Chapter 10

Introduction, Interest, and Initiation

It was about 32 degrees Fahrenheit, with the threat of rain/hail. The clouds were dark, almost darker than the night itself. And just outside the emergency exit of Angel of Mercy Hospital, two blue eyes peered wearily over a thick layer of polyester. "Jack...I can't breathe," a muffled voice complained.

Kennedy glanced sideways at his colleague and fought the urge to smile at the sight of him. The younger man was shivering in a thick sweater, two feet of scarf around his throat and lower face. Beneath his clothes were many more layers. "Sorry 'bout that, Mr. Briefs, but it's kind of cold out here and we don't want to take any risks with your immune system right now."

He turned slightly, just enough to show Kennedy a faint shadow of his usual glare. "I don't think my immune system is something we have to worry about right now." Trunks returned to scowling tiredly at the scarf constricting his airway. "Now oxygen-depravation...that sounds like an immediate problem."

Kennedy found it in himself to smile briefly. "You'll be okay."

"Says the man not in a sweater."

Kennedy tilted his head back, stared up at the foreboding sky. It looked as if the heavens reflected the earth: dark and dismal, with an undercurrent of violence. "You need it more, Mr. Briefs. Besides..." He returned his attention to Trunks and clapped a hand on one jerky shoulder. "I kind of enjoy seeing you wear the sweater my wife made."

Trunks cast a cynical eye down to the aforementioned sweater. "You have no self-respect," he accused.

"What can I say?" He shrugged helplessly. "The woman's got no talent when it comes to knitting, but I love her anyway."

The Saiyan stared hard at him. "...it's covered in little dancing green bunnies, Jack."

Kennedy sighed. "I know. It's hideous. But she worked hard on it, so..."

Trunks shivered inside his multitude of layers. "Bunnies," he repeated slowly.

Kennedy's placating response was aborted by the arrival of a sleek navy blue car that pulled up beside them. Trunks' eyes narrowed at the bold river of power that spilled out once the driver's door opened. A slender denim-clad leg exited the car first, before the driver came fully into view.

Though he rarely had time for such things, seeing as how he'd spent his whole life killing something, Trunks was not above recognizing a fine specimen of the female persuasion. And this one...was a fine specimen.

Her shoulder-length hair was the color of the softest, fluffiest clouds, the tips of it tinted an interesting shade of blue. Her skin, what little he could see of it, was Vampire pale without looking sickly. She was just very fair of complexion and slender of build, almost dainty. Like a...pixie.

His attention was snagged by several nearly unnoticeable protrusions on her person. Well. That made her a very well-armed pixie She slung a bag over one shoulder, kicked the car door closed with one thick combat boot, and turning, pushed a wave of her ivory hair from her face.

Trunks found himself staring into eyes the color of storm-kissed waters and was unable to look away.

Kennedy took the woman's hand when she approached, shook it firmly. "It's good to see you again, sir. I'm glad you could make it."

She shifted the strap of her bag, nodding. "Wish I could say the same, Jackie," she sighed in a voice like good whiskey. Dark, potent. Intoxicating enough to send a man reeling. "Mostly because 'off-time' does not include coming out in the middle of the night and making a day's drive, but, hey..." She lifted a shoulder, dropped it. "What can you do? The job's the job."

Kennedy chuckled, tucking his chilling hands back in his pockets. "Got that right."

Those enthralling eyes shifted to the shivering younger man, appraised him. "Who do we have here, Jackie?" she murmured. "Your son?"

Kennedy idly scratched the back of his head with a wince. He could only imagine the unbelievable headache he'd live with if he had Trunks as a son. It was probably something like the one he had now. "Um...not quite, sir." He cleared his throat. "This is, uh, this is Trunks Briefs."

Her focus sharpened on his face and Trunks felt the breeze of power that flitted over his skin. "Ah..." she breathed, a world of knowledge in that one sound. "So I finally get to meet the Hunter face-to-face." She extended a slender, long-fingered hand. "Nice to meet you, Hunter. You'll be my blood-child for tonight."

