Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

"Final Hours"

by Troy A. Stanton

(Author's note: This fanfic follows the events of the original story
"Winds of Change" (written by me) and also incorporates a few elements
from the story "Drawing Blood" by Catherine B. Krusberg. I have her
permission to make use of her work as a source of material, so anything
"new" you see in here about D's past with Doris that didn't happen in
the movie is most likely her original plot material.)

WARNING: This story contains adult content, please do not read beyond
this point if you are easily offended by such things.

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((Day 4 - Frontier Inn and Tavern))

He awoke with the rising sun, the gentle tingle in his soul seeming to be
unusually strong for some reason. He immediately regretted the rise into full
consciousness, feeling his body quietly but firmly protest the interruption of
its rest. The host of trivial aches and pains in his joints were both routine
and expected, making him wonder not for the first time if it was possible for
him to start to experience a form of arthritis after so many centuries of solid
abuse from fighting his own kind.

A lower and slightly deeper ache registered on his mind a moment later,
not the most gentle reminder of how he had exhausted himself last night to a
point just short of full unconsciousness. Not that he had minded, and if he
was correctly interpreting the moans she had made at the time she hadn't minded
the repeat performance either. But apparently his body minded, or at least the
part of him that had been put to slightly excessive use....

He finally managed to force his eyelids open, focusing on the red pastel
walls of the honeymoon suite. The reminder of where exactly they were prompted
a very faint grunt, knowing that the whispered stories were probably already
well on their way to wider circulation. Not that he truly gave a damn, but it
was still something to think about whenever he was in an introspective mood.
Or at least in one worse than what was usual for him.

The level of light in the room was still fairly low, only the faintest of
glows visible around the edges of the shuttered window that he only now just
realized had been set into the wall. That usually meant a west-facing window,
kept sheltered from the brunt of the sun until the afternoon and evening hours.
It suited him just fine, not sure he presently had the strength to cope with
the first searing rays of the sun. That would change once he fully woke up,
but as a vampire had once said in passing, it was usually the first glimpse of
the sun that caught you off-guard and thus would prove to be the last as well.

A quick glance showed that Galen was still curled up next to him, her
features having slipped into her insectoid form at some point in her peaceful
slumber. Her skin had tinted to a soft shade of woodland brown, and the ridges
that had taken shape on her forehead seemed to be dotted with a fine layer of
microscopic feathers. Even with the lines of her face shifted into something
less than fully human, he still found her beauty to be incredibly alluring.

((D?)) the thing in his hand whispered as softly as it could, drawing an
almost resentful look from D at the intrusion. ((You alright?))

"Of course," he murmured back, keeping his voice as soft as possible to
avoid disturbing the slumbering woman next to him. A quick glance showed that
she didn't appear to be thinking of waking up anytime soon, the faint traces of
a smile still evident on her soft blue lips.

((Just checking,)) it replied in a relieved tone. ((I don't know what it was
like for you, but I felt a whole lot of.... well, let's just say I was starting
to worry about you. I mean really hard-core worry.))

"I'm fine," he said in a monotone, wondering why it was bothering him.

((Yeah, well, I just wanted to make sure, you know? Umm, I don't suppose
I could get you to listen to me for a moment? Got something I'd like to say,
you know, but after the mood you've been in lately.... well, let's just say I
think I can handle eating a pillow a lot better than a tree.))

He sighed heavily, trying not to wonder what was on its mind this time.
He had learned the hard way that it had no shortage of comments and critiques
to make about his performance in bed whenever the situation arose, but it had
always waited until they were back on the road before speaking up.

"Very well," he said quietly. He dared not move to look at the palm of
his left hand given the way she was still nestled against his arm.

((Think you can handle waking up next to her for awhile?)) it asked softly.
((I'm only asking because I think I've figured out a way for the two of you to
be.... !!!))

D just sighed and closed his eyes, clenching his fist as tightly as he
could manage. "Why do you persist in this?" he said in a weary tone. "Leave
us alone."

((Honestly, do you have any idea what you're going to do with her?)) it said
as best it could, its voice distorted as its mouth was crushed in on itself.
((You said you can't kill her, and I don't think you'll be able to leave her by
herself. So what other choice do you have aside from staying together?))

That caused him to stop and think for a moment. Could he remain with her?
To say that they had gotten to know one another in the past three days would be
an understatement on par with calling a tornado a localized wind current, but
had they formed a strong enough bond that could keep them together? A simple
glance off to his side suggested it already was, but what about the fact that
she was a dunpeal and that the world needed to be free once and for all of
the dark taint that ran through both her veins and his?

His entire adult life had been all but forced onto his path ages ago, and
not once since he started walking it had he questioned himself this much since
meeting her. What was it? That her life was the absolute last barrier that
needed to fall before his own would be complete? Was it because she was the
only one of her kind, having not just the blood of two worlds in her veins but
three? Human, vampire, and Barbarois mutant.... she drew on all of them, she
was all of them, the living incarnation of what they had to offer.

A simple glance showed what her body was, the insectoid lines merged with
a vampiric form that couldn't be fully contained in an outwardly human shell.
Even at her strongest, she couldn't mask the exotic beauty that meant she was
more than human. But yet deep inside, well past the barriers of her flesh, her
heart and soul appeared to be dominated by a human spirit. He knew that any
one of her aspects could manifest itself at will, sometimes even against it,
but that was the same way he was, his mother's human blood seeming to always be
locked in a struggle against his father's vampiric nature.

And in order to negate the risk of his ever losing control, of unleashing
that dark nature upon the world again, he knew that he had to die.

Which meant she would have to die as well.

But he also knew he couldn't bring himself to do it.

The conflict roiled back and forth inside him like a dark maelstrom, one
side demanding her death and the other resolutely refusing to do so. He knew
that he needed to resolve the situation and soon, lest it drive him completely
mad. He couldn't leave her alone and run the risk of a resurgence in her own
vampiric blood, but he couldn't bring himself to negate that risk in the only
definitive way that he knew. And remaining with her....

What would that accomplish? There were times in which he couldn't even
fully control his own dark blood, how could he dominate or otherwise control
her blood as well? Sure, being with her was.... nice, as she quaintly put it.
The word had come to mean so much at this point that it was almost enough to
make him smile. Yes, he could probably manage to bring himself to enjoy her
company for a period of time.... but how long?

For the next two days, at least, as that's how much of their journey lay
ahead of them. He would take her to see her mother's tomb, perhaps even having
her in his arms the rest of the time just as she lay in them at this moment.
Once there, he would oblige her wishes and not disturb her while she spent some
time on that holy ground. And afterwards.... what?

It'd be the perfect place to kill her, part of his mind reasoned. After
all, what better place to be laid to rest than next to the grave of your own
mother? And she did say that she wanted to see her once final time in life
before joining her in death. Just a simple, clean thrust to her chest with his
dagger to make it as quick and painless as humanly possible, as promised....

....And put her forever beyond his reach. He wouldn't feel her lips ever
again, brushing softly against his before deepening to offer him a taste of her
natural sweetness. He wouldn't feel her hand in his, squeezing him gently as
her fingers slid around his to bind them closer together. He wouldn't be able
to taste her blood, washing across his tongue in a kaleidoscope of tastes and
flavors as he made love to her, slowly and gently into the night....

Could he really afford to lose her? The immediate answer was yes, as he
had passed on other such feelings in the past with no permanent harm done. He
might end up adding her voice and memory to the plethora of such phantasms in
his mind that haunted his thoughts when he wasn't paying attention, but surely
he could live with another voice in his mind's ear, another needle stuck into
incorporeal flesh to add its sting to the eternal pain he was in.

He had managed just fine before meeting her, so surely he could do just as
well without her.... right? It would be like all the other trysts he had in
the past, coming to them in the darkness of the night, quenching the fires of
their lust and passion to leave only extremely contented ashes behind, and then
take his leave from them with a soft kiss once the sun rose anew. Right?

Except for one thing, a detail that had quietly been bothering him since
he first became aware of it. Her body was incredibly soft and supple, and yet
so amazingly strong at the same time. Her heart and soul were perfect matches
as well, full of youthful vigor and enthusiasm, almost blazing with the heat of
her tender passion.... except for one thing. Her passion had been as fiery as
the core of any star, but not once had he sensed any hint of true lust.

Desire, certainly. A burning need, an almost overwhelming requirement to
make love to him, to feel him inside her, to fill her body and her soul with
passion. But not once had it been tainted with the greed of lust, having to
fulfill her own desires at any expense, to truly demand more from him that he
was giving her at any given moment. Sure, she might have whispered for him to
pleasure her like this, or to move like that, but always it had been a shared
experience, equally giving as much as she took to keep a level balance. And
her level of patience with him was beyond anything he had ever encountered.

She was unlike anything he had ever encountered.

So how could he possibly let her get away from him? How could he allow
her to forever slip beyond his reach after having her in every sense of the
word, not just in body but in spirit as well? He wouldn't dare to think of
holding her against her will, of course.... but what if she didn't want to go?
Could he keep her? Would it even be possible for someone like him to have her
by his side?

A gentle touch on his cheek startled him, blinking hard to find himself
staring into an insectoid face that seemed more than a little angelic at that
particular moment in time. He sighed quietly at his own reaction, turning his
head to the side to kiss her fingertips softly.

((Good morning,)) she buzzed very softly, the metallic undertones of her
changed voice distorting her words into near-incomprehension.

"Morning," he replied softly. His eyes closed as her hand gently twisted
his cheek around, giving him a gentle and protracted kiss. The kiss was every
bit as electrifying as the first one had been, seeming to send a cascade of
tingles throughout his entire body.

((But not a good one?)) she whispered as she edged back a fraction of an
inch, just enough to let her lips move. They still brushed against his as she
spoke, however, the electrical feeling not diminishing in the slightest.

"Force of habit," he replied calmly. He yielded to the impulse to kiss
her more deeply, gently pressing her against the pillows as his lips worked in
a slow and steady rhythm. He relented after a few moments as she made a soft
noise in her throat, clearly audible as the first stirrings of renewed passion.

Her hand came up to hold his head in place, bringing him back down to her
to continue the kiss of quiet passion. It was quite clear that it was having
an effect on her, the noise she was making slowly growing in volume until it
was a fairly loud buzzing sound. Her tongue began to tease his lips, flicking
lightly against them before sliding in between in a very gentle thrust.

Time slipped away again for a number of moments as he yielded to her, his
lips parting to let her explore him in a new way. He found the sensation to be
deliciously erotic, almost in a literal sense as well as their tongues touched
and teased one another. A rapid increase in his blood temperature forced him
to eventually push away from her, not wanting to start something that he wasn't
fully sure he would be able to finish.

Her features had returned to normal by the time he could refocus his gaze,
studying the soft lines of her face. Her eyes seemed to be even more liquid
than before, faint traces of what might have been microscopic ripples playing
back and forth along the rings of her flawless blue-green irises.

"Do you remember what I said yesterday morning?" she said in a very soft
tone, one hand coming up to very gently trace the contours of his face. "About
how good it felt to be woken up by you and how I wondered what the next morning
would be like?"

"I remember," he said quietly.

She smiled at him and lightly tapped a finger against the tip of his nose.
"What can I say, D? It really does keep getting better and better. I'm almost
afraid to imagine what I will be waking up to tomorrow morning," she purred.

"Just as long as it's not in another honeymoon suite," he replied with a
perfectly dead-panned expression. "The shower was nice, but I'm getting tired
of seeing all these cutesy hearts everywhere. Did you see how they were even
on the toilet paper?"

She blinked in surprise for a moment before seeming to come down with a
case of the giggles. She appeared to try to speak to him, but finally gave up
and settled for wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. He returned the
gesture with warmth, holding her jiggling body until the giggles finally worked
themselves out of her system.

"So you really do have a sense of humor," she purred softly, leaning over
to brush her lips against his ear. She made a soft noise as he twisted around
to kiss her deeply. The gesture left a gentle smile on her face when he pulled
back, a look of tenderness reflecting in her eyes. The smile melted away a few
moments later as he started to edge out from beneath her. "Hey, where are you
going?" she protested softly.

"The bathroom," he said simply as he continued to extract himself. He
paused as she grabbed his arm, looking up to find a slightly uneasy look on her
beautiful face.

"D...." she said carefully, "You will come back to me, won't you?"

