Nyx was a bit worried being out of the hotel for many reasons, constantly scanning her areas as she waited for Larten. Leaning against a brick wall, hugging the coat close to her to block the cold. The street lamp she was under gave her some sort of comfort.

Silently hoping that Silas wasn't around. However, she had to be out here, not just to feed.

However, where she was meant to hide and wait, Nyx's ears picked up sets of footprints and the smell of human came across her nose.

Nyx looks up to see a homeless man walking down her way.

Larten was perched off on the other side of this building…

Well, she has to learn how to participate in this.

Nyx gulped before stepping out from her spot. What could possibly go wrong with a little girl out this late at night?

She walked up to him, hugging herself. "Hello." She greeted him.

The man staggered a bit when the little girl walked up to him all of the sudden. "Uh, hello?" He croaked. Looking like he hadn't had a bath in awhile, had a raggedy beard and a messy coat to barely protect himself against the cold.

The man looked around to see if anyone else was nearby. "Uh little lady, why aren't you at home? Streets aren't safe at night." He said.

Nyx thought of what to say, nervously gulping before saying this. "I'm lost, I can't find my Papa, can you help me find him?" She asked, adjusting the beanie on her head, having her hair covering her red eye.

The man stared at the little girl, he didn't know what to make of this, but he couldn't say no to her. "O-okay, let's go find him and get you home."

With a nod, she turned and began leading him away.

"Have you heard about the killings? You shouldn't have gone off without your pa." The homeless man preached as he followed her. Looking around to see anyone else out in the open.

Nyx lured him to the right spot before stopping all of the sudden.

"Kid, where's your dad?" The homeless guy asked her.

Nyx turned and gave him the sweetest smile the child could muster. Looking so innocent…

"Right above you."

Before the man knew, Larten swooped down like a bat, knocking him to the ground before breathing the sleep gas into his face.

And the homeless man was now unconscious.

Larten stared at the man before looking up at Nyx. "You were supposed to stay hidden." He grunted.

Nyx narrowed her eyes at him. "I helped, didn't I?"

The two stared at each other for a moment before Larten broke the contact and tended to the man in front of them.

He pulled the man's pants leg up to expose his calf and checked the vitals.

As he was about to make a cut, Larten's eyes noticed something about the homeless man. Though he had a scraggly beard, he could see three tiny marks on his left cheek.

"Charna's Guts," he cursed, lowering the man's leg.

"What's wrong?" Nyx asked, looking at him before looking at the human. She does see his blood vessels glowing clear as day and heartbeat ringing in her ears.

He looked to her before standing up, looking around the area before ushering her away. "We will have to resume this some other time."

He wasn't going to have her come with him, now that he found another marked human. Having Nyx out here was a mistake.

"H-hey! What's wrong? Why aren't we feeding?" She asked, generally confused.

"Not now Nyx." Larten grunted as he was making their way back to the hotel.

Growling, Nyx stepped away from him and stood in front of him, looking at Larten.

"Nyx, what are you doing?"

"You're not going to push me away again. Whatever's the matter, I can help you." Nyx grunted.

Larten shook his head. "No, Nyx. You cannot assist me. You are too young to under-"

"Stop saying that!" Nyx snapped, which surprised Larten. "I know I look like a dumb little kid but I'm not stupid. I didn't ask to be turned when I was little. If you wanted me not to know the horrors there are out there, did you forget that I've been through it all from the monster who turned me?"

She was so tired of being a little kid. So tired of her appearance having an effect, making others assume she hasn't suffered greatly for thirty winters and wanting to protect her from the dark world. She had already been through the worst things anyone could have been through.

"I'm your assistant right? Then show me, teach me what you know, don't keep me in the dark, I know I can help you. I know there are somethings out there killing people, killing and draining their blood. They need to be stopped."

Larten studied her, seeing her raw emotions but seeing this look in her eyes. For a brief moment, he could see her age. Her real age, how much older she appears in her eyes. It was easy to forget she's much older than she looks.

"Why do you want to help?" He asked her.

"Because… if I help you stop your monster, then you can help me stop mine." Nyx began trembling. "I know Silas is here, in this city. I thought he would give up after I escaped but he's here… he's here for me." She whispered, tears threatened to seep from the corners of her eyes. "He's toying with me now, but he will do whatever it takes for me to go back to him. I would rather die than go back to him! So, with me helping you take down whoever is killing people here, it'll give me some sort of courage to stand up and kill Silas once and for all."

Silas must be killed, it'll be the only way Nyx could finally be freed from him. As long as he's alive, Nyx would never know true peace.

Larten considered his options, seeing there was no other way before sighing. He turned on his heels and began walking back towards the unconscious man. "Come along Nyx," he said.

Nyx wiped her eyes with her coat sleeves before rushing up to him.

Larten, just in case, breathed some sleep gas into the man to keep him down a little longer before motioning her to come closer.

"The creature I have been hunting is called a Vampaneze. There is a long standing feud between us and them."

"What's a Vampaneze?"

"Creatures that are similar to vampires, with a few differences. Purple skin, red hair and nails, red eyes," he glanced at Nyx's single red eye at that moment.

Nyx thought back to when she saw that strange purple man in the sewers prior to them switching hotels. She tried telling Evra but he didn't really believe her. At least she now knows she wasn't seeing some random weird guy in the hole in the ground.

Larten scratched the scar on his cheek as he tried to think of a way that would simplify this in a way Nyx would understand, when unable to, he continued.

"In the olden nights, humans were looked down upon by many vampires who fed on them as people fed on animals. It was not unusual for vampires to drink dry a couple of people a week."

"WHAT?!" Nyx exclaimed in shock. "But you said vampires only drink a small amount and left the humans alive." She reminded him. Her body shook as memories flooded back to the Cabin.

