Ian sat in his normal throne. He was resting, but only for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, trying to confirm himself that what he was about to do was a good thing. Although he had done it countless times before, he always asked himself if it was the right thing to do.


He tapped his fingers quickly, in sync with his racing thoughts. Finally he stood abruptly and left the room in three long strides. He made his way up the grand staircase and to his room.

He retrieved his things from the bedside table and headed back out the door.

He went back down the staircase, his feet shuffling as fast as he could making it down in a few seconds. He went to the closest surface near him which aimed him toward the kitchen.

He reached his hands into his pockets and pulled out a plastic sack, and a razor. He uncurled the knot in the bag easily and let the white powder fall onto the marble before him. He cut up the smaller rocks then replaced the razor and sack back into his pocket. He formed two fat lines and lined them up next to each other. He leaned his head down, the tip of his nose slightly jolted by the coldness of the marble. He flared his nostrils and slid his head down and inhaled deeplt, taking both of them at the same time. When he was done, sniffing up the extra glass that had strayed from his lines. He threw his head back, a groan of pleasure escaping his lips as the meth instanly entered into his system. His eyes rolled in the back of his head and for a split second, Ian was lost. Lost in the overwhelming feeling of this pleasure. He sighed slowly, his
breath
barely stable. He steadied himself, holding his hands on the surface in front of him. He eased his breathing to a steady pace and walked out of the kitchen towards...wherever.

Wherever was right into Hayley.

They basically crashed. Ian jumped back, the crystal putting him on complete edge. He realized who he was nearly cowering from and recovered himself, standing back near her. His eyes naturally traveling down her body. He took in every feature of her. Her fire hair framing her high cheek bones. Her stunning silver eyes. They seemed to pierce right into him. She was staring right back into his own purple eyes. She could clearly see that he was high.

"Your totally sprung." Hayley stated slowly. She began nodding, as if proving it to herself even though it was completely obvious. "Your eyes are sooo frickin' dialated."

Ian moslty ignored her, not really even comprehending the words that poured out of her mouth. He was too busy looking at her to even understand what she was saying. His eyes traveled to her full, firm breasts then her lucious curves. Her pale complextion bringing out her features. Finally Hayley's voice reached his ears. "...I'm not a piece of meat." His eyes were back on hers, his eyebrows lowering. A smirk forming on his face. "Dear Hayley," The smirk turning into a grin showing off his perfectly pointed fangs. He closed the distance between them, pressing her lightly against the wall. "You are if I say you are." His eyes traveled lower as well as his right hand, starting on her stomach down to her leg. Hayley quickly snatched his hand with hers. She clenched his wrist tightly and squeezed him, almost hard enough to break his hardened bone. He grunted in pain and she twisted his chin so he was looking right at her. "You don't touch me unless I say so." She pushed him away and headed up the stairs and into the arms of the closest vampire around the corner.

"Smooth. I have no idea why you're still single." stated a voice from somewhere in the shadows closeby, the tone clearly sarcastic.
Oren dropped down from a high window ledge at a little way along the hall, landing with a soft thud not far from where Ian had just had his advances spurned and his wrist almost fractured. She wished she could say she was shocked.

She straightened up a little and folded her arms, curling her gloved fingers around her elbows as she regarded the other vampire with a mixture of amusement and disapproval in her dark grey eyes.
"You know, as your lieutenant I'm always going to do what's required and follow you and such....but there are some days where I look at you and I really do wonder why."

That was indeed quite true. Oren had her concerns for their future of the group if their leader was more interested in getting high and groping anything female than actually doing any leading. She rolled her eyes.
"What is it this time anyway? Meth? You do know that'll really start messing up your face pretty soon right? Go take a look at those time lapse photos. You may not age, but that'll soon make up the difference."

Oren didn't take drugs. Firstly as she liked to keep a clear head in whatever situation she was in, and secondly becuase she'd come into contact with the sort of people that shipped them..and she didn't really want to support that kind of people.

Ian scowled at his next in order. Who was she to even begin telling him what to do. He crossed over the wooden floors to close the distance between them. He was annoyed with the tone that she was taking with him. "You know, maybe you should research some things before you go talking smack. Being a Vampire, Meth doesn't have any side affects on me. And besides, I do better when I'm on it, I'm more coordinated and I pay more attention to everything. And you need not even question my authority. There's a reason that I am Leader and until you can respect that, I suggest that you think before speaking to me in such a way." His face inched closer to hers and he was right in her space. "Or I may just loose my temper". He threatened.

Now, deep down, Ian knew that he could never kill the next in command, his lieutenant. He cleared his throat and briskly turned on heel and sauntered back towards the throne room. As well as being the room to hold some books. Although, it didn't compare at all to the thousands upon thousands of novels kept in the library. He pushed at the studded leather door which creaked open to give him access inside. The ceiling was tall and high bookshelfs covered sone of the wall. The majority of the books were relatively old. A dark stoned fireplace was placed against the wall, conveniently in front of his chair. The fire was already lit, the flames crackling and popping as it burned the cedar wood. On the other side of the room, two comfortable looking black leather sofas faced each other across a smoked-glass coffee table, empty except for the ancient volumes lay face down in the center.

