II

He could smell it very, very clearly. The scent of fresh, living, warm blood tainted the air, the aroma of his victim's fear permeating the surroundings.

The girl fled desperately, her breaths coming out in short, ragged gasps. She was losing speed, so exhausted she was on the edge of collapsing.

Even so, he continued to play with her, taunt her, just to taste her fear and smell her terror. The exhilaration of the race, the climaxing of the realization of a feast- it was all the things he loved about a hunt.

The girl stumbled and fell, struggling to get back to her feet.

Dreyon was almost disappointed.

But it didn't matter.

He grinned, a low, satisfied growl building up in his throat as he pounced, hands outstretched, fangs exposed.

The girl screamed.

And then, somebody appeared in front of him, standing between him and his food, and caught his hands, pushing him back and away.

Dreyon growled again, but this time it was of annoyance as he recognized the person who stood before him, proud and tall as if she owned the world. The nerve of the little bitch.

Ellis Skye.

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"Hey!" Ellis shouted. Her hands clenched into fists, and she felt her eyes burn crimson with rage.

She's a nice person, and she doesn't have a short temper, but this time… What was he thinking? Killing people in broad daylight (or more accurately, night-light) was the stupidest thing someone could do. Anyone could just so happen to stumble across them, and where would they be then?

Ellis glared at the vampire before her. He looked familiar, with thick brown hair, a lean but athletic build, and greenish-brown eyes. He was also quite good-looking.

Ellis squinted briefly.

Ah, yes. He was a classmate. Dreyon, right?

"What do you think you're doing, huh?" Ellis demanded.

"Hunting," Dreyon answer simply, as if she had just asked him what was one plus one.

"Yeah, you're a little behind the times," Ellis snarled. "Let me introduce you to the newest technology: security cameras. And since every government is freaking paranoid, security cameras are everywhere. You sure you want to end up in some facility for supernatural critters just like us?"

"Well, you're a little behind the times too," Dreyon smirked, leaning back casually. He looked like a wildcat, lithe and graceful. "Have you ever heard of the word, 'hacking'? Or perhaps, 'infiltration'? Because the government can't do shit about us when we're the ones looking through the cameras before reporting the information to the bigger people. False information, of course. We're perfectly safe here."

Ellis took a deep breath. Behind her, the girl was scuttling away from both of them, her eyes wide with fear.

"Run, and don't tell anyone, or I swear that monster over there's going to eat you, all right?" Ellis said.

The girl nodded frantically, hauled herself to her feet, and took off as if death itself was chasing after her. In a way, it was.

Ellis turned back to Dreyon. He didn't look outraged, but there was a distinct flicker of annoyance on his face.

Ellis reached into her purse, glad to feel the cold plastic beneath her fingers. She grabbed it, and hurled it at Dreyon. Easily, Dreyon caught it lightly.

"A blood bag," Dreyon commented, squeezing the little red pouch.

For a moment, Ellis did want to laugh. It looked so small and pitiful compared to the hunter that was holding it. But again, that blood bag was her snack. She was really hungry, and she had just given her snack to a little monster who won't even appreciate it.

Oh well, at least she probably just saved a few more people from getting eaten that night.

"Yeah, so?" Ellis folded her arms.

Dreyon's fist tightened. The plastic seemed to bloat and stretch. The red beneath the delicate film seemed to burst from its restrains.

Then, his grasp loosened, and he tucked it into a pocket. He tipped his head easily, almost mockingly. One moment he was there, and the next moment he was gone.

Vampires were fast. They could move so fast you couldn't even see them move. Ellis could move pretty quickly, but she rarely used her super-speed anymore. Dreyon must have used his speed to 'vanish'. What a show-off.

Scowling, Ellis wrapped her jacket tightly around her shoulders and headed home.

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When Ellis got home, she was starving. Her throat was drying up, and she could feel herself getting a little shaky from the withdrawal.

Ellis threw open the door and dropped her bag and jacket on a chair, heading towards the kitchen immediately. Her apartment smelled delicious, like… like…

Ellis froze in front of the refrigerator door. She took a few steps back, till she was out of the kitchen.

Sprawling over the Living Room floor was the girl Dreyon had wanted to eat… or had eaten. The girl's corpse was as pale as a ghost, parts of her skin shriveled and dry. Fortunately, she hadn't bed all over the carpet, but there were some stains that would give Ellis a massive headache to clean.

And… that bastard. The blood bag she had given to him was splattered on the wall, the plastic pouch lying limply on the floor. A little note in lined paper was half-soaked with blood beside the entire mess.

Have fun.

"Dreyon!" Ellis crumpled the note in a fist. The little piece of paper literally disintegrated in her hands. Her head was pounding, and her eyes were burning with fire. Maybe it was from hunger, but mostly, Ellis knew it was from rage.

And even through her ire, she could almost see his expression: cold, impassive, and hear his monotone voice taunting her like the sadistic murderer he is.