerk of his chin, began to usher her in the direction of the city, where he knew the hospital was. Even as he moved her along, most of his concentration was focused on ignoring her and the scent of blood which pervaded the air around her. “Come on then, if we must. No point in dallying here when were both have places to be.”

[MillietheWarrior]

Thank goodness he hadn’t turned her down. Miriam was really just not sure what she would’ve done if he’d said no. She’d have been stuck in the park, bleeding to death, and scared for her life, and possibly stalked a second time by the blonde psycho with the fangs. She glanced up at Raven, a small, relieved smile on her face, but couldn’t help but be suspicious of him. He seemed very good at evading her questions or making up some comment about them that made her seem like the crazy one. "Are you sure? I mean, I could’ve swore I saw them change…And that look on your face…” She shrugged flippantly, deciding it might be a good idea to let it go…for now. “I guess you’re right though. I’m probably just imagining things. Tonight wasn’t exactly the best night I’ve had in a while. I’m probably just a little shaken up.”

She tried to laugh it off as though it was nothing, but Miriam was certain of what she’d seen. It might’ve been dark, but she was close enough to the man to see the odd shift in his face and eyes when he’d faced her. Maybe something about her internal 'happy meter' was clashing with something natural to him. Maybe she made him sick or something. She’d never encountered anyone with an adverse effect to her powers. Maybe he was like the opposite end of the magnet and if they got too close to one another, they’d fly apart. She sighed, and knelt to one knee, placing her good hand on the ground. “Sunny,” she called into the darkness. She didn’t particularly care about her bag; it didn’t have anything but a blanket in it for Sunny, and maybe a chapstick and a couple of pennies. It didn’t matter to her. She doubted she could find it in the dark anyways.

The chattering and pattering of tiny feet answered her call, and the little Rattigan suddenly appeared from the shadows, trembling slightly as it crawled up her arm and settled onto her shoulder. It chattered at her a couple of times, and Miriam rolled her eyes. “All right, all right. I’ll get it,” she growled, stepping off the sidewalk to search for the discarded bag. She was right; it was difficult to find in the dark, but she finally did. She slung it over her head, and Sunny climbed down her arm and into the bag, disappearing from sight. She winced slightly with each movement, feeling the sting in her neck and shoulder beginning to tingle and go numb as it traveled through her arms. “Ow,” she murmured, resisting the urge to touch the wounds again. “Human bites can get infected fast,” she said primly, her eyes flickering with pain when she turned her head towards him.

“But I don’t think…they sting like this. Not this bad. Nothing stings like this. I don’t know who or what that guy was, but…his teeth were sharp. And his skin…it was colder than anything I’d ever felt before. And his eyes….” She shuddered softly, remembering the look that had flickered through the vampire’s eyes and remembered the same look mirrored in this man’s, her savior’s, eyes as well. She tried not to dwell on it. “And he said he was going to ‘turn’ me, and that I could be his ‘minion.’ What was that guy on?” she asked, seeming slightly miffed that he’d left her with so many puzzles. "Maybe he wasn't human, and he was really a vampire or something," she joked, trying to alleviate the pain with humor. Her wounds had gone numb now, but when she turned her head, they still tingled; the feeling went up through the back of her head and made her scalp tighten and her body tremble.

“If you were a dangerous fugitive on the run, I doubt you’d have been strolling through the park, or that you would’ve wasted the time to help me and then walk off. So no, I’m not afraid of you. You don’t frighten me.” She turned and met his eyes with her own boldly, lifting her chin in defiance as if to dare him to challenge her words. She allowed herself to be herded along, wincing with each slight swing of her arm and keeping her injured hand curled against her stomach. “I’m sorry,” she said slowly, glancing back up at him. “I’m keeping you from wherever it is your going. If I had any assurance that I could fend for myself, I’d let you go. But until we get to the hospital, you’re my hostage. I should pay you back for helping me. By the way, my name is Miriam Josiah. What’s yours?”

[Flame]

The expression on Raven’s face had switched to a hardly veiled sarcasm, although he somehow managed to keep his voice surprisingly level, cool, and indifferently polite. For someone currently being put on the hot-spot and grilled a little too closely to the truth for his comfort, he was a surprisingly good actor, not to mention liar as well. Well, he’d prefer to say that she simply wasn’t asking the right questions, and he wasn’t exactly lying to her. He was just…implying something that wasn't exactly the whole truth. “Well,” he said casually with a light shrug, “I guess you saw what you saw. I can’t exactly see myself all that well from this angle, so who am I to refute what you say?” His gaze rested on her for a moment, as if appraising her, then he glanced away once again into the distance, seemingly preoccupied with keeping an eye out for any unwanted visitors. “Well, I’m sure you’ll feel much better after they patch you up and you’ve had a good night’s sleep,” he commented mildly, almost offhandedly.