"Of course," he said, giving her a faintly suspicious look. He hesitated
as he saw the smile slowly return to her face, suddenly wondering what she was
up to and having the sinking feeling that it was becoming playful again. While
that had been amply demonstrated to be a rather.... nice.... quality to have at
times, he didn't find it to be nearly as nice to contemplate experiencing at
this early hour of the morning. "Why do you ask?" he ventured carefully.

"I was just wondering if we could do this again sometime. You know," she
cooed as she brushed her fingertips across his chest. "Make love like that.
Not now, silly," she added as she caught the look on his face, almost suffering
from another case of the giggles. "I'm not sure how you're holding up, but I
know I need a few more hours to recover. You didn't hurt me," she quickly said
as his expression changed yet again. She sat up and leaned over to him, giving
him a very deep and solid kiss. "Trust me, D, that was the best night of my
life," she breathed softly. "And I hope you'll forgive me if I want to look
forward to having a few more of those with you. Besides, you did say that I
should ask you again in the morning...."

"That's a little academic now, Galen," he chided her gently, a faint look
of amusement on his face as he tossed the sheets aside and gingerly got out of
bed. He made a face as a joint popped somewhere in the process, not really a
painful sensation but hardly a pleasant one either.

"I've got an idea," she said as she scooted out from beneath the sheets,
casting them aside and stretching out her nude body. She paused to stretch for
a moment before casting a slightly playful look up at him. "Mind if we take a
shower together again? I think we both need one, and I'm sure it will help you
get rid of any lingering kinks. Assuming you didn't break something with that
one," she added, making a slightly sour face as she gestured to his kneecap.

"I'm fine," he replied quietly as he looked around for where he had left
his change of underwear.

"Shower with me anyway?" she asked softly.

He looked over at her before nodding, knowing it would probably delay them
by a good hour or so but not really caring at this point. He took a step back
as she climbed out of bed, watching as she stood up on her tip-toes to stretch
her muscles in a rather provocative fashion.

"Sorry," she said as she stepped over to him to kiss his cheek. "I'm not
used to sleeping in beds like that these days, I keep forgetting how it kinks
different muscles. Give me a moment to use the bathroom first?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, knowing that he had asked first. "If you
want," he said calmly, deciding that his bladder wasn't screaming loud enough
to pose a hazard. He figured he would have to wait until they were done with
the shower before he could make use of the toilet.

"Thank you," she purred softly as she gave him a gentle kiss, reaching
down to playfully squeeze his backside before giving him a wink and padding
over to the bathroom.

He waited until he heard the bathroom door close before sighing quietly,
resisting the sudden urge to bang his head against the wall. Here he was,
standing stark-naked in the middle of an over-the-top heart-decorated honeymoon
suite, having just spent virtually the entire night making love to a beautiful
young woman who was going to draw him into another shower soon, and he still
didn't have any idea what he was going to do with her.

No matter, he thought in dismissal as he looked around. He bent down to
pick up the packages of clean underwear, both hers and his, and started to head
over to the bathroom door. He paused as a mental note fell out of the stack in
the back of his mind, causing him to backtrack just slightly.

The stains on her boots had long dried out, but there was still a visible
hint of a residue on them. The thought was enough to bring a very light blush
of embarrassment and shame to his cheeks, carrying them over to wait patiently
outside the bathroom door. She apparently worked faster than he had figured
she would, as the door opened just as he reached it.

"Thanks," she said softly as she stepped aside. She glanced down at what
he was carrying, a soft smile crossing her lips at the realization that he had
been thoughtful enough to bring her some clean underwear. The smile quickly
morphed into a puzzled look as she noticed he was carrying her boots as well.

"D?" she asked carefully. "What are you doing with my boots?"

"Cleaning them," he managed to say in a level tone.

"Cleaning?" she echoed, leaning over to get a better look. "Why do...?
Oh," she added softly. A delicate blush rose to her cheeks as she looked up at
him, remembering the sequence of events last night. "I.... didn't think you'd
react that.... forcefully," she murmured as she thought about what she had both
seen and tasted in his blood at that particular moment.

He shot her a slightly unamused look as he set the clothes on top of the
toilet tank and carried the boots over to the sink. "Neither did I," he said
in a faintly miffed tone.

She giggled quietly as she kissed his cheek, one hand straying down to
very lightly caress his inert manhood. "It's okay, D," she said in a dulcet
tone. "I won't tell anyone else. I mean, just think of what that would do to
your reputation...." she added with a laugh as she shut the bathroom door.

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The few patrons eating breakfast in the tavern level of the inn barely
glanced up as D and Galen descended the stairs. The tantalizing aroma of fresh
bacon and eggs made them both stop in their tracks, exchanging looks before
heading over to a vacant table.

"Good morning," Rosie said quietly as she moved over to them, accepting
the offered key from Galen. "I trust the two of you slept well?"

"I haven't slept like that in years," Galen said, somehow managing to keep
the blush on her cheeks to a very modest minimum. "I hope you don't mind if we
stick around for breakfast, ma'am. We've still got a lot of road ahead of us
and something smells pretty good in here."

"Oh, come on," Rosie said in a mock-offended tone. "As if I'm going to
rent you one of my rooms and kick you out to the street without letting you
have a bite to eat in the morning."

Galen chuckled quietly as she squeezed D's hand. "We just thought we'd
ask," she said softly. "So how much do we owe you for the room?"

"Pah," the bar-mistress replied. "Don't worry about it. That room barely
gets used at all, and after hearing about what you did for Red's daughter....
well, I met the young lady a few times myself, so I know what she means to the
old coot. It's on the house, miss. Eh?" she added as D held out a small stack
of coins to her.

"Please accept it," D said quietly. "We appreciated the kindness and
generosity we were shown yesterday. We also know you have a business to run,
and the fair value of the wine you served isn't as cheap as you think it is.
It might even be older than you are," he added, letting his tone turn gentle so
she wouldn't take offense at the reference to her age.

Rosie blinked and regarded him carefully before hesitantly accepting the
offered coins. "Well, I.... I thank you for your honesty," she said, seeming
to still be slightly nervous with his presence. She glanced down at the coins
in her hand before looking back up at the dunpeals, clearly not sure what to
say. Something clicked in her mind and she cast a quick glance over towards
the kitchen, seeming to remember something. "I'll be right out with your
breakfast," she said quickly before pausing and turning back to them. "Oh....
how do you two want your eggs?"

Galen and D exchanged momentary glances before she looked back up at the
bar-mistress. "Scrambled will work fine, ma'am, thank you," Galen said with a
gentle smile. "I don't suppose I could trouble you for some fruit juice to go
with everything?"

"Orange, apple, or grape?" Rosie promptly asked.

"Orange, please," Galen replied.

Rosie nodded and cast a glance over at D, waiting to see what he wanted.
She received only silence and was about to ask him directly when Galen laughed
very quietly to herself, causing the old woman's attention to shift back over
to her. "Something wrong, miss?" she ventured.

"I think D needs some grape juice," Galen said, giving D a playful look.
"He seems to have woken up in a slightly sour mood today. He's not a morning
person," she added in a loud whisper.

"Oh," Rosie said quietly, giving D an unsettled look. "Well, I...."

"Orange juice will be fine, ma'am," D spoke up quietly. "Thank you." He
waited until Rosie had returned to the kitchen before casting an unamused look
over at a visibly amused Galen.

"You need to lighten up," she said, giving him a gentle smile as she gave
his hand a soft squeeze. "Or are you still upset that I accidentally splashed
water up your nose in the shower?" she added with a muted chuckle.

"I'm fine," he replied somberly, giving her a look that clearly conveyed
his unhappiness at being reminded of the incident. He just sighed silently and
looked around the tavern as she leaned against his arm, still trying to figure
out what in the name of all that was holy he was going to do with both her and
himself.

Breakfast was served in extremely short order, apparently already having
been cooked in a large batch. Each plate was half-covered in a steaming pile
of dark yellow scrambled eggs, accompanied by sides of bacon, hashed browns,
and a small biscuit made from a type of grain that wasn't readily identifiable.

Aside from the fact that the orange juice tasted like it had been frozen
solid at some point in the recent past, they didn't have any complaints about
the meal. Even the unknown biscuit had a distinctly fresh and flavorful taste
to it that more than made up for its uncertain nature. The plates were cleared
in relatively short order, not so much from haste as from hunger, and as before
Galen collected them to carry over to Rosie. A very brief exchange followed
before the exotic-haired woman made a 'wait right there' gesture to D and went
off to use the restroom again.

((D?)) it spoke up very quietly.

"Not now," he sighed softly, casting a dark glance down at his hand.

((Hey, I'm just wondering if you're going to do anything with that napkin,))
it protested quietly. ((I need a little fiber every now and then, you know?))

D just looked at it for a moment before glancing around the room, casually
picking up an unused paper napkin and balling it up in his left hand. A very
quiet crunching sound followed as he felt the napkin disappear into the open
mouth, not entirely sure where it would wind up and not wanting to know either.

((Mmm, thanks,)) it said in a faintly cheerful tone.

"You're welcome," D said dryly. He looked up as Galen returned, feeling
an unknown emotion tugging on his soul as he saw the look on her face. It was
a look of contentment, even happiness as she neared him, the corners of her
mouth arching upwards in a soft and gentle smile. The look in her liquid-like
eyes, however....

Both Doris and Leila had looked at him like that after he had made love to
them, a gentle look that was simply beyond words, beyond description. And few
words indeed had followed that look once given, accompanied by little more than
the lightest of touches and the softest of sighs.

He leaned back slightly as she came over to him, dipping her head down to
give him a soft kiss that was now exquisitely familiar in both sensation and
taste. Granted the acidic aftertaste of the orange juice masked most of it,
but he was still able to savor the unique and completely natural flavor of her
pale blue lips.

"You ready to go?" she said quietly once the kiss was reluctantly broken.

He simply nodded and stood up, absently grabbing the sword leaning against
the edge of the table. He cast a final look around the tavern as he slipped
the scabbard across his back, part of him wondering if he would ever return to
this tiny niche in human society. The thought was almost enough to make him
pause, realizing that of all the unique places he had visited during the course
of his travels he had never before wondered if he would return to them.

"You love-birds come back and see us one of these days," Rosie called out
as they reached the saloon-like doors.

Galen and D exchanged startled glances before she blushed. "Thank you,
Rosie," she called back. "We don't know when we'll be back, but if we're in
the area we'll stop by. Say hi to Red for us," she added.

"I will," the bar-mistress promised. "You two take care of yourselves."

They both simply nodded to her and stepped outside, wincing slightly at
the brightness of the sun. It was well above the treeline at this point, a
less-than-subtle sign that they were getting a late start on their travels.
They walked up the road towards the stables in silence, her hand slipping into
his and squeezing gently as they went.

A very simple conversation with Bart and the production of a pair of coins
was all it took for the mount to be released from the stall, fully rested and
apparently well-fed. He seemed to snort quietly in greeting as they approached
him, Galen patting his muzzle while D loaded the small package of dirty laundry
in the saddle-bags. D then climbed up into the saddle and held his hand out
to Galen, very gently pulling her up in front of him. A simple flick of the
reins and a final nod of thanks to the stablemaster was all it took for them to
return to the road and resume their long travel.

They followed the road north past the farmsteads and cattle fields, able
to see the majority of the townsfolk busy in the fields and tending to their
herds. Then they were back into the wooded areas again, both dunpeals quietly
relieved to be out of direct sunshine. Neither would be succumbing to heat
exposure anytime soon, but it was still a discomfort they would rather not have
to put up with.

They eventually reached the fork in the road and headed northeast, Galen
casually slipping her hands into D's to take the reins. She hardly moved after
that, however, content with the feeling of his hands gently covering hers as
they rode in a surprisingly comfortable silence.

Another two hours had passed before the mount was gently slowed to a very
casual trot while Galen studied the terrain. A few moments of focused memory-
searching finally produced a realization, causing her to step up the pace once
again. The moderate pace continued for another half-hour before they finally
came across a fairly sizable pond.

"Think this is a good place to take a break?" she asked quietly, twisting
around to give him a curious look. A faint smile tugged on her lips as she
only received a single nod in reply, privately amused at having gotten so used
to reading his body language by this point.

She guided the horse over to the edge of the pond and slid out of the
saddle, letting it enjoy a drink of the rather clear water. She waited for D
to dismount as well before brushing past him, giving him a quick kiss before
retrieving the dirty clothes from the corner of the saddle-bag.

