• "Rhea!" Yuna called after her friend as she fled into the darkness. "Come on, we have to find her." she said to Daven and ran after her.
    Daven ran after the girls, feeling very worried for Rhea, and surprised at how oddly familiar her scent was to him. His long sleeved, white shirt snagged and tore on thorns in the bushes, ripping his shirt and drawing a thin line of blood. It revealed, to anyone that may have been watching, an old scar, like a tattoo carved into his skin.
    The 'tattoo' was of a Celtic claddagh, but it only showed the left half, the symbol seemed incomplete. Daven tracked Rhea to a clearing, where she was in the midst of an elk herd, all sleeping, and completely unaware of the current danger they were in. In the blink of an eye she had latched on to one of the elk and was feeding, in hybrid form, her fangs sunk deep into the animals' hide.
    Once it was dead, she pounced to another. Suddenly she stiffed, scenting the wind that blew from Daven's direction. She growled and turned to face him, showing bloodied fangs, and glass-black eyes staring in hunger at him. She charged, stunned, he could only grab her arms to keep her arms length away from him as she snapped and snarled at his face.
    Purely instinct and unable to see all the opening he had. She forced him back to a tree, and the already weakened sleeves of her clothes tore further, revealing a mark almost identical to Daven's, except it was the right half of the Celtic Claddagh. This caught Daven completely by surprise and he let go only to fall backwards, and he stared up at Rhea with glazed eyes of amazement and horror, as she towered over him hungrily.
    Out of nowhere Yuna appeared and side-kicked Rhea sending her flying into a tree and leaving her stunned. She seized Daven and took to the skies. "Are you bloody stupid?" she asked, shaking him by the collar of his shirt.
    "I know Rhea." he said stupidly.
    "Well thank you captain obvious." she snapped. Daven shook his head.
    "No, I mean I know her from some other time. Like in the past." Daven explained.
    Below, Rhea was picking herself up off the ground and snarled at them Yuna landed in a nearby tree. Rhea snarled in rage and clawed at the tree in a fruitless attempt to break it. After this wielded no results she stalked off in search of easier prey. The elk herd was still there, beside a river. She fed quickly thrice more on the elk.
    Afterwards she turned to the water and crouched on all fours, and lapped up the water. She seemed to calm then, and she slid into the water and shifted, her eyes now a bright gold like color, and stared at the running water. Yuna flew down to her. Once Daven was on solid ground he ran to Rhea and wrapped her in a comforting hug.
    "Rhea, are you okay?" Yuna asked, resting a hand on her shoulder, looking at her worriedly.
    Rhea was only vaguely aware of her friends, lost in the terror of realizing how close she had come to killing them. She nodded slowly, even though she knew it was a lie. She was far from okay. "Well, guess what." Yuna said, slapping her back cajolingly. Rhea looked up at her for answer. "Daven is getting his memories back." she said. Rhea looked over at him curiously. Daven shrugged.
    "I don’t know. I just guessed we've met before, you seem real familiar and we have a matching mark." he said, showing her, as Yuna looked on in curiosity.
    "They complete each other." she stated in a matter-of-fact tone
    "Oh." Rhea said quietly, trying to remember where and when she had got that scar.
    "When did you get it?" Daven asked. Rhea just shrugged. A slight pause and Daven shrugged.
    "Okay, well what now?"
    "Don't know, I guess we should find our memories, figure out what exactly is going on." Yuna said, and Daven nodded agreement. Rhea stood suddenly, and just started off into the trees, stumbling as she went. Yuna followed curiously.
    "Rhea? Hey what's up?" Yuna asked, following Rhea, who did no answer, but kept going until she tripped and fell over a fallen log.
    "Rhea, what's wrong?" Yuna asked as she helped her friend to her feet. Worry in her pale blue eyes. Rhea coughed a laugh.
    "What's wrong?" she said hysterically. "What's wrong is that I can't control myself! I get a few cuts and have to go on a bloody rampage fueled by an insatiably blood lust for supernatural creatures. And on top of all that , I nearly kill the only people who actually care about me at all and I'm just wild and dangerous and I can't control myself! I hate it, I could kill you!" she said, completely hysterical now, shaking and gasping for breath.
    As Yuna looked on, trying to figure out what to do, Daven, under some strange possession of mind, walked up to Rhea and wrapped her in a tight, warm embrace.
