The spring rain was falling softly against Sera's skin. Her clothing was soaked through though, as she lay on the footsteps of an abandoned building. She was in the shadows, the lights around were all broken, leaving her hidden from the eyes of evreyone.

Her eyes were frozen ahead, not blinking. What had she done? She had never done something like that before... Never.

Sera had used him... she had fucked him, gotten what she wanted and left. She was abhored with herself, disgusted. She had been used and beaten in her life... Why had she done that to someone else? Why hadn't she stopped herself?

She wanted to beg forgiveness. She wanted to make things right. But she was so afraid. What if he yelled at her? What if he wanted to hurt her for what she did?

Sera hadn't want to do that to anything to hurt anyone. That wasn't her. It was the blood, the blood that had drove her senses out of wack. But it was no excuse. It was her fault.

Alex was walking back from work, and the rain was refreshing against his skin. It was like the night he met the girl who used him, and left him in a bad mood for a while, but it was much warmer. His clothes were soaked, but he didn't really give a damn. There were too many things going through his head, hell he was sent home early because he could barely take care of things at his job. That vampire...that was one of the things consuming his thoughts. The other was Eire's safety. He spoke with her to stay home, and now he was stopping by and staying near her apartment to make sure she was safe.

Then he felt a familiar presence. The girl from before, Sera was it? Who cared? She probably was being Emo again. He walked past her not even giving her a glance. Alex wasn't in the mood to talk to her, not now anyway. The faster he got home the better.

As if her mind had summoned him with her thoughts, there he was. Walking by. No doubt he senced her... No doubt he knew she was there. But.... she could have easily hidden in the ditry corner she was in and simply pass her by but...

"Hey! Wait! Please!" Sera called out as she pushed herself up from the muddy sidewalk, dirk caking her worn clothing as she grabbed her rucksack. But as she chased after him she realized something. She didn't know his name. And... Did he even know hers? She couldn't remember.

Sera couldn't remember much of that frenzied night... Like an animal in heat. She remembered the release... The way he was sleeping so peacefully as she left him after she had cleaned herself up. She had bairly stayed five minutes after he was out.

"Sir... Could I talk to you for a bit?" Her voice trembled slightly as she grabbed hold of his sleeve. Would he strike her for approaching him? "I... I won't keep you too long... Honest."

Alex looked over his shoulder as the girl started chasing him, and let out a sigh ignoring her. He didn't have the time to talk to her, but he felt bad just simply ignoring her after she asked him to talk to him. "What is it?" He asked turning around frustrated. "I don't have all night." Alex looked at the girl and let out a sigh. She seemed to be a totally different person now, and it was a relief to see her not being that depressed.

"You had some nerve taking advantage of me like that..." He paused looking at the poor girl. She looked a little worse for the ware, and he couldn't blame her. "But at least you're alright. Don't you have somewhere to stay?" Damn him being a nice guy. Sometimes Alex hated being such a nice guy.

She gasped and flinched as he snapped at her, turning around. However it was safe to say she was grateful that the blow didn't come. "I'm sorry..." She whimpered. "I... I didn't mean to do that. I... I hadn't fed in so long... And... And I wasn't myself." She mumbled as her eyes were pinned on the ground. "My father had died that day... I really... It wasn't like me to do that."

At least she was alright? No... She was only slightly better than the last time he saw her. She was over the shock of her father's death... But she was still a little hungry... And she was so alone with no place to really go.

But she nodded as he asked if she had some place to stay. "There's a broken window of the building so I can stay in there durring the day... It's not much... but it's safe." She said softly.

"Please... Forgive me for what I did... I didn't mean it. I... I was used all my life... I wouldn't ever want to hurt anyone." Her eyes looked up at him pleadingly. "I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you. I'll do anything."

Alex saw her gasp as he snapped at her, and took a calming breath. "Sorry, I've just had a lot on my mind. It's alright, I'm sure you're a nice girl when you're not trying to get me to rip you apart." He said glaring at her, but he could understand. He'd go crazy if Eire died and he was starving. "Are you hungry? You should learn to control your thirst lady." He said instead of using her name. "If you can't control your thirst you'll be a threat to everyone."

Alex wasn't going to pull any punches for her. She was old enough to realize that. "You don't have to apologize. I probably should've just left you alone." He said letting out a sigh. He shook his head as she said that she used the abandoned building as a safehouse. Alex shook his head and let out a sigh. "Come on there're better places you can stay. Don't you have a Coven?" Alex didn't know why he was talking to this girl after she used him like that. Why did he have to be such a nice guy? "If you're gonna make up for what you did, then at least let me give you a nicer place to stay."

"Please... You... You don't understand... I.." She looked down slightly. "I don't have anyone anymore. My sire... He left me. So I went home and... And my father died. I don't have anyone... Anywhere...." She said softly. "When I felt your arms... I don't know... I just needed somone... I know it wasn't right... But I never meant to hurt you."

