R.D.D.G: here's chapter nine. I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying this slow pace. I wanted to make this a long story =D. I love Eagle River. I had lived there for 4 years from the time I was 6 till I was 10 years old. Best years of my life so far XD. As usual I have to thank my reviewers! There's meme12, Hispanic Tenshi, Reno's Demon, and Kitarrear. Anyways I may make this chapter longer than others, since I haven't updated in awhile (I'M SORRY!!!) And I added several new OCs, though it's just a question of whether or not I bring them back later…may, may not; not sure yet… anyway so I wanted a little conversation with him, and I want to have some time in Alaska as well before chapter 10.



"All packed up, Thunder?" Dante asked noticing the bag in the native's hand.

"Yes." Leo said as he shifted the strap on his bag.

Lok noticed that he wasn't wearing the same outfit he was on Saturday night. He had kept the braid with the feathers. And wore a shirt of a similar style to the one he wore; though the design was different. It had blue swirls dancing across the fabric as though it was either the wind or a river…Lok found it hard to tell. Wearing black slacks, with the ends in black boots that had a moccasin look to it; fringes and the beadwork matching the pattern on the shirt. Covering the shirt and pants was a black, hooded trench coat.

"Well then," Zhalia said standing up. "Shall we get going?"

"Might as well." Dante said setting the mug down on a nearby table.

"Did you drink all of the tea?" Gabrielle asked raising an eyebrow to Dante.

"Naturally." Lok looked towards his teacher from his seat near Gabrielle. Then realized that he had been sitting near girls, but felt no urge from his cub instincts to growl at them…that confused the blonde. Dante said that he would be doing that for about a year…so apparently this wasn't normal…

Sophie and Lok stood as well, each of them grabbing their bags from a corner. Lok grabbing Dante's while Sophie grabbed Zhalia's.

"Well then let's go." Leo said as Dante and Zhalia took their bags from the younger seekers. "We want to beat traffic if we want to make it to the airport soon."

The four nodded, as Lok put on his trench coat and gloves; also pulling his hood so that it was over his head.

As they walked out of the store, Ryan stopped Leo for a moment. "Keep an eye on them, Leo." He said. "Brian went after Lok once; he might try it again...and judging from Dante's memories, Brian enjoyed his blood… knowing him, he does not let good prey live."

Leo nodded towards his Alpha before placing his hood over his head; and followed the four into the store.

"Where's Cherit?" Lok asked, noticing that he had not heard hide nor hair of the titan.

"I'm here, Lad." Cherit said poking his head out of one of the bags. "I was daydreaming…" the yama titan gave a sheepish smile.

"I should have guessed." Lok laughed.

"Lok…how is that hood supposed to protect your face from the sun?" Sophie asked making an attempt to cover Lok from the sun's rays. "The sun's hitting you…"

"That's an illusion." Lok said shrugging as he moved Sophie's hand. "It's quite shady in here…"

"I'll have to hand it to Andre," Leo said as he walked beside the cub. "He does know some useful charms…"

Then Lok realized that Sophie was standing right next to him…then looked worriedly towards Leo and Dante. "Hey, Thunder…Dante…"

The two looked at him. "What is it, Lok?" Dante asked.

"Well…it's just that…I feel no urge to growl at Sophie and Zhalia right now…" Lok said then turned his head to Sophie, hoping that they would get where he was going with it.

Leo's brow furrowed underneath his hood. That's not supposed to be happening…unless…the native's eyes widened before turning his gaze to Dante; who apparently thought the same thing. Brian must have done something to the boy…

"Is that normal…?"

"Don't worry about it, Lok." Dante said reassuringly; he wasn't exactly lying… "It's just that your cub instincts trust them…"

Leo gave him a raised eyebrow look. "Cei secue, Xiao." He said shaking his head to the human.

"Tae?" Dante asked shrugging his shoulders. "Te lida ia ikito heko ya mecuda ye dimu."

"Cei."

"Ei sheti yo hi ko mecu ipue hiwata yanheko." Dante said raising an eyebrow.

"Are you two going to be talking to each other like we're not here?" Zhalia asked placing her hands on her hips; she turned her gaze to Dante. "You had said the night Lok returned, that cubs couldn't go near those of the opposite gender until after their first or second year…it's just past his week."

Dante sighed. He had to admit the woman had a good memory. "True enough." Dante said, then turned his gaze to Leo. "Do you want to explain it? You know more about it than I do."

Leo nodded. "Well there is a way to make a cub become a dominant and submissive earlier. But as far as I'm aware of, only Dracula-Duroi has the potion needed to do it."

"So what is he?" Sophie inquired. "Dominant or Submissive?"

"Of that we're still not sure." Leo said. "The potion's effect is not an immediate one. It still takes a while for the traits of either one to take affect. However thanks to it, he can be around females and other submissives now."

"How will we know, when he's one or the other?"

"Trust me; you'll be able to tell." Leo said turning his gaze straight ahead. "Particularly if he becomes a submissive."

Dante nodded in agreement. He had heard from Gabrielle what happens when a vampire becomes a submissive…and Leo was right when he said it would be easy to tell. Now came a bigger question. How in the name of the Gods, did Brian manage to obtain the potion needed to do this? Dracula kept that under lock and key… unless he was able to figure out how to make one himself.

"So do you think that King Dracula did this?" Sophie asked. "If he's the only one who has the potion it would make sense."