"No sense in letting them reek longer than necessary," she explained as
she fished out the small bar of soap she had taken from the suite. She then
slipped off her boots and waded into the pond, quickly and efficiently giving
the dirty clothes a firm scrubbing to remove the dirt and oils that had wound
up in the fabric from prolonged usage.

D looked around the landscape as she worked, idly curious as to what sort
of wildlife he might expect to find in the region. Small woodland creatures
could been seen in casual abundance, a flock of doves perched on one tree and
a number of juvenile squirrels running around the trunk of another. A fleeting
burst of motion in the distance seemed have been caused by a small rabbit, no
doubt reacting to the presence of a badger lumbering through a nearby bush.

((Something on your mind, D?)) the thing spoke up quietly as D simply stood
still for several minutes, staring at the quiet terrain around him.

He said nothing, as they both knew that there was always something on
his mind. Usually it had to do with vampires, either finding where they were
hidden away or working out a plan to rescue someone from them, but he didn't
need to do that anymore, now did he? All the full-blooded vampires were gone
and the only dunpeals left were him and Galen. So what was there for him to
think about?

It startled him to realize that he didn't have anything to think about at
the moment, aside from what to do about Galen. He didn't want to think about
that one right now, as it was starting to give him a major headache, but if he
didn't have to worry about vampires.... what was left for him to think about?

((Let me guess,)) it said slowly, ((You're not thinking about your situation
right now, so you're trying to think of something else, right? I'm willing to
bet that it's not working too well, however, since I can hear the empty sound
of mental gears spinning in neutral all the way over here.))

He blinked and glanced down at his hand, wondering yet again if the thing
had somehow managed to connect itself to more than just his arm. The insight
it had shown into his thoughts had long ago ceased being uncanny and had become
downright frightening. Its reactions to him voicing his thoughts on occasion
had proven that no such mind-reading was going on, but simply that it knew him
entirely too well after being a part of him for so long.

"What do you mean?" he asked softly, returning most of his focus back to
the woodline. He kept part of his attention on Galen, listening to her hum
quietly to herself as she continued scrubbing their underwear. Had he been by
himself and came across such a pond he would have simply immersed himself and
his clothes at the same time, letting the worst of the water drip off before
climbing back in the saddle to let the sun and the breeze dry him. That tended
to take hours and could only be done on warm, sunny days when he didn't expect
to be doing much, as it was extremely irritating to try to fight a vampire when
your underwear was both cold and wet.

((I mean now that you've finished your life-long task of exterminating all
the vampires, you're clueless about what to do with yourself now,)) it explained
in an unusually quiet tone. ((If I were in your boots, I'd have lit up a cigar
after killing Count Niles and probably would have gotten piss-drunk just to
celebrate. I might even have indulged in a little casual debauchery, too,)) it
added in a lecherous tone.

It simply laughed quietly as D turned his hand over to cast an icy look of
unamusement at it. ((D, you need to relax,)) it said, the wrinkled face shaking
back and forth in a gesture of resignation. ((You can do that now, you know.
All your life it's been work, work, work. Rescue a human, kill a vampire, go
look for another one. Rescue a human, kill a vampire, go look for another one.
That got old centuries ago, but you kept at it and at it and at it. So guess
what? You can't do that anymore, they're all gone now. So now you need to sit
back and take it easy for a few, you know? You did your job, so now you can
retire to some dimly-lit tropical paradise of an island. Or do you think you
haven't done enough to earn that kind of reward?)) it prodded.

"Perhaps," he said quietly. "But my work is not finished just yet."

((Oh, here we go again,)) it replied, rolling its eyes. ((Right back to
where we started a few days ago. You going to listen to me now, or are you
just going to try to avoid the problem and go back to staring at the warm fuzzy
critters with a whole lot of nothing on your mind?))

"Your silence would be appreciated," he said flatly, prompting a truly
heavy sigh of resignation from the thing.

((Have it your way,)) it grumbled. ((Let me know when you get tired of empty
thoughts so I can give you a hand in working this one out. Err, pardon the
pun,)) it added with a soft snicker.

D remained quiet as he lowered his hand to his side, once again returning
his gaze to the tranquil woodlands. He paused as he heard a faint sloshing
noise, casting a glance over his shoulder to find Galen stepping out of the
pond with the wet clothes in her hand. She gave him a faintly amused look as
she held onto them tightly and began to whirl them over her head as rapidly as
she could.

The edges of his mouth flicked down in a slight frown as he was splashed
with tiny droplets of water, watching as they were scattered in a wide radius
by her forceful motions. The worst of the water soon left the fabric, leaving
them only moderately damp to the touch. His eyebrow rose slightly as she
carried them over to the saddle-bags, extracting the small skein of string he
occasionally had a use for. A length of string was measured out and used to
secure the underwear between the saddle-bags and the horse's flank, protecting
them from a majority of the dirt while allowing the mount's body heat to help
dry them out.

"See anything out there?" she asked as she slipped her boots on and came
over to him, leaning her head against his arm.

"Nothing dangerous," he replied quietly, keeping a casual eye on where the
badger was moving. It wasn't very likely to approach them or otherwise pose a
threat, but you only have to go up against an enraged badger once to develop a
healthy amount of respect for the creatures.

"That's always comforting," she said softly, giving his hand a gentle
squeeze. She looked out at the woodline for a few moments before lifting her
head up, her expression brightening as she caught a momentary glimpse of rapid
movement around a small bush. "Ooooh, now what do we have here?" she purred.

D cast a sidelong glance at her before looking back towards the source of
the erratic motion, knowing that she had spotted the rabbit as well. "I know
you're not hungry already," he pointed out in a calm tone.

"Not yet," she said lightly, absently licking her lips as she followed the
rabbit's cautious movements. "But I can hunger for a taste of his blood, can't
I? It wouldn't hurt either of us to feed again," she pointed out. "After last
night, I think we're both a little.... what's a good word?" she asked in a soft
and playful tone, leaning over to brush her lips against his ear.

"Satisfied," he said somberly.

"Perhaps," she purred as she nibbled on his earlobe. "Although I have to
admit I am a little curious what it would be like to go hunting with you."

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning his head slightly to glance at her.

She paused and leaned back slightly, studying his eyes. "Have you ever
gone hunting with anyone?" she inquired. "The two or however many of you there
are working as a team to bring down your prey? My father and I used to hunt
deer together," she explained as his eyes narrowed slightly. "It was fun. He
wouldn't help me hunt rabbits, however, as he said they were too small to be
worth anything more than a quick snack."

He said nothing as he looked out towards the tree containing the juvenile
squirrels playing some sort of marsupial game. He had hunted deer as well, but
always alone. The only times he could remember hunting anything in the company
of another were the rare occasions in which others had gotten in his way and
the least dangerous solution was to let them accompany him. At least, it was
from a relative point of view. Going up against a vampire of any kind was a
dangerous task no matter how you looked at it, but at least he could keep an
eye on the humans and shield them from the worst of the dark horrors if he was
around to protect them.

"I can't say that I have," he said to her, idly wondering what it would be
like. He doubted he would do so if it involved rabbits, as they were extremely
small targets and frustratingly agile. Perhaps she had a finer skill than he
did for such things, but he would prefer a slightly more fulfilling target if
one was available. Elk blood had a rather memorable flavor, but it was very
unlikely to find one in this particular region....

"Want to try it later?" she offered softly. "There's a lake a few hours
up the road ahead, I thought that'd make the perfect place to stop for a late
lunch and rest the horse again. Should be plenty of deer around there, maybe
even a moose or two if we're fortunate."

"Any bears?" he inquired. The majority of the bears in the region lived
farther north, but it was possible for the odd stray to be around given the
climate and local wildlife.

"With as close as we are to a human town?" she pointed out, making an idle
gesture over her shoulder back towards the west. "I doubt it. Between the
herds of cattle and ranchers armed with guns, I think the nearest bear would be
a good ten miles north of here. Twenty miles if he has a brain," she added.

"Good," he said quietly, not wanting to mess with any of them if he didn't
have to. He had encountered them several times before, only twice needing to
draw his sword to convince them to leave him alone, but as with the experience
with the badger, one encounter was usually enough to last a lifetime.

She laughed softly and nuzzled his ear for a moment. "Come on, pardner,"
she said, mimicking Red's drawl fairly well. "Time to saddle up and ride on
out of here." She giggled quietly at the look on his face and leaned forward
for a soft kiss, shivering ever so lightly at the electric contact. "You need
to quit being so serious all the time, D," she pointed out as the headed back
towards the mount.

"I'm working on it," he said with a perfectly straight expression.

She giggled again as she climbed into the saddle before he could, scooting
forward to leave him as much room as possible. She waited until he had settled
in place before leaning back against him, one hand moving down to stroke his
leg gently. "You're doing fine," she said gently, leaning back even further
for one last kiss before gently urging the mount back into motion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun became hidden by a thick veil of dark gray a few hours later as a
gentle mid-autumn storm crept through the region. It appeared that rain would
eventually be on the way, most likely near sundown. The gradual darkening of
the skies was a mixed blessing to the dunpeals, relieved that they would be
further protected from the sun's searing light but wary about the soaking they
would likely encounter in the visible future.

The lake Galen spoke of turned out to be a modestly-sized one, fed by what
was best described as a creek with enthusiastic aspirations of grandeur. They
circled part of the embankments until they found a spot that looked to be more
of an oasis, neatly tucked between the lake and the fast-flowing creek. Heavy
thickets of bushes lined the rest of the perimeter, giving them a feeling of
isolation and privacy. They dismounted and tied the horse to a nearby tree,
giving it ample space in which to graze on the short marsh-like grass growing
near the water's edge.

"D," Galen said very quietly, reaching out to grab his wrist. He looked
up at her and followed her gaze as she pointed, spotting the pair of deer off
in the distance several hundred yards upstream. "What do you think?" she said,
keeping her voice low so as not to startle the animals. "I don't have a taste
for venison, but their blood makes a suitable refreshment."

He remained silent for a number of moments as he thought over what she was
asking. He really would rather not kill them if he wasn't going to drag them
back for roasting, but between the heat exposure the other day and having her
take some of his blood during their love-making, the half-cup of rabbit blood
and the few sips he had taken from her simply wouldn't be enough. That wasn't
to say he was starving for blood at the moment, but merely that he would have
to feed a little sooner than he would have cared to.

"Very well," he replied in a soft tone, already trying to map out the lay
of the land so as to determine the best way to approach them.

She paused at his tone and glanced over at him. "We don't have to do this
together if you don't want to," she pointed out. "I can handle a deer on my
own, of course, I just thought it would be fun to try this together."

((Galen?)) the thing in D's hand suddenly spoke up in a hushed tone, taking
them both by surprise. ((Don't mind him, deer aren't in the top category of his
list of personal favorites. Now if you can find some elk or caribou, that'll
get his attention.))

She paused for a moment, aware of the venomous look D was casting at the
symbiot. "We're too far south for caribou, and you won't find any elk around
here," she pointed out quietly. She glanced up at him as she started to wonder
what he was going to decide.

((D, you do realize why we're doing this, I trust?)) it said to him.

"Yes, I know," he replied calmly. Had she not seen the momentary look on
his face, she wouldn't have been able to tell from his tone that he was not
pleased in the least to hear it speaking in the open.

((You mind if I toss out a suggestion or two?)) it asked carefully.

D and Galen exchanged wary looks before she nodded to him. He looked at
her in silence for a number of seconds before sighing quietly, turning his hand
over so they could both see the wrinkled face embedded in his palm. "We're
listening," he said evenly.

((I'd think about a pincer approach.... from upstream,)) it explained. ((It
will take a lot more work to set up, but if they catch on before you're ready
and try to bolt, they'll head downstream and will run out of room in fairly
short order. Granted you can't out-run them, as these guys look like they have
'turbo' written on their cottony tails, but I think you'll be able to snag at
least one if you have enough patience.))

Both dunpeals looked over towards the distant deer, making mental notes of
the terrain and how to best use it. "You know...." Galen said slowly, chewing
on the edge of her lip, "That might not be such a bad idea after all. If one
of us crosses the creek here and we both take our time in swinging wide, sort
of like a heart-shape.... don't look at me like that," she added as she caught
the face D made. "Yes, I'm sick of seeing cutesy heart shapes too, but let's
not go overboard here."

