The Smiling Moon (~Open~)

[Sea]

"I thought that vampires couldn't cross running water," said Sanet, quite confused. "And how much faith do you have to have? My mother and I used to have little readings from the bible with Sarah Frodgen every Sunday, and I still say my prayers before bed. Does that count for anything?" Quietly, she looked at the sky. "What time is it, Julius? Will the sun come up soon?" She looked for the North Star, but couldn't find it. For the longest time when she was a child, she had thought the North Star was just a myth because she couldn't find it, but then her father had shown it to her. She couldn't find it without him, however, and every time she looked, it was like a wild goose chase. The sky was dotted with stars, though. They reflected in her eyes, accentuating the look of wonder upon her face. She had forgotten how many stars there were. She had taken it for granted after awhile when she had run away, but now she realized how many there were again. It was a wonderous sight, and it made her forget her puzzlements over vampire lords.

[Man of Many Murders]

Julius looked towards the sky. It took him only seconds to find the North Star. By finding its location he was able to tell just how long it would be till the sun rose into the sky. "About another hour..." He did not answer her questions at first as he arose from the sitting on the ground. "Sanet.... I know you have alot of questions. I wish I had all the answers for you. But I don't. Even after being around for so many years there are alot of things I do not know. As for why some vampires can cross running water and some can not is based off how they were turned. And as for the amount of faith I do not know. Luckly for me I have yet to face the end of a holy object." He added the last part with a small smile. He really was getting used to Sanet's company. It gave him a sense of belonging, but only furthered that strange emotion that lay in his heart, which he had yet to find out.

[Sea]

Sanet returned his smile, and clumsily rose to her feet, still weak. She leaned on Julius heavily to stay standing, and she was growing tired. She had had little rest, and it was catching up. She yawned, showing the sharp feline fangs without worry. Her tail was contentedly swaying back and forth, and her ears were relaxed, not pricked, but not back. The smile was still upon her face. She felt oddly at ease, revelling in the total trust she felt. It filled her with a joyous warmth, making her arms shiver in delight. She didn't want to go home, not yet. She wanted to stay here, or go where ever Julius went. As long as she was with him she would continue to feel this happiness. This was how she felt, and she hadn't felt this way in a while. It was pleasant, and she welcomed it back whole-heartedly, without misgivings or worry.

[Man of Many Murders]

Julius turned back to Sanet again. "You need some sleep. Unlike you I am already dead. The dead do not sleep." Julius read her mind knowing that she really did not want to leave him. Of course he wasn't going to anyway. He would of most likely stayed in the shadows of her dorm keeping his eyes on her making sure nothing goes bump in the night. He was not a stalker or anything like that, but he knew his enemies. They would use absolutely anything to get him to lower his guard or let go of his control. Julius knew that if this were to happen something very bad would happen.

[Sea]

Sanet looked at him. "Can't we wait until sunrise? I haven't gotten to see a sunrise in a while." She always enjoyed sunrises, the first birds singing, the dew on the grass, the pastel colors in the sky, placed as if painted by some invisible hand, yet changing so slowly one cannot notice. She enjoyed sunsets equally, but sunrises were thoroughly different. Everything seemed fresh and new and hopeful at dawn, and the soft pinks she often hated in clothing made her heart flutter with awe. She looked at him with hopeful eyes, though they were slightly distant, remembering so many different sunrises she'd seen before. She knew if they'd stay, this one would be different, yet not unlike a few she'd seen before, and for one reason only, and that was that she would have some one to share it with. Sadness reflected in Sanet's eyes as she remembered these few sunrises, ones she'd shared with a person she'd never forget: Martin.

[Man of Many Murders]

Julius turned towards her and gave her a small sigh. "I guess you can. But then you do need to get sleep after that." Julius took a seat again presuming they still had about 40 minuets left until sunset. He gazed at the moon. It seemed to be smiling at him like it always did. Julius was reminded of a memory that occurred a very long time ago. He was along in a strange dark room. His foot was shackled to the wall with many different enchantments on the shackle and around him. He was starving skinny. He hadn't eaten for a week now locked in this god forsaken place. Julius wad dressed in ripped pants with no shirts. Whip marks were upon his chest. The only light came from a moon that shined through a single room. Julius walked towards the window and gazed up at the moon. It was especially large tonight. For Julius, the moon was his hope. His light in the darkness. And when that light shone on his face the sun came from over the horizon. And indeed it was like nothing he had ever seen before. He had never seen so many different colors on such a night. Only one word could describe it. Fantastic.

