Seraphina was still wearing the t-shirt and jeans that Rosa had given her.... But that was nearly a week ago now. Now they were dirty, blood stained, torn... Her face was as pale as it ever was, her hair dirty and matted.

She looked like a corps that had been dug up from the earth itself as her body had tried to be hidden by some murderer.

But the truth was she was now living in a hole in the ground in one of the parks. Hiding from everything... Everyone... Rosa had betrayed her. Had made a mockery out of her mother and her only desire. The woman had tried to trick her in to thinking she was her mother, and though there was a resemblance... Her mother was dead.

Sera had only come from the park now to feed... To find someone to drink and empty.

Her starving body demanded it...

But she felt so weak... Each step was harder than the last, and no one wanted to get close to her. She looked like a street rat... A young girl who had no home, no where to go and lived in the nearest alley, eating from the dumpster... And had she been human, that probably would have been true.

With a groan of hunger and weakness Sera fell behind some bushes, not sure why she was even so determined to keep herself alive. It wasn't like anyone cared about her anyway. No one ever had. No one but her mother. But her mother was dead, all the kindness had gone from her life, and she would be better off dying.

But for some reason, she couldn't make herself, couldn't let herself die...

"Why do you care about this one? What makes her different? A thousand wounded animals you've run across and this one you pursue. Is she special?"

"Special? Perhaps not. Perhaps there is nothing unusual about her. After all, victims are a dime a dozen in this, the gloriously perverted world we live in. Perhaps it is just time. It's been hundreds of years since your death, Isold."

"At your hand."

Ferox gave a courtly bow, a small smile creasing the sharp lines of his face. "At my hand, yes. Can you say you didn't deserve it?"

"Deserve it? I gave you the power that you so enjoy flaunting. I might remind you, Felix, that without me your name would have long ago been forgotten. Your bones would be dust. Your legacy nonexistent. Before I turned you, you were nothing. Nothing. A farmer's son with dreams of power, but too inept to turn those dreams into reality. I gave you what you so desired. I!"

He raised an eyebrow. "And what price did I pay for your gift, my mistress? The pain you inflicted on the cattle that roam this earth was poured into me as much as them. I was your progeny and your lover, but also your pet. I hated you and desired you and protected you."

"And then you tore me to pieces."

"And then I tore you to pieces."

"Is this what you intend to do to the girl? What I did to you? Perhaps you should remember your own story, pet. Perhaps she will turn on you as you did me."

"Perhaps she will."

He was quite alone. Isold, as you might have realized by now, had been dead for quite some time. Her body had been burnt to ash. But Ferox had traveled with the vampiress for thousands of years and knew her mind almost as well as his own. (As he was, admittedly, a bit mad, you may glean from that what you will.) Her voice would come to him at times. And since it was there, ringing inside his head, he saw no reason not to respond.

But at this moment, there was something that pulled him our of his decidedly one-sided conversation. He could feel a presence, weak, but a presence nonetheless.

Ferox, a scavenger, was drawn to the scent of weakness. Of hopelessness and hunger. And, like a scavenger catching a scent, he raised his head and tipped it a little, searching for the source. It was so weak it should have been hard to track, but not for him. Following the stench, thick with the odor of hunger and anguish, he easily found Seraphina's pathetic figure.

An alley rat, too weak to scour for scraps. Not even worth his notice.

And yet...

His narrow, handsome face was curious as he stopped, his shoes coming to a rest in front of her head. "Still alive?"

Sera shuddered as she felt a power drawing closer to her. A vampire... Old... Strong. One that she didn't really want to mess with or even talk to. She hoped that he wouldn't feel her weak power, feel her laying under the bush.

But it seemed as that was not to be the case.

"Alive... I suppose you could call it that..." She muttered. It wasn't like she wanted to be alive... She had tried to die with dignaty but Rosa pretended to save her, pretended to care for her and then betrayed her. "What, you hear to kill me, huh?" Sera growled as she pushed herself to her feet to face this vampire. He looked young... But he was old... Very very old. More powerful than any she could remember meeting. "Kill me because I'm nothing but a vicious bloodsucking monster who will never learn to control herself." She snarled, her brown eyes looking up as she challenged him.

Maybe she could provoke him. Trick him into killing her, saving her from this horrible life. Yeah... She could.

"One of those self-righteous Amman are you? Come to kill me to save a few humans? Well I haven't fed tonight so I guess you'll even save one more." She glared hard, her fist balling up tightly.

She might as well face her death with strength, after all, it wasn't like she could stop him from killing her anyway. Ambros had said that they wouldn't accept begging, that they wouldn't believe she would change. And Sera knew she wouldn't. She didn't really want to.

