It had finally happened. After one thousand years it had finally happened. The vampire stood at the window to his large house, watching as the dim light of the fading sun passed beyond the horizon, plunging the world into darkness. There was no moon tonight and the only light came from the artificial glow of other windows and street lights down below. His home was set on a hill overlooking the place where he had been born, now changed greatly from what he remembered it had looked like a millenia ago. He closed his eyes, picturing how it had once looked, the few houses made of wood and stone and thatch, the smoke rising from chimneys in the winter when the cold grew too intense, the mixed smells of animals in the nearby fields as they grazed and interacted with each other and their human caretakers. He remembered all too clearly. He had thought, had almost hoped, that the memories would fade with time, that after all his years of existance the memories and the pain that came with them would diminish.

He was wrong.

Every passing year, every new day brought with it a fresh reminder of what he no longer had, of the person which he longed to be with above all others. His twin.....

He murmured the other's name softly to himself, so softly that not even another vampire could hear it. The words was picked up by the wind that drifted in through the open window and carried away. He closed his ruby eyes once more, lost in a sea of memories. He and his twin playing together behind their old house, on their name day when they had been given a shared present because their father was unable to get them separate gifts again that year. It hadn't mattered. They had shared it eagerly with each other. Tide after tide of images asaulted his mind and he opened his eyes to escape them but they persisted, overlapping the view before him of their own accord.

He remembered seeing his brother being torn away from him, killed before his very eyes while he, himself, was turned, survived to last these thousand years. It was different now though. He had seen him, had sensed the other's presense through their bond. It had been dormant these thousand years, the connection that all twins shared from birth. It had been asleep but now it had awakened and that could only mean one thing. It had finally happened. His twin's spirit was once again in the world and he would stop at nothing to find him, to hold his twin in his arms once more and never let him go again.

"I won't lose you again," he said to the night, gazing down at the sprawling mass of modern buildings. "Not this time, never again."

Aaron was asleep in his bed, he was comfortable, he had managed to find the perfect sleeping position with his back slightly twisted and his head was just resting in his pillow. He had a mostly trouble free life, the only stress he had at the current moment in time was the stress every sixteen year old boy had. He wanted to ace his Math paper that he was studying for tomorow, and he was desperate for love.

He had never been in a relationship with a woman, girl or otherwise ever before, he liked to act like it was because he was too busy with sport and studying. But the reality was that he had never 'put himself on the market' and made himself availiable. His only relationship was with his trainers and the track. Aaron was a keen runner, he was up for both the short 100m tracks and the longer cross country tracks, so long as he could run he was happy. His alarm was set for half five in the morning so he could go for a jog. He found that it helped clear his mind for the day ahead and he had a paper to sit. A jog would be the perfect away to loosen up and wake up.

Aaron twisted out of his comfortable position and lay flat on his back as a new dream took over his mind. It was a hazy one, he found it difficult to even see, it felt like he was riveted to the spot and all that he could see was the wall around him, the were dirty looking, he stood up and looked in the mirror at his reflection. His reflection moved away from him and he realised that it was not a mirror as he orriginally thought, but a door frame. Aaron tried to open his mouth to speak but no words came out. He watched himself walk around the room. Suddenly he came face to face with his other self and a pair of red eyes burned deep in his vision.

Aaron woke up panting, he looked at the little alarm clock next to him, it was still late at night, he raised a hand to his sweaty brow and tried to slow his breathing. Like with most dreams almost all of his memory of that dream was almost gone. But the eyes still burned brightly in his mind. he leaned over and took a long sip from the glass of water on his bedside.

A candle burned on the large oak desk, burning low as the hour was late ad the night almost done. There was modern lighting in the house but he preferred the more natural aura of the candles, the flames dancing and casting flickering shadows on the walls and ceiling, their movements almost seeming to resemble a dance. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, now returned to their natural shade of blue-green. It was strange. In some lights they appeared almost sapphire and in others emerald and in others...others seemed to show them as an almost aquamarine, jewell bright and intense in his pale face, especially when contrasted by his dark red hair.

Sixteen years had passed since he became aware of the spirit of his twin reentering the world. Sixteen long years. He had longed to go to the other as soon as he felt the bond reawaken but he could not, would not. It would not be his brother and he did not want to see the other before the right time, before he reached the apropriate age. He didn't know how he would react to his brother as a five, six or even ten year old, not when the last memory he had of the other was when he was sixteen, almost seventeen like himself at the time.

He glanced at the antique (brand new when it was purchased) grandfather clock in the corner of the room. The dial read that it was five O'clock. The light would begin to filter through the sky in the next ten or fifteen minutes or so but it made no matter. Many did not realise that the superstician of vampires only being able to go out at night was nothing more than that, a ridiculous myth about his kind. Their eyes were better than their human prey and thus more sensetive to light and it was for this reason that the majority preferred the night. Their skin also did not tan like a normal individual's would as they were not technically 'alive' in the traditional sense so in a way the sunlight passed right through their bodies. Any magic a vampire posessed was also weaker during the day than at night but this was because of the tie they had to the moon. Their power was greatest at a full moon and weakest when there was no moon in the sky at all. It was just a fact of their biology.

