((*dies from squee overload*. Love her already))


Satoru looked down at Dawn's battered and bruised body. She was weakened from the intesnity of the attack coupled with the silver. There was no mistake about it, she needed to feed wether she wanted to or not. The longer he waited the worse it would get. He looked at her with his eyes full of pity and cursed himself for not being more aggressive with coming outside with her.
"I could have prevented this" he said to her softly, unsure if she could even hear his voice. He turned his head to look at the still unconcious form of the human that attacked Dawn, his eyes changed dramatically from pity to hatred. He knew what he had to do.

Gently he lay Dawn down and strode over to the limp body of Alex. He picked him up by his collar and dragged him over carelessly towards Dawn. He grasped for his katana that was eternally at his side, but he moved his hand further up and took the swords matching wakazashi. Carefully he unsheathed it and without hesitation made a small slice across Alex's wrist. Bringing it up towards him he began to take in as much of the warm liquid as he could. Tossing the arm down as he got what he could, he gently lifted Dawn as close to him as he could.

Satoru leant down to meet her face and softly pressed his lips to hers and let some of Alex's blood seep it's way down. He stayed like this for a few moments hoping that this plan would work. Moments later he felt a slow stirring of Dawn and felt her hands grip his upper arms tightly. She fully embraced his kiss and let the rest of the blood pass to her. A small sliver of blood trickled down her chin as she felt the life slowly creep back into her.

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((Bumpeth!))

The alley was dark and gloomy. The sort of backstreet most people tended to avoid like the plague after sundown. Fern would normally count herself among those people. But not tonight. She had to be here. She had to see if she could help. It had taken her awhile to locate the street. When she did not have clear visuals she had to rely on her senses. And the source of the evil energy had come from this alley.

She could see what appeared to be three figures a few hundred yards straight ahead. One lying down flat on the ground and two who seemed to be in some sort of embrace. It looked peaceful and tranquil enough to an outsider but she knew something terrible had just taken place. Something incredibly violent. She let whatever was left of her guard down and allowed all energies to flow freely. One of them was definitely human. The other two were of a whole different kind.

"Oh boy, this should be interesting" she thought to herself. It was moments like these she wished she was a mindreader. People always made that assumption, once they'd discovered she was different. Either that or that she should be able to know what people would do or say before they did. She'd lost count of how many times she had to convince people she didn't need an exorcism or that she wasn't Satanic. Though she often contemplated stating the latter to get people off her back.

Fern approached them slowly but steadily. "Excuse me, is everything alright here?" she asked uncertain.

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.*+I'VE MET ANTIGONE, MONTANABOHEMIAN, RAIVYNN PHOENIX, BERIADANWEN & PIRATEOFTHERINGS+*.

(¯`•¸·´¯`·._.·[TRUE VAMPIRES DON'T SPARKLE]·._.·´¯`·¸•´¯)

"Excuse me, is everything alright here?" a voice came from behind Satoru. It was almost timid, uncertain. Dawn's tight grasps of his arms loosened and fell back to her side. He pulled away from her gently, wiping at the slight traces of blood on his lips, laying her down at his side. He slowly turned his head round to face the owner of the voice. He raised an eyebrow at the young woman with copper blonde hair, clad in an ankle length flowing floral patterned dress. A brown bag slung over her shoulder. She was standing at a cautious distance.
"Very wise" thought Satoru as he eyed her with suspicion.

"Young lady such as yourself should not be wandering the streets at so late an hour" he flashed a knowing grin her way. "It would be in your best interest to leave here and forget you ever saw this." his tone changed from flippant to serious, his eyes showing this same emotion.

Satoru watched her carefully in contemplative silence. Who was this strange young woman? His concentration was broken as he felt a grab at his arm. He forgot about the female stranger for a brief moment as he realised what was happening.
"Dawn?" he said softly, looking down at her with a thin smile. "You're still very weak. You haven't had enough to sustain or heal you" he frowned and muttered a small curse under his breath as his thoughts moved back to the young woman, whom he sensed was still in his presence.