Ian sunk into his lavishing throne, quite content. He propped his legs up on the foot rest and his eyes slowly drooped closed. He sighed, the previous scene flowing away from his thoughts. The glass was taking over and the fact that he was just sitting there was beginning to irritate him. He changed positions uncomfortably then sighed again as he jolted upright. No longer could he be lazy with these drugs pumping through his blood. He began pacing now, back and forth over the expensive rug placed in front of the fireplace.

Oren remained with her feet planted and arms folded as Ian drew up closer to her, clearly trying to intimidate her. She stayed firm and raised an eyebrow skeptically, not breaking eye contact. Oren was the lieutenant for a reason, and she was not easily cowed be anyone, not even those who outranked her.
"I'm shaking in my trenchcoat." she replied flattly.
"If you did decide to go all Jason Voohies on my ass and took my head off...that's assuming you could catch me of course, then you'd lose an ally and be in a worse situation when our hairy friends the werewolves start causing trouble. It'd also make a horrible mess on the carpet. So I'm sure you can suck it up and manage a bit of mean old Oren saying horrible things to you."

As Ian set off for the throne room, Oren made her way after him at a leisurely pace, mostly to make sure he didn't do anything ridiculous or embarassing under the influence. She leaned against the frame of the doorway, tilting her head back and watching him pace back and forth like some sort of caged animal.
"No side-effects hey? And I'm the tooth fairy." she stated. She was probably pushing it a bit, but she didn't beleive anyone was beyond critiscism just becuase they were a leader. She didn't mind laying down her life on his command for the cause if need be, but she wasn't going to stay quiet about things she disapproved of.
"You're pacing about like a trapped coyote and there's no way that's natural. That stuff is not good for you and it's shipped by scumbags. Dread to think what kind of stuff they had on their fingers while they were handling it."

Isabelle sat in her room completely bored. She was tuning into conversations all over the house. she was good at hearing. Some people call it ease dropping, she calls it entertaining herself with other peoples lives. She was laying across her bed, legs dangling off the side. "What to do what to do...." She sings lightly. Isabelle hears Oren and Ian in the kitchen. She grins. Why did we always fight or threaten each other? She almost felt jealous. She wanted to be getting threatened so she had a reason to fight. It was more fun if you wouldn't get in trouble later. She sits up and heads slowly downstairs, but was probably going to ignore the kitchen. She passed by everyone, barely giving them a glance, and headed outside to the caves.

Jackson lay in his luxurious bed in his luxurious room, buried under his silk sheets as he watched movies on his seventy inch plasma that was mounted on the wall across from him. He'd been having a movie marathon, something he did quite often whenever it was too damn sunny out. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been up here. He couldn't remember. He'd watched at least a dozen movies. All new released he'd picked up last week when he'd snuck into town. But now, he'd finished them all and would have to be making another run soon - maybe tomorrow. But first, he decided he should probably have some human contact. Or, at least contact with creatures that resembled humans.

So he pulled himself out of bed and went over to his humongous closet, smiling as he opened the doors to reveal his massive wardrobe. It took him about ten minutes, but he finally decided on an outfit. A loose, light, bright green button up shirt over a white sleeveless shirt, combined with a pair of designer jeans. He left the shirt unbuttoned and rolled the sleeves up to his elbow. He then went over to a dresser that was filled with not clothes, but sunglasses. God did he love sunglasses. Every drawer had at least five dozen. And every draw had a different kind - shutter shades, aviators, bug-eyed, neon, designer names, ect. He went opened up the drawer containing the neon kind and extracted a bright green one with very black lenses. He went over to his full length mirror - actually it was three full length mirrors arranged in such a way to contain a half box like shape, allowing him to see three duplicates of his gorgeous self at once. He fixed his messy curls a bit and then assituated his sunglasses atop them, as opposed to atop his eyes. He smiled at his reflections and did a little spin before landing sharply on one foot, winking at his reflections and making his fingers into guns and pointing at them. He laughed once, aware of how vain he was but ultimately, not caring.

Without putting shoes on since, hey, this was his house - palace, castle, whatever. He exited the room, occasionally sliding against the wooden floor in his socks. He descended several flights of stairs before finally hearing voices. God this house was just too big. He followed the voices into the throne room, even though, in all honesty, it was Jack's least favorite room. Most of this place looked pretty normal. Not many bright colors but everything was quite modern, except this room of course. Because what kind of personw in their right mind had a throne room?

He slid into the room to see Ian pacing about in front of his throne while Oren watched him, seeming quite amused as she apparantly mocked him. Something she was quite notorious for doing. Seeing as she was the only one who could get away with it.

"What 'cha doin' Oren?" he asked, looking from her to Ian, "Watching Ian pace? Cool! I love this game. Hey, afterwards, would you take me to go see some grass grow? Or maybe some paint dry? Or better yet, let's paint grass and watch it grow as the paint dries? That'd be twice the fun!"

As she started walking toward outside she heard Jackson talking and tuned in. "Idiot..." she muttered, half hoping her heard her. She walked outside closing the door behind her. It was dark outside, and she loved it best that way. She breathed in the fresk air. "Ring around the rosey, a pocket full of posey, ashes ashes we all can't die!" she half shouted half sund while walking to the ponds and caves smiling. She was feeling happy...it was rare for her.

