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In many ways the last millennium passed quickly for Aedwaerth. Life and change whipped into a frenzy of activity all around him though he remained aloof, almost completely separate. His consciousness has yet to be totally unfurled as bloodlust still dominates most of his decision making. His life is a constant loop of feeding, running, spying.

He has no qualms about peeping in on the lives of the humans he protects. He considers it a transaction, as simple as one service exchanged for another; he eliminates murderers, rapists, vagabonds and villains for the vicarious comfort of partaking in their daily lives. His voyeuristic tendencies leave him among kings and commoners, drunks and priests.

He's become a student of humanity, though he wouldn't call himself that. The thing he delights most in is the traveling bard or minstrel. He'd only experienced good music once as a human. His meagre tribe had little time for it, but a traveling musician made his way into his father's hearth when he was a boy. The memory is dim, but powerful; it made such an impression on Aedwaerth as to remain in his brain through the fires of the change. So sometimes he will follow the traveling musicians of the fair isle for months at a time, protecting them from thievery, until he can regurgitate every word and note in their lexicon by memory.

A modern-day Psychiatrist would say that all this peeping is unhealthy but Freud hasn't been born yet and Aedwaerth cares little for anything that doesn't bring him happiness or fulfillment. One thing he has come to realize is that he is a monstrously selfish creature. He lives only for himself, and cares only about himself. Later he'll come to terms with this and understand it as a coping mechanism or a way to survive 20 lifetimes of loneliness. It's begun to gnaw at him. The dissatisfaction and loneliness have crystalized in him and will be the catalyst for the change about to take place in his life.

He'd heard whispers of the Volturi in Tanya's mind during his transformation. And their unilateral death sentence to anyone who violates the imperative made an indelible impression. Aedwaerth has been very circumspect these last thousand years; his diligence a clear representation of his military rigor and discipline. In that respect, the church-mob's vampire hunt couldn't have gone worse. Gilbert got spooked, bit Carlisle, and exposed himself to the group of humans in a completely inappropriate way. Even Aedwaerth, in his relative isolation from other vampires, knows that this is an unforgivable crime. Almost the entire mob witnessed Gilbert run too fast, then leap onto the roof of a dilapidated building, then vanish completely with a huge leap over the wrecked roof.

Aedwaerth has problems on two fronts. Carlisle, who has meanwhile stolen silently into a putrid storage shed full of rotting potatoes, has begun to change into a vampire. Had it been someone else, Aedwaerth would not have hesitated in ending their misery. But Carlisle isn't just anyone; he'd piqued Aedwaerth's interest in a rare and powerful way for a human. From his hide, he can hear Carlisle's silent screams of anguish and despair: he knows what he's becoming. The second issue is Gilbert. He's clearly out of control, and must be dealt with promptly. Knowing he has some time until Carlisle will awaken, he follows the scent trail that Gilbert has left behind.

The better part of a day has passed when Aedwaerth catches the frightened and frazzled vampire about 100 miles north of London. His thoughts are a chaotic mess, a jungle of indecision and instinct that has Aedwaerth massaging his temples. It's only taken him this long due to his less than satisfactory tracking skills, and Gilbert's illogical progression: meandering zig-zags on top of swirly switchbacks. If it wasn't before, it's certainly clear now that Gilbert has gone off the deep end. He's so frightened by a mob of humans that he runs flat-out for nearly 18 hours. As Aedwaerth closes in on him and prepares for battle, he's decided that it will be a merciful act to end this vampires life, so weak of mind and body he's become that he exposes his nature and is bewitched by a mob.

A few more paces and Aedwaerth bears him to the ground, with a hand on each of Gilbert's wrists. When they impact the ground Aedwaerth maneuvers his knees to the center of Gilbert's back and while pinning the vampire to the ground divests him of his arms. The sounds of anguish coming from the poor creature are excruciating, so he quickly removes Gilbert's head from his neck, then proceeds to build a fire. For a moment, Gilbert's mind is silent with shock, but not for long. He hates this part. After a moment Gilbert's consciousness rears its head in the form of unintelligible pain and fear. It's almost debilitating to Aedwaerth, but he makes the fire quickly despite having no flint or starter and tosses the body parts into the flames. Gilbert's internal anguish doesn't die down immediately, but rather fades to silence like a flock of noisy birds chasing the horizon.

Aedwaerth is drained to the point of hunger, but feels a responsibility to check on Carlisle. So he speeds in the direction of London with abandon. Things are always clearer to him at high speeds and his distaste at ending Gilbert is cleansed by his run. He knows he's done the right thing. It's daytime, and the sun is shining so he can't get close to the storage shed that Carlisle is currently hiding in. But he'll be able to approach it in a few hours when sun goes down. Based on Tanya's thoughts during his own transformation, he can be sure that Carlisle has at least two more days left until he awakens, and that it will most likely be at night, three days after he was bitten.

When the sun sinks below the horizon, Aedwaerth steals silently to the shed that has served as Carlisle's shelter. The closer he gets, the more painful Carlisle's thoughts become. The scent of blood and venom, though nearly a day old, hangs in the air like a map. As he hastily removes the potatoes that Carlisle has covered himself with, fearful and frantic thoughts emanate from Carlisle. He fears he will be discovered and killed, despised and disposed of like the vile, evil creature he is. Aedwaerth offers soothing reassurances in English, a guttural mishmash that is harsh to his Caledonian ears, his own language being mellifluous and lilting and altogether pleasant.

