Kaiden McIlroy's Story

Kaiden was pretty damn annoyed by the time he arrived at the University of Davenport. For starters, he learned that the place was roughly an hour from where his family lived, and yet they were still kicking him out of the house to be in the dorms. 'For the experience, laddie!' his dad has said, except his accent blocked out half of the words like always so it sounded much more enthusiastic and illiterate. Kaiden had always wondered how his dad could fit into their minivan - hell, how they all fit in that minivan was a shocker.

Regardless, Kaiden stared at the university he would be attending with mild dismay. From what he could see, it wasn't going to be as fun as the brochure had stated. The building looked massive, and just from the outside, Kaiden could see the awkward mixture of luxury buildings, standard buildings and a section of medieval looking buildings. Good thing his last university had let him still graduate, or else he might have ended up in that old section; since they believed his athletics had serious potential (damn right) they gave him a letter of recommendation and a bit of scholarship money before sending him packing. Kind of odd, but Kaiden hadn't complained. From what he had read, U of D was supposed to be a mix of massive amounts of different styled people with amazing sports complexes. Sure, he had heard rumors floating around that it was the school for vampires, but Kaiden had dismissed this thought. Being from Scotland and living in the most human section of Davenport, Kaiden had naturally assumed that vampires were an extreme abnormality, rarely showing their faces.

So now having arrived at the school, Kaiden grudgingly jumped out of the van to grab his bags. He didn't have man, since if he really needed to he could just jog to his house and grab anything he was missing. His parents, however, had insisted that he took as much as he could, probably to avert him from coming home. Regardless, Kaiden was set to start his second year of college in the hopes of becoming a trainer or an athlete. Both his parents hugged- more like crushed each other - goodbye, and gave him their Scotish farewell. Well, his mom simply told him to make sure he didn't get drunk too often, but she was Irish: that was acceptable to be yelled.

So Kaiden simply stared as his parents with seeming eager jumped back into the minivan and drove off, leaving him there in the entrance. With a grunt, he turned towards the door and took a few steps before being virtually attacked by some random man in a suit. Kaiden easily towered over the man, who had a pair of square glasses on and a clip board. The man looked up, unfazed by Kaiden's height, and asked the strangest question.

"Can I help you with your bags?" He flashed a smile, and Kaiden continued to stare. An eyebrow now raised, Kaiden answered. "Unless you can carry all of my weights, no." He then walked past the man, carrying all of his bags as if they weighed nothing to him.

Kaiden's next goal was to find the foyer office so he could 'check in' in a sense, get his room key, and hit the gym. He had been itching for a training session all day, since his morning one was cut short by the need to pack. However, it soon became apparent that this school was designed to make kids lost, and before he knew it, that very same man was in front of him again.

"I take it you are here for the athletics programs?" Kaiden nodded simply at the man's question, and waited for him to get to the point. "I can help you find your dorm for you - and possibly even interest you in a sponsorship program?" At the term sponsorship, Kaiden's mood changed rapidly. Sponsorships meant money for training and for competitions, something he sorely needed. However, Kaiden had a sick feeling in his gut about this program, but he pressed forward to see what it was about.

"What would I have to do to get it?" The man simply beamed at Kaiden, and outstretched his arm with the clipboard.

"Simply sign here - all you have to do is show your commitment to your program, and you will be set!" Kaiden was liking the sound of this even more after that response - regardless of the fact that it sounded like he was dodging the question a little. Kaiden grabbed the clipboard, setting down some bags with a mighty thud and gave it a once over. It looked like a standard contract, but his ability to read wasn't as good as it could be, so he simply skimmed it over and grabbed the pen.

Kaiden then signed his full name away on that paper, not knowing what he was doing.

The man beamed, and guided him towards the more run down section of the school, and Kaiden's gut was starting to kick back in again. He knew something had gone wrong with that contract the moment he stopped in front of the doorway and smiled with that plaster smile. "Thank you once again for signing up for the vampire sponsorship program, Kaiden McIlroy. We hope you have a-" Kaiden cut him off instantly.

"What is this about vampires? And what did you just make me sign?" Kaiden narrowed his eyes, his fists starting to clench. All he could think of was constant swearing running through his head at his own stupidity. How in the hell was he supposed to know that a sponsorship program wasn't for athletes? That was what he had been told at his old college!

The man simply smiled. "You have become a sponsor for a selection of vampires by your own will. Once again, thank you for signing up for the program, we really do appreciate it." Kaiden now could see how fake the man's smile was, and soon after the man whisked away, faster than Kaiden had ever seen a man in a suit move. Before long, the man had disappeared into the maze of the school, leaving Kaiden pissed and alone. All he could do now was find his dorm and settle in - without possibly destroying it in the process, that is.

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Standing on the outside of the University, with it's large arched wrought iron fence looming overhead, and looking inside made Lilith feel small somehow. Maybe it was the massive size of the campus, or maybe it was watching all the other students gather together in their circle of friends gushing on about how much they missed one another and telling all their exciting tales of summer fun had and summer loves made. Lilith had no such stories to tell as she had spent the summer with her parents. Even though they lived in town she only ever saw them on holidays and would spend some time, only three weeks, with them during the summer break. This allowed them to have a normal life; making friends, having dinner parties, being able to go out in public without the snide comments and the disdainful glares. It was a sacrifice she willingly made because their happiness meant so much to her.

Taking a deep breath while running a hand through her silver mane, she looked around once more relishing in the small amount of comfort granted to her by the fact that the other students were so caught up in themselves that they didn't pay her any mind. After the thrill of being reunited faded and the normal day to day routine of a student settled in she was sure that the common practice of openly staring and avoiding her would return. Though being ostracized in that was was preferable to being beaten and bullied. That hadn't happened in quite some time, her gift being the main reason for that.

Lifting a duffel bag full of clean clothes, bathroom products, and various forms of entertainment, which was far too large and heavy for any human to lift, in one hand and her violin case in the other. Lilith began the long and winding journey to her dorm room. The dorm was on the outskirts of the campus and had this been a normal type of campus the building wouldn't have been so hard to get too but the many renovations had turned this place into a labyrinth something akin to what you would find in Greek Mythology.

Lilith weaved in and out of crowds of students mingling around careful not to touch any of them, not physically anyways. As she passed each of them she would put out feelers that only she could see. These gold strands would reach deep into the soul of the student searching for the one emotion she needed to sustain herself; Envy. Once found the energy from the emotion would zip up the strands in a hew of pink and recharge her, she often wondered if the reason her eyes were magenta was because it was the same color of the energy that gave her life.

Getting a few decent sized hits from those who were jealous of their friends extraordinary vacations; Caribbean cruises, trips to Paris, Rome, Berlin, Moscow, meeting ones idol while in LA or New York, left her feeling completely recharged. Not that she could blame any of them for feeling envious, Lilith sure was. Now that she was partly fed, per-say, she hurried on to the dorm.

When she reached her building there were a few humans looking at the dorm as if they had come across a shanty tent town for the homeless. ”New Sponsors I suppose.” Golden strands snaked out from her and touched on each one of them. She was pleased to find that at least one of them harbored enough envy to keep her plenty energized. Lilith looked at the two females and then the male once again before she turned back to the dorm. Standing in front of it, yet still behind the humans, she had mixed feelings, this was her home for five years now and she had come to really love her little room. On the other hand the dilapidated state of the building was a testament of how low vampires were on the totem pole in society, they didn't even warrant simple repairs like leaky roofs or broken windows. She walked past the humans, stopping in front of the red haired man and briefly looking him over, before walking up the few stairs. As she opened the door and screeched in protest as if the act itself had cause it some sort of grievous pain. She made it up the creaky stairs to the second floor where she looked down both end of the hall to see if anyone else had made it back yet. She noticed a previously vacant room now stood open ”Huh another Sponsor? The club manager sure has been busy. Turning to her right she walked down to her room which was located at the end of the hall. Putting her key in she turned the knob and threw open the door.

It was just as she had left it. She had taken it upon herself to renovate her own room over the years with the help of her father. The old brick wall had still been mostly intact, the only flaws were hidden by the bookshelf and her bed. Oh her bed, it was the loveliest thing in the whole room and it had taken her father all of her first summer break to build it. She was only 13 at the time so she wasn't able to help much but she did what she could like sanding and staining the wood. The day before school started they had brought it in piece by piece and assembled it inside the room. He had even made a closet on the end of it for her since her room didn't have one and a book shelf on the inside. After she left the University she planned to take it with her wherever she went.

The other walls had many holes in them but that was easily fixed with some plaster and then painted over with a simple cream color. On the brick wall she had hung a mantle and placed a faux fireplace underneath to give the room a feel of comfort. Inside the closet, behind the back curtain, she had strung some white Christmas lights that were plugged into an outlet that was controlled by a light switch. The lamp inside her bed was actually battery operated though you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at it. While there was a top bunk it didn't get much use and was mostly there for decoration, though Lilith suspected that her father had done that in hopes that she would find some girl friend to have slumber parties with.

All in all this was her little slice of heaven, her sanctuary if you would. A small smile appeared on her face as walked in, leaving the door open behind her, and she set her bag down then opened the window before beginning to unpack her things. As much as she loved visiting with her parents she had missed being here.

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Piercing, ice-blue eyes. They stared deep into him, full of understanding and wisdom. The two pools of ice were framed by black and white fur that glittered in the sunlight streaming in through the window. Razor sharp claws dug into his bare chest, though the strength behind them was measured and careful so that they did not break his skin. The full weight of the beast on his body made it quite difficult to breathe. The snow leopard was even heavier than himself. Dimly, he wondered what the feline ate to create so much body mass. A deep-throated growl filled the room and Henri was instantly jerked into full consciousness.

“Wha’s yer problem, Evs?”

Everest retracted his claws and stepped off his master, allowing him to sit up in bed. Henri rubbed his eyes tiredly. He reached under his pillow and brought out a box of cigarettes. Lazily, he looked about his surroundings. It was just his dorm room; his home for the past four years. His parents lived elsewhere in Iowa and Henri did not like to visit them. The last time he had gone, the neighbors had called the police because they thought the tall, intimidating figure with the ‘strange, long-tailed lynx’ was there to bring harm to the innocent Leppards. It had taken nearly seven hours to clear up the misunderstanding. Both Henri and his parents agreed that it would be best if he didn’t come over too often. His parents couldn’t visit the campus, since their disguise as a normal, human couple would crumble if they were spotted with Henri.

So he lived in his dorm room almost year-round. To be honest, it looked pretty much the same as when he had first become its inhabitant, albeit much more hygienic. Peeling wallpaper, sad-looking ceiling, gaping hole in the wall that exposed a rather important water pipe. This was home. How sad.

“It’s fifteen minutes till seven,” said Everest, flicking his tail back and forth impatiently.

Henri stuck a cigarette into his mouth. He struck a match against the wall and lit the roll of tobacco. After flicking out the match, he turned a bored gaze towards his familiar. “Yeah? What are ya now? Me ‘larm clock?” he asked casually.