He gave her a distinctly unamused look before turning his attention back
to the grazing deer. "How did you want to bring them down?" he asked simply.

"In a perfect world, without weapons," she replied with a shrug. "The
idea here is to drink their blood, not spill it on the moss. Granted I'd make
a lot less of a mess with my rapier than you would with that sword, but I've
seen what other sharp implements of death you carry around with you. D, I like
you and all, but you really need to lighten up," she added with a soft sigh
as she caught the glance in her direction.

He continued to study her for a moment before once again turning his focus
upstream. "I take it you want the buck?" he asked quietly, trying to decide on
what sort of weapon to use. She had a valid point about the sword, which meant
he could either use one of his daggers or the silver spikes he kept with him to
convince werewolves that he really wasn't someone they wanted to mess with.

"If you wouldn't mind," she purred quietly, her mood starting to change as
she focused on the impending hunt. The shift didn't go unnoticed by D, causing
him to glance over at her once more in slight concern. He paused as she looked
over at him, their eyes meeting in silence for a number of moments before she
finally smirked. "I'm going to try this one without my rapier, okay?"

He nodded back to her, starting to feel an icy thread of unease wrapping
around the base of his spine. He quickly realized that he would be able to see
for himself if he was right or wrong about her, about how different she would
be from the other vampires and dunpeals. Granted the hunt would have a brutal
ending regardless, or at least it would if successful, but he suddenly wanted
to see just how savage she would be with it.

She made a soft humming noise to herself as she stepped over to him, her
lips brushing against his for a few moments before she turned away and headed
into the woods. Even before she vanished from his sight he could see the first
changes in her, the satin-like cape spreading out and taking on a camouflaged
pattern even as her skin started to darken as she assumed her insectoid form.

((D?)) it whispered quietly. ((Time to get going, it's going to take you a
few minutes to get into position. You going to use one of your pointy toys or
are you going to play it by fang this time?))

"We'll see," he said simply as he started to move. He crossed over the
rapidly-flowing creek and started to follow it north, turning at an angle to
keep both the deer and the creek in his line-of-sight at all times. He moved
as quickly as he could while still remaining as silent as a cat's shadow, still
wondering how exactly he wanted to take the doe down. He figured he would try
to drive the buck over to Galen first, giving them a decent chance at having
one kill if not both.

He slowed down considerably as he passed the deer, still idly grazing on
the marsh-grass and only casually paying attention to their surroundings. He
carefully began to circle back in a gentle curve, gingerly drawing closer from
the upstream side. He couldn't see Galen, of course, but he didn't expect to
be able to until he was almost within striking range of the animals.

A sudden clicking noise made him freeze in his tracks, sounding to him
like a cricket with arthritis. The deer, now only a few dozen yards away from
him, paused for a moment to listen before resuming their gentle grazing. The
clicking noise persisted for a few seconds before falling silent, fading away
with a muted rattling noise.

He paused for several seconds, trying to determine if that was a natural
sound or if Galen was playing some sort of game. He carefully crept forward
towards the deer again, covering another dozen yards before the clicking noise
started back up. It seemed to be slightly louder this time, and after a moment
of concentration he thought he had a fair idea of where it was coming from.

((Sonar, anyone?)) the thing said in a very quiet tone.

"I know," he murmured back, realizing what Galen was doing now. It was a
classic 'hammer and anvil' tactic. By mimicking a loud insect, she would be
revealing her position to him without alerting the deer to her presence. He
would then act as the 'hammer' and drive them towards her location where they
could be caught between them. And as any metalsmith would tell you, the space
between a falling hammer and a waiting anvil was the last place anyone wanted
to be caught in.

((You still have those starburst cherries, right?)) it inquired.

D thought for a moment before slowly reaching for one of the pouches on
his belt, extracting a pair of tiny glass nodules. The alchemical substances
within them were highly volatile, quickly exploding with dazzling intensity a
few seconds after the contents were allowed to mix together. A simple crushing
motion of his hand would start the process, after which he had roughly three
seconds to get rid of them before they erupted with a bright flash and a very
hard bang.

((Good,)) it said with a near-silent chuckle. ((Pop left, pop right, drive
right up the middle. She grabs the buck, the doe panics, in you go.))

He said nothing, figuring that it was a good enough plan as any. He very
carefully switched the alchemical bombs to his other hand and drew the flower-
etched dagger, deciding that the werewolf spikes would probably be insufficient
and not wanting to taint the other dagger with deer blood.

Closing the distance for the last twenty yards was the hardest part, and
not just because had to move slowly. The deer apparently ate grass as fast as
they looked like they could run, occasionally wandering a few feet downstream
every so often to keep munching. That meant he had move slightly faster than
them to keep closing the distance and remain undetectable at all times.

There was one instant where he thought he might have seen Galen, catching
the briefest of flutters against the trunk of a tree that may or may not have
just been a random leaf. He mentally revised his assessment of the challenge
it would be to have to try to hunt her directly, knowing that her camouflage
abilities were by far superior to his. Whether that was due to her insectoid
form or the silken creature she used as a cape or both, it was hard to say.

He emptied his mind of almost all thought as he finally got close enough
to them to see their eyes. He was peering out from behind the trunk of a tree,
perhaps a good thirty feet away from them and separated only by the flowing
expanse of the creek. The loud chirping noises had fallen silent a few seconds
ago, fading away with that soft rattle again. He figured that she was in front
of the larger of the pair of trees not fifteen feet behind the buck, still not
able to see her but estimating that it was the source of the cricket sounds.

So it begins, he thought to himself as he tensed up. The dagger was held
tightly in his right hand, the blade held behind him to avoid having the shiny
metal reflect even the smallest beam of light. He carefully rolled the glass
nodules around in his hand until they were positioned just right, waiting an
extra moment to make sure he was ready. Satisfied that he was, he took a deep
breath and tightened his fist as hard as he could.

Both deer looked up at the faint crunching sound as the barriers between
the nodules were broken, letting the liquids mix together. A simple and very
subtle gesture was all it took to fling the now-reacting 'cherries' towards the
deer, neatly landing off to the left and right. They both seemed to explode in
the same instant, twin sparks of magnesium-like flares bursting into blinding
existence with almost ear-shattering booms.

Precisely as expected, both deer reared back and immediately bolted away
as he came charging out from around the tree. The buck had barely taken six
steps before the tree in front of him seemed to split in half, reaching out in
a blur to seize the creature by the neck. It immediately tried to jump back by
rising up on its hind legs, only to be literally picked up off the ground by
its throat and spun around to be slammed against the tree.

The sound of several vertebrae breaking in unison echoed across the forest
as D drew close to the doe. Galen's attack had panicked it even more, causing
it to try to whirl back around in confusion. It spotted D before he was close
enough to grab it, trying to leap away and run further downstream. The tip of
D's dagger sliced into its flank as it shot past, hampering it but not taking
it down.

D immediately ran after it, knowing that he stood a decent chance of being
able to down it before it got away. They ran for a good fifty yards before it
stumbled, obviously weakened by the deep gash in its leg. The doe was able to
recover almost instantly, but the momentary delay was just enough to allow D to
approach within striking range.

The dagger was thrust sideways into its ribcage with enough force to break
a pair of ribs. The creature's forelegs promptly collapsed beneath it, its
forward momentum sending it tumbling head-over-heels into a motionless heap
that almost took D with it.

((Tag, baby, you're it,)) the thing in his hand laughed quietly as D very
carefully stood up. ((Damn, I haven't seen something this beautiful in years.
Talk about a work of art, D. You probably weren't paying attention, but did
you see the look on the buck's face when Galen popped up in front of him? I'm
surprised he didn't piddle all over the place.))

D ignored the thing and carefully extracted his dagger from the deer's
body. A simple check revealed that the pulse was silent, meaning that he had
probably scored a direct hit on the doe's heart muscle. That suited him just
fine, as he didn't care for unnecessary suffering, even if it was just a deer
that you only killed to make a meal out of.

He looked down at the creature, its eyes half-open and frozen in the empty
embrace of death. There was no beauty to be seen here, no work of art to be
enjoyed. He sighed quietly as he knelt down, not really wanting to do this but
knowing he had little choice. A slash of his dagger across the doe's throat
opened up the main arteries, releasing a minor torrent of hot blood. The scent
registered on his senses a moment later, a warm and inviting aroma that he did
not overly care for but reacted instinctively to nonetheless. The world became
tinted with blue as his vampiric nature asserted itself, leaning over to drink
the crimson nectar of life that he needed in order to survive.

He did not stop to savor the taste as he had with Galen's blood, instead
simply drinking his fill to quench the dark thirst that always lurked in the
back of his mind despite his attempts to ignore it. The taste was palatable,
if not exactly desirable. Not that he ever truly desired blood except to blunt
the vampiric hunger, but he would admit that he had his preferences of animals
to feed from if given a choice.

He drank until he simply couldn't drink anymore, not sure if it was due to
being full, to the cooling temperature of the rapidly dying blood, or if he was
simply sick of it. He lifted his head from the carcass and edged back, one
hand absently making sure he hadn't made a mess on his tunic. The dagger was
wiped clean on the animal's hide before he returned it to its sheath and stood
up, casting a glance upstream to see how Galen was doing.

((Honestly, D,)) it said to him as he started to walk. ((Tell me you didn't
enjoy that little diversion. I know you don't like having to drink blood, but
you are who you are, after all. You'd think that after a few thousand years of
you being you, you'd have gotten used to it by now.))

He remained silent, trying to determine the truth to its words. It would
have been a lie to say he hadn't found the whole hunting experience to be....
what? Fun definitely wasn't the right word, but there had been something to it
that couldn't simply be explained away as a misunderstanding. Yes, there was
the satisfaction of a successful hunt, but it was hard to say if that was all
that it was. The question he needed to ask himself, he thought, was would he
do it again? If it was worthwhile to do it a second time in his view, would
that suggest that he liked it?

Come to think of it, wouldn't that apply to Galen as well? He knew that
he hadn't bothered trying to resist her gentle affections since that first soft
kiss back in the underground burrow, and even then he didn't do a damn thing to
avoid it or otherwise indicate it wasn't welcome. He knew of the old saying in
how silence implied consent, so didn't that mean by not resisting her touch he
in fact consented to her attentions? And if he consented, didn't that mean he
not only liked but welcomed them?

His silent train of thought was broken as he looked up, finding himself
only a few yards away from where Galen was standing. He was surprised to see
the buck still pinned against the tree, standing on its hind legs with most of
its weight supported by Galen as she continued to remain with her lips at its
soft white throat.

((Uh-oh,)) the thing whispered very softly as the deer's front legs started
to twitch gently. An icy wave swept through D as he realized that the buck was
still alive, all but completely paralyzed by the shattered spinal column. She
was still taking blood from it, apparently in no rush to finish the task or put
the gravely wounded creature out of its misery.

His eyes narrowed dangerously as she cast a sidelong glance at him, one
hand letting go of the animal to make a beckoning motion. He hesitated for a
moment before moving closer, keeping a wary eye on the buck. He could see that
it was still fully conscious, trying to watch him with a gaze that was well and
truly beyond terrified.

Galen began to move as he approached, startling him with the realization
that she was removing her blouse. She quickly slipped it off completely and
held it out to him, her other arm still holding the deer against the tree. He
stared at her in confusion and disbelief before carefully accepting the offered
garment, trying to figure out what in the hell she was doing.

His eyes briefly swept over her half-naked form, pausing as he saw that
the ridges on her back seemed to have gotten larger. He studied them for a
moment before looking back up at the rest of her, feeling his blood chill even
further the more he thought about what she was doing to the buck.

That she needed blood was a given, and that she had to take it by force
from a woodland animal was somewhat regretful but still completely necessary,
simply one more link in the often-times brutal circle of life. That she had
deliberately kept the paralyzed creature alive while she fed, however, was in
his opinion borderline sadistic. Granted blood was the most nourishing when it
was fresh and hot, more so if it was oxygenated blood from an artery instead of
a vein, but it wasn't a requirement to feed from a living creature.

He remained perfectly still as she finally stepped back from the creature,
releasing her hold and letting it fall forward to the ground. The sound of
fractured vertebrae grinding together was clearly audible, a horrid cacophony
that made him wince as he thought about the physics of it. The collapse was
clearly fatal for the deer, its body twitching for several moments before it
became utterly still as the spark of life went out in its eyes.