[Sea]

Sanet stared at the sunrise in awe. The pastel colors painted in the sky seemed more vivid then ever, and the clouds were painted a pale gold around their edges. She looked at Julius, and she smiled. This was bliss. Quietly, she hugged him, out of sheer impulse. She was blushing, but the light of the sun hid it. She had her head leaned on his shoulder. It was all so familiar, and she felt thrills of sadness stabbing her heart, mixing with the joy in the oddest of blends. She was simply in heaven. The night had been terrifying, suprise attacks are never enjoyable. She knew the old saying was true, and it filled her heart with so much emotion her shoulders shook slightly, her arms still around Julius, and her right hand carefully placed so it wouldn't hurt. The saying had never held much meaning to her, but know it sent thrills down her back, and it was unbelievably, and undeniably true. You have to go through Hell to get to Heaven.

[Man of Many Murders]

The sunset was beautiful indeed and it should have been the perfect moment. If not for the single memory that sunset brought. He was in that same cell and the moon had dissappeared from the sky. He had fallen asleep at the window gazing at that moon. In the memory the door to the cellar oppened and a six man group of vampires came in. The most important of them was the vampire in a red kimono. The vampire was about 4 foot 11 with long black hair and pale blue eyes. The vampire was very feminine and had the body of a child. When the vampire spoke, surprisingly the voice of a male came from its mouth. "Are you enjoying your stay?" He asked him with a warm smile. Julius said not a word. He mealry gazed out the window, as the sun rose from the sky. The vampire sighed and turned to one of his peers. "Bring in the prisioner. We can not have our guest starving now, can we?"

Two more vampires entered the room holding up a young female human. She had been dressed in red ball room dress. The two brought the human over to the other side of the room and shackled her. The vampire smiled to Julius and said, "You will have to eat sooner or later. I hope you enjoy this splendid meal I have prepared for you." Those were his last words as he left the female human in his room. Julius' shifted towards her as her body tensed up immediatly. It was easy to tell that she was scared. The memory stoped again as Julius spoke to Sanet. "Do you like it?" He asked speaking of the sunset.

[Sea]

"Yes," she murmured. Her eyes were shining with sadness and joy, and she was smiling faintly. "Isn't it beautiful?" The sky was growing rosier and golder by the minute, beyond it the sky was a soft blue. Birds began to chirp, and soon the morning melody was in place, playing its soft tune on the soft breeze. The colors, the warmth next to her, it reminded her of one dawn, as well. It had been the dawn before Martin died. The color was slightly different, then, for that day they had been sitting on the rooftop, watching the sunrise over the skyline together. The sun had painted the sky a shade of red towards the end of the sunrise. It had been a prophetic color, as the same color would stain the sidewalk that evening. She fought back the little crystal tears forming in her eyes, and they subsided quickly. She drew in and out a shaky breath, before resuming her watch. The sky didn't turn red, thank heaven, but whenever she blinked she could see it, the red sunrise, the red sidewalk. She tried not to blink, but that only would hold so long, so she simply only blinked when she absolutely had to. She pushed away her sadness, however, back into her heart, and let the joy wash over her again.

[Man of Many Murders]

Julius wrapped his arm around her for comfort. He could tell that something was troubling her. Julius listened to the sound of the birds in the air. It reminded him of that cell room. Those birds were so annoying. He remembered how he sat there in that room with the female. He would not touch her. That was what his enemy wanted. They wanted him to eat to give in to temptation. But Julius did not like loosing. So he waited there and the only sound came from the morning birds. Those kinds of memories can be both hurtful and healing. Julius was not all that much used to flashbacks. As a matter of fact this was the first time he had experienced something like it. Julius did not find it odd that this started happened with Sanet's arrival. So instead of worrying it, Julius pulled her close to him and said, "We all have bad memories. Sometimes its better to just let them out." He said in an invintation for her to talk about anything that was bothering her.