Ians head snapped around and his eyes flashes at the now vacant doorway. Ian snarled, as a lion might, in reply to her behavior. "Who asked you? Besides, stupid girl, this is what the drug is supposed to do, this isn't a side affect. It's just me trippin nuts." He boomed, his deep voice echoing against the high cieling. She was really getting on his nerves and he wasn't about to stand for someone to continuously nag on him. It was in her best interest to keep her trap shut, especially with him being in the state of mind that he was in. He was likely to snap at any given second, and there was no telling what he would do. "I suggest you seriously shut it if you know what's best for you." He muttered, under his breath, but knowing she would hear him. He began to pace again when she was joined at the door by another voice. Even with his back turned he could tell by the familiar tone who it was and a smile spread across his face.

"Ah, Jackson. I was beginning to wonder where you had run off to." He slung his hands comfortably propped behind his head, his elbows in the air. He had always been his favorite of the coven members. "And how have you been, my loyal Scout?" He asked as he made his way over to the door. He curiously raised an eyebrow at him then his eyes shifted to his lieutenant. "Your still standing here? I don't mind if you keep talking or anything, just as long as you mind that I'm not listening."

Oren glanced round around at Jackson, chuckling slightly as she heard what the scout had to say.
"Oh no, Ian was just entertaining everyone by giving a flawless impression of a petulant child. I have to say it's totally flawless, you'd really think he was throwing a tantrum just because I don't approve of him snorting meth." she replied, tilting her head.
Indeed it was probably not a good idea to push things so far, but Oren didn't seem to have a healthy capacity to fear things, particulalry not people she was around much of the day.
"...and as for you, oh esteemed leader, yes that is a side effect as it's obviously not desirable...unless of course you actually set out to look like someone's put poison ivy in your underwear...if so the look isn't really working that great if you ask me. I mean I suppose it's kind of wasting my time trying to talk any sense into when you're tripping balls, but then that kinda proves me right, doesn't it?"

Still, Oren did, at least was powerful enough in her own right that she could handle a lot of what was thrown at her. Being far faster than most, she could, if nothing else, outrun attacks pretty well. Not that she planned on running away, but it was always a good option.She certainly wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of looking intimidated.

"Besides, you might be the leader, but that does not make you infallible. I'll give you all the respect you deserve, Ian my dear." she stated.
"So naturally, results may vary. If you want to drop me in favour of any one of the number of trembling yes-men tha'tll just blindly agree with everything you say because they're scared of having their throat torn out, then go ahead and come after me...but it's not gonna do you much good."

Jackson usually preferred to be called Jack, but of course Ian had the right to call him whatever he wanted. At least he wasn't calling him Jacky. He looked back and forth between Oren and Ian. Of course he'd been unfortunate enough to walk in right in the middle of an argument between the two of them. He liked to stay out of their disputes. He often joked around with both of them, but when they fought they fought. And sometimes it got pretty bad. So, Jack made an effort to stay out of it when they were fighting, or they might start trying to involve him. He really preferred [i]not[/i] to argue with Ian. After all, he was the favorite for a reason.

"I've been good - you know, livin' large, chillin' like a villan and whatnot," Jack said with his signature smile, "Been havin' a movie marathon up in my room. You know, it's been too damn sunny out for me to fufil any of my scoutin' duties."

Jack had always loved his job as a scout, even if it wasn't the highest ranking position. He was one of the few coven members who was allowed to go out and do as he wished - writing it off as 'work.' He did work a lot, but he did fool around a lot - associating with humans and such.

He grew quiet as Oren began bashing Ian again. Jack didn't want to pick sides, seeing as both Ian and Oren were his superiors and he could get it from either of them for siding against them. Both of them had quite the tempers and wouldn't hesitate to lash out and punish him for no good reason.

Ian let Oren ramble on, her voice and every word that she attempted to move him with just went in one ear and out the other. His eyes were on Jackson and he nodded and smiled at him, then noticed that she had finally stopped talking. "Good, your done. Open your ears next time, I couldn't give two shits about how you feel about me." He pranced out of the room, a smirk clearly plastered on his face.

Hayley sighed. She was in her room, but she just felt stuck up here sometimes. Although there were so many things possible to do in the whole of the house, she mainly stuck to her own living quarters. She was on her lavishing bed, the temperpedic mattress was pillowing her weight. She was laying on her back, one knee propped up while her other leg was lazily dangling over her knee. "What to do?" She pondered alloud to herself. She decided to go and see what Isabelle was up to. As she desinded the stairs, she listened closely, ignoring the bickering that was going on between her "almighty" leader and whoever he had decided to bring down. Or at least that's how she felt on the subject. Yes, Ian was more powerful then she, much so actually, but she wasn't questioning that. She despised Ian for too many reasons to count. One being that she was made into this creature by him, but eventually, she forgave him. Only because she found how much an eternal vampiric life was then just a normal human one. She didn't hear Izzie, and Ian had muted as well. As she reached the last step he places himself directly in her way. She scoffed and glared, attempting to go around him, but was cut off when his mighty hand slammed hard into the wall, blocking her from any escape.

"Where are you off to in such a rush, perky?" Ian mocked. Hayley had gained the despised nickname since it was the opposite of how she acted around and towards him. She rolled her eyes, knowing that her loathe of him was mearily his amusement. Not only was it annoying, but being as old as he was, she expected him to be a little bit more grown up about things.