He blinked very slowly, only just coming to the realization that he was being spoken to. Trunks stammered for a moment, flinging his gloved hand out and clasping hers. "S-Sorry, nice to meet you, too. Please, call me Trunks. I—" His fingers tightened reflexively on hers as her words sunk in. "Blood-child?" he repeated with obvious trepidation. Then it clicked. "...you're the specialist."

She met his gaze straight-on, tightened her own grip reassuringly. "Name's Silesia. Don't look so scared, Trunks," she told him with a half-smile. "I take good care of my blood-children."

"What exactly does that entail?" he wanted to know, carefully unwrapping his fingers from hers. "This blood-children thing?"

"Not much." Silesia took a step back, gave him the space he seemed to need at the moment. "I bodyguard you for the night, make sure that your mentor for the evening doesn't get any ideas, get you back in one piece and satisfied." Her smile bloomed into something genuine. "You're my kid for the night, Trunks, and you'll listen to your foster mommy."

Trunks spent a long moment measuring her. Finally, he muttered petulantly, "You're younger than me."

Silesia arched a fair brow curiously. Was that his sole argument? If it was, then this was going to be smooth sailing. "Am I? And how old are you, Trunks?"

"Twenty-two and a half." He nodded to her. "You?"

"You got me." She flashed her white teeth in a grin. "Twenty-two and a quarter."

The soft laugh from Trunks sounded like music to Kennedy's ears. It was a relief to hear it, and at the same time, it was saddening. The laughter Silesia had coaxed from him was nothing like the laughter Kennedy had come to expect from the Hunter.

The faintest traces of laughter was still echoing when the doors behind them opened. Kennedy saw the amusement fade from the Hunter's face the moment the two women stepped out into the cold. His face sharpened, hardened into something icy and merciless.

Anna came out first, stepping up to Trunks to mother him. It was almost as if there were nothing out of the ordinary, almost as if a mother were tidying up her son before his first day at school with the big kids. It was almost as if everyone were Human.

Almost.

"Your hair's all over the place," Anna sighed as she swept a hand over it. "But it's not too bad. I like your sweater." Trunks grunted at her. "I'm glad you have all these layers. It's supposed to get cold out here tonight. Then again, lately, it's been cold every night and..."

He reached up to take her hands, stilling them in his own. "Anna." His voice was low, calm. "You're babbling."

"Am I?" Anna's smile was shaky, her voice thick with the force of tears. "Oh. I didn't realize that I...I..." She yanked her hands free to throw her arms around him. "Please be careful," she whispered, burying her face against his shoulder as she clung to him. "Please, please, sweetie, be careful."

Trunks held her silently, listening as she whispered her fears and cautions to him. He held her and he absorbed her tears and worry. Then he let her go. Nothing needed to be said as he mimicked her and swept a hand over her hair.

"I'm sorry. I'm being ridiculous." Anna sniffled, stepping away. Her moist eyes blinked at the ivory-haired woman beside Trunks, studying her with the ease of familiarity. "Hello again, Silesia."

Silesia tossed Kennedy her keys. "Get him settled in the car, would you, Jackie?"

Kennedy nodded, understanding, and subtly ushered Trunks towards the car. "Wanna ride shotgun?" he was asking the silent Hunter. "Her heater's the best thing you can find in a car."

When they were gone, Silesia moved forward, clasped Anna's hand securely and sincerely. "You know I take care of your patients, Anna," she told her quietly. "I've always done right by you. You've gotta trust me with your boy."

"I will. I mean, I do..." She met Silesia's gaze. "He's done so much for other people, and he's always putting everyone else and their needs before his own. I want everything to be done for him that can. I don't want him to be...I don't want it to go that far."

Silesia tightened her grip reassuringly. "I'll do what needs to be done."

"You're gonna kill him."

Anna and Silesia turned, acknowledging for the first time the existence of the immortal still standing beside the closed doors. Dominique was squinting at them through narrowed green eyes, shivering in her white coat. "The Hunter," she clarified as the other two women continued to eye her. "You'll kill him tonight, if he got out of hand. Won't you?"