A single glance up at Galen was enough to explain why she had removed her
blouse. The feeding had apparently been messy at first, as her chin and neck
were covered with several rivulets of crimson that was slowly oozing down her
chest. While the sight of blood usually didn't bother him in the least, the
rather macabre sight of seeing her womanly curves stained with it made his own
blood turn even colder.

"Sorry," she apologized softly, her cheeks taking on a dark pink tint.
"I'm not usually this messy of an eater, but he was rather spirited in his
resistance. I take it you managed to take down the other one as well?"

"I did," he said in a slightly flat tone as he held her blouse out to her.

She gave him a slightly uneasy look as she accepted the garment, casting
a reflexive glance down at her bare chest. "Yeech," she sighed quietly before
looking back up at him. "D, what did you use to scare them like that?" she
inquired as she moved over to the edge of the creek. "You surprised the hell
out of me too. So much so that I almost didn't see the buck," she added.

"Alchemical devices," he said in a neutral tone, unable to completely turn
away from her as she scooped up handfuls of water to splash against her bare
chest. His reactions were starting to drive him to distraction, finding her
incredibly beautiful on the one hand but still deeply disturbed by her actions
on the other.

"Well, they worked just fine," she pointed out with a soft chuckle. "I
wasn't sure you knew what I was doing with the insect calls, and I only saw you
moving around once or twice. That was actually a pretty good hunt for working
together for the first time like that."

He said nothing as she continued to splash herself with water, running her
hands over her neck and chest with efficient rubbing motions. That the sight
was also more than a little erotic to watch was most likely unintentional, but
he doubted she would have objected if it had been pointed out to her. She
finally finished removing the last traces of blood from herself and stood up,
folding the blouse and draping it over her shoulder as she drew close to him.

"Mind if we stick around to rest for a bit?" she said softly as she took
his hand. "I don't know about you, but I'm not too keen about having to move
around too much after feeding."

"A storm is coming soon," he reminded her in an impassive tone, casting a
reflexive and momentary glance at her bare breasts before looking up at the
gentle contours of her face again.

She leaned back slightly to peer behind him, deliberately arching her back
so that her breasts were prominently thrust into the air. "Why, so there is,"
she said coyly before straightening up. "But it's not here yet, nor will it be
for another hour or two," she pointed out. "At least, not a rainstorm...."

He said nothing as she squeezed his hand tightly, leaning into him for a
gentle kiss. He didn't resist the soft contact but he didn't actively yield to
her either, standing impassively as he let her kiss him.

The kiss was broken after a moment as she leaned back, giving him an odd
look. "D, is something wrong?" she ventured.

"We can rest here for awhile if you wish," he replied calmly, turning away
to head back to where the mount was tied. Her hand remained around his as she
followed, a slightly confused and uneasy look on her face.

They reached the horse after a few minutes of walking, D absently steering
clear of the spot where the fallen doe was. He knew that nature's scavengers
would find the carcass sooner or later, possibly even before nightfall, and the
circle of life would thus continue to revolve without further intervention on
his part. He paused when Galen gently tugged on his wrist, bring them both to
a halt.

"Wait here," she said quietly in his ear as she kissed him. She gave his
hand a final squeeze before letting go and moving over to the saddle-bags. She
briefly checked the condition of the underwear still tied to the inside edge,
untying them once she was satisfied that they were dry and stashing them inside
the saddle-bag. She then extracted the ground blanket that D sometimes used to
sleep on, carrying it back over to where the hunter was standing.

D watched in silence as she laid the blanket out and sat down on half of
it, removing her boots and setting them aside. She then reclined back on her
elbows and looked up at him, a soft smile tugging on her face as she saw him
studying her exposed curves again. "Do me a favor, D?" she said softly. "Do
something with that armor and come sit with me."

He gave her a distinctly wary look for a few seconds, suddenly getting the
impression that she didn't really want to rest at the moment. He nonetheless
did as she asked, first removing his sword scabbard and leaning it against a
tree, then following up with his cape, hat, and finally the dark armor that had
protected him fairly well for ages.

The soft smile was still on her lips as she waited patiently for him to
finish and sit down. She reached out to him as he did so, lightly running her
fingertips along his jaw before leaning over for a gentle kiss. The kiss soon
became a little less gentle as she pressed down hard on his lips, gently easing
him down against the blanket on the fairly level grass.

He looked up at her as she started to work the buttons on his tunic, very
gently opening them one by one until his entire chest was bared. She leaned
down to rest on one elbow as her other hand came up, lightly caressing the
smooth expanse of his chest and abdomen. "You alright?" she asked softly as
she studied the dark look on his face.

She received only silence in response and sighed quietly, wondering why
she was suddenly seeing the barriers back in place around him. She reclined
even further, laying down on her side with her head on his shoulder as one leg
came up to rest between his. "D," she said in an even quieter tone. "I take
it you're not in a mood to cuddle right now?"

"No," he said quietly, staring up at the overcast sky.

"Tell me why?" she implored softly. She waited for an answer that she
really didn't expect to receive and sighed again. "D, I know you're upset with
me for some reason. I just want to know what I did."

She idly traced random patterns on his chest as she listened to his pulse,
hearing it thrum softly where her ear was pressed against his shoulder. It was
a slow and steady tempo, which meant that he wasn't worked up over anything.
His breathing was likewise deep and steady, a calm and measured pace that made
her realize he wasn't really mad per se, but instead was.... what?

"So now you're not going to talk to me?" she prodded him softly, wondering
if that would draw a reaction. "I had hoped that after all we've been through
together so far, you wouldn't close yourself to me like this. What have I done
to deserve this, D?" she said, leaning up on her elbow to stare at him. She
reached up to tilt his head toward her, to force him to look at her. An icy
chill filled her as he did so, his eyes seeming to be distant and impassive as
he studied her.

((D?)) it spoke up quietly. ((I think you need to answer her....))

Galen blinked as D suddenly sat up, almost knocking her over. An uneasy
look crossed her face as they both stood up, D casting a truly dark glare down
at the wrinkled face in his palm.

"I said stay out of this," he said in a low tone.

((Yeah, well, this is one of those times where you need.... !!!))

Galen flinched as D lashed out, smashing the palm of his hand against the
tree so hard that the entire trunk started to sway back and forth. The heavy
impact sound couldn't completely block out the sound of something popping, a
trickle of blood slowly dripping down his wrist a few seconds later.

((Grd d'mmit, D!)) it snarled, its voice mangled by the distortion of its
face. ((When 'r you gr'ing t' learn t' lissen t' me?))

"When I ask for it," D said in a voice as cold as arctic tundra. He cast
a glance over his shoulder as he heard Galen made a flat sound to herself, her
eyes narrowed to slits as she stared at him.

"So is this how you treat your friends, D?" she asked in a deceptively
calm tone. "You ignore them when you can and abuse them when you can't? I'm
starting to wonder now what you think of me. Well, hunter?" she prompted as
she crossed her arms over her chest. "I think you owe me an explanation."

He looked at her before removing his hand from the tree trunk, ignoring
the chips of wood that were spat in his general direction. "Explain what?" he
said in a neutral tone as he began to rebutton his tunic.

"Explain to me what I mean to you," she demanded. "Explain to me what
last night meant to you. Dammit, answer me!" she yelled as he remained silent.
"What did that mean to you? Why did you take my blood, why did you take me?"

"I didn't intend to take your blood," D said quietly as he slipped his
armor back on and cinched it in place. "At least not at first. Blood calls to
blood, and yours called to me."

"Okay, I can believe that," she replied in a tone only slightly mollified
by his explanation. "And the rest? I'll take the blame for the shower, as it
was my idea, but you certainly didn't seem to mind. Nor did you seem to have
any hesitations about sleeping with me. I don't care who started it, it takes
two people to make love. Or do you think it was simply sex instead?" she added
in a dangerous tone.

She paused as he looked up at her, suddenly feeling the core of her anger
freeze as solid as a glacier. "You came to me," D said quietly, his voice and
expression both utterly impassive and unreadable.

"And?" she countered.

"And so I gave you what you wanted," he replied as his cape was tied into
place and put his hat on.

"That you did, D," Galen said in a level tone. "And believe me, it really
was the best time of my life, but don't you dare try to tell me you didn't
enjoy it as well."

"I did," he said softly with a nod of his head.

"So why did you do it?" she demanded. "Why did you sleep with me? You
sound like you didn't want to, and just maybe you didn't, but I still want to
know why you did in the first place!"

((D, you need to be honest here....)) it warned him.

He ignored the voice and looked at her, asking himself the same question.
There wasn't an easy answer, but there was a simple one that was still part of
the truth. "I was keeping a promise," he said simply.

"What?" she said, blinking hard in confusion.

((D, you fool, what the hell are you doing?)) it said.

"What promise?" Galen said in a very guarded tone, feeling her insides
turn even colder than before.

"A promise I made to Leila," he explained simply. "If a female companion
ever wanted to share some intimate moments with me, I was not resist her."

((Goddamn it, have you lost your mind? D, that's not it and you know it!))

"No...." she said in a soft whisper, shaking her head back and forth. "I
don't believe it. You can't tell me that what we had, all that we shared since
we met.... oh, no, I don't think so, D."

((Look, will you just listen to...? MMMMRRRF!))

D said nothing as he kept his left hand pressed down on the hilt of his
sword, fully half of it crammed inside the thing's mouth to muffle it. He
remained motionless and silent as he saw the emotions playing across Galen's
face like a movie caught in fast-forward, one seeming to blur into the next so
fast that they could barely be seen.

"So that's it, then?" Galen finally said when everything quit spinning
around inside her skull. "I'm just another story to be whispered about by the
others when they talk about the legendary vampire-hunter?"

"Galen...." he started to say.

"No, that's fine, D," she sighed as she held up her hands. "I suppose I
wasn't paying close attention to the subtle signs, that's all. You're not the
kind of guy to truly open up to a woman, despite my intentions. It's a shame,
really," she added, her tone turning bitter. "I was really starting to like
you, D, and I mean really like you. But I guess you don't feel the same way,
do you? No matter, hunter, I'm tired of this charade of ours. There's little
point in trying to continue it, now is there? Draw your sword," she said.

He blinked in surprise, suddenly realizing that the situation was rapidly
spiraling out of control. "Galen...." he started to say again.

"Let's just get this over with," she said flatly, edging back until she
was pressed up against a tree. "I don't care anymore, D. We had our moments
together, that will be enough for you to remember me by. If you care enough to
remember me at all," she spat. "If you don't want me, then why bother keeping
me around? Let it end here. Now draw your sword," she demanded coldly.

"We have a promise," he said quietly. "A pact of honor signed in blood."

"Then I release you from your obligations," she said instantly. "You are
no longer required to protect me, nor do you need to wait to kill me. I will
go see my mother either way, so what does it matter now? Just one thrust to my
heart and be done with it, D."

He simply looked at her in silence for a number of moments before the edge
of his hat tilted up. His eyes narrowed as he removed his hand from the sword
hilt, slinging the scabbard over his back. He then very slowly reached up with
his right hand to grasp the hilt, sliding the blade out with a very soft hiss.

((D, what the hell are you doing?!)) the thing demanded.

"Quiet," D said softly, his eyes never moving from his target.

((My ass!)) it retorted. ((D, listen to me, she's... !!!!!!!!!))

Galen gasped softly as D slid his left hand along the edged surface of his
sword, leaving behind a curtain of crimson. She looked up into his eyes and
suddenly felt the anger in her heart vanish, leaving behind a cold and empty
void. "D...." she said quietly, suddenly not so sure that she wished to die.

"Do not move," D said quietly as he brought the blood-streaked blade up,
his whole body tensing.

"Just make it quick," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper as a
single tear welled up. "D, I.... I...." she tried to say before her voice
failed completely, leaving her unable to express her feelings in what she felt
were her final moments. She didn't want to die, but she would rather die by
his hand than to have to go on without him, not after having shared so much
with him. Even if he didn't feel the same way.

He suddenly sprang into motion, the air seeming to scream as the tip of
his sword cut through it. She closed her eyes at the last moment, not wanting
to spoil her last memories of the world with the sight of her life-blood being
exposed to the air. I'm sorry, D, she thought.

