Lilith Báthory's Story

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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?”

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.”

Mara wasn’t one to cling to her parents, but returning to school was never something she enjoyed or did by choice. She was so stubborn and reluctant to leave it took an 800 pound grizzly bear to remove her from her family home. Luckily Marcus was accustom to moving the stubborn Vampire around. He was also familiar with giving her ‘a ride’ around and in fact had to carry the stubborn Witch child all the way to her school gates before she agreed to move for herself. Mara sat upon his back the entire way with her arms folded crossly and her eyes firmly shut in disapproval.

“Mara we’re at the school gates. If you don’t move, I’ll toss you so hard through that gate you’ll get streak marks on your ass.”

Mara opened one golden eye and glanced down, at the back of Marcus’ huge head. He began to count to 10. She quickly slid down with a huff, ignoring the wide eyed looks she was receiving from the human students and the wide birth they were giving her and her familiar. She sniffed her armpits and grinned widely at Marcus.

“Was’ the matter with them eh? Do we smell or something?” She joked, only to receive a moody grunt from the almighty beast as he began to make his way into the school. Mara shrugged at him and hoisted her duffle bag higher up onto her shoulder. In truth she smelt strongly of bear, sawdust and something sweet but that’s how she always smelt, it’d be news to her if someone actually told her.

Making their way further into the compound the couple found it fairly easy to make their way through the crowds, after all people tended to move out of their way long before they came into sight. Word travelled fast when there was a bear on the scene and a girl who looked like she’d been hanging out with Tarzan for the summer holidays. Mara stretched as she cruised through the students, wearing a short black tank top, a pair of swayed red Indian shorts and sandals. Her hair was falling loose and wild all over the place, it was a surprise no nearby students had become entangled in it yet.

Coming up to the vampire dorm, Mara spotted that various individuals had already turned up to nest. Their dorm building really was a tragic little mishap of a building, but it was home for most of the year and she’d rather be cooped up with all the vampires here, than share a shiny, designer dorm room with the human populace where you couldn’t tell the difference between the sink and the toilet.

Striding into the building she hiked the stairs.

“Smells like we’ve got company.” Marcus rumbled behind her as he carefully mounted the stairs. It was a risky business having something as heavy as Marcus in the delicate building.

Mara glanced over her shoulder at him. “Probably Sponsers. They’re not for us and you know it.”

She ignored the first floor entirely wanting to avoid all the unsavoury characters that bedded there, like nutty Abrum, the annoying mouse kid and Edmund; a short blond girl stood blocking the stairwell though. Mara straightened up to her full height before shoving past the girl, sending her flying down the hall.

“Get outta the way DWEEB!” she snarled loudly before continuing up the stairs until she reached the second floor. She sighed in aspiration when she spotted Edmund up here instead already leaning into a bedroom that wasn’t usually used. New student. Next she spotted Henri. Her heart did a few erratic beats before she turned her attention to the girl he was chatting to. Lilth. She shot them both a loaded look before unlocking her bedroom door and tossing her bag straight in.

Marcus paused at the top of the stairs and gave a glance around. “A lot of new faces. Alright Everest?” The bear muttered, giving the leopard a brief nod with his huge head. "Are these humans snacks or sponsers?"

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Sprawling, winding, bustling. An amalgam of decay and decadence. Like the Minotaur's labyrinth had been splattered with various styles from various times, such as Victorian, Greeco-Roman, or Medieval. It looked as though some insane, pack-rat architect tacked onto the structure piece after piece, never satisfied but unwilling to scrap anything.

Reid didn't know quite what to make of the place, this University of Diversity. "Well, gotta give them points for the rhyme scheme," he mumbled to himself. The straps of his bag dug into his hands impatiently. He let it rest on the ground, but absolutely refused to let go of it. Just because he'd yet to have a rock thrown at his head for being a vampire didn't mean he was ignorant of the fact it could happen. And bags were probably fair game for these humans.

"'These humans'," he scoffed under his breath. "Already you've started talking like a vamp."

He sighed again. Reaching into his breast pocket to pull out his pack of cigarettes and his lighter, Reid lit one up. Through the filter and past his lips, delicious smoke probed its seductive tendrils into his lungs. He held it for a moment before releasing it in the form of a smoke ring. Satisfied with his work, he then put away the rest of his stash, picked up his bag, and continued on his way. The map he'd shoved so carelessly in his back pocket was now a crumpled and torn mess, but it would still serve its function well enough. At least he hoped it would. As he stared more and more at the building he was supposed to be in, he began to feel slightly less sure of his map's accuracy.