Without a word, Anna pressed the VZ controller in Silesia's hand. And suddenly, there was a shift in power. Silesia stepped back from Anna and strolled casually towards the Vampiress, her hands tucked nonchalantly in the pockets of her denim jacket. For a long moment, they merely appraised each other, calculating instant strengths and vulnerabilities. "Good evening, Miss Kellis."

Dominique's shivering intensified at the firm bonds of power that teased at her skin, pulled steadily at her own aura. For once, she had nothing smart-assed to say. You didn't fuck with this kind of power. You just didn't. "Good evening."

"What sort of behavior can I expect from you tonight?" Silesia inquired politely, her tone professional.

"I don't know," the Vampiress said honestly. "If I'm feeling bitchy, I might express a few opinions that you probably won't like. I'm not exactly good company this evening."

"Do you have any intentions to harm me or my blood-child tonight?"

There was a pause. "Has anybody ever answered that question truthfully?" she wanted to know. "Really. Has any Vampire ever told you their plans, confessed their intentions?"

"You'd be surprised." Silesia tilted her head. "Your response, Miss Kellis?"

"No. I don't have any intentions to hurt anyone." Dominique backed up a bit. It was very uncomfortable to be so close to such an opposing power force. "And, as I'm sure you're aware of, I'm not exactly threatening material right now."

The Vampire looked as if she'd collapse if Silesia poked her with the toe of her boot. "Routine procedure." She lifted the controller so Dominique could see it. "Are you aware that you have been secured with a non-Human submission device?"

Dominique stared at her. "Painfully aware."

"And are you aware that, should you coerce me into the use of force, your device will be activated?" She nodded. "Are you aware that, should you exert more than a designated amount of Vampiric power, your device will be activated?" She nodded stiffly. "Are you carrying any weapons?"

"No."

Dominique was startlingly compliant and Silesia noted this. A cooperative Vampire made for an uneventful evening. "Is there any reason you can think of that I should leave you here in the Angel of Mercy Vampire Ward?"

"No. Except..." Her eyes slid to the car where Trunks waited, chatting quietly with Kennedy. "He doesn't like me very much," Dominique told the specialist. "Actually, he hates me. A lot. I don't think he really knows why I'm here, and I don't think that he'd let me mentor him. That would be kind of a problem, wouldn't it?"

"For a lesser specialist," Silesia answered, following her gaze. "Not for me."

"Oh. I see." Dominique shifted her weight. She was quiet for a thoughtful moment. "Do me a favor, Specialist."

Silesia nodded goodbye to Anna and gestured towards the car. It was time to go. "What is it, Miss Kellis?"

Dominique moved towards the vehicle. "Warn me before you kill him."

Silesia walked instep with her, waved farewell to Kennedy as he backed from the car. "Trying to avoid survivor's guilt?" she wanted to know.

She chose her words carefully. "I just don't want to watch him die."

Silesia nodded. She could understand that, really. There was something heartbreakingly Human about Trunks Briefs, something that would make her regret, for the first time, doing her job. "In the car, Miss Kellis," she murmured as she opened the back door. "I'll meet your conditions, if you meet mine."

Dominique gazed at her. Something about this odd-colored woman vibrated a chord in her memory, but it was too distracting to try and remember with her power washing over her. Without a word, the Vampire ducked into the backseat, behind the warded cage that separated her from the front.

Silesia climbed in the driver's seat and started her car, tossing her bag on the seat beside her. Glancing over, she realized Trunks was watching her attentively. "Question?"

"No." Trunks turned around, stared intensely and silently at Dominique. The Vampiress stared back without faltering. Trunks turned back around and focused his gaze straight ahead. "No. No question."

Silesia shrugged and pulled out of the parking lot. These two would have a lot to say to one another before the sun rose. Her job was to mediate between them, but she couldn't stop herself from wondering just what the night had in store for the three of them.

The room was void of light but as easily seen around as if illuminated by a hundred candles. On the luxurious bed in the corner, a dark head lifted lazily as icy power slid sensually through the air.

"Oh." There was a wealth of pleasure in that one sound, that low sultry voice. "Well. Good things come to those who wait." She stretched cattily. "Mmm, and I've done more than enough waiting." Her bare form wickedly white in the darkness, Satin Sin rose gracefully to her feet and reached for her silk robe. "Come along, Livvy."