As she knelt to the ground and called out to something or another which was apparently waiting out in the darkness for her (although only the gods knew what that could possibly be), Raven watched her with disinterest, although the curiosity wasn’t completely absent from his gaze. A small, almost perplexed frown furrowed his brow lightly as a little rodent came crawling out of the shadows to climb up the woman’s arm and sit, shivering, on her shoulder. What was that, a pet of some sort? Honestly, who would keep a rat as a pet? It couldn’t even provide her any protection, as was shown during the attack which she had just barely survived; why even bother bringing it with her? Rai had a pet, and although he’d had to debate with their parents for some time before they relented and let him keep it, at least Snowflake, the massive lizard that she was, served some practical purpose, if for protection. After all, most people would think twice about tangling with something as big and overwhelming as her, but…a rat?

However, Raven decided that it wasn’t his place to judge; all he had to do now was get her to the hospital, and they would take it from there. The way he figured, the shorter amount of time he had to spend in her company, the better, most likely. After all, despite the self-control which he so prided himself in, being around a person who was bleeding as profusely as she was was like holding a glass overflowing with water out to a man who had been dying of thirst for days. He shook his head lightly, clearing his thoughts and concentrating on the matter at hand, pushing his instincts aside once again. “I can’t say I’ve ever been bitten by anyone in my life, human or otherwise, so turning to my expertise won’t really help much.” It was entirely true; he’d never been bitten before, since he was born a natural vampire, so he felt a little better about not lying to her. He snorted lightly at her presumed joke. “Yeah, that’ll be a rich tale to tell your family when you get back, won’t it? After all, there aren’t many people out there who can say that they’ve been attacked by a vampire and lived to tell the tale, right?”

He sighed as if in exasperation as he ushered her along the dark path towards the dim glow of the city, wanting to get there and get this over with as soon as possible so he could go back to living his own, solitary life. However, he did grudgingly (and very much so, mind you) admire her guts as she turned to face him down, giving him what he assumed was her best ‘I’m not scared of you’ face. “Hmmm, true,” he said noncommittally as he continued to steer her away from the park. “Come on then, Nerves of Steel. The quicker we can get you to proper help, the better.” That held true for both of them. “And don’t worry about it; there’s no need to pay me back.” He sincerely hoped that she wouldn’t pursue the notion; he didn’t have the time or the patience to deal with such niceties right now. The mention of her name, however, did get him to pause for a moment and consider her, wondering vaguely if he should even bother with giving her his name. After all, he’d never see her again after this, right? But he figured it would probably make her feel a little better if she could at least put a name to a face, and with any luck, it might make her just a little less talkative. “It’s Raven,” he finally replied. “Raven Varro.”

[MillietheWarrior]

Miriam wondered if the fog that had begun to invade her mind was normal. She was finding it a little hard to form a coherent thought. The bite of a vampire was oftentimes lethal, and there were few who could control who they turned and who they didn’t, save for the older of the reclusive species. The vampire who had attacked her hadn’t bitten her, but his fangs had grazed her and injected her with enough of his venom to possibly kill her. She wouldn’t turn into a vampire, but if something wasn’t done soon, she might well die. It was strange, how such a simple little thing like a bite could cause so much damage. Miriam, of course, had no idea that any of this was going on in her body, or that the venom was rapidly racing through her bloodstream with each massive pump of her heart, which as beginning to struggle to supply her body with blood and oxygen.

Miriam decided to ignore it, despite the tingling in her chest or the slight difficulty she was beginning to find in breathing. She chuckled weakly, wondering why the sidewalk was beginning to blur. “I imagine being bitten isn’t high on anyone’s priority list. But I doubt I’ll be telling my family anything. I don’t really have any; I don’t even know where my mother and father are. I was given away as a child, although I’m told they did it out of love. My adopted parents died a few years back, and I don’t have much of anyone now.” Why was she telling him all of this? It was probably the buzzing in the back of her mind, or the heavy blanket of dizziness settling over her brain that  forced the words past her lips and out into the open. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was even saying, but it sounded right.

She vaguely registered that the numbness in her neck and shoulder had begun to travel through her body, making it difficult to walk without stumbling. “Haha, nerves of steel. That’s funny,” she said suddenly, sounding half delirious. Everything had started moving slowly, and Miriam felt her eyelids drooping, her body lagging on the commands her muddled, venom-injected brain was trying to give it. “Raven Varro. Okay. I’ll remember that.” She turned to smile up at him, but she found she couldn’t quite move her neck. She stumbled slightly, her heart racing as she gasped softly, lung seizing in her chest.

She caught herself, keeping her body from collapsing with a sudden vice like grip on his arm. Miriam gulped in air, her body burning as the venom finally forced itself through her bloodstream. “Hurts…” she wheezed out, before she collapsed onto the pavement, knees buckling beneath her, eyes wide with shock as she trembled and stared into nothingness. She vaguely registered the idea that she would probably die on the sidewalk, with no one but some strange savior named Raven by her side, and her poor little Sunny would be an orphan.