It didn't look all that great. Home, even with those religious anti-vampire nuts roaming around, seemed like a far more appealing option. At least at home there was always hot water. This place looked like it lacked even running water. However, this had to be the place, because it kind of stood to reason that he wouldn't be hanging around in a penthouse or something, and on his map there was a note that marked this as the place. It was in a small font size and a footnote, not a proud, bold, and (possibly) embossed label like the others. The school wasn't proud of its vampire housing facility, that was for sure. They didn't want the vampires to be proud either, it seemed.

And so he entered, crossing the threshold with his back straight, cigarette hanging carelessly between his lips, his shoulders thrown back, and a broad grin on his face.

There was a stairwell in front of him, but he wasn't all too keen on going up just to return down, so he elected to take a short tour. After a quick once around he found to his slight but well hidden chagrin that the dorm he was looking for was obviously on the floor above him. Well, that at least means there has to be windows. But would anyone really notice another stench? Oh, but as soon as he went upstairs, passing by a poor girl who looked like someone'd tossed her aside like some sort of rag-doll, he caught a whiff of lingering cigarette smoke and he forgot all about her. Either someone had just lit one up, or there was someone who lived here and smoked often enough for a buildup of the smell. The possibility of both scenarios made him smile.

He breathed deeply before searching out his own dorm. This time he found it quickly, and along the way he'd seen a few interesting sights, rag-doll girl included. He whistled, "Animals, really! I didn't know they allowed pets." His thoughts revolved around the fact that so many of them had congregated together, as if debating the possibility of something interesting going on.

Well, curiosity killed the cat and all that. Even if he wasn't already dead, he wouldn't care. He crushed his burnt out cigarette under his foot, resolving to finagle a makeshift ashtray later, and walked down the hall. "Hey people," he called out.

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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."

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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?"

---

Adwin, now within the confines of his own multicolored room, set a fresh canvas up on his easel. It was made of scrap wood, sanded down and varnished to look prettier. He had to pay quite the fee to the janitor to obtain the supplies, but he did it without hesitation. An artist needed an adequate space to practice their art. He stepped over to a drawer in his desk, and pulled it open. Inside were plenty of paints, tinted with the most gorgeous of hues. Another expensive product, at least for vampires. Oh, what Adwin would do for his love.

Selecting sunset hues and dark colors for London's London...hey, that's a good name...Adwin set them on his palate and laid it near the easel. While he would get started soon, he wanted to see if he had a Sponsor to call his own. If that were true, he could finally get into the art class! Oh man, what a charge that would be. Enough creativity to produce grand illusions. Of course, Adwin did feel bad for the trade-off the Sponsors paid. Just a little. Okay, a lot.

In the hall, there was a ruckus that could wake the Egyptian pharaohs from their eternal slumber. Furniture crashing, overdue greetings being exchanged, annoyed shouts, and other sounds smothered the atmosphere. Adwin hoped it would calm down, but he felt that it would not. Surely, this would be an interesting year.

Stepping out into the halls and closing his door, Adwin prepared to hunt down a Sponsor. With a wave of his hand, he created a shimmering name tag on his paint-spattered over-shirt, which read "Hi, I'm Adwin Malir, Empathic Vampire!" in bright, rainbow-colored cursive. Down the hall, Lilith was walking out of her room with Henri. Eversest and Marcus, Mara's unmistakable companion, were chatting with each other, although Adwin always had trouble understanding them.

Walking over to them, and waiting until they were done talking (Adwin valued his physical wllbeing) Adwin greeted Lilith. "Hello, Lilith. Hey there, Smokestack. I presume your summers have been adequate? If that's the case, then I suggest we find if one of these newbies is our Sponsor." Adwin motioned to himself and Lilith, then motioned behind him. "Your Sponsor is back there. Careful, she's fragile. Pretty sure if you hit on her, she'll explode." Adwin said to Henri. He honestly feared for the poor girl.

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.