Everest sat down beside Henri on the bed. “You have an appointment at seven,” he reminded.

Henri blinked uncomprehendingly. “Whaddya mean? I don’ have a...” he trailed off as he glanced across the room to the calendar. Today’s date was circled in red with the words ‘CLIENT AT 7:00 AM’ written in the box. Henri just stared at the calendar for a long time. He wasn’t sure what to think at the moment. After all, he had just attended to another client the previous night. Which loser had scheduled two of them in a row?

“Now it’s ten minutes till seven,” Everest murmured, sighing softly.

Henri reached for his phone, which sat on the bedside table. He saw that he had missed a text message while sleeping. It had been sent at 6:33 am:

Sinclair: Where r u? Client in 30 mins!

Henri growled in disapproval, sounding much like his familiar. He texted back:

You: cancel it. I have school

Everest chuckled in amusement. “Since when did you care about school?”

Henri playfully stuck out his tongue. “Never.” He literally swung out of bed, reaching up to stretch his arms over his head in one fluid motion. After stretching and yawning some, he slipped on a black t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. Reaching under the bed mattress, he produced his famous belt. Said belt always resided underneath the mattress when not worn, for it was far too precious to be kept anywhere else. Henri snapped his belt in place, admiring how the voodoo dolls swayed with his every step. The chains tinkled ominously. All his shorts had been modified so that the bottoms of the belt loops attached with snap buttons, which allowed him to easily put on his belt.

Armed with his belt, cigarette, and snow leopard, Henri was ready to face the first day of school. He headed out his room.

Everest was calmly licking his paw when Henri made towards the stairs. The snow leopard stopped him, barring the path with his massive frame, teeth bared and gleaming in the morning light. He growled menacingly. “You forgot to brush your teeth.”

So Henri brushed his teeth. Sadly, he was unable to do so with the cigarette still in his mouth, so it went into the ashtray. When he looked into the bathroom mirror, he realized with a start that he hadn't washed off his face paint from last night. He took a damp towel and wiped it all off. And not very silently, he berated his familiar for not telling him.

Everest chuckled at the stream of profanity audible over the gushing of the faucet. The snow leopard was not one to waste words. Of course he had noticed the face paint. He had even laughed at his master's carelessness. By telling Henri to brush his teeth, knowing the dreadlocked teenager would see the face paint in the mirror, he had effectively killed two birds with one stone. When Henri emerged from the bathroom, Everest padded to his side and followed him out the building.

"Who’s that client anyways?" Henri asked, checking his cell phone for a reply.

Sinclair: the client aint happy

You: like I care

"Entrepreneur from Germany," Everest answered. He lifted his head, trying to read what was on the phone.

Henri stopped abruptly. His dreadlocks whipped around as his head turned incredulously towards his familiar. "Wha’? I don’ remem’er anyone from Germany.”

Everest did his best to shrug, but the action was not one meant for a feline. He settled for an irritated flick of the tail. "It seems he heard of you from one of your other clients. The one with the enlarged toe," he said. His bright blue eyes stared evenly ahead.

"The frickin' bastard!" spat Henri. Every client of his was sworn into secrecy. Henri only treated people with ‘incurable’ diseases who were found by his underlings. This was to stop massive publicity, since it would be disastrous if people found out that the Leopard Doctor was in fact a vampire. If the word spread, Henri would probably need to move elsewhere. To take his mind off this fact, he rummaged around in his pockets and produced a half-empty box of cigarettes. Henri lit one and took a long draft before blowing out a torrent of smoke from his mouth. He stuffed the box back into his pocket. "He’ll hafta get cursed."

"I agree. He broke his oath. He signed in blood."

Henri nodded half-heartedly. The two of them, snow leopard and vampire, continued on their way. They weren’t sure exactly where they were going. Their goal was to wander around, get lost, then try to find their way again. It was an effective method to waste time. The fact that it was extremely busy on campus helped with the task. Students of all ages and sizes were milling about, clogging the streets. As Henri waded through the crowd of people, towering well above most of them, he heard some murmuring amongst a group of teenage girls.

“Did you see those people?”

“You mean the new Sponsors?” The word ‘Sponsors’ was spat out like a broken tooth.

Everest’s ears twitched with curiosity. New Sponsors? He wondered how the director managed to drag them in this time.

“Yeah. They look so filthy. No wonder they're Sponsors.”

“Well, duh. Only filthy people would associate with filthy vampires.”

With his hands in his pockets, Henri intruded on the conversation. “Why, ‘ello ladies!”

Immediately, the girls stopped talking. Who wouldn’t when faced with a huge guy and a huge snow leopard? When recognition dawned in their eyes, some of them shrieked in fright. Everyone knew of Henri, the vampire with the dreadlocks, but not many had actually interacted with him since he didn’t like talking to people he didn’t know. There was plenty of talk about him going around and sucking the blood of innocent girls.

Henri didn’t care about the rumors. Honestly, he had only entered the conversation to see if any of the girls were hot. He glanced around the group and confirmed that they were all average in terms of looks. How disappointing. He sighed. “Never mind,” he said dejectedly. “Le’s go, Evs.”

Leaving the girls thoroughly bewildered, Henri turned on his heel and headed back in the direction they had come from. Everest padded silently at his side, easily keeping up with his master’s long strides. He was used to Henri’s behavior and didn’t mind his carefree nature at all. In fact, seeing Henri burdened was quite distressing for the familiar, so it was best if those moments were few.

“Are we going back to the dorm?” Everest asked as the old, depressing building came into view.

“Yeah. I’m gunna see if Báthory’s back yet.”

Everest purred in delight. “Lilith is the best at scratching behind the ears,” he murmured dreamily. The snow leopard then shook his head free of his daydreams and circled Henri’s feet, noting that his master had mismatched his sandals. “Shouldn’t you also greet the new Sponsors?” prompted Everest, noting that Henri also had mismatched earings: a silver skull on the right ear and a golden hoop in the left.

“Wha's the point? They'll leave in less than three days anyways,” Henri replied. With his next step, he nearly tripped on his familiar’s tail. “Watch it, Evs!”

Everest’s tail jerked away from Henri’s feet. “Sorry.”

The two continued for some time, conversing about the color of the sky and other exciting topics. When they reached the dorms, they found some people standing awkwardly in front. In fact, they were humans. Everest figured they were the new Sponsors. They seemed quite confused. He grunted in pity.

Henri didn’t pay them much attention, though as he pushed by the red-haired human, the only male of the bunch, he spat out, “Move it, fire truck!”

Everest sighed. So much for greeting the new Sponsors. Without a backwards glance, the duo headed straight for Lilith Báthory’s room, which was also on the second floor. Henri took three steps up the stairs with each stride and Everest easily kept up with his master’s pace.

Upon reaching Lilith’s room, they found the door open and Henri invited himself inside. Everest bounded in eagerly and rolled around on the floor like an excited cub.

Henri remained near the door, smoke drifting from between his slightly parted lips. Lilith was just as beautiful as she had been four years ago, perhaps even more so. Her silver hair and magenta eyes were odd, but only added to her radiance. Henri flashed a grin, holding out his arms for a welcoming hug. “So how’s me lovely Báthory today?”

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

A tall figure in a long, beige coat carrying as much as humanly possible and then some could be seen lumbering towards the university’s arched gateway. This was Edmund. If you could see his face, you would notice that it was twisted into an angry scowl, not at anyone in particular, but more at the university itself. The buildings, the students, the teachers; he hated them all. Every time he returned to the university, he had a sledgehammer of disappointment swung into his emotions. As he dragged himself through the arched gateway that loomed before him, in his mind the gates slammed loudly shut behind him, and stayed that way.

Now, you should remember that I said Edmund was carrying more than humanly possible. That may have been slightly exaggerated, but he still wasn’t travelling light. This could have been easily avoided if he wasn’t so passionate about his music. But he was, and there’s no use crying over spilled milk. His bass was slung over his back, his acoustic guitar was slung round his front, he carried a large guitar amp in his right hand and his electric guitar in his left. All of his guitars were in soft cases, so he needed to watch where he was going, lest he bash and damage them. As for the stuff that most people bring with them, he had made sure to leave a good supply of clothes and toiletries in his dorm. There was no way he would leave his guitars there; he wasn’t going to go an entire holiday without practice and quite frankly, he didn’t trust someone not to steal them. He could leave his clothes and toiletries there, nobody was going to nick his toothbrush, but they might well nick two thousand dollars’ worth of musical equipment.

In tow was Edmund’s faithful companion, the Eurasian Eagle Owl Malphas. Malphas was significantly less burdened than his master, and fluttering along beside him with ease. He usually perched himself on Edmund’s right shoulder, but Edmund’s guitars prevented him from perching comfortably. In his usual attempt to lighten Edmund’s mood, he spoke up:
“It’s such a glorious day. The sun is shining, there’s a cool breeze in the air and the birds are singing beautifully.”
“If only the birds would be quieter.” Edmund retorted.
Cheering Edmund up was not an easy feat, and in his current state even Malphas could do nothing to raise his spirits. Malphas was well aware of this, and so he didn't make any further attempts, as they would only rile Edmund up.

The pair progressed through the campus in silence paying no heed to the surrounding area that would surely startle any newcomers to the university. They had since grown used to the peculiar mishmash of architectural styles that bore the name “the University of Diversity”. Edmund often wondered if the diversity it spoke of was regarding the buildings, not the students. The students Edmund passed seemed to watch him with confusion in their eyes; why was he drowning in musical gear when he didn’t even have a suitcase? Ignoring their gazes, Edmund continued to drag himself through the campus towards the vampire dorm building.

Finally Edmund carefully removed all his luggage and laid it down carefully against the wall. He slumped down onto his bed and took a series of loud, deep breaths; he was tired out from having to shift his gear to the far edge of the campus, and the dorm building’s stairs didn't exactly help. He stared up at the dorm’s plain, brown ceiling for a while before sitting up and looking around the rest of the room. It wasn't huge, but Edmund made use of the space. Along the wall opposite the door there was a kitchen surface, some cupboards, a bread bin, a kettle, a microwave, a sink, a dishwasher and a fridge. Along the right wall was Edmund’s bed, his guitars, his amp and the door to his closet. His desk and chest of drawers were pressed against the room’s left wall. The room’s fourth wall had a large bookshelf on the right side of the door, put there as opposed to the left side to conceal a large strip of paint that was dangling off. The carpet was beige and fairly grubby, but this was normal for the vampire dorms. It wasn't pretty, but Edmund made do with what he had.

