Cypress Alexander Whitemane, a quarter Native American child, one eighth from each of his parents. But no one ever questioned that. He took inspiration from that and poured a generous helping into his scenarios for game night. His character, a Shadow Worgen named Haze, was based upon warriors from his mother's blood-lines in the Tribal Nations of the North American Plains. Haze an eighth level Shadow Assassin, which proved to be a mathematical challenge for Cypress, one that the boy thoroughly enjoyed.

The young boy eagerly awaited five in the afternoon, when his friends Azure, Winter, Luna, and Luna's girlfriend Nora would arrive. He looked out of his bedroom window and saw that the rain wasn't going to be letting up, "Too bad vampires can't cross running water," He sighed, "I kinda hoped for her to show up."

"Hoped for whom to show up," Ivy asked stopping in her brother's bedroom doorway, "it's a little too early for Melanie Malachite to be showing up for game night, don't you think?" She chuckled.

Her brother almost gagged, "Blech, don't even joke about that, sis." He protested. "I'm helping her in Miss. Nikos' math class, not trying to win her over with the power of numbers."

Ivy chuckled, "I know, but a little optimism never hurt, little brother." There was a knock at the door, "Sounds like Umbra's here."

Cy gathered everything up, "I'm right behind you, sis."

The siblings made their way to the living room and Cy got everything laid out on the coffee table. Ivy opened the door, "Hey, Ivy," Said a young man only a few years younger than Ivy holding two bags of food in each of his arms, "I got the grub and the rest of the party here too."

Ivy looked out the door, "My god, you're all soaked," She said, "Come in and I'll start some water for some hot drinks."

Ruby hated it when it rained. She looked out the window at the pouring torrent from on high. She had lived through several lifetimes, one of them a lifetime of stormy days, and never could she get over how boring it was being stuck inside on a rainy day. She looked over the small arrangement of books she had on the shelf in the old house's living room, "Read it, read it, couldn't get past the epilogue, weak synopsis," She droned on out of boredom as she analyzed her miniscule collection of books, "Ugh, this is torture." She threw her head back, "I'm bored!" She said raising her voice. She looked all around the house and found some old games she'd acquired that required more than one player, "Ugh, I've never found anything fun about these games without someone to play them with." She continued looking through the house, this time to see if some sort of chore existed that would occupy her. "Ugh, everything is already spotless, and I just gave this place a fresh coat of paint a few days ago."

She stomped into her room stood at the foot of her bed, fell backward onto the mattress and let out a loud growl of frustration, "GRAH! There is NOTHING to do!" She sat up and looked around her room. Her eyes fell on the bag of clothes that Cy had left her, "I guess a change of clothes would do nicely."

Cypress served a cup of hot tea to his friend Winter, "Thank you, Cypress," She said. Winter was the heiress to Schnee Enterprises, a company that had made a huge success over the years in the field of mass production. Everything from auto parts to laptop computers came off the assembly line with the familiar Schnee Family snowflake embossed on the package. Winter's father, Minze, had run the company successfully over the years, reclaiming its former glory as only a full-blooded Schnee could.

The next cup went to Luna, the pink and purple clad goth accepted it. "Thanks Cy." Luna had been adopted by one of the local families known for their involvement in the world of Law Enforcement. Her adoptive sister was none other than Umbra's betrothed. She and Cy were kindred spirits in a way, both of them without parents, but they had family that loved them very much.

The third cup, containing hot cocoa, went to Luna's girlfriend Nora Valkyrie, "Thank you~!" Nora was a sophomore at Citadel High School. She first met Luna at a local Halloween store, and they fell for each other pretty hard. Luna's adopted family was uneasy at first, but when they found out that Nora was in the same situation as Luna, they were more comfortable about the arrangement.

The fourth cup went to Umbra, "My thanks, little dude." Umbra was the assistant manager of the local book shop. His fiancé, Lieutenant Ferrina Ochre of the Vale Police Department, was on call that night and couldn't join them.