The entire tree rocked from the force of the blow, a full seven inches of
the blade becoming buried in the trunk of the tree as it clove through flesh
like it didn't exist. A small downpour of leaves followed, shaken loose by the
impact and scattering around them in the now-perfectly still air.

An eternity passed before Galen parted her eyes, suddenly realizing that
something was very much amiss. A quick glance down at her bare chest showed no
sign of injury whatsoever, a sight that took her brain an extra second to fully
process. Blinking in confusion, she turned her head to look at him and leapt
back in shock.

A truly massive oak spider was neatly pinned to the tree, barely inches
away from where the top of her head had been. The highly venomous arachnid was
a good eighteen inches wide, the twitching fangs almost two full inches long
and filled with a toxin that was lethal within ten seconds. The frisbee-sized
body was perfectly impaled on D's sword, a thin stream of blood and liquefied
viscera running down the length of the blade.

She didn't say anything, couldn't say anything as he calmly extracted his
sword free from the trunk with a firm tug on the hilt. The spider remained
impaled along the shaft like a hideous shish-kebab, the profusely hairy legs
still twitching spasmodically. The creature was carried over to the edge of
the lake and casually flung into the water with a simple gesture, landing with
a soft splash and immediately sinking out of sight.

D knelt down and calmly rinsed the ichor off of his sword, returning it to
the scabbard on his back. He then brought out his dagger, the one still tinted
crimson with dried blood. It took a little extra work to remove the stains
from the metal, but he kept at it until it was completed.

He didn't look up as he heard Galen's approach, wading out until her pale
ankles were covered in the water. He simply didn't know what to say, knowing
that she understood the symbolic significance of his cleansing the blade of her
blood-promise. The blade was finally cleaned and returned to the sheath as he
stood back up. He then went over to the mount and untied it without saying a
word or looking back, not wanting to have the memory of her face seared into
his soul any further.

He knew she wouldn't pose a problem to humans as the other dunpeals and
vampires had, so there was no need to kill her. He tried to think of something
else, anything else, but his mind was simply too numb for some reason to work.
It was simple, really. He wouldn't return unless he had a reason to, and if
she crossed the line he would hunt her down and kill her. Simple, right? he
thought as he climbed in the saddle, wincing as he put pressure on his wounded
hand. That would heal soon enough, and probably the thing too, but for now....

Who knows, he thought to himself as he headed off, not bothering to look
at the woman behind him. Everything was so cold and numb right now, but that
would change in time, right? He recovered after Doris, he recovered after
Leila, and he would recover after today. Simple, right?

The horse was turned towards the west, away from the lake and away from
everything that he was trying to leave behind there. The first signs of the
impending storm could be heard, soft rumbles of thunder gently rippling across
the still air as they all but blocked out the sound of silent tears falling.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The silence lasted for a good half-hour before his hand healed enough to
let the thing speak. Wrapping the reins around his hand and pulling tightly
only bought him an extra twenty minutes of relative silence, punctuated by an
odd snarl or growl of frustration. And then it finally screamed at him.

It wasn't an ordinary scream, one made by vocal chords vibrating around a
column of air that could be dampened out or at least ignored. The scream came
to him along the mental component of its voice, lancing through his skull with
the force of a supernova and literally blotting out every single nerve impulse
in his brain.

The sheer physical shock threw him out of the saddle, landing hard enough
on the ground to knock the wind out of him. The mount immediately skittered
off to the side to avoid trampling him, staying put as it was trained to do in
just such an event.

((DAMMIT, D!)) it screamed at him with its conventional voice as D's world
slowly returned to painful focus. ((What the fuck do you think you're doing?
Get your pathetic ass up and go back there, right goddamned now!))

"What?" he groaned as he said up, still heavily disoriented. One thing
that clearly registered on his mind, however, was the sheer anger that was
being directed at him. While it had a rather expansive and earthy vocabulary,
it had very rarely so blatantly directed such profane language at him.

((You IDIOT, you do have any idea what you just did back there?)) it
snarled at him, the sheer fury causing his whole arm to vibrate. ((I should
blow your brains out your ears for being so frickin' STUPID!))

"Leave me alone," D said in a low tone as he tried to stand up.

((Uh-uh, not this time,)) it snarled back. ((If you want to get rid of me,
that's fine, go ahead and shove me in a fucking lake, but you WILL listen to
me as I explain to your dumb ass what the hell you just did back there!))

The worst of the daze had worn off, letting him think clearly once again.
He knew that something truly significant had indeed happened back at the lake,
but he still wasn't sure what. And right now, he still didn't know if he truly
wanted to find out anytime soon. But yet.... something felt wrong now.

"Alright," he said quietly, wanting to get this one over with as soon as
possible. A gentle rumble of thunder reached his ears, warning him that the
storm was going to break within the hour if not sooner. "Speak then."

((You're a fool, D,)) it lashed out at him. ((Worse, you're a hypocrite.
All these years you've hunted vampires and dunpeals, your own kind and your own
blood, and why? To spare the world the evil and pain they inflict on others.
You've berated yourself for centuries because you share the same blood, fearing
that you'll hurt them too if you're not careful. And when you think you've let
yourself slip, when you think you've hurt someone, you take it out on yourself
without stopping to figure it all out.

((I tried to tell you that you were wrong when you felt you hurt Doris by
taking her blood and her body. Did you listen to me? Nope, sure didn't. And
see how long it took you to realize that I was right? How many years, decades
even of self-inflicted pain over the misguided belief that you hurt someone who
loved you as much as Doris did?

((Well guess what, D? You really, REALLY did it this time. You know
what you did back there? You hurt Galen. I mean you might as well have killed
her to spare her the pain you just inflicted on her. You left her, D, you just
turned around and left her behind. Alone. You know that's her worst fear, D,
you know it because she told you herself. She fears being alone, and that's
exactly what you deliberately did to her. You abandoned her, D. You know, I
don't agree with what Carmilla did in her time, but I remember what she said to
you when she confronted you, and I have to agree with one thing she said. You
should be ASHAMED of yourself!))

The weight of the realization came crashing down on his conscience like a
ton of bricks, his body collapsing out from underneath him and dropping him
hard to his knees. He landed on his backside a moment later, his breath all
but frozen in his throat as the harsh voice sank in.

((And you don't even know the half of it,)) it continued flatly. ((You are
so blind sometimes, it sickens me to think I'm a part of you. Did you hear a
goddamned word she said to you since you met? Back on the road to the human
town, when the two of you were holding one another as the wagon passed us? She
said she had feelings for you, you fool, and when a woman says she has feelings
for you, it means something.

((And what about last night? I almost asked for a cigarette myself just
from watching you two. And I'll be damned if that hadn't been world-class
love-making back there. I don't mean good sex, D, I mean two hearts and souls
merged into a single entity love-making. She meant it, and you meant it, and
you just decide to walk away from it the next afternoon? BULLSHIT! Here's
what you don't know because you're too freaking STUPID to figure out: Galen
loves you.

((That's right, Galen loves you, D, only she doesn't even know it herself.
Why doesn't she know it? Because she's never been in love like this before!
How in the hell is she supposed to know what something is like if she's never
been in it? Oh, but it gets better, D, it really does. Know what is going to
happen to her now that she thinks you abandoned her? She's going to look back
on her feelings for you and get bitter, I mean making lemons seem like sugar in
comparison bitter. And so the next time she starts to experience those same
feelings of love, she'll end up thinking of you and will end up connecting the
two with unpleasant results. Great going, D, you just ruined any hope of love
for her for the foreseeable future. A love she specifically asked if you could
try to teach her so she would know what it felt like. Job well done.))

The voice echoing in his skull and his ears made him honestly and truly
consider drawing his dagger, not to silence it but to end his own life in an
attempt at atonement. How could he have missed seeing that? It made sense now
that he knew what to look for, and it was right. It was absolutely right.

And he had just thrown her love away. No, not thrown, kicked. Shoved.
Deliberately and forcefully rejected. All they had shared over the past four
days, all the little moments and looks and touches and gestures.... what had he
done? What had he done to her?

((And you know what else, D?)) it continued, seemingly oblivious to D's
sudden inner turmoil. ((You love her too, only you have your head so far up
your ass that you can't see a damn thing. How do you think you felt when you
were with Doris? Okay, so you really pooched that one, you didn't know what
you were doing and you royally blew that opportunity to share in her love. It
only took you a few hundred years to pick up on that one, it's alright.

((You then got what most others don't get in life, D, you got a second
chance at love when Leila came along. She showed you how to truly appreciate
the many aspects of love, the physical, the emotional, and the spiritual. And
just like before, you screwed that one up too when you left her. You gave her
the best night of her life and were gone in the morning, even after she helped
you learn about the error you made the first time.

((So get this, D. You must be the most fortunate sonofabitch in history,
because you got a third chance. Yup, you got a third chance at true love, and
it was with Galen. The absolute last one of your kind left, the only woman
in known history with the blood of three different species in her veins. The
odds of that are what, in the billions if not trillions? You had her, D, you
had her in your arms, you had her in bed, you had her love.... and you just
pushed her away. You blew a third chance at love, D, and this one would have
literally meant the world to you. You could have retired from hunting, as you
already killed off all your prey, and you could spend the rest of your eternal
lifespan with her at your side. How many can have a true love at their side
for damn near a literal eternity? Ageless beyond centuries, perfect beauty
unchanging with the seasons.... AND YOU FUCKING BLEW IT!))

D came dangerously close to sobbing softly as he held his hands up to his
face, feeling the burning sensation in his eyes. A pair of tears slipped out
of the corner of his eyes, glittering trails of saline that left behind pale
pink lines of color as they seared his flesh.

He had ruined it, oh he had ruined it all. How could he possibly look at
himself in the mirror ever again? He had been given three chances, met three
extremely beautiful and lovely youthful women who had wanting nothing more than
to love him. And like a fool he turned them away, and all for what? What
was it that had caused him to spurn their attentions, to leave them behind and
return to the cold and empty life of a hunter working towards a goal that would
ultimately end with his own destruction? All for what?

((D, put it down,)) it suddenly said as the dagger was slipped out of his
belt. ((You know, in another time and place I'd be cheering you on and telling
you to make it messy, but you don't want to do that just yet.))

"Why?" he asked, his voice scarcely audible even to his own ears. His
entire body was trembling now, shaking at the realization that he had destroyed
not just his life but everyone else's as well in his empty pursuit of revenge,
of vengeance against his own kind for simply existing with a hunger for blood.
How was it possible for his own existence to continue when he was clearly far
worse than any of the vampires he had slain?

((Why?)) it echoed gently. ((It's simple, D, honest. You can't change what
you've done in the past, you can't go back to be with Doris or Leila. But what
you can still do is go back to Galen.))

"What?" he whispered softly.

((You can go back to her, D, but you have to hurry,)) it explained. ((You
need to find her before she slips from your grasp forever. I think there is
still time to do so, time to find her again. And when you do, you had better
be on your knees and begging her with your entire soul for forgiveness, begging
her to give you the chance to prove your love for her now that you know what
you truly have with her. Even then that might not be enough, but at this point
you already have lost everything except that one glimmer of hope.

((She's hurt, D, she's hurt bad on the inside and probably like she's never
been hurt before. You have to find her before she tries to hurt herself. I
think she will if left alone for long enough. Granted you have me to try to
keep your dumb ass company, but if she feels truly alone now.... what will her
death matter to her? If she was ready to die earlier, think about now.))

"Galen...." he whispered softly. He looked up as he felt the first tiny
drops of rain on his face, still able to keenly feel the passage of the pair
of tears he had shed.

Tears that hadn't been shed since his mother's death.

((D, look at me,)) it said quietly. It waited until he turned his hand over
to expose the wrinkled face before continuing. ((You have a choice to make now.
You can either just sit here on your ass and do nothing, in which case I will
advocate that you slit your own throat to put us both out of your misery, or
you can get up off your ass, get back on that horse, and ride like the living
wind back to where she was and find her. Remember how she said that you were
her last hope, back in the burrow? Now she is YOUR last hope, D. Either find
her and experience true love as it was meant to be, or have the good grace to
curl up and die. Now decide.))