His eyebrow raised with faint interest as she, the battered little alley cat, staggered to her feet and hissed at him. He could have swatted her aside with a breath, but still she snapped and spat. Bravery, stupidity, or a suicidal tendency? Casting a cold grey eye over her pathetic state, Ferox decided it must have been one of the latter two. Or a combination of both.

The brow quirked a little further at her words. A vicious, bloodsucking monster that would never learn to control herself, was she? Well, that was interesting. Perhaps even promising. He wasn't particularly fond of uncontrollable animals, but sometimes they could be tamed. He tapped a fingertip against his chin thoughtfully. It would be a challenge. “Are you, then?” he asked calmly, completely unperturbed by her snarling.

He rather liked challenges. Besides, even if she couldn't learn to control herself, well... she could be an interesting diversion anyway.

Lost in his thoughts, it took him a moment to register what she was saying. Once he did, he laughed. “Haven't had much to do with ancients other than the Amman, have you?” he asked rhetorically, adding, “We aren't all self-righteous protectors of the people.” He narrowed his eyes at her and smiled thinly. “If I were to kill you, alley rat, it certainly wouldn't be to save a few humans.”

The idea that he would do anything to save a few humans was laughable. If he decided to kill her, it would be out of his own boredom or simply for the entertainment—the same reasons he would kill a human. Ferox didn't draw much of a line between human lives and vampiric.

“Haven't fed tonight, you said? Want to change that?”

Alley Cat... That would have been a right description of her. As fierce as a tiger until a kind hand came along... And even then she was wary. And she was right to be too. After all that happened.

"That's why everyone left me! My sire couldn't control me, couldn't help me at all, so he left me!" She growled. "They all just try to control me, but they cant!" Why wasn't he finishing her off? Why didn't he just kill her!

"No, but my sire told me they'd come. He told me that you guys would kill me if I wasn't able to get a hold of myself." But then she took a step back, closer to the bush. He... He wasn't here to kill her? Why was he bothering her for then, why couldn't he just leave her alone?

Her fist tightened as he asked her if she was interested in feeding. If she wanted to hunt. Her body was screaming for blood... Screaming for nourishment... But...

Sera narrowed her eyes. "Is this some trick?" She asked sharply. "You just trying to fool me?" It wasn't happening. She wasn't going to give into his tricks... No. She wasn't going to let her guard down.

Control... Ferox liked control. He liked pulling the strings. He could do it overtly with humans and younger vampires, but he preferred the subtler way of it. The mental manipulation that had nothing to do with his power, but with his mind. It was so much more satisfying that way.

There was little doubt in his mind that he would be able to control this little alley rat. All he had to do was find the right buttons to push, the right triggers to flip. So to speak. It would be made easier by the fact that he wasn't the type to try to 'change' her.

Not at all.

"When I said 'we' I wasn't speaking of the Amman. I was speaking of ancients. Not all ancients are with the Amman," Ferox replied patiently as she bibbled in fear. "And why would I try to trick you?" he raised an eyebrow as if to punctuate the silliness in that statement.

Okay so he wasn't here to kill her. But what did he want from her? What make him bother her like this, just wander out of his way and deal with her?

"Why? Because that's all people have ever done to me! They all claim they want to help me, and then... Then they try to use me. They try to change me and control me! I don't want to be controlled! I don't wanna be changed!" She said angrily, her fist coming up as if she was preparing to fight.

"That's all you older vampires ever try to do! Control! Change! Make people the way you want them! Amman or not, that's what you've all tried to do with me! You self righteous pricks! Thinking you're better than everyone else! Even my father! He thought he owned me and could do whatever the hell he wanted! Just because he was older than me! Just because he was stronger!"

The way she was growling and snarling at the older vampire, one might have thought she had lost her mind, and perhaps she had. So hungry, so angry, everything was just flowing out of her now. All of her anger, pain, hostility. She was yelling at this vampire as if it were his fault. As if everything had been his fault since her mother died.

"You just want power! You just want me under your thumb because I'm weak!! You don't care about me at all, so why the hell are you trying to be so nice? Huh? What do you want from me!" The hunger was making her rage, was making her lose control as it always did. She wanted to feed, to tear and kill. Wanted to feel blood down her throat, on her skin.

And it was just that moment that a human came jogging by, not even paying attention to the two vampires. Headsets in his ears, eyes forward on the path. She couldn't control herself... She couldn't resist the hunger that was tearing at her...