It was a minute or so before Edmund stood up. When he did, he walked over to sink, filled the kettle with water and turned it on. He simply stood and waited while the kettle boiled, and instantly poured out the water into a cup before dropping in a tea bag. He waited in the same silent, motionless fashion that he had waited before while the tea infused. After discarding the tea bag he slumped down into the wheelie chair by his desk, blew on his tea and took a sip. He smiled and took another sip; while no person could calm Edmund while he was in such a state, tea certainly could.
“You know, Malphas, perhaps you were right about it being a nice day outside.” Edmund apologised, “I think I’ll go outside once I've finished my tea.”
If Malphas had lips he would have smiled, but his expression still made it obvious that Edmund’s change of heart had pleased him.

Once Edmund had finished his tea he put his teacup to one side, sat up and stretched.
"I'll go and have a look to see who's back now." Edmund told Malphas as he walked towards the door, "Maybe see some new faces."
Malphas fluttered over to Edmund and perched in his usual spot on Edmund's right shoulder as Edmund unlocked the door and walked out again.

The first person Edmund saw upon leaving his dorm was a fairly normal looking girl with long, brown hair entering the room opposite his. She was human, as far as Edmund could tell, and if she was staying in the vampire dorm, that meant she was a sponsor. Edmund had never seen her before, and so assumed that she was new. However, Edmund rarely payed the humans much mind, so she could have been here for some time without Edmund noticing. He wondered if she had become a sponsor out of her own good will or had been fooled into it; unfortunately, with most sponsors it was because of the latter. Along the hall was another human girl, who was noticeably rather angry. Edmund didn't need to think about why she was here.

Upon climbing the stairs to the next floor Edmund was greeted by the sound of a loud, angry Scotsman. Turning his head, Edmund saw a man of about his height and age with long, red hair snapping at a man in a suit, a man Edmund recognised as a man who worked on the sponsorship program. The Scotsman was definitely new; Edmund would definitely remember someone so imposing.

Edmund made his way further down the hallway and wondered if any of the humans he had seen so far would be sponsoring him. His question was soon answered as he overheard a snippet of a conversation between a girl in a hoodie and an old man whom Edmund recognised as the Sponsorship Club's director.
"You're to look after the witch vampires."
Edmund's heart leaped; he had a sponsor! An expression of delight nearly escaped Edmund's lips, but he concealed the noise he did make with a cough. While he might have fooled any people in the surrounding area, he certainly hadn't fooled Malphas. All the gateways which had previously been tightly locked shut had suddenly swung open, simply because some girl had unwittingly agreed to sponsor him. Edmund decided that he ought to meet his new sponsor, so he briskly hurried over to the room which the girl had just entered, with the director hurrying past him at an even faster pace. Edmund found the door slightly ajar, so he rapped on it twice in quick succession with his knuckles and then proceeded to open the door and step inside, just over the threshold.
"Good morning." Edmund greeted the girl plainly but politely, I understand that you're sponsoring the witch vampires. My name is Edmund Malkin, and this is my familiar, Malphas. I'm one of the vampires you will be sponsoring."

It wasn't a windy day and the perfectly healthy green tree was shaking, but the group of normal everyday humans that was standing too close didn't seem to notice. That is until they head a loud snapping sound and a figure clad in black fell from the boughs of the tree. They all stopped chattering immediately, staring at the figure until it gave a sharp growl and walked away, toward the vampire dorm. The humans then forgot about the figure. Almost as if it was normal, the figure thought, her sensitive hearing picking up their words about how great their vacation was even as she distanced herself from them. I guess the rumors of it being a vampire school is partly true. She had heard rumors and snide comments about this school, but had never believed until they had actually accepted her paperwork and now that she was actually here and observing how it all worked during the day (she had arrived the night before), she realized it was a vampire school. Or at least some of the time.

Marishka was able to make it half of the way to the building until a group of large boys stepped on her path. They all wore jerseys and didn't seem to notice her getting jostled and engulfed in their group as they all began to chant something and they were doing things. One meaty boy actually backed into her and she was trying to not fall... when something happened and the entire group was falling and Marishka was on her back staring up at the sky. She got up, pausing to watch the group of boys get to their feet only to stare down at her eye-eyed vampire-ness. She let a slow and lazy grin form on her face before she stood and walked through the crowd ignoring the stares she attracted. It appeared that no one here had ever seen a vampire with an eye-patch.

She had just opened the door and stepped into the building that had looked so much like an abandoned warehouse the night before, when she began to growl uneasily. Marishka, having been thrown out for being what she was, had never spent time in the company of other vampires, thinking it to be wrong. She flicked her one gaze around the place, taking note of the man with the bloody red hair and the other... people. The place smelt of ciggies and other... Animals? She sneezed, smelling the dust and the other scents that permeated the air.

The abandoned building titled dorm that had given her some hope of being a normal student, suddenly became a prison.

This was a bad idea. Thoughts began to take place in her head, mostly negative ones of how she had gotten kicked out of school a week after being thrown out of her home. The other teenagers that had taken it upon themselves to get rid of the black and white kitty cat. Kitty cat. Kitty cat! Marishka tensed but shrugged the foreboding feelings away and skirted around the red haired guy, making it up the stairs, around the corner and she just stopped to let out a tired sigh. She was a shapeshifting vampire that has never met another vampire, and here she was. In a dorm that specifically housed vampires and weird humans called sponsors.

She continued her march up the stairs and paused to see the building already containing some of its inhabitants. She didn't know what to do, and suddenly thought it better to just walk to her room - which she did. She walked to her room calmly and leaving the dorm opened, hoping it looked inviting for people to come and say hello. It would be better and quicker. Just like ripping a band-aid off. She thought, trying very hard to seem positive and not... a serious intense person.

Dark chuckling echoed in a shady room. The origin of this laughter was a small figure that sat crouched upon the bed. He had snuck into this room without anyone noticing by taking on the form of a small grey mouse and crawling through the space under the floors. This was not a random decision. No this mouse boy had a reason for taking such precautions. They were necessary after all the preparations he took the previous year.

Before he returned home during the vacation he took it upon himself to begin his collections. Just what he was collecting is the truly important part however. Mousetraps. The boy had been collecting every mousetrap that had ever been laid around the school for the past year. All of this was part of his elaborate plan for revenge. The year before he had gotten his tail caught in one of these traps and upon the scream of pain he made the immediate decision that someone would pay.

The real hard part was deciding who the victim would have to be. At first he thought a member of the student council would be the best option, but one person made a grave error about a week after he had made his decision of revenge. A certain someone called him a brat and that made the mouse boy angry.

So finally, after a year, he had all the necessary ingredients to execute his divine retribution upon the vampire, Henri. Now all he had to do was sneak into his room and set up the mousetraps and leave before the vampire or his cat returned.

Ruairi hates that leopard. The mere mention of the creature sent shivers down his spine. The boy shook away the goose bumps however and continued his counting, “ninety-eight, ninety-nine…” He set each mousetrap into a paper bag on his bed as he counted them, “one hundred and one. Perfect! If these can’t cover his entire floor then…then…I’m going to be very unhappy.”

The boy climbed out of the bed and crept over to the door. Creaking it open slightly he poked his head out into the hall. Specifically in the direction of Lilith’s room, after all, that’s the first place that the smoke machine would be headed towards after he left his room. Not to mention that the girl’s door was always open giving her a clear view of the hallway.

Somehow he always got caught by her and her guests. It was almost as if he gave off an aura of deceit and trouble that they always picked up on. Plus, that cat of his was sharp and if they were in that room there’s no way they wouldn’t see him make his way into Henri’s room.

Unfortunately, that was exactly where they were located. To make matters worse, no sooner did Ruairi stick his head out the door did the hallway by his target fill up with other students. “Darn it.” His grand master plan would simply have to wait a little longer. However he could be patient. After a year he would happily be patient a little longer.

So for now he would have to stir up some other kind of trouble. No worries, he was good at that.

Finally deciding to emerge from his room, the shirtless boy nonchalantly made his way towards the stairs. A wicked smile crossed his lips as his nose, while not as sensitive as most still picked up the smell of humans in close proximity to the dorm building.

I wonder if they’re new sponsors? Suckers. Before rounding the corner of the steps completely the boy stuck out his head and stole a peek down the stairs. There were most definitely humans outside however the one that caught his attention was the giant boy with fire engine red hair.

He was intimidating to say the least and that made Ruairi’s smile grow wider. The scary ones were always the best suited for pranking. Perhaps, however if Ruairi was better suited to reading moods his personal opinion on the matter would have been a little different. The red head was obviously angry, no doubt after having been fooled into sponsoring vampires, however the mouse boy was oblivious to that fact. He was too caught up in imagining all the pranks he could play on this guy.

First thing first however. He needed a stick of butter, which means that he needed to sneak into the cafeteria and steal a stick of butter. If only his elder brothers hadn’t stolen all his supplies. Then he would already have the ingredients for his cruel and potentially painful prank.

Those brothers of his knew him far too well. Of course, that is to be expected since they taught him everything he knows. Honestly, if they wanted him to stop pranking others they shouldn’t have handed him their fictional guidebook to the world’s best pranks. And the oldest trick in that book is the ancient ‘butter the hardwood and tile floors’ hoax. Still, no matter how old, watching people fall on their butts never goes out of fashion and plus, is there any better way to greet everyone then by buttering the area in front of the front door?

No, obviously not. At least nothing nearly as entertaining. A dark shadow cast itself upon the child’s face as his sadistic snicker echoed on the stairwell. He loved picking on the older folks and newbies.

Ruairi’s ears twitched in response to a rather loudly made entrance into the dorm building. Glancing back down the stairs he caught a glimpse of the rather strange vampire called Abram as he rounded the corner in a somewhat crazy manner.

The boy’s mouse tail stiffened and his ears flattened against his head in response to the thought that ran through the child’s head, that guy is a real nut job and kind of a creepy one at that. Shaking away the unnecessary feelings brought on by the weirdness of the passing image the mouse boy bounded down the stairs only to trip on the final step. After face planting he quickly regained his composure and leapt back onto his feet. “Nobody saw that,” he muttered to himself and glanced around. His gaze fell upon a new face, a very confused new face.

A blonde boy was standing outside what was probably his dorm room. Ruairi being the immature brat he is did the first thing he thought of, he stuck his tongue out at the boy and spoke, “you look confused, idiot.”

After the events that just happened, Kaiden was seriously thinking about taking the office by storm and handing in his resignation to not only to the stupid sponsorship program, but to possibly the school as well. Since he hadn't been informed that he could quit, Kaiden thought the only way to get out was to get out - completely. That didn't sound too unappealing, but there was an inkling of him that wanted to try the school out. He didn't need the best dorms to be the best wrestler.

That was until some skinny wannabe ran into him acting all tough, and was somehow permitted to have a leopard with him. Kaiden would have been slightly insulted, had he not a massive wild cat with him. Kaiden was more confused than anything, but shook his head and steeled himself. He knew that once one person called him a name, it could possibly become a trend amongst the losers that considered themselves tough guys, which meant he would have to intervene by kicking some kid's sorry ass. He wasn't looking forward to fighting a vampire - he lost to the one the one year, merely because of his own ignorance to a vampire's skills - but he would if he reputation was at stake.

