Though at first everybody's thoughts seemed to be in union, they drifted apart eventually as the days progressed. The encounter in the woods became less and less important to everyone as they went on with their daily activities. At first the house was stirred with much confusion and curiosity, but as the call of our regular lives shouted at us, those emotions evaporated. Clem still believed that we should heed her warning and forbade us all to go hunt near the mountains and directed us to stay in the central forest areas or even go south.

Four days had passed without any news or any other visitors. As I had predicted, the events of earlier this week stayed with me for several days. I couldn't bring myself to stop thinking about them or her. The sticky situation with the nomads was forgotten quickly by my mind while the memories of her lingered the strongest. I couldn't believe that Clem's index of vampires didn't even have one small mention that came even close to her physical appearance. For some reason, I hadn't expected to find a picture, but I had hoped for at least a small passage with a description that would suit her. I had hoped to find sentences describing her dark hair, prominent cheekbones, and her perfectly curved body.

I sat in my room reading a book on Buddhism and the supposed way to enlightenment while shaking my head and wondering how those thoughts infected my head. Dark hair, perfectly curved body? I furrowed my brows to the absurd ideas my thoughts were trying to create. All of the female vampires have exceptional beauty, but damn! she was extremely gorgeous. The most gorgeous vampire I've ever seen, but that's it. So why did she reside in my thoughts compared to the others the longest?

I had to stop sulking and reading.
I tossed the book over on the couch and exited my room. I needed to get involv with any kind of activities that were going on downstairs in the hopes that the memories of her would finally diminish. As soon as I open my door, my nose was filled with the aromas of cinnamon, chocolate, and freshly baked bread. Chalice was still at it. She had already filled eight cookie sheets with cinnamon rolls and the flatter version that I believe was called cinnamon buns. The separate flavors smelt actually quite relaxing and warm, but when they were combined to create regular, and boring human food, they became unsatisfying and downright disgusting.

When I arrived downstairs, I saw Garnet and Gnash going at it with some silly racing game that they played on the television with Garnet's brand new Play Station 3.

At least I think that's what it was called. Around the corner, I saw Luna and Scarlet searching the web for new clothes and making plans for complete wardrobe changes. Scar played with the idea of throwing Luna a fashion show with countless new designer clothes, shoes, belts etc.

Luna completely ignored me. According to Garnet, she was very upset about the statement I had made towards her a couple of days ago. He urged me to apologize to her, but I declined. Every single word I had uttered to her that day stayed with me and was absolutely honest, and I meant everything I had said. Though somewhere deep down, I knew that my nature wouldn't allow for such rudeness and foul play so I would most likely apologize to her, but it will be on my own time.

I heard Clem's thoughts emanate form our pretend dining room and was stunned by his current thinking process. I quickly joined him in the room and saw him sitting on the dark mahogany table surrounded by seven chairs of which one he was currently occupying. He held a black drawing pencil in his hand and was sketching something on a large white piece of paper. I quickly joined him and looked over his shoulder to discover that he was actually drawing her.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I came downstairs to get my mind off of her and to my painful surprise, it led me right back to her.

"I'm sketching our guest. I hope to add her to the book and continue it where Acheron had left off." Clem's sketch was good. It captured her beautifully. He drew her from the last memory he had of her. Standing in the middle of the clearing with her back turned to us and only her head sticking over her shoulder to stare at us with that blank expression.

"What are you going to write about her? We don't even know anything useful." I didn't even know where in the book he would add her too, even her name was shrouded in mystery.

"Well, we know that she has a rather intellectual knowledge of our laws, and to me that indicated leadership, but of course that isn't enough to go on. Perhaps we'll meet her again in the future and she will be open for negotiations and reveal her identity to us."

Sometimes it seemed to me that Clem's determination was fueled by nothing, but the eternal hope that sprung in eternal amounts within him. I wondered if we'd meet her again too. There were so many questions that needed answering and she was the only one that could give them to me.

"Raven?" I heard Chalice gentle voice call me from the kitchen where the smell of cinnamon rolls was the strongest. Clem was so focused on his sketching that I don't even think he noticed me leaving his side. I couldn't wait to see where he would catalog her in the book. I climbed the small two steps into the kitchen and saw her wearing a pink kitchen apron and still rolling up doe and putting white frosting over her cinnamon rolls.

"Jeez Chalice. It looks like your baking for an entire army rather than just a simple banquet." The kitchen was crowded with vast amounts of tiny wooden baskets filled with cinnamon rolls and cinnamon buns. There were some baskets wrapped in clear paper with red ribbons on top that looked like presents. She laughed softly.

"Well, once I began, it was difficult to just stop. I decided to make baskets for the sick patients so they could have some snacks too. I thought that it might brighten their day." I laughed tenderly and starred admiringly at her.