Aaron would be emerging from his home soon if he kept to his regular schedule of going for a run at half past five. It was strange for humans to do such a thing but it provided the perfect oppertunity for him to sky on the reincarnation of his twin. He stood from the desk, pushing back the large wing backed armchair and striding from the room which acted as an office of sorts. He had a human to observe.

Aaron managed to get a little bit more rest before his alarm clock rang out. He slammed his fist on top which switched it off, the alarmclock was a sturdy one, it would have to be considering the bashing it took from Aaron. He hauled himself out of bed and padded across to the bathroom in his holey white gym socks. He looked at his face in the mirror, his hair looked a mess but it was rare for him to see anyone at such an early time in the morning. He washed his face and rolled on some deoderant.

He went back to his room and put on clean boxer shorts, he also found a pair of grey joggers and a sleeveless (once fully sleeved) teeshirt. He also changed his socks and put on his favourite running trainers. He went downstairs and filled a waterbottle. Aaron locked the door behind him and hooked himself up with his music, he invested in one of those armband things that he could rest his player in, before then he was forever dropping the player out of his pocket and had broken a couple when they smashed to the ground. This mornign the air was crisp and just getting light. He limbered up and streched his legs on the porchway before starting a gentle warm up jog.

he followed his usual route and began jogging down the street. He used the road mostly because it was flat and smooth, the path was uneaven where the tree roots buckled the concrete above. Aaron was at his prime of fitness and the jog was easy, he stepped it up a little and picked up the pace down the next street into the other neighbourhood. He enjoyed his own company. Sure, he got invited to many parties and social gatherings but nothing beat the peace he felt when he was running.

He watched from a distance as the other exited the house, watched him stretch before beginning. He silently followed at a distance, an easy lope of a stride as he kept perfect pace behind the jogging human. When the human stepped up the pace he felt his blood quicken at the thrill of the chase. Even if he didn't catch the other, if he just kept chase it was more than worth it. His eyes brightened, red leaking into the blue-green irises at the outer edge creating a glowing run but not fully covering the iris.

He knew the route the other would take and a wishto see the other from the front, to see his face. He'd kept at a far distance up until now, hardly ever approaching the other, staying far enough away to sense his presense clearer but never so close as to make out his face properly. He would do it today though. he would gaze upon the face and he would know. He already knew it was the spirit of his twin inside the human's body, knew it through the bond which had been reawakened but he did not know if the other truly looked like him, like he had thouse thousand years ago. He knew teh other had the same coloured hair which was a good sign but he would not get his hopes up until he saw the face.

He jumped from the street onto a nearby roof, skimming the edge and using his vampyric speed to pass the human on the ground. He quickly outstripped the other once he saw the perfect perch jumped into a perfectly placed tree. He felt a little ridiculous, like a giddy school child, but he couldn't help it. The excitement was rising as he heard the other coming closer, still not quite within his range of vission but.....There he was.

It was him. The face was just as he remembered, every feature a perfect reflection of his own with the exception of the slightly darker tint to his skin due to still being one of the living. It was the eyes that caught him though. They were his eyes, the same strange, blue-green hue that never seemed to know exactly which colour they were. The red bled further into his eyes and now there was no blue or green left, only startling crimson as he gazed at teh approaching human, blisfully unaware of his presense above, of his gaze watching him as he run.

Aaron continued his run until he heard something. He stopped in his tracks and popped out his earpiece. His headphones always made him parranoid that a car was going to arrive right behind him and get annoyed he was running in the road, or that someone would call his name. He looked around in the brightening light but he couldn't see anyone. He put his headphone back in and took off running again, it took him a minute or so to build back up to the pace that he was running at.

The clouds were also clearing in the sky and he could tell that it was goingto be a good day, he smiled at turned off the road and into the local bit of forrest land, he liked the smell of the pine and he lovd running in between trees he always ran this route but he always was extra careful to not twist his ankle running with the tree roots underfoot. the song on his player changed to a faster paced one which dared him to run through the woodland a little faster. he then sprinted out to the clearing and stumbled on a branch. He pushed his hands out infront of him to catch his fall. he wiped his hands on his joggers and checked for blood. he hissed at the pain and jogged on the spot trying to calm his breathing a little. He stopped looking for blood when he was relieved it wasn't pouring out, he would have to clean up his graze when he got back to the house.

