The stormy wind shakes the forest leaves. The snow had dried up like magic, the magic of the mages, the "heralds of light", the "pure", cornered eight of the dark troops. A dome of light made of spells squeezed the dark ones with no chance of a reaction. The dark soldiers cowered, trying to take each other's space, for anyone who dared touch the light was pulverized at the same time.

Angel Kallar, the master of magicians, demanded the location of the leader of the shadows, the "evil" in person - without any answer - the dome was squeezing even those who fled it, more and more men started to turn to dust. A howl erupted in the air, a shadowy figure had torn one of the wizards in white.

A sword had been driven into the dome, and a second shadowy figure was clinging to the end of that blade. Carmilla. In a backward leap, the spectral glass broke, freeing men from their distress. One by one the mages were split in half, and the vampire held one of them so he wouldn't escape.

"Show up! Demon!" Shouted Angel, then a warrior with a messy blue hair stopped in front of him - Demo-mo-mon - Stammered the man.

"It's not wrong" Replied the warrior in a very hoarse voice and tore the man with an ice sword.

Carmilla smiled at her immediately. The last mage was weeping in despair, trapped in the vampire's hand.

"Go and tell everyone what you saw." Carmilla pull and pushed him into the mud. He fled soon he get up crawling into the forest. The dark soldiers looked at the blue-haired warrior with great respect. The sound of a wolf howling in the distance, while the cold wind took the road, winter was there. An epic story, but the epic broke at the sound of the choking of a truck that bounced with every smoke expelled from the carburetor. The image returned to the pension's ceiling over the bed.

The vampire huffed as she rested the book on her neck, rolled over to the edge of the bed, putting on her boots, grabbed her coat, and when the engine's choking finally ended in the city, the brunette went to the kitchen, something to occupy her teeth would be nice, considering she slept all day.

Entering the bar, she found something wagging it's tail on one of the tables, giving barks of joy at eating a bowl of bolognese pasta. The brunette sat at the back table and tried to wait for Perry, which didn't happen. Pot sounds were heard from the kitchen. The little dog sank to the eyes in the sauce with his paws, because it was smaller than the plate, pausing for a moment to smell the air, the puppy looked at Carmilla who did not return his attention, even after hearing something fall on the wooden floor and, the paddles full of sauce rise on her foot to the grumbling of a happy puppy.

"Get out," She snarled at him.

"Carmilla," Said the excited blonde, leaving the kitchen with some bread for the stray puppy.

"Hm ..." replied the vampire in an angry whisper, stifling any words from the other. For a brief moment, their eyes spoke even though the distance. The wagging tail of that animal was pissing her off. Then she gets up, not caring if might kick the furball.

"Wait ..." Laura's sentence was cut off by the knocking on the front door.

***

Somewhere must be open. That's what motivated Carmilla to go down the mountain. With or without war, people drink, like her look for something to chew. She walked to a farther part, out of sight of anyone, and took advantage of her speed. Arriving on the street that should be the busiest in the city. More doors closed than open.

Although Austria was peacefully annexed to Germany, times were changing. The war seemed to make the winds go in favor for the Allies, shaking the Axis. The fear of bombs from the skies and, deserters were the newest nighttime attractions. However, not even all the despair in the world would be able to close the doors of Punkt. A tavern that, had an owner ahead of its time.

"If I die, so I died" for him, it doesn't matter, the man was not afraid. Not even German's Chancellor would close those doors. The hinges were rusty, exalting the smell of alcohol and metal. The people there were either like Mr. Punkt, or just like Carmilla, that didn't give a damn about foreign matters like the war.

She sat at the counter, and without saying anything, the bartender sent her a Feuer whiskey shot. The vampire turned the glass, it was very good, her throat was burning, as expected from a good whiskey. For a few more minutes, she watched the third round of the arm wrestling. The contestants, one was a very large man, with a plaid shirt without sleeves - a lumberjack - his arms were two logs. On the other hand, the second man was thinner, but he looked at the top lumberjack - a mechanic. A crash was heard from the intertwined hands, after another drink and, the creaking of the table under the true axis of power surrounded with the hands of the spectators and their bets. Even Carmilla seemed to get excited, shouting at the drunks to push.