"Looks like the storm hasn't stalled out," Ivy said as she brought some blankets out of her room. She passed them around, "These should help warm you all up." She looked to her brother, "By the way, I saw that a few of my old things don't fit anymore. Did you have anything to do with that, Cypress?"

Cy only looked at her and nodded, "I saw someone in the park and she needed clothes," He said only telling half of the truth, "I remember you saying you wanted to give away some of the clothes you couldn't wear anymore… so I decided…"

"You decided to take those clothes to her so she could get better use out of them than I could." Ivy said smiling, "Cy, you're definitely a step ahead of me. I was going to donate them to the hospital when I went back on Monday. But, I guess giving them to someone who needed them was a good idea too. So, that means you're off the hook for doing something selfless." She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a mug full hot tea.

"And I gave her a few things from my old clothes too." The young boy added, "She looked like she was around my body type."

"None the less," Ivy said sipping from her mug, "you did something most boys your age wouldn't have done. For that, I'm proud of you."

Cy smiled as he took a sip from a cup of hot cocoa he'd poured for himself. "So," Winter asked, "What game are we starting with tonight?"

Cy looked to Umbra who nodded, "Hold onto your ponytail, Schnee dudette," The laid back man said as he pulled out his tablet, "because Dungeon Master Obsidia is gonna totally rock your world."

Ruby looked at herself in the mirror. She'd changed out of her previous outfit and into a white blouse with a large rose silkscreened onto the back with black denim jeans. She hugged herself and inhaled, filling her nostrils with the smell of freshly washed cotton. The smell made her mind run wild, it made her remember her childhood, a point in her life that felt like an eternity ago. She remembered wearing a simple gown made of fine linen that kept her cool in the summer months and kept her warm under a blanket in the dead of winter. Her thoughts drifted to her parents and half-sister. A tear rolled down her cheek, that hadn't happened so long that felt almost alien to her. "What's happening to me?" She asked, "That boy has something to do with it, I just know it." She looked out the window at the rain that was still steadily falling, "I'll look into these sensations later," she sighed, "the way it looked the last two nights, he's not going anywhere anytime soon."

She walked over to the bag and looked through it some more. She found a white fitted sheet under the clothes. She stretched it and looked at the large mattress on her bed. "I suppose this will feel better than just the mattress." She said as she stretched the sheet from corner to corner on the mattress. She tugged it until it felt taut. She took an old quarter from a night stand she'd liberated from an old furniture store back when the inner-city had been closed off and bounced it off of the mattress, "I've still got it. She'd be proud." She wiped another tear from her eye.

She went back to the bag and looked for anymore bed linens. To her mild satisfaction, there was also a white sheet and comforter to go with the fitted sheet. She went back to the bed and put both on over the fitted sheet and mattress. "I should probably thank him," She said, "after all, he went out of his way to bring me these."

Ruby returned to the bag. She resumed rummaging through the contents. There were several shirts, a few more pairs of jeans, a black night shirt, a pair of rose spotted pajama pants, and a small sleep mask with a pair of red eyes on it. She giggled at how infantile yet befitting to her tastes the clothes looked. She looked at the rest of the contents; it was several pairs of young lady's undergarments. She blushed fiercely, "I really hope that runt didn't do anything unsavory or ungentlemanly when he found these."

Then she remembered how he froze up when she wrapped her arms around his waist. The wide, fearful eyes that accompanied his slightly shaking body, told her that he was more modest than anything. She then remembered his soft, light green eyes, full of innocence and a want to do the right thing. She felt her cheeks heating up, "No," She said, "no, no, no. I'm not falling for a boy who is so perplexing." She huffed and crossed her arms. She looked at bag and noticed a small rectangular object under the remaining garments.