    "It's all right,” he said comfortingly. "You're still learning, trying to figure out your powers. It'll just take some time okay. We'll be here to help you. And we'll all get through this together. Once your memories return you'll probably have better control." Daven encouraged
    He was about a head taller than Rhea. This was a good thing, as he rested his head on her chin comfortingly. Rhea was silent, and engulfed in a whirl of emotion. First, security at having friends like Yuna and Daven. Second was the familiarity of the situation, being comforted by Daven. And another part was scared, scared of these new feelings and what pain they might bring. Oh, where did she remember him from? She had to find out.
    Daven finally pulled away and looked away, a little flushed. He knew he had comforted her before, and he silently vowed he'd find out when and why. "Come on, let's get moving." he said.

    Meanwhile, miles away set in dark, high peaked mountains thunder boomed and threatened rain and lightning but only the sky remained dark. Inside, deep inside the long, dark, slime covered tunnels and up to longer, torch lit hallway that twisted and turned in labyrinthine patterns; wound its way through an old castle.
    At the end of one of these particular winding passageways was a dark, mildly lit throne room. In this room a vampire raged, while servant and beasts alike cowered in fear of his wrath. "TWICE!! NOT ONCE BUT TWICE! They have been allowed to escape twice, thrice in the case of the vampire! It's nothing but sheer incompetence. Fools! Can you do nothing right?" the vampire roared in rage, glaring at two servants with blood-red eyes.
    "Sorry milord, we didn't know of their entrance in the fort until they had reached the woods. It was a sheer accident, and we have sent guards to hunt them down." one of the petrified servants muttered.
    "Fools! If they can't stop them how would they catch them? You, servant, bring Him to me. Now!" the poor servant boy fled in haste to obey his master’s orders. "And you two will be imprisoned for now until I find a suitable punishment for you. Take them away." he waved his hand dismissively as another man entered.
    Garbed in black leather breeches and a leather vest with a black onyx pendent choker, he wouldn't seem too dangerous, but his natural white hair and sharp, cold, blue eyes almost screamed predator.
    "You summoned me milord?" he asked in a calm, icy voice.
    "Yes." he hissed, motioning for the adolescent to come closer.
    "My experiments have escaped and the usual guards are foolish and incompetent, therefore incapable of retrieving them. They are both in the company of the Hybrid's ex-guardian. He can die if you wish, I care not for him, but the others must be brought to me alive. Quickly. Do you understand?" he hissed.
    "Of course, milord. Consider them yours." the boy bowed. The head vampire smiled,
    "Oh, Mercury you are such a comfort to me. Go, I will see you upon your return." he waved him away affectionately. His white hair streamed behind him as it freed itself from his fallen hood.
    He ran faster every time he caught the fresh scent. He also cursed every time he lost it and had to waste time in recovering it. The hybrid had collapsed just outside the fortress, poisoned it seemed, Master Agro would be very displeased when he heard about that. It seemed that the enhanced vampire had healed her by letting her feed, or something similar, because her blood stained the ground as well. Something had happened, and the hybrid fled, where she fed on a large herd of elk, half of the herd in one area and the rest in another.
    But all were dead, drained of their blood. He realized her power scared her; he might be able to use that to his advantage. He listened to their discussion of their next move; they seemed to be heading towards a small village. He decided to run on ahead and ambush them. With a grin, he slipped away into the darkness to run and wait.

    Daven, Yuna, and Rhea trekked through the rugged, shadowy terrain. The moon gleaming in the cloudless sky was hidden by the thick canopy above; where small nocturnal creatures scurried about their business through the night, making soft rustling sounds. They were quiet for a while, just trying to find somewhere to rest, and each lost in their own separate thoughts. Finally they found an area that was clear of shrubbery and surrounded by tree roots that seemed to form a protective barrier and haven.
    They stopped; Daven leaned against the edge of a tree while Rhea sat in a sort of den made by thick, entwined roots of an oak and maple. Yuna walked around the clearing, observing in thoughtful silence. Finally she stopped and perched on a fallen log. “Well, hopefully things are better now, you’re cured of poison, and you’re getting your memories back, Rhea, and so is Daven.” She added.
    “But now we need to find a safe place, better than a temporary camping in the forest.” Rhea pulled out the map Yuna had stolen and looked it over. She tapped it, at one point, looking it over.
    “Here, there is a village about four miles down the road.” She said
    “Well, that’s great, except where is the road?” Daven asked annoyed, and obviously tired.
    “It’s about the same distance, in a northeast direction from here.” Rhea replied, ignoring his tone.
    “Oh.” Daven replied sheepishly.
    “Okay, so that’s one problem settled, but we’ve got another.” Yuna said.
