An inky cloak had been thrown across the sky not too long ago as night fell upon the Hellmann Conservation. The woods were dark and the large trunks that rose from the stiff and frozen ground stood out only as vague shadows which continued on into the distance. The stars were only just peeking through the thick clouds which floated dimly across the heavens.

The quiet shuffling and scratching of foliage interrupted the cool silence of the wood as a tall shadow lurked among the still trees. It bent this way and that, graceful in its movement as it picked its way around shrubs and tree stumps. A thin beam of artificial light pierced through the dark and fell amongst the snapped twigs that lay undisturbed on top of the white snow. The tiny penlight was small and undoubtedly useless, but it had belonged to someone else only a half an hour ago and whoever was using it now was having a grand time.

Carnivale gave a frown as he carefully rubbed away a deep crimson fingerprint from the smooth metallic cylander of the flashlight. He wouldn't have been so disappointed under different circumstances, he noted. Had the fingers that print belonged to been long, slender and delicate, he would not have taken the flashlight. Oh no, no, no, not at all. Hands had more character when they were wrapped around something, anything at all, really.

The vampire shone the flashlight on a smallish twig resting peacefully at the foot of a spindly tree. Carnivale smiled. He could see very well without the help and so tossed the flashlight aside without even bothering to turn it off. He leaned down carefully, entire body folding almost completely in half with his knees remaining stiff and straight as a pair of two-by-fours. Daintily and delicately, Carni lifted the tiny twig and stared at it for a brief moment. He bared his teeth, pointed canines stained with the same deep crimson as the fingerprint.

Carnivale began picking at his teeth with the twig, continuing forward through the woods as he wondered vaguely why he had chosen such a beefy human being. He picked something out of his molars and stared at it down the length of his pale nose. It looked like a piece of previously chewed red meat. Cooked blue and therefore almost completely raw. He ran his tongue over his teeth and tossed the twig aside.

Carnivale swallowed the last of the neck he had bitten out of earlier, running a hand over his smooth head.

Watching through the darkness was a pair of pale blue eyes. Ears were perked and twitching, waiting and listening for any other sounds. Feeling satisfied, the figure that the eyes belonged to jumped down from the tree it was perched in, faded black trench coat fluttering from the wind. Landing softly in the snow, it stood up, straightening its clothes and brushing itself off. With so many clothes, and it being night, the figure could not be identified as male or female, but with an incredibly short height, 5'4" to be exact, one could take an educated guess.

Starting off after the figure, the black boots that adorned her small feet flattened the snow to the ground. A small smile tugged at the edges of her pink tinged lips as her eyes never wavered from Carnivale. The phrase, 'Curiousity killed the cat,' continued to repeat in her mind, but she couldn't help it. Something about this person, if indeed it was a person, made her want to talk to it.

Being alive for eight centuries, or somewhat alive considering the circumstances, had a great and powerful effect on the senses. Such a large amount of time allowed for plenty of practice and honing of skills such as acute hearing and impeccable night vision. The tall individual stopped his cheerful gait and stood still, waiting. Something about the presence of the other individual made him smile widely, revealing incredibly long and pointed teeth, the longest being the canines.

"Once upon a time there lived a young blonde named Little Red Riding Hood and apparently she was devoured by a wolf, which is quite a shame, but..." Carnivale interrupted himself with -could it have been- a high-pitched giggle. He turned his head a fraction, searching for the shadow of his persuer.

"But fairy tales are just fanciful recreations and I must say... Little Red Riding Hood was positively delicious."

She tilted her head to the side, staring at the long, pointed canines. She had heard of vampires, read the stories, but she had never met with one. Brows arching, looking positively surprised; Abbie gawked. She wasn't afraid, or at least if she was, she hid it well; she was more, curious.

"Positively delicious?" She mocked, arching a delicate eyebrow. Her arms folded across her chest as her thoughts wandered, eyes continously shifting upon the teeth.

Carnivale gave another giggle, this time a lot quieter and less piercing than the first. He turned his head once again so that he stared forward and glanced upward at the darkened sky. He let his eyes close slowly, inhaling deeply and exhaling a wistful sigh.

"Yes, quite," he added carefully after a quiet moment. He could smell her distinctly and licked his lips, fantasizing about what her hands might look like.

Okay, she didn't like the look on his face right now, and the licking of his lips didn't help either. She shifted, the wings wrapped around her becoming uncomfortable. Or maybe it was just him.

"Are you... a vampire?" She asked him. It was a rather obvious question to ask, but Abbie thought it best to just ask, then maybe she'd just walk away... hopefully without getting hurt.

"No," Carni replied with great ease and flawless sincerety.

"I'm the tooth fairy."

Not finding it humorous at all, Abbie rolled her eyes.