It was a normal day for everyone casually standing outside of the University of Diversity. Up until a taxi came screeching to a sudden stop right in front of the school. The back door swung open and a small, discombobulated looking girl tumbled out as the driver sped away. This girl, Hazel, took in a deep breath. She had taken a long taxi ride to get here, only to find her wallet was gone. What a lovely way to start her new life at this university.

But, the girl kept her cool, just simply standing up, dusting herself off, and pulling a bright purple beanie back onto her head. She straightened her tie-dye shirt and calmly strutted onto the grounds. To her relief, the people didn't even seem to pay attention to her after the tad bit embarrassing affair of being thrown out of a taxi. So, she calmly walked towards the front doors, heaving her small rolling suitcase along. Before she could get very far, a man leaped in front of her, startling the poo out of poor Miss Channing.

"Would you like to sign up for our sponsorship programs?" he said eagerly, sounding more like a demand than a question as he shoved a pen and a clipboard, holding tons of papers on it, into her face. Hazel's eyes widened as she curiously tried to read the paper, but the paper was much too close to her face for her to make out. "Never mind all the details. Just sign!"

Hazel figured these "sponsorship programs" had something to do with helping out freshmen. They might give her a little cash to start out her year with, and considering she was broke, that sounded like a good deal. But, they could also be asking for money, which, at this point, she had none of. "I'm out of bread, dude," (Hippie lingo for "I'm broke") she said, nervously looking up at the man.

"No worries! It's free!" he said. "You'll be helping a lot of people, if you just sign on the dotted line!" So now it was some charity drive. The peace-loving hippie inside of Hazel screamed for her to sign. Trusting her gut, she signed her name in her very sloppy handwriting. The man smiled. "You'll be sponsoring Empathic Vampires! Have a nice day!"

Wait, what?! Before Hazel could even get a word out, the man vanished into the crowd. "Hey!" she screamed, pushing past people trying to find him. Yep, her mellowness was long gone at this point. When she knew she had completely lost him, she huffed over. "You turd," she muttered under her breath.
She was furious. She was just an ordinary human girl. How was she supposed to, like, take care of vampires. Empathic vampires, whatever that meant, sounded worse. It’s not like humans looked up to her. These vampires would stinkin’ eat her alive! She didn’t have a problem with vampires, no, in her mind everyone was equal, but she didn’t know if they had a problem with humans or not.

But, anyway, she walked into the school, not sure if she was hoping to avoid these vampires or look for them. Then it hit her, she didn't even know what room she was in. She groaned, dragging her suitcase behind her, which made a very loud "thunk!" noise every time her wheels hit a crack in the floor. It sounded like a horrible mess and the loud noise made annoyed people turn their heads. In frustration, she noticed a fire extinguisher on the wall. She quickly unzipped her suitcase and rummaged through until she saw an old bike lock. Dragging her suitcase to the extinguisher, she looped the lock around the pin of it, and locked it onto the handle of her case. This way if anyone tried to take it off the extinguisher, the pin would come with it and it would be sure to let everyone know. Or they could just cut it.... or get into the suitcase. Whatever! She was already completely out of her normal hippie mellowness. She sucked in a deep breath and decided it was time to find the... empathic vampires.

Hazel wasn't exactly sure where to start. She just sort of just pushed past people, almost losing her beanie a few times, stumbling and trying to find these vampires. Her search carried her up the staircase, but she was still lost. When she had almost given up hope, she noticed a bear. She blinked, assuming her eyes were somehow playing tricks on her. Nope, it was a bear... and nearby it a snow leopard. What was this, a petting zoo? "Holy crap," she murmured. She got it was supposed to be diverse, but wouldn't a bear and a leopard, like, end up attacking someone? She shrugged. First losing her wallet, then becoming some "sponsor", the surprise of the bear faded away quickly. But, around the bear stood a bunch of people, talking like everything was completely normal. Under further observation, one of the boys were wearing a badge that had his name and then "Empathic Vampire". Hazel had found one.

Straightening her beanie, she calmly began to approach the group. What she was going to say wasn't the biggest question. Whether or not they would be very... friendly.... back was what worried her. She figured she might be able to run away if needed, so she continued her walk until she had reached them. All of a sudden, Hazel felt small, like a child asking adults for directions. But, she had made it this far.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, nervously, "but do you have any idea where sponsors are supposed to go?"

---

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---

---

Well, it was certainly nice to have Lilith holding his hand. It was so nice that Henri didn’t mind not beating up the fire truck kid. Besides, he saw the look in her magenta eyes. He knew she needed him to let this go.