Ruby's curiosity was peaked. She walked over to the bag and picked up the object. To her discovery, it was a small leather bound book. "Huh," She grunted in confusion, "This is unexpected." She opened the cover and saw it was hand-written in what she could only assume was Cypress' handwriting. "His handwriting is actually better than most men's handwriting these days." She said taking note of the neatness of the letter spacing and the words. Another thing that caught the young vampire's eye was the complexity of the words used in the story. She rushed downstairs and sat on a small sofa where she normally did her reading and opened the book again. "Let's see what he's capable of writing at his age." She said as she began reading from the first page.

"Are you serious?" Azure groaned, "I swear the dice are against me tonight. Last time I was rolling fifteens and higher," He took a sip of cocoa and got up ending his turn. The group had been playing Dungeons and Dragons for an hour and so far, the group's progress through the story Cy and Umbra had concocted was slow at first, but it was progressing just as the two had figured.

Winter looked to Cy and Umbra, "Think we should stop here for the night?" She asked, "After all, Azure could probably do with a break from the constant rolling of numbers lower than eleven."

Cy chuckled, "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

Umbra smiled as he put his copy of the story away along with his books and guides, "I think we've hit a decent stopping point too. We do tend to leave the game after about three hours, yeah?"

"Yeah, and then the rest of the night stays fun," Ivy smiled, "What should the next game be?"

"I say we take a snack break," Cypress said, "I mean it'd suck if all that food went to waste."

Ruby'd read a good portion of the story Cy had written. She was very much ensnared by the story. She'd never thought that the written works of a child a fraction of her age would be so talented in the art of written word. "Wow," She whispered in marvel at the story as the events played out in her head. The girl looked at the clock on the wall, "Almost nine o'clock?" She walked over to the window and looked outside, "Looks like it's letting up a bit. But, will I be able to head over there without crossing any running water?"

Ruby hurried back up to her room and looked through the bag once again. Inside was an old rain poncho. "Not really what I was expecting," She said to herself, "But I haven't got any choice left."

The vampire grabbed her cloak, put on the poncho, and ran out the door at a blistering pace. She ran through the forest and crossed the bridge at an old dam made by a beaver that used to reside within before moving to find a new home in the forest. Ruby ran down the path at full speed, tearing across the street and cutting through the alleyways to avoid detection. Finally, she made it to the wall leading straight up to Cypress' room. She gazed up at the window, "He's probably not in his room," She said to herself, "He said he'd be having company over tonight." She decided to take the risk, "Guess I'm going in through the front door then."

She walked around to the front of the building and stopped a few feet from the door. She looked through the glass panes, took a deep breath, and exhaled, "You can do this, Ruby," She muttered aloud.

Ruby strolled through the doors and was greeted by Mr. Viridian at the front desk, "Well good evening, Miss." The doorman said, "And how can I help you this evening?"

Ruby looked at him and asked, "I'm looking for a young boy who lives here named Cypress," She said, "What room does he live in?"

Mr. Viridian looked at the girl, "How do you know young Cypress?" He asked.

Ruby maintained her composure, "He bumped into me a couple of days ago at the park," She said, "I told him I needed clothes. I live out there in a hidden shelter. I have nowhere else to go." She bit her lip and gave a convincing sniffle, "When he gave me these new clothes, he told me where I could find him if I ever needed any other help. The rain kept coming down and my shelter started leaking… and… and…" She covered her face to add to her performance.

Mr. Viridian was wise enough to know how easily a homeless child especially a teenager could pull a fast one on an elderly person, especially if they were a gypsy. But Ruby didn't strike him as a gypsy, and vagrants wanting to pull something would normally do it in the shadowy catacombs of a network of alleyways with back up waiting, not inside the door of a hotel in plain view of a security camera. He sighed heavily, "The boy you're looking for is in room three twenty four up on the third floor." He pointed her toward the elevator, "Elevator's down at the end of the hall. Press the number three and when the doors open, walk out and turn to the left, follow the hall and turn right. From there, it's the third door on the left."