"If it's any of your business-" Hayley started,but was immediately cut off when He strikes her across the face violently. "Obviously it is my fucking business seeing as how I am leader, and you are not. I asked because you need to start on your hunting duties. Stupid cunt." He added, a sneer was on his face now. Hayley sighed, her eyes squeezed tight as she tried hard to cage her fury. No one ever hit her and got away with it except for him, only because he could break her in a second. He knew it too, which was the reason behind him adding pointless punishment to her almost daily routine. "If you would fucking let me speak," She spat through gritted teeth. "Then you would know that I was heading out the door to do it!" She although was lieing through her teeth, didn't much care. The only person that could have seen right through her was the Werewolf Alphess. She huffed at the thought, but Ian most likely thought that the action was directed at him.

A cold hand clamped around Hayley's slender throat, cutting of nearly all of her air supply. She chocked, gasping for oxygen, but his strength only increased as he tightened his hold. "I suggest you watch the attitude." Ian growled, then threw her off to the ground as he headed up the stairs.

Her hand was at her reddened throat and she was nearly in tears from being so enraged. "Fuck you." She muttered, choking back tears. She slowly lifted herself from the ground and glanced toward the stairs, glad to see that he was gone and had ignored her. She fled out the door and slammed it hard, probably loud enough to be heard through the entire mansion. The night was brisk and cool, and Hayley was just eager to run, much less, be out of the house.

"Why anyone in this place respects that childish little shit I'll never know." Oren muttered under her breath.
"Using this place like some sort of clubhouse...could do with a werewolf attack to take him down a peg or two."

If there was one thing she could not stand, it was the childishness. Oren had more or less had the mentality of an adult since a very early age. That was what happened when you grew up with her background, rising up from the bloodstained streets and the brutal gang violence that had claimed all the members of her family...aside firm her of course. It had made her driven, but measured and calculating. She still had a list set aside in her room, a list of names. She had sought and recorded the names and addresses of each of the gang members involved in the execution of her parents. When the time was right she planned to travel back to Europe, to Kiev and Budapest, and to find and brutally exterminate those on the list. Considering the way this place was going...she was considering taking the trip quite soon. She had begun to view many of the vampires there as nothing but spoiled children, fixated on self-gratification...sex...drugs..drink...money. It all seemed so empty and hollow in her eyes. It never meant anything anymore. Even the conflict with the werewolves was simply a pointless war that no-one really knew why they were fighting. She had no idea why others were content with their facile existance.

She glanced over in the direction of Jackson.
"See you were keeping pretty quiet then." she remarked, folding her arms.
Oren didn't tend to throw her weight around authority-wise. She wasn't one to turn nasty when her views were challenged...she tended to save her agression for other situations.

"I prefer to not get involved," Jackson told Oren quietly, his eyes on the doorway, "I'll just end up pissing off someone. If it's not my fight it's not my problem." He shrugged and cast another distracted glance at the open door that revealed Hayley and Ian arguing. He flinched when Ian slapped Hayley across the face, shrinking back slightly. He was reminded unpleasantly of the first fifteen years of his life - living with his abusive father. How many times had he seen his father slap his own mother across the face like that? More then he'd care to remember. He'd been slapped by his father in a similiar way thousands of times but the image before him didn't remind him of that. It reminded him more of his father and mother interacting. The arguing, the intimidation, the threats, the snarling, the hitting. This was something he saw often enough around here - especially between Ian and Hayley. They had an abusive relationship that often reminded Jackson of his own parents but he made an effort not to let it bother him. He shook his head to clear it and turned his attention back to Oren and flashed her a smile.

Jenson stretched in bed and rolled over, slamming her head into the feather pillow that cushioned intensly from the forc. She sighed, knowing deep down that there was no way that she was gettin back to sleep. Her head picked up slowly and she glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table. The red numbers shone that it was early nine in the evening, and as if she didn't believe it, she was up and at the window in four seconds. She peered behind the massive blanket that she used to cover any and all light produced from behind the pane and confirmed that it was, in fact, night.

"Shhhit!" She raced away from the sight and grabbed the nearest pants off of the ground and pulled them quickly to her hips. "Fuck. Shit." She muttered as she hurredly fled down the stairs. She was in a purple tank top and the skinnys that she had just pulled on. Her feet were bare, but the Alphess did not mind that much. She flew out the door and into the darkness, and she was alredy in a full sprint. "Gotta hurry." She whispered as she pumped her muscles to get to the destination that she strived for. Her mind was already searching and scanning for any thoughts from the Vamps, but the wasteland seemed to be empty, or at least for the mile that she could hear. She stopped abruptly, her eyes raising to her normal branch that she always sat on in her favorite tree. She was at the old Oak that was next to the water that decided the two halves. This routine was followed nearly everyday to insure that the vampires stayed on their intended banished side. Although they had only been caught at the border a few times, Jen didn't trust them and knew that their thirst was the only thing that they truly strived to satisfy. She sighed, reaching the thick and sturdy limb. Her legs dangled as she sat down. Her eyes closed as she concentrated, trying to find any sign of a breach in the security.

•~•~•

Hayley yawned as she began at a full run. She was thankful for her abilities when her force feild instinctively went up. This causing her completely naked to the eyes, senses, and even powers. She made good time, making it to river in about a minute. She grinned mishieviously since she was staring at the head Werewolf and she had absolutely no idea that she was there. She stepped back a bit before she cleared the creek in one graceful jump. She was glad that her force field shielded even sound that she made as she rushed through the evergreen trees. She hoped over the brick wall that divided the town from the forest, finding herself in her usual alleyway. She pulled down the front of her shirt, showing too much clevage then she'd like to admit, but she had to play the part, and the short shorts played it well.