“A’right, a’right,” he said reluctantly. He gave her a small smile. “I’ll spare ‘im… fer now.”

Suddenly, Lilith let go of his hand, turning her attention to something else. Henri followed her gaze and set his eyes on Adwin Malir. The artist didn’t look too happy to see Henri, something the witch vampire couldn’t quite understand.

"Hello, Lilith. Hey there, Smokestack. I presume your summers have been adequate? If that's the case, then I suggest we find if one of these newbies is our Sponsor," Adwin said, though he seemed to really be talking to Lilith. Henri frowned slightly at the nickname, but didn’t think too much of it. After all, he’d been calling someone fire truck for a while now. He supposed other people could make nicknames for him. But "smokestack"? Adwin didn't have much taste.

Lilith nodded at Adwin. “Good to see you again Adwin. I hope that your summer was good as well.”

Adwin spoke again and two seconds later, Henri realized the empathic vampire was actually talking to him. “Your Sponsor is back there. Careful, she's fragile. Pretty sure if you hit on her, she'll explode.” He motioned down the hall behind him, probably indicating one of the rooms. All Henri saw was some scrawny, ginger kid near the stairs who seemed to be eating himself starting with his fingers. He gave a small wave and proceeded to ignore skinny kid.

Distracted by the ginger kid, Henri only now comprehended Adwin’s words. Basically, he had a new Sponsor. The Sponsor was a girl. Henri thought about it for a moment. Just because his Sponsor was a girl, didn’t mean she was a beautiful girl. Then again, she could be some gorgeous bombshell. Henri sighed. He debated going down there and seeing for himself, but Lilith was right here and he didn’t want to be rude by ignoring her... and Adwin, but Lilith was more important.

He brought the cigarette away from his lips before speaking. “Oi, Malir. What does she, uh, look like? So I can recognize ‘er later, a’ course.” Fail lie.

Adwin didn’t have a chance to answer, for a stranger intruded upon the conversation. And not just any stranger. Henri’s eyes widened just a tad. The cigarette dropped from his fingers, but he really didn’t care, even if the whole dorm building burned down. Why? Because said stranger was freaking adorable! Long, brown hair and warm, hazel eyes. The glasses were a bit of a stretch, but they still didn’t look too bad on her. So, all in all, Henri didn’t mind not knowing what his Sponsor looked like.

"Sorry to interrupt," began the freaking adorable stranger. She was obviously nervous, but her voice was so cute! Henri just wanted to go up and hug her. "But do you have any idea where sponsors are supposed to go?"

Henri didn’t hesitate. He was beside her in an instant, smiling pleasantly. “’Ello, sweetheart. The name’s Henri. Henri Leppards. Pleased to meet ya.” He extended his hand. “And as for where to go, why don’t you take the room next to mine? It has a great view. I’m sure Malir can move out.”

---

Adwin nodded to Lilith. "Yeah, it was alright. Janitors tried to shoo me away, though. Nothing major." Adwin replied, and in fact it was true. The janitors had gotten cross with him running on top of buildings, and once the police were even called. Adwin dealt with it though, with a little vampiric charm. Okay, he made them run away in terror from a swarm of bees. Still worked. Adwin was about to turn and go when a rather small girl came up to them. "Sorry to interrupt, but do you have any idea where sponsors are supposed to go?" She asked, obviously very nervous.

Henri didn't waste time, Adwin supposed it had to be a record. He halfway sighed, not even really stopping to care anymore. And right when he was about to tell Henri that London was indeed, quite beautiful. It'd be a challenge for him not to hit on her. Oh, come on, Adwin. He's not that bad. He just has the most disgusting habit ever. Adwin told himself, but when smoke started pouring through the shoddy insulation, there was reason to be angry.

"No, I don't think I could move out. I've already stained basically everything with paint. And who would want to smell smoke all the time? I'm doing the world a service, my friend." Adwin simply said to Henri. "I need that view for sunset murals anyways. Hey, by the way. Adwin Malir, as the badge states. I love the shirt, tie-dye and all. Colors are my thing." Adwin complimented the myriad of colors the girl wore, as he genuinely did love them. "Which vampires are you looking for?" He asked, hoping she'd say "empathic".