He shook it off and looked at the pamphlet, seeing that his room was on the second floor of this decrepit building. He walked to the stairs, and started up them. However, he soon began to do a light jog as he feared that the stairs would collapse under the weight of his equipment and himself - didn't need a hole in the stairs, regardless of how short his stay may be. So he made it to the top, and found that his room was conveniently beside the utility room, nearly right in front of the stairs. Good - an easy way to escape to other places without going out the window.

Kaiden nodded his liking of the placement, and walked up to the door. Ignoring all of the chatter around him, he dropped his things once again with a loud thud due to their weight, grabbed the key from his pinky finger (he put it there for efficiency) and unlocked the door. It resisted until it came to a stop halfway open. Kaiden gave a sigh, and then put a little bit of muscle, nearly bending the door in half as he shoved it open.

First thing to do - Shave off door slightly Kaiden made a mental note. He didn't know how long he would be staying, but to make things easier for himself he would do it anyway. Finally, Kaiden grabbed the rest of his duffel bags and apparel and finally got a good look at the room. While it seemed to belong to a female before him, he quite liked the plainess and simplicity of it all. Easier to rearrange.

Instantly, he forced the door nearly shut and gently dropped his things on the floor. Instantly Kaiden pulled out his phone to a notepad and began typing in what he would be doing for the next long bit. The list wasn't that long by any means, and when he finished he set to work instantly like always did. As Kaiden and his entire family believed, "Efficiency ensures victory."

First on the list of unpacking was to remove all furniture that was useless to him. Instantly recognizing a few things that were useless - which included an extra desk, a horribly tacky rug and a few other minute things - Kaiden grabbed them all and shoved open his door to place them out in the hallway to be disposed of afterwards. If they were stolen, fine by him: they weren't his anyway.

Next was to set up his own gear. While he still was quite positive he was leaving, Kaiden didn't want to miss any practice at all, which meant he would have to set up shop in this room for now. One by one his dumbbells were removed, the pull up bar (which hung on the inside of the door frame), resistance bands and workout mats, Kaiden began arranging them in the small space provided. He made a mental note to jog home, as he forgot a few of his heavier dumbbells and it would be a great workout to run while carrying them.

Finally came his clothes, which Kaiden made the decision not to take out of his bags yet, opting instead to place them in the closet. Without knowing if he was going or not, why unpack everything? Afterwards, Kaiden viewed his room, shook his head, and began rearranging it once more. None of the objects were anywhere close to being heavy, so it made moving things around a breeze. He especially liked how his bed was one that was one the ground, as it would be closer to the floor and more stabilized for a kid of his size and height.

Satisfied that his work looked semi decent, he looked at the list once more before shutting off his phone. Now came the difficult part: repairs. He had already seen some things that were in horrendous shape, and he knew that if he didn't fix them soon, he would probably find himself without a sink, or a hole in his door.

So Kaiden continued his handy man repairs on the room, using a few of the tools he had brought (what? A guy like him always needs tools to fix whatever equipment breaks) to tidy up the room. He knew it would be a long job, but it was nothing compared to what his workout schedule was like.

For those who didn't, let us just say that many people threw up half way from training with Kaiden.

Ruairi stared at the blonde for a moment before hopping back to his feet and wiping his pants off, he was quite ready to move on without waiting for the blonde’s response. Of course, he ended up having to dodge out of the pathway when the boy with fire hydrant red hair breezed by him nearly knocking him in the head with his exceedingly large bags in the process.

Immediately a glare formed on his face and he turned to yell at the boy, but poor Ruairi ended up nearly yelling at empty space as the larger boy had already disappeared up the stairs. “What the…where'd he g-YAAAGH!!” All of Ruairi’s hair shot up as he himself launched into the air in response to the sudden explosion of sound from above him. Someone had just dropped something very heavy on the second floor. After regaining his composure the little boy pointed at the ceiling and growled out, “who did that!?”

Ruairi had a sinking suspicion that he already knew who the culprit was: a giant red head with huge bags. The annoyed child crossed his arms and closed his eyes, deep in thought. Should he go execute his revenge against the large boy or should he be the better man and let it go? He was about to let it go until another loud thump echoed from above and caused the mouse boy to jump up in shock again.

The child regained his composure for a few seconds before exploding in annoyance, “That’s it! I’ve had enough of that!” The boy turned towards the staircase and huffed before making the trek back up to the second floor. After reaching the top he came to a stop and scouted the surrounding area. Where did that red-head disappear to?

His answer was quickly received when a door to his left was opened and some furniture was thrown into the hallway. The mouse boy flinched backwards in an unneeded attempt to avoid being hit by the objects. Wah? Who the heck throws furniture into the hallway like that…what if he hit someone…what if he hit me! Anyways, what’s all that noise he’s making?

Tiptoeing over to the boy’s door Ruairi peeked in. His ears twitched a bit in response to all of the noise the boy was making. Once or twice he flinched in response to some loud noise but eventually he managed to catch sight of what it was the boy was doing. The red head was unpacking and arranging exercise equipment left and right, and he certainly wasn’t being quiet about it.

So he’s a muscle-head. All brawn and no brains, not really surprising but that’ll just make it all the more fun. Wonder what poor vampires have to deal with this guy as a sponsor anyways? Ruairi snorted a little at the thought of the ‘suckers’ that got stuck with such a scary and obviously unhappy guy, for once he kind of wished that people became sponsors because they actually cared about the cause behind the sponsorship.

Oh well, Ruairi wasn’t the type of kid to put too much thought into such mature ideas. Nor was he about to let such ideas put him in a bad mood, or rather a worse mood than he was already in. Not that his mood was particularly bad, he just wasn’t a good-natured kid to begin with. Ever since being forced to come to the U of D Ruairi was in a permanent state of unhappiness and troublemaking.

The mouse child watched the older boy rearrange his equipment after apparently deciding he didn’t like the original placement. Admittedly, Ruairi was a little impressed with how easily he managed to shuffle his items around. The little kid was built like a stick so watching the older boy rearrange his dumbbells with such ease was a little intimidating. Still Ruairi wasn’t the type of kid to back down so easily.

Just as the red head began repair work (apparently he is the type to carry around random tools for whatever purpose he needs) Ruairi decided it was his time to make his grand entrance. Carefully sliding into the older boy’s room Ruairi took a really good look around. It’s like a mini gym in here.

The blonde kid was very quiet as he tiptoed towards the first thing that caught his eye: a dumbbell that was probably a little too heavy for a kid his size. Using both arms he picked it up before deciding he didn’t like the amount of weight that he was carrying, so he dropped it. “Whoops.”

The next thing that caught his eye was some rubber band thingy. So he stalked over to it and picked it up. Grabbing both ends he stretched it a bit, “what is this? Some kind of jump rope?” Turning towards his elder the mouse child asked a question, “hey, Red, what’s this stretchy thing?”

Kaiden hadn't heard a thing as he was began his renovations of the place. He started by making sure the entire room was fastened and secure: he really didn't need anything falling on his head while asleep, or falling apart when he was trying to get ready for school. The only thing that broke him from his focus was the slight noise of shuffling, but he ignored that to continue on his in his work. His mind kept him right on track with the jobs he had to do: heck, if one looked at his mind all they would see is a check list of his accomplishments and his 'To get finished' list.

Thump. A dumbbell of his fell to the ground. Kaiden had been on the opposite end of the room, and instantly turned around to see the smallest child he had seen, the dumbbell at his feet and the echo of his 'Whoops' slowly dying out. To be honest, Kaiden wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel extremely pissed off or confused. Here stood some 8 year old - or something, Kaiden couldn't tell - trying to lift a 50 lb dumbbell. The only certainty was that this kid was not supposed to be in his room, and that he was sort of dense. Kaiden raised an eyebrow as the little mousy kid then moved to the one resistance band and looked at extremely confused. After the kid proceeded to stretch it a little, he questioned the resistance band.

what is this? Some kind of jump rope?" Kaiden nearly spat a fit of laughter out when hearing the absurd comment of the child. A Jump Rope? Well, through trying to contain a bit of laughter, he could see the little guy using it as a jump rope. It was then that the kid turned to face Kaiden. “hey, Red, what’s this stretchy thing?” An eyebrow instantly rose up in question as Kaiden looked at the boy a little funny. Red? Not a nickname I get often. Better than DreadDude's nickname.

Instead of answering, Kaiden merely walked up to the kid and grabbed the resistance band, raising both the kid and the band to his eye level at 6'1 before saying anything in his rough, blunt voice. "That be a resistance band, laddie." Yeah, he let his accent cut through this time, merely because the situation was a little too weird. "Stretches out limb muscles. But you could probably use it as a jump rope if you wanted to." He gave a small chuckle before lowering the kid back down.

So he stared at the kid for a second before posing a question of his own. "Gotta reason to be here, or not?" He crossed his arms, the question not really carrying much weight but the entire situation was wasting his time. Well, it was until he noticed that there was a note on the inside of the door. While he didn't have super vision or something, he could read what the larger letters said:

"You will be sponsoring the Shapeshifting Vampires. Hope you enjoy your stay!" Kaiden raised both eyebrows when he read that, and instinctly began to walk towards the note. How had he not noticed the note? Was it because he was distracted by the annoyingly frustrating door? Kaiden narrowed his eyes before turning back to the kid. "What exactly is a shape shifting vampire, laddie?"

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Lilith had just put away the last of her clothes when a blur of motion caught her eye. Turning she was Everest playfully rolling around on the floor. The Snow Leopard was the closest thing she had ever had to a pet and she cared for him as if he were hers. Bending down she gave him a hug rubbing her cheek again the fur of his neck. "It's good to see you too Everest." Looking up she saw Henri standing in her doorway. He was her closest friend and while their personalities were different the got along famously.

Henri grinned at her and opened his arms wide. "So how's me lovely Báthory today?" She gave him a small smile as she stepped into his arms. Her heeled boots may have given her a couple of inches but it was nothing compared to Henri's six foot four inch frame. Lilith didn't find it threatening like most people did, it was actually quite comforting.

"I'm happy to be back, not that I didn't have a good time in the three weeks I was there it was just difficult what with having to hide in plain sight." Any time her parents friends had stopped by she would run to the restroom and put in contacts and stuff her hair under some kind of cap.

"Oh but there was an 'almost-indecent'." Lilith said pulling back slightly and looking up at Henri. "My hair has gotten so long and thick that it's getting harder to hide. Well I tripped bringing in some tea for my mother and a neighbor friend of hers and the hat fell off. She had gotten up in concern at first, then she noticed my hair." Taking some of her hair in her hands and looking at it she frowned. Lilith truly loved her hair and its color, though they were usually Vampire supporters.

"I told her I had some disease that made me gray prematurely and that it had been hard growing up with it." her story had been half lie, half truth and as her mother watched her spin the tale Lilith couldn't help but notice the look of sad understanding and pure love that shone through her eyes.