[Flame]

Okay…now Raven was starting to get a little worried. He wasn’t sure if it was just a figment of his imagination or perhaps his own paranoia, but did the young woman seem a little…unstable? Even before she realized that something was wrong, he could see it in her gait, in the way her eyes seemed somewhat unfocused and how she looked inexplicably disoriented. Maybe…maybe she was just a little more off her rocker than he’d originally thought. Or, at least that was what his somewhat far-fetched hope was, although it was quickly refuted. Perhaps there had been a little more venom in her system than he had bargained to be dealing with, and this entire ordeal was beginning to turn even sourer than it had started out being. Well, crap. This was just what he needed tonight.

Her words, however, did side-track him for just a brief moment. She didn’t have a family of any sort? “Wait, you mean you’re entirely alone?” Raven ignored the existence of the little pet Rattegan of hers for the moment; after all, it might have been company for her, but it was no substitution for a proper family in any way, sense, or form. He couldn’t imagine not having his parents and his family there for him whenever he needed them. How could she, someone as fragile and vulnerable as herself, survive on her own? It seemed both impractical and impossible to him, but he was quickly jolted out of his own musings and back to reality as she babbled nonsensically for a moment before latching tightly onto his arm. If he hadn’t been what he was, it probably would have hurt a good bit, especially considering the fact that he could feel her nails digging into his bare skin.

“Whoa, whoa…hey there, you okay?” He sounded somewhat concerned as he stepped in front of her to stare her in the face, his worry only multiplying when he saw just how unfocused her eyes seemed to be. He barely had a chance to react as she crumpled, catching her and keeping her from hitting the cold, hard, and unforgiving concrete out of pure instinct. Now, he had a half delirious woman in his arms who also just happened to be bleeding herself to death. Well, wasn’t this just the perfect combination for him? “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” he grumbled disgruntledly to himself as he stared at her, trying not to panic as he ran through a countless number of possibilities in his mind as to how he was supposed to deal with her. “Come on, stay with me,” he coaxed, partially because he didn’t want to have to worry about what to do with the body if she happened to die, and partially because he didn’t want all the effort he put into saving her to go to waste now.

“I know it does, but just…give me a second to-.” He had been about to say “think” when an idea, albeit a somewhat desperate one which he had the feeling he’d later regret, hit him, and not seeing any other alternatives, made the hasty decision to drag her along for the ride. “Alright, we’re moving somewhere where we can get you legitimate help,” he said with a sigh, still managing to sound annoyed as he scooped her up easily, although he handled her extremely carefully, as if she would shatter with the lightest touch. He glanced down worriedly at her as she lay in his arms, wishing that he hadn’t gotten involved in the first place. “Well, it looks like we’re going to have to pay my folks a visit. Mom is so going to kill me for this. Thanks a lot.” His voice was somewhat resentful, if teasingly so as he glanced at her, wondering how such a small, seemingly innocent young woman could cause this much trouble. “No point in dawdling, I suppose,” he commented to her, although he doubted that she could comprehend what he was saying by this point. “Let’s get moving.” And with that, he began to jog in a slightly different direction from the way they had come, his unexpected patient barely conscious in his arms.

[MillietheWarrior]

“You’re a very nice lady,” Miriam said deliriously, patting his chest. Sunny had nestled himself deep into the bag, as if sensing they were about to be taken for a ride. He didn’t want to fall out and be left behind, after all. “Hey, did you know clouds are purple fruits and they dance with flowers?” Oh yeah, definitely delirious. Maybe it was the venom, maybe it was the blood loss, but she wasn’t in her right mind, and she seemed complexly out of it. She could no longer feel any of her extremities, and her entire body was numb, though it trembled from the pain she couldn’t feel. Her head lolled back on his arm, bouncing slightly as her unfocused gaze stared up at the dark night sky. Her entire body was limp, more like a rag doll than a human being. She vaguely wondered, in a moment of clarity, how long it would take her to die, and where this man was taking her. Then she decided it didn’t matter, and closed her eyes, sinking into darkness.

------

Sole was having a nice, quiet moment for once, sitting at the dining room table in the well-lit kitchen, reading the newspaper. Not that he really needed to keep up on current events, since they’d change just as quickly as he read them, but it never hurt to be informed. He was always looking for news of the GAR, always seeking some information about his brothers. He always came up disappointed when he read the newspaper; of course it wouldn’t mention clones. But Sole’s contacts and informants kept him up to date with who was deserting and who was still on active duty. A lot of his brothers and men he’d worked with were still stuck in the army, but he had it on good authority that they were getting ready to ditch the white armor for a new set of Mando rigs. He smirked to himself, turning the page of the newspaper and raising his eyebrows. “Huh…rash of mysterious killings in the city. All the victims were drained of blood.”