A couple passed by and the boy couldn't help but let his eyes stay on her, even after they had passed. Resulting in a thump to the chest by his woman. Hayley chuckled, amused at humans and the small things that they worried over such as a lingered stare on another female. The next make that passed was alone, and he too, couldn't help but watch her. He leaned into the alleyway and stood next to her now. He leaned low, close to her ear and whispered, "Ill show you the best time you ever had little lady." He winked and she could only growl with pleasure. Oh, how he looked so delicious, but not the way that he thought. She beckoned for him with the crook of her finger to follow him into the darkness. He raised his eyebrows at how blunt she was being, but did not complain as the shadows consumed the both of them in sight. Before he could even think twice, Hayley's hands were braced tightly to his skull. She twisted around, completely breaking his neck and causing the head to nearly severe. He fell limp, his whole body weighing down in her arms, but it was no where near too much. She plopped the head into the dumster and heaved the carcass over the wall and she followed after.

She took a different route, not wanting to be completely obvious in case that somehow on of their scents could be picked up by the dogs. She hopped back over the creek and sprinted back toward the castle. Without anyone's concern she had gulped down enough blood to sustain her for a while. It had been a long time since she had fed, as well as the others. But as rules applied, coven members would get blood that she brought in order of rank. She felt bad that others could not feed, but they were animals of their own and they could hunt on their own. Even though it was her job, her only requirment was to find enough for Ian. At least that is how she looked at it. The wolves on the other hand, she had heard, hunted numerous animals to fill up the entire pack over an amount of days. She wished that the Vampires had a bit more order, or even someone else to find the meals with her. She got lonely, from time to time and would enjoy having a partner.

Hayley slipped into the castle. Her eyes scanning the halls for any movement and her ears on radar of any voices. She heard nothing and slung the body at the bottom of the stairs and headed back outside. He would find it. Or at least smell it eventually. She decided to just go for a walk, a boring thing to do for most, but Haley enjoyed nature, sadly, there wasn't much of anything to speak of here. A complete wasteland of Earth dotted by dead trees. She climbed into one of the shorter leafless ones and sighed, her eyes wandering to the moon. She smiled as she dreamed of the day thatshe would leave this place and be looking at the same moon, but be somewhere completely different.

Isabelle sat in the cave, leaning against a stone wall. She closed her eyes and listened to every sound in the cave. It was pretty silent, but there was always little shifts in the air that she'd hear. She would go back inside, but she didn't want to get caught in a fight. She decided she'd stay outside for a little longer to be safe. It was funny how they all argued. Like a real family almost. A real, demented, messed up family.

Oren glanced over at Jackson, rather reluctantly returning his smile. Her mind wasn't really on it as she'd caught the expression on his face beforehand, and that reeked of there being something behind all that. She wasn't intending to ask of course, but she certainly expected that there was something in his past that would have caused such a reaction. It was probably only out of understanding for that that she summoned a slight smile to return his...somethign that did not come naturally to Oren.

It quickly evaporated when she turned to look at Ian.
"I'm not even going to comment. I think you know what I think of what you just did, and hopefully when you've sobered up you'll feel the same. Some hope." she said flattly before leaning agaisnt the wall.


------

It was quiet, which was the way Azu Konnig preferred it to be. A owl was hooting somewhere away in the treetops, and there was occasionally the rustling noise of a fox rustling through the undergrowth....but other than that it was just the quiet of the woods.

The werewolf leaned back agaisnt the trunk of the tree and tilted his head upwards toward the night sky. The amount of time he spent keeping an eye on the moon. It was something that was always howevering over him...in more ways that one. It seemed many other weres had a choice in the matter...the Konnig family curse was not quite as kind as that, and liked to change those effected by it whether they wanted to or not. It was due to the tidal pull of the moon...the gravitational pull had a strange effect. Like it could turn the tides of the sea, it could also change a man into a beast.

Azu had spent much of his life trying to reign in that beast. Meditation and concentration allowed him to have more control in his altered form, and seemed to keep the wolfish influences out of his nomral life...so he made sure to incorporate it into his routine. Being a scout, he could get away with it. His place was in the forest, keeping an eye or an ear on the border,s and warning of any encroachment from their fanged friends, the vampires.

He'd never had much hatred for the vamps, though he didn't exactly want them to kill any of his werewolf brethren. It was an uneasy arrangement that his post allowed him to aid the weres without harming anyone..though even that he had severe reservations about. He'd never had any real emotional investment in the war, it just seemed to be something that happened. It was foolish frankly...but he had his doubts that even his own kin, let along the vampires, would tolerate talks of a truce. It was a difficult situation.

He ran through the tree line, dodging around trees, leaping over fallen trees and roots jutting from the forest floor. The darkness concealed him perfectly among the trees and what little moonlight shone through the canopy sparkled on his fur. His black and brown fur flowed like water in the air. His paws struck the ground with a thunderous clap as he ran. He made a bounding leap his forepaws before him as he pounced upon his prey. He tore at it's throat with his massive jaws. He pulled off skin and snapped bone, assuring the kill. He made it as quick as possible for the poor deer. He howled at the moon, the sound echoing throughout the forest. The howl turned into a scream as he slowly started to morph back into a human state. His paws spread wide and started to grow into long, strong finger. The pads on the bottom of his paws spread to cover his entirety of his palms before turning to a more humanly state. His strong hind and fore legs started to grow out as well and bulk up, the fur receding and the bones growing thicker and stronger. The muscles reformed around each bone as he started to stand.

