A cycle = 1 year

A season = about 3 months

Marika = Slavonic for "bitter"

Helena = Greek for "the light of the sun"

Athelstan = Old English for "a noble stone"

Helena shot up in bed as she whipped open her eyes. Her brow was beaded with sweat and her breathing was labored. She looked out her window and noticed from the light that it was just before dawn. She had been used to the view since the first few days she had moved into the bedroom when she had ten cycles and two seasons, or forty-two seasons. A true hunter adapted to her surroundings as quickly as possible. It was one of the many rules of life as a Triste. But one think Helena could not adapt to was her dreams. Tonight as she slept, she saw herself falling off of a cliff to a rocky demise below. As she fell, she couldn't breathe and the wind burned her skin. Right as she was about to collide with the jagged rocks, she awoke.

No sooner had she calmed her breathing when she felt tears spill out of her eyes. It was no use fighting them. They always came after a frightening dream. Even though she now had thirteen cycles, she still could not control her…what was the word? Feelings? She could block out her nurse Marika's mental invasions as well as her guardian Athelstan's, but she could not control what she felt and how she reacted to it. Sometimes, she wanted to cry for no reason.

When Marika or Athelstan invaded her mind, they saw this weakness in her and punished her for it. She hated how she could not keep secrets from them, not that she hadn't tried. Once, she had snuck out of her dwelling to visit members of the town in the midday. It was wonderful. Everything was so warm, physically from the sun and internally from the cheery, passionate auras. People argued over bartering rations and hunted mercifully for food. They killed what they could, but usually just what was necessary. Women wove and knitted with cloth and skins. Children her age ran around playing games that did not help them train for life or tasks. Mostly there were many children to every two parents. But the most amazing sight of all were the aged humans. Their skin sagged and made so many more creases when their faces moved and showed feelings. She hardly ever saw so many people who wore their age so obviously. They fascinated yet frightened her. The people she knew were so much older than these humans, but looked no older than the new mothers and fathers. But the people she knew felt so much older, more powerful, in their auras.

Of course she was caught and punished severely. She had tried to enter the minds of these "elderly" humans to see what they thought and felt. Did they fear death so near to them? Did they wish for immortality? Was humanity exciting? She forgot that such invasions could be felt by the human mind. The humans went into a frenzy claiming nonsense such as demons and spirits. Marika and Athelstan heard their cries and discovered her among the chaos. Helena was brought back to the dwelling and forced to train harder and more severely for many days until she promised to never disobey them like that again.

However, she did manage to keep from them the memory of the human boy she had seen. He was several years older than her and very good looking and playful. He had looked at Helena several times while playing with his friends. With every glance her heart fluttered and her face grew hot. Athelstan discovered the memory ten days later and was very upset but proud that she had managed to keep it from him for so long. It had been the first mark of her mental progress.

Helena had mastered the skill of defense around Athelstan, but lacked terribly at attacks. It was during her pathetic attempts to attack Athelstan in training that she lost the fight over and over again.

Helena rose out of bed that morning and prepared for training and lessons and stories. Athelstan claimed that she was the youngest of his students to master mental blocking so strongly. Helena was concerned though. Not afraid, concerned. She had learned not to fear anything: death, life, vampires, pain, nothing. She was concerned about herself physically. She had not yet showed the signs of fertility or come close to gaining her title of true predator and everyday she neared immortality. Marika constantly put her down for these that Helena was without. Marika was always this way with her: cruel and brusque.

Helena was always curious as to which would come first, her title or her fertility. Would it matter? These were the traits, curiosity and sensitivity, that Athelstan and Marika tried to stamp out of her daily. One day she hoped they would succeed.