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Under no circumstances is this story to be replicated, translated, and/or distributed in any way without the permission of the author.

{{Warning: Some scenes may be unsuitable for audiences below the age of 15 and offensive to those of all ages. Read at your own risk.}}

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I was born in flames and chaos. In one moment, I didn't exist at all. In another, air was tearing through the flesh of my lungs. Screams deafened me until there was nothing left but a high ringing throughout my skull. My skin felt hotter than molten steel. It felt as though I were liquid being poured into a vessel; I began at the center and then I expanded until I had arms, legs, fingers, and toes.

At first I couldn't see anything except distorted visions of shapes and colors behind blindingly bright light. And then there was only a black darkness. If I had any concept of time, I would have been able to accurately describe how long it was that I was in this darkness. Except to me, it was infinite.

The first thing I felt was the brush of something both frail and solid against my skin. I began to hear the cool whistle of air passing by me, moving the hair against my cheek lightly. In response, I opened my eyes, blinking uncertainly at my surroundings.

I instantly knew many things. I knew I was surrounded by a dark, ominous forest. I was laying in fetal position on the grassy floor. It was dark and I could see the stars in the sky blinking from behind the ceiling of trees. A chill was in the calm breeze that swam past me in careful intervals. I knew of these things, but there were infinitely more things I didn't know.

I didn't know where exactly this forest was located. I couldn't recall anything beyond opening my eyes to find myself here. I couldn't speak and even if I could, I wasn't sure what type of words would come out. I didn't have a name. I wasn't sure of my past, if I had one. I wasn't sure of anything. I was an empty vessel in an empty forest.

I pushed the palms of my hands against the ground and began to lift myself, attempting to sit up. My arms felt new and unused. They were both weak and strong; shaky and firm. As I lifted myself, my hair fell over my shoulders, startling me with its sharp color. Against the dark forest floor, the nearly white tresses were almost glowing.

I pushed myself to my feet slowly, touching my skin as I moved. I wasn't naked, which would have been expected at birth. Somehow I had been fitted with a soft fabric resembling sleepwear. Perhaps I had existed before after all. Maybe I had found my way to this land in my sleep and lost memories in the process. I had a deep feeling that I was missing something.

With great hesitation, I began to walk through the trees. I was clumsy like a newborn fawn. My legs were wobbly and my feet bare. Each step onto objects such as rocks or twigs sent uncomfortable pangs through my flesh which caused me to lose my balance constantly. I felt helpless and dirty. It wasn't long before my skin was assorted with minor scrapes and bruises. I wasn't even sure where I was going.

My walk through the trees was exhausting. I had nearly given up when they abruptly broke away into a view of manmade buildings in the near distance. I stood just behind the cover of the forest, peering out to the small town I had found. Once again, my mind jumbled with information; that that was a street lamp and beside that was an automobile. I knew their functions and I knew what the letters on the signs said. But I didn't know what I was. And I didn't have a name.

I gathered courage and proceeded towards the cemented pathways and quiet civilization. My feet were grateful to be greeted with a less harsh trail, but I was still cold and my body already ached all over. As I walked towards an uncertain future, I felt a dark despair beginning to build within. I wasn't sure what to do about it or how to ease such pain.

Just as I was passing a glass window, a light flickered to life behind it, catching my eye. It was an electronic shop. I knew this base on sight. I knew what each electronic device was. That was a computer and this one, the one that was now flickering with images of a late night host, this was a television.

I placed my fingers on the glass in front of the display, watching the images with apt attention. The man spoke of celebrities and then of news events. There was quiet laughter in the background. I tapped on the glass once and the channel switched to that of advertisement. I tapped the glass again and it changed to a violent movie where men fought to the death for nothing. I continued to tap the glass, watching the images change and the voices change with it. I found myself mouthing the words hesitantly with them, learning a language I already knew. And something within told me I knew many others, some of which weren't used in this day and age at all.

As enthralled as I was in my activities, I almost didn't hear the shift of a quick step in the distance. I instantly double tapped the glass to blacken the television screen behind it and froze. I listened carefully, waiting to hear something other than the air shuffling trash along the sidewalk. And then I heard it again. A soft step, just a minor movement too quick to see, was stalking closer towards me.

I turned and ran the opposite direction. My hair flowed behind me, brushing against my back at a quick rhythm as my feet tapped against the sidewalk quietly. Adrenaline was suddenly pumping through my veins and I almost couldn't feel the strain of my unused muscles at all. As I ran, I noticed how empty the streets and buildings were. It was as if the only souls left in this place were me... and the spirit stalking close behind me.

