The sky was littered with giant masses of gray water vapor, all ominously dark as they slowly crawled through the lukewarm air. The winds were whistling shrilly, and every now and then a growl would rumble from the clouds' depths. It seemed that any second those smoky images would start belching out raindrops. Still, despite the murky atmosphere, the temperature was seasonably high. The summer in Esciton was like a lobster pot, and even shade could not completely drown out the heat. It clung to everything still, refusing to be chased away. Nevertheless, the absence of the scorching sun provided some relief, and so the sidewalks were packed with crowds of people taking advantage of the cloudy canopy. They scuttled along happily at first, but as the heavens began to cry they suddenly scattered. Like dropped marbles, the humans began running in all directions, shouting and popping open their umbrellas. It took only about a minute or so before the pathways, which were seconds before being trampled by people, to become almost bare.

~*~

A young girl, who looked to be about sixteen years old, stepped into the restaurant to escape the wetness outside. The sudden rain was completely welcome on her behalf, but she still didn't want to be standing in it right this moment. No; she was thirsty, and needed something to drink. Her stomach was thoroughly empty, and she already felt abnormally weak. She could go for a walk in the rain after filling up her belly and reclaiming some strength.

Slowly walking up to the podium which bore the writing "PLEASE WAIT HERE TO BE SEATED", Cyan reached a slim hand into her hoodie pocket. Her fingers searched for a moment, but as they closed around a small tinfoil-like object she sighed. Good. She still had some pills left. A small smile curved onto her salmon-hued lips, and she relaxed a bit, feeling reassured. Now all that was left to do was be seated and order a drink. After that, everything would be fine, and the nauseous feeling plaguing her would disappear. "Miss? Miss? This way, please. Miss?" Cyan's crystal pools shot toward the women now standing behind the podium. The teenager hadn't even noticed the human arrive; yes, she needed her drink badly. Already her senses were dulling.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, thanks." The girl's tunes floated into the air, and the hostess only smiled and led Cyan to her table. Once they arrived, the teenager sat down and nodded politely, and then listened as the hostess stated that a waiter would be by in a moment. As the other human left, the younger creature closed her hand tighter around the pills and waited.

'Hurry.'

The combined aroma of all the humans in this room was causing the 16-year-old to feel dizzy. Her head was already spinning, and every time she tried to focus her attention elsewhere she only inhaled the toxic fumes even more. Sometimes she hated being like this. She hated the curse of being able to smell blood so strongly; hated the never ending lust to taste the salty fluid on her lips. Cyan was good at controlling herself, but it took a lot of effort to do so. That's why when the waiter arrived, the girl quickly withdrew a $10 bill and slid it to him. "I want a strawberry smoothie, and please bring it immediately; I'm parched and need a drink pronto." The waiter eyed her suspiciously, but took the bribe money anyway and nodded, vanishing for only a couple minutes before returning with the smoothie.

It was a lovely red color speckled with strawberry seeds. Perfect. Now was the time; pulling out the small packet of pills, Cyan popped one out of the tinfoil and dropped it into her drink. It fizzed for a moment, and then disintegrated into nothing. The only evidence of its existence was the slightly-darker hue that now stained the beverage, and the completely different scent. Blood tablets. They worked wonders. Stirring the liquid with her straw, Cyan lifted the glass to her lips and drank, a smile once again pulling at her mouth as she swallowed the artificial blood. It wasn't quite as satisfying, but it was good nevertheless.

Finishing her drink, Cyan ordered the bill, payed, and stood up. Her senses were once again as sharp as they should be, and the migraine that had torn at her head minutes before had faded away. Her stomach was full, and the perfume of blood lingering around her was less of a temptation. Content, the female stepped out of the restaurant, and crossed the street to the entrance of the park.

Drifting slowly through the sheet of liquid bombs, Cyan allowed her clothes to become sodden and her hair to become heavy with water. Her striped socks were soon wallowing in a pool of H2O hiding inside her shoes, and her jeans began to stick to her legs. Normally, any human being would be shivering their ass off right now, but once again, it was summer. Even the rain was warm. That, of course, and the fact that Cyan was no homo-sapien. She was, as story-books commonly referred to the species, a "blood sucker." Vampires had much higher cold tolerances, so much that even in snow the teenage creature rarely felt the need for a heavy coat.