Aaron went past the clearing and across the wheat field before reterning to the backgate of his garden. he looked around for the family cat and opened the gate. He opened the backdoor and kicked his trainers off on the mat, they were a little muddy and he would ahev to clean them off when he got back from school. he ran up the stairs, his legs were warm from the run. As soon as he was upstairs Aaron ran the shower and peeled off his sweaty and slightly muddy clothing. he tossed them to the corner and stepped into the waterfall of hot steamy water.

It took every bit of self control he posessed not to leap from his vantage point when the human fell and the scent of blood hit his senses. It wasn't strong but it was enough. His eyes glowed and the urge to go down, to rip and tear at flesh was so strong that he had to dig his fingers into the bark of the tree to prevent himself from leaping at the human, at his twin. He gritted his teeth, his extended fangs rubbing irritatingly against his lower jaw as he fought his instinctive urges. A small hiss passed his lips but it was too quiet for a human to hear so there was nothing to fear. Oh how he wanted to leap from the tree to the other's side. He would have in less than a heartbeat but something stopped him, told him it wasn't the time, not yet.

"Soon," he murmured, watching the other continue to run through the trees, once more picking up speed. The sun was climbing higher in the sky and the light was already beginning to hurt his sensetive eyes causing them to blur slightly, the effect of which being that he was no longer able to keep a good track on his brother. He frowned before deciding that he wasn't going to get anything done in this state. Jumping from the tree he landed with cat like grace on the ground, barely making a sound or causing a disturbance on the ground unlike humans that tended to thump when they walked or crunched leaves and twigs under foot.

He could already feel a headache coming on because of the bright light so did not take his time in returning to his home like he normally would. He longed for the long nights of winter again. He hated summer. It was so much harder to hunt when the hours of darkness were so short lived. It made no matter. He had found a reason to venture out into the daylight and if he was prepared then he would be able to stay out longer. Today though he would return to his home atop the hill that looked over the human settlement and he would plan and prepare for the next time he would see the human, would get that little bit closer until, finally, he was reunited with his brother once more, body and soul.

Aaron 'aahed' and 'oohed' as the shower relaxed the tense muscles in his shoulders, he had decided it was a good run but it wasn't at his usual pace and this annoyed him. His only competition was often just himself, after he lathered and rinsed several times he got out of the shower. He threw a towel around his middle and grabbed a hand towel for his hair. He rubbed his hair dry, it was an unsual colour, his mum's hair was brown so he thought he must have got it from his father's side of the family.

He lived with his single mother as his Dad walked out when he was only a few weeks old. Hi mum never spoke of his dad she never kept pictures and whenever he was mentioned she would freeze up and brush it aside. Aaron quickly learnt not to speak of his father. It didn't bother him, he had his uncles for his male role models on his mothers side. Although they were terrible role models, the eldest one was fourty eight, obese, and liked nothing better than telling Aaron that Gays were evil creatures. The younger Uncle was much more tolerable but Aaron lost contact with him when he moved to france with his wife. As an only child Aaron often felt lonely. But he was a brave little guy and took everything on the chin.

He peered into the mirror and examined his skin, he'd recently started shaving but he was really bad at it, the cuts to his cheek showed that. Aaron watched countless videos online at how to shave correctly but he still hadn't mastered it. He pulled at his skin a little and frowned at the small collection of pimples on his forhead, he used his hinders to pull wet strands of his scruffy hair over his forehead to conceal them a bit. He wondered downstairs and poured out his cereal.

Aaron found the note on the counter,
Gone out early for work, going to pick up groceries on the way, dont forget your exam is today. Good luck. xx He smiled, but it made him feel like a little boy, he was sixteen and determined to live and adult life. He slurped the milk from his cornflakes and ate them quickly.

Returning to his home was not the warm experience that one would expect it to be. A home was suposed to be a place you felt warm and safe, where you were able to let down your barriers and allow yourself a peaceful night's, or in his case day's, rest before the stresses of another day took their tole. His house was well furnished, comfortable and heated even when he was not there but it wasn't 'warm'. It seemed almost sterile and although he had lived in it like that since he bought the house it was only recently that he noticed how cold a place it truly was. The main floor consisted of a lounge, kitchen, dining room, a formal lounge for entertainment purposes, a pantry (unused), and a large storage area which was currently filled with various objects he had collected over the centuries. The second level contained mainly bedrooms, four of them, with two bathrooms. The third level of the house was the one that he actually used regularly, containing his bedroom and a study. The third floor had once been a long attick but he had converted it about three hundred years ago. There was now a wall between the bedroom and study so taht he could separate the two areas rather than having them intermingle. As he entered his bedroom he stripped off his clothes from the night before and placed them meticulously in the wash basket by the door to be dealt with later. He was not dirty as vampires did not sweat but they were wrinkled and he preferred to look presentable. He pulled back the dark red curtains that surrounded his large, Queen Anne style four poster bed before slipping under the covers, allowing the curtain to fall back into place. Immediately the bed began to warm. His body normally stayed at the same temperature as his surroundings but it was not long since he last fed so his body was currently at a normal human body temperature thanks to the fresh blood pumpingthrough his system.

His closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift of its own accord, allowing his body to enter a catatonic like state which passed for sleep among his kind. It was almost like being asleep only the vampire's senses were still fully functioning. He could enter the state with his eyes opened but he preferred to close them, still feeling the impulse to make it seem more like sleep, like it had when he was a human, before he was turned and saw his brother killed before his eyes. As he drifted within his own mind images of his brother's face flickered behind his eyes, moving in and otu of focus, images of his twin as he remembered overlapping the human he had seen running this morning through the trees. He would get closer soon, within the next few days and soon....soon he would come face to face with the other and Aaron, for that was his name now, Aaron, would know once and for all who he truly was, would know that he was more than just a normal human.

As soon as Aaron was ready he left the house with his sports bag and headed down the street to catch the local bus. He smiled and waved at some of his friends. As he got on the bus he realised he would ahev to sit with someone. it was always a tricky descisions some of the girls would look at him hopefully but he didn't want to single any of them out as he wasn't particularily interested in any of them.

Aaron sat with his friend and sports fanatic, Sam, "Hey" Sam greeted him. Aaron smiled and gave a "Hey." back. He shuffled down in the bus seat and chucked his bag in the aisle.

"Coming to practice after fourth?" Aaron asked, it was the usual chatter, he never felt that closeto anyone in the school it was almost like he could never get a connection with any of them, but he was happy.
"No actually." Sam replied, Aaron was shocked, Sam always practiced and raced him on the track on a Monday. "I'm meeting up with someone."

Aaron sighed, "Someone meaning, some girl you've pulled?" He asked, Sam was attractive to the girls quite often he would hook up with someone at a party but he'd never taken any of it seriously and hed never decided t date a girl.
Sam laughed quiet and raked his fingers through his dirty blonde hair. "Yes you could say that. Two words Alexis Carr." Aaron made the appropriate impressed noises, Alexis was part of the prom committe and Student Council, she was tall and slender with bouncey peroxide blonde waves. Naturally she was popular, you had to be to be voted into the Student council four times in a row.

But Aaron found her annoying, everything from her designer handbags to her high pitched giggle set his teeth on edge. Although for status Aaron would probably try to make out with her at a party. He didn't want people to think he was some quiet nerd or soemthing. As much as it was wrong he actually cared about his image.

His eyes snapped open the moment the final rays of the sun passed the horizon. He shot upright in his bed, an instinctive reaction to waking up with the feeling that you were being watched. He glanced around and his eyes narrowed as he saw the figure at the foot of his bed. His body immediately relaxed even as he scowled at the one taht had caused his state of unease.

"Must you do this?" he asked although he already knew the answer. It was a game they played every time she showed up, a back anf roth that had gone on for almost as long as he had known her, which was about eight hundred hears give or take a decade. The female vampire didn't change her expression, only looked at him with those strange amber eyes of hers. She was exceptionally tall, taller than most males actually, with flowing silver hair although he hadn't dared comment that it was because of her age. She was currently sitting at the bottom of his bed with her legs crossed under her, uncaring that she was wearing an exceptionally short skirt that did little to hide her long, slender legs from view if he chose to stare, which he did not. He sighed before leaning back against the back of the bed. "What is it you want this time, Nala?"

This was the strange thing about this particular vampire. Unlike him she had a fondness for changing her name. She did it every century or so, it kept things interesting she said. Her latest name change came from, he suspected, an animated film about lions although why exactly she had chosen it was beyond him. Perhaps because they were both predators? Now that he thought of it her eyes were a similar shade to the lion's pelt.....he pushed this from his mind however as Nala tilted her head and finally decided to answer.

"I wanted to watch you catch him." Her voice was quiet neutral, as if the emotion has been drained from her. She had emotion, he knew that, but she did not express it regularly. Her expression hardly ever changed either. It was her strange manerisms that atracted attention and even then she did things in such a matter of fact way even the oddest behaviour seemed almost normal for her.

"I won't bother asking how exactly you know," he stated, his eyes fixed on hers. She inclined her head slightly and he grunted before throwing the curtains open and stepping from the bed, letting the curtain fall shut behind him. Nala followed, slipping through the thick material like a shadow.

"Can I come with you to meet him?" she asked,tilting her head to the side, almost like a curious cat that had found a particularly interesting scene to view from a window.

"It won't matter what I say, you'll follow me anyway."