"It wasn't Lord Dracula." Lok said shaking his head. "All he did was help me through the ceremony, and made Dante my temporary Guardian. The only thing I drank from him was his blood."

Sophie shivered. "Sorry, Lok." She said when she saw him raise a curious eye-brow. "I'm still trying to get used to the fact you're a vampire…"

Lok shrugged. "It's no big deal." He said giving her a reassuring smile; then turned his gaze to the two elder members of his clan. "Do you think that maybe Brian did it?"

The two looked at the teen in slight surprise. Dante got over it first, and nodded towards Lok. "That's what we're thinking." He agreed. "It's just a question of how he got a hold of the potion to begin with…"

"Well, how he managed to get it doesn't matter." Zhalia said. "What's done is done. Nothing we can do about it now. It's not like Lok is going to die from it, so we might as well leave it be."

Everyone nodded in agreement as they continued to walk towards the airport. It didn't take long to get to the airport, since both vampires wanted to get out of the blinding sun, even with their coats, the sun was still slightly blinding.

They walked into the air-conditioned room. People staring slightly as the group walked past and towards the reception desk London Air *. They noticed the stares that were sent their way, but they paid no heed to it, since they knew it was towards the two Goths in the group. Apparently people didn't see Goths too often.

The lady at the reception desk stared at them with a raised eyebrow when they approached. "Good afternoon," she said in her cheery voice. "What can I do for you?"

"We need five tickets to Anchorage, Alaska." Sophie said, since she was the one going to be paying for it. She did agree to paying expenses after all.

The receptionist began typing away at her computer. "Five tickets to Anchorage, Alaska…" she murmured to her self as she typed. "What time do you wish to depart?"

"Immediately if that is possible." Sophie answered politely.

The woman nodded. "Okay, what are your names?" she asked.

"Sophie Casterwill." Sophie began, the receptionist typed in the name. "Dante Vale," more typing, "Zhalia Moon," even more typing, "Lok Lambert," more typing, "and Leo…" Sophie turned towards Leo for a last name.

"wolf." He answered.

"And Leo Wolf." Sophie finished. The lady finished typing in the names.

"All right." She said as she printed out the tickets*; and Sophie handed her a credit card so to pay for the tickets. After a swipe and more typing the lady handed back the card and smiled. "There you go." She said cheerfully. "Gate 18. Do you have any luggage?"

Sophie shook her head. "Just carry-ons." She said as she took the tickets from the lady.

"Well then have a good flight." She said, and then looked towards Leo and Lok. "You know you can take off your hoods right?"

"They have a bit of a skin condition." Dante was the one who answered this time. "They burn easily so they have to keep covered. Even indoors."

The lady nodded in understanding as they left the desk towards the escalator which led to the second floor where the gates were located. Sophie passing out the tickets as the rode the escalator.

It didn't take long to get through security, though they were stopped once when a guard saw Cherit, and they had to explain he was a stuffed animal…the guard bought it; which surprised everyone. Apparently he wasn't paying attention to the monitor enough…oh well they weren't going to complain. Finally they were at Gate 18.

And it seems as though they made it in time for the flight, Dante noticed as he saw people waiting with their carry-ons. Mothers with their children who were busy playing amongst themselves as they waited to board the plane; while their mothers kept a watchful eye on them. Business men, wearing their suits busied themselves at their laptops. Trying to get whatever work they had left done before they had to turn off the computers and board the plane. Friends talking among friends, family talking excitedly amongst themselves.

The group found seats near the window so that they could gaze out at the runway. "I'll go check us in," Dante said as he walked over to the desk in the middle between Gate 18 and Gate 19. Before chatting with the attendant on duty on their side.

"So Leo, aren't you from Alaska?" Sophie asked gazing at the American.

Leo chuckled and shook his head. "No. But I have lived there on and off over the decades." He said. "I am from the New England area; I believe the land I grew up on is now known as Baltimore."

"So what happened to you?" Lok inquired.

Leo smiled and placed a gloved hand on the teen's head. "I shall tell you on the flight, since it shall be a long one." He said cheerfully. The three nodded in agreement as Dante returned and sat down between Lok and Zhalia.

"Looks like we showed up in the nick of time." He said smirking. "The plane is said to land in a few minutes."

"So the wait won't be so long." Sophie said smiling.

"Unless you count lay over times at some of the other stops." Zhalia said studying her ticket. "looks like we've got a two-hour lay over in London…a four hour lay-over in Baltimore*…an hour lay over in Oklahoma City…and an hour lay over in Seattle…" she said.

"Sounds like fun." Lok said. "And I can catch up on my sleep."

"Get used to being up during the day time during missions, Lok." Dante said gazing down at his gothic student. "There are times you're going to have the same sleep schedule as us mortals."

"I know…" Lok said smiling. "But still, I might just fall asleep on the plane…"

"It will take a while before we even get there." Zhalia agreed. "Some shut-eye doesn't sound that bad."

The rest nodded in agreement. Besides they didn't bring anything else to do really. Just the essentials for the mission. "We do need something to do while we're on the plane." Leo said smirking towards Dante.

"Not you too…" Dante said with a semi-worried/semi-annoyed look on his face. "Mom already showed the pictures…"

"She did?" A nod. "Did she tell the stories behind said pictures?" Dante moved to say 'of course she did' then realized that she didn't, and shook his head. "Well then looks like I know what I'm going to be doing on the ride then." Leo grinned towards Dante who groaned.

Zhalia grinned towards the older seeker, in her Zhalia-ish fashion. "Well this should be quite interesting to hear.