A sneer formed on Lilith's face, a look not common for her, as she thought of the look of relief the woman gave. "Humans are so strange. They would rather believe an obvious lie than face the truth so long as the lie is prettier." Loud banging in the hallway caught Lilith's attention she watched a moment as the guy with the red hair tossed out the old furniture that had obviously been left by a female tenant, not that she could remember who that was.

She was about to say something to Henri when she spotted a set of mouse ears creeping through the discarded furniture to the room it was expelled from 'Up to no good already I see.' chuckling she shook her head then placing a hand on Henri's arm she looked up at him. "We should go and see if we belong to any of these new sponsors."

Ruairi eyed the boy with the fire red hair when he started to approach the small boy. Admittedly, the closer the larger boy got the more the mouse child considered throwing the stretchy band down and making a mad dash for the door. After all, it wouldn’t be too surprising if the guy were angry with him since he sort of invaded his personal space. Rather than doing such an embarrassing thing, though, the child held his ground and momentarily bit his tongue.

When the red head reached for him Ruairi snapped his eyes closed awaiting for the strike that he was certain was coming but never did. Instead, he felt the boy lift the band up. The mouse child, who was having a slightly dense moment, opened his eyes and let out a slight squeak in surprise when his feet came off the floor. Instinctually he looked down, wide-eyed, and began to flail his feet around in an attempt to find the ground again.

Quickly, Ruairi looked up at the boy only to find himself at eye level with the brute before him. Instantly he felt himself pale slightly, felt his tail stiffen, and his ears laid flat against his head. This is historically not fun. When the red head opened his mouth and spoke Ruairi nearly lost his grip on the stretchy rope due to his slight flinch. ”That be a resistance band, laddie.” In normal Ruairi fashion, the child gave the giant a look that read: ‘are you stupid’ and nearly said: ‘that be improper grammar, Red.’ Fortunately, the older boy spoke before Ruairi could say such a stupid thing. ” Stretches out limb muscles. But you could probably use it as a jump rope if you wanted to.”

Then the boy did something a little unexpected. He chuckled thus causing his mouse ears to twitch slightly. Is he…laughing at me? How dare he. I’m obviously far to awesome to be laughed at. Then the mouse child felt his feet meet the ground once more. A slight sigh of relief escaped his lips. I don’t like being manhandled, he quickly decided.

”Gotta reason to be here, or not?” Ruairi looked up at the boy through his eyelashes and puckered his lips in the normal bratty kid fashion before turning away from the giant, crossing his arms, flicking his tail, and uttering, “Psh. No.” Looking back at the giant he stuck his tongue out only to quickly avert his gaze once more with another flick of the tail.

To Ruairi’s dismay the taller boy ignored him somewhat in order to take a closer look at a note on his floor. Peering at it Ruairi’s mouth fell open and his arms dropped. I’m so unlucky…or lucky. He would be an excellent target. Turning away from the giant a dark shadow covered the boy’s face as a small smirk found it’s way to his face and his eyes gleamed dangerously.

Rauiri was plotting evil actions already.

His devious scheming was interrupted however when his ears twitched in the direction of Red who had spoken again. ”What exactly is a shape shifting vampire, laddie?” Ruairi’s tail fell to the floor and he looked at Red with obvious disappointment and a slight spark of boredom. What? Was this guy raised under a rock? Another devious smile brightened his face pretty soon after his initial shock and his tail trembled with excitement. I guess it’s time for me to introduce myself.

Facing the red-head completely and puffing out his chest proudly, the mouse boy pointed at Red before answering his question, “only your worst nightmare!” Pointing to himself, Ruairi continued, “I’m a shape-shifting vampire!” Ruairi’s devious smirk widened upon finishing his proud tirade, whatcha think of me now, big guy?

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He watched Everest as the snow leopard purred with delight. That spoiled cat. Always getting Lilith’s attention first. Henri knew it was stupid to be jealous of his familiar, and he was definitely not jealous, but it was kind of unfair how Lilith always seemed to greet Everest before him.

After hugging Everest, Lilith turned her attention to Henri. She stepped into his arms and he gave her a strong, yet gentle embrace.

“I'm happy to be back, not that I didn't have a good time in the three weeks I was there it was just difficult what with having to hide in plain sight,” she said.

Henri nodded in understanding and, realizing Lilith couldn’t see his nod, simply murmured, “Yeah.”

She pulled away slightly and looked directly into his eyes. “Oh but there was an 'almost-indecent'. My hair has gotten so long and thick that it's getting harder to hide. Well I tripped bringing in some tea for my mother and a neighbor friend of hers and the hat fell off. She had gotten up in concern at first, then she noticed my hair.”

“Tha' must've been awkward,” Henri muttered bitterly, a brief frown creasing his brow. “I bet she didn’ even have the nerve ta ask ya 'bout it.”

Lilith took a handful of her hair and studied it intently with her magenta eyes. Henri reached out and brushed a strand from her face and behind her ear, his frown forgotten as the silver locks danced under his fingertips.

“I told her I had some disease that made me gray prematurely and that it had been hard growing up with it.” The sudden sneer on her face did not surprise Henri as he absent-mindedly stroked her hair. He was fine with her hair being silver. The color suited her. He couldn’t even imagine Lilith being a blonde or a brunette or, even worse, a ginger. The thought made him visibly shudder.

“Humans are so strange. They would rather believe an obvious lie than face the truth so long as the lie is prettier.”

“Tell me 'bout it,” agreed Henri. “Humans are such a goddamn pain.”

Honestly, Henri didn’t want care about the thoughts of humans, but since humans were the majority, it was necessary to heed their opinions. He knew of Lilith’s troubles when interacting with them outside the university and he could relate to them.

Whenever he visited his parents, he also had to go through the burden of acting like a human. His parents never forced him, but he wanted them to keep their jobs and, of course, their friends. He had fallen into the role of the troublemaker son who sometimes dropped in to say hello to his folks before going off to play basketball and steal more leopards from the zoo. Yes, the neighbors seriously believed that he had stolen Everest from the zoo. Humans were weird.

He glanced down at a flicker of movement. Everest had gone to the door where an old grizzly bear stood. Marcus. And wherever there was a Marcus, there was a Mara. Henri’s gut wrenched at the thought of talking to that girl. He didn’t know what was wrong with her; she had rejected him then turned around and started ogling at him. Women were complicated like that, but then again, that was part of what Henri liked about them.

“A lot of new faces. Alright Everest?” grunted the huge bear. "Are these humans snacks or sponsors?"

Everest flicked his tail in greeting. He highly respected the grizzly and bowed his head to indicate that. “Hello, Marcus. Welcome back.” His ears twitched at a loud crash and he looked past Marcus to the red-haired human tossing out furniture. "Oh, look. It's that fire truck kid. Not my breakfast, but you know how Henri has a habit of chewing on the new sponsors."

The snow leopard’s ears twitched again as he heard Lilith say, "We should go and see if we belong to any of these new sponsors."

Before the last word left Lilith’s mouth, Everest knew his master was already moving to the door to pick a fight with the fire truck kid. Henri called back casually, “Let’s hope this noisy fire truck ain’t mine, ‘cause he’s gonna need some repairs after I’m through with ‘im” before stepping into the hallway.

Everest sighed and intercepted Henri just outside the door. “And what do you plan on doing, Henri?”

“Someone’s gotta let ‘im know how things work ‘round here.”

Everest snorted. “You just want to show off in front of Lilith,” he accused.

Henri broke into a playful grin. He shrugged carelessly. “You psychic now, Evs?”

Everest cocked his head to the side as if to ask Really?

Henri lifted his hands up in surrender with a light chuckle. “Caught red-handed!” He then looked over his shoulder to Lilith and winked. “Ya know I love to show off in front of me lovely Báthory.”

With another sigh, Everest shook his head. Typical Henri. Always flirting. He never could give up on Lilith. The snow leopard turned his attention back to Marcus. "So how have you and Mara been doing? Good summer, I hope?"

Kaiden knew his last statement had done something wrong, since the little kid's expression suddenly changed a little. Now, Kaiden is no expert on that weird science of understanding people's emotions, so he brushed it off as merely a coincidence. Suddenly, the little boy puffed out his chest, and went all 'high and mighty' on Kaiden. “only your worst nightmare!” Kaiden raised an eyebrow at that. His worst nightmare? If this little midget was his worst nightmare, Kaiden would throw in his towel and commit to learning the trumpet. I’m a shape-shifting vampire! That made Kaiden pause. He tilted his head a little, and for the first time actually paid attention to the kid's 'deformities'. The little ears, the tail, all of it Kaiden had just phased out of his brain for simplicity.

Now that Kaiden actually thought about it, the little mouse man was quite an interesting fellow. Besides the fact that he was a midget, his ears and tail were exactly what he remembered a mouse to have. So, did this kid just have mousey features for fun, or did they do something? The more he thought about it, the more he realized that dwelling on something so trivial was useless. The kid was a mouse, and he was his supposed sponsor. Nothing much else to it.

After giving the kid a blank stare, Kaiden raised an eyebrow to speak. "So you're a mouse." Kaiden was stating the obvious, but it was just what he did sometimes. Made it simpler for everybody to be on the same page. "So, you shape shifting vampires turn into animals, and you're a mouse." Kaiden gave another pause, before shaking his head. "Well, this is a first. Never met a shifter before." That was the honest truth right there. The only real vampires that Kaiden had ever run into was that one (who was, in fact, a normal vampire) and the random few that he unknowingly came across on the streets. It was just that Kaiden found it simpler to zone everybody that wasn't himself or his family into one group: them. Who needs to have differences when they never bothered him?

Kaiden shrugged his massive shoulders slightly, before grabbing a cigarette to put in his mouth. He made no movement to light it, since he had no intentions of smoking inside of a public building: those were the rules, regardless of how destroyed the building was, and it was a lot simpler to follow the rules. "Well, I'm your sponsor then. Since I'm stuck here, might as well find the rest of them. And you, little man, are gunna direct me, unless you wanna be stuck in here." Kaiden looked back at the kid, a look that conveyed that he meant business, before walking to the door that was still stuck open. It still needed to be fixed, but Kaiden changed the priorities of his mental check list: instead of getting settled in as first, he moved 'figure out what the hell being a sponsor means, and who I'm gunna be stuck with' to the top.

His massive 210 frame moving through the door, Kaiden now noticed, with almost utmost shock, a bear to his left. The thing was a huge grizzly, roughly the size of the last one he had saw back home. What made it worse was that it was seemingly listening to the snow leopard, who had also just seemingly finished talking. It wasn't normal. In fact, nothing seemed normal.