"True," she hummed and he sighed again. He reached into his chest of drawers, purchased at the same time as the bed, and pulled out his choice of clothes for the evening. A paif of black trousers and a dark red shirt with a black jacket over the top, buttoned halfway to allow the red to be seen with black boots. He glanced in the antique mirror and nodded to himself before turning to Nala again. Now that she was standing he could see that all she wore was a light demin skirt that barely covered what it should and a top that exposed her midriff and didn't have any shouders, also made out of what looked like denim with light blue trainers on her feet and a bracelet on her right wrist that looked suspeciously like a silver snake. Considdering some of the outfits she'd worn over the years this was relatively normal and for that he was thankful.

Aaron stepped off the bus and went to his lessons quietly, he sat in his place in english and pulled out the book that he had forgotten to read, he tried to skim the pages quickly, he was out jogging when he was supposed to be studying but he had a big race comming up and he needed to win because he heard there would be talent scouts at the venue. The girl next to him, Sarah, leaned over, she smelt aweful of stale cigarette smoke and gum.

"Do you need help?" She attempted to flirt with him, her top hung low enough for him to see always down to her red embroydered bra. He didn't know where to keep his eyes so he kept them in his book, "I'm really just fine, Sarah." he gritted his teeth and set about writing the outline for his essay.

The lesson passed pleasingly quickly, but this meant the maths exam was upon Aaron too soon. He sat in the long haul and waited for the papers to be handed out as soon as the clock started he began to scribble down his answers as fast as possible, he was findin it difficult because his mind just wasn't there, he kept thining back to his dream and it was distracting him. Eventually he put his pencil down and handed the paper in with a sigh. He hoped he'd done enough to atleast pass the unit.

Aaron was having lunch before he even had enough time to miss the day.
"... So then I was like ' no I wont move my car why don't you move yours?' I'm telling you the guy couldn't park and he was trying to blame me! Me?" Alex laughed and shook his head, he was another track friend of Aaron.

Aaron felt very distant from his friends currently, he felt mean but he felt it was because they just weren't good enough for him, he found them all quite flat, there was nothing special about his friends. But the same could be said about Aaron. he'd given up trying to keep friends, people only stuck around him because they thought they ought to. He was popular because he was a good runner, Aaron knew this and it made him feel a bit irritated. he fineshed his lunch quickly and grabbed his books. A pair of small almond shaped eyes followed him as he stood up.

Aaron looked at Melissa, "I'll be by the track if you want me." He said.
Melissa smiled, "I'll come with." She said simply and she got up and followed him by his side, "Whats up with you recently A? You're barely talking to us. is it family again?"
Aaron shook his head. "No, my mum's doing fine, we're both fine." This was a lie, his mum was still feeling bullied at work and she liked to bring all her problems home with her to share with Aaron.
Melissa sighed a little bit, she cared about Aaron, she always had done, "Well you ahev my number, just text me if you ever need a chat. I guess you're too busy running to text though."
"What's theat supposed to mean?" Aaron asked curiously.
"Well you know, running isn't everything, but you amke it out to be, look don't be mad, you're a great runner, really, but there are more things on earth that matter." Aaron sighed, he knew what she was getting at, he didn't want a relation ship with her, she was a nice person but he just didn't want to date her. He felt that because she was so nice she deserved someone better tha him. Infact he'd rather date some trashy popular and break their heart than ruin Melissa's happiness.
"Sorry." He said
"No need to be sorry, I'm just looking out for you." melissa Answered. "I'll watch you run today if you like, I've got some homework to catch up on, I'll be in the stands." She smiled happily, she knew how much Aaron liked spectators when he ran.

Aaron nodded and went off to get changed, he appriciated the company because it beated being at home alone.

First thing's first. He needed to feed and he needed to feed now. He was hungry this morning and had barely restrained himself from jumping from the tree to the human's side and ripping out his throat. That would not be productive. He would find some willing victim before he set eyes on Aaron again, for his sanity and the human's safety. Nala trailed behind him, her expression vacant but her eyes bright with curiosity as he walked down the street. To cover his glowing eyes he was wearing a pair of tinted glasses that hid the colour of the irises as they were too dark to see through but they weren't sun glasses. Personally he hated those things although he couldn't fathom exactly why that was. Nala hadn't bothered with such an accessory but he suposed taht in the right light her eyes could look red anyway so it didn't matter as much for her.

It didn't take him long to find someone, a young man in fact with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. He seemed to be rather intent on the phone in his hand, pressing buttons fast, pausing to read something and then pressing the buttons again, not even watching where he was going. He took advantage of this and allowed the human to bump into him. The human let out a rather undignified yelp at the contact and would have fallen on his ass if the vampire hadn't quickly grabbed him, steadying the dark haired human before he could hit the ground.