Lok smiled towards the older man. "Well we don't know a lot about your childhood Dante." He said. "It'll be cool to see how you grew up."

"What's there to tell?" Dante asked. "I grew up raised like a vampire cub. Practically raised by vampires from 13 to now…Metz raising me as a seeker from 11 to well…4 years ago."

"What about when you were born till 11?" Sophie asked.

Lok saw sadness enter the man's eyes. And judging by the looks on the other's faces (well other than Leo), they didn't notice it. "There's nothing to tell." He said a very noticeable façade in place that Lok could pick out no problem. "It was very…normal."

Sophie looked about ready to inquire on it some more, when Lok shook his head towards her. "If he says it was a normal childhood Sophie, then it was a normal childhood." Lok said.

"All Passengers for flight 23546 to London, England; please go towards your boarding gate at this time." A woman's voice said cutting off the conversation.

"Well then," Dante said standing up and grabbing his bag. "Let's get this show on the road." Then he walked over to the boarding gate, waiting in the A line. Sophie and Zhalia following, leaving the two vampires behind.

"Did you notice it too, buka?" Leo asked as he picked up his bag.

"What?"

"The pain and sorrow in his eyes." Leo answered calmly, his tone turning into one that Lok would have expected to belong to an ancient shaman.

At that Lok nodded. Oh yeah, he noticed it all right. "Yeah…" he looked up at the older vampire. "Do you know why?"

Leo shook his head. "I do not." He said after a moment. "Ever since he was thirteen he would never talk about his childhood with us. Said the same excuse he told you actually."

"Hurry up you two!" Dante called over to them. "You guys move like the dead!"

"Is this pun intended?" Lok asked as they walked over to the others.

"Yeah." Dante smirked at them, making Sophie snicker and Zhalia smirk.

"Well aren't you nice." Lok said. "You're acting like a cub."

"Technically among vampires he is a cub, Kawauso." Leo said placing a hand on Dante's shoulder. "Being since he's only 28."

"You just love rubbing that in…don't you…?" Dante asked looking towards the native.

Leo smiled. "I'm not as bad as Warzone and you know it." he said.

"True…" Dante agreed. "He would be harassing me about it…"

Lok looked at the two as the girls gave their tickets to the attendant in front of the door. "Oh yeah, Dante."

"Hm?" Dante looked towards Lok.

"You just contradicted yourself." Lok said as he gave his ticket to the lady, she scanned it and gave it back, before he left down the little tunnel thing the two men to think about what he was talking about.

"About what Lok?" Dante inquired as he caught up with the blonde.

"You said we wouldn't go on missions until I got used to feeding with my fangs." Lok said smirking. "And here we are."

Dante chuckled. Lok had a point. "It seems I have." He agreed. "However I'm not too worried about this trip because Leo is coming along. He's a healer, he's the taught Mina and Gabrielle all they know about herbal remedies; Musha and Renji helping out as well."

"Really?" Sophie asked staring at the native vampire. "Could you perhaps teach me sometime, Leo?"

Leo smiled and placed a hand on the girl's head. "Of course. It would be nice to have some students again…Dante's no fun."

"I was never any good at herbal remedies and you know it." Dante said smirking.

"Ko naya vea yarda eo telu tihei." Leo said.

"Ko shet yo nitako ei yarda?"

"Ko sheti yo!"

"Hey Leo, I'll learn too." Lok said smiling at the two. "If I'm going to be living for along time I might as well know some good skills as well."

Leo smiled before looking over to Dante. "Ko buka…"

"Will you two stop talking in a different language around us?" Zhalia asked annoyed. "I personally would like to know what people are talking about."

"Sorry, Zhalia" Dante said smiling towards the woman. As they walked onto the plane and went to the back to find their seats; theirs being near the back of the plane were there are two rows of three facing each other. (A/N I love those seats I got sit there several times XD). "It's kind of a habit… once I learned the language when I was younger that's all we spoke around each other." he said as they took their seats and buckled in. Lok and Dante sitting on one side while Zhalia, Sophie, and Leo took the seats in front of them. Lok placing the bag Cherit was in on the empty window seat next to him.

"Excuse me," the group turned to look and saw a man with long black hair that went straight down to his butt. The man looked to be Chinese, or at least from somewhere around that area. He wore a simple black Chinese, high-collared tunic. It fitting his form perfectly, the long sleeves not too loose, yet not too tight either. On his face were several tattoos. One was like an elemental sign right between his eyebrows and traveling up to the middle of his forehead. The black ink swirling across pale skin like smoke…well that's too dark for smoke, but a darker form of the wind. And across his left cheek were a couple more black swirling designs that went from where skull met ear to swirl and join together underneath his left eye.

Lok stared at the new comer curiously, never noticing both Dante and Leo gain a knowing look. Dante had heard about an elementalist before but this was the first time he had seen one face to face. And judging by the looks of the tattoos on the man's face, he seems to be a shadow elementalist. "This is my seat." The man spoke again indicating to the seat that Lok had placed the bag that held Cherit.

"Oh!" Lok said as he moved to grab the bag. "I'm sorry I didn't know that this seat was taken."

"It is quite all right." The man said shrugging his shoulders, before storing his bag underneath his seat and sitting down himself. "You can tell your Yama titan that he can come out." The man said without turning his gaze to the young vampire. Making the teen turn to him in shock, how could he have known that Cherit was there?! Judging by the looks on Sophie and Zhalia's faces, they were wondering the same thing. The man noticed the looks and sighed. "This area is guarded no normal mortal can see him."

