I couldn't go back to sleep in the end. I wanted to sleep for at least a few more hours but instead I stayed up and watched the sun turn the light in my home from a light blue through the morning's clouds, to a warm orange as it reached higher into the sky.

Larten...the...vampire.

I chuckled to myself. It was still hard to believe, it felt as though the other night was just a really vivid fever dream. But it was real, I'm sure I'll get used to having a living, breathing, myth, staying with me in no time at all...

Anyway, he was definitely sleeping by now and wouldn't rise until sundown at least. I would have busied myself with cleaning up the debris left in my house from last night if Larten hadn't cleaned it all up already.

I shook my head.

Everything Larten has shown me about himself up until now has been completely unexpected. I can't seem wrap my mind around him. I've realized that at some points I've nearly been thinking of him as just another man, and almost acknowledging him as such; rather than a violent monster that sucks blood, like I had at the beginning. Though...I can't very well be blamed for that; given the circumstances of our initial encounter.

Still, there's no denying it; he is...very intelligent, and pragmatic. I almost find myself admiring him just from hearing him speak or watching the way he holds himself. Disciplined and calm. Such a composure that I, as a hunter, can appreciate. Perhaps...we're not that different from one another...or perhaps I'm flattering myself. Comparing myself to the instincts of a vampire might be stretching it a bit thin.

Well, in any case If I ever find myself feeling inferior I can always hearken back to my memories of him almost passing out on my floor. I laughed darkly to myself.

Suddenly my inner monologue was interrupted and there was a firm knock at my door.

'Must be someone from town.' I thought as I walked towards the door, I made a quick look around before opening the door, just to make sure there was nothing left out of place that I'd have to explain.

I opened the wooden door and the warm light of the morning sun hit me.

Before me stood a tall, broad, man with strong features. He had kind brown eyes, wrinkles framed them as he smiled to greet me. Warm black hair covered his head and a good portion of his face in a thick beard. He also had on a hefty looking gray apron, useful for protecting one from the intense heat of a smelter. He didn't cover up my entire doorway but a couple more inches to his height and width and he probably could have. He was a familiar face though...

"Morning hunter, my name is Amos. I'm the ironsmith from the village and I-"

"Oh Amos, I remember you, I've had you make me arrowheads and other small repairs a few times before." I said.

The village is pretty small, there isn't really a mayor or a sole leader of any sort. The village is pretty co-op in that sense, led by a group of prominent settlers instead of just one person. Amos, thanks to the importance of his job and-let's be honest-his tall stature, is one of these people.

Amos smiled a bit awkwardly "Y-yes that was me. But the reason I came to you is..." he shuffled a bit worriedly before continuing "...you probably know about the killings and disappearances in our village...right?"

His deep voice contrasted his nervousness. A big man like him, to still be visibly shaken up the morning after the chase last night was amazing to me. Amos is sweet that way, he's visibly such a large and imposing man, but once you get to know him he's really just a shy fella.

...living up here all alone...I never really faced the fear that people had in them.

I took a deep breath and replied "Yes...yes of course I do."

Amos continued "Well there was a sighting last night..."

I simply stood and listened intently as my body warmed in the light, we were speaking of them but the monsters in the night seemed leagues away

"...we caught one of the monsters in the dead of night fleeing from one of the houses...and by 'we' I mean 'I'...and by 'one of the houses' I mean 'my...house'..." Amos grimaced nervously.

I leaned back, eyebrows raised. I was feigning surprise, I knew it was Larten they had all chased last night, but I couldn't very well mention that the real culprit was in my backyard. I wish I could tell him, something to reassure him. What made it worse was that I actually knew Amos. Not extremely well...but well enough to know that he's a single father...with a little girl to take care of...

"Your little girl...is she...?" I questioned.

His eyes widened, and a small reassuring smile appeared on his face, Amos waved his hands and shook his head "Oh no, no, she's fine. I managed to scare the thing off when I went to go check on her and saw it standing there, over her. I started yelling pretty loud and that startled it, it ran for the window pretty quickly."