In just seconds after Hazel had spoke, a boy with dread locks eagerly stepped forward and offered his hand out for her to shake. “’Ello, sweetheart. The name’s Henri. Henri Leppards. Pleased to meet ya.”

Hazel was surprised. It seemed that the people here were very... friendly.... "Er- Groovy...?" she replied, awkwardly shaking his hand and pulling is out quickly as she could without seeming mean. She didn't want to seem rude, or seem to have lost her mellowness any more than she already had today.

“And as for where to go, why don’t you take the room next to mine? It has a great view. I’m sure Malir can move out.” Hazel tried not to chuckle at that. She didn't even know how to respond, but luckily the other boy did instead.

"No, I don't think I could move out. I've already stained basically everything with paint. And who would want to smell smoke all the time? I'm doing the world a service, my friend. I need that view for sunset murals anyways," The boy said to Henri. "Hey, by the way. Adwin Malir, as the badge states. I love the shirt, tie-dye and all. Colors are my thing. Which vampires are you looking for?" Again, Hazel was surprised. These Vampires seemed to be much more friendly and nice than most of the humans she knew. And she had thought they would be scary and menacing. How ironic.

"Empathic," she said, smiling. She nodded at the name tag he wore, almost acting as if she had just noticed it now. "Oh, which I guess I just found one then." This was something she'd do from time to time. Wait until a situation seemed less awkward for her to mention something. It was a weird habit, but she did it a lot anyway. Alright, far out, so what now?

---

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---

---

Lilith watched as Henri pulled his cigarette away from his lips “Oi, Malir. What does she, uh, look like? So I can recognize ‘er later, a’ course.” At times Henri could say just about anything and no matter how ridiculous it was he made it sound true. This was not one of those times. "Oh of course." she said with the barest hint of amusement. There was no decent looking female at this school that he hadn't hit on, new shy sponsors would be no exception.

It was about that time when Lilith noticed a girl not much smaller than she was zero in on Adwin's shirt before approaching them. Henri's reaction to the girl was also something that she noticed. 'Careful now, you're about to start drooling.' she thought. She would have said it out loud but the girl began to speak. "Sorry to interrupt but do you have any idea where sponsors are supposed to go?" the girl asked, nervousness laced into every word. The poor thing had barely finished speaking when Henri made his move. “’Ello, sweetheart. The name’s Henri. Henri Leppards. Pleased to meet ya. And as for where to go, why don't you take the room next to mine? It has a great view. I’m sure Malir can move out.”

Lilith felt an overwhelming urge to roll her eyes but she clamped it down as she assessed the girl. Her golden strings reached out to her looking deep inside for the one emotion she needed. What she found made her sigh with disappointment, not a single bit of envy to be found. "Useless." she muttered to herself. Returning to the conversation after Adwin declined to move out Lilith began to pay attention again. "Hey, by the way. Adwin Malir, as the badge states. I love the shirt, tie-dye and all. Colors are my thing. Which vampires are you looking for?" Lilith had already pegged her for their sponsor by the way she had eyed Adwin's shirt before coming over to them.

"Empathic," she said confirming her suspicions. "Oh, which I guess I just found one then." an obvious lie but Lilith wasn't going to point that out, she sounded awkward enough already. Stepping forward and crossing her arms she addressed the girl "Actually you've found two." she stated simply choosing to forgo any introduction.

"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."

"Actually you've found two."

Relief washed over Hazel. "Really? Sweet!" she said, enthusiastically yet calmly, to the girl who had spoken. It quickly struck Hazel that the girl she was speaking to had silver hair, but it seemed very insignificant considering Hazel was standing near a bear and a snow leopard, talking to a bunch of vampires. Not normal was almost an understatement. But, Hazel figured these kids didn't have a lot of answers as to what she was supposed to do. She had probably bothered them enough, for her social skills were pretty horrible when she was nervous, even though these people didn't seem hard to talk to. They were lucky to not be... socially awkward... at least not appearing that way, which was a trait Hazel wished she had at times like this.

"Well, I better stop bothering you. I've gotta' split anyway, I kind'a left my stuff on a... fire extinguisher." There she goes again, Hazel Channing, a wonder with words! She couldn't help but smile at her own silliness. "So, peace," she said, giving them the peace sign before smiling, turning, and leaving. As she walked, she pulled her beanie back onto her head, which was slipping off for the umpteenth time. On the up side, she hadn't heard any screams from downstairs, meaning the pin on the fire extinguisher hadn't been pulled yet. There was a chance her stuff hadn't been stolen.

