The only thing I didn't like about patrol was that it made squeezing in schoolwork nearly impossible. I guess at the end of the day that side of my life doesn't matter as much as this side. What I was trying to help accomplish was much more important than the quadratic equation. Besides, everyone knew that one already anyways. It was well into the night: The Night Class were safely in their classroom doing whatever it was they did when they went. I doubted that it was strictly for teaching, and even so it wasn't very likely that their subjects intermingled with ours.

My eyelids drooped, the night before I was lucky to get three hours of sleep. I have no idea how Kale manages to have so much energy every night and day. Sometimes I wonder if that's why classes here are later than most other schools, for us at least. Not too late though, Papa wouldn't risk students getting out so close to dusk. Of course, it would make it easier to keep them away from the gates if their butts were planted in desk seats. No, they'd just start leaving class, some of them at least…that was no good.

Well, it couldn't be helped. My arms stretched above my head and my back arched until I felt a satisfying crack of joints. I'd need to move location soon, but from my rooftop perch I could see most of this quarter of the grounds. Everything was safe, safe and quiet. Hopefully tonight would be uneventful. I pushed up from my sit and as if on cue my ears picked up a sound. Freezing, I looked in that direction, eyes narrowing and trying to see through the darkness and trees.

There! Just there, I saw movement. A flash of white moved, another, and I recognized the uniforms of The Night Class immediately and arched an eyebrow: someone was out of class. Two someones. My stomach dropped when it was followed by the dark cloth of my own class' uniform. Oh no…Day Class with Night Class, at night.

And then I heard his voice and my shoulders sagged in exhaustion. Michael Cooper. Mike. By far he was the hardest one to deal with here, but part of me took pity on him. He was breaking a rule yes, but going your whole life on blood and then switching to tablets wasn't easy. Still, rules were there for a reason and he was breaking them, along with some other Night Class student that I couldn't see just yet.

Moving quickly, I ran along the rail gutter of the rooftop, trying not to think about the four story drop. Tree branches brushed up against the side of the building and after making sure my blade was safely secured, I quickly leapt down, trying to keep my heart from spiking too much due to the adrenaline. I crouched on the branch, gripping it with both hands and swinging down to a lower hanging one, and then did the same down to the ground right at the edge of their impromptu meeting. Or, well, I'd hoped this hadn't been planned.

I rose up from my crouched landing, shaking out my hands before fluidly pulling out Solas from its place. The blade shone dangerously in the moonlight, reminding me and them what it was capable of doing. If I had to use it. Right now it was merely unsheathed and I'd like to have kept it that way. It seemed like I'd gotten here just in time too: Mike already had the poor Day Class girl putty in his hands, and my jaw locked when I realized her head was already inclined, giving him full access to her neck. No holes yet though.

The other Night Class student hadn't done something quite as far yet, but I recognized Dominic West immediately. He was a lot like Mike only worse: he was completely unpredictable and calm. My eyes narrowed on both of them, "There's no feeding on school grounds."

Dominic moved, a soft smile on his lips that I knew well enough by now not to trust, and he stopped in front of me but I saw that flicker of his eyes down to Solas. He knew what it was and kept a safe distance away from any arc I could make with it. His voice matched his smile, but I didn't trust it any further, "Hey hey, clam down, nothing's even happened…" Yet. A word that was hanging in both of our heads. I gripped Solas tighter. Not yet.

"Hey, Shana…" I tore my eyes away from Dominic and looked at Mike, his fingers moving down the girl's neck and I felt the sudden urge to rush him, but stayed my ground. They wanted me to react, I wouldn't give them that yet. Where was Kale?! He usually sensed these things out faster than anyone and was more than happy to knock some sense into a vampire. Literally. "Patrolling as usual?"

They wanted to distract me, I wouldn't let them and narrowed my eyes back at him, trying not to put too much stock into his smirk. Breathing came easier when he moved away from the girl though, and the most she could do was grip his jacket but still he continued to walk towards me. She stayed in transfixed quiet. How far had her mind been taken, did she even know where she was…? Kale would have used his weapon by now, but so far I'd been able to keep a clean track record with mine, and I was hoping beyond hope that this could be settled with diplomacy. But…now they were both focusing and facing me, and I don't think even Papa would have blamed me for raising my blade.

Slowly but smoothly I moved my other hand to join at the hilt, holding it in both now and sliding my toes into position. I knew how to use this, very effectively…I just didn't want to. I looked passed Dominic to the approaching Mike, finally answering him, "It's a good thing too, she's going to need to be erased." The poor girl, but no one could know of their existence and that meant a trip to the uh…head doctor. She'd be fine, but my heart still went out to her.

Neither of them cared or thought about that though. Dominic smirked more and my attention returned to him, "Aren't there supposed to be two of you?"