"Satoru" Dawn replied, her voice low and husky. "I can't...I said" she stumbled over the words as she drifted out of conciousness.

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"It would be in your best interest to leave here and forget you ever saw this."

His firm voice cut through the night like a knife. He was the first of his kind that she had ever spoken to. Here she was in a dark and foreboding back alley where one would expect Jack the Ripper to lure in the shadows, yet Fern didn't feel threatened by him. There was something regal about him. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but she almost felt compelled to bow in his presence. His energy was different from any other she had felt during her short life on earth. A force not of this world. And not of this time.

Fern heard him talk softly to the female lying on the ground at his side. She knew she was disturbing their privacy, but she had to make sure the lady was alright. She slowly inched forward, only yards away from them now. Taking a deep breath, she knew she would most likely regret getting involved with the walking undead, but the way she saw it, there was no turning back now. She'd already seen too much. She already knew too much.

"Sir, please. He was hurting her real bad. I just need to know if she's ok!"

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.*+I'VE MET ANTIGONE, MONTANABOHEMIAN, RAIVYNN PHOENIX, BERIADANWEN & PIRATEOFTHERINGS+*.

(¯`•¸·´¯`·._.·[TRUE VAMPIRES DON'T SPARKLE]·._.·´¯`·¸•´¯)

Satoru looked up at the human female, he tilted his head at her quizzically as she said something that made no sense to him at all. She seemed to know what had happened to Dawn even though she had just arrived on the scene. He smiled thinly as he slowly got up from his kneeling position and rose up to his full stature. Tall and proud, his blue eyes sparkled at the young woman and within a single breath from her, he was inches from her face.

"Just who are you?" he peered down at her, "What is it you know about this incident?" he asked her bluntly, whilst giving her a once over. His demeanour grew darker as he stared deeply into her eyes. "You will listen to me and you will only hear me." his voice intensified. "Tell me everything you know and this will end pleasantly for you"

Satoru continued his intense gaze as he waited on a response of some kind. Part hoping he had either terrified her enough to run for her life or get into her head enough to glamour her forgetfulness.

<center> ------------------- </center>

Molly and her co-bartender for the night, Leo were leaning against the far barside and watching the night unfold in front of them. A lull in the custom had materialised, much the the thankfulness of the Synn City barstaff.
"I'm gonna go get some napkins from the back Molly, you be okay here till I get back?" he smiled at Molly, a smile that would melt her heart if she noticed the affection behind the smile.

"No!" she cried out, "Don't leave me alone with so many customers" she snarked back with a grin. "I'll be fine, if I need you I'll holler"

Leo grinned back at her and shook his head and went out back. Molly looked back over the heaving masses. Something was amiss, something she couldn't put her finger on. There was a real aura of tension in the air, many of the clientele were acting strangely. Some more becoming more passionate with there dates, others were obviously agitated and on edge. Molly looked to the door towards the back of the Club and began to wish more than anything for Leo to come walking back out.

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Fern jumped at his sudden closeness. She had heard of the Vampire ability to move with great speed but she had yet to witness it before this moment. Like a predator sneaking up on his prey. It marveled her how someone could be so dangerous yet so fascinating at the same time.

His tone shifted as he spoke, becoming more intensified and intimidating with each word. Demanding even. Who did he think he was? She swallowed deep and hard. She was probably going to regret this in a few moments.

"Look mister... I'll tell you what I know but I don't respond to threats. You're not the boss of me!"

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.*+I'VE MET ANTIGONE, MONTANABOHEMIAN, RAIVYNN PHOENIX, BERIADANWEN & PIRATEOFTHERINGS+*.

(¯`•¸·´¯`·._.·[TRUE VAMPIRES DON'T SPARKLE]·._.·´¯`·¸•´¯)

Satoru's posture changed when she snapped at him suddenly. He stared at her, obviously confused as to why the glamour did not work.
"it should have worked" he thought to himself, not showing the slight embarassment he was feeling at this moment. Mentally shaking himself, he re-concentrated on the young lady before him and not his bewilderment at his lack of power over her. Instead choosing a new tactic.
"My sincerest apologies...miss" he smiled at her apologetically, taking a step back from her in an effort to win her trust. "I am in deep concern for my companion and any information you have would be rewarded" He looked over at Dawn's prone body, he felt a swell of pity and concern as he watched her silently. These emotions were not something he was expecting or understanding. But he wanted nothing more than to heal her and watch over her.