"You should be more careful where you're going," he said pleasantly. "You could've walked otu into the street and been hit by a car."
"Eh, I'll be fine," the human replied dismissively, stooping to pick up his phone, frowning when he saw that the screen was blank. Apparently the fall had knocked out the battery.
"Are you alright?" he asked the human, seeming concerned.
"Oh yeah, fine," the man replied, not really seeming to register the question. "What did you say your name was?"
"I didn't," he commented with slight amusement colouring his tone. "But, for the record, it's Marcus."
"Right, well, see ya around Marcus..." The human would have walked off but Marcus was quicker. He grabbed the human, not worrying about being seen. There were no humans to be heard nearby so he was perfectly safe. The human would have yelped if his mouth hadn't been covered. Marcus looked about and found exactly what he was looking for. Using his vampyric speed he was soon at the end of an alley with only one exit. He smirked as the human struggled more desperately in his hold, eyes blown wide in fear as Marcus allowed his fangs to show for the first time.

Without saying anything mroe Marcus tilted the human's head to the side and bit deep, savouring the feeling of the sweet blood running through teh human's veins. It wasn't the best he had ever tasted but he was so hungry that anything was good at this point. He drank deeply but not deep enough to kill, a skill he had mastered within the first century of turning. It usually took a bit longer for a newly made vampire to master the technique of feeding without killing their prey but Marcus had always been a fast learner. When he was sure that the human had given all he would be able Marcus removed his fangs and quickly licked the wounds, carefully removing any trace of blood as the natural healing abilities of his saliva took effect, closing the wounds and leaving no mark, as if there hadn't been an injury there moments before.

"How dull..." Nala commented from the mouth of the alley, leaning against one wall as she observed Marcus set the human against the wall so that, when he woke up, he'd think he'd taken a wrong turn and hit his head or something. Either that or he'd had a black out. It didn't really matter to Marcus as long as the human suspected nothing. As well as being a natural healer his saliva also had the ability to act as a memory blocker of sorts. It didn't make a person forget exactly, just took away their ability to create the memories of the event in the first place. It was a very handy ability and one taht had saved his life on more than one occasion when a hunter had been in the area.

"I did not wish to play," he replied simply.

"You're no fun," she commented but turned and strode out of the alley with Marcus following after checking the human a final time. He glanced at the watch he wore on his right arm. He didn't really need it of course but it was still good to have before striding down the road like any normal individual, looking like he had all the right in the world to be there, like like any other human. Albeit a human taht was acompanied by a girl that looked like she was dressed to attend a strip club.

Aaron came out fully changed and warmed up, he was soon ready to run and he began as soon as he set his timer on his watch in motion. He raced around the loop as fast as he could, he took long powerful strides the muscles in his legs warmed with anticipation of the finesh line, he gave a final push and checked his time. He swore under his breath, something had kicked his focus.

Melissa smiled and cheered from the stands, Aaaron had his hands on his knees as he was breathing sharp intakes of breath. He looked up and gave a short, happy, laugh. He waved at her.

After about an hours worth of practice Aaron was too exhausted to continue his running he went off to change into his joggers and walked out to see melissa.
"You're so good at running you should apply for the nationals." She commented cheerfully. Aaron shook his head.
"Nah I'm not good enough for that those athletes are insanely quick they're probably not even human and on some crazy experimental steriods. Ew don't get too close, I stink!" He laughed, but it was true, he did whiff a bit, he thought longingly aboutteh shower he was going to take at home. He boreded the last bus home from the school with Mellisa, it was a quiet ride back, he just stared out of the window.

By the time he arrived home he saw a familier car in the drive, his mum was home. He walked into the house and dumped his bags on the floor, he called out, "I'm home!" before running upstairs to have a shower, his mum had already made herself dinner and was eating it on the sofa whilst watching some rubbish television.

He was just in time to see his human return home. He watched as the other all but ran into the house. He internally smirked to himself, knowing that the other had been running. It wasn't exactly a difficult asumption to make. Well that and, thanks to his vampyric senses he could smell the human from accross the street. The other hadn't noticed he and Nala standing but he had been preoccupied so that was no surprise.

"Will you claim him now?" Nala asked, her tone somehow managing to convey curoisity without shifting from neutrality.

"Not yet," Marcus replied simply, staring at teh house. He suddenly shifted and moved accross the street. He glanced back at Nala but she wasn't following him so far so he put her out of his mind for the moment. He quickly moved,finding a near by tree that would give him just the vantage point he wanted. He found his way into the branches and settled himself comfortably in the join where branch met trunk. Once his place was secure he was unsurprised to hear movement above and, sure enough, when he looked up he saw Nala a few branches above, her legs swinging slibghtly as she sat on one of the highest branches.

He turned his mind away from her and refocused on the object of his current interest. There was a window a little lower but still clearly within his line of sight. From the window there would be many shadows and his form would be mostly obscured except.....He smirked and his eyes bled crimson once more, glowing slibghtly in the darkness. This would be fun. He suposed what he was doing would technically be called 'stalking' but it would be fun to play before moving in. He was a predator after all and what predator did not like playing with their prey?