Faster than the human eye could track, almost faster than the vampiric eye, Sera had caught up with him and pounced him, much like a lioness, or a tigress in the bush, her fangs seeking out his throat with a fatal accuracy. The girl and her prey tumbled into the bushes off of the path where she tore at his flesh, drinking his blood hungrily, stilling the wild pounding of her heart.

She drank wildly... Drank freely at his throat... The free running blood that made her body trembling with delight. Not fear... Not hunger... But delight.

Ferox stood silently as she screamed at him, not releasing her anger but compounding it. Indeed, the more she yelled, the angrier she became. And she, being a young vampire and starving to boot, was so obviously close to some sort of breaking point, Ferox didn't see the need to say anything. She'd drive herself to the edge all on her own.

All he had to do was watch.

And break she did. He could feel her desire to rip and tear vibrate from her like a kind of heat, but even in her maddened state she knew better than to attack him. Instead all of that rage and hunger was unleashed on a random passerby, some poor little human who happened to wander across the path of the vampire.

His cool grey eyes tracked her as she suddenly lunged for the boy--moving impressively fast for a fledgling. Before the stunned human could so much as throw up a hand to protect himself, she was at his throat, tearing it open with her fangs.

He had to appreciate the viciousness.

Following her, moving at a deceptively lazy pace, he calmly watched as she gulped at the fountaining blood. "Slow down or you'll make yourself sick," he said silently, with a practiced gentleness.

She continued to drink as if a person gone too long without water, feeding as the man died, and even after. Dead blood was no problem. She drank it all the same, drank it until she was full.

Or she was going to until she heard his voice in her head.

Sera fell back from the man as if slapped, growling with wild eyes up at Felix.

"Stay out of my head!!" She screamed in anger. "Stay out or I'll kill you!" She warned him with a hiss, lowering her voice. "Keep out of my mind, keep out of my head! You don't belong there!"

How dare he! Thinking he could just waltz right into her mind, betray her privacy... Despicable...

"I'll feed how I want! It's no concern to you at all how I feed. Don't you dare do that again! Invade my mind- put your thoughts in there like they belong." She growled as she crawled back to the man, feeding again, licking off all the still warm blood that had gathered at the dead man's throat.

His detached amusement began to fade, replaced instead by twinges of annoyance. "I'm not 'in your head' fledgling. I'm speaking to you. There is a difference between the two," he replied, resisting the urge to speak mind to mind again.

As if she could stop him, should he truly want inside her mind. If he wanted, he could tear her mind apart so that she became an animal. No reason, no capability for thought. It would be fun for one night, but she'd not have the sense to get out of the sunlight come dawn.

Tucking his thumbs in his jean pockets, he studied her with cool grey eyes. "In fact, with practice, you could even learn to block out telepathy--with something like the mental equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears." He paused. "Whether I speak aloud or silently, they're only words. It's up to you if you want to hear them."

He had the distinct impression he was wasting his time here. Perhaps she was the prickly animal she thought she was. She'd done nothing more than lash out. Watching as the filthy girl resumed her ravaging of the now-dead human's neck, Ferox shrugged to himself and began to walk away.

"Be an animal. Or be civilized. The choice is with you, you know..."

"I don't care..." Sera growled as she pulled away from the man at last. His blood was already getting cold... Disgusting...

Wiping at her mouth she sighed. "I don't like people in my head. It's not right." She said simply as she stood up. It made her feel as if she were going crazy, as if he was looking at everything in her mind, past and present. "The last person who tried to help me... She used memories against me... Tricked me to thinking she was my mother." She growled softly. She wasn't as she was before, the blood had settled her rage, her anger.

"Yeah, I could learn, but who's going to teach me huh?" She scoffed. "No one can stand being around me... Not even you..." She muttered as he turned to walk away. "I'm not an animal... I don't care who thinks I am... But I'm not." She said at his back.

Figures... She muttered in her mind. Like everyone else... He just runs away from me. No matter how hard I try... No one's willing to try and give a rats ass about me...Better that then be like that damn woman... Or Ambros...

"If you think I am, just put me down. Put me out of my misery. After all. You'd know better than me right?" But she wasn't an animal... She just did what she had to to survive. If that was wrong, if that made her an animal... Then what was the point of living?

Ferox paused, making sure the small smile that had just spread over his face didn't touch his words. "You'll be treated how you act," he said over his shoulder, tucking his hands into his duster as the chilly breeze made the bottom flap.

Turning, he regarded her emotionlessly, taking in the way the blood splattered her already filthy clothes. "I've not harmed you, have I? I've not pried into your mind, despite what you may think. I could if I wanted to, but I haven't," he pointed out, his voice quiet but flat.