Straight-minded Kaiden nearly lost himself in his confussion. First a snow leopard, now a bear, and from Kaiden could hear, they could both talk. Something in this world was seriously effed up, and Kaiden didn't know how to handle that. Sure, he saw that loser DreadDude walking in his general direction, but he ignored him. He turned back to the kid, regardless of where MouseMan was, and spoke again. "So, do talking animals wander these halls a lot, or have I been shipped home?" His confusion was quite obvious, but his voice was slightly muffled from the cigarette. The only time he had ever seen a bear in a building was when one broke into the old barn behind their house and Gregor wrestled it to the ground easily. But that was in Scotland. This was supposed to be America.

Ruairi was quite unhappy with the reaction of the huge red-head before him. He most certainly did not take the mouse-boy seriously when he said that he was his worst nightmare. Ruairi would make him regret that. With time of course, nothing could ever be done immediately and have the proper affect. No worries though, the mouse child could drive anyone crazy with his irritating antics and this Scottish fellow would be no different. If anything he would be a very easy mark, almost as easy Henri. Oh I'm sorry, I meant OHN-REE.

The boy’s tail twitched slightly and his ears stiffened on his head as the older boy obviously started to analyze Ruairi and his inhuman features. From the look on his face it seemed as though he had only just noticed them. Great, I’m stuck with the brute that is about as dense as a rock, he sighed slightly, at least this means I can probably get away with just about anything. This pleased him ever so slightly. Okay, it pleased him more than just slightly.

"So you're a mouse." Ruairi glared at the large boy before him. He really did not like his tone when he said that. Did he have an issue with his being a mouse? He wasn't about to point fun at his mousiness was he? "So, you shape shifting vampires turn into animals, and you're a mouse." In about two seconds Ruairi was going to pounce on Red and scratch his eyes out. The mouse boy visibly fumed at the insulting way in which Red pointed out the fact that yes, he could have been born as a powerful creature like a wolf or panther, but was instead born as a pathetic mouse. It was something Ruairi had always had to live with. "Well, this is a first. Never met a shifter before."

"I was unlucky enough to be the first it seems." Ruairi grumbled, his voice dripping with spite and animosity. The mouse child grumbled as he watched Red grab a cigarette and put it in his mouth. "Oh great another one." Ruairi's sense of smell was slightly more sensitive than the average human's or vampire's, thus the smell of smoke really bothered him. The mouse boy, had he have been slightly less aggravated may have made a note of the fact that the elder boy did not put any effort into lighting it, but alas he was far past being slightly aggravated and didn't not notice Red's attempt to follow the rules.

Ruairi was about to crawl back to his room when Red opened his mouth to speak again, "Well, I'm your sponsor then. Since I'm stuck here, might as well find the rest of them. And you, little man, are gunna direct me, unless you wanna be stuck in here." The look on his face was obviously meant to inform the mouse-boy that he was being serious, but Ruairi was hardly in the mood to be ordered around. Especially by him.

"And you're going to make me, huh Red?" Ruairi scowled at the red head, then gave him a smirk obviously meant to be a challenge. Unfortunately for the small child the giant teenager had already been distracted and relatively shocked by the two wild animals that roamed the halls. Marcus and Everest. YUCK. Surprisingly, however, he didn't seem scared of either beast, more like he simply wasn't expecting to see either one of them inside the building. Taking advantage of Red's distraction with the two animals, Ruairi scampered to him, still on all fours.

"So, do talking animals wander these halls a lot, or have I been shipped home?" Finding no way around his massive frame, Ruairi crawled underneath the boy's legs and began to continue in the general direction of his room. He was a little wary of continuing his journey, however, due to the feline that prowled the floor.

Once he was a a few feet away from his sponsor Ruairi finally looked back at him and responded to his question. "Why don't you figure it out yourself, stupid." Sticking his tongue out he moved his hands and legs as fast as he could in high hopes of making it to the safety of his room without being beaten into a pulp or eaten by the snow leopard only a ways off. Although, if push comes to shove, Ruairi was sure that Lilith, which he could see from here would offer some kind of safety even if he didn't necessarily want it.

---

---

---

---

Another small smile found it's way to Lilith's lips though it was gone as soon as it appeared as she thought about what Henri had said. Quickly she reached out and grabbed his hand stopping him before he made his way to the new sponsor. "Henri you can't pick on him too much. Even if he isn't my sponsor I really need him to stay." While everyone knew that she fed off of emotion the only people who knew what emotion were Henri and her fellow feeling vampires. She didn't like to talk about it much, after all envy was always a touchy topic with people. "He's important." Lilith hoped that her meaning reached him aside from not talking about the emotion she fed off of she also didn't speak on her dining habits. It was not that she was ashamed, after all how can you be ashamed of something you have no control over? It was just that Lilith felt it was no one's business.

As Adwin approached Lilith let go of Henri's hand. "Good to see you again Adwin. I hope that your summer was good as well." she gave him a polite nod which to most wouldn't seem that friendly but it was more than she gave others. "Lets just hope we actually have a sponsor this year." she said looking past them to the little mouse boy carefully making his way to his room as he eyed Marishka. Well at least he wasn't causing any trouble for the time being.

"This will be good for you.
-J.R."

"hell no im going back home
-Levi"

"Don't be such a weenie, Levi. Once you get used to things, you might even enjoy yourself.
-J.R."

"yeah and maybe ill meet a pink unicorn too, dont be stupid jeffy
-Levi"


"howd u guys even get me on that plane anyway?
-Levi"

"No comment.
-J.R."

"u r such a little dickwad like srsly u r the worst therapist i have ever met
-Levi"

"I'm the only therapist you've ever met, Levi. Call me when you're settled in, okay?
-J.R."

Levi huffed, shoving his cell phone deep down into the front pocket of his jeans as he peered out the window of the taxi cab at the gates to the University of Diversity. The place seemed to loom over him, and the metal walls of the taxi cab couldn't protect him from all the danger it held. The idea of a fence around the campus was comforting, but the vastness of the campus was enough to completely nullify what little comfort that gave, and nullify any other comfort that could possibly come from anything else. Not that he assumed he would find any comfort in this place anyway. It was like its own damn town for Christ's sake! And for all Levi cared, a town could have easily compared to an entire state, or an entire continent.

He sunk down a little further in his seat, just his eyes peering out the window while he wrapped his arms around himself. Did he even have all of his stuff? His parents had packed his bags, probably while he slept, seeing as he'd just suddenly woken up on a flight to whatever-the-hell-state he was in, confused and having to be comforted by three stewardesses. What state was it? Idaho? Oklahoma? Ohio? He didn't care. It wasn't his town, it wasn't his house, and it wasn't his room. Jeffy had mentioned in his earlier texts that he'd sent documents to the school to be sure that they kept him enrolled; kept him in his classes. He wondered how hard he'd have to try to get himself kicked out. Maybe he could use his graffiti to tag some of the school buildings. Maybe he could skip all of his classes. Hell, maybe he could make such a scene in the middle of a class and get kicked out. A couple of pieces of paper signed by a therapist couldn't possibly be enough to keep him, could they?

"Mr. Havet?" The taxi driver suddenly interrupted, and Levi instantly glared at him, already uncomfortable enough with the man simply for the fact that he had to deal with being around him.

"What?" Levi snapped, not bothering to spare the word an ounce of sharpness. Had it been a knife, it would have killed the chubby taxi driver.

"I think its time for you to go. We've been sitting here for twenty minutes and you still haven't moved." Levi had to give the man props for keeping so level headed.

"Actually, I've changed my mind!" Levi retorted, spinning up a new lie and hoping the taxi driver wasn't in on the whole situation, too. "I'm going back home, so you can just take me back to the air port and bill my parents for the extra mileage."

The taxi driver sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm afraid you'll have to get out, now, Mr. Havet. I've been told strictly that you must get off here."

Levi huffed again, kicking the metal wall which separated his seat from the drivers, only to find himself wincing at the pain that it stuck into his toes, which sat barely protected behind his blue Vans. If only the wall hadn't been there, then at least he could have caused the driver a little more discomfort. The firm statement, probably direct from his parents, or from Jeffy, was enough for Levi to immediately, and whole heatedly, hate the man. Like this moron had any authority to be bossing him around?! Oh, Levi was livid. Jeffy would be hearing about this, oh hell, he was going to have to sit on the phone for hours while Levi screamed at him. This was all his stupid fault! Jeffy had always seemed like he was all talk, before. He was like a big brother to Levi, really, but now... Now that little ass was just a big traitor! He was going to get it for sure! Levi wasn't sure what "it" was, yet, exactly, but he'd be getting it, that was for sure.

"Fine!" He muttered, snatching up his backpack and shoving open the door, only half-wanting to start crying about hurting his toes. "It's not like there's any chance of me staying in this stupid place!"

Storming from the backseat and slamming the door behind him, he made his way quickly to the already popped trunk of the cab, lifting the hood up as far as it could go and sighing at the sight of his bags. How the hell had his parents expected him to deal with this much luggage, anyway? His backpack, he could handle, but there was no denying he was petite, and here he was, staring down at a huge black travel trunk - the kind which stood on some little wheels and opened up to have bars for clothes to hang on, as well as a couple of drawers at the top and the bottom - and his big black duffle bad. The duffle, obviously, was home to his graffiti gear, from the way he could see the jutting figures of spray paint cans and thick folders which held his pre-cut stencils and concept sketches. He was surprised that Jeffy and his parents had sent that along with him. Honestly, were they trying to encourage him to vandalize something? Because that was what it looked like.

Grabbing the handle of the trunk with both hands and yanking it out with all the might he could muster, he almost felt like his arms would give way half-way through the action. He almost fell backwards when it officially slipped out from the trunk, but caught himself, throwing back one of his legs into a better stance to keep his balance. Even he was surprised that he managed it, breathing heavily and bending at the waist when the wheels of the trunk were officially on the ground, exhausted. Still, he wasn't done yet, was he? He hefted the duffle bag up with a little more ease, but not much more, and quickly slid the strap around his shoulders. God, he wasn't sure how much longer he could take the weight of it across his shoulder, along with his already stuffed backpack, and pushing that awful trunk with him. He'd have to find where he was supposed to go, and he'd have to find it fast, at least so that he could drop all of this stuff before coming up with a good plan. Well, two good plans, actually, he corrected himself as he shut the trunk of the cab, flinching backwards in fear as it sped off as soon as the action was completed.

What the hell did that rotten guy think he was doing?! Speeding off like that!! The ass!!

Grabbing the handle of the travel trunk and taking a quick moment to straighten out his brown Firefly tee-shirt which depicted two dinosaurs, one saying 'curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal," and the tan cardigan which he wore unbuttoned as a top layer before making his way onto the campus hesitantly. This would be horrid. It was already horrid, but he was sure that it would only get more horrid. What had he been thinking about before? He'd nearly forgotten, but quickly recalled what it was. Planning. Yes, he'd need two plans. First would be his revenge on Jeffy. Perhaps a terrible computer virus? Yes, that certainly sounded like a good idea, and he could easily send it strait to him with the man's email. Second plan? Get the hell out of this joint, for sure. How hard could it be to get kicked out of a school? Really! Surely, he'd come up with a game plan for how to do it as soon as he was locked inside his dorm room.