Carlisle can only vaguely hear Aedwaerth and he's clueless to his intentions, but he doesn't resist when he's gently removed from the stash of rotting potatoes. His body is consumed by the fires of change and his form is rigid in Aedwaerth's arms. He's wracked by spasms of pain which leave no room for rational thought; Aedwaerth finds the mental murmurings emanating from Carlisle painful at best, intolerable at worst.

But Aedwaerth can't leave the man to fend for himself. He feels some responsibility to care for him, regardless of the inconvenience or discomfort he might endure in doing so. He flees the city under cover of night, quickly making his way past the mud and wattle shantys that house most of London's citizens.

Aedwaerth has little interest in remaining close to the city given that he will be monitoring a newborn vampire crazed with bloodlust, so he ventures north and west towards a Welsh forest he's frequented over the years. It's isolated and quiet, perfect in that Aedwaerth will need a clear mind and Carlisle will need a lack of prevalent human scent. The journey takes a few hours; Carlisle is for all intents and purposes weightless, but he's taking precautions not to jostle him and cause unnecessary pain.

The pair arrive at a secluded cave, and Aedwaerth lays Carlisle down safe from the elements. The next two days pass quickly for Aedwaerth as he's fascinated by the various and miniscule changes he can see occurring in the changing human. Aedwaerth is quite anxious for Carlisle to awake but has no real plans beyond seeing what happens. He knows Carlisle will need to hunt, and from what he can tell from his thoughts, Carlisle will be enthused about Aedwaerth's diet; it seems Carlisle is loathe to kill humans.

When Carlisle's heart slows to a near stop, sputters and goes silent, Aedwaerth places himself at the mouth of the cave, with his back to the outside world. He's assuming that he's faster but it pays to be prudent, and having a newborn vampire roaming the countryside won't do.

At once Carlisle is on his feet and growling, low and involuntary, with his eyes trained solely on Aedwaerth. In an attempt to calm him, Aedwaerth raises his hands in front of him palms out and takes a step back. Carlisle interprets this as an invitation to leave the captive trap of the cave and bolts.

Aedwaerth hears the intention in his mind and utilizes his close quarter combat skills to subdue and immobilize Carlisle. He's pinned to the ground on his left side with Aedwaerth's legs viced around his ankles. Aedwaerth's left arm has Carlisle around the neck, and he's using his weight to keep the wriggling to a minimum. After a few seconds of trying in vain to escape from the hold, Carlisle relents and goes still.

"Cease. I'm here to help and I will not hurt you," Aedwaerth ventures.

"Who are you?" Carlisle has a thousand more questions floating in his mind, but Aedwaerth doesn't want to broach the subject of his telepathy just yet.

"Aedwaerth... for now I am your guide, but I hope to be your friend. I witnessed the mob you led on a hunt, and I saw you bitten. You showed great courage and restraint by crawling into those potatoes."

"It was self-preservation only."

"Good, you'll need that if you want to survive as a vampire."

Carlisle's intake of breath is at once resigned and apprehensive. In his mind, what he has become is so abhorrent that he wants to kill himself. He's diametrically opposed to taking human life. Aedwaerth can see the logic and fervor in his beliefs, can hear the hazy verses of scripture that wind through his mind. It's a crystal clear version of absolute morality that Aedwaerth is unaccustomed to; he's never considered himself in possession of a soul and can't fathom an all-forgiving, all-gracious God. But it appeals to him despite it's incompatibility with his existence. Carlisle's conviction leaves a bitter taste in his mouth when he considers his own feeding habits.

"Will you let me up?"

"Do you promise to stay in this cave until I lead you out?"

"Yes."

The evening passes with the two of them sitting cross-legged across the cave from one another, and Carlisle firing questions at Aedwaerth about vampirism and his experiences as a creature of the night. Aedwaerth finally admits his mind reading abilities when he confronts Carlisle about his intentions. But Aedwaerth refuses to help Carlisle end his own life, and Carlisle refuses to end anyone else's. They find themselves passing several days arguing this impasse, with the bloodlust mounting by the moment.

Carlisle is growing more fidgety by the second; he's barely able to control his own motor functions with the burn at his throat bombarding his senses. Whether by divine providence, or sheer random chance a herd of deer meanders by, wafting the musky scent of blood through the mouth of the cave. Aedwaerth, complacent with hunger and familiarity, completely misses Carlisle lunge toward the animals, but he doesn't miss the sight of his newly turned friend biting down on the jugular of a startled doe. After hearing the relief in Carlisle's mind, he hastens to chase down the herd and partake.

The blood is nowhere near as succulent or rich, but Aedwaerth ventures a guess that it will maintain, if not satisfy them. Scanning the area, he sees Carlisle on his knees by several drained animals. He's praying a simple, repetitive prayer that lulls and entrances Aedwaerth.

When he desists, their eyes meet, the pact and bond between them cemented. After a second of silent introspection on both their parts, Carlisle rises and begins to track the remainder of the decimated herd, tossing an errant, "I'm still thirsty," over his shoulder. Neither Aedwaerth or Carlisle can contain the grin that threatens to split their faces.

A/N: Enjoy. And show me some love...