His gaze darkened, eyes narrowing angrily. Well, if that didn’t scream rogue vampire, he wasn’t sure what did. Sole and Astraea didn’t take kindly to others of their kind encroaching on their territory. They had kept it rogue free for the past few years or so, but it seemed one of the termites had slipped through the cracks. Sole decided that he’d be going out hunting in a few nights, and he wasn’t even hungry. He knew Astraea would tag along; she hated it when he tried to do anything on his own. She was afraid someone would get the best of him eventually, and take him out. Sole sincerely doubted that, but it never hurt to have his wife watching his six. Speaking of his wife…Sole’s ears twitched as he caught the sounds of her rustling around somewhere in the house. He wondered what exactly she was doing; most likely cleaning one of the boys’ rooms while she had the chance. Raven wasn’t so bad, but Rai…well, his room was as jumbled and messy as his lifestyle. Sole rolled his eyes silently, thinking of his wilder son. Rai really needed to knock off the wanderer act and settle down. Sole didn’t worry much about Raven, although he was concerned that the boy would end up spending his life with a book instead of a woman. That much reading could not be healthy for someone.

He chuckled to himself, his eyes going back to his paper, when his keen senses detected the scent of his son and…blood. The scent of blood was stronger than Raven’s scent, and Sole growled softly, wondering what one of his idiot offspring had gotten themselves into this time. “Wonderful,” he half hissed, half growled as he stood from his chair and stalked towards the door. As he yanked it open, he was nearly bowled over as his son rushed inside. The scent of blood nearly knocked him flat, but Sole had been a vampire long enough to have learned to conquer his desire and he instantly shut it out. His ARC training had helped immensely with fighting the urge to suck every human dry; he knew how to control himself, and his self-discipline was impeccable. “Astraea!” Sole called into the house. “Your beloved son has brought home a big problem! Better come in here.” Sole shut the door, and turned to look raven and the girl up and down. She seemed unconscious, although her eyelids fluttered rapidly. Her wrist, shirt, and neck were soaked with blood, and Sole’s gaze traveled over her, before it shot up to Raven in a hard, angry stare.

“You better not have done this,” he growled, his voice as menacing as his gaze. “What happened to her? And what possessed you to bring her here?” He lifted Miriam’s wrist, checking for a pulse, and then placed a hand over her mouth; her breathing was shallow, but it was still there. “She’s still alive, but barely.” He sniffed her slightly, then his gaze darted back to his son’s face. They were about the same height, but Sole still managed to glare down at Raven. “You need to fix this, son. You brought her here, and she’s your responsibility. I think I have a good inkling as to what happened, and considering she reeks of one of those wandering blood-suckers, I’d say she’s been infected, but only marginally. You were the one who stopped it before it went too far, I’m supposing. Guess it’s up to you to get that venom out, then. Better get to it before she dies in our kitchen.”

He shook his head, grumbling something about idiotic offspring under his breath. “Of all the stupid things you’ve ever done…I never expected you to be the one to bring home a girl in this condition. Always thought it’d be Rai we had to bail out of trouble. Apparently, I was wrong. Better hope you can get that venom out,” he said slowly, his darkening eyes meeting and locking with Raven’s. “Because if you can’t, you’ll have to decide between turning her, or letting her die painfully. It will be your choice, Raven. And if you do turn her, she'll be your responsibility from then on. Forever is a very long time, son.” There were no words of comfort here; just the cold, hard facts.

[Flame]

Raven was half-convinced that he wouldn’t make it back home in time with his unlikely cargo to save her; he couldn’t be sure just how strongly the venom had affected her, but by the looks of things, the situation was getting more and more perilous for her with every passing minute that she didn’t get help. He grumbled to himself as he jogged back in the direction he had originally come from, trying to jostle Miriam as little as possible as he hastened back. The last time I bother to save some helpless human who’s completely incapable of taking care of themselves, that’s for sure… he grumbled disgruntledly to himself, although he couldn’t help but worry about the woman’s condition as he checked her pulse again. It was quick and erratic, and he was fairly certain that without treatment, she wouldn’t make it much longer, whether that meant her transforming into one of his own kind or otherwise.

Finally, after what felt like far too long (although it had only taken him a fraction of the time he’d spent getting to the park to get back home), he finally came up to the house where he lived with his parents and brother. His gaze, along with the rest of his acute senses, swept the perimeter to check for any signs of unwanted visitors or possible witnesses, and when he was satisfied that everyone appeared to be in their beds (or otherwise occupied), he took the porch steps two at a time to reach the front door. He didn’t even have a chance to try and figure out how he was going to turn the knob with his arms full of bleeding woman when the door flew open to reveal his decidedly irate-looking father’s face. Ignoring him for the moment – although he knew that he’d probably be in for some sort of admonishment soon enough – Raven breezed by him and into the house to lay the woman down on the sofa before turning to face Sole once again.