"Hello there!"

Levi stopped dead in his tracks, flinching as a young man with a devious smile and a clip board stepped into his path. He fidgeted again, watching the man hold out the clipboard as if he were offering out a million dollars. He was trying so hard to make it seem like it was something that Levi wanted, even if he didn't know what it was.

"Would you like sign up for a sponsorship program?" He asked, pushing the clipboard a little further into Levi's face.

Levi flinched back a step, putting his hands on the strap of his duffle bag nervously, trying to adjust the weight it was putting on his small shoulders. "No," He finally answered, being sure to make the statement as firm as possible. "Please go away."

The man furrowed his brows, and his look changed to one that was pleading, like he needed the signature or he'd die. He took another step towards Levi and Levi instantly took another step back. "Come on, you'll hardly have to do anything! Just sign your name!"

"Cut it out!" Levi snapped, turning sharply and trying to go around the young man. "Whatever it is, I'm not doing it!"

The man quickly darted into his path once again, and Levi, so frightened by the sudden action, went to jolt backwards again, only to loose his footing and be dragged down by the heavy momentum of his duffle bag and landing on the ground with a thud from his body, a heavier thud from the fallen travel trunk, and some clanging from the spray paint cans in the duffle. Levi winced as he hit the ground, shutting his eyes tight and biting his lower lip. Great, just what he needed, a bruise on his ass, too. When he opened his eyes, the man, much to Levi's disappointment, was standing right there, looming over him and instead of offering a hand to help up the small boy, instead, there was that freaking clipboard, held out right in front of Levi's nose.

Oh god was he livid.

"IF I SIGN YOUR DAMN PIECE OF PAPER WILL YOU JUST GET OUT OF MY FACE?!!"

Levi was vaguely aware of the people who'd stopped to look, to laugh, but his attention was far too focused on this asshole to care at the moment. It was okay. He was just making a scene. That was normal when he wasn't getting what he wanted. He watched as that stupid smile stretched back over the young man's features, and Levi almost regretted his words. Maybe he shouldn't have given in like that? No, it was fine. The guy said that he'd barely have to do anything, right? Maybe it would be okay, if all he was looking for was a little signature.

"Yes, I most certainly will!" The man answered, shoving the clipboard into Levi's hands. "I'll even take your bags to your new dorm room for you! Since you seem to be having so much trouble."

Levi looked at him bitterly, but took the pen in hand and signed away at the bottom line, huffing to himself and uttering all the bad words he could muster in a breath too quite to understand. As soon as the pen tip was off the paper, the clipboard was being tugged out from his hands, and the man was looking over it. Levi took the strap of the duffle bag off his shoulder, making it a little easier of a time to stand while the man looked over the paper, almost as if he hadn't even looked at what he was asking Levi to sign himself, though he was probably just checking to be sure that it was filled out correctly or whatever. Suddenly, he smiled at Levi once again, and Levi was really starting to hate that smile, as he picked up the small boy's duffle bag for him and stood the trunk upright, grabbing onto the handle.

"Thank you, Levi Havet!" The man said, handing Levi a small information packet before beginning to make his way away from him, towards the dorm building, more than likely. "You'll be sponsoring the normal Vampires!"

...

...

What?

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!" Levi shouted, tightening his grip around the pen he'd signed his name with. Vampires?! Seriously?! Like hell he was going to do that! They'd probably eat him whole! There was no way he could handle that kind of situation! Wouldn't they rather grab people who were all... wholehearted and shit? Did this guy not have any kind of good judgement for character? He wasn't cut out for that!! In the heat of the moment, he chucked the pen towards the man's head, enraged that the man managed to step away from it just in time and continue on his merry way bringing Levi's things for him, and at a safe distance. With no other choice, Levi followed him, until he saw the building that he was being led to, that is.

It was... a crap heap.

You've got to be kidding me, he thought, dropping to his knees in the grass while the asshole with his bags simply went inside, dropping the stuff off, and left to go on and sucker in more people to do the same thing, probably. Levi had stopped caring about him. Now he had to worry about this place. It was terrible, it was probably falling apart, it was going to be a living nightmare. He fished his cell phone back out from his pocket, dialing the first number on his contact list, which happened to be the first out of only three numbers, and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Levi?"

"You've sent me to my death, Jeffy, I hope you're happy," Levi responded, skipping the greeting all together.

"What? What are talking about?"

"I'm talking about some guy who bullied me into signing this damn paper, and then finding out that I just got suckered into being a sponsor for vampires!" Levi heard Jeffy snort, trying not to burst into laughter, and immediately balled his hands up into fists. "This isn't funny, Jeffy!"

"You've got to admit, it's kind of funny."

"No it's not!" Levi snapped, finally picking himself up off the ground and dusting off his jeans. "I'm going to die here and it's all your fault! I hope you remember to put on my grave the cause of death, because it's going to say 'died of terrible therapeutic treatment'! I hope you know you're absolutely going to get it for this."

"Levi you're going to be fine. I'm pretty sure they won't let their students kill their other students. Just try to relax and get into the flow of things. And I swear to god, Levi, if you put another virus on my computer, vampires are going to be the least of your problems."

"You're the biggest asshole I know," Levi retorted, taking a quick glance at the crumpled papers in his other hand.

"I'm the only asshole you know, Levi. For Pete's sake, I'm the only person you know. I gotta run, call me later, alright?"

"Whatever," Levi said, hanging up the phone and shoving it back into his pocket where he'd retrieved it from. His gaze went back to that godawful building and he simply stared at it for a moment, as if maybe staring could scare it away, scare the whole situation away, like one would do in a bad dream. But no, nothing would get solved that way. He simply pushed himself into gear again, making his way to the building and inside. The inside of it wasn't really any better than the outside, but at least it wasn't falling apart, yet, he supposed. And it wasn't like he planned on staying long, right? He'd be gone in no time! He'd be such a little prick on campus that they'd just have to send it home! So, it didn't matter how crappy the place was, did it? Well, maybe it did a little bit, since he still figured he'd be here for some time. He'd have to find a way to make himself somewhat comfortable.

Finding himself face-to-face with a bunch of closed doors with maybe only a couple of people moving in and out of them, he found himself grimacing. There was no way to tell which one of these rooms that guy had gone into! Where was his stuff? After that fall... Certainly he'd need to check the spray paint cans. He couldn't have one leaking all over the place... That would just suck. He bit his lip looking around for someone he could possibly bother about the information, though it seemed that the most commotion was coming from upstairs. Maybe one of them knew, although he hated the idea of talking to anyone, especially at this point. All he wanted was to lock himself in and try to sort through his stuff. Maybe do some murals on his walls, especially since working with his spray paint always seemed to calm his nerves at least a little bit.

Sighing, he figured there wasn't much he could do about the issue, and trudged his way up the stairs. As soon as he came to the top however, he flinched, and nearly fell backward down the stairwell. Was that... Were those... wild animals?! He stared with wide eyes, though everyone else seemed to be dismissing their presence as if it were completely normal. Well, maybe one or two people seemed to look at them once in a while with apprehension, but that was about it. Honestly, how was that normal? Last he checked, a bear wasn't exactly the kind of thing you kept as a household pet. The range of domesticated animals could not have changed that much in twelve or thirteen years, he was almost sure.

Levi tried to ignore the situation, for the moment, and made a note to himself that if those things even made one step towards him, he could just run back downstairs and out the door, or at least he could hide in one of the other rooms, if he found one unlocked. Biting his lip, though, he took a look at the people around, trying to decide which ones would be able to give him the information he wanted. The kid with the orange hair seemed too preoccupied with a cut on his finger, and hardly seemed like he himself knew what the hell was going on. The tall brute with the fiery red hair and an unlit cigarette in his mouth seemed free to talk, but his enormous stature was enough to be frightening in itself, and Levi couldn't help but subconsciously take a step away from the guy. That left the group a little further down, nearer to the wild animals, that consisted of a paint-splattered boy, the dread-lock king, and some chick with silver hair, all seeming to be giving their full attention to a girl with long brown hair. Oh god, what was he supposed to do? Well, he supposed there was just one thing. He would just have to make another big scene, and hope someone would be irritated enough to pay attention, or pity him enough to help him out.

He put on his best nervous expression, furrowing his brows and holding his arms in close to his body. The nervousness, the shyness, it mixed with a small hint of aggravation, and that was exactly what he wanted to convey. It was a look that said; 'pay attention to me! But seriously, don't touch me because you're all scaring the shit out of me.'

"Hey!! Did anyone see some asshole carry a duffle bag and a trunk into any of the rooms?" He spoke out, making sure he'd be heard by at least someone. "He made me sign up for this sponsor thing and then he said he'd carry my bags to my room but I lost track of him and now I have no idea where my stuff is."

Kaiden had to admit that he hadn't been listening to the Mouseman the entire time, so he missed those little jabs at him about his cigarette and something about being unlucky. Kaiden, however, did no miss the little jab of rebelliousness at him - at least the mouseman had spunk. So while Kaiden was somewhat preoccupied, he did hear the little sound of scurrying footsteps running towards him, and then suddenly in front of him. Confused, Kaiden looked down to see the little man exit his legs and run on all fours away. Once he was far enough away, mouseman turned and threw a retort. Why don't you figure it out yourself, stupid."

Kaiden rose an eyebrow in mild amusement before the kid turned and ran, which allowed for a deep rumbling chuckle to exit from Kaiden's body. The kid was annoying, but spunky - should be interesting. So Kaiden turned and called back to the kid. "Will do, laddie, will do." Kaiden shook his head in amusement before turning back to view the surroundings. Once again, that large cat and bear were still watching all the kids move. To his left, Mr. Dreadman was talking to a kid with colours everywhere, and two pretty little lasses - one who had just arrived. It was then that his eyesight zeroed in on something he hadn't noticed on the little mouseman - name tag badge things that seemingly had each person's name on it. This school may have a faculty of lyers, but they are efficient lyers. Kaiden nodded in agreement with himself, before turning back into his room.

In a few seconds, he had completed the newest of his two tasks: creating a makeshift name tag for himself out of ducktape, the letter on the wall and a few bobby pins and gathering up his work out supplies into a duffel bag. His plans for the day? Finding the gym and catching up on some practice, and possibly catching a few of his vampires on the way. Since he hadn't a clue where the gym was, Kaiden figured that if he looked for shape shifters while he looked for the gym, he would be keeping things efficient.

So with the makeshift name tag on his bandana (which read 'You will be sponsoring the Shapeshifting Vampires' for it made no sense to add anything to a fairly straightforward message) and his duffel bag full of clothing, a few of his own equipment and some water, Kaiden exited his room to see a kid jump up the stairs and yell.

"Hey!! Did anyone see some asshole carry a duffle bag and a trunk into any of the rooms? He made me sign up for this sponsor thing and then he said he'd carry my bags to my room but I lost track of him and now I have no idea where my stuff is." Kaiden raised an eyebrow to the kid, before shaking his head slightly. Poor bastard, he got suckered in too. Instead of stating the obvious, Kaiden grunted out a short reply.