"Look what the cat brought," An unmistakable voice said, "Mircalla Karnstein," The vampire shot at the man whom those words came. "I never saw you so loose" A man in a gray uniform, black boots and hair irritatingly parted to the side, he approached.

"Doran?" Incredulous she said. That trash still alive.

"But, who could even touch you there to see it. With those dresses and a mother like that?" He left the anti-Semitic helmet on the counter and sat down next to Carmilla. "I heard you had been killed,"

"It's not that easy," She turned the glass at her lips, trying to keep up the line with that idiot.

"Then; betrayed your own mother for a girl's tail in a skirt?" He laughed, looking sideways at the vampire to demonstrate the least reaction to the unpleasant speech.

"She's not my mother," Said looking at the door fixedly. "And my life does not concern, you bag of fleas.

"Ouch!" He squeezed his chest. "That hurt, what a bad mood. Come on, for people like us, it's better not to get attached. One way or another, we will see their death. Whether by the hands of life, or ours. There's no use crying." He shook his head in disapproval. "Did you cry when she died?" Laugh that bastard.

"Monsters don't cry;" Carmilla finished the last sip and walked to the door. "Thank you for paying the bill," she said as she left, passing five soldiers entering the tavern.

"How did I let pass this?!" Charged her thoughts. That bag of fleas and cow shit that was Doran. She had met him when she was still Mircalla, and he was just another novice werewolf from a very low branch of the clan. For a few moments, she remembered why she had been locked up. Screaming and in tears on a young woman's body. She remembered her touch, what she said, and what she was willing to do, that name hovered lightly in her memory until it ended when she entered the boardinghouse.

***

Carmilla had her hands on the rail in front of the bedroom, thoughts spinning endlessly in her mind. That air tightened her lungs, the place for people, the lie of her two previous lifes crushed any feeling for this world.

"Why?" Asked looking at her feet. Then two paws appeared in her field of vision with the barking of a puppy. "Go away, or I'll kill you," The mutt didn't even listen and started to chew the boots laces. "I said go away!"

"Chello. Where are you girl?" At the same moment Laura entered the corridor, the puppy had been kicked out on from the second floor. "Chello!" She screamed running to see where the animal had landed. "What's your problem?!"

"Now? It's you," She replied sarcastically. The blonde didn't even listen and hurried to rescue the puppy.

Carmilla returned to her room, leaving Laura in the hurry to go downstairs. The blonde almost went through the door without opening it, going around the outside after unlocking everything, had to stop to visualize the sunken yellowish fur among the falling target. A distress bark guided her to the miserable furball.

"There there girl," Released a sigh of relief when realizing that nothing serious had affected the puppy. "Come here." Gently accommodated Chello in her blouse, wrapping in her at arms. Some of the snow had soaked Laura's hand. But the girl did nothing but try to heat the meatball. She felt a warm tongue in thanks.

"Hey Laura, what are you doing down there?" LaF shouted from the roof. The doctor held an acorn of Christmas ornaments, strings of pine branches, with spiky green grass. Some pine cones with bows dangled over her elbows - but not a wink - Danny crawled over to the outer edge of the roof after hearing her sweetheart's name.

"What is her problem?" Mumbled the blonde stroking the puppy.

Perry on the other side asked LaF about who she was talking to. Of course, the answer made the owner of the pension shout that the journalist would come out of the cold.

An hour later they were all gathered inside the bar. Laura was still watching Chello run from side to side, digging her claws into the floor and falling on her own as she tried to bite her tail. Perry arrived with a tray full of cookies and hot chocolate.

"No lights. But what a strange Christmas this will be." Perry said.

"Tell me about it. Not even the firewood is selling. Except for dark pine. It makes less smoke. But it's hard to find more." Commented Danny biting a cookie.

"But hasn't that been normal for the past four years?" Says LaF remembering the dates well.

"No. Until last year the lights shinned that week. People bought new clothes. But..." Once more said, Perry.

"Since the turn," Said Laura. For since the infamous violation of the non-aggression agreement, Germany was leaving its sovereignty.

The conversation stayed that way until everyone was entertained by Chello running towards anything that fell on the floor. When without warning, strong and insistent knocks on the front door cut out the air.

"Broo are you there?! Broo!" Shouted Kirsch.