"You don't want to be treated like an animal? Simple enough. Stop acting like one. You don't want others treating you like an animal? Stop attacking everything you lay eyes on." Ferox looked at the dead body on the ground and suddenly wished for a meal of his own.

"I don't attack everything I see, I'm not like that... I hadn't fed in a while... I was hungry, and you were just stressing me out." She said as she set her hands on her hips lightly. "He just had the misfortune of being the first person to cross my path after three days without blood."

Now she was more level headed, she was able to get a better look at him. He looked to be about twenty to twenty-five. He was much taller than her, but then again a lot of people were. And like her though, he had scars... there were some on his wrists that she could see. But the ones on her arms showed white against her tanned skin. She was wearing the t-shirt and jeans she had been when she left Rosa's place. Dirty and torn, her face and body were at least clean from bathing in the pond near her hide out.

He was handsome though, she couldn't deny that. And his body seemed strong. Maybe ha had been a soldier or a warrior in his days.

"Why did you stop to bother me?" She asked with her eyes narrowed curiously. "Why did you even stop actually?"

"Misfortune indeed," Ferox agreed. After all, the boy in question was staring blankly at the cloudy sky, his throat torn to such a degree it looked as if someone had tried to tear his head from his body.

His lips quirked a little, not quite a smile, as he felt her studying him. Her eyes paused on his wrist, before continuing on. Openly, he studied her in return; her dirty clothes, the relatively clean skin, the blood. His eyes trailed all the way down to her feet, then back up to her face, a puckered scar on his neck visible when he moved his head.

"Why bother? Why not? I've been around for what humans may term as forever. I do with my time whatever strikes my fancy at the moment. I saw you and I was curious." Ferox shrugged negligently. "I felt hunger and it drew me."

Sera glared as he looked her over, strong and stubborn. That was what she was really. At least now. Ambros, Rosa... The others had all taught her to be like that. Taught her to harden herself against others, because it was the ones you trusted the most that would betray you, the ones you trusted most that would trick you and hurt you.

"Curiosity... Right. And did you expect to find a feisty, half starved abandoned fledgling?" She asked with a little smirk.

"But even if not, it's what you found." Stepping forward she grinned, one fang showing. "So what you gonna do with her huh?" Crossing her arms "Or you just gonna leave now that you've discovered the source of the hunger huh?"

Ferox smiled thinly. "I didn't expect to find much at all," he replied smoothly, in such a way as one couldn't be sure whether he was insulting Sera or not. He had a habit of doing that; making comments that could be interpreted as insulting.

But, with him, who knew?

He watched her calmly as she stepped forward, smiling rather grotesquely. Her face was still covered with blood. Shrugging, Ferox replied, "I plan to go and find a meal of my own. If you want to come, fledgling, you may as well come. But not like that."

It wasn't that he minded how she looked. But humans would be made wary by it, he knew.

A soft snarl came from her as he insulted her, well insult... Maybe...

"Might as well come though... Still kinda hungry..." She muttered softly.

But looking up she blinked. "Not like what?" She narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong? People never seen an orphan before? It's not like I have any other clothes or anywhere to wash these." She pointed out. "So sorry babe. Not like there's anything I can do about the way I look unless you want me to walk around naked, which I'm sure will just attract more attention." She pointed out, sticking her hands in her pocket.

"Unless you got a bright idea of sorts of course."

"Not where we're going, they haven't," Ferox stated. He didn't want any street trash. Out here, half the humans had diseases or were on drugs. Though he wasn't looking for anything high-class, he wanted something clean.

Shrugging out of his coat, he held it out to her. It'd be a little long for her, but it would cover up the blood on her shirt and the filthy clothes. And he was going to have a rather large dry-cleaning bill... "Here. Wear that for now and we'll find something else for you to wear." She could always take the clothes of whoever he found to eat, he supposed, and said as much.

Coatless now, Ferox stuck his hands in his jean pockets. He was glad he'd decided to wear a sweater under the jacket now. His body temperature wouldn't drop too noticeably until he got a chance to feed.

"I don't need a jacket. Besides, I wouldn't want to get blood all over it." Sera said shaking her head.

"What, we going to some ritzy place huh? They too good to see people like me? Too good to see someone like me huh?" She growled almost irritated. "Even alive that's all I really was." She muttered. "Even then no one gave a shit about me." She clenched her fists tightly.

Sera hated those sorts of people... The people who were too good to see those who needed help, too good to see the ones who truly needed to be seen.

"Take your jacket. I don't need it. I'll stay just as I am." She said stubbornly, pushing the jacket back at him.