Yes. They were side by side now, two against one. Already I made out the right slashes I'd need to make to immobilize them, even kill them, and the anti vampiric magick that pulsed through Solas would handle anything in between. My eyes flickered to Mike as he picked up after him, "There are, aren't there." His eyes turned to me, "Did he abandon you again…? How cruel. Especially when you're hurt…"

My eyebrows furrowed, I wasn't hurt. Was that a threat? I took it that way and he walked closer. Solas' hilt was gripped tighter and my jaw locked in determination. Please don't make me use it…

"I'm fine." But seriously, where was Kale?! "Now, you both need to go back to your class." They were bigger, stronger, faster, an apex predator, but my authoritative tone didn't waver nor did my stance.

Mike continued coming towards me, but Dominic tilted his head as if inspecting some newfound animal as he slowly walked in a circle around me. Cat and mouse, they were playing with their food and I didn't like being looked at like a cheeseburger. My toes curled in, not letting that tension spread. Faster than any human could have managed, Mike reached out and gripped one of my wrists fast enough to pull that hand free of Solas' hilt. His tone was so calm you'd think this wasn't completely out of line at all, "Let me see. You might need mending…"

"What are you-" But I didn't get to finish, my eyes caught sight of what he was talking about. All down my palm and now running down the heel of that hand: blood. Sticky, warm, fresh blood. My blood. Now that I wasn't distracted by adrenaline I felt the scratches in my palms from having gripped the branches. Solas' hilt was slick in my untaken hand. Shit. My heart spiked and I quickly swung, one knee bending to bring the blade right up against Mike's neck.

The charged steel only got to kiss his skin before Dominic moved, gripping my wrist and pulling my arm down. All tension that might have otherwise been in his tone from being so close to something so deadly to him was gone, "Do you ever even use this…? I've never seen you do it."

Well you would have if you hadn't grabbed me! My heart was spiked, the pulse not going down, and though I knew they weren't stupid enough to kill me I couldn't help but think about who else might have smelled fresh blood. The last thing we needed was a frenzy.

Mike slowly rose my hand up and I turned my eyes back to him, trying to pull my hand back, but they both had a wrist and it left me terribly off balance. Next time I'd slash first and ask questions later. No I wouldn't…His tongue moved out and slowly ran up my palm, collected the seeping crimson that had pooled there. Oh no. No. No no no. Bad, very bad.

And then I heard it: the metallic sound of a gun cocking followed by a voice too calm for how very angry I knew he'd be, "Let her go." That was worse. As previously stated, Kale didn't hesitate to use his weapon when he needed to and his gun was instant death whereas my blade was prolonged. But he had Vampire Hunter's blood as well as their reflexes: he'd kill them and think nothing of it. I couldn't let that happen, not for something this small, and tried to pull my hand back again.

Mike's fingers curled around my wrist but didn't force my hand to stay. Now I just had to worry about Dominic, but he didn't seem threatened in the least. Sometimes I worried about him. His thumb casually brushed along my skin and the hilt, collecting my blood on his thumb as his eyes moved lazily to Kale's, "Well that took you long enough."

"It'd take a lot less time to pull the trigger." Kale answered.

Mike slowly rose his hands up, his eyes starting to burn with anger, "Come on, now. You wouldn't break the treaty, would-ah!"

The butt of Kale's gun quickly hit the back of his head before he returned to aiming it at him, his tone unchanged, "Shut up."

I quickly closed my hand to keep anymore blood from spilling, unable to hold back the tremor in my voice for the fear that Kale was only seconds away from taking this further with his gun, "K-Kale stop, he let go." Unlike Dominic, who really needed to.

If anything he gripped my wrist more and now smoothly and expertly moved the blade for me, making arches and gliding slices through the air, eyes watching the glinting metal. So did mine. "Yes, but in that time how fast do you think I could have this move?" Right now it was slow, drawn out, testing the blade through my grip. I seriously…seriously worried about Dominic sometimes. He wasn't afraid of dying, he just wanted to see how interesting it could get before he breathed his last breath.

Both Kale and Mike knew that, "His life for her wrist…" If look and tone of voice could kill then Kale would have slain Dominic right then and there.

And they might have continued with this back and forth if not for one new voice. I can say without a doubt in my mind that all present company bonded in this one instance: hearts spiking, barriers forgotten, our differences forgotten, all from the drop of seven words from a very particular set of lips,

"His life for much more than that." Levi Cassel. I knew his voice better than anyone else's. And as I slowly moved my eyes to see him in the entry way to the courtyard, one thing was for sure: I should have used Solas. Because whatever he had in store for them now? That would be much worse. He was calm, very kind, but of a higher standing than the rest of them: a pureblood. Apex predator to the apex predators.

And I wasn't afraid.