[Sea]

Sanet smiled a little bit as he wrapped his arms around her, enjoying it thoroughly. It was a relief when he invited her to tell him the memory. She'd kept it in for a long time.
"Before I came here, I lived in New York City for most of my life. They don't really except people with cat-like features, so I spent most of my early childhood indoors. My mother had a friend named Sarah Frodgen, who was a witch, I guess, but she called her self a 'herbalist.' She could tell I wanted a friend, so one day, she introduced me to Martin Brown. His parents had enlisted Sarah to help them with him because he was a wizard. We became very good friends. I used to be very timid, but he helped me become more brave. When we got older, I joined a gang. I don't regret it. He joined as well. That was when we started having more adventures in the city. I used to be really scared of heights. I'm not as much now, still a little bit, but not too much. He told me to close my eyes, and I did. When he told me to open them, he had taken me to the top of a skyscraper. He could levitate, apparently. He took me along after that whenever he went flying about. We used to go to the cathedral, and one day he animated one of the gargoyles. It was very funny, the gargoyle was a grouch. But the gang started getting more and more heated up against another gang. One morning we snuck out and sat on top of the Plaza to watch the sunrise. It was really pretty, but the sky turned reddish towards the end. We didn't think anything of it, though. Later that day, though, I was with him, and it was night time. We were near the harbor, near the piers and docks. A rival gang attacked us. Martin didn't have time to conjure up a shield to block the bullets.. so he stood in front of me. To save me. He died right there.. I got really mad.. I transformed into something really big, I can't remember what. I just remember waking from a sort of daze, to find myself lying on the ground. There were a lot of dead bodies around me, and my hands were red. They were the rival gang members. I had killed them. Martin was dead, next to me. There were sirens wailing in the distance, so I took Martin's body and fled.. he died, saving me.. I had been the one who wanted to go to the piers.. it's my fault he's dead.." Sanet's voice was growing weaker and more distressed by the moment, and when her voice finally trailed off, she was looking off hopelessly at the sun.

[Man of Many Murders]

Julius listened to her story. He found it interesting just how she told the tale. At first she seemed a bit happy to tell the story, but as she trailed off, Julius noticed the sudden sadness in her voice. Death was a part of the human life. Of course there were different techinques to overcome death, including becoming a vampire. Becoming a vampire was something Julius would never make someone go through. He hated his ownself for being one. So that was why he was a vampire hunter. He hated all vampires for turning him into one. He seeked revenge against their kind and the single vampire that turned him. But of course Julius did realize that it was not so easy. He himself had yet to find his old master to kill him. Julius did not know if she wanted to hear his story. He didn't mind if he was telling her or not. It was a matter of, did she want to listen. Julius spoke to her bringing her a bit closer to his own so that she could lean on him. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that..." He said speaking about Martin. "But if you ever want a sholder to cry on or a ear to talk to I can offer you that."

[Sea]

"Thank you," replied Sanet, feeling relief as she leaned on him. "You've apparently been around awhile, and you're a vampire. You must have quite the tale to tell." Her voice had grown light again. She looked at him, her eyes still holding a bit of sadness, but most of it was consumed by a light-hearted, ever-growing joy, including a faint smile. She looked slightly sleepy, and looked away for a moment, so she could yawn without yawning in Julius's face. Never the most polite thing to do, she knew that. She then turned back ot face him, sleepy but content.

[Man of Many Murders]

Julius looked out at the sunset not turning towards her. He seemed to lost in thought as he spoke. "I don't like telling my tale. I have been around since the middle ages Sanet. I know so much about humans that I myself am practiclly one. I even kill my own kind to prove it to myself." He said a small tear forming in his eye. This was Julius being open. Julius being open for not only more hurt, but opening his sealed heart. She had been open to him. And despite the pain it caused to Julius' dead heart, he would open it to her and tell her some of his own tale. "My whole family was slaughtered while I was left pinned in a room. There screams echoed throughout my entire house, and all I could do was lay there helpless. I heard the screams of my mother and father being feasted on. I got to witness first hand as a vampire not only raped my fourteen year old sister, but killed her as well... All this pain builds up inside me as I accept the fact that I am next. And you know what happens. I don't die. I am forced to take the blood of a vampire and become one. And if that wasn't enough. The next moment not only was I abandoned by the vampire that changed me, but also let free in a state of rage. I killed my entire village with my own hands." Julius had started crying somewhere between sentences. He did not cry out but tears fell from his eyes as he forced himself to turn to Sanet. "Everyday I hear those screams. I see the blood. And I can't do anything about it."

[Sea]

Sanet felt her heart reach out uncontrollably, sympathy filling her so passionately she had to hold back her own tears. She held him tighter, trying to think of the words. So far, none came. She was silent for a long moment, staring out at the rising sun, grasping at different words, fervently trying to form them into a sentence.
"I'm.. I'm really sorry that happened to you, Julius.. I.." She trailed off. The words weren't right, they were overused and cliched, they didn't hold the meaning she wanted to have. She let out a sigh, and continued to embrace him, the best comfort she could give at the moment.