His long, furry tail curled up around his waist like a belt, and he was finally in a human body again. He was left without a shirt, but the fur that had been covering his body seemed to have woven together to create trousers. He had left his trench coat at the hide out. He looked down at the deer before him. He turned his head to either side, cracking his neck. He reaches down and picked up the deer, slinging it over his midsection. His large muscles tensed from the weight, but he very little trouble carrying the large animal. It was very heavy, but he was strong. He had to be. How else could he defend his people? That was his reasoning, at least. He exercised very frequently, making him very strong. His balanced exercise left him with a very toned appearance, no one part of his body disproportionate to the others. His arm's weren't freakishly huge, nor were his legs or his chest. He carried the large animal back to the hideout. His speed was severely hindered, but he made it back without incident. He brought it within the elegant castle that served as their hideout. He brought the deer into the kitchen and tossed it into a heap into the food storage.

He turned around and went back outside once more. He sniffed the air, looking around, then very casually watched towards the Alphess' preferred lookout spot. As he approached, he say her sitting atop her usual branch. He stopped at the foot of the tree immediately behind it, watching for a moment. He then reached over and gently knocked on the tree behind him. He didn't wish to startle the Alphess. He was a rather mysterious one, even among other werewolves. Many of the werewolves knew nothing about him save for his name and the personality he decided to show around them. The internal workings of this man were kept at bay, and whenever poised with a question about his past, either he would change the subject, or he would ignore the question entirely.

Jenson sighed and shook her head slowly at the overhearing of her Scout's thoughts whom was actualy closer then she thought. Apparently he did not understand the seriousness of the situation that they had found themselves in. This was their job, to protect humans. If it weren't for the wolves, the town of Springside would be completely overtaken by the Vampires, and Jenson would not stand for it. The rest of them should agree, but she wasn't about to make him think a certain way, much less, any one memeber. She pulled her legs up to rest and oustretch on the branch along with the rest of her body. She had just leaned her head back and closed her eyes when a new train of thoughts came closer to her. Quickly. Her gaze turned to the ground just to see her Hunter. She smiled, seeing him tap on the tree next to the one she was in. She rose on the branch and before she stood to full height, she jumped off.

She loved the feeling of free fall. The wind in her hair. The non-stop flipping of her stomach in uneasy excitedness at the height and feeling of having no control. She landed on the Earth with a light thud. She smiled at him, her perfect whitened teeth showing, seeming to almost glow in the night. "Why, hello there, Felix." Jen said, as she walked toward him. The six inch difference between them reminded her how much she hated her height and she sighed again. She was nearly the shortest in her entire pack, except for the two inch shorter Evalina. "And just what are you up to on this fine evening?" She asked, tilting her head. A habit she'd had since she was around seven that she just couldn't seem to break.

. . .

Ian was in his room, laying on his bed. His headphones plugging both of his ears to drown out any and all noise that attempted to interupt his me time.Killswitch Engage blared in his ears at the loudest that his Ipod could go. He remembered going to their concert and was thankful for having an eternity to spend going to shows. It was one way that he relieved his stress, going and moshing to unwind. Not to mention, but better merchandise. A smell wafted to his nose and he inhaled it deeply. Blood. A half smile was prominent all the way to the first floor where he found a crumpled body. Good. He thought in his head. Hayley was successful. By God, she knows better then not to be. Too bad though, if she had failed I would have thouroughly enjoyed thinking up a wicked punishment for her. Failure is unacceptable. He slung the lifeless human over his shoulder and headed back up to his room.

The smell of the male was overtaking. He was more then excited to drink his fill. It had been too long since he had gotten to quench his thirst. He made quick timing to his room, trying to avoid anyone who might try to take a bit of his meal. He hurried behind the large Oak door to his chamber and locked it fast for a reason unknown to him. He lay the body down then sat onto bed next to it. He picked up the head and brought the neck to his opened mouth. His fangs tore in the flesh and blood erupted from the wound. He gulped down the blood as it oozed into his mouth. He enjoyed feeding, but was soon completely satisfied. As he sat there, listening to the now changed song, he thought it best to feed someone other then himself.

He let his laziness roll off of his shoulders and headed down to the second story. He checked to make sure no one was under him and flung the carcass over the railing to fall to the ground. "That is for you, Oren." He called, then started off toward his room to get some peace and watch some television.

. . .

Hayley let her mind wander from thinking of the future, to thinking of the present. After getting their Leader his meal, she decided to pamper herself with a nice swim. She enjoyed the fact that the Vampires had their cave, not to mention, hot springs. She loved going there. Her mind went to thoughts of the wolves. She was curious if they had such luxuries that they they did like billiard room, theater, gym, library, art studio, arcade and things like that. Of course she was also leaving out the pointless rooms that they had. Like one room had an entire map taking up one whole wall while another acted as a museum, housing many different types of artwork and scultures. And that was leaving out all of the countless party rooms, extra kitchens, extra bedrooms and anything else she had failed to open the door to. The house was too big, and was basically an overkill in her eyes. She figured that the wolves might have more class then to own a humungous castle.