Gliding onto the gravel path of the park, the animal smiled to herself. The rain was her second favorite scent, and she absolutely loved to just be in it. It seemed to wash away all her worries and drown out all her cares. With the rain streaming down her face, she could momentarily forget about how her race was spat upon and seen as nothing more than vicious beasts in this world. Honestly, a completely sane vampire had never once killed a human being. Cyan herself took great pride in knowing how little damage she caused her own victims. Two little bite marks, which would leave naught but two little scabs; that was all that the she-creature ever left behind. And those who she took blood from were always completely fine throughout the entire process. She would gently hypnotize them into a sleep, and then after taking just a small amount of liquid, leave them propped up against the wall as if they had only fallen asleep there.

They were always completely fine.

Shutting her bright blue orbs for a moment, the creature tilted her head back just slightly and inhaled a long breath. The crisp aroma of rain was definitely very strong, but hidden beneath that was something else; something very familiar. Blood. Shutters flickered open immediately, and Cyan glanced in the direction the smell was floating from. Someone was definitely bleeding, but it was most likely nothing of major importance. Plus, the femme was already full thanks to the tablet, and so did not need any more of the salty life fluid.

'Still. The smell doesn't seem to be wavering, which would imply the source is not moving.' Thoughts danced through the creature's mind, and she promptly decided to investigate the situation further. Her schedule was not busy in the slightest, and so she figured it was worth a look. Cyan had always had the odd trait of valuing life much more than she should. She hated to see anything die, and even had to thank animals, such as a cow, when she consumed them.

Setting off toward the smell at a slow run, Cyan drank in the fumes deeply. They quickly led her to what she had been seeking, and as the body arrived in view the vampire paused. Even from this distance of thirty meters or so, the teenager could tell that the cut was minor; simply a slash on the cheek. Nevertheless, the being who lay upon the floor did not look all that well, and so the red-head curiously approached it.

Kneeling down beside the figure of the other, Cyan allowed her hand to brush across the wound on its face. The blood was awfully tempting, but she resisted, settling for the small act of licking her fingertips after touching the liquid. Instantly, just from that small taste, the female knew that this was not a being from Earth. Human blood tasted much different. Glancing around to ensure this wasn't some sort of ambush, Cyan moved to prop up the head of the other by sitting down and pulling its shoulders onto her lap. With that done, Cyan hovered her own head and body over the wounded one's face to minimize the water flow.

Bluegreen pools gazed down onto the features of the other, and Cyan's lips twitched upward into a soft smile. The face she looked at was awfully pretty; almost perfect, in fact. She couldn't let it fade. "Hey," The vampire spoke quietly, moving one hand to gently prod the being's arm. "Hey, wake up. We need to get you out of the rain. You're gonna drown. " Prodding her again, Cyan continued to stare at the closed eyelids, waiting for the slightest hint of movement.

As Cyan stared down at the near-flawless complexion of the other, she noticed a small movement. The girl beneath her stirred a minuscule amount, and then gradually forced open her shutters. Two stormy gray spheres appeared, but they were only exposed to the world for but a moment. "Help me...must...get moon...stone" The other being spoke, her tones weak with fatigue, and then once again her seekers were hidden away. "Moon stone?" The lips of the vampire tasted the unfamiliar words, and her azure pools immediately began searching. Of course, the object which the other femme desired was found within seconds, laying peacefully in the muddy ground a couple feet away from the two girls.

Stretching her slim fingers toward the object, Cyan gripped the stone and brought it toward her face. This was a rock she had never before seen, and already she felt a passionate desire to add it to her collection. For a second, she held the smoky rock in her palm and debated whether she should dash off with her new possession or return it to its rightful owner. Cyan had stolen plenty of gems before, so it would be no problem to do so again.

Still, it would be different. Guilt would plague at the creature if she fled now, especially since the owner of the rock was in critical condition. Biting her lower lip, Cyan reluctantly pulled the satchel of the other toward her and dropped the stone inside. Solemn eyes watched it sit there for a moment, and then the vampire got to work. Collecting the rest of the spilled items and relocating them into the bag, the teenager stood. As she did so, she lifted the other female off her lap gently and placed her on the soggy ground once more. The wounded animal, however, did not have to stay in the dirt for long; Cyan quickly picked her up, despite the fact that the other was a good five inches taller than her, and held her close. Strength was heightened in Cyan's species, so the girl had little trouble holding the other. Not to mention, the other being was a light as a feather.