Now I was really confused. What the hell was Larten doing messing around with this small family? And most importantly with Amos' little girl?

"I'm glad you asked though..." Amos smiled at me "ah...but then in all the commotion a lot of others woke up and I let them in on what happened. We quickly got together and went after the creature through the village. Luckily, Florence has been sitting on his porch with a rifle in his hand every night for a moment just like this one, and he managed to set some shots in the monster as it hit the ground before it took off towards the forest." Amos shook his head but smiled in appreciation "Crazy old man is a good shot. I'm lucky he lives just across from me or we would have lost the thing, they really are fast. Anyway, we tried tracking him through the forest, he was bleeding well enough but it was night, and we were all on edge..."

I grimaced at the recounting of Larten being shot, I remembered being so concerned when I first saw the blood seeping through his buttoned shirt. And how taken aback I was when I saw his wound had completely healed. He would have stopped bleeding rather quickly I'dimagine.

Amos cleared his throat "...and pretty shaken up. We lost him a ways away from here, where you live. So I wanted to ask you, you didn't see anything did you? Hear anything maybe?"

I prepared myself to give him a lie. It was all I could offer at the moment.

I crossed my arms and shook my head "No...no nothing. I only saw the light from your torches as you walked through the forest last night. But I didn't realize what it was that was going on."

Amos nodded "Alright, well I guess that's that then. Listen, I know you like your space, living way out here and all, but given everything that's been going on...I think it's probably safer for you if you come stay inside the village. I-well I mean we-...we all think it's probably best if you don't stay out here all alone."

I'm surprised. I never held any close ties with any of the villagers, it's strange hearing Amos say that they all agree I should come stay inside the village...though his stuttering suggest perhaps it's not the entire village that thinks this.

I chuckled lightly "Don't worry, Amos. I'll be fine. I'm a hunter, I have guns lining each of my walls. And anyway I can't be too far from the forest, It's where I work. I gotta make a living despite all the monsters running around."

I tried to lighten the mood but Amos remained rather serious.

"You're sure?" he asked.

"Yes I'm sure. Come on now don't tell me you're really this worried about me."

Amos laughed and nervously scratched the back of his head "Well I- well I just wanted to offer. But I suppose you're right, you know how to handle yourself. My home is always open if you do decide you want to stay somewhere slightly more protected, and with more people around. Strength in numbers and all that...anyway, keep an eye out. You'll let me know if you see or hear anything out of the ordinary right?"

"Of course," I nodded "now go on Amos, I'll see you around yeah?"

"Right, yeah. Just- take care of yourself, hunter."

And with that we exchanged our last smiles, once more I tell him not to worry. Amos turns to leave, his large frame disappearing down the road. My doorway suddenly feeling impossibly empty.

I took a deep breath. I closed the door and decided I'd go hunting to clear my head.

I reached for my bow this time, and headed out.

The calm practiced breathing and patience the bow required was a welcomed change of pace. I allowed the calm winds and sounds of distant rustling leaves to take over my senses. My breath invisible and my steps silent. The snap of a twig. Small hurried steps and a pause. My eyes snap open and I head towards the sound. I reach a small clearing and find a fox...it's fur just barely beginning to turn white with the coming of winter. I lower the arrow I had readied, deciding just to watch this time. I crouch low and the fox sniffs it's surroundings, noticing an alien scent but not being able to pinpoint where it's coming from. It's ears perked up and it finally found me. In an instant it's eyes met mine, and we both froze. It's body shifted like a branch in the wind, preparing to bolt. It felt like an eternity that we were staring at each other before it finally did run into the brush, and I realized I had been holding my breath the entire time.

I let out a deep sigh; hunter, hunted, I was starting to wonder if I was still the former. It's hard to believe there are monsters lurking in my forest...

I still had quite a few hours before sundown after that. I was too distracted to catch anything myself for dinner, but luckily one of the traps I had set had a nice plump pheasant for me.

