Her mesmorizing green eyes were the last thing he saw before he fell into a neverending sleep. It was the end of him, and the beginning of Raen. She hadn't been cruel, really very kind. She had gone back with the handsome man to his apartment. It had been very romantic, very eventful, until she took his life...gently of course. He had enjoyed every minute of it. She, on the other hand, had her doubts. She had always been promiscuous, but now she had Cole...she didn't know if it was right to kill the way she did. Still, she wanted the last few minutes of her victims life to be lovely, not full of terror.

She stepped out of the male's apartment, walked down the hall and stepped into the street. The first thing she saw were the bright street lights. She hissed and fled into the nearest alley. Her eyes were especially sensitive to every light. Her house was now lit by candles, though she didn't need them.

Pulling her blood-red skirt down, she leaned against the wall of the alley way and sank down to the floor, her knees pulled into her chest. From her purse she pulled out a pair of sunglasses and slipped them over her delicate eyes. Her long black curls hung in her face, but she didn't care to brush them away. She leaned her head back against the wall, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves, out of habit. This was only the second time she had killed and each time she worried, not only that she would be caught, but that she would start to enjoy it...which she knew she already was. That thought made her feel guilty. After all, she had only just been a human being herself. Now she was cursed for all eternity.

"This sucks..." she whispered into the silence.

"That's life, kid." Comments a nearby shadow.

He fades out of the wall, leaning casually against it.

"But what, specifically?"

I think that he feels, I don't know. Maybe friendship. Maybe brotherly. Something like that, which is odd, in Ratter. Maybe he feels she's a kindred spirit (not that you could tell by looking at them - he's the same as ever, rag-bin clad).

He likes her, and there's nothing romantic about it. I highly doubt there's a romantic bone in his body.

Aspen looked up, startled, as she saw Ratter. She hadn't felt him come. Awkward, but understandable. Whatever powers she had, the only one that she seemed to be able to control just a little bit was mesmorizing people with her eyes. She assumed her beauty had something to do with that as well.

"Can't you tell?"

She wondered if he knew, that she had been changed...that she was no longer mortal.

She stood up, adjusting her skirt, and fixing the glasses on her face.


"I've become one of you..."

She didn't know how else to say it. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall she was standing next to.

"And it sucks not to know who I am anymore..."

((Heh, my character is Ratter - vampire, male. I'm Wyste - female, not vampire. Distinction, pretty please.))

"Light hurt your eyes?"

Interesting.

Very interesting.

(He'll get to the point eventually. For now, he's checking on something.)

((I know, I'm sorry. When it gets late, I get goofy. Sorry, extremely distracted and now I have to go to work, but I'm going to try to post. Lol. So sorry I forgot I started this topic.))

Aspen cocked her head sideways and stared up at Ratt, suddenly wondering if that was his real name.

"Yes," she said softly. "About the only light I can handle right now is candle light. I was hoping it was only temperary. I don't think I can walk around wearing sunglasses all the time."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What kind of question was that? Didn't the light hurt all vampires eyes? She reached up, running a frustrated hand through her hair.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you have Nephim written all over you, kid. Plus you're already friends with the coven leader, which has got to be a plus. He wouldn't get so snippy, for one thing."

Ratter rolls his eyes, not bothering to hide his low opinion of Colton.

"Whatdya say? It's a nice place. Very homey. Family."

Who knew he was a recruiter, huh?

Aspen didn't understand what was going on. What was Nephim? She didn't know any coven leaders, plenty of vampires, but no coven leaders...or so she thoughts. She groaned, rolling her eyes. This was a lot more frustrating than it should have been.

"What the hell is a Nephim? And what the hell are you talking about?"

She was new to this world, how was she supposed to know what a vampire coven was. The only coven she had ever heard about were witch covens. She wondered if it was the same.

"I can't very well agree to something when I don't even know what you are asking me."

She didn't mean to sound rude, it's just that this entire situation was driving her up the wall. She hated feeling as lost and as out of place as she did. She would much rather live blissfully ignorant in the mortal world than unhappily ignortant in the vampire world. Too late for that one.

"Sorry, kid. Moving too fast for ya. Nephim's a club. Colton runs it."

He shrugs.

Nothing serious. Nothing important.

...the more casual he acts, the more something matters to him. I'm surprised he isn't feigning a nap.

Aspen still didn't understand, but she didn't want to ask anymore questions. It seemed to more answers she got, the more questions she had. She sighed and shrugged, giving up. Maybe if she went with him she would start to understand things a little bit better. Plus, if Colton ran it, it wouldn't be all that bad...it couldn't be.

"Okay, take me to this Nephim club...whatever it is..."

He takes her hand, and leads her through shadows to the Nephim church.

"See you around, kid - probably best our illustrious leader doesn't see you with me. We have a hate-hate relationship I'd hate to damage. Just tell him you're interested in joining up, but confused. He's an explainer."

He grins.

And he's gone.