"Did you use the shadows?" Leo asked giving the man a knowing look.

The man nodded. "I always do when I'm going on a trip. I like my privacy." He said, then turned his attention to the space right in front of the window. "No nainai, I made sure that I…will you get off of my back woman…?"

The group, except Leo, gave the man a strange look. "What my bloody grandmother won't shut up and rest in peace already. She's been hassling me for like what, 15 years…" he turned his attention back to the window. "I'm sorry, 17 years, like there's that much of a difference…"

"Who are you talking to?" Sophie asked.

"My bloody grandmother." The man answered, looking away from the window, an annoyed expression evident on his face. He was looking as though he was ignoring what-ever was there.

"There's no one there." Lok said.

"I am surprised that you do not sense her presence," the man said looking at the cub with a bored look. "You are a vampire, a child of death…"

"He is too young to sense such things." Leo said.

The man turned his attention to Leo. "Really now? I was able to sense the dead since I was born." The man said. "I figured Vampires worked the same way."

"Not really." Leo answered. "Naturally born vampires can, turned vampires have to wait until they are older."

The man nodded in understanding. "So may I inquire as to where you are going, Onochisa?" the man asked.

"The more appropriate question is what your name is."

"My name is Yingzi." Yingzi answered.

"Leo."

"That is not your true name…" Yingzi gave Leo a look that said, 'I'm not that stupid…'.

"And your point?" the group watched the two converse; even Cherit had popped his head out of the bag to watch. This was getting interesting.

"It would be proper to give your actual name."

"My name is Howling Wolf." Leo answered. "But I had to change my name to Leo over the centuries. My tribe no longer exists on the mortal plane, so there was no reason to keep it, except fresh in my mind and my memories."

"All right, now that we have the formalities out of the way…" Yingzi leaned back into his seat. "Where are you headed?"

"Anchorage."

"Same." Yingzi replied.

Lok looked at Yingzi. "Excuse me, Yinze…"

"It's Yingzi."

"Sorry," Lok said, "but how did you know that I was a vampire? For all you know I could have been an ordinary Goth…"

"Elementalists like me have had to figure out the aura of vampires, after all if we are to survive the Anulwoe…" Yingzi explained. "And vice versa for vampires."

Lok looked towards Leo and Dante, hoping that his question could be answered better. "Vampires have been at war with werewolves for as long as anyone could remember." Dante said coming to the cub's aid. "No one knows why the werewolves started the war, not even Dracula does…the sad thing is, is that he was there when the werewolves declared war and slaughtered many a vampire. Vampires came to the conclusion that they need alliances, we are allies with the elementalists, Seekers (though they remain neutral when it comes to the Organization and the Foundation), Magicians and dragons. The rest of the races prefer to remain neutral themselves. "

"Which I can assume is the rest of you." Yingzi said gazing towards Dante, Sophie and Zhalia. "Foundation Seekers?"

Dante nodded.

"Hey I'm a seeker for the Foundation too!" Lok said.

"Odd for a vampire."

"He was already a seeker for the Foundation before he turned." Dante explained.

"So, what business do you have in Anchorage, Yingzi?" Leo inquired.

"Elemental Council." Yingzi replied. "They decided to hold it in Water Elemental turf this year…joy. OH will you shut up!" he suddenly snapped towards the window.

"I would assume you would show your elders respect." Leo said a smirk on his face. "It is a common rule between Elementalists and Vampires."

"Yeah, I did respect her before she died and continued to follow me around…" Yingzi grumbled in an annoyed tone. "She hasn't shut up and left me alone since she died. She should have just followed my father…but no. She has to make my life miserable…"

"I still don't see anyone there…" Sophie said.

"Of course not," Zhalia said. "She's dead."

"And you guys are mortals…" Yingzi added. "Mortals were not meant to sense the dead…in general at any rate I have met a few who can."

"Welcome aboard passengers on flight 23546 to London England. We hope you have an enjoyable ride on this flight. If you would please turn your attention to the attendants as they go through the safety regulations…" the voice of the pilot came on the intercom. The flight attendants hanging around the middle, back and front of the plane going through the usual pre-flight routine. Showing how to buckle and unbuckle the seat belts, where the emergency exits were, how to use the dang oxygen mask in case of low pressure… the usual. The gang just sat there for a moment bored. They've all heard this so many times before that it wasn't funny.

"So what is the council meeting about?" Dante inquired after the flight attendants were done. having heard about the Elemental council before from Ryan.

"The Anulwoe." Yingzi answered. "More and more vampire clans and Elemental villages have been attacked."

"Are you serious?!" Leo asked shock and fear written on his face. "What ever happened to the treaty between Lord Dracula and their Alpha?"

"They were the ones who started this Gods damned war." Yingzi pointed out. "They're the ones who want to keep it going. Until every last vampire and their allies is destroyed."

"Oh my!" Cherit moaned, deciding to bring his head out into the open so he could hear the conversation better.

"Well there goes our good mood." Zhalia muttered placing her head in her hand. Though she acted annoyed, Lok could see that the woman was also nervous. Since seekers and Vampires had an alliance would they seek to destroy seekers as well?

"No they won't." Lok turned his gaze to Yingzi, who turned his gaze towards him. "The Anulwoe have seekers of their own. Seekers they have turned. They would not destroy them, not unless they don't want to 'recruit' anymore."