Folding his arms in clear exasperation, he fixed his father with his classic, almost mockingly patient ‘Oh really?’ look. “Seriously, dad? Do you really think that I would have done something like this? I appreciate the confidence you have in me.” His voice was dry as he met Sole’s gaze unflinchingly, clearly not as intimidated as he was sure he’d liked for him to be. “For your information, I was just out minding my own business when I came across her, and if it hadn’t been for my intervention, there’s no doubt that she’d already be dead by now, or worse. Were you aware of the fact that we have an intruder on our grounds? The only reason I stepped in was because the scum happened to be tormenting her out of her wits, and definitely more than was necessary.” There was a hint of defiance in his voice as well as his eyes, which were almost identical to his fathers’. “Would you prefer that I’d left her to fend for herself? Because she clearly wasn’t capable of doing so, from what I saw.”

At the mention of possibly having to turn her himself, then have to care for her and take her under his wing, Raven grumbled inarticulately, although it was quite apparent that the idea did not appeal to him whatsoever. “I don’t have the time to babysit a fledgling,” he groaned, irritated by the mere idea. “I’m sure Rai would take her though…after all, he’ll go after just about anything that’s female and moves. He’s not exactly all that picky when it comes to criteria.” He was about to say more, probably something else along the lines of his brother’s lack of standards, when his mother breezed down the stairs and around the corner to stop next to her husband, her gaze quickly taking in everything  there was to see, from Raven’s less-than-overjoyed expression to the young woman currently bleeding out on their couch. The first thing she said was, “You’re cleaning that mess up yourself when you’re done, you hear?” She arched an elegant brow at her son, and he knew that there would be no arguing with her on that point. Maybe putting Miriam on the couch hadn’t been such a great idea after all…perhaps he should have put down some towels or newspaper or something first. That blood was going to stain…he could just see it now.

However, it seemed that Astraea had at least overheard the earlier part of the conversation, and exactly what had happened. Her expression was somewhat appraising as she regarded her son, one hand on her hip as she seemed to look right through him. His expression still remained less-than-amused as he looked back at her, knowing that she had more to say on the subject than she’d said. “You did the right thing,” she finally said, sounding a little more forgiving than Sole had, but only marginally so. “But your father’s right; she’s your responsibility now, so it’s your job to sort things out for yourself, however you decide to go about that.” That earned her a somewhat dour look from Raven, who rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Yeah, yeah…I know. I swear, you guys are just making me wish I hadn’t done this more and more. This is that last time I’m rescuing some feeble human from their doom. Next time, I’ll just let the filthy scumbags have their way with them.”

Grumbling like a rebellious teenager, he began to make his way over to Miriam when Astraea’s voice held him in place once again. “Did you mention something about an intruder? Were they here, on our grounds?” Raven sighed, rolling his eyes as he replied. “Yes, mom. Tall, blond hair, red-rimmed eyes, pointy fangs, you know what I’m talking about.” With that, he took to studiously ignoring his parents, not seeing the mildly concerned look that Astraea turned on her husband at the mention of a trespasser. He knew that with his mom and dad around, the interloper probably wouldn’t be around long, and that he’d either be chased off, or if he didn’t get the idea quickly enough, probably killed. Right now though, Raven had other concerns on his mind, mostly revolving around getting the venom out of the woman’s system and somehow getting her safely home.

He stopped next to the couch, bending down closer to her so that he could get a better look at her wounds. Luckily for her, most of them were shallow, and wouldn’t take much to heal; the trick was getting the venom out. Raven glanced up at her face briefly, taking note of the rapid fluttering of her eyelids and the pale pallor of her face. She was pretty, even he could see that, but it was a shame he wasn’t interested. He half wished that Rai were here though…he was certain that his brother would be jealous of his unintentional ‘catch’. With a sigh, he steeled himself against the temptation of her blood, then bending closer so that his lips brushed against her torn skin, set to work on gently drawing the tainted blood out of her system, working systematically as he both cleansed and sealed each of her wounds. After that, the rest of the effort would be up to her, and would determine whether she lived or died.

[MillietheWarrior]

“Don’t take that tone with me, young man,” Sole growled, folding his arms over his chest. Honestly, he had no idea where his sons got their personalities. Raven was as good as a sour little bookworm, and Rai was nothing but a womanizing party animal. What had he done to deserve such rebellious offspring? Okay, so there was that one time when he’d punched that guy, but the man had deserved it for looking at Astraea like he had. Still! Surely that wasn’t enough to saddle him with these two. “Bleeding hearts of the world, I suppose,”  he said dismissively, raising an eyebrow at the woman on the couch. Her head tossed back and forth, eyelids fluttering rapidly. Even from here, Sole could smell the sharp tang of blood and hear her erratic breathing. It wasn’t looking good for her. “You should be more careful about what you bring home. Guess you'll need to keep her in your room. She can't just hang around in the living room, you know. You don't want Rai getting any ideas.”  

