"You are awfully annoying for someone that's lived for nearly two centuries."

"You don't know me."

"But I do."

"Then you'll know my next words: Fuck. Off."

Who knew two little words could piss off a kitsune so much that he practically tore her arm off? The kitsune had caught her off guard. Celeste had been thrown back, onto the mushy ground, with the fox thing standing over her, growling and snarling at her. She saw it in his eyes, that animatistic blood lust and he was ready to snap her neck. His head went down and at the last minute, she bobbed her head to the left, so that he stabbed the ground she'd hit. He ate grass and was only more pissed off. And then, in a flash that she hardly recognized, the shape of Damon and Vane came into view, throwing the kitsune off her.

The blood soaked mud seemed to make Damon go crazy. He began moving like quicksilver, like a leaping flame, like some animal with reflexes far faster than Shinichi's. Now there was a sword in his hand, undoubtedly given to him by Vane, and the sword slashed at the kitsune's many tails, even as they reached out to trap him. And then he was airborne, leaping over Celeste, snarling like a feral animal that had been let loose.

This time Damon's balance was perfect, and far from breaking bones, he made a graceful, catlike landing just beside Celeste. And then his sword was flashing in an arc, sweeping all around Celeste, and the tough, fingerlike tips of the tails that were trying to harm her were cut cleanly away. But as soon as one tip was gone, it was there again. Regenerated.

There was a defiance in Damon that Stefan hadn't seen in awhile. He was staring Shinichi down, like two animals wanting the meat in the middle.

"I could easily kill her." Shinichi growled.

Something snapped and Celeste caught a glimpse of Vane and Stefan stepping forward, with Klaus stepping up right after him. And then, she saw something that she never thought she'd see in her entire un-dead life. Elena had stepped up to stand next to Stefan. Tyler, Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy had taken up the corners, intertwining Damon and Celeste in a wall of protection.

And then Elena spoke.

"You'll have to get past us first."

Celeste barely registered their words. There was an odd sense of coldness seeping through her. Her arm wasn't healing fast enough. An electric shock went through her body and she realized Damon's hands were on either side of her neck, keeping her awake. Keeping her alive. His eyes were as black as night, one sparkle for each black eye. It was enough to keep her occupied.

And then she heard shouting and noises that sounded so much like people getting hurt.

"I-have-to-help-them."

"Shhhhh," Damon pressed his finger to her lips and then, it was as if a blanket had been draped over her entire body. A blanket of warmth.

Damon had left her then, joining the fight. He had swung his sword at Shinichi, cutting off one full tail. The kitsune screamed and slashed at his face, catching his cheekbone and ripping it open. Stefan and Vane tried to hold the kitsune down, so that Damon could get him, but it was no use.

Bonnie, Tyler, Klaus and Caroline couldn't even hold the kitsune down.

Jeremy had managed to shoot the fox with the bow he'd brought with him, but it didn't seem to phase the kitsune. Damon had taken the sword and swung it down, catching two tails under the blade. The fox screamed in agony. There. Three down, three to go.

"That's it!" Shinichi screamed.

He then turned his black eyes on Damon. "You will lose the thing you love most."

Before Damon had a chance to respond, Damon heard Celeste scream in pain. He was about to turn, to run to Celeste when Shinichi ripped himself from the grasps of all the vampires and pounced, knocking Damon to the ground. Before anyone could help him, tree branches leaned in from all sides to pin him and Damon into their own little world, a lattice to keep them contained. To keep him away from Celeste.

Elena had moved her feet first, skidding to a stop next to Celeste. By the time she'd reached the fallen vampire, the screaming had stopped and Celeste had a blank look on her face.

"Celeste?"

The vampire looked bewildered. "..is that my name?"

"Oh no." Elena whispered.

By then, Stefan had shown up, knowing fully well that Damon was able to take care of himself. Elena had looked at him with a fearful face.

"She doesn't know who she is."

"Oh god." Stefan knew Damon's mind would surely snap when he found out.

Celeste had turned her head to the commotion going on to the right of her. Beneath her feet, tatters of muddy autumn leaves were freezing into the slush. Dusk had fallen, and although the storm was dying away, the woods were getting colder. She didn't feel the cold. Neither did she mind the dark. Her pupils opened wide, gathering up tiny particles of light that would have been invisible to a human. She could see the two figures struggling beneath the great oak tree branches quite clearly.

One had thick jet black hair, which the wind had churned into a tumbled sea of waves. He was slightly taller than the other, and although she couldn't see his face she knew his eyes were grey, like a raging storm. His lips were drawn back from his teeth in fury, and the lounging grace of his body was gathered into a predator's crouch.

This close the clamor of their anger and hatred and pain was almost deafening, like silent shouts coming from the fighters. They were locked in a death match. I wonder which of them will win, she thought. They were both wounded and bleeding. Still, he had just slammed the other against the gnarled trunk of an oak tree. His fury was so strong that Celeste could feel and taste it as well as hear it, and she knew it was giving him impossible strength. Strength of something that was more furious than anything she'd imagined.

He was hurt. His mind had summoned her here, battering her with shock waves of rage and pain. She had to help him because she belonged to him. The two figures were down on the icy ground now, righting like wolves, snarling. Swiftly and silently she went to them. The one with the straight black hair and grey eyes - Damon, a voice in her mind whispered - was on top, fingers scrabbling at the other's throat. Anger washed through her, anger and protectiveness. She reached between the two of them to grab that choking hand, to pry the fingers up.

But he was stronger than she was. With a jerk of his shoulders, he broke her hold on him and twisted in her grasp, flinging her down. And then he was above her, his face contorted with animal fury. She hissed at him and went for his eyes with her nails, but he knocked her hand away. He was going to kill her. Even wounded, he was by far the stronger. His lips had drawn back to show teeth already stained with scarlet. Like a cobra, he was ready to strike.

Then he stopped, hovering over her, his face changing.

Celeste saw the grey eyes widen. The pupils, which had been contracted to vicious dots, sprang open. He was staring down at her as if truly seeing her for the first time.