Ferox raised an eyebrow. "Ritzy? No, not particularly. But if we go into, say, a bar with you covered in blood, well... Humans would be made wary. Some might call the police or scream or otherwise cause more hassle than I wish to deal with." Really, why did he have to explain this to her? It was stupidly obvious.

Not to mention, he was already becoming tired of her 'poor me'ing. Poor me, nobody ever cares about me. Poor me, people think they're better than I am. Poor me, poor me, poor me. Please. You played the hand fate dealt you and fate didn't always play with a full deck. Deal with it.

Placidly, Ferox continued holding the jacket out. "You'll wear the jacket until we can find you some clean clothes, or you'll stay here. I personally don't want to deal with having the police called out on me."

Poor Me'ing? No, she was just saying things as they had been. Teachers barely noticed that she had bruises that covered her body, people hadn't even tried to look for her after her house was burned, they hadn't tried to find her after her father was found dead...

No one cared about her. It was as simple as that. She was on her own.

"I don't want to wear it. I'll get blood all over it. Blood is exceptionally hard to get out of clothing as I'm sure you know." She pointed out. But she took the jacket anyway and though didn't put it on, slung it over her shoulder. There was no blood back there.

"What's your name anyway?" She sad as she contented herself liking the blood off of her other arm. "You never said." And she was sure he had probably gotten hers by now if he was one of those damned telepaths and mind readers...

Ferox gave a short laugh. "Put it on. Don't worry about the blood. I use a very good cleaning service." They never even gave him an off look when he brought in bloody clothes. Which wasn't too often. Typically, if he got something too soaked, he just threw it out and bought something new.

One of the perks of being good at the money game.

Snugging his collar up a little higher, people tended to think he was sick if he felt too cold to them, Ferox started walking again. "Call me Felix," he replied, glancing at the street sign. The business district was more or less deserted at this time of night, so Ferox figured they should head towards a bar or club.

Bar, most likely. He wasn't in the mood for a club and the girl would stick out wearing his duster in one anyway. "And you are?"

Must be nice... Having money... Thank kinda thing.

Resentfully she tugged on the jacket and stuck her hands back in the pockets of her jeans. What was so wrong about going around looking like she did? People didn't notice. They turned a blind eye to things they didn't want to see. And besides, next to him, who in hell would notice her?

"Felix huh? I take it that's not your real name?" Most vampires his age had outdated names, so they went by fake ones, that much she knew. Unless they were really really really old and just didn't care. But something gave her the feeling that Felix wasn't his real name. He didn't look like a 'Lucky' to her anyway.

Well, she hardly looked like an angel.

"Seraphina... But I've always gone by Sera." Had he picked it from her mind without her knowing? If he was that old... He could have easily done it...

OOC: Hah, I never realized how much his name suits Ferox... The site where I originally found it said it meant stubborn, but it can also mean 'the arrogant one' too.

Her irritation was obvious as she swung the coat on. Ferox resisted the very juvenile urge to roll his eyes. Why was she so reluctant to wear the damn coat? She still had bloodstains down her front, not to mention her clothes were filthy. The long jacket covered from neck to knee on him, but it was nearly down to the ankle on her.

Not too bad. Couldn't do much about her hair though. Still, it was an improvement and it wouldn't draw the off looks. At the moment, looking for a meal, the less attention paid to them would be all the better.

"Naturally." Ferox glanced at her. "Most older vampires change names, and identities, regularly."

"Well yeah. I mean you can't go around saying you were born in 245 AD or anything like that." She said with a shrug. "I mean even in five years people won't believe I'm twenty-one." She kicked at the ground slightly. "And it's not like anyone with common sense would think I was one hundred or more. Ya know. Not unless vampires go public." Which she doubted would ever happen of course. But... Well it might...

"So what's your real name Lucky?" She asked curiously. "Where you from and all?" She asked as she narrowed her eyes slightly.

Dark hair... Semi-light eyes though not brown like hers... He wasn't Hispanic, but definitely European. "Some where in Italy maybe? Or Greece?" She asked. "And you look strong... Not just because you're a vampire either... But because you worked to be." And the thought of that strength made her shiver with expectation, though she couldn't say why.

Ferox gave a short laugh as Sera offhandedly mentioned vampires going public. "The odds of that happening are this close to nothing, alley cat," he said, holding up two fingers to demonstrate. "The Amman," his lips twisted into a brief sneer on the name, "seem to enjoy forcing vampires to hide from the humans."

As you might be able to tell, Ferox was not of the opinion that the vampires should keep their presence unknown to the mortal population. They had the power to make humans bow, but the righteous, inexplicable Amman instead decreed that the immortals skulk and hide away.