She neared the springs and removed her shirt and pants to reveal her navy blue bikini. She was glad to see that Isabelle had also decided to come and relax. She dove into the water causing it to splash a bit. The warmth surrounded her and she was thankful for this part of their territory the most. Especially during the colder nights of the year. She came up for a breath and turned over to float on her back. Her eyes were on her clan member and she was smiling. "What's up?" She asked.

Felix returned the smile to Jenson, nodding his head to her. He leaned up against the tree.

"Good evening, Alphess Jenson." he spoke very formally with her. "I just replenished the food stores and came to check up on things. Feel any disturbances yet?" he asked as he nails dug absent-mindedly into the bark of the tree he leaned upon. His eyes instinctively darted from side to side as they talked, occasionally returning his gaze to her. His nails tore into the bark of the tree, filling the air around them with the fresh smell of the tree. He tilted his head to either side, snapping his neck, the sound clearly audible from Jenson's distance. His eyes wandered to hers, searching the deep blue of her iris. His eye carried down along her bangs, admiring her hair. He followed the hair down to her chest, but immediately returned his gaze to her eyes. He was never one for ogling. He turned his attention away, looking down at his nails, removing the bark from them.

The moonlight caught the lovely golden brown of Blake's fur as he lay hidden in the brush, just inside hearing distance of Felix and Jenson. He wasn't one to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help but catch a few words here and there in between his own thoughts. His golden eyes eased shut and he relaxed his large, lupine body. No matter how relaxed he was, though, his ears remained pricked forward and alert at all times. There was no way he'd allow for a sneak attack; that would be admitting weakness. He wasn't weak. He couldn't be, not for the pack's sake. And, he supposed, not for the humans' sake either, though they were far from his top priority. He knew they should be; he knew that the whole point of all this was to keep them safe, but he couldn't bring himself to care about them. Not like he should, anyway. No, the only thing driving him to protect them was how important it was to Jenson and the rest of the pack.

They'd all gone soft.

Blake stood and stretched, his long bushy tail shivering with the sudden movement. A long yawn escaped his throat as he dug his paws into the earth. He peered between the branches of the bushes and could see Jenson and Felix talking, but nobody appeared to be in the distance. In one liquid movement he leapt from the bushes and landed smoothly on the ground before the two, but quickly darted off toward their hideout before they could start conversation with him.

Jackson noted how Oren's smile was a little forced and he also noted the way he was studying him. He shook it off though; what did he care what she thought of him? Well, he did care, but he was determined to pretend he didn't. And after just a moment of pretending, he fully believed it himself. The beauty of denial.

"Well, this has been fun and all but I'm bored so I'll see you later," he said, making his fingers into guns and pointing them at Oren before sliding on the wooden floors out of the room. He slid a few more feet and then proceeded to dance his way down the empty hallway, singing "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" to himself. Now, if anyone had been around, they probably would've thought he was having a great time - because he appeared to be having a great time just acting like an idiot. But actually, he was quite bored. He stopped singing for a moment to listen intently for the sounds of anybody doing anything interesting - he could hear two girls talking outside - Isabelle and Hayley obviously. Since Oren was still inside. He assumed they were by the hot springs - based on the direction from which their voices were coming from.

He began singing his song again as he stopped off in the kitchen. He went into Ian's liquor cabinet that was fully stocked at all times. Personally, Jackson tried to stay away from alcohol. But when was the last time he had a drink? Besides, it wasn't like he was planning to just sit on the couch alone and get trashed. He preferred to get drunk with other people in a party like setting.

From the liquor cabinet he extracted a large bottle of Russian Vodka. He opened the top and smelt it; rasberries, nice. He closed the top and then began on his way outside to the hot springs, the bottle in his hands. He began to sing a new song, that he felt was more appropriate now as he continued on his path outside.

Sure enough, when he reached the hot springs, both Isabelle and Hayley were present. Hayley was floating on her back and Jackson let his eyes linger there for just a second longer then nessecary. He smiled stunningly at the two of them and lifted the bottle, "Refreshments ladies?" he inquired.

. . . . . . . . . .

Evie sat perched up in a small tree, looking down at the members of her pack. Blake was in wolf form not far from her, not looking at her. Felix and Jenson were talking a few more feet ahead, and they were the obvious object of Blake's interest. Evie could hear what they were saying from this distance and decided that this concerned her.

She dropped lightly from her perch and strode through the tall grace through Jenson and Felix. She patted Blake's head teasingly as she passed him and proceeded towards the alphess. She approached the two and looked up at both of them. "What's going on?" she asked immediatly. The conversation seemed casual but there was a tension in the air that made her a little uneasy.

Isabelle looked at Hayley. "Nothing." A few moments later Jackson came carrying a bottle in his hands. Probably Vodka, she thinks. Isabelle shakes her head. "No thanks. Rather drink the hot spring water than that crap." She mutters. She wasn't a fan of any drinks besides blood. And liquor was one of the drinks she hated most. She stretches leaning back against a rock wall. "So, what was up with Ian and Oren? I could hear them fighting all the way out here!" She says. It wasn't a lie. She could hear them, just most people couldn't have probably.