"How did…"

"My nainai, she had the ability to read minds. It was a personal ability of hers." Yingzi explained. "She read your thoughts and told me." He shrugged like it wasn't an uncommon occurrence. "She's nosy what can I say…"

Lok nodded in understanding before giving a big yawn. "Go to sleep buka." Leo said smiling towards the cub. "It will be awhile before we reach the states anyways."

Lok nodded before bowing his head down so that the hood covered his face before drifting off to sleep.

"Let's hope the Anulwoe don't catch our scent in Alaska…" Dante said quietly so as not to wake the teen next to him.

"We will stay with a clan who resides in Eagle River." Leo said. "The Anulwoe would not be stupid enough to attack us."

"I wish I could join you," Yingzi said rolling his eyes. "But shadow elementalists have their own place they need to be."

"With the light elementalists?" Leo inquired jokingly.

"Hahaha…no." Yingzi said. "Too bright with them. I swear…you walk into a room with a bunch of light elementalists and it'll be so bright you'd think you'd died and walked towards the light."

"Well some of us have died." Leo said. "Only difference is we didn't walk towards the light…we moved towards the shadows." He laughed slightly.

"See it's safer there!" Yingzi agreed a small smile on his face, which turned into an annoyed look as he glared back towards the window. "Bizui nainai!"

"Not so loud." Cherit chastised, before placing a white hand on Lok's head. "The lad's sleeping."

"Fanen." Yingzi said towards the yama titan, who smiled and nodded.

"You know what. I'm going to sleep too." Zhalia said before leaning against the wall of the plane. She was tired both physically and the fact people keep talking in a different language around her.

The group nodded towards the woman, then realized that they were about to take off.

"So are you familiar with the vampiric language, Yingzi?" Sophie asked looking towards the Chinese elementalist.

Yingzi nodded, still looking slightly bored. "Yeah. I speak it fluently. It was standard for all elementalists by order of the council after the elementalists allied themselves with the vampires."

"About 2000 years ago." Leo added for Sophie's benefit since Dante had already learned this lesson when he was 13.

"That long?" Sophie asked in shock. "Don't elementalists age normally?"

Yingzi couldn't help but laugh at this. "Us age like mortals?! No way! Don't get me wrong we don't look the same for thousands of years like vampires. We do age. Just not at the same rate as humans. I'm 180, personally."

"You don't look a day over 18!" Sophie said in shock.

"That's the beauty of it. We age normally when we're younger. But once we hit 18… bam!" he punched his hand with the other for emphasis. "We stop aging. Then it's for every…I would have to say…100 years we age 1 year."

"That's amazing." Sophie said. "Wait, how many other races are out there in the world? I didn't learn about vampire's existence since Lok returned home turned. So how many other races do humans not know about?"

"There's, the Anulwoe…Vinsaudate…" Yingzi began using his fingers as he counted the races, his eyes looking towards the right as he remembered. "Gindakon…datesanenku…um…kiareinu… chikikajzuresa…" he turned towards Leo. "Am I forgetting anyone?"

"Dowealakanu." Leo added. "As well as the resauki, gimaresa… and the kewadasaoca."

Sophie turned her gaze to Dante who chuckled. "Werewolves, vampires, faeries, death gods, dragons, elementals, elves, phoenixes, magicians, and demons." He translated for the girl. "We generally use their vampiric names."

"Why?"

"It sounds cooler." Dante shrugged. "No, the vampiric language is very old. They've been called by those names by vampires and elementals for centuries. Granted they have their own words for us as well."

"How do you say seeker?"

"Atanikewanu." Dante answered, then motioned to Cherit who was now sitting on top of the bag since Yingzi's shadow abilities made it safe for him to come out. "And Titan is atani."

"Ata…nike…wanu…" Sophie repeated, trying to get used to saying the word.

"You'll get used to it." Dante said. "If you wish I can teach you the language."

"Leave that to a vampire." Leo said smirking towards Dante. "No offense, Dante but you're still learning the language yourself."

"So?" The three started chuckling.

Yingzi looked at Dante. "So seeker; do you plan to turn?" Dante stopped chuckling and turned his gaze to the elemental. To be honest he had never thought about it before. Well at least not seriously at any rate. Sure he had been with the vampires since he was a young teen, but did he honestly plan to turn? A lot of humans who were members of clans did…

Sophie had also stopped chuckling and looked at her team leader. The same exact thing popping into her mind. Would he turn?

"I don't know…" Dante answered truthfully. "I may…but I've never given it much thought." He looked towards the man. "Why do you ask?"

"You would make a good Vampire." The chinesemen said. "Nainai agrees with me. Even after seeing so much pain and hardships yourself, you still are protective and understanding towards others, yet firm and tough when it is required. Qualities befitting a vampire." Dante tensed up slightly. He couldn't know about his past…could he? If he did would he tell? The thought worried the man.

"Shet yo riewo." Yingzi assured the seeker. "Ei li yo lemae yankon. Ei haso pemali ya rota ko ye lemae."

"I have to agree." Leo said smiling; to both Dante making a good vampire, and that it was the man's story to tell. "However, Yingzi, we are not pushing him. If he wishes to remain human we shall honor that wish and we shall treat him as we always have. A member of the Shadow Moon clan."

Dante smiled towards Leo before flinching and holding the wound he had received. Having moved it slightly while he shifted his position in his seat. "Is it still hurting?"

"Yeah. Not as much as earlier though. Mom's tea saw to that." Dante said. Face still contorted in slight pain. "Man can that vamp bite…"

"Did you drink all of it?"