I was enjoying the crunching of the forest ground beneath my boots as my made my way back home, the sun was finally beginning to set. It felt as though the day had wore on forever. I stayed home all day, I didn't dare go into the village. I had never had to keep a secret before and I was afraid I might let slip that I had a vampire in my closet to the next person who approached me.

I made my way around to the side of my cabin, where I had a small camp set up for preparing game and set about preparing the pheasant for dinner later. I sat down on a down-turned log in front of the fire I had lit and began meticulously removing the feathers.

I actually felt calm, everything felt as if back to normal again...then I heard the crunching of someone else's footsteps.

Larten rounded the corner from the back of the house and walked towards me. I hadn't realized how low the sun was already. There was still the tiniest bit of light out though, so I recognized Larten quickly. He looked like he had just gotten up. His suit was a little out of place and his crop of orange hair was disheveled. It made him look so young it was...very interesting to see...

"Hey, good morning. No wait, goodnight? I'm still confused about that part." I greeted him as he came closer to the fire.

He stepped in close and the fire illuminated his pale face "Just a 'hey there' or a 'hello' would suffice." he smiled tightly.

He quickly ran a hand through his hair and crossed his arms behind his back...and cleared his throat.

I knit my brows together "Something on your mind?"

He started slowly "I just...I simply wished to..."

I gave him in an expectant look, I have to say seeing him struggle to find words was entertaining. As much as I didn't know him I could tell pretty easily that this wasn't something he usually did.

"I wanted to thank you..." He finally spat out "...what you have done- I am not certain if you are insane or simply that brave. To help me when you could have just as easily given into fear and killed me. And to have patience with me when you could have just as easily sent me on my way..."

I grinned "Well, I'd say I'm equal parts insane and benevolent. But I am glad you're finally impressed my incredible selflessness. Maybe next time you have second thoughts about me, just remember the mercy I showed you." I winked at him. Obviously having a laugh.

Larten sighed painfully and rolled his eyes, plopping himself down on the opposite side of the fire "I knew I was going to regret this...maybe I should not have said anything..."

I shook my head slowly "tsk, tsk, tsk, after everything I've done for you...how ungrateful..." I mocked him.

Larten suddenly stood up and with a whip of his long cape and a huff, flashed me a look and started stomping away from me.

"Hey, where are you going!?" I started laughing heartily "I was only joking with you!"

Larten paused and I stayed chuckling, my hand on my chest in an attempt to steady myself.

"If only the solution to the problems in your village were as simple as having a clever tongue..."Larten turned to face me once more, a grave expression on his face...which...really only made me laugh harder.

"I would have gone home long ago." he finished.

I snorted "Oh come now, what did you expect when you decided to stay with a hermit? They can't help but be a little 'off their rocker'. Now get back here," I motioned for him to take a seat once again, a handful of feathers in my hand "I have something to tell you this time."

Larten grimaced but returned to his position on the other side of the fire.

I had resumed plucking the bird in my hand -which I had forgotten about, thanks to my teasing-

"Someone from the village came by this morning..." I said, throwing a clump of feathers to the ground next to me "A smithy, Amos..."

"Amos?" Larten questioned.

"Yes, a friend. He was telling me the story of your little run-in with the villagers last night. He told me he found you in his little girl's bedroom," I threw another clump of feathers to the ground, raising a brow at him "care to explain a little bit about that? Why were you in his house?"

Larten stared at me intently, he ran his fingers through his orange crop of hair and spoke "My intent was not one of harm-"

"And so what was your intent then?" I questioned him. The bird now featherless in my hand, I reached for a small carving knife I had embedded in the log I was sitting on. Pulling it out with a satisfying *shk!*

"...I wanted to find out who the next victim would be." He explained.

I started to open up the pheasant from the breastbone and made my way down, careful not to cut the intestines inside...

"What? And how would you find that out? That doesn't really make any sense. It's not like they attack with warning." I shook my head not understanding. I finished cutting and stuck the knife back into the log with a firm whack.

