As Sage slinks away to her room, I see just how not-as-good-as-it-appears-to-be her relationship with Asher is. She must feel so alone, so bored of life... so I walk up to her and ask Hey, Sage? You wanna go hunting later? I know a place where there are tons of hares just waiting to be snatched up by those delicate jaws of yours...

As a thing of endearment towards my younger sister, I rub my head underneath hers as she sits there, thinking. Fine, she finally responds, I'll go. As long as it gets me away from the monster we dare to call our brother.

***************************************************************************

A few hours later, after filling ourselves with hares (and their unfortunate offspring) Sage and I walk back to the villa. The moon has risen well into the sky and I think it's safe to assume that it's well past curfew, which, on a normal night, is midnight, but by the position of the moon, I would assume it is nearly 2 AM.

Of course, even after hunting the hares, we still have scratches from several bloodsuckers that tried to kill us because we were on 'their' land. When Sage and I walk into the villa, Ma and Dad are still there, but their arms are now crossed in frustration.

'Where were you two all night?' While Dad is speaking, I can see Asher behind him. Since Sage doesn't pony up an explanation, that leaves only me. 'We were, ah... we were hunting...'

'Cyrus here told your mother and I that you hunted hares; didn't I tell you that the hares belonged to the vampires?' Suddenly, a man with pale skin (whom I recognize, if only vaguely) appears from behind Dad. This must be Cyrus, the vampire that told Sage and I off to our parents. 'You were on my property, young ones; you were quite lucky I didn't let my two eldest slit your throats or drain you, though the first would have inevitably been succeeded by the second-'

Ma stops Cyrus from speaking with a wave of her hand. 'Enough, Cyrus; that's enough.' Ma is as angry as Dad, by the sounds of it. 'Thank you for telling us of this, Asher; and thank you, Cyrus, for donating your own precious hunting time to help us curb the ever-rebellious minds of our eldest son and daughter.'

Somehow, some way, my brain registers this as the perfect time to ask Dad a not-so-important question. 'Dad; when will I get to see my first meeting?' Instead of Dad getting a chance to respond, Cyrus pipes up. 'Hopefully never, you little imp!'

Not-so-surprisingly, this makes Dad fume with anger. 'Enough, Cyrus! Stop patronizing my children, if you would so please!' After this, 'Cyrus' backs off and walks out. Dad turns to me and says 'You will see your first meeting tomorow night; Sage will come with me next month. Summer and Asher will get their turns in the following months.'

'Why didn't you hurt him, Daddy?' Sage is now curious about Dad's actions. 'Because, dear child, that is not how we respect the laws of our world and theirs.' Oh, alright...