As he started walking she ran back to get her backpack, but then ran back to him, clutching at his arm.

"I... I'm sorry for what I did... But thank you for helping me... I know I never said it... But... I would have just stayed there. I would have died."

Coven? "No... I don't. My sire... He was a loner... I don't even know why he turned me now... He said he loved me... But how could he just leave me then?" She said with a dark look as she slid from his arm. "But I don't know what coven I belong to. He never said anything. I... I know of one.. The... The Ishak I think... I've been welcomed on to their grounds." She looked up slightly. "My mom is burried there... And my dad now too."

Alex looked at the girl as she spoke and nodded. "So you have no one? I just happened to be the guy to be used...Don't get me wrong it was slightly enjoyable, but you left me in a really shitty mood. You can stay in my place for a while. At least until we find you a more permanent place to live."

Alex didn't turn around as Sera grabbed his arm. "I know you would've stayed there I would've felt like crap either way. At least you were able to find something to act as a safehouse." He used the term quite loosely looking back at the warehouse. Then she was explaining that she didn't know what Coven she belonged to.

He listened to her as she explained that her sire said he loved her, but left her. Alex didn't enjoy that little fact, and knew that whoever the guy was had to be a little bit of a bastard. "How about I get you settled at my place, and then tomorrow you come into work with me? I'm sure the Coven Leader'll talk to you, and let you in." Alex was still pissed at Sera, but he was starting to calm down. Even a small smile appeared on his face. "The Ishak..." Alex hated the Ishak and the Tarepha, because they were both dangerous Covens, and were a threat to everyone around them. "I think it's best that you just go visit your parents. They're much more dangerous to people, and I don't like them at all."

Alex turned down a street leading to his apartment. He couldn't help but feel bad for the girl. She must've had one shitty life. "I'll get the landowner to bring up a cot for me." Alex sighed and looked down at the ground. The landowner wouldn't be happy about this. "You don't have to worry about rent or anything. I make enough to pay it."

"I guess... I can do that... But... I don't know... They... They probably wouldn't let me... I... I don't belong with them... I've never been with a lot of vampires... I...I don't think they'd like me too much." She said hesitantly.

But Sera looked up as he said to stay away from the Ishak. "But... He. He tried to help me. All of them did. He... He roughed me up a bit... But he was trying to make me stronger. There was the one who made me realize before that I didn't want to really die... And his fledgling. She took care of me when I was injured. She was harsh... But she spoke the truth. And the other one... He showed me that I could be worse off. That I wasn't alone as a kid forever..."

They might have been harsh... But they had never hurt her without the intent to help.

"Are there covens for ones like me? The ones who are nothing but murderers... haunted by nightmares of their kills... I... I've done so many horrible things. I don't know who would want to even know me..." Maybe that was why Ambros left... Because he didn't want to be associated with the monster she'd become... The horror he had created. But she hadn't been like that before he left...

She looked up at him, so much taller than her. Almost a foot. "A cot? No... That's okay... I... I can sleep on the floor. I wouldn't want to trouble you. Come daylight... I won't feel anything anyway..."

Alex looked down at the girl sadly at her. He hated the Ishak. All he knew was that they were one of the Covens that gave their race a bad name. The ones closest to the stereotype set by humans. It was almost laughable, but the Ishak slaughtered as they pleased. "They might've been trying to help you, but there're other ways to do that without hurting people." He learned how to control his thirst by being with Eire, and he hadn't hurt her since that night he first met her.

"The Enashe are a Coven of vampires wishing to coexist with humans. I'm from that Coven, and I'm sure that they'll accept you. As long as you're willing to work on controlling your thirst they'll...we'll accept you." Alex was willing to trust her, and try to help her if she wanted him to. "You should at least talk to Jean. She's my boss and she'll be willing to talk to you." No wonder she became such a monster. Sera had no one to teach her, to help her control her thirst.

Then he was listening to her about the cot. "No don't worry. You're my guest, so you'll have the bed. I've slept on the floor plenty of times when I was younger." Alex remembered having to sleep on the beds of a ship and how they were no better than the floor. "Don't worry about anything. You can stay as long as you want."

A coven that existed with humans? Sera shook her head fearfully. "No." She gave a frightened murmur. "They... They won't ever let me... I... I've tried controling it... But... I... I haven't fed without killing since... I... I can't remember. But... Don't make me go... Please. They won't like me... I... I'm not like you." She remembered how the Ishak were about her coming on to their territory but then... They had been a lot like her.

"I... I might be an Ishak... Or worse if there is... The taste of fear. Adrenaline. It feeds me... I... Don't know... I want to stop, but I can't. At the first taste of blood I can't control myself."

But it was the cot he brung up next. "No.. Please. I insist. I don't want to impose. I can't. It will be better than the warehouse floor I'm sure." She pointed out.