Sole couldn’t help the snort that escaped him at Raven’s words, looking more than faintly amused. “You don’t have time? Son, what else do you do besides read? Don’t tell me you don’t have time. I am well aware that I said she is your responsibility, but I’ll be damned if I allow you to let her die in our house. Understand? Don’t try to pawn her off on your brother; you know he’s too unfocused to care for a fledgling. Not even such a pretty one. He’d ruin her before she even got past her first year…or get her killed.” Sole’s head turned slightly when he sensed Astraea wander over to stand beside him. “Yes, I am right. And so is your mother. You did do the right thing; grumbling about it won’t change the fact that you saved an innocent life. Would you have rather watched her die at the hands of a rogue? Or worse, be turned into his fledgling and be forced to destroy her yourself?  Stop grumbling about it and accept what you did.”

He sighed in exasperation, again wondering why he’d been cursed with sons like these. Sole moved to head back to the table and his abandoned newspaper, when both raven and Astraea stopped him in his tracks. He turned to his wife, and sighed, shooting her a pleading look. “I do not want to go hunting tonight,” he half whined, half grumbled. “-especially not for some filthy interloper, thanks. How about we go tomorrow? It’s not like he’s smart enough to get out of Dodge while he still can. He’s obviously been hanging around a few days now; he won’t leave just because Raven deprived him of his midnight snack. Raven’s barely a threat to him as it is. We’ll just go take him out ourselves tomorrow. Please, cyar‘ika?”  Sole decided to punctuate his ‘please’ with a warm embrace, and pulled her close to him. “Besides, we’ve got to hang around a while to make sure Raven doesn’t let the girl bleed all over our good furniture, right?”

----

Something was breaking through the haze of pain. Miriam could hear voices, and from the sounds of it, it was more than one person now. She recognized raven’s voice; the deep, annoyed baritone that she’d come to recognize right before her unceremonious collapse into darkness. There was two other voices mingling with his; a woman and a man. The woman’s voice was soft, fleeting, lyrical, while the man’s was similar to Raven‘s, but with a hidden feel of power and good-natured humor behind it that her unintentional savior had lacked. Miriam was also aware that her body no longer ached and hurt as it did before. And she could feel something soft brushing against her wrist and her neck, over the wounds that had been inflicted on her delicate body. They no longer burned, and the numbness that had pervaded her limbs had begun to recede.

Miriam’s eyelids fluttered, but they still felt heavy, and she didn’t want to open her eyes just yet. Her arm, hanging off the edge of the couch, twitched slightly, and she lifted it to bring it to lie across her stomach. She groaned under her breath, glad that whatever had infected her was gone. But then, how exactly had that happened? Poison wasn’t just…sucked from the system. And pain didn’t just go away automatically. So how then, was she not dead? She sucked in a sharp breath, feeling her lungs flood with the much needed oxygen as her heart slowed it’s erratic beating. With a heavy effort, she opened her eyes, gaze unfocused and distant for a few brief moments before it finally settled on the man at her side. She looked confused, perplexed at the sudden change of events, and wondered why the hospital seemed to warm and homey, before realizing that it was not a hospital at all, but a home. “Where am I?” she murmured, her voice sounding hoarse and faraway, even to her own ears.

She flinched when the second man, the one she didn’t know, stepped forward and shoved Raven lightly in the shoulder in a meaningful gesture; the woman who’s voice she’d heard before was standing just off to the side. “Raven? What one earth is this place? What happened? I thought we were going to the hospital. How come we’re here? I feel a whole lot better now…It’s so weird. One minute, there was nothing but pain and darkness, and the next, it was all gone.” She groaned slightly at the stiffness and soreness in her body as she lifted herself up on her elbows, looking at Raven and then over his shoulder before her gaze settled permanently on his face. The immediate pain was gone, but her body still hurt, and it still fought to get back to normal. “What did you do?” She shook her head, lifting herself up a little more and noticing that her shirt was soaked with blood. “Well, whatever you did…thank you.”

[Flame]

Raven grumbled discontentedly as his father lectured him, wishing, like every other kid did at some point in their lives, that he could just block out his voice, even just for a few minutes. For the moment, he contented himself with simply staring off into the distance, listening, although he acted as if he were not interested in the least. However, the mention of one thing did manage to instantaneously catch his attention, his head whipping around so fast to stare at his father that he could have sworn he heard it snap. “My room?!” he echoed incredulously, half hoping that Sole had just been kidding. However, luck wasn’t with him today. “Dad,” he complained, his voice almost petulant as he implored for mercy against the unfairness of his sentence. “You know that keeping her in my room with only encourage whatever god-forsaken ideas might possibly be going through that dirty mind of Rai’s.” He griped and balked at the thought of the teasing that he’d get from his sibling, who was always looking for something to taunt him with.