The huddled naked being in the corner was too intent on the rotting corpse she fed off of to respond. The man—it had once been a man—had been dead for days now, his blood long gone and his flesh foul. She was whimpering piteously as she nursed at his throat in vain.

"Livvy." Golden eyes gleamed dangerously. "I said come."

The twitching girl lifted her head, tears gleaming in her pitiful, soulless blue eyes. "M-Mommy. I'm hungry, Mommy, so very hungry." She whined like an animal as she nuzzled and pawed at the shredded flesh of the corpse. "He won't feed me, Mommy. Why won't he feed me?"

"Because you're a bad girl, Livvy, and he doesn't like you," Satin said absently as she crossed the room to the armoire. It was the first night of her feeding, the night they'd escaped, that Livvy had moved from 'Mistress' to 'Mommy'. In only two days, Livvy had become solely dependent on her. "Bad girls don't get fed."

Livvy scrambled after her, wrapping herself around Satin's leg. "Oh, oh, I'll be a good girl, Mommy," she moaned desperately. "Please, I'll be such a good girl, please?"

The elegant Vampiress stared down at her, disgust mirrored in her amber eyes. The girl was like an infant; she needed Satin to do everything for her. She didn't mind, really, being a Vampiric Mother to the girl. The usual feeding and soothing, the dressing and disciplining, she was comfortable with these things. She had done most of them once before for her first fledgling, and it had given her a sense of something akin to nurturing, though her first fledgling had had nowhere near the attachment Livvy had developed—in fact, Dominique had had no attachment to her at all.

But tonight, she was restless and had no patience for such things as caretaking. "Remove yourself, Livvy, as we've things to do. Behave and I just may take pity on you."

Mad eyes rolled up to stare at her. "Oh, thank you, Mommy," Livvy babbled as she flung herself off. "What do you want me to do? What? I'll do it, I'll be good."

Satin returned her attention to the armoire, studying her fashion options for the evening. "Your instructions are to dress appropriately."

The eternal teen glanced down and pinched her bare skin in confusion. "Mommy?" she questioned in befuddlement. "I...I have no clothes for that. I have no clothes. No, no dress."

Satin rolled her eyes with an impatient sigh. "Oh, Livvy, must I do everything for you? Are you really so utterly useless?"

The blonde blinked up at her miserably. "Yes," she whispered. "I need you, Mommy."

Satin reached far into the wardrobe and pulled out a high-cut cocktail dress in the former shade of Livvy's eyes. "Here." She passed it to the girl and folded her arms as Livvy stared down at the smooth material blankly. A few moments passed and the youngling lifted her head with a pitiful expression. "Oh, you stupid thing. Stand up," Satin ordered intolerantly as she snatched the dress from Livvy and tossed it over one arm.

Livvy hurried to her feet. "W-What do I do? Mommy, am I being good?"

Satin studied her pensively, frowning as she tapped a finger on her chin. "I had not realized just how filthy you are, Livvy," she commented, lifting one of Livvy's bony arms for her inspection. There were layers of dirt and grime adhered to her skin. "I refuse to defile any clothing by putting it on your tainted flesh. Not until you bathe."

Livvy cowered, flinching visibly as she shuddered. "M-Mommy, please, do I have to? I...I don't like the bath. I don't like it."

She aimed a steely look with eyes filtering blue. She set store by appearance, worked quite hard on her own, and Satin would be damned if she would go out with Livvy in such a state. "I won't be disgraced by your wretched presence. I will leave you, you witless little beggar, or I will kill you, whichever will pain you more, because I tire of you and your simpering!"

Her matted blonde hair in her face, she blinked streaming eyes at Satin as she began to hyperventilate. "Mommy," she whimpered in her tiniest voice. "W-Why are you being so m-mean?"