    “What?” Daven asked, looking around for trouble.
    Yuna looked at him pointedly, “Well, in case you haven’t noticed, you have two fuzzy appendages on the top of your head and one from your backside. I think the humans might notice.” Rhea snorted, and smirked. Daven flushed as his ears twitched.
    “Oh, yeah….forgot about those.” He muttered. Rhea stared at him.
    “They are attached to you, how could you forget them?” she asked, dumbfounded. Daven stuck his tongue out at her childishly.
    “That’s why I forgot them, I’m so used to them I forgot other people aren’t,” he retorted. Rhea had to agree on a slight point.
    “Well, it’s still not much of a problem.” She shrugged. Yuna nodded.
    “We can hide the ears with cloth or something, but what about the tail?” she questioned, as she circled Daven, with her index finger on her chin, looking thoughtful.
    “Magic. Or, Glamour, to be precise.” Rhea said. Yuna looked up at her, head tilted to the side.
    “Can we do that?” she asked, sounding a little excited.
    “We can’t, but you can.” Rhea admitted. Yuna stared at her blankly.
    “Really? How?”
    “How did you summon your scythe? I think if you focus on Daven’s tail being invisible, it will become invisible. You said you were looking around for a weapon and it appeared, so maybe the same principles apply.” Rhea suggested.
    “I don’t know, but, I guess it’s worth a try.” Yuna shrugged, she grabbed Daven’s’ tail he twitched, but tried to stay still. Rhea smirked, as she watched them. Oh, so many plans, she grinned. Rhea suddenly went ridged as a breeze blew through the clearing and carrying a strange scent with it. She scented the air, and looked around in the trees, after finding nothing, she shrugged. Maybe it was a far off scent, just carried a long way. She looked in Daven’s bag and found a strip of cloth she used to wrap around Daven’s’ calico cat ears.
    “Hey, I did it.” Yuna cried gleefully as Daven’s tail disappeared. Daven twitched and danced around a little bit.
    “Gahh! It feels weird.” He complained. Rhea looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
    “I’m not going to comment. At least now we know one of your extra abilities.” She said to Yuna, who nodded.
    “Yeah, magic. But if Daven complains anymore he’ll need to cover up a black eye.” She scowled. Rhea grinned.
    “Okay, that’s enough flirting you two, let’s get going.” She said, heading through the trees in the direction indicated by a second, brief scanning of the map. Daven, stood shocked, his face beet red, and spluttering protests. He tried to run after Rhea but fell due to lack of balance. “Oomph!”
    “Do what?!” Yuna shrieked, running up to Rhea and pushing her a little bit. Rhea laughed as she staggered.
    “Flirting; you were flirting with Daven.” She teased.
    “I was not!” Yuna snapped indignantly. “What about you and that little hugging scene back there, huh? And stop laughing, it’s not funny.”
    “You’re right,” Rhea nodded, sobering, and then burst out laughing again. “It’s hilarious.” She said avoiding Yuna’s question, as Daven caught up with them.
    “Whatever.” Yuna scowled, annoyed, she moved faster so she was ahead of the group and didn’t have to look at them. Rhea smiled after her, as she became lost in thought over her powers and what they were going to do next. The only things she knew of her powers were the shape-shifting, bloodlust, and increased inhuman senses and skills. Yuna walked along, lost in thought as well, as the question, what kind of monster am I? Running circles in her mind, taunting her with an answer hidden in fear, and indecision, just beyond her grasp.
    The hours past in thoughtful silence as they traveled through the thick, dark forest. Finally they reached a long dirt and gravel road stretching for miles in either direction. The travel was a little easier on the road, their feet still ached, and leg muscles complained, but they weren’t fighting the foliage, and could see the path in front of them without stumbling. After another few miles, the sky started growing lighter, dawn was approaching. Yuna shielded her eyes with her hand, as Rhea growled a curse.
    “Come on, we can run the rest of the way, it’s only a couple more miles.” She said. They nodded and took off in a full sprint down the road until they saw the edge of a small town, and slowed to a jog, and finally a stop, just outside. They bent double, panting form their exertion, they already looked bad enough, like hermit, hobo, and vagrant all rolled into one, not an impressing combination, nor an endearing one. Rhea looked up, just realizing another problem. “We don’t have any money. How are we going to pay for a place to stay?” she asked. Daven opened his mouth to reply when another voice from the shadows answered Rhea.
    “Oh don’t worry, sweetheart, where you’re going you won’ need it.” Mercury stepped from the shadows, grinning malevolently “They take real good care of their pets.”