"I am getting to that." He said, seeing how it made Nyx react. Remembering the first time he took her out feeding and she came close to drinking the man dry before them. "Back then, things were different, my dear. Time back then was different than how we as vampires are in this time and day." Larten then continued.

"As I was saying, vampires used to drink a couple of humans dry here and there until wars, plagues and famine threatened to wipe out the human populations. Therefore, we established laws that forbade needless killings. Having to remind ourselves that vampires originally came from humanity. Most vampires were content to obey the laws, but some were not. They thought our natural way had been stolen from us."

Nyx gulped at that before saying, "That's…that's what Silas told me…when I was first starting to drink blood." she said hesitantly. "He…he would rant how vampires nowadays got soft with the new laws and that vampires shouldn't change a thing…."

Larten's gaze at her softened before he continued to explain. "Seven hundred years ago, events came to a head. Seventy vampires broke away and declared independence."

"And called themselves the Vampaneze?"

"Correct. The Vampaneze, that is what they called themselves, a separate race and established their own rules and governing bodies.

"Basically, the Vampaneze believe there is shame in taking small amounts of blood from a human at a time. They believe there is nobility in draining a person and absorbing their spirit.." He then ran a hand through his orange cropped hair. "In a way it's not so different from our customs."

"How? Killing people is wrong, how is it any different?" Nyx asked, rubbing her wrist nervously.

"When a vampire drains a person's blood, they absorb some of that person's memories and feelings." He explained. "It is a special ritual that can only be done at the request of a person who is close to death. Their spirit becomes part of our flesh and blood, and we see the world the way they saw it, and remember things which might otherwise have been forgotten. So in a way, it's a very good thing, but only if it's requested." Larten didn't press on about that, he figured that she was forced to kill those she drank. There was no need to with how she was reacting now and when the first time the two of them fed.

Nyx took in this new information. Letting that sink into her before asking, "Why can't the Vampaneze drink just enough to survive?"

Larten closed his eyes before continuing. "It is that very disagreement which leads vampire and Vampaneze to wage a long, long war against each other."

"Were you there when it happened?"

Larten gave the child a look that caused her to giggle. "I am not that old. I was not even alive when it all occurred. Thank you very much." he then continued. "Anyway, the fighting was terrible, and much blood was shed on both sides. The vampires were winning, however. We would have hunted the Vampaneze out of existence if we had not been stopped. The very humans we were trying to protect got in the way." he made a solemn smile.

"They did?" Nyx asked, finding herself sitting down on the ground, legs crossed as she listened to the story.

"The humans could not tell the difference between a vampire and a Vampaneze." He chuckled at the ridiculousness. "When the Vampaneze started slaughtering people, the humans panicked and fought back against both of us. With their sheer numbers and modern weaponry, it was now the vampires who were on the verge of being wiped out. In the end our princes met with the Vampaneze, and a truce was agreed to.. We would leave them alone if they stopped murdering so freely. We agree to live apart from one another so that the vampires and the Vampaneze would not clash and war any longer. For centuries we have maintained this separation. Time has changed the vampaneze and their appearances."

"With their purple skin, red hair and eyes, like me?" She asked, covering her single red eye.

He smirked, "Not quite the same but yes." Larten waves a hand at the man before the two. "Look at the left cheek of the man."

Nyx looks at the homeless man. Tilting her head curiously. At first she couldn't see anything but the man's messy scraggly beard. But after a moment, she noticed the three scratches on his cheek. "The scratches on his face?"

"Yes. It is the mark of their prey. Vampaneze selected their victims in advance and put three small scratches on the left cheek. The one I-wee are after is named Murlough. He had gone mad, lost control and killed indiscriminately, feeding his lunatic lust. He is starving for blood. He is mad but he still holds to the vampaneze laws. Not only that, he is craftier than most."

"Murlough…. Wait! I heard that name before!" Nyx stood up.

Larten's eyes widened. "What do you mean you heard that name?" he asked, surprised.

Nyx nodded. "B-before we moved hotels, I met a man in the sewers. He had all the vampaneze markings and referred to himself as Murlough after I threw a brick at him."

"Why have you not said anything about this to me?" He asked, alarmed. Which meant Murlough knew he was hunting him and was scouting where they were.

"You were too busy on your own. I tried telling Evra but I don't think he believed me when I described the man to him." Nyx said. "It was hard for me to get you to sit down and eat with us, much less talk to you about anything without getting brushed off."

Larten softly blushed at that, scratching his left cheek again as he thought back to the many times he did brush the two off. "Right," he said uncomfortably. He coughed into his hand before recomposing himself. "Can you show me where you last saw him?"

Nyx nodded. "I can. On one condition."

"What is it?"

"Why get involved with this city?" She asked him. "Why would you try and protect this place if we can't interfere with the Vampaneze?"

Larten hummed softly before looking up at the night sky. Momentarily staring at the countless stars and smiling in content. "Because, this is the city where I was born. This is where I lived as a human. Though everyone I knew has long since died, this more than any other place is what I consider home. Gavner found me in order to tell me this bit of news. Knowing that I would be forced into action."

Nyx smiled at that. "So you're protecting your home?"

"As one tries to."

"So we're doing this? Together?"

Larten looked at her with a toothy grin. "As my assistant, why would I not have you by my side?"

Nyx beamed in delight before hearing her stomach growl. "Can we feed before we leave? It might make Murlough angry if we have his meal before he gets him."

Larten chuckled. "He just might, real quick though, we have work to do."

After the two vampires sipped the blood of the homeless man and secured him in a place where the mad vampaneze would not find him, Nyx leads Larten back to their original hotel where they began their descent into the tunnels of blood.