Satin squinted at her darkly. It wasn't Livvy's fault that she was so twisted up inside. She was impatient for tonight, yes, but the girl hadn't done anything out of her usual stupidity. And besides... Satin still needed her. She couldn't afford to abandon or drain the fledgling just yet. Although she wished to draw back her hand and beat Livvy into compliance, she knew that that would accomplish absolutely nothing. The youngling was weak of mind as it stood, moving rapidly towards unusable for Satin's ultimate goal if she did not fix this.

"Forgive me, little one," she purred, all tenderness as she reached out to brush away an errand strand of dirty yellow hair.

Livvy sobbed brokenly, knuckling her eyes. "Y-You yelled at me."

"I did, yes," Satin murmured gently, gathering the girl closer. "And I apologize. You know I wouldn't leave you, hmm?"

Livvy clung to her, anxious for contact. "I don't w-want you to go. You're my mommy. I love you," she wept. "You feed me if I'm good. Don't be mad, Mommy, I'll be good. Good girl Livvy."

Satin patted her head as her own eyes returned to gold. "I like when you're a good girl, little one. Now...show me what a good girl you are and go take a bath."

She twitched but nodded frantically. Mommy would stay. If she did what Mommy said, Mommy would never leave her. "Will you help me, Mommy?"

"Of course, dear Livvy, of course." She stroked the girl's hair. For a purpose, she told herself coolly as her temper fled in the face of logic. For a purpose, I will be Mother. "And I'll help you dress when you're all done. Now come along." She took Livvy's hand and tugged the insane fledgling towards the adjoining bathroom. "Mommy wants you nice and pretty for our special night tonight."

"Special night?" Livvy eyed the bathtub with sheer terror but stayed her ground. It was for Mommy. It made Mommy happy. She still wanted to run. "What's our special night, Mommy?"

Satin leaned over the curved porcelain to run warm water, smiling softly. Why should she be angry? There was no reason to be upset, to be cross. Tonight was going to be perfect. There would be plenty of time to deal with little details, little matters of annoyance. But for now, her Daughter needed a bath... "Why, my darling, tonight is the night you'll meet your Aunt." She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes glittering pleased amber in the dark. "Won't that be marvelous, Livvy?"

"No!" he screamed as he staggered to his feet and fled down the alley. His breathing hitched in his chest as his scraggily shoes pounded against the slick concrete. "Get away from me!"

Dominique sighed heavily as she rolled her eyes heavenward. "Why do they make me chase them?" She watched the street thug run for a moment before she extended a hand. "I have no time for this," she muttered and launched a sliver of her aura, curving it into invisible fingers. She closed her fist and the fingers of her power closed around the mortal, halting him in his tracks. He made a soft, frightened sound, before her influence dragged him under and he went silent.

A bit of dizziness made her vision swim slightly. Dominique shook it off and glanced down at her hand. "Guess it's been a while since I've done that," she mumbled and moved towards her captive. She snatched him by the dirty collar of his leather jacket and began to drag him back the way they'd come. "Idiot thinking he could run from me, as if I've nothing better to do than chase after his stupid ass..."

She walked him around the corner and down the street. This part of town was deserted for the most part. Bad weather, inadequate shelter, paranoia and gangsters had forced more of the smarter people to another part of the city. But this would work well for their purposes tonight. She dragged the entranced Human until she came back to the parking lot with only a single navy blue car inside. Two people were waiting outside the car when she dropped the subdued Human at their feet. "Here."

Silesia was sitting on the hood of her car and lifted a brow. "That was awful quick," she commented casually. "He didn't run?" The look on Dominique's face said quite clearly what she'd thought of that particular course of action. It had been stupid. Silesia nudged her companion with her elbow. "Ready?" she asked him with a sidelong glance.

Trunks was leaning against the passenger door, arms folded as he stared down impassively at the burly mortal on the dirty ground. "No."

"Why not?" the specialist inquired.

"Because." He lifted his blue eyes, frowning at her now. "I can't do this. I won't dothis."

Dominique glared. "I didn't go after this idiot for my health, y'know," she informed him blackly. "You have to put some kind of effort into this, too."

"I'm not going to kill him," Trunks returned with just as much annoyance. "I am not going to stand here and take his life for no reason."