“Seriously, I’m telling you that this is a bad idea…I can just sense it now.” He sighed in exasperation. “I know, I’m not going to let her just die, dad. After all, I dragged her all the way back here myself in the first place, didn’t I?” Raven rolled his eyes, grumbling to himself. Although he wouldn’t admit it, he also knew very well that he would never let her fate fall into Rai’s hands either. As much as he loved his brother, he wouldn’t exactly entrust him with any kind of responsibility, let alone a life. In that sense, he had to agree with his father. “Fine. Yay me, I’m a hero! And now I get to play doctor to a human who should otherwise be dead right now.” The sarcasm in his voice sounded acidic enough to eat through metal, his sour look put on to match.

However, despite all of his bluff and bluster and his seemingly unsociable exterior, there was really a kind heart underneath it all, although getting it to show would be like asking him to cut off his own arm. He just wasn’t as open about his affections as his wayward brother was (if you could really call that ‘affection’), and preferred to keep to himself and his books whenever possible. After all, people just tended to be more trouble than they were worth, and today was just a case in point. Nonetheless, he didn’t really regret saving Miriam from her dark fate; he just wished that it didn’t require as much effort from him. That he could have just saved her from her attacker, then continued on his solitary way. However, it seemed like he was saddled with her for the time being, at least until she regained her strength, and he figured out a good excuse to give her as to how she had miraculously took a turn for the better once again.

While he mulled over his options, he could hear his parents debating in the background over what to do with the intruder. Although Astraea usually stood strong on certain issues which she’d set her mind to, it seemed his mother felt a little more lenient today than usual…or perhaps Sole was just being more disarming and persuasive than he usually was. Either way, it sounded like she gave in without much of a fight. “Alright, alright, you win this once.” Astraea chuckled softly as he pulled her close, her lips brushing against his briefly in a light, teasing gesture. “You lazy excuse for a vampire. You get to cover up whatever trouble that trespasser manages to stir up while we’re looking the other way then, if you want to let him run loose one more night.” Her tone was lightly amused, and it was clear that she didn’t really perceive this newcomer as much of a threat. Even though he’d created a bit of a stir, if even Raven could ward him off (despite the fact that he’d caught the blond vampire by surprise), she was fairly certain that taking care of him wouldn’t be too much of an issue for her and Sole. Then again, there wasn’t very much out there that was capable of presenting a threat to them, as things were.

After having treated her wounds, there was nothing much else Raven could do but hang around and wait to see whether Miriam pulled through. Her wounds weren’t particularly extensive, but she didn’t seem to have a particularly strong physique either, as she was much more daintily and delicately built than he was used to seeing, so he couldn’t be entirely sure how her body would take to the venom, even after it had been removed from her system. He hovered by the couch that she lay on while she remained unconscious, simply waiting for her to regain her senses. It was a nudge from his father that alerted him to the fact that Miriam was awake once again, and Raven glanced down at her, trying to gauge her current condition the best he could. He seemed slightly relieved when she spoke, her voice hoarse, but it sounded like the delirium which had held her in its grasp earlier had dissipated, for the time being. He ignored her question for a moment, more concerned with asking her one of his own. “How are you feeling?” He peered closely at her, waiting for a response before he continued.

“You’re currently at my place,” he replied simply to her query. “I decided to take you back here with me since it was closer, and you were in a bad way. My parents are…uh…doctors, so I figured they could probably help you out since I wouldn’t have been able to get you to the hospital in time.” He glanced up for a second, gesturing with a brief hand motion at Sole and Astraea. “These are my parents, if you hadn’t already guessed,” he said by way of introduction. “Mom, dad, this is Miriam.” Astraea smiled warmly at their guest, her blue eyes twinkling with something akin to amusement as she glanced down at her, and Raven guessed it probably had something to do with his little white lie about her and her husband being doctors. “It’s nice to meet you, Miriam, although I wish that the circumstances could have been more favorable. I’m glad that you’re alright now though. Feel free to stay with us for however long you would like to. Raven will make sure that you’re well taken care of.” That earned her a sharp look from her son, although he hid it from Miriam’s view.

“Yeah…uh, don’t mention it,” he replied to her thanks, looking vaguely embarrassed for a moment, as if unsure of how to respond to her gratitude. “I couldn’t just leave you to bleed to death, after all. I just did what any decent person would have done.” He shrugged noncommittally, glancing at her out of her corner of his eye, watching for any sort of reaction. For the moment, he avoided her question about what he’d done to heal her. Maybe she’d just believe that his parents were really good doctors, and had patched her up better than the hospital could have. As long as she didn’t ask any awkward or unanswerable questions, everything should work out just fine, or so he hoped.