Ruby sniffled as she peaked through her fingers at him, "Th-thank you sir," She said feigning meekness. She turned and headed down the hallway, keeping her façade until she pressed the up button on the elevator and walked inside. From there she sighed and giggled, "I can't believe how easy that was."

Back at the front desk, Mr. Viridian chuckled, "That was either the sweetest homeless teen girl in the world, or I'm the biggest sap for the old guilt routine."

Cypress and the others were just finishing up their snacks. Nora gave an audible belch that caused everyone to stifle a giggle. Winter sighed in disgust, "Must you be so boorish, Nora," She asked.

"What, it's a compliment to burp in some cultures as a sign that the food was good." The redhead giggled. "

Cypress looked to Winter and shrugged, "She does have a point, to an extent." He pointed out.

"Well, this isn't a Japanese noodle bar or restaurant," Winter countered.

There was a knock at the door. Everyone turned toward it. "Who could that be at this late hour," Ivy asked as she headed toward the door. She turned the knob and opened it. On the other side, she was greeted by a young girl with dark hair, pale looking skin, and silver eyes wearing an old rain poncho, "Can I help you?" She inquired.

"Um, does a boy named Cypress live here?" She asked in a mildly frightened tone.

"That's… my little brother," Ivy answered, "How do you know him?"

Cy peaked from behind his sister and his eyes went wide, "This is the girl I told you about," He said, "The one I gave those clothes to yesterday."

Ivy looked to her brother and then to the girl, "Well, I wasn't expecting the one person you donated clothing to, to track down where we live, Cypress." She said in a stern tone.

Ruby frowned in disappointment at her actions, "I'll go, sorry to…" Ivy stopped her by putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I'm not going to turn you away seeing as you've come all this way," Ivy said, "Come in, I'll get some tea and something for you to eat."

"That… won't be…" Ruby stuttered.

"I insist," Ivy smiled as her tone mellowed.

Ruby gulped, "O-okay," She stepped in through the door and looked to see the guests Cy'd mentioned the previous night. Out of all of them, she recognized Umbra from her venture into the bookstore a few months prior. Her eyes moved toward Winter, My God, she thought, She's like her twin.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Ruby," Cypress said, "Ruby, these are my friends, Winter Schnee II, Luna L'Amour, her girlfriend Nora Valkyrie, and my best friend Azure Aquio. And you already know Umbra Obsidia."

"Hey," Umbra said pointing at the girl, "you're the girl I met in the Manga section who I gave that blue berry muffin to."

Ruby smiled, "Y-yeah, that… that was." She said nervously.

Ivy came back from the kitchen, "Here you are, a cup of hot tea with honey, and a plate of chocolate chip cookies for our newest guest." She placed the cup and the plate on the table.

Ruby took off the poncho and handed it to Cy, "What do I do?" She asked the boy in a fearful whisper, "Vampires can't eat human food."

Cy frowned, "Just grin and bear it," he whispered, "if you can't keep it down, I'll have no choice but to spill the beans."

Ruby gulped and sat down in front of the place setting. She stared at the food and trembled, Well, here goes everything, all my secrets revealed after a millennium. She reached out and picked up a cookie, Farewell freedom, She took a bite, chewed and gave a hard swallow. To her surprise… the bit of cookie stayed down.

A/N: Well, that's the best I could put together after a rather grueling month. For those of you wanting me to post updates for this more frequently, I stated before that this will only be updated at the start of every month. I'm struggling right now to pump out two chapters a month with my story Melting the Ice as it is. Please accept that until I free up time in my schedule that I'll only update this around the first Thursday or Friday of every month.

In the meantime, I'll bring up an old reference to an old Looney Tunes cartoon that I made in the last chapter, "Paperboy in the Sixth." This classic line comes from the 1949 short entitled Porky Chops, I highly recommend looking it up on YouTube or a website dedicated to classic cartoons as well as other classic animated cartoons. Well, going to bed, long day at work tomorrow.

'Til next time,

~Cluny