I was beginning to breathe harshly, the air burning at my lungs as I pushed myself to flee and hide. I sharply turned down the side of a dark building, intending on changing directions in an attempt to confuse whosever attention I had caught. I only made a few steps down this alley before an intense pain struck the bottom of my right foot. I instantly yelped, the sound surprising and deafening to me. Before I could prevent it, I tumbled to the solid ground roughly.

For a moment, the pain was enough that I didn't want to move ever again. I wanted to be back on that forest floor, alone and slumbering in the darkness. But despite my desperate wishes, I was still on this harsh cement floor instead. I pushed myself back up into sitting position, sliding back until I was pressed against the wall of the building. The shadows, I felt, covered me pretty well despite the glow of my hair and overall appearance.

I leaned forward to inspect what caused me such agony to find a small shard of glass embedded into the padding of my foot. Regardless of the appalling appearance of the wound, I wasn't bleeding much at all. I reached forward to remove the glass, but just the slightest touch sent another wave of shocking pain throughout me. I whimpered and held my leg to me instead as if I could cradle it back to health.

The dark despair was all but swallowing me now. Before I knew it, my eyes were burning with tears. I tried to control my darkened emotions, but all I could think about was the pain, the darkness around me, the confusion as to where and who I was, and the spirit that had been following me moments before. I closed my eyes, hugged my knee to my chest, and began weeping morosely in the shadows.

"Look what we have here," A deep voice rang out in the quiet night only feet away from me. I stifled my sobs into small whimpers that I couldn't subdue and raised my head. At first, all I could see was a tall silhouette in the darkness. But then he was abruptly leaning in front of me, his movements too quick for me to see. Something told me he could move as slow as any normal person if he wanted, but this one intended to frighten me. "Why are you crying, little angel?"

Little angel. Was he actually a friend? It seemed like a long shot, but it flourished hope within me.

"I...," my voice sounded strange to me. It was like the rest of my body, shaky and weak but also determined and strong. "... I hurt my foot." More tears swam into my sight, pouring over my cheeks healthily. He reached out and hesitated, almost as if he hadn't meant to reach for me in the first place.

"What are you doing? Just kill her," another voice demanded dangerously before a second man appeared behind the first. I glanced up to try to make out his face, but the both of them were shrouded in shadows and my sight was blurry from tears which had only built with force after the second man's demand. Kill me? I tightened my grip on my leg, a new feeling beginning to paint my soul. Fear.

I shook my head. A part of me wondered if this was a blessing. My existence had been so short, but the amount of discomfort and pain that had come with it wasn't pleasant. I had begun to wonder what the entire point of existing was.

There was a sudden brush of flesh on my own. I nearly jumped out of my skin, surprised by the amazing warmth the touch flooded throughout me. The man leaning in front of me had only barely stroked my ankle, intending to inspect my wounded foot I assumed, before just as quickly letting go as if I had shocked him.

"Oliver..." The second man scolded, causing the first to look back at his form.

"Oh, come on, Jax. What's the point if you don't have a bit of fun first? Besides, the only ones we got tonight were old unappealing homeless people. This one smells so delicious." He turned to peer at me, his eyes glowing in the darkness despite being just as dark themselves. The man, Oliver, leaned closer to me, placing his hands on either side of the ground beside me as if to lock me in place. I hadn't considered running due to injuring my foot, so I wasn't sure of his intention.

With him so suddenly close to me, I could see the red tone of his hair under the black of night. I also began to notice the pain in my foot was suddenly gone. It felt as if all the aches and pangs in my flesh had faded within his proximity. My breathing calmed significantly, allowing my whimpers to dissolve into nothing. It was as if I was intoxicated by him.

"Are you not afraid, angel?" His voice was teasingly dangerous, almost a growl. A flash of white teeth formed around his words, revealing a sharp pair of canines that promised new pain. But still, my heart was calm and still I felt safe.

I shook my head, the only thing I feared being if I allowed myself to speak. Oliver appeared confused or perhaps disappointed. I reached towards his frown, not sure of what I was planning on doing once my fingers found his face. Before I could ascertain this, he moved quickly and had my wrist in his painfully tight grip. I gasped, the warmth from his touch once again startling me. It felt like every nerve ending in my body was being caressed so endearingly. It was an elixir of relief in this uncomfortable world.

"Jax, can you see this?" Oliver's voice spoke over my muddled thoughts. The second man, Jax, bent down next to Oliver in order to closer inspect what was interesting him. I followed his obsidian eyes to Oliver's hand around my wrist.