But his expression cleared, taking on the usual clear and cloudless look as he slanted another glance at Sera. "Does it really matter?" Ferox wasn't particularly fond of recalling his beginnings. It was two thousand years ago after all and he was not a wide-eyed, clumsy little boy anymore. Still, he shrugged and said, "Ferox. I was born near Rome. I was in the military when I was turned, a border guard."

His stone-grey eyes studied her. "And you?"

"Hmph... If we could just show ourselves, how strong we were in numbers... They wouldn't bother us... And hell, some would even welcome us, treat us like gods ya know? I wasn't afraid when He showed me... I was actually kind of excited." She pointed out. She almost grinned, smiled, as he called her alley cat. Small, but feisty and unafraid.

It was stupid... She didn't want to be dead tot he world... She wanted to be able to live a normal life, get a good education, a good job... But she'd never be able too now.

"Huh? Well... I just thought it would be interesting... I was always a fan of history class and all." She said casually. Ferox... From Ferrus... Iron... Strong willed... he seemed the type really... She still liked Lucky better.

The little thought made her grin slightly.

"Wha?" She gave a little snort as he asked about her. "Me? I was just a sophomore high school student and daddy's little whore. Nothing special, no good stories about my life." She nearly muttered. "He turned me when my dad beat me to death... Only exciting thing really..."

"One would think, wouldn't they? Even only a small group of us could slaughter the humans. Next to them... we are gods." Ferox smiled a little at the thought. "But no. The Amman have their own inexplicable reasons for their inane rules." And he was not fool enough to go against the Amman. Inexplicable as they were, they were also powerful.

Power was to be respected.

Mm, history class. He was a history lesson now. Ferox's lips twisted a little at the thought.

He listened to her brief summary of her life in silence, though he didn't shrug as he might have. It was a theory of his that vampires were drawn to trauma, as a fly was drawn to an open wound. It might account for why there were so many vampires with tragic tales behind them.

"We're here." Ferox said suddenly. And, indeed, across the street was the glowing sign for a nightclub. It wasn't especially high class, but there were a few being turned away. He eyed one of them, a twentysomething of about Sera's height and build. "Do you think they'll fit?"

Sera was just walking along, her eyes on the ground as usual, following Felix. She didn't know why she was following him... But she did. She wanted to be near him... And he thought as she did... That they shouldn't hide themselves... And the way he spoke of the Amman? She had never met one, but for some reason, hearing about them made her blood boil, that they were so much better than other vampires that they could decide who lives and who dies.

They didn't have that right. She had the right over humans because they were weak... They were pathetic...

"Huh?" She looked up as he suddenly stopped.

He was eying a girl... Older, but the same small, petite stature... Sera shrugged. "It's hard to tell from here... Looks like she has bigger boobs though... Might be a little loose up top..." she muttered. Well she was only sixteen really, so her body didn't have the chance to fully develop, even though she had started before a lot of the other girls at school. Maybe it was the fact that her father had her on birth control from the time she was eleven...

"But whatever..." She couldn't be too picky right? It wasn't like she had anything else to her name. It wasn't like he was taking her shopping and she was able to try things on.

Ferox studied the girl, glancing at Sera. "Maybe a little. It shouldn't be too noticeable, however." The way he looked at the other girl was a little unsettling. It wasn't the predatory look, plenty of men gazed at young, shapely females with that predatory look in their eye. It was the hunger for blood instead of lust.

The look faded, slightly, as he turned back to Sera. "She'll do. Once you get some clean clothes, you can purchase something that fits better."

Ferox smiled. "Watch," he said, then vanished. Instantly, he was buy the rejected clubber's side. Even at the distance, one could tell his slate-grey eyes were on Sera, not on the bottle-blonde. Impatient, he didn't bother to take his time with sweet-talking as he usually would, giving her a quick command that had her walking with him--as docile as could be.

He held her arm, faking conversation and laughter to keep up appearances to the few humans still waiting to get into the nightclub. They reached Sera, though the catch of the night paid no attention to the other girl. Ferox casually walked right past the other vampire, discreetly signaling for her to follow.

What? Was she going to watch him feed?

No thank you.

Sera had watched him from a distance, making sure mostly that no one would be missing the girl for a while... But as he came back and told her to follow she glared. Why? If he was hungry he could feed. If she was around she'd simply tear the girl limb from limb for the enjoyment of it.

Besides, he might be hungry in other ways, and Sera certainly didn't want to watch him fuck her against the wall.

Now if she were the one against the wall...

With a soft growl she shook the thought from her mind. Sure it had been a while, but she wasn't going to just give her body to him. If he wanted to take it, that was another thing. She'd probably put up a fight just for the thrill of it and give in...