Larten stood and I watched him walk around the fire towards me "It may seem that way, but the vampaneze..." he began "...since they kill when they drink, unlike my kind, they use different methods of acquiring their prey..."

"Ok...?" I said as he took a seat next to me and I began removing the insides of the pheasant.

He knit his fingers together as he explained "...they mark a human they plan to feed on, and watch them for a few days at least, sometimes longer."

"And what does this mark look like?" I asked. A soft squelching sound following my question as I didn't care to stop preparing the bird and began pulling out its insides.

"The mark is three scratches in the skin, parallel to one another. Like this..." Larten reached across me and took my bloodied hand, turning it slightly he smeared his pinky finger with the blood covering my exposed palm. He then proceeded to draw me an example on the palm of his hand. Three red lines, parallel to one another...Larten held his palm up to me so I could study it.

"The mark is normally placed on the face, where it can easily be spotted." Larten raised his hand to my face and raked the nail of his index finger along the soft skin of my cheek, "Around here...almost above the cheekbone." I could feel how small the incisions would be; narrow and vertical, resting just below my eye "...practically invisible to anyone who does not know where to look, or what to look for." he said.

Larten removed his hand and I reached up to touch my cheek, there were no cuts but the feeling of his finger lingered against my skin.

"And did you see this mark on his little girl?" I asked slightly worried.

Larten's hand, back to it's resting position on his lap "...No, no I did not."

I breathed a sigh of relief...

"But-" Larten went on "I was not able to check the father."

"Amos..." I stood slowly and moved over to a small work table I had to the right of the fire "he found you and you had to run..."

"before I could be certain, yes. That is actually what I wanted to follow up on tonight."

Normally I would begin packing the empty cavity in the bird with dry grass in order to help preserve it. But thanks to the cool night air, there was no need. I simply set it on the table to dry, I turned away from it and placed my hands on my hips.

"I'll come with you."

Larten stood and said plainly "Alright."

"Oh come on, won't you just- wait did you say 'alright'?" I was flabbergasted to say the least.

Larten tightly smiled down at the ground "Yes, indeed I did. I thought about what we talked about last night and decided perhaps it would be best if we worked together from now on. I brought you into this and it would not be fair of me to leave you to your own devices after all that has transpired between us. And...you have been living in this forest and among these people, your expertise and insight could be helpful."

"And I have guns."

"Yes, and you have guns."

I laughed triumphantly "Good. This is good. I'm glad you decided this. I thought you were going to force me to start wooing you just so we could get somewhere. Alright we should head out now, I'll just throw this inside..."

Larten simply sighed at my rambling. But suddenly his brows knit together "Woo...?" he shook his head.

I didn't hear him and instead continued talking "Alright, Amos probably isn't asleep yet so I'll just knock on his door and talk to him, you can stay back and look for the mark when he answers..."

Larten swallowed and cleared his throat "Ah, yes. That seems fine. If he is marked there will not be much time to waste. I must see him tonight."

I swung my rifle over my shoulder and tugged on my boots "Let's get going then."

I started down the path to reach the village.

Larten watched you for a moment before following. He sighed deeply, a pensive look on his face. He felt relieved that he had revealed his decision to trust you and allow you to assist him, but he couldn't help but continue to feel a little apprehensive.

Then his face scrunched up again...

"Woo?" he shook his head once more as he whispered to himself.

'Another one of her unfunny "jokes" no doubt.' he thought to himself, before finally following behind you.

[Authors Notes: sup it's me again. here with another chapter for my fic based on Cirque Du Freak. yep I have not forgotten haha. Anyway, yeah this is the kind of person the hunter is. A sarcastic, joker. Living alone for so long, I mean you're gonna have more than a few jokes you've been waiting to tell. Anyway I hope this chapter isn't too...painful...to read haha, i tried to stay serious! I really did! I had fun messing around with these characters and fleshing out the hunter's personality. Also, hey a long chapter!]