There was a golden glow under his grip that extended beyond his skin meeting mine before fading into my flesh. It initially appeared to just be that; a glow. But when focused on, it became symbols. It was like a moving tattoo, where words and symbols replaced the previous ones in a river of information unintelligible to me.

Oliver released his clutch reluctantly, but before I could move he pinched the tip of my forefinger in between two of his as though I were something dainty and easily broken. My wrist, where he had a hold of me before, still had the scrawled lettering blooming over my flesh but without his taction it slowly faded away. Meanwhile, my fingertip was glowing around his touch, sending more symbols down my finger before dissolving into my hand.

He suddenly used his free hand to brush his fingertip over the palm of my suspended hand, trailing his slow caress over my wrist and down my arm. I inhaled sharply at the pleasant warmth that resulted. The golden light burst under his touch almost immediately, a trail of words following his finger like ripples in a body of water.

"I see it," Jax finally stated, though he sounded far more concerned rather than interested. "But isn't it just what you said before? She's a witch. Do you want me to kill her?" Oliver dropped my finger, looking at his partner with disappointment.

"Fine. Go ahead," He offered, moving away from me and leaving a cold chill in his place. The aches in my body began to return, but it was halted by a new presence. Jax was suddenly crawling towards me, dark and graceful like a panther. He grabbed my injured foot roughly first and not even his touch was warm enough to mask the sudden pain that bled through me. It erupted through my throat in an agonizing scream.

Jax released my foot as if it had burned him, but didn't hesitate to continue his attack. He snatched the snowy strands of my hair in his grip, tightening enough to bring me new pain but not as rough as he had initially intended. He hesitated, as if the pain he inflicted also affected him. But still, he pulled my head back and pushed aside the fabric on my shoulder to bare my flesh to him. Just the slightest touch of his skin brought about that alluring warmth, as though he held the sun in his hand, but he meant to ignore it completely.

The despair within was at full force. I cried out like a wounded animal in Jax's rough grasp, unsure of what was expected of me in order to escape, if there was an escape. I couldn't think beyond his hands baring me to him and before I could process anything further, he lunged forward. He mercilessly sunk his fangs into the flesh of my shoulder, but my scream was lost behind the sudden bliss. My skin became hot under his mouth, and then the heat spread over my shoulder and throughout my body slowly.

Jax hesitated and then began to feed from me, his bite suddenly gentle and caressing. He cradled the back of my head, holding me flushed against him. His other hand moved over the fabric of my clothing and then found my bare flesh. I squirmed against him, reaching to grasp his hand which was now burning over my thigh. He snarled, beastlike, and his fangs released me but his mouth did not. He was suddenly brushing his lips over my skin, causing the golden luminance to burst underneath each touch. I was nearly in pain, my skin bright from the burning fire etching over it.

"What are you?" Jax growled against my jawline. I knew many things. I knew that both Jax and Oliver weren't human. My mind flitted over man-eating creatures, sending information from a part of my mind I both found incoherent and familiar like subconscious memories. I knew they were dangerous. Their touch set my skin on fire and it was intoxicating. I wanted nothing more than to continue being embraced by them until the end of eternity if it was possible. But I didn't know what I was. I didn't know who I was or where I came from, or where I was.

Jax pushed himself from me with great difficulty. I grasped my neck where the bite wound was still aching against my pulse. Even without his flesh on mine, my skin throbbed with pleasure and those curious glowing engravings. I pulled my knees to my chest quickly, suddenly beginning to feel embarrassed by my reaction towards these two strangers who only meant to end my life.

"I said, what are you?" Jax snapped, his question being demanded answers. Oliver stood only a couple steps behind him, his fangs glowing in the dark as he smiled with satisfaction. The radiance in my skin was finally beginning to vanish, leaving me even colder than before. I began to shiver as my skin tinged with chills.

"What are you?" Jax snarled viciously. His tone promised death, but it didn't insinuate a short one.

"I don't know," I said quietly. I felt as though the words didn't fit on my tongue. The language was familiar, but I wasn't sure how I knew it. "I woke up in the trees... and I came here." Only the smallest movement indicated to me that one of them had approached me. I sharply turned to face them, only to have Oliver's fingertips trailing my jaw from below my earlobe to my chin. The cold that had dominated my limbs faded immediately under the warmth of his soft touch and I sighed pleasantly.

Oliver narrowed his eyes without looking away from his fingers over my skin before stating darkly, "Whatever she is, I want to keep her."

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Let me know how you feel, what you think, add a joke, and call me daddy. Honestly, I lost track of my line of thought...

Music: Firestone by Kygo