<center> -------------------- </center>

Leo came walking back into the barfront, casually humming along with the DJ's latest requested song. "So Molly" he began and stopped as he looked up to see her worried face. He followed her eyeline and his face too matched hers. The mood inside Synn was so intense, so palpable that both bartenders were now concerned for there well being. If any one of the Vampires snapped, all hell would break loose and there wouldn't be a thing anyone could do about it.

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Fern crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow in the process. The swift personality shift made her uneasy but at the same time annoyed. What was up with him, going from Menacing Vampire a la Bram Stoker to Mr Humble Pie in the split of a second. Why should she trust him? On the other hand, she had gotten involved voluntarily. Nobody had forced her to come forth in the first place. There was no way she could back down now. She had no choice but to trust him. Taking a deep breath and weighing her words carefully, she spoke up.

"There was a man..." she paused, glancing at the lifeless male form lying on the ground, "...him" she said and nodded her head in its direction. "He was punching a woman in the face repeatedly. There was silver. He inflicted so much pain on her. And there was a... uh... stake. I think he was trying to stake her." Fern gave the Vampire a sincere look. "That is all I know. I apologize if it's not of much use."

Fern knew that revealing her abilities was inevitable now. There is no way he would believe she had witnessed all this in person.

_________________


.*+I'VE MET ANTIGONE, MONTANABOHEMIAN, RAIVYNN PHOENIX, BERIADANWEN & PIRATEOFTHERINGS+*.

(¯`•¸·´¯`·._.·[TRUE VAMPIRES DON'T SPARKLE]·._.·´¯`·¸•´¯)

Satoru watched her with great interest and listened intently to every word she said. He had been listening even more intently to her heartbeat. She wasn't lying. He re-spoke her words over in his mind and he became gradually more angry with what had happened to Dawn. He stood, not uttering a word to the young woman despite her helpfulness and honesty. She showed great courage in the face of the unknown. Within the blink of an eye he was back at Dawn's side and gently caressed her face. The bruises and grazes on her forehead and cheeks were less raw looking, but not nearly enough. Swiftly he moved from Dawn to Alex, grabbing him by his hair not caring wether he was concious or not.
"You will pay for what you did to her" Satoru said with a chilling resonance as he leaned in close to him. Dragging him close to Dawn, he dropped him face first onto the dirty alleyway concrete.

"Dawn?" Satoru spoke, his tone in deep contrast to how he spoke to Alex. "It is time to feed now." Dawn's eyes slowly opened, blinking as she looked up into Satoru's eyes.
"I can't" she whispered, "Please..." her voice trailed off and her eyes rolled up into there sockets.
"Dawn, I understand but you must. If you wish to heal you must feed." Satoru replied, trying to get her to understand the severity of her situation. He took the limp left arm of Alex and squeezed tightly to reopen the previous wound. The blood slowly seeped to the surface and Satoru put it close to Dawn's face. "Please Dawn, it's the only way." he whispered softly in her ear.

Moments passed and Dawn began to regain conciousness. The scent of Alex's blood under her nose began to stir her instincts. She opened her eyes and gingerly took the arm, she brought it up to her mouth but hesitated. Closing her eyes tightly, slowly shaking her head in defiance. "I can't...." her voice faltered, conflicted at the choice before her. Her eyes moved to Satoru and he smiled at her, trying to give her confidence and encouragement.
Relenting she casually placed the bloodied arm to her lips and she took a small amount and sharply pulled away. Her fangs which were usually so well hidden were now fully out and obvious. Just as sharply as she pulled away, she threw herself into the rising bloodlust and began to drink. Sinking her fangs deep into Alex's neck. Her eyes now rolling in pleasure as the warm crimson liquid that was easing down her throat.
Satoru looked on proudly, fighting his own urge to feed on Dawn's attacker.

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