Her mind continued to wander as she looked him over curiously. This was her first time seeing a vampire, and she was going to take advantage of it.

"How old are you?" She asked, though she very well knew that he might not answer her.

((Gosh, my characters always get lied to. Heh. XPP))

Not commenting on the age he had given her, she thought up another question she could ask. Suddenly, she remembered vampires eat, well, people like her. Gulping, she realized she was in a dark forest with a, well, vampire.

"That's nice, but I, err... gotta' go now..." She muttered quickly, not wanting to be vampire food; she got ready to leave--

At this Carnivale turned, wishing to see who this curious little strumpet was and if she looked as tasty as the man he had fed from earlier that evening. He continued to smile widely, honey-coloured eyes glinting strangely in the darkness of the woods.

"Five thousand eight hundred and seventy-two years old," he lied without hesitation.

Carnivale gnashed his teeth together as his smile grew ever wider and in two long strides he had stalked over where Abbie stood. He was close and smelled of musty leaves, smoke and something else that might or might not have been blood. He was very much taller than her and had to look nearly all the way down to see her from where he stood. One thing he did not look was exceptionally friendly. Yet Carni held out his hand -smooth, pale and long- for her to shake.

"Come now, dearie, at least introduce yourself."

Looking up at Carnie- literally, Abbie reluctantly took his hand with her own small, slender one, shaking it slowly. The confidence she once had had completely vanished, and a look of fear and worry appeared on her face. The edges of her lips turned into a faint smile, a forced one at that.

"I'm... Abbie. But, I need to go now..." She said again, taking her free hand and gesturing behind her. She really had no where to go; she only knew she needed to get away from here, from him.

Carnivale's smile remained fixed onto his features and never seemed to change. It had grown exceptionally wide now and his sharp teeth were all clearly displayed. Definitely not the kind of person you'd find on Sesame Street. His hand closed around Abbie's very slowly and discreetly and his grasp grew stronger the longer he held it. He apparently had no intention of letting it go very soon.

"Abbie, what a scrumptious name, your hands are marvelous."

Growing more anxious by the minute, she nodded her head reluctantly.

"No, no, not really scrumptious I would say. Not tasty at all, there's no meat on my bones," She said, laughing nervously.

She tugged on her hand softly, hoping to free it of its grasp, but to no avail.

Oooh he loved it when they squirmed. They would whine and squeal and squirm and he would smile and smile and smile, the entertainment value of mortal beings was unmatched and unlimited. Carnivale knelt so that he was roughly the same height as the anxious Abbie. He reached with his other hand and stroked one of his frosty, long, pale fingers down her cheek, his long nails doing most of the stroking. His polished head looked almost phosphorescent in the light of the stars.

"Oh, but it is scrumptious Abbie dearie, absolutely so and... I feel inclined to do something about that pet," Carni stated, his voice calm and eerily cheerful as well as bright and positive sounding. The words which he spoke matched with the tone of his voice did not go well together, not in the least.

"Will you give me your hands? I promise it won't hurt as much as you might think." Yet another lie pushed forth past Carnivale's sharp teeth and pale lips. He might as well not asked the question at all either, because he had no intention of even heeding the answer.

At first, Abbie could do or say nothing. Too frigthened and shocked to. Coming to her senses, she remebered she herself was magic. She could do something to prevent this guy from devouring her.

Slowly, but surely, her hand began to change, wait, not just her hand, her whole arm, her whole body. The sound of bones cracking could be heard, as the slender hands that had once been Abbie's were changing into deep, brown talons, much larger then the tiny hands that were once there. Her arms became feathered with white feathers, and soon her body heaved to the ground. The trench coat was ripped off of her as her head began to change. Her mouth became beak-like, and a pair of equally white ears soon were perched on top the now eagle-like skull. The back end of her body had become lion-like, the dirty blonde fur covering the once human skin. Her tail was now visible, as were her wings. Very small compared to the tall and lanky Carni, yet more vicious then the Abbie that had been present.

The clothes that were once worn by Abbie now lay torn and sprawled out on the white snow next to them; the griffin stood wearily, the same pale blue eyes glaring at Carni above her. The talons flexed in the snow, in a way, threatening Carni to come closer. Now stanced, she waited, her wings spread out beside her.

Carnivale had already risen to his feet, watching the transformation with an expression that lacked any kind of bewilderment or surprise. It was disappointment mainly. Her small hands had been wonderful complete with an astonishingly beautiful set of fingers.

But now, they were gone. Destroyed in the change from girl to griffin and Carni had lost his appetite. For the moment, anyway. Fur did not belong on hands, was it so difficult to comprehend? With an irritated sounding snort, the tall lanky form that was Carnivale turned on his heel and began stalking off again, facing the general direction of the city.