"Calm down, I'll be right open," LaF announced unlocking the door.

"Broo where are you?!" He screamed.

"Keep your voice down, people are trying to sleep!" Perry snapped.

"Kirsch, what are you doing here?" Danny asked.

"I found you!" The boy made a real fuss asking the strangest things, others didn't even make sense, it ended that Danny can only hear about where Theo would be.

"Have you looked in the bathroom?" The woodcutter replied certain of the NO he would say. "Come on." Danny grabbed the coworker's arm and dragged him out.

"Danny the coat." Laura rushed to hand it to the brave redhead.

"It's not so cold today, keep it and warm it for me." She finished with a wink to Laura, who had the most flushed face. It was the door closing that, LaF and Perry started to poke Laura about the redhead.

The night was calm, with the lights off and...

***

"You called him, didn't you?" Carmilla threw Chello on the floor of an empty room. The furry moaned, crawling with a broken paw. "Come over here and cut it out!" Howled the brunette stepping on the tail with a white tip. "Cut it out you hundred grams of the liver." Chello turned with eyes full of water, with the pat up, but the vampire did not blink.

"Sheesh, how heartless you are," A voice came from the puppy that, leaving the fur and the small size, human hands and legs took the place of the fluffy paws, giving way to a woman with green hair at the shoulder, pointy ears, and olive green eyes. "Calm down there, kitty." She waved her hands in front of her naked body.

The vampire did not want to hear about it, she immediately kicked the ex-puppy to the wall and grabbed her throat.

"Now, I will say just once: Get the fuck out of here." Said Carmilla very close to Chello.

"Ah calm, what is it? You know, I know she's beautiful, but...ok, ok you don't have to squeeze my neck so hard. I'm sorry, you're into it, right?" Muttered Chello, her throat crushed by the vampire's fingers, who suddenly released her.

The green-haired woman massaged her jugular, snorting against the wall, while her body without the soft fur felt the first chills of the Austrian winter. She cursed the Olympian gods for that cold weather, curling her tail between her legs and tightening her arms around her trembling body.

"Cut it out the crying and get the hell out of here" Said Carmila going to the room door.

"Fuck you break my arm and send me out in this cold?"

"Don't pretend anything, or I torn you apart." Warned her.

"Oh no, please, feel sorry for a poor hungry puppy," Chello joked with a pitying face, even if the old centenary in front of her did not see. "Damn you like her, I envy you.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Carmilla turned at once with her eyebrows almost glued together.

"Laura of course" The canine looked into the vampire's eyes. At that moment, both of them froze, but it was Carmilla who was enraged by the presence of those useless things going around and eating the local bear population. It was then that she realized what part of Shifter's lines was about ...

Laura was nowhere near the inn, and those things were around.

***

With great difficulty Laura and her snow boots crawled on the way down to the city, in the middle of the moonlit forest, she gasped with the effort that a meter and a half of snow demanded the passage. Her instinct as a truth-seeking journalist propelled her in the face of all the cold, grabbed the branches of some low trees to help with the painful steps, she would arrive in the city with all the certainty she had.

"I'll find Theo before everyone." She already looked like Sherlock, adjusted the gray hat and, passed the index finger with the thumb below the nose, as if it had the mustache of the great detective. Without warning, the branch on the other hand broke, causing the detective to roll about thirty meters of snow. She unleashed a resounding "Ouch!" massaging the back of her neck when she noticed the absence of her hat. "Oh no, where is it?" The girl looked from one wing to another. "Shit!" She was sorry to feel the black grease at her fingers. "Laura, you dumbass, you are disguised and investigating! You can't take off like that!" She barked to herself while trying to get the black grease off her gloves and, hoping her black hair didn't have a blonde flaw in the shape of a hand.

She slowly got up trying to stand, clasped her hands on a support branch, when a wolf's howl caught her attention when she turned in the direction of the sound, it came across a dark trail as if something big and heavy had passed there. little by little, it must have been really heavy and strong, because the snow was turned up to the ebony soil, other marks might have been mud.

"Is it LaF's bear?" Clouds of steam came out of her mouth; the trail was hot and called the curiosity of the whole being of the girl.

Attentive eyes watched her when Laura took the first step towards the most suspicious snow path.