Aaron had a quick shower, he rubbed his aching leg and shoulder muscles in the hot water. He found it soothing and unlike his invigorating morning shower. He walked onto his room with the small towel saftley around his waist, he shook his head letting his wet hair spray droplets onto his carpet. there was a foot wide gap in his curtains. He walked up to the window and closed it quickly before he removed his towel to dry himself.

He was always worried that the pervy neighbours ould look in through his window. Not that he was ashamed of his body. It was toned and healthy - his running made sure of that. However, that didn't mean it was there for all to see.

He pulled on a pair of comfortable cargo shorts and a loose grey teeshirt, he opened his curtains again to let the light in and walked downstairs to the kitchen. He looked at the greasy left over microwave spaghetti bolognaise and turned his nose up at it. Hi mum hollered from the living room,
"I left the pasta stuff for you, its on the side, just shove it in the microwave if its cold." She didn't let her eyes wander from the TV.

Aaron poked at the pasta before deciding that he didn't like it. He found the wholewheat pasta in the cupboard and started boiling it in the pan he opened a can of tuna and found some lettuce. Aaron couldn't throw off his focus when he was so close to compeating.

He watched as his prety entered his room, clearly just finished with his shower. The other male closed the curtains but the outline of his body was just visible through the material. He knew what he would see anyway, the almost exact double of his own form. He knew there would be slight diffeences but they would still be almost identical. Whether the other knew it or not (in this case not yet) they were twins so would be similar but with some slight differencse. He looked at the other as the curtains were opened again, now dressed, before the other left the room, presumably to head downstairs to get some food.

"Can we catch him now?" Nala asked from above and he was quite sure he heard boredom in her voice.

"No," he replied flatly.

"Can we catch him now?"

"No."

"Can we catch him now?"

"No."

"Can we-"

"No, Nala!" he snarled, turning his ruby gaze to glare at the other vampire. "If you're so bored then go and find your own prey."

She sniffed, looking indignant before tossing her hair and settling down to lean against the tree trunk. Thankfully she remained quiet though and Marcus was thankful for that small mercy at least.

Aaron carried his food into the living room and ate it quickly, he had a lot of homeowrk to catch up on but it was clear his mum was trying her best to be a good mother and talk to him.
"So... Good day at school?" She questioned.
"... Urh, it was 'kay," He said inbetween frenzied mouthfulls of tuna and pasta. His mum wrinkled her nose at his obsessive healthy eating.
"When does your running season end?" She asked.
"Two months, or when I don't get through but i'm hoping I'll qualify again this year." He said, he didn't wna tto go into much detail. It might just be him and his mother in the house but they kept themselves to themselves.

He took his plate to the kitchen and washed it up in the sink. It wasn't draining properly so he grabbed the toolbox and started poking around, after many years of experience of fixing things in the house he managed to find the problem. He shoved drain cleaner down the hole and left it.

Finally Aaron was able to go upstairs to his room and get on with his homework. He looked out at the warm sun getting lower in the sky. he scattered the history paper over his desk and opened his textbook trying to make sense of it all. He began to write, it wasn't his best essay but he knew it would have to do, hew as too tired to get much else done. He hated history, it didn't interest him in the slightest. He couldn't care less what happeend in the past because he wasn't there to experience it.

His eyes sharpened as he heard movement in the room and, sure enough, there he was. He was at his desk doing his school asignments as far as he could tell but it didn't matter. He was able to see his twin and that filled him with excitement as he stared through the window. The sun was getting lower and lower and soon it would set. Nala made a small noise above him and he could tell it was an amused sound even if he couldn't make out exactly what it was. He cast a glare up at her before refocusing on the window.

He began to mentally debate with himself about what he should do next. He had waited so long and he didn't want to wait any longer. He wanted to go into that room and awaken the memories of the human, get his brother back in one move but he couldn't, not yet. The human wasn't ready. An idea came to mind and he carefully readjusted himself on the granch, hidden in the shadows cast by the leaves. There was still a little light so his shadow would be seen but his featues would be hard to make out from this angle if the human did look up. His eyes would be clear though and that was all he needed.

"Aaron..." he called softly, his voice low and gentle like a summer's wind. He knew it would carry to the window and reach the human's ears, had had centuries of practicing this so that, when needed, he could call his prety to him. The tone as laced with a slight hypnotic suggestion but not much. He wanted the human to pay attention to teh sound but not compell him directly. That, after all, would ruin the thrill of the chase. "Aaron..." he called again, slightly louder so that it seemed that the sound was closer to the human's ear and also a little more insistant.

Aaron heard his name and he flinched. When he heard it the second time he looked around, "Yeah?" He called out, he felt stupid there wasn't anyone around. He went to his window and looked down the street but he couldn't see anyone there. He rubbed his forehead, he knew hewas tired he didn't think he was insane. He sat back down at his desk and continued to write.