"Heaven must be missing an angel." She laughed and covered her mouth with her flour covered white hand.

"Hardly, my dear. What are you doing right now?" She raised her delicate brown eyebrows that covered her glistening bright golden eyes. She was delighted by my comment and somewhat at awe by my comparison.

"Nothing that could be considered important. Why do you ask?" I picked up one of the cinnamon rolls and brought it to my nose to breathe in its deep scent. It actually didn't smell that bad especially if one isolated the scents and didn't smell the thing as a whole.

"Well, I was wondering if you could do me a small favor and run to Port Angeles? I unfortunately don't have the time right now since I have my hands full and the others seem busy too. If you could, can you go to Odyssey's Bookshop for me and pick up my order, please?"

I don't think I could deny her. I think I overheard her speaking on the phone not too long ago to order more books to further her linguistic skills. She was fascinated by the old languages of the world and always looked for new and died out speeches.

"Sure! No problem. Do I need anything or is it already paid for?" She nodded pleased.

"Oh thank you dear, and yes, it's already paid for. All you have to do is present them with the order number. Let me get my receipt." She hurried to one of the drawers in our white and flour covered kitchen to retrieve her receipt. It didn't take her long at all before she handed it to me appreciatively.

"Thank you again Rave." She reached up and gave me small kiss on my forehead. I smiled one of my many rare smiles.

"You're welcome." I left her behind in the kitchen humming a tune and opening another package of flour and proceeded through the living room. Gnash and Garnet were so focused on their game that a nuclear reaction could go off in the distance and they wouldn't even notice.
I opened the main door to the house and noticed small bits of rain falling from the cloud covered sky so I decided to take my bronze leather jacket with me just for show. It was rather cold outside for humans and I didn't want to draw attention to myself by walking around with a short sleeved shirt.

In a moments time, I was sitting in my mustang and turned the ignition to roar it to life. I pulled out of our muddy driveway and down the small path leading to the highway trying not to the let the uncut trees scratch my car. It wasn't that big of a difficulty and I reached the main road in no time. There seemed to be a veil of mist moving in. I could already see it forming and soon it would consume everything in its path. I wondered it would reach Port Angeles as well.

It was already getting dark and I wanted this to be a quick trip. I didn't even bother turning on my lights and floored it. On the drive, I tried to clear my mind and not think about the strange events of past days. The thing that bothered me the most though was her warning. Why was their need to stay away from the mountains? The thought continued to eat away at me and tear my insides out. My head went through various different scenarios attempting to imagine a situation in which we could find ourselves in any sort of trouble. The only thing that could present any serious magnitude of danger was others of our kind.

My nerves were shot and I felt like my head was coming apart as I continued to think it over. I never experienced such a mental disaster when meeting others of our kind. It was like she swept through my mind and left wild fires of doubt within it. The drive wasn't long and I could already see the distant lights of Port Angeles.

I allowed my car some relaxation when I watched the speed on the speedometer slow so I could match the other cars swift. I turned on my lights and entered the city. The mist had followed me and began to hunger for objects it could surround as it nestled itself over the city and devoured the air. I had been to Odyssey's books before so I knew the way over to Laurel Street. I pulled up right in front of their entrance and breathed in the cool night air when I got out of my car. It was refreshing.

I quickly scanned my surrounding for any human activity and surprisingly found none. There were mental voices that carried over the winds thinking about what to make for dinner or the homework that had to be done tonight but other than, that the streets were deserted.

I entered the building and was immediately bombarded with the soothing scent of fresh paper and newly printed books. It was always comforting to be surrounded by knowledge for me. There were stacks of books piled up next to the door that seemed like they hadn't been sorted yet. I went straight to the reception desk and found a small blond haired middle age woman sitting behind it wearing half moon spectacles.

"Excuse me." The woman blinked surprised as if she didn't even hear me come in. She was consumed in the book that she was reading and didn't even notice.

"Oh, good evening dear. How can I help you?" I fished Chalice receipt out of my pocket and handed it to hear without trying to make physical contact. I didn't want the elderly woman to feel my cold and inhuman touch. She took it from my hand and examined it for only a moment through her funny looking glasses before I detected hints of recognition in her eyes.

"Oh okay. This will just take a second dear. Why don't you help yourself to some candy corn there until I come back?" I looked at the small blue bowl that held bits of white, yellow, and orange triangle shaped sweets. I had forgotten that Halloween was upon us. I saw the woman go into the back and noticed that by the exception of me the store was completely vacant. Must almost be closing time I thought since it was so empty. I heard a rustling sound from the back and saw her putting Chalice books in a clear plastic back. She reappeared a second later and smiled at me friendly.