"Not up here, lad." With that, he noticed the gangling, orange haired kid who was preoccupied by what appeared to be a cut on his nail. Well, he had to admit, there were quite a few weirdos around here, but Kaiden wasn't really in any place to judge: after all, he was a 6'1, pure red haired, muscle man with a scottish accent. Nothing really normal about that at all.

Regardless, Kaiden made his way around the little guy yelling to look down the hall for Mouseman, to which he shook his head and gave a chuckle before walking to the stairs. Before he did walk down the stairs, he turned his head towards the bear and the leopard, giving a smirk and a nod to them as if to say 'Nice to meet you, large animals - but I ain't scared'. Next motion was back to the orange haired kid to give him a nod of acknowledgement before walking by him as well.

Thing was, Kaiden didn't get too far before he heard the tapping of a rod of some sort. The stairs creaking under his frame, he rounded the stairs to find himself above a petite girl with a cane making her way up the stairs. This caused Kaiden to pause slightly, cocking his head. Once again, he was greeted with a predicament he had never been in before - here was the very first blind person he had ever met. Remember, Kaiden liked to live life in gyms and such, so he rarely got out and about to the city to actually explore or even care about it.

Now, this would have been all fine and dandy, except that Kaiden was pretty damn big, and the staircase... well, it wasn't as big as it should be. While there was room for two normal people to fit through, Kaiden took up a person and a half and the girl had a cane, which added to her width of space as well.

So, instead of standing there awkwardly like an idiot, Kaiden found the most efficient path and took it instantly: by talking (weird, right?) "Well, lass, we seem to be in a bit of a bind." It occured later that she may not be able to realize it, or she might take offense to his statement, but Kaiden didn't care for neither. If she was level headed, she would simply acknowledge that they were, and they would solve the problem. There was no need for over reactions or emotional annoyances in such. Kaiden just wanted to get by, and so did she.

True, he could have just waited or something, but that was somewhat awkward for a kid that hated sitting still. Though he did have to wonder if she was a vampire or not - a blind vampire? That would be interesting, to say the least.

Tap, tap, tap, tap,... Marishka drummed her nails against the window. Her mind focused on her surroundings. The pointless chatter of the people in the hall, on the first floor and outside the building was endless. "Hey!! Did anyone see some asshole carry..." "Not up here..." "Arrivederci." "Well, lass, we seem to..." She couldn't help but be drawn toward the odd language and accent with which she heard the female voice speak. Just the curiosity sent Marishka's sense of where and who into chaos. She lost the buzz of just listening. So with that over, why shouldn't she go out and find the strange human who spoke that word. Arrivederci. What did that mean?

Marishka licked her lips, blinked her feline slitted eye and walked out of her room. She blinked again when she realized that the group in the hall had grown by two or four people. Just one person was enough to crowd a small place, what's an entire group? She moved cautiously, still wary of the strangers. Her back was literally to the wall as she scooted toward the direction of the voice she heard. It just happened to be near the stairs... Where a tall red haired man was blocking the way. She growled irritated and tried to seek a way through. There was either leap the side rail which seemed rude, or being polite and ask if she could pass. She decided to be polite.

Marishka took a step forward and that's when she smelt it. She gagged. Cigarettes. Most of the time, she's ignore the smokers, but if she was going to be living in the same building with some smoker, something had to be done. Marishka didn't see any smoke near or floating around the guy, but the smell lingers, and when you had a sniffer better than a blood hound, certain smells could be dangerous. She asked the question abruptly, but hoping to hide the rudeness with the polite tone. "I hope you don't smoke all the time. You're not a two pack a day man, are you?" She paused, and took a step back while cocking her to the right. "I'm sorry if I'm being rude to the both of you, but I really don't approve or even want second hand smoking or.." Marishka got silent really quick, her hackles standing on end with the sudden realization that she probably just started a interrogation or a conversation.

---

---

---

Laz had made it up five steps before she stopped her climb due to the sound of creaking coming from above her followed by the sound of heavy footsteps descending the same flight of stairs. Uh oh. I hope this staircase is bigger than it felt, otherwise there may be a problem. Judging from the volume of the footfalls whoever was coming down these stairs, most likely male from the beat and the way the sole of his shoes sounded, was quite large.

Her suspicions were confirmed when a rather distinctive sounding deep voice with a Scottish accent spoke, “Well, lass, we seem to be in a bit of a bind.” Her ears did not deceive her, although she could never have guessed that he would be of Scottish decent. Admittedly, she was very surprised to have the unique experience of meeting a Scotsman here of all places. Although, it is the university of diversity.

While her eyes could never see him she still lowered her dark sunglasses and feigned looking up at him with a little smile on her face. Cocking her head she placed the handle of her cane on her lips playfully. “Let me guess, poor little blind old me is blocking the stairway and you are actually going to ask me to move? Don’t you think that’s a little inconsiderate?”

She lowered the tip of her cane down to the floor with a loud tap. Before pushing her sunglasses back up to cover her eyes and sticking her tongue out a little bit. “Nah, I’m just joking. Mi scusa. Just couldn’t resist the opportunity to mess with someone. I'm Laz by the way.” She was already holding the handle on the stairway so finding a wall and pushing herself up against it to make way for the boy was a fairly easy task. “Is this enough room for you? This is probably the fastest way for you to get down the stai-“

Laz was cut off by the faint sound of growling and she flinched a little surprised. She wasn’t entirely sure if that was a human or a cat. Then the mysterious creature spoke, "I hope you don't smoke all the time. You're not a two pack a day man, are you? I'm sorry if I'm being rude to the both of you, but I really don't approve or even want second hand smoking or…”

So it was a human girl, that or the voice belonged to a witch vampire’s familiar, however she doubted it. The blind girl bit her bottom lip as she attempted to hold her tongue lashing. Especially since, judging from the way her voice drifted off, she was probably nervous and Laz didn’t want to make the situation any worse for her. “Va bene, I’m not insulted, although I can’t say the same for my Scottish friend here.” Frankly speaking however, Laz highly doubted this boy was the type to be insulted by such things. In her limited experience with the Scottish she had usually found them to be very able at rising above such petty things as this. It would be disappointing if he was the sensitive type since that would make him one less person able to stand a round of playful banter with her.

Kaiden hadn't thought that trying to get by another person would cause him to be surrounded: if he had, he would have jumped out the window instead, and walked around. You think him to be joking? Nope.

Anyway, the apparent blind girl lowered her sunglasses a smidgen to let Kaiden stare into her blank eyes, which had him questioning his earlier assumption of her being blind. Unless that was what she was going for, but Kaiden threw those types of thoughts out: critical thought and analysis took way too long to think through, and he really didn't want to bother with it. She then suddenly placed the cane at her hips in an odd way, and spoke. “Let me guess, poor little blind old me is blocking the stairway and you are actually going to ask me to move? Don’t you think that’s a little inconsiderate?”

Kaiden raised an eyebrow in confusion before thinking the entire thing through. For starters, Kaiden swore there was a hint of some accent or something in her voice, but he couldn't place it: sure, just because he was raised in a european country didn't mean he cared much about the other countries. It was also her tone that threw him off a little, as if she was trying to make him feel guilty for asking such a simple question. Kaiden was starting to feel that this wasn't going to be an easy ordeal, and was about to give his answer - which was going to be a simple 'No' - when the girl brought her cane down, and pushed her sunglasses back up.

“Nah, I’m just joking. Mi scusa. Just couldn’t resist the opportunity to mess with someone. I'm Laz by the way.” Kaiden was left slightly stunned by her sudden change in attitude, but it couldn't stop the grin from forming onto his face when she moved over and speaking again. “Is this enough room for you? This is probably the fastest way for you to get down the stai-“

Kaiden had been finally prepared to continue such an interesting conversation with this mysterious 'Laz' when a voice squeaked behind him. While squeaked would most likely be correct, it was how Kaiden interpreted the polite tone. "I hope you don't smoke all the time. You're not a two pack a day man, are you? I'm sorry if I'm being rude to the both of you, but I really don't approve or even want second hand smoking or…” Gone was Kaiden's grin to be replaced with confusion once more. See, he hadn't had a cigarette in... Three days? Four? Whenever my last match was, anyway. That time alone should have erased most of the smell that the cigarette stained his clothing with - which was his main pet peeve when it came to his habit, as he hated having weird smells in his clothing - so the better question was: how did this lady, to whom Kaiden probably had never met and wasn't facing, know that he smoked?

Kaiden narrowed it down instantly to 2 options: either this girl had a super nose or something to smell the unlit cigarette in his mouth or she had seen him walking by, which Kaiden couldn't rule out. However, it seemed that he was just a silent statue since Laz jumped in with her own answer pretty darn quick: Va bene, I’m not insulted, although I can’t say the same for my Scottish friend here.” Kaiden gave a small chuckle, his back still towards the girl behind him, at Laz's response. What was his stance? That could be summed up in his response - which he was finally allowed to give.

"Can't be offended by things that aren't offensive." He stated bluntly. Truly, Kaiden couldn't see how it was even close to being offensive: the girl was looking out for herself, and voiced her concerns. "I'm more curious as to how you realized I smoked when I haven't lit one up for a few days, and this one isn't lit." As it was, his voice was slightly muffled due to the unlit cigarette in his mouth, but it was still very audible as he turned his head to finally get a look at the girl behind him: thin, black hair, eye... patch? That's different. Kaiden still looked at her with his bored amber eyes, the question still out in the open.

After that simple second of looking her in the eye, Kaiden turned back to his first conversational partner who was still against the wall, as if to continue the conversation. "Didn't know the blind liked to make jokes." He gave her a smirk, acknowledging the fact that regardless of her condition, she still made fun of him. "Name's Kaiden." Normally, Kaiden would shake hands with her or something, but he dismissed those ideas: not under the pretense that she was blind, but simply because he never liked doing that. What was so wrong with just stating your name? That didn't mean that you had to touch each other's hands now, does it?

Anywho, Kaiden turned his body towards the railing, across from Laz and the mystery girl to allow site between the both of them - well, at least one of them. Now it was only a matter of turning his head to the left or right to see both of them. Resting his body against the guardrail did have one repercussion, however: it creaked under his weight, as if it was yelling at him to move his heavy weight. He was still taking up half the staircase, but not like he cared much.

Crossing his arms and giving out a sigh, Kaiden flicked his eyes between the two of them, and while he did want to hear why the girl to his right had the sniffer of a bloodhound, he was equally curious about Laz. His headband still showing that he was a sponsor, he turned his head towards Laz for a simple question. "You get suckered into this sponsor thing too?" While he was going out on a limb as a guess, it wasn't all that bad: from what he could gather, vampires usually didn't have such health problems, and a lot of them were already here when he showed up. Nevertheless, he was taking a risk.