The dagger sliced into his soft flesh as he scrambled to his feet, cutting
a deep gash along his arm in his careless haste. He only paused long enough to
shove the weapon back into his belt before literally leaping into the saddle,
startling the mount into rearing up on his hind legs. A sharp crack of the
reins was all it took to convince the horse to thunder forward into a fierce
gallop, turning around back towards the east to head directly into the storm
coloring the horizon with jagged bolts of lightning.

And, he hoped, back towards the only thing that mattered to him now.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took him almost three hours to reach the copse of trees where he was
now standing, looking around the soaked and gloomy terrain in studious silence.
Returning to the lake had only taken thirty minutes, but of course she had
already left by then. The falling rain proved to be as much of a blessing at
it was a curse, turning the ground into a sodden mess that obscured any hints
as to which direction she had taken.

A full hour of careful searching finally revealed the shallow tracks of a
fairly light-weight individual. He doubted they would have been left at all
under normal circumstances, but now that the ground was somewhat muddy it was
far easier to leave tracks.

The rest of the time was spent following the trail, seeming to head in a
generally north-eastern direction. He had to dismount and study the tracks on
two different occasions as they seemed to fade, spending precious time trying
to pick up the trail again.

The third time, however, they simply faded out completely and even a very
intense search of the area within fifty yards produced no new footprints for
him to follow. He returned to the spot where they became too shallow to track
further and stared at the trees, wondering if that meant she was still in the
area. The rain was falling at a steady pace now, not too heavily but still
hard enough to effectively deafen him to any quiet background noise.

((D?)) it spoke up quietly as he knelt down to touch the last footprints.
((Maybe it's just me being wishful, but I think she still might be nearby. I
mean, look at the ground. It's all soft and muddy, it's almost impossible not
to leave a trail if you're simply walking through.))

"Can you sense her?" D asked as he stood up, very slowly turning around in
a full circle with his left palm held out. He didn't dare contemplate what it
would mean if he couldn't find her. He was still a hunter and she was now his
quarry, but he was hunting her for entirely different reasons than what had
driven him to find the other vampires and dunpeals.

It sighed quietly after a few minutes of concentration and focus. ((Sorry,
D, this rain is making things very difficult. I can't see anything, can't hear
anything, I don't smell anything, don't feel any unexplained heat-blooms....))

"What about the metal of her rapier?" D inquired as calmly as he could.
He was starting to become afraid now, scared of what he might find.... or fail
to find. He tried to mask his feelings as best he could, letting his armor of
isolation project a solid and steady facade for him.

((Oops, I didn't think about that, hang on,)) it replied quietly, extending
its astral senses once again. It began to project the dimensional equivalent
of radar, sending out undetectable waves of energy and trying to listen for the
unique echo of the platinum-silver amalgam that the weapon was composed of.

He said nothing as he began to sweep his arm in a slow circle again, not
sure what he would be able to say to her even if he did manage to find her. He
knew he had to apologize somehow, apologize for hurting and abandoning her, but
the words simply wouldn't form in his mind. How do you say you're sorry, how
do you ask for forgiveness and a chance for atonement when you don't even know
how to forgive yourself? His own death probably wouldn't even come close to
being a proper penance for his sin, his crime. So how could she be expected to
be able to accept his apology, to forgive him for the pain he caused her?

((D, I think I have something,)) it suddenly said, causing him to freeze in
mid-motion. ((I can't pinpoint it for you, but it's still worth checking out.
Over there by that cluster of oak trees.))

He lowered his arm to his side and began to head towards the indicated
direction. He immediately noticed that the ground here was both firmer and
more rocky than the rest of the land, meaning that tracks were less likely to
be made here. Could she have come this way? Possibly so, but he didn't dare
to hope just yet. Hope was not what he needed right now, a double-edged sword
hanging over his head that was ready to fall in an instant. He would either
find her or he wouldn't, it was that simple.

The oak trees were all fairly old, each one wider than he was and reaching
up to form the topmost layer of the overhead canopy. He stopped to examine
each one, seeing if there were any signs of claw-marks or indications that she
might have passed by here. If she was hiding high up in the trees there was
simply no way he could follow her. Granted he could probably scale his way up
to the lower branches, even in this wet weather, but he couldn't compete with
the gripping power and climbing ability of her insectoid form even if the bark
had been perfectly dry.

He couldn't find any indication that she was around, but something in the
back of his mind told him that she was here, somewhere. It wasn't a faint,
lingering thread of hope trying to claw its way up from his heart, but rather
his hunter's instincts tell him that she had to be around here somewhere.
Where else could she have gone? Underground, perhaps, but not in a rainstorm
that would pose a clear and obvious flooding hazard. Unless, of course, she
didn't care if she drowned or not, but that was not what he needed to think
about right now....

A sudden thought popped into his mind, causing him to cast a quick glance
at the western horizon. It was impossible to see where the sun was right now,
of course, but he got the impression that it was probably fairly low. The sky
was still rather dark and had been for some time, but perhaps it had gotten a
little darker in the past hour or so.

"What time is it?" he suddenly asked, looking down at his hand.

((Huh?)) it replied, clearly surprised by the question.

"How soon until sunset?" he persisted in a moderate tone.

((Hmm.... probably a good hour or so away. D, what are you thinking?))

D sighed softly and looked around the land, trying to see if anything was
out of the ordinary. "She reacts to the setting sun like I do, only stronger,"
he explained. "You might be able to pick up on that when it happens."

((Maybe,)) it hedged quietly. ((A lot can happen in an hour, however.))

He said nothing as he turned in a slow circle again, studying the trees.
She is here somewhere, he thought to himself as he narrowing his eyes. She is
not a hunter like I am, but is still a very experienced woodsman. Her skill in
hiding herself is superior to mine, and chance detection is almost impossible.
She knows my skills and she knows how much I know about her. If she doesn't
wish to be found, she will use that against me. She won't try using a cocoon
shape but will try something else. The silken with her is a highly adaptable
creature, so she knows she has options. She will remain with or near a tree
given her ability to draw strength from it. So if I were confident I wouldn't
be seen, where would I hide?

"In plain sight," D muttered very softly to himself.

((What?)) the thing asked carefully.

"She's here," he said quietly, "And I'm looking in the wrong places. If
you want to throw off a hunter, you do exactly the opposite of what they would
expect you to do...."

((Uh, you sure you're okay?)) it asked tentatively. ((Hey, wait, where are
you going?))

He said nothing as he began to circle the trees one by one. Instead of
looking up at the bark or higher up into the branches, he looked down at the
base of the tree, searching for a root-like protrusion that was just a little
shorter and stubbier than the others.

He paused as he found it on the fourth tree, neatly tucked between two
much larger root gnarls. A visual inspection showed that the grain and the
pattern of the bark matched the tree perfectly.... with the single exception of
what appeared to be a hairline seam against the trunk itself.

The bark was rough like any other as he lightly brushed his hand against
it. It didn't feel any warmer or drier than everything else, but there was a
very faint feeling that it wasn't what it seemed to be. He gently sat down on
the adjoining root and stroked the rough surface, not sure what else to do and
not wanting to forcibly violate her privacy if she didn't want to come out.

A full hour slipped past him as he sat, the only motion of his body coming
from the muscles in his arm as he brushed his hand across the stubby root-like
structure, over and over and over again. The rain continued to pour down over
everything without ceasing, soaking him down to his underwear and threatening
to penetrate the waterproof pouches that held a few alchemical items that were
dangerously reactive when exposed to moisture.

He didn't care about anything anymore at this point, knowing that she was
indeed his last hope for love, for happiness, for his soul's salvation. He
would remain here with her until the situation changed somehow, not caring if
it meant he would die here. He was already dead without her, damned by his own
conscience to the empty void of oblivion, his hand stayed from the sword that
he would use to cast himself into that pit only by the single thread of hope
that she might forgive him, that she might reach out to him and ask him to stay
with her for just a few more moments.

The tingle of the setting sun took him by surprise, causing him to shiver
ever so slightly. The bark beneath his hand seemed to shudder violently for a
moment in the same instant, bringing him a feeling of relief that he had indeed
found where she was hiding. The only unknown now was whether or not she would
continue to hide from him, to shut him out as he had her hours ago.

The realization of poetic justice possibly being served on his dark soul
was almost enough to bring him to tears again. How ironic could it be to have
sacrificed so much, to have gone through all this pain and suffering since he
killed the first vampire, only to have it end like this? To hear the voices of
all those who had sought to be close to him, the voices of all those he had
cast aside to pursue his goal, all of them silent now with the satisfaction of
seeing him so stricken by the same pain, the same rejection he had made them
experience so keenly?

He lifted his head as he felt the faintest hint of motion beneath his
ceaselessly moving fingertips, not pausing the stroking gesture as the top of
the root structure folded back. It revealed itself as a hood of sorts, very
quietly slipping down to expose a mass of soft blue-green hair. His hand came
up to touch her hair without thinking, his fingertips slipping among the fine
strands to gently brush her hair.

Time seemed to remain frozen for the longest time, stroking her hair in an
endless series of gentle motions before her head lifted up to look at him. It
was obvious she had been crying, her normally blue-green eyes almost a solid
mass of red. Not the red of her vampiric or insectoid forms, but the redness
of bloodshot eyes spilling countless tears.

He looked at her and tried to speak, his voice refusing to work as he saw
the depth of pain and sorrow in her eyes. This was his fault, this was all
his fault. She never should have been made to feel such pain, to have to bear
such an emotional burden on her innocent soul.

"D?" she breathed, her voice sounding hoarse and raw. "Why did you come
back to find me?"

Because I was wrong, D thought to himself. Because I promised to protect
you regardless. Because I hurt you. Because you asked me never to leave you.
Because I want you. Because I need you. Because....

"I love you," he said very softly.

Her breath suddenly seemed to catch in her throat, her liquid-like irises
starting to visibly ripple with microscopic disturbances. "Why.... why didn't
you say something, then?" she whispered. "Why did you leave me?"

He sighed and bowed his head, sending a small cascade of rainwater over
the brim of his hat to splash against his face like so many tears. "Because I
was a fool," he whispered back. "I didn't realize what I had until.... until
I thought you were gone. Galen.... I know there aren't any words to say that
would make up for what I've done, for how I've hurt you. All I can say is....
I love you, and I'm sorry."

Her cape seemed to shimmer slightly before returning to normal, revealing
the way she was curled up into a tight ball as she huddled against the base of
the tree. She very slowly relaxed her arms and leaned back, the blanket from
the saddle-bag neatly folded into a small square in her lap. Both the ground
blanket and her clothes were as thoroughly soaked as his clothes were, sticking
to her slender form like a second skin.

"D...." she said very quietly, her face a mask of deep uncertainty. "So
now what?"

"I don't care," he replied calmly, drawing a startled blink from her. "As
long as I have you, it doesn't matter either." He looked like he might have
said more before sighing very softly to himself, reaching out to brush the back
of his fingers against her cheek in a very soft touch.

She looked up at him, clearly on the verge of tears once more. "So what
do you want from me?" she asked in a hollow tone.

"The love you've shown me all along," he replied quietly. "The love I was
too blind to see until I saw only an empty void, the love I was too deaf to
hear until I heard only empty silence, the love I was too cold to feel until I
felt the warmth vanish from my heart. Now that I know what it's like to be
without you, even if only for a few moments.... I would rather face oblivion
than face eternity devoid of your presence in my life, your love in my heart,
and your warmth in my soul."

The soggy blanket tumbled out of her lap as she leaned over, wrapping her
arms around him in a fierce embrace. His arms settled around her shoulders a
moment later as they held one another, ignoring the chill of clammy flesh as
they pressed against one another. The sobbing started a few moments later, her
body wracked with gentle spasms as she cried into his shoulder.

A single tear slid down D's cheek as well, moving in perfect silence to
join the rest of the rain coursing down his face. The only indication that it
was different than the other droplets was the faint red line it left behind,
lightly burning his pale skin as if it were a mild acid instead of a tear.

They held one another in the rain, a gentle tempo of what some called the
tears of heaven falling around them at a steady rate. The droplets started to
become smaller and lighter as time passed, neither dunpeal moving a muscle save
for the slightly unsteady rising and falling of their chests as they breathed.
The true darkness of night enveloped them as the rain finally ceased, only the
odd glob of water dripping down from the tree above them continuing to splash
down on their bodies.

A soft rumble of thunder caused D to lift his head from her shoulder, just
slightly enough to catch a glimpse of the flickering horizon. "We should try
to find shelter," he murmured softly in her ear as he lowered his head again.
"The storm isn't over yet."