Hayley slowly nodded at Isabelle as she spoke to her. She seemed a bit bored, and Hayley wasn't one for that, mostly being able to entertain herself with the more pointless parts of life. She slipped back under the always warm water and let the noises of the world be drowned away as she sunk down. Her hair was everywhere, not really having a destined place that it intended on staying while being completely submerged. When she eventually raised back to the surface, she was greeted by a new figure in her line of vision. A smile crept along her features and reached her eyes, making them seem to twinkle. "My man." She said, now grinning at his offer. Her eyes trailed down to the bottle in his hand and she didn't notice his own stare. "Why don't you come join us and we can tear into your liquor?" She asked as she pushed off from the wall and ducked back under again. Truly she loved swimming, and by no means was she trying to show off in any way, but it probably didn't seem that way with the sort of twists she had found herself doing to find her own amusment. She let bubbles of air escape her mouth and she let her fingers pop each one before they floated to the surface. She stood abruptly, her hair flinging over her shoulders, most likely a chain of water following behind the movement and splashing anyone in the way. She gasped and hurried to the spot that her eyes couldn't seem to tear from. Her hand quickly darted to snatch at something in the water and when her hand was in view, a black, long snake with yellow lines running down it's entire body was found slithering up her hand to circle around her neck. She glanced at Isabelle then to Jackson. "Don't worry, it's not poisonous." She stated, one hand bringing the reptile close to her face so that she could examine it thouroughly. "By these markings," She continued pointing to the yellow lines, "probably mean that it is a Queen Snake, but I couldn't say for sure, I'm no expert on the matter."

. . .

Jenson slowly let her head lift from tilting. "Very good. Well, I'm impressed, darling. Keeping up on your work and all." She smiled again. Darling was a normal nickname that she would give to anyone in her pack, and she dolled them out fairly often. Doll, angel, dear, things of the nature. One name she had always hated though was hon, or honey. She shuddered then remembered that he had asked a question. "Well, no. Not in the since that you are mean." She trailed off, and out of the corner of her eye she glanced back at where Blake was "hiding away in the bushes. She shook her head, people acting as if they can get around her powers. She heard everything, whether they wanted to or not and there was no way on Earth that you could "sneak" past Jenson and not get caught. As she was thinking of him, Blake ran out in wolf form then took off back towards the mansion. She raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Such behavior. The idea of being Alpha certainly in no mind when acting such ways." Her gaze followed after him, but he was gone and hidden amongst the countless trees.

Jenson's eyes finally went back to see that her Lieutenant had wandered up. "Why hello there Evalina." Her smile seemed to broaden at the sight of one of her favorite members. They had always been able to get along well and being the top two in ranking they had some fun on their own that the others wouldn't even dream about sharing with her. She cleared her throat before speaking to her, "We were just talking about if I had seen anything going on and the sort. Nothing to report of, but that's not really saying much. They seem to just be stuck up in wherever they are all day. Who knows what kind of torture goes on in a house full of vampires. Especially with Ian to cause trouble." She thought to her arch enemy and visually became set off. He had always been a problem with her, ever since she had met him. She wished more then anything that she could finally burn him on the stake. A half, somewhat evil smile replaced her previous expression and the members around her were most likely confused at the dramatic changes in her.

"Suit yourself," Jackson said to Isabelle with a shrug, cracking open the bottle. He examined the label for a moment. Svedka. Russian Vodka. He wondered if Oren would want to join them but dismissed the thought. Oren was too 'responsible' to get drunk with them.

"But, I kid you not, it feels good to get a little hammered now and again," he added to Isabelle, demostrating by taking a long swig. The powerful Vodka burned it's way down his throat, spreading to his chest. Even as a vampire, the burn was painful. He didn't drink it often enough to build up a resistance. He only drank on occassion, so he was not very accustomed to the burn. He coughed and gagged a bit on the fiery liquid. The burn of Vodka might suck but there was an upside; it didn't take long to get trashed off the stuff.

"With pleasure," he said in response to Hayley. He was about to hand her the bottle but she quickly became occupied by some snake. So Jackson handed it to Isabelle; even if she wasn't going to drink didn't mean she couldn't be useful. Now that his hands were free he proceeded to slip off his button up green shirt and let it hit the ground. He then took his sunglasses off for a minute so he could pull his tank top over his head. God did he love taking his shirt off; did wonders for his self esteem, which was already remarkably high to begin with. He smiled and put his neon green sunglasses back on before sliding into the pool of hot water. He sighed once in content.

"I'll take that," he said to Isabelle, taking the bottle of Vodka from her and then taking a long sip. He smiled through the coughing and gagging before handing it to Hayley. Of course she was game for drinking. Next to Ian, she was the biggest drinker in the coven.

In response to Isabelle's comment about Oren and Ian he shrugged. "Eh. Oren was naggin' him about snortin' meth and he was like stoned out of his mind," he demonstrated by making lazy little spinning motions with his finger, "So he was all edgy. If ya ask me, she was just picking a fight. She should know better then to fuck with someone as high as he was."

. . . . .

Evie nodded in agreement to what Jenson was saying. "All those vampires care about is having a good time. They're all pleasure whores. It's just one night of debauchery after another for them. Drinking, killing, gambling, drugs, and sex. And they don't just party within their castle walls. Rumor has it they sneak into town often enough - right under our noses. The hunter, that redhead . . . Hannah or something . . . she's in there at least once a week. Every time she's there - a dead body winds up. And their scout, some blonde kid, he's in town practically every night. He hardly ever attacks anybody though - just goes to the same places and meets the same humans. He's always at this middle aged women's house. Don't know what that's about . . . At least, that's what our scout tells me." She looked up at him pointedly.