"There you go, dear. Already all paid for. I hope you come visit us again. Did you have some candy corn?" I flashed my crooked smile at her when she handed me the bag.

"Yes. They were delightful, ma'am," I lied. That stuff looked like small colored rocks and more or likely tasted just like it. I saw her look at the bowl and notice the unmoved candy that lay there.

"Oh okay. Well, you have a wonderful night. Don't stay out to late now. You never know what sort of figures are out and about out there." She smiled warm heartedly at me which reminded me of Clem. I withheld my laugh when she conjured the possibility of some dangerous and dark figure harming me. It was in fact I that could be that dark figure.

"Thank you. I wish you a wonderful night as well." I turned my back on her and was actually quite taken with her politeness and friendly attitude.

I stepped back out into the fresh night air and recognized the mist that now covered the entire city in its silvery veils. I took another swipe of the clean air and froze. My eyes that were closed peacefully a moment ago snapped back open in shock. I looked to either side of me and saw nothing, but it wasn't what I saw or heard. The air was now filled with the mouthwatering aphrodisiac of vanilla, freesias, jasmine and burning fire.
It was her scent!

The scent wasn't here minutes ago before I stepped into the bookstore. It was fresh and new like it had only been created moments ago. The scent followed down the dark street to my left. Parts of me were encouraging me to follow it and perhaps conceive the answers that I longed for so hungrily. Then again, other parts of me which were undoubtedly the smarter ones urged me to get into my car and drive home to safety. I glanced into the direction the scent trailed and saw nothing in the shadows of the night with my heightened vampire eyesight.

I was torn. If she had just been by here like I hypothesized then surely she would have taken note of my scent as well, the scent of another. My eyes traveled back and forth between my car and the street. Should I follow it or turn tail and head home? Oh what the hell. If she wanted to hurt me or my family she could have already done so. I didn't know why but somehow this felt like a trap to me so I might as well spring it.

My feet suddenly began to move on their own as I followed the scent down the street in a human pace. Why I did this was unclear. Apart from the car honking in the distance and the ludicrous chatter that I could overhear the street was blessedly free of humans. The scent didn't trail straight for long. I came to a stop and detected its presence to curve around the corner and into a dark alley.

I took a hopeful glance into the alley and saw nothing, but piled up trashcans lined on either side of the buildings. In the very back of the alley I saw a street lantern illuminating the dark. I continued to the follow the scent. I had already started so I might as well see where it ends up. The alley wore a disgusting perfume of rotting food, old wet clothes, and rat droppings. I heard small drops of water as they collided with the floor somewhere beside me and saw rats fleeing into small cracks in the building as I passed them. I eventually reached the back of the alley and came to an intersection. Well, it wasn't really an intersection. I could go right or left or turn back. The back alley was blocked with a brick wall that followed it along the pathways to the left and right.

The scent ended here. "Oh come on! How is this possible?"

There was nothing hidden in the vast abyss of darkness to either side of me or in the direction I came from. The small spot I stood on was lit by a streetlight I noticed when I glanced up high in the air to see if she might have jumped, but nothing. The scene was somewhat... fearful however. I could barely hear the honking of cars in the distance anymore. It was completely dark other than the streetlight that kept me company. I saw the ground covered in mist all the way up to the lower part of my knees. I couldn't hear the sounds of any animals. No rodents, birds, buzzing or crawling insects were to be detected in any direction. It was like they all fled from me or rather... something else. It was like a scene out of a horror movie and I just waited for the monster to jump out and snatch the helpless victim. Although there wasn't one.

I examined the brick wall and toyed with the thought that she might have jumped over it but the scent ended right here! In the spot I stood were the last reminisce of the scent that I knew belonged to her. I took a last glimpse at the trees on the other side of the brick wall and turned to leave. Perhaps the trail went straight right in front of the entrance to the alley and I just hadn't noticed. I turned away from the wall and damn near chocked on my own breath.

She was here standing behind me!

I reverted back a couple of feet as she appeared like an apparition. My eyes grew wide as I took in her magnificent stance. Her clothes hadn't changed, but then again vampires really weren't in the need of changing clothes since our scents always stayed the same and didn't taint with the passing of days like human odors did. Chalice bag of books had fallen to the ground when I took in the small surprise that now stood right in front of me.

Her dark ruby eyes were held low and somewhat narrowed, but hadn't changed color which was bewildering. Her eyes should have grown darker with the passage of days unless she had hunted, but then, they still shouldn't be this dark. I knew from personal experience and the memory of my own glistening red eyes centuries ago that my theory was right. There was no smile covering her face this time. Her lips drew a straight line across her face and she looked... dangerous.

I tried to speak, but the words got stuck in the back of my throat every time I attempted to do so. This looked definitely like a trap and I had wandered willingly into it.