"Would it matter?" she whispered back. "We can't get soaked any worse."

"It's not the rain I'm concerned about," he replied.

She sighed and squeezed him tightly. "Let the lightning strike us," she
murmured. "I don't care anymore, just as long as I die in your arms."

He might have laughed if he wasn't so.... tired, so weary. "Didn't your
father ever warn you to be careful of what you wish for?" he said in a neutral
tone, lifting his head up just enough to look into her eyes.

She leaned back just slightly, returning his gaze with a look of slight
confusion and curiosity. "No," she said slowly. "Why would he?"

"It's an old saying," he explained. "Be careful what you wish for since
you just might get it."

She just looked at him in silence for a moment before the corners of her
mouth twitched slightly into what might have been the beginnings of a smile.
"D?" she said in a faintly amused tone. "Why now?"

He blinked and regarded her carefully. "I don't understand."

The ghost of her smile started to take on a more definitive form as she
rested her head against his shoulder again. "Of all the times in which to
remember where you put your sense of humor.... why now?" She lifted her head
back up to look at him as he laughed very softly, the almost inaudible noise
barely escaping his throat.

"I think it's your fault," he said softly, his lips starting to curl up in
a gentle smile.

"My fault?" she echoed in uncertain disbelief.

"It seems that you bring out the best in me," D said calmly, the faint
smile still present on his lips.

A delicate blue-green eyebrow was raised in remote amusement before she
started to smile gently in return. "D?" she whispered. "Are you alright? I
don't think I've ever seen you smile before."

He leaned forward, just enough to brush his lips against hers in a soft
kiss. "Until I met you, Galen, I didn't have anything worth smiling about,"
he breathed, letting his lips brush against hers as he spoke. The kiss was
deepened as she pressed against him, the contact sending the sharpest tingle
yet coursing through both their bodies.

The tingle abruptly changed a few seconds later, the ultra-fine hair on
their arms raising slightly as the sky was filled with a blinding flash for a
brief instant. The ground was shaken a few seconds later, the heavy clap of
thunder rolling over them in a poignant reminder that the storm had gotten a
second wind of sorts.

"Okay, maybe we do need to think about this one," she said quietly once
the rippling sound in the air faded away. She sighed heavily and leaned back
to look into his eyes, her own suddenly filled with an incredible amount of
sadness and weariness. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to kill me in my
sleep, by chance?" she asked, seeming to be perfectly serious.

He blinked hard at the question, trying to figure out just why the hell
she was even asking such a thing. "What?" he said, letting his state of shock
color his voice with disbelief.

"It's.... a long story, D," she said very softly. "Let's just say that I
will be in an incredible amount of pain once the sun rises, and I'd rather not
have to suffer through it again. Not unless...."

"Go on," he said softly as she trailed off.

She closed her eyes and turned her head away from him, not able to look
into his eyes anymore. "Not unless you can make it better," she whispered.
"Shielding me from the sun will only prolong the inevitable, and there's simply
no way to block out the pain, the pain of.... of being burned alive."

"Galen, what did you do?" he blurted out as his insides suddenly became as
cold as the arctic seas. He knew it was possible for dunpeals to suffer the
same fate as vampires when exposed to the sun, but only if they were already
dangerously exhausted and weakened from something else first. Something like
a toxin or a poison....

"It's not deliberate, I assure you," she said in a quiet, almost brittle
tone. "It's just my Barbaroi blood exacting a toll for remaining alive." She
opened her eyes as she felt his hand on her cheek, very gently tilting her head
up to look at him.

He opened his mouth to speak to her but was pre-empted by another bright
stroke of lightning. He waited until the sharp clap of thunder had faded from
their ears before trying to speak again. "Galen, please tell me," he said in
a very soft tone. "I don't want to lose you again, not now. Not after I've
lost so much. Please," he added in a whisper.

She looked up at him in silence, her irises starting to ripple slightly
again. "I'll.... I'll explain it in the morning before the sun rises," she
finally said. "But only if you spend the night with me, in my world."

He nodded instantly, not caring what she meant as long as he was with her.
The back of his mind was unusually persistent with a warning, however, causing
him to pause after a few seconds to really think about what exactly she might
have meant. "Galen, what...?" he started to say.

He fell silent as she leaned forward to kiss him, a soft and fairly deep
sensation that he found to be surprisingly calming. "Trust me?" she breathed
softly, her lips never leaving his.

"With my life," he replied quietly. A silent sigh of contentment rose up
from his chest as she deepened the kiss again before pulling back, very slowly
rising to her feet. He stood up with her as well, one hand absently reaching
out to steady himself against the trunk of the tree.

"Where's your horse?" she asked as she glanced around. She flinched as he
promptly made a piercing whistle, giving him a slightly disturbed look at the
volume of the call. The sound of hooves registered on her ears a few moments
later, turning around to see the mount obediently approaching them. "Alright,"
she said as she unbuckled her rapier holster from her belt. "Go ahead and get
undressed. Everything except your cape," she added.

He paused to give her a slightly uncertain look before nodding, moving
over to the mount to open up the saddle-bags. The bags were loaded over the
next few minutes with their clothes and as much of their gear as they could
manage to cram inside. His sword and her rapier were wrapped in the soaked
ground blanket and securely tied in a neat bundle that was then tied to one of
the oak trees several yards away, not wanting the metals in the weapons to be
anywhere near either them or the horse should they act as lightning rods.

The task was soon finished and the horse turned loose to meander about on
its own, leaving D and Galen standing completely naked save for the dark capes
wrapped around them like wet blankets. She smiled at him and moved over to
kiss him, very gently guiding him back until he was pressed against the trunk
of the tree. He kissed her back with gentle warmth and passion, his hands
coming up to very lightly caress her hips. He moved to slide them around to
her back when she suddenly tensed, leaning her head back to look at him.

"Don't," she said quickly. "I'm.... my back is sensitive right now," she
explained in a far more softer tone. "Please, hold me however you need to but
don't touch my back."

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"I don't know," she replied, her voice almost a whimper. "We'll just have
to see in the morning. Just hang onto my shoulders, okay?" she said as she
pressed herself against him, laying her hands on the trunk of the tree.

He nodded and put his arms around her, thinking he had a good idea of what
she had in mind. She gave him a deep kiss as she braced herself, the skin of
her hands and feet turning a dark brown as she partially assumed her insectoid
form. She waited until the gnarled claws had formed before taking a very deep
breath. It proved to be a minor mistake, as the expansion of her chest caused
her nipples to brush against his chest. The intimate contact produced a very
sharp electric sensation that almost drove the air back out of her lungs in a
soft gasp. A faint blush tinted her cheeks as she edged back a few inches to
try again, this time securing a full breath of air before reaching up to bury
her claws as deep in the bark as she could.

His eyebrows rose up in surprise as she began to very carefully climb the
tree, holding tightly onto her as he was pulled up off the ground. She halted
once she was sure they were both supported only by her claws, adjusting the
position of her legs for greater support. More dark gnarls began to form along
her lower body as she drew her legs up even higher, essentially straddling him
to keep his waist securely pinned.

((Can you command your cloak to change shape?)) she whispered to him, her
voice distorted by both the strain and her insectoid shape. He nodded to her
and she went on to explain what she wanted. ((Form it into a padded brace for
you to sit on, and feel free to further anchor yourself with supports.))

He thought about it for a moment before he closed his eyes, turning his
focus inward. The force of his will began to manifest after a few seconds, the
bottom hem of his cape drawing up and bunching together beneath his backside.
A sort of shelf protruded forward, hardening to the tensile strength of wood
after a few seconds. A series of brace supports began to grow out from the
bark-facing side of his cape, looking like a series of short spines that were
driven into the wood. The effort of focusing his will was exhausting, but he
kept at it until the entire fabric of his cape had solidified into a rigid but
still fairly padded configuration.

An ominous creaking sound rose up around them as he carefully settled his
weight on the structure, seeming to be little more than a rudimentary chair.
The structure held firmly, however, allowing him to relax and ease the pressure
on Galen's shoulders. He knew that the cape couldn't hold out forever, but it
would still retain its shape without added concentration until the sun rose.

She purred softly as virtually his entire weight was taken off of her,
allowing her to adjust her positioning yet again. She leaned into him for a
deep kiss, moving her hips around until she could feel his slowly-reacting
manhood pressing against the delicate softness of her pubic hair. A simple
empathic command to the silken was all it took to gently cajole the creature
into responding as well.

D tilted his head slightly to the side as her cape suddenly started to
stretch and expand, very carefully molding itself around their bodies in what
felt to be a thin shell. He remained as still as possible, letting his legs
dangle freely as they were gently pressed against the tree. The edges of her
hood started to spread out as well, flowing over the back of her head and his
arms until it blotted out everything in inky darkness.

He heard a soft giggle in his ear as she leaned forward, resting her cheek
against his and hugging him as tightly as she could. A series of hard cracks
and snaps echoed rather loudly inside the confines of the cocoon, seeming to
rival the rumblings of thunder as the storm continued to approach. A quick
glance upwards revealed that they were completely encased except for a very
narrow hole, presumably for air and ventilation.

"So what do you think?" she whispered quietly in his ear, her voice back
to normal now that she didn't need to focus so hard on her insectoid form.

"Cozy," he commented, letting his lips tease her ear. He was rewarded
with a very soft giggle in his own ear and a playful thrust of her hips against
his, further increasing the feeling of heat building up in his loins.

"Think you can sleep like this?" she inquired as the tip of her tongue
started to caress his ear.

He closed his eyes at the deliciously warm sensation, not being able to
really see much of anything anyway. He paused as he heard a soft sound start
up, realizing a moment later that it was a light rain starting to come down
once again. The sound of it hitting the cocoon was decidedly unusual, but it
certainly wouldn't be bothersome enough to prevent him from sleeping. That he
was in a sort of sitting position and had maybe an inch of wiggle room was a
different issue entirely, but it wasn't any worse than sleeping buried in the
ground. In fact, now that he thought about it, it was actually better....

"I don't think I'll have any objections," he murmured softly. His arms
were still around her shoulders and rather firmly encased by the cocoon walls,
leaving him very little room to caress her skin. He settled for working his
fingertips in slow circles as best he could, allowing his lips and tongue to
mimic the delightful actions of her own on his ear.

He heard her laugh very softly in his ear before her hips moved against
him again, sliding around in a gentle pattern until he found himself fully
aroused and pressed up against her sheath. He couldn't repress the shiver of
pure delight as she very lightly nibbled on the pointed tip of his ear as she
brought herself forward, very slowly encasing him within her honeyed depths.

"Still think you can sleep like this?" she inquired in a wickedly playful
tone as she settled against him, squeezing him with her internal muscles.

It took him a moment to remember how to use his voice. "You're kidding,
right?" he said in an incredulous tone.

"Well, if you don't want to try...." she said as she slowly began to edge
back, withdrawing him from her depths. She gasped softly as he thrust forward,
burying himself within her warmth once again before easing back to draw her
back down with him.

"Galen...." he murmured very softly. "You know this can't last, right?"

He was answered with a soft purr of delight, her lips roaming around the
edge of his ear as she hugged him as best she could. "I just want you inside
me, D," she whispered. "Just don't leave me, okay?"

"Galen.... I love you," he said simply, suddenly feeling another tear
threatening to well up.

"Then love me, D," she replied with a gentle squeeze of her sheath. "Love
me all night long, with your body and your heart, so that I can wake up in the
morning and say that I was right, that every morning you wake me up is better
than the last one."

He sighed quietly and simply held her, content for the moment to simply
enjoy the gentle warmth and passion of being inside her. He wanted to ask if
she felt the same way, if she could still love him after all that he had done
to her.... but he was still afraid of the answer.

The thing in his hand said that she loved him and didn't know it yet, just
as he wasn't fully aware that he loved her. Perhaps the morning would bring
her the realization that she needed, that they both needed to put the pain of
their unknown feelings behind them. For now, however, it was enough for him
to be with her, to be in her arms, in her body, in her cocoon-like world.

Even if things would change in the morning.

The moderate rain against the cocoon and the gentle rumbles of thunder
proved to be far more relaxing than either one had imagined, lulling them into
a sort of light slumber even as their bodies remained merged together as one
and bathed in the unique warmth they had to offer one another.