She shook her head again. If he could read her mind she had to keep things like that out. Fuck... Why should she have to be careful about what she thinks? It's her mind, her private sanctuary... She should be able to keep whatever thoughts there she wanted. Not have to guard it all the time.

Ferox rolled his eyes as the girl stubbornly stayed where she was. Why was he even bothering with this fledgling? Leaving the human where she was, dazedly staring off into the distance, he made his way back to Sera. "Do you want the clothes or not, alley cat?"

He'd learned patience over the years, with two thousand of them under his belt he'd had to, but this one seemed to know just how to try it. "No, wait, I forgot. You don't see anything wrong with walking around wearing dirt and blood," he answered himself sarcastically. She really was an idiot.

Ah, screw it. He had better things to do with his time. Well, okay, he didn't really, but he could do more entertaining things than lead this idiot around by her nose. Ferox shook his head, walking back to the brunette. If that fledgling kept this up--being stupidly stubborn and lashing out at any vampire that came near her--she would end up dead by the Amman.

"Well, you're gonna feed from her ain't ya? So why do I need to follow you and just watch?" Sera asked what she thought was a legitimate question. She didn't care for people staring at her while she fed, maybe he didn't like it either.

She growled softly though at his insult. Yeah, sure she was dirty... What did he expect? She had no home, no other clothing than the ones she was wearing now, she didn't have a place to thoroughly shower or clean her clothing... She wasn't going to steal. Kill? She couldn't help herself. But stealing wasn't necessary.

It wasn't like she went out of her way to frolic with a bunch of people who would turn up their noses at her. She didn't need to. Feeding off of other homeless people and idiots who tried to attack her did just fine for her.

If only she had been this stubborn and obstinate with her father... If only she'd been stronger... She wouldn't have ended up like this at all. She could have gone to someone... She could have gone to live with people who would have really cared about her.

With a huff Sera kicked at the dirt on the road and followed him back further into the alley. Why couldn't Felix just kill the chick and then do the whole clothes swap? It would make more sense that way.

If he'd heard what she was thinking, Ferox would have found the answer pitifully obvious. It would be much easier to get the clothes off without muss or fuss before the brunette died than after. Less effort and he was feeling lazy.

"Take off your clothes, sugar," he whispered in the brunette's ear as Sera followed them back to the concealing darkness of the alley. "And hand them to me." As she did, folding them carefully into his hands, he tossed them back to the other vampire. "You can change while I feed, if you want."

His back would be turned in any case. If she happened to be shy.

Studying the now-nude brunette, Ferox had to admit she had a sexy figure. If he'd been alone or in the mood, he probably would have taken the time for seduction and then drained her. As it was, he simply sank his fangs in her throat, releasing the hold he had on her that made her docile and complacent. She thrashed in his arms, the sudden fear making her heart rage and the blood hammer.

But it was all over quickly. Almost too quickly. Satisfied, Ferox let go and watched her fall.

The lacy tank and knee length black skirt reeked of the human woman... So much so that Sera nearly refused to put the clothing on.

But oddly enough everything fit.... Apparently the larger breasts of the woman was a secret of Victoria's because even the bra, something Sera had until then been lacking, fit nicely. Even made her seem to have bigger breasts as the woman seemed to have.

Oh well. Whatever.

Had Felix been watching her, she wouldn't have thought twice. She was used to people seeing her naked, it wouldn't bother her.

It was just as the woman fell that Sera had finished changing, putting everything on but the woman's underwear. She didn't care for underwear much anyways... But she gave a satisfied grin as she saw the woman fall. Stupid girl... Didn't women understand you shouldn't follow strangers?

Moving over to Felix she looked down with a snarl and kicked the body of the woman. Humans... Disgusting...

"You forgot the shoes though Felix." She said as she knelt down to pull the black heals off of the womans feet. "Huh... Even these fit." She muttered. "Still smell disgusting though." White scars showed on her skin more than ever now. Her shoulders, one on her neck... Several on her chest and then down her legs. But she pretended like they weren't there.

"So, this better?"

Ferox liked the smell of humans. They were rich and warm and alive. They sweated and bled and sneezed and coughed, all things he didn't do unless he was playing his part. He didn't particularly like the reek of the colognes and perfumes they doused themselves with, but he was fond of their unadulterated scents.

They smelled of life and he was drawn to life.

He studied the freshly deceased brunette, who no longer was warm with life. Her skin was pale and stood out starkly from the trash around her. She was like a model, pale and nude and so carelessly tossed amongst the filth. Ferox thought it was like art and his fingers itched for a brush. Beauty amongst the waste.