Once at the stairs, she inhaled. She felt somewhat accomplished for someone who just completed looking like an idiot in front of a bunch of vampires. She had found two of her... what would you call them? Sponsorlings? Nah, better not go around calling people Sponsorlings. They might not be too keen about befriending you after that. Although she had probably acted like a deer in headlights, and forgot to introduce herself, it could have been a lot worse. Anyway, she quickly began her journey back to the spot she had started at, praying to see her suitcase once again.

---

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Everest tried his best to ignore the fact that he was being ignored. Marcus evidently had no intention of speaking anymore and Henri had gone off to converse with the others. The snow leopard sighed and his ear twitched in annoyance. He realized he hadn’t had breakfast yet. In fact, he hadn’t eaten at all since two days ago. Everest growled. He was starving.

Hungry snow leopards, no matter how chill they usually are, instantly become hunters. So Everest began pacing the ground, his footsteps silent, his movements calculated. He debated gnawing on Henri’s foot, just to make his hunger known, but decided against it at the last second. Instead, he rubbed his head against the legs of those in the group: Henri, Lilith, Adwin, and some other human girl. He then continued on his way, looking for anything that could be food.

There was a half-eaten, moldy, ham and cheese sandwich near one of the rooms. Ew. There were several mothballs lining part of the wall. Ew. There was Ruari planning something devious near the fire truck kid’s room. Everest chuckled. He pounced on the mouse boy, purposefully missing by a few inches. He loved to mess around with Ruari. The boy made a great playmate.

But he was still hungry, so he left Ruari alone and continued down the hall. He looked to the stairs and found himself staring at some guy with curly orange hair. There was something feline about him that Everest couldn’t quite put his paw on. Maybe he was a shapeshifting vampire? Everest wasn’t sure. After all, the kid looked quite pathetic, freaking out over his bleeding finger.

Another kid came up the stairs. He was also a pretty small and skinny, frail-looking person. Not a lot of meat. Everest looked away without even the slightest interest. No food to be found anywhere. He made the short trek back to Henri. The human girl had left and Everest’s master was still gawking after her. Sometimes it was embarrassing to be associated with this particular vampire.

Everest looked up with pleading eyes, hoping his master would recognize his hunger. Unfortunately, Henri still seemed to be stuck in gaga land. So, the snow leopard did the most logical thing a snow leopard would do: he bit Henri’s ankle.

Henri jerked back his foot, snapping suddenly from his stupor. “Wha’s yer problem, Evs?” He reached down to calm his familiar, but Everest bit his hand too. Instead of withdrawing his hand, he went ahead and slapped the snow leopard on the side of his face. “The hell? Haven’t ya heard the phrase, ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds ya’?” He examined his hand and his ankle. Both were bleeding profusely. He’d fix them later with his voodoo.

The familiar glared. “But you haven’t fed me!” Everest retorted venomously. “Henri, I’m hungry! Get me something to eat or else I'll go hunting!”

“Quit yer whinin’! I bought a whole bunch a’ steaks jus’ fer you, but ya said ya weren’t hungry, so I cooked ‘em.”

Everest was aghast. He took an involuntary step back. “You cooked them?” The snow leopard nearly fainted right then and there thinking of those delicious steaks ruined by intense heat. Luckily, he was able to stay conscious and emit a low growl, his tail swaying to and fro.

Ignoring his familiar’s distress, Henri sighed. He looked back towards the stairs where that dazzling human girl had escaped. He hadn’t even asked for her name. Stupid Henri was stupid. How could he get so wrapped up in someone's beauty to the point of speechlessness? This didn’t usually happen. Maybe it was just a symptom of the first day of school.

The snow leopard snorted to catch Henri’s attention. "I'm still hungry." He glanced around, pleading with his eyes. He rested his gaze on Lilith and walked up to her, winding between her legs. "Lilith, food please?" he begged, trying to look as cute as possible. "Pretty please?"

"Honestly, Evs. Yer embarrassing me." Henri let out an exasperated sigh, slowly shaking his head. He rolled his eyes and turned to Lilith. “Jus' ignore ‘im, Bathory. He’s actin’ like a cub.”