"Yes." Dante said. "As I had explained to Gabrielle before we left."

"What kind of tea was it?" Sophie asked.

"Pain reliever." Dante answered. "Mom is like the queen of herbal remedies. That's all she uses with us. And they always work."

"She was always a healer at heart." Leo agreed smiling. "Always motherly towards her patients."

"Hence her nickname." Sophie added, putting two and two together.

The two nodded in confirmation. "Well, as interesting as this conversation is." Yingzi said yawning. "I'm getting tired of hearing Nainai talk and I want to get some good rest before I've got to deal with the council so I'm hitting the hay." He said leaning his head against the back of his seat. "Chimoji."

"Chimoji." Leo said and the shadow elemental closed his eyes, and fell asleep. Sophie following not far behind, using Zhalia as a pillow as she slept. Leo smiled towards the young female before turning his gaze to Dante.

"Dante, it would be beneficial if you fall asleep." Leo said. "It'll give the herbal potion time to do its job."

Dante nodded before nodding off himself. He was still pretty tired though he had slept for two straight days. The fight against Brian had taken a lot out of him.

"Is it still safe to stay out?" Cherit inquired, not too thrilled with the idea of going back in the bag.

"Yes." Leo answered. "I can still feel Yingzi's magic working."

Cherit smiled as he flew over and landed on Leo's shoulder. Both noticing Lok move and lean against Dante. The boy's head resting on the man's shoulder; the blonde still asleep the entire time.

The vampire and the titan watched in amusement knowing it was a natural reaction. Leo knowing full well that the two were perfect for each other. His smile grew when he was Dante lean his head against Lok's. The native vampire knew that it was a reaction. It's like a little instinct that said, 'hey look I feel something I can rest my head on!' but still. It didn't take away from the fact that it was adorable.

"How charming." Cherit said noticing the two. A knowing smile on the ancient Yama titan's face. "They would be good for each other."

"Of course." Leo said smiling. Having told the titan earlier about what he, Ryan and Musha discovered. "It's only a question of how long until they figure it out…"

"It shouldn't be too long." Cherit said. "Both can be quite observant.

"Maybe..." Leo said, the man's face became slightly worried.

"How about you get some sleep yourself, Leo." Cherit said towards the vampire. "You have been woken up too early, I say. I shall keep watch."

Leo reluctantly nodded before covering his face with his cloak and falling into a semi-deep sleep himself.



(Many hours later XD)

The group got off of the plane at the Anchorage airport after having to deal with a long list of flights. Lok looking around in awe, his cloak now down since it is now night time. For an airport at night, it sure was busy…well not fully busy but busy enough. People bustled around with their carry-ons all around three stuffed bears. Lok stared at the bears. One was an angry polar bear, which was standing on its hind legs, its lips pulled back in a snarl. To its right, was a peaceful looking black bear that was on all fours. And to the polar bear's left was a confused looking Grizzly which like its white counterpart was on its hind-legs.

"Welcome to Alaska." Leo said smiling. Happy he was back in the states. Or at least one he was familiar with.

"So where is this clan you said was going to meet us?" Zhalia asked as she shifted the strap of her bag. When they were in Baltimore, Leo phoned the Alpha of the Tundra River clan, to let them know that they were arriving soon, while Yingzi phoned the other shadow elementals in the area for someone to pick him up.

"We are right here." The group turned to see four people standing there. All of them in gothic clothing, though a couple were wearing black sweat-shirts over their shirts; while the other two wore long sleeved shirts. One of them was a brunette who stood taller than the others, who had what seemed like a bored scowl on his face a black choker with a red gem visible from under the collar of his long-sleeved shirt. Another was blonde, who wasn't as tall as the brunette, but still rather tall, and looked rather hyper and cheery… well as cheery as the black make-up on his face would allow the same type of chokie visible underneath his sweat-shirt. The third vampire had black hair and he was about the same height as the blonde; his face kind and welcoming unlike the brunette who looked like he would punch you rather than say hi to you, he wore a chokie that bore a black gem this time. And the last vampire had blonde hair with was decorated in black and blue streaks; she was the only female in the group, and she stood at the same height as the blonde dominant. She had a warm look about her face, and she looked rather happy. Her chokie bore a black gem and showed proudly around her pale neck. One thing Lok noticed however was that both the male blonde and the female blonde looked a whole lot a like.

"Hey Leo!" the female exclaimed running over to him and giving him a huge hug. "Welcome back!"

"It's good to be back, Rachel." Leo said as Rachel released him.

The brunette now walked forward. "I take it the plane ride was quiet." He said as more of a statement than a question.

Leo nodded. "Yes other than hearing news of the elemental council meeting up, and that the Anulwoe have been attacking more clans and villages... it was rather quiet."

"That's good to hear." The male blonde said. "We were worried that the Anulwoe would have attacked you in Baltimore, since they have packs there…"

"We were fine, Jake." Leo assured the blonde.

Now the black-haired vampire walked forward. "May I inquire the nature of your visit?"

"Of course, Michael-Lasa." Leo said respectively, then motioned towards the Huntik group behind him. "These are my friends. Three of which are members of the shadow moon clan, the two females being teammates of theirs. They're here on a mission for the Huntik foundation."

"You know we, vampires, like to remain neutral." The black-haired said.

"I know. I was told to come with them by my Lasa. To keep an eye on the new cub, and my lasa's mortal cub." he said motioning towards Dante and Lok.