Suddenly, her left leg moved forward and illuminated the alley with the first sound since the bag of books had landed on the ground. It was a clanck like sound as her heel touched the cemented ground beneath us. Her right leg then moved forward and mimicked the notion of its predecessor. She moved closer to me. I took a step back as she took another one forward. Her eyes remained down and glaring as I took three more steps backwards as she continued to slowly approach me. There was a thud and to my horror, I found that she had cornered me. My hands felt the dusty texture of the brick wall behind me and I felt truly imprisoned. I toyed with the idea of maybe jumping to the left or right and making a run for it but... I didn't even hear or smell her come up behind me.

She stopped in her advance when she was only inches away from me. Her facial expression didn't change and continued to look hazardous. Suddenly, I felt something cold wrap around my right hand. I looked down to see her hand encase mine. In that instance, I felt a surge in my body like an electric current running through my veins and bringing new emotions to my body. This wasn't right. Why was her hand so cold? It shouldn't be like that. It should be warm. Her expression didn't change.

I couldn't let this go on. I had to take defensive measures. My unoccupied left arm reached up in the air and I curved my hands in claw like gesture and was about to strike when my entire arm and hand stopped in the middle of their action. I looked at my arm expecting to see her hand wrapped around it stopping me, but there was nothing. My arm was frozen in mid air. I grunted as I tried to move it, but didn't get a response from it. I tried to pull my fingers into a fist, but was unsuccessful in doing so and only managed a small shaking. Then I noticed that the same thing happened to my legs. I tried to kick my legs forward and remove her closeness, but nothing. It was like I was being held by some evanescent force.

My lips trembled with fear at my own vulnerability. This couldn't be happening! I chose to return my gaze to her. My attempted measure to strike failed and left my arm frozen and my fingers only inches from her face. She looked completely relaxed.

Then I felt her cool fingers caressing my hand. Her small fingers traveled up the palm of my hand intertwined with my own. Her thumb lay on mine and she began to draw circles on the surface. What was this? I had never seen or heard of such an act before. What was I...

"Ah! God!" a rather profound grunt erupted from my throat when I felt her nail pierce the surface of my thumb. I breathed heavily through quenched teeth and looked at my injury. I heard a small cracking sound as her nail penetrated me and created a small wound on the flat surface of my thumb. I saw small trace amounts of blood freeing themselves from my body. It was the blood of the mountain lions I had devoured and my body hadn't yet absorbed. Around the red liquid, I noticed another one. It was almost entirely clear except for the small hints of light lime green coloring that it possessed. It was none other than my venom!

I looked at her appalled and infuriated. I attempted to speak or rather scream at her when our intertwined fingers began to move. I tried with all my might to hold my hand back, but it was a futile attempt. Whatever otherworldly force was binding me to this very spot was so strong and completely immobilized me. She halted our connected thumbs right in front of her face and moved her eyes to examine them. Then there was something I had never witnessed in our world before. She slowly closed her eyes and trapped her cold lips around the blood and my venom. I huffed surprised and ignorant to such an action and felt a small suction on my thumb.

Her eyes snapped back open immediately and I saw her pupils shrinking as she stared at me while her lips remained closed around our thumbs. It didn't last long, but two seconds for her pupils to return to their regular size. While still trapped in her lips, I felt her nail retrieving from my body and endured a small stinging sensation as she did so. She freed my thumb and finally released my hand.

Suddenly there was this feeling of ease and the ability to breathe regularly again and I collapsed to the ground as I was freed of the invisible force that had captured me. I breathed heavily and irregularly which wasn't something that I was used to. I cautiously and slowly returned my glance upwards and saw her standing over me with a crooked and victorious dark smile covering her features.

"Thank you," She whispered in a soft voice and turned away from me. She walked down the left side of the alley in a human pace. The mists almost completely covered her feet all the way to her knees as the wind blew through her hair and coat uncontrollably. My attention returned to the small injury on my thumb. I looked back just in time to see the small cracks slowly closing around the fissure in my body. It was healing slower than usual and to my shock didn't heal completely. There was no crack or serious piercing wound from this assault but instead there was a thin dark blue, and horizonally crescent shaped scar covering my thumb now that represented the size of her nail.

I looked back into the direction I assumed she had disappeared in, but to my surprise, I found her standing there. Her upper body was arched backwards as she looked over her shoulder and directly at me. There was a small smile covering her lips now. I had never met a vampire that did such things like drink another vampires venom even if it only was a few drops. I heard a small chuckle escaping her smoth lips as she flashed me a lazy smile and exposed her shiny venom coated teeth.

"We shall meet again, Raven Wolff."

How did she know my name? She turned around and walked away and evaporated into the wall of fog. As I watched her walk away it looked almost like she became transparent and simply disappeared like a ghost.

Who are you?