Through the eyes of Larten Crepsley

Arra turned to me with fear in her widened eyes. I knew what she was thinking without her having to utter a word. Ciri was in danger and we needed to be there to aid her. I took my beloved's hand and the pair of us flitted off in the direction we'd heard the voice coming in. We had to get there as quickly as inhumanly possible…lest we allow something dreadful to happen to our little girl. My mind kept reeling with images of brutal torture and violence committed upon Ciri. I wanted to hurt someone…someone who deserved hurting. If I allowed myself to be taken in by this feeling however…Arra would be cross with me. Shoving my more violent side away, I tightened my grip on Arra's hand as we came to a rather unceremonious halt. We saw her there…standing alone.

Ciri.

Arra's hand slipped out of mine when we saw what Ciri had screamed about. Before her there was a hulking mass of a thing. I couldn't identify it until I took a half step closer to see that it was merely a spider hanging from its thread, albeit, a rather large spider…but only a spider. Madame Octa was most definitely more frightening than this ordinary little thing. Still, my heart felt as if I had been running on human strength for ages. It mattered not what the thing was, it was simply that she feared it. That little girl would end up being the death of me, and yet, I didn't mind. The little girl gave me a joy in life aside from Arra. Ciri gave me a purpose to be other than to hunt and keep myself alive. I would have to thank her later.

I walked up behind the crying Ciri and laid my hand on her shoulder. Gently, I turned the little girl towards me and pulled her close. I brushed aside a stray strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear. The little girl would need a hair cut soon. Ciri buried her face in my stomach while her little hands bunched themselves into fists in the material of my cloak. As much as she drove me crazy sometimes…the little girl had most definitely grown on me.

"Fear not Ciri…it is merely a spider. It cannot hurt you darling." I spoke softly, calmly, to gently ease her back to a state of calm. Her sobs wracked her little frame to the point where I could not stand to see her like this any longer. I swept her up into my arms and hugged her tightly to my body. Seeing as how she was only half vampire, Ciri still had a bit of warmth about her. It felt as though there was a small flame held against my body, I hoped I wasn't too cold to the touch.

Arra stood by and smiled a beautiful, motherly smile at the two of us standing there. She looked like a wife, looking upon her husband and child with eyes only a mother could have. Her face was alight with such emotion, I wanted to reach out to her, to take her hand. I looked into her eyes and noticed a slight change all of a sudden. It was slight…very miniscule, but I knew her emotions better than she herself did. Slowly, as if time was freezing itself, her eyes turned from those of motherly love…alarm, almost terror. Her mouth slowly opened and everything ceased to move. Was someone playing a cruel trick on me? It was probably something I ate earlier. Members of the Cirque were always doing that to me for some reason.

"Larten watch out!" Arra cried out, surprise written clearly upon her face.

I didn't turn…if I had, then Ciri might have gotten hurt. Instead, I leapt forward, concealing Ciri efficiently in the folds of my cloak. Standing beside Arra, I allowed myself the luxury to turn around and face my attacker. I looked to high at first…the man who stood behind me was shorter than I had anticipated. He wore an odd looking yellow jumpsuit of some kind…it looked rather tacky to my taste. He paired it with some clashing green boots. I looked up further and saw his rather pudgy looking face…his thickly framed glasses…and his shock of whitened hair. It was none other than the dreaded Desmond Tiny. Whenever he was around, there was always trouble ahead. It was only a matter of time before he revealed why he was paying us a visit.

Desmond Tiny…or Des Tiny…or even wittier, Destiny, asked us to accompany him back to the Cirque Du Freak. He spoke with a careless tone of voice, as if he would much rather be somewhere else. Whatever I did to deserve a visit from this one…I apologize sincerely to the Vampire Gods. Arra, being the "sensible" one she had always been, asked him countless questions before allowing him to even set foot on the Cirque grounds. She didn't want the man to be anywhere near her friends and family, even less, around Little Ciri who seemed to be enjoying the conversations passing between the strange, short man, and her mother. I should have stopped Arra, but I must admit, I do so like to see Mr. Tiny lose his composure. Only my Arra could do that to such a notoriously calm man.

After Arra had her fun torturing Mr. Tiny, I finally gave in and escorted the little man to the Cirque. It was a quiet trek back to the campgrounds. No one wanted to say a word. I looked over to Arra who was tense, ready to spring and tear Tiny's throat out at the drop of a pin. I smiled and reached over to her, carrying Ciri in one arm while holding the hand of my lover wit the other. I noticed, as we stood close to the Cirque, that everyone had packed up for the night and had gone to bed. Strange. It was still early, if my internal clock wasn't failing me…which it NEVER did. Mr. Tall had probably told them of their newest arrival. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows to disappear as quickly as possible when this sort showed up at our doorstep.

I led him into the trailer I shared with Arra and Ciri. There wasn't a lot of space, but I rather liked it that way. Des Tiny didn't waste any time getting comfortable in our "home". He occupied a chair across from the three of us and eyed us all one by one. We all stayed perfectly silent, aside from Ciri's moving in my arms to get a better look at the stranger of a man sitting in the middle of our trailer. No one said a word for a good ten minutes. Had I been human then, I probably would have throttled him for whatever information he was hiding from us.

"You said you had something to tell us. Would you kindly get on with it? It is very late and we must be putting Ciri to bed now." I spoke tentatively, not wanting to be at odds with Desmond Tiny. I received an ungrateful squeak of disapproval from Ciri, but at this point, I didn't care if she leapt out of my arms and destroyed the place. She was the excuse for Desmond to leave as soon as possible and I would go along with it. The more time I spent in Mr. Tiny's presence, the more it felt like he wanted to eat us all alive.

"Do not rush my fun Larten Crepsley. I haven't yet reached the cracking point. I think I'll give it another minute or two." The little man chuckled, reaching into his coat pocket to produce a heart shaped watch. It had an eerie red glow about it that seemed to radiate out of his body as well…and if I was not mistaken…it looked as if it was truly beating!

"Out with it! I haven't the patience for you right now. Tell us what you know or I shall show you the door." Arra growled.

Mr. Tiny regarded Arra with a careful eye. He looked her up and down, head to toe. He repeated this action a number of times before pointing at her.

"You will die."

Then to me.

"You will die."

Then to Ciri.

"And she will be the cause of your deaths."