"Why would Ryan want you to keep an eye on me?" Dante inquired crossing his arms over his chest, and eyebrow raised. "I can take care of myself."

"He's just worried after your tangle with Brian is all." Leo said towards the man. Then returned his gaze to Michael. "Since the young cub and the human are members of the clan yet also members of the Foundation I came along with them. And we need a place to stay."

Michael nodded, before smiling. "You know you and the Shadow Moon clan always has a place with the Tundra River clan! After your clan came to our aide all those years ago."

"Ryan said you didn't have to worry about that." Leo pointed out smiling.

"Regardless…" Jake said.

"I say…" Rachel said as Jake walked right next to her.

"Let's hit the road!" the two spoke in unison. Making the brunette roll his eyes and Michael chuckle.

"Twins I'm guessing." Zhalia said.

"Yup, natural born vampire twins." Michael said before turning to the two blondes. "Now let's get you two home before your parents have a conniption."

"Did Jacob and Tim not give them permission?"

"They snuck into the cars when their parents were gone." Michael said. "It was supposed to be just me and David, here."

"But he's a grouch." The twins whined in protest.

"We at least gave a warm welcome." Rachel said.

"Yeah, he would have just made them uneasy." Jake agreed.

"You two better watch yourselves." David said glaring down at the two.

The two blondes sent him a raspberry in response.

"Well regardless the twins are right." Michael said. "We might as well get back. We're burning moonlight."

The group nodded and the Alaskan vampires led the way through the airport. Lok and the others enjoying the scenery and the twins hanging around the young cub. Saying that they haven't seen a cub younger than them in years, as their excuse.

"David, you drive Leo and the two young ladies in the Nissan." Michael said as they walked out of the airport, into the rather nice feeling, yet chilly Alaskan night. "I'll take the others in the mini-van."

David nodded in understanding before motioning the three to follow him. "See you at the coffee house, Lasa?"

"Yeah the coffee house." Michael agreed.

"I'm guessing it's tradition for clans to own some sort of shop in the town they live in." Lok guessed as the others followed Michael to the other side of the parking lot. "The Shadow Moon clan has the Gothic Shoppe; and the Forest Magic clan has the pizzeria."

"We own a small coffee shop called Java's*." Rachel said happily. "It's a really nice place. Gets a lot of customers particularly in the winter."

"And it's got that good old log cabin feel to it." Jake added smiling. "Those were fun time weren't they kachu?"

"Yeah. I miss staying in that log cabin with pa and pama…" Rachel agreed happily. "But they say it's become too dangerous to be too far away from the clan now. With the Anulwoe and all… so we move here closer to the clan."

"So were you two adopted or something?" Lok inquired.

"Nope!" the twins echoed happily.

"But both of your parents are men aren't they?"

"Yup!"

"Remember Lok," Dante said towards the younger seeker. "If a male vampire is a submissive he is capable of bearing young just like a female submissive."

"Oh yeah." Lok said remembering that Dante had explained it about a week ago.

"What about your parents?" Jake asked.

"Both of my parents are mortal." Lok said. "I was turned a little over a week ago."

"Oh so you're a baby cub!" Rachel said, then squealed and hugged Lok tightly.

Dante and Michael laughed as the vampire pulled out the car keys. "As you can see they're excited to have a cub younger than themselves. We don't get to see the other clans much."

"The Anulwoe?" Dante guessed.

Michael nodded. "Yes, the other clans in Alaska live a bit of a distance away. The closest clan is in Whitaker and I don't want to go through a tunnel in the mountain where we could be ambushed… though I do miss the drives.*" He said looking thoughtful. "They were beautiful."

"Have you noticed a fiery bird fly around at night, Michael-Lasa?" Dante inquired leaving Lok to deal with the twins on his own. He'll be fine. It's good that he'd be able to hang around other cubs for awhile.

Then there was a piercing screech and looking up Dante saw a bird that looked similar to a dragon mixed with a phoenix fly by.

"You mean that fiery bird?" Michael said looking towards Dante.

"Yup…" Dante said staring at the bird hybrid as it flew across the night sky. Its eerie screech echoing through the shadows.

"That's what we're after?!" Lok exclaimed as he watched the bird. "Is that thing even a titan?" Then the bird disappeared behind a group of mountains that circled the area.

"I don't know." Dante said then looked towards Michael. "Let's head to your coffee shop, shall we Lasa?"

Michael nodded and opened the doors to the mini-van when they got close enough to do so. The twins and Lok, with Cherit in his bag climbed into the back, where the seats were all in a circular position around a small table; while Dante and Michael sat up front.

As they pulled out of the airport parking lot and drove through Anchorage, the twins pointed to Lok all of the fun places to visit. Promising the younger vampire to take him there sometime during the visit. "You've got to go the Alaskan Native Heritage Center!" Jake said excitedly. "It's a whole lot of fun, and you can even dance with some of the mortal native tribes*! It's really fascinating."

"It does sound like fun." Lok agreed smiling. He wasn't lying either hopefully enough Dante will let them have some time off to go do this fun stuff.

"There's also the Glacier Center as well Bochu." Rachel pointed out.

"Yeah, but pa and pama don't take us there anymore." Jake pouted.

"What's at the Glacier Center?" Lok asked.

"During the winter time, the lake that surrounds the center is ice!" Jake said explained. "And the center is right next to a glacier. Hence its name."

"It's really cool to see parts of the Glacier fall." Rachel added.