[MillietheWarrior]

Was it just her, or did Raven seem a little uncomfortable answering her questions. She blinked blearily at him, her gaze narrowing slightly, as if confused. Everything he was saying sounded a bit forced, rushed, and Miriam wondered if he was telling her the truth. However, it wasn’t her place to complain or question people, especially if they’d just saved her life. She managed to haul herself into a sitting position, wincing heavily as her body protested the movement. “Well, whatever you did, thanks. I wasn’t really sure what was going on there for a little while. It was just…dark.” She seemed perplexed by it, caught up in her own thoughts for a minute. Sole chuckled lightly besides Astraea, and Miriam’s head jerked up to stare at the couple; she immediately regretted it after her neck cried out in protest. What the heck had that guy DONE to her anyways?! Geeze. “Uh, yes. Sorry, I’d get up and shake your hand but…I don’t know if my legs would cooperate right now. I don’t want to impose. And I don’t want anyone taking care of me; no offense, Raven, but I’m certain you have things you’d rather be doing than looking after me. If you could just…call me a cab or something, I think I could manage. Probably. It’s the stairs to the apartment I’d be worried about.”

Sole frowned, and discreetly glared at Raven over his wife’s head, mouthing ‘You better take care of this’ as he kept one eye on their guest and one on his son. “Nonsense, Miriam” Sole said, breaking the silence that had descended. “My name is Sole and this is my wife, Astraea. How about I go and get a bed ready for you, and you spend the night? if you feel the same way in the morning, then we’ll take you home. But my wife and I would like to keep you for observations. You gave us all quite a scare, and you’ve lost a bit of blood. Raven here is studying to be a doctor, so we’ll entrust his care to you. He’ll check up on your and make sure you have everything you need.” Sole smiled wide, and strode over to grab Raven by the arm. He dragged his son away from Miriam, who watched them with a curious and slightly hesitant gaze, and whispered furiously in his ear. “She is not going anywhere, not until we know what kinds of side effects that venom had on her. It was in her system far too long. Most humans don’t even survive it. I don’t know what it might’ve done to her, but it can’t be good. You are going to watch her. All night. And yes, I said all night. No reading, no sneaking out, no biting, nothing. You will observe her, and you will make sure she’s okay. If she doesn’t present any symptoms by tomorrow, she’ll be free to go. If she does…well, we’ll have a new house guest until we can figure out what to do with her. And keep your brother away from her; I don’t want to wake up in the middle of the day to find out she’s clawed his eyes out for getting too fresh.”

He released Raven’s arm and gave him a good shove towards Miriam, before he strode off to his son’s room to make sure it wasn’t a disaster area and that the bed was clean enough for the girl to sleep on. Miriam was watching raven with a curious , almost unreadable expression, when she turned back to Astraea. “You and your husband are very kind. I wish there was something I could do to repay your family. I can pay you, if you like. Uh…I work for a restaurant downtown. I could get you a free meal? Although that seems like too small of a payment for saving my life. Really, thank you.” She glanced down at her bag, and then panicked. Oh snap! Was Sunny still in there?! Miriam hastily pulled the bag open, only to find the little rat was asleep and resting peacefully inside. “Oh, thank goodness,” she breathed, falling back against the couch. She suddenly seemed to remember that she was covered in blood, and hastily sat back up, looking around her with a grimace. “I’m so sorry!” she said earnestly, turning to look at Raven and Astraea. “I got blood on your furniture! I’ll clean it tomorrow, I promise. I-I…” She fell silent, looking lost and frankly, out of place. “I’m really sorry to put you out like this. It’s all my stupid fault. Me and my ideas. I’m never going for another walk again. Ever.” She looked down at her now ruined shirt, and silently lamented her stupidity.

Sole broke the silence by returning with a smile, patting Raven lightly on the back. “The room passed inspection.” He turned to Miriam with a frown, noting her darkening expression and the sadness in her eyes; he had heard what she had said while he was in the room. His hearing was sharp enough to pick up every word. “Hey, how about you get cleaned up. Astraea may have some clothes that’ll fit, although I think you’re a little bigger than her in some areas.” He chuckled, and raised an eyebrow at his wife, looking faintly amused. “And you need to get that blood washed off. Raven and I will make you some food. I’m sure you’re hungry after all that.” Miriam opened her mouth to protest, but Sole held up a hand. “Astraea can help you get cleaned up. Raven and I will take care of everything else.” He clapped a heavy hand on his son’s shoulder, and turned to steer him into the kitchen. It was time for father and son to have a little talk. Once they were out of earshot, Sole let go of raven and folded his arms across his chest. “I take it she has no idea what she was attacked by, hm? And I take it she doesn’t know what you are either. Son, I know you want to protect our secret, but you don’t need to walk around like you have a stick up your shebs, you know. It won’t kill you to be a little nicer to her. She almost died tonight; I doubt she needs the cold shoulder to help her feel better. You better pray that Rai doesn’t come home tonight, or you’re going to have a huge mess on your hands. You know how he gets. He won’t leave you alone, or her, as long as he’s here.” He shook his head, then motioned to wards the kitchen. “Well, get to it. You and Rai are the ones who eat this stuff, not me.”