His lips turned into a vague frown as Sera stepped forward, her contemptuous kick disturbing his art. But it smoothed away as the younger vampire knelt, pulling the brunette's shoes off and strapping them on.

"Still smell disgusting, though..."

Perhaps it was his age that made him appreciate the sharp reek of the living. She was so much younger, too young to truly comprehend forever. It wasn't just the power of spilt blood, it was the sweat and exertion that came before as well.

Ferox stroked one elegant fingertip over a pale scar running across her neck. "Better." He smiled a little. With her less conspicuously dressed, it would be easier to get another human--one they could take time with. "You don't like them, do you?" he gestured towards the brunette.

Her body shivered as he touched her, feeling his power stronger than ever.

Well, at least one of them thought her look was an improvement.

"No... I don't. I don't care for vampires really either... But I have to keep my respect about for them. Don't I. Being so young and all?" Sera said sharply. "People only care about themselves. Their own little worlds. They don't give a damn about people who need help, people who need protection. They can't see past their watch or their bank accounts." She wasn't just talking about herself of course. As a vampire... She'd seen all sorts of dregs of society. She'd seen so many horrible things that... That she just hated humans for their blindness.

"I don't care what the bible says... They all deserve to die. I've never met a good human... Never. No one who was able to just help someone without thought of a reward, without considering how it would hurt them or help them to help someone."

Vampires didn't care. Granted Ambros had broken her heart and soul, and Rosa had pried into her mind... But well, they had tried to help her. Ambros had wanted to save her life, Rosa wanted her to find peace with her mother's death. Her mother... She was the only good person Sera had ever known.

Ferox smiled a little at her take on respecting humans--and vampires. "Indeed. There are a few that would swat you without a second thought if you irritated them. Mostly, however, I find that those types are fairly rare." Ferox thought himself rather patient, really.

He usually only killed his own kind for the sport of it, not because they bothered him. It was the same with the humans.

Then he shrugged. "Money is important to the humans. Always has been. They are born, they get an education until they are considered adults, and the ambitious of them spend thousands to get more education. And why do they spend money? To make more, of course. They always want more money, money to buy--things. All sorts of things."

The ancient enjoyed the game of money as well. He invested heavily and produced good returns. There was a pleasant little thrill that came with financial gains. And more, it always made existence easier with wealth to grease the way.

Anyway, not really the point. "Want to find a mortal? We can have fun with one, and we can see what you can do." Other than rip and tear, of course. "If you do, I'll tell you now it makes it easier if I speak to you silently." Ferox smiled, the well-practiced smile that didn't touch his eyes. "It would cause a commotion to discuss which one we want to take and what to do with them so others can hear."

Sera blinked slightly. Vampires like that were rare? Ambros, Rosa... the others... They had said that if an ancient came upon her, she'd no doubt be slaughtered.

But she shook her head as he spoke about people and money.

"I don't care... I've been poor since I can remember. But it's not just that... The teachers I had... The entire while... They knew something wasn't right... But I was to afraid to say anything, so they just ignored me." She gave a shrug. Hadn't it been their job to watch out for her? Weren't they obliged to do something if they thought a child was being abused...

Whatever... They obviously didn't give a fuck...

Sera shrugged though as he asked if she wanted to find a mortal to play with later tonight.

"I never bother playing with them... If it's a guy I think is a good fuck... I'll kill him when we're done. If it's a woman, I just kill'em... My mother always told me when I was little, not to play with my food." She said simply. But then her eyes glared up at him. "Stay out of my head. I don't care if it makes it easier or not, I don't want you reading my thoughts and I don't want your voice in my head..." she said simply.

Her mind had always been her sanctuary... It had always been a place of salvation and refuge since she was little. It was her only place where she was safe...

"I would only accept hearing something like that without getting pissed if you or whoever was out of range. That's it. Otherwise we can talk just fine. No one will be trying to over hear us anyway, not in a club." She pointed out.

"You never bother playing, alley cat? You're missing out on all the fun," Ferox's eyes became just a little distant, as if he was daydreaming about something. It was very faint, almost as if he were faking it, though there was no reason why he should.

There was nothing more euphoric than power and nothing more powerful than holding life in your hands. For some, the rush came from saving; for others, like Ferox, the thrill was in the taking.

Ferox eyed Sera coolly. He was getting a little wearisome of this unfathomable, prickly, defensive little alley cat. With a shrug, he turned, making his way from the deserted alleyway back to the club where the brunette had been turned away.

There was a line, but it was moving at a fairly rapid pace. Thumping music bled from the doors.