"Lets get out of the rain, shall we?" Talking more to herself than the sleeping one, the female began to walk. The bag swung back and forth from her shoulder, and her arms provided a comfortable ride to shelter. 'Now, where to take her? The warehouse?' Pools darted toward the girl in her arms, looking quite cold as she slept amongst the raindrops. 'The gang would probably welcome her. She looks like she's around our age.' Blinking, Cyan made up her mind. She'd take this creature to her gang's hideout and care for her there. It was really the only place she could think of, anyway.

Moving through the park and stepping onto the asphalt, the teenager tried to speed up her pace a bit. She was eager for the other to awake; already Cyan was formulating a series of questions. Indeed, the vampire had always been a very curious being, and she would be no different in this situation.

Dancing through the streets and alleyways, Cy reached her destination in no time. There, in front of the two, stood an old, abandoned-looking warehouse. It had been abandoned a while back, too, but now the building was used as a shelter and home for a pack of teenagers without money. The gang was a fair size, with about 10 members, and they all got along very well. In fact, the people in this gang were Cyan's family; they were the only ones she had here. Everyone in the group looked out for each other, and everyone took care of each other. It was a good system they had going on.

Marching up to the front door, Cyan kicked it a couple of times and shouted, "Hey! Open the door!" There was a short pause, and then the door slid open. A kid who looked to be about the same age as Cy stood in the entrance, his greasy brown hair all ruffled up. "Hey! It's Cyan! Don't be so loud, you'll give our location away." The boy smiled goofilly, and Cyan just shook her head and pushed him aside. She stepped into the dry building, immediately sauntered over to the couch, and stopped. "Hey, dweebs, move." Her bitter tones dripped into the air, and the three creatures who had been sitting on the couch stood up after giving her questioning looks. "What's that, Cy? Some lost kitten?" The red-head ignored the voice, and instead moved to place the wounded being on the soft surface. Keeping the bag hanging from her shoulder for safekeeping, Cyan turned around and spoke to the five or six people standing in front of her, staring at the newcomer on the couch.

"I found it in the park."

"You...found it in the park? Just like that?" A lone voice broke the sudden awkward silence, and it was soon followed by yet another tune. "Cyan, you know it's not good to bring home your prey." The girl's eyes danced to the figure of a light-haired teen, and just as she was about to say something another voice sliced into the atmosphere. "Shut up Rowan. You were a piece of prey once." Snickers and quiet laughs ensued, and with an angry remark from Rowan a barrage of words suddenly began spilling from everyone's mouth. Their argument having officially caught fire, the vampire only shook her head slowly and turned around. Light blue souls rested on the figure laying in front of her, and Cy noticed that the creature was quietly watching them. Corners of the vampire's mouth slid upward, and she moved closer to the old, worn down couch.

"Um...Where am I?" The other femme's jaws gaped open in a fairly cat-like yawn, and then she gracefully and promptly propped herself up. Upon seeing this, Cyan's smile flickered to a form slightly larger curve; the other being just had some quality that brought a grin to the vampire's face. She was just so unknowing, and at the moment, helpless and kitten-like. With that smile lighting up her features, Cy moved to sit beside the other on the sofa. "You're on Earth, hon, in a wonderful building we call our home." The girl chuckled a little bit, looking around at the run-down room for a minute before continuing. "It's not much, but it's all we have." Sure, the walls were streaked with various spilled beverages and stained by the rain, but they generally kept the elements outside. Same with the roof, though it suffered from liquid splashed out of the heavens twice as bad.

Lifting her arm and pulling the bag off of her shoulder, Cyan carefully placed it beside the other's head. Again, the tug of the desire to own the stone inside pulled at her fingertips, but once more the vampire fought it back. Her hands, which didn't want to release the bag, eventually submitted to her head and officially returned the satchel to its owner. "I rescued what I could. Your food didn't quite make it though." Once again laughing softly, the red-head tore her gaze away from the stormy pools of the blond and looked to her bickering clanmates. Cy and the others could provide a small amount of food to the newcomer even if she decided not to stay here. If she did choose to join the gang, however, she would have to earn her share of meals. Right now that information was unimportant, though. Cyan would offer the girl a ticket to the thief's life after she had built up her strength.

Flicking her line of sight back to the other's shutters, the vampire flashed a smile. "I'm Cyan, by the way. And those are the dorks I live with." Nodding her head toward the group of creatures who were still going on about bringing prey home, the teenager chuckled. "They can be a lot to handle, but I love 'em all the same."

i'm alive!
i'm alive!