Damn this girl was persistent. He shook his head and sighed. "I'm sure they're willing to at least talk to you. Come on, they can help you with your thirst. They helped me..." He said trailing off for a second. "You should at least talk to Jean before going to the Ishak. I don't like the Ishak that much, and I really think you can fit well in the Coven. You can at least get a job at the casino."

"You're not imposing on anyone. I'm inviting you to stay at my place." He knew she could become an Enashe. She could learn to control the thirst that controls her. "I thought you said you didn't want to hurt anyone like you were hurt. You take advantage of people and kill them. If you go to the Enashe they'll surely try to teach you how to control that side of you." Hell Eire helped him change. To help him control it.

"But... Will they let me in even if I'm not like you?" She asked. She doubted that she was like them because... Well she couldn't see his fangs, but hers were always there. They might have been small, but they were there none the less.

"I don't!" She said defensivly. "I don't want to hurt anyone. And I've tried so hard to change... But every time things get better... They just get so much worse." That's how her life had always been, now that she thought of it. "I... Maybe my sire left... Because he knew I was hopeless... Do sire's do that?" She murmured looking up at him. "If their fledglings... Just... are no good? Just abandon them... Let others deal with them?" Was that why Ambros had left her? Because there was no hope for her?

And who was this Jean person? Was she an ancient? Was she one of the ones that took care of problem vampires? The thought made her wet skin shudder slightly and she was afraid to meet this woman.

Alex looked down at Sera and shook his head tired of arguing with her. "You don't know until you try! Hell I think I might try signing up with the Tarepha!" Of course that was when Hell froze over, but he didn't mention that. "As long as you're willing to make the effort then what's the worst that can happen? At least you'll know your answer instead of living forever in doubt." That reminded him that he doubted whether or not the vampire was truly connected to him. What if it was all in his head?

"I don't know your sire so I can't say much. Maybe he had another reason to. Maybe he wanted you to find your own path and learn to depend on yourself. But sad to say...There are sires that're like that. What was he like? I can probably get a good idea if you tell me about him." What was Alex to say about someone he didn't even know? Well the vampire who attacked Eire was an exception to his rule of course.

"Oh I should tell you about Jean..." He said scratching his head a little embarrassed. "She's a little older than me, and she's more of a mother figure...She was kind enough to hook me up with a job when I first came here." Alex smiled as they kept on walking. They were pretty close to his place.

she didn't want to talk about Ambros now... She didn't even want to think about him It made her sad, angry, greif stricken all at once. It made her want to scream and cry... It made her want to... It was him that she thought of when she killed. When she fed...

Tears stung her eyes and she shut them tight.

A little hiccup of her emotions, that mix of sorrow and anger escaped, only to be chased away as she wiped the back of her fist along her eyes.

She looked up though as her ears heard of Jean. A motherly figure? Just the thought... It kind of scared her. "I... I don't remember my mom all that much... She... She died when I was little. I just remember she was nice." But... She doubted Jean was nice. She hadn't met any vampires that reminded her of her mother... Not ones that could make her feel all better... Who would sing her to sleep and dry her tears.

The fact that Alex described her as a mothering person made her even more wary.

Alex looked down at the girl as he heard a hiccup and saw tears forming. "Alright I won't ask you to talk about him. I hate seeing girls crying." He said wiping the blood from her eyes making sure she didn't miss any blood.

He listened to the girl as she explained that she didn't remember her mother that well. "Looks like we have another difference. I was raised by my mom, and I only really met my father after he was injured during the Revolution." He said shrugging. So he was kind of a mama's boy.

"She's a nice person...Well at least I think of her as a kind of mother figure." He was starting to feel better and smiled warmly at the girl. "Jean can be a hardass at times, but she always has a good reason." She wasn't going to let him be Eire's sire, but he understood why. Alex couldn't protect a fly from the vampire who attacked Eire.

Well whoever this Jean person was... Sera didn't trust her. She didn't trust many people after all, so why should she trust this woman she's never met?

"I... I'll think about it." She said, not ever planning on seeing this woman. How did she know that Jean wasn't going to try and kill her? That she wasn't the one who'd been cleaning up after her and telling the amman about everything? They had warned her once... That if she didn't clean up her act or her hunts... They would end her life.

Jean could just be the person they got to do that. And it wasn't her fault. She tried. But she could only do so much alone. And it was all Ambros' fault she was alone

"Well yea... And I'm sure Ambros had a good reason for just letting me loose and killing people... Not telling me where he went to live alone in this fucking world! I hate him!" She wasn't screaming. But her voice was fierce. "I'll kill him... I swear I will if I ever see him again." The tear that popped out now was one of rage. "I'll kill him! He hadn't got the right to do this! They want to kill me! Want to kill me cause I don't know bout this world! I didn't want this!" Her nails were digging into her palms as the slowly grew in length and sharpnes. The scent of blood was keen even in the rain.