"But if we can't do those things, then we can at least go to the bowling alley!" they said in unison happily.

"That's if they have time, bukas." Michael said looking at them through the rear-view mirror. "And I don't think your parents are going to want you out for a while. Not after the stunt tonight."

"Please, don't tell them!" Rachel whined.

"Yeah!" Jake agreed. "We don't get to see cubs that often."

"I don't think you're getting out of this one bukas." Dante said turning to look back at them. "When I got in trouble with my niada…I never managed to get out of it and Ryan-Lasa's punishments are sometimes harsh."

"But Ryan-Lasa's not here." Lok pointed out. "And from what Michael was saying their parents weren't home when they snuck out. They still might not be there. Sneak out, sneak back in…no one will ever know."

The twins nodded in agreement before each wrapping an arm around the younger blonde teen. A big grin on the elder cub's faces.



Tbc…

R.D.D.G: Ole'! I'm done! Sorry it took so long for me to finish it, my stepdad had come back home from being TDY and he had a week of leave, so I wasn't able to get on as much as I liked. So I'm sorry it took so long. I was bored so I decided to add more vampires and another of a different race. We can't just have vampires showing ;D.

First and second*: okay, I don't know of any European airlines, so I just made up one and to continue on, I've been flying since I was 5 (I'm 17) and I've never had to get a passport, so I don't know the methods of getting one aside from getting a picture taken. So I'm just sticking with what I know. So there are no passports so I hereby decree! XD

Third *: I had a four hour lay-over in Baltimore once. It was pretty fun, that airport is huge and each time I've ever been there I've been in the same terminal. And once I saw a guy who had silver fillings that were on his canines and were long as hell. They looked like silver fangs, and he worked at McDonalds too…

Fourth *: Java's was a coffee house in Eagle River that me and my family would always go to after church (at least while I was Christian and we were there at any rate). It was in a mini-mall right nearby the mini museum that the town had. It had a cabin feeling to it with warm lighting and really cool napkin holders with carvings of Alaskan animals in it. I miss it to death, though there was another really small drive through coffee place too right near the Italian restaurant. There was only one person working there (it could only fit one person in there) and they always gave lolly-pops to the kids. Huh I wonder if those two shops are still there… I miss that town TT_TT…

Fifth *: Whitaker is a very small fishing town that me and my family visited frequently, more so than Wasilla or Seward… it was a rather long drive but it was beautiful none the less, on one side of the road there would be cliff with small waterfalls and foliage on it; and on the other would be a very beautiful bay, river, thing. I couldn't remember what it was, but it was a large body of water and on the other side of the water was a mountain range. It was really pretty. Then you had to go through an old tunnel that was placed within a mountain it was really cool and really dark in there. My younger sister used to claim she saw swimming skeletons in there (and she still says she did about 9-7 years later).

Sixth *: it was really cool at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. It showed the different style of house each type of Alaskan tribe used as well as the history and culture of the tribes. Inside they showed Native art and occasionally one of the tribes: Yupik, tquilinquit (I can't remember how to spell it), Hiada, Aleut, Inuit, and Athabaskan (again can't remember the spelling) would show up and teach the audience some of their dance moves. They would show you the dance and then they would let members of the audience go up and dance with them. I did it with the Yupik and I believe it was either the Tquilinquit or the Haida… and I still remember a couple of moves from the Yupik dance as well. It was always fun to do.

Language XD:

Cei secue= nice (cei) excuse (secue)

Tae?= what?

Te lida ia ikito heko ya mecuda ye dimu = it (te) was (lida) the first (ikito) thing (heko) that (ya) came (mecuda) to (ye) mind (dimu)

Ei sheti yo hi ko mecu ipue hiwata yanheko = I did (sheti) not (yo [also literally no]) see (hi) you (ko) come (mecu) up (ipue) with (hiwata) anything (yanheko)

Ko naya vea yarda eo telu tihei = you could (naya) have (vea) tried (yarda) a little (telu) bit (tihei)

Ko shet yo nitako ei yarda? = you do not [or don't] think (nitako) I tried?

Ko sheti yo! = you did not! (or it could be "you didn't!" Vampires have no apostrophes in their language; however it could be translated like that.)

Bizui nainai= is actually Chinese for shut up grandma! Nainai is the Chinese word for grandmother on your father's side.

Fanen= sorry

Pa= father…I couldn't think of anything else…

Ma= mother

Pama= is a submissive male vampire who gave birth to young. So it's a vampire's way of saying mother to their male mommas XD. So for a female dominant it would be mapa, since she is a female and she is the father (don't ask how two female couples can have kids yet, I'm still working that one out, but a female dominant can get her submissive female pregnant…I just haven't worked out how…)

Kachu= sister

Bochu= brother

Vinsaudate= vampire it literally translates into child of death.

Gindakon= means faerie, though literally it is winged one.

Datesanenku= quite literally death god

Kiareinu= dragon or literally fire breather

Chikikajzuresa= elemental or literally element people

Dowealakanu= elves or literally would walkers

Resauki= phoenix or literally people of fire

Gimaresa= magicians or magic people

Kewadasaoca= demons literally trained chaos

Shet yo riewo = do not worry (riewo)

Ei li yo lemae yankon. Ei haso pemali ya rota ko ye lemae = I will (li) not tell (lemae) anyone (yankon). I shall (haso) leave (pemali) ya (that) for (rota) you to tell.

There we go…I swear I'm done XD. I can't wait to see you in chapt. 10!!! =D