"No reason?" The Vampire's eyes narrowed. "And I suppose you don't consider the continuation of your own existence as a reason?"

"Not at the cost of someone else's life. It's wrong to kill someone just because you're hungry. " Trunks glared down at her. "Not that you'd know anything about that."

Silesia saw the faint pain that flickered over the Vampire's face. Sore spot. He's hit her where it hurts. "All right, kiddies, I don't know about you, but I'd like this to be over with before New Year's. So here's how we speed this up." She poked Trunks in the back of his knee with her boot. "You. Stop being an asshole. She's here to teach you, not put up with your bull. I suspect her tolerance for your speeches on morality isn't limitless, and I don't want to see what happens when that tolerance runs out. Because then I have to become involved, and at this point, that would make me very cranky." She shot a look to Dominique. "And you. You have some damned patience. You can't expect him to be okay with this overnight. So give him a break. I'm sure you didn't accept the idea of Vampirism easily, and you had a century. "

They both looked at her, looked at each other, looked back down at the man on the ground. Dominique shifted her stance, hugged herself tighter against the cold. "All right." She blew out an annoyed breath. Why was this so hard? Perhaps because it was all so surreal. She was teaching Trunks Briefs, the Hunter, how to ensnare, subdue, and feed from Humans. It just felt strange to her. She gazed at him. If it was strange for her, she could only imagine how he must feel. And because of that, she would try her best. "What problems do you have exactly with this?" she asked softly.

Trunks was still staring at the man. "That I'm going to kill another Human being so I can live. An innocent man."

"Okay." Dominique steeled herself, told herself to be patient. All of this was new to him. "Well, first off, Mr. Briefs, I'm afraid I have to point out that you're not particularly Human anymore." She saw him flinch, his expression shut down. "Second of all, how do you know he's innocent?"

Trunks raised his gaze to hers, hard. "He's done nothing to me," he began but Dominique held up a hand to silence him.

"No. No, no, wrong answer. Just because he's done nothing to you doesn't mean he's a damn Boy Scout. Trust me, he's done plenty—much more than a simple feeding would penalize him for."

"And how do you know?" Trunks demanded, cranky from the hunger that was beginning to cramp his stomach. "How do you know what he's done?" Silently she tapped a fingertip to her temple and he understood. "You read his mind," he said slowly, eyes narrowed. "His thoughts, his memories."

"Yes, and before you give me the invasion of privacy lecture, perhaps you should take a look as well." She glanced at Silesia. "Or is that out of bounds for me?"

The specialist was watching them closely, interested. "No, you're good on that one. Oh, but, ah, don't attempt to try that on me," she warned the pair of them as she tapped her own head. "Nasty little psychological defense system in here."

"Right. Noted." Dominique returned her eyes to Trunks as she knelt down. "Come here," she instructed as she settled down on the ground beside the silent man.

He eyed her suspiciously. "I don't trust you," he said finally.

"Well, you have to," she shot back before she remembered she was supposed to be patient. "Otherwise, you're going to die and it's not going to be pleasant. I refuse to be responsible for you wasting away in agony and madness. Now sit down so I can teach you what you need to do and we can get the hell out of here."

Silesia nodded at him. "It's what we're here for, Trunks." He glanced back at her. "I would tell you if you were in danger."

That was true. Silesia was in place as protection, wasn't she? So she would know if something was going to hurt him. Feeling ridiculous for being nervous, Trunks crouched down on the opposite side of Dominique, watching her from across the Human.

"Since you're a beginner," the Vampire intoned, "we'll start simple. I'll be a conductor, and you a receiver. All right?"

Trunks lifted his lavender brows. "You need to explain that a little more."

Her mouth twisted. "I don't know how to explain further." But she had to at least try. "Um. Let's see. Do you remember what I showed you that night at your house?"

It took him a second to recall and the memory had his face sinking into a dark scowl. "What's that got to do with anything?" he grunted at her. That had been a different time, only a few weeks ago—but everything had changed so quickly, so permanently since then.

"It's like that, only I'm a television broadcasting his thoughts—" she tapped the mortal, "—this time. You're just watching, no real effort necessary. I'll teach you the technique for doing it yourself later."