He stood up and went downstairs incase it was his mum calling him, but he was certain it wasn't. he peered in the livingroom to see her curled up asleep on the sofa infront of the TV. He turned the TV off and closed the curtains. He flicked the light off and pulled the blanket from behind the sofa up and over his mother. He walked to the kitchen and got himself a glass of orange juice. He went back upstairs to his room, the room had gottena lot colder so he went to the window and closed it to a crack, he pulled on a hooded jacket too.

He felt himself smirk as the human walked to teh window and looked out. Unfortunately he didn't look up but taht was no matter. As the human left teh room, presumably to either go to the bathroom or go downstairs, Nala used her feet to begin tapping him on the head from above. He ducked out from under her, annoyed, and shifted so taht he was no longer in her range. Did she really not have any self control? Or had she just lived so long that she'd foregone the need for such things? It seemed likely although he knew he would never ask, not in a million years would he ever ask her about how old she actually was.

As the human came back upstairs with an orange drink and shut the window Marcus took his chance. He leaned down further and began to whisper, his voice lilting and soft, compelling in it's entirity.

"Aaron...Come to me Aaron...Come to the window...Let me see you, Aaron..."

Aaron rubbed his neck, he was goin insane, the thought. He could hear his voice. He knew he would have to get some rest because this was getting weird. However he did feel inclined to walking towards the window. He threw open the curtains and shoved the window open. He peered into the dark.
"What? What do you want?" He said witha low grumble. "Stop being stupid." He wasn't sure whether he was saying that last part to himself or whoever the person he could here was.

Whatever it was it sounded weird, almost like his own voice, this confirmed in his own mind that it probably was his mind playing tricks on him. He heard a little shuffle in the tree like a bird had taken off. But there was no leaving bird. he swore under his breath, the open window was begining to make his room cold but he didn't want to close it. He left the window and closed the curtains.

He changed into his PJ trousers and pulled a thin jumper over his torso, he lay above his covers on hsi bed and stared at the ceiling.

Marcus smirked as Aaron came to the window. The human's face was so confused...he was having too much fun adn he knew it but the thrill of the chase was taking hold and he wanted to enjoy it. It was in his nature to toy with his chosen prey and even when the other was his twin he could not resist his nature. The games were one of the most important aspects of hunting when you had the time to do it properly and he had all the time in the world at the moment. The window was open but the curtains were closed now.

Perfect.....

Sending Nala a look that clearly said 'stay here' he silently jumped from the tree to the window ledge just outside the window. The leaves rustled slightly but other than that there was no sound to indicate that he had gotten closer to his prey. He smirked as his eyes glowed. Their colour was so intense it was almost burning. He knew because of the light that his silouette would be visible through the curtains since they weren't taht thick but hopefully the amterial would also show his eyes. If his heart still beat he was sure it would be going a mile a minute as the excitement built. He was so close but still not yet there. He could reach in and grab the human before he had time to make a sound but he did not. He wanted the other to come of his own free will.

Aaron plugged his player into his ears and let some soothing music lul him to sleep before he fell asleep he switched off his lights and crept underneath the covers of his bed. He tied not to think about the voices in his head and he hoped they wouldn't retern. As soon as he closed his eyes the horrors of the nightmare before began to flood and invade his brain.
He clenched the bedsheets in his hands and closed his eyes tightly.

he made a vow that if this carried on he would go and see a crazy doctor for the mental. The music was just loud enough to shut him off from the world. Atleast he would know if he was mental but now he was asleep voices in his head were not a problem.

He was asleep and so hadn't seen Marcus at the window. Well that was just fine with him. marcus pulled back the curtain and slipped through teh window. There was an old myth that a vampire could not enter a dwelling unless invited but that was nothing but an old wives tail designed to make people feel safer when the supernatural forces of the world were far more well spread and believed in. As his feet touched the floor he was careful not to make a sound. The other had ear phones in and so would not hear him in all likelyhood but it never hurt to be extra careful. After all he did not know where the other's mother was at the moment so there was no reason to take unnecessary chances.

He stalked silently to the top of the bed and stood for a while, lookig down at teh human. The other seemed to be asleep with the headphones on but he knew that if teh other turned the headphones would dig into his skin and he would wake. he couldn't have that. He carefully slipped the little devices from the other's ears and set them own gently beside him, being careful not to disturb his ignorant twin as he did so. He brushed a stray starnd of hair away from his face, fingers trailing over teh skin as he looked down at the human reflection of his own face.

"Soon..." he murmured. "Not long now. Until we meet again but for now...rest." He placed his hand against the other's forehead and released a small wave of energy, another compulsion of sorts, and slowly pushed into the other's mind. He enduced a state of calm so taht the other would sleep peacefully. "Dream of the past," he whispered, almost directly into the other's ear before slipping from the room once more, jumping to the ground rather than returning to the tree. Nala was close behind, silent as she followed him back to his home above teh urban sprawl.