"...what do I have to do?" Trunks asked.

"Since we're using a conductor this time, we'll need physical contact." One hand on the man, Dominique leaned forward, the other hand extended towards Trunks. She fought down the sound of impatience when he leaned away from her touch. "I'm not going to hurt you. Relax."

He made a face at her. "How can I relax when you're about to go into my mind?"

"You're a strong-willed man, which means that now that you have Vampire in your blood, your thoughts are inaccessible to me." Her tone was serious, almost scholarly. "I can only broadcast. I can't manipulate anything in your mind, I can't read your feelings. I'm locked out."

Trunks absorbed this, nodding, and after a moment, he sat still and allowed her freezing fingertips to rest on his forehead. "Now what?" he muttered.

"Now you close your eyes and wait." Dominique let out a slow breath, her brows drawn together in concentration as the whisper of her power spiced the air.

Trunks was about to demand what exactly what he was waiting for when it struck him: a sharp grinding pain in the center of his forehead that speared straight into his brain.

Blood on his hands, and damn if it didn't feel good. Too bad the bitch didn't have more money. Oh well, he'd had his fun with her already. She was a good fuck, dead or alive. Left her there and wandered to the next room.

Kid's room. Little fucker in bed. Sound-goddamn-asleep. What kind of kid slept through his mother getting murdered? Whatever. Not his deal. What's the kid got? Kid shit, naturally. Nice looking watch, though. Get a couple hundred for it, find Frankie, and score at least a week's worth of fixes.

Twitching. Face was twitching. Damn fixes. Needed them, though. Felt damn good. Take the kid's watch, kid wakes up and starts crying. Nothing a few good punches don't shut the hell up. One, two, and the little fucker's down. Bleeding a lot, though. Hit him too hard. Wow. Stopped breathing awful quick. Probably 'cause his face is all crushed in. Looks just like Mom now, all broken and dead.

Mother like son. Frankie, find Frankie. Time for a fix. Where's the door?

Dominique's fingers left his forehead and he was ripped back from the house, away from the blood and screams and into the stark cold. He was shaking badly, cold sweat dripping down his face as his eyes, his burning eyes, began to focus again.

Silesia was behind him, her weight against his back as her hands rested comfortingly on his shoulders. "Easy, easy now there, Trunks. Hits ya hard the first time."

Nausea bubbled in his throat. "T-There was a kid. Young, maybe six," he told her shakily. "Mom got murdered and raped in the next room. Then he went for him, took his watch. Kid woke up and, and his face..." He broke off, shuddering, and Silesia squeezed his shoulders.

Dominique groaned softly and braced one hand on the slushy ground when she swayed, the other pressed to her pounding head. "Christ." Her voice was trembling, weak. "Christ, that takes a lot outta you."

Trunks gazed at her with glowing eyes. "You knew," he said softly. "You knew he'd done that."

"Wouldn't have brought you an innocent," she mumbled as she struggled to compose herself. It was hitting her hard, far harder than natural. Another little gift courtesy of the Vamp Zapper? "I knew that he'd done this, but you had to know, to see for yourself. You never would've believed me."

"He's not Human." Trunks stared down at the thug, a part of him concerned by the feral hunger that lurched in his blood along with his anger. The rest of him was too horrified and furious by the violence and decimation he'd seen to dwell on it long. To take an innocent family and destroy them, desecrate them, just for the hell of it sickened him and made him hunger for more than just revenge. "He's a monster."

"Glad you think so." Dominique forced herself upright and looked worse for the exertion. "Recognizing that what we have here is as non-Human as you and I is where it's difficult. Now comes the easy part, Mr. Briefs." She yanked the man's head back, exposing the grungy flesh of his throat. She lifted her eyes, eyes flickering between green and electric blue, to meet his. "Go ahead," she encouraged softly, presenting him with her offering. "It's time for you to finally let your instincts do the driving."

FND: Whoo! sinks to the floor That was actually harder than I thought it was gonna be! But, I delivered. I feel satisfied... No, no, actually, REVIEWS would satisfy me. So be nice, you guys, and press the little button...please?