Kerian frowned, she did have a point. It really wasn't self defense to whack someone from behind. He sighed softly and let his shoulders slump just the slightest bit. "Okay, you got me on that. It wasn't really self defense, I just wanted to knock some sense into that guy, but believe me, if I'd known it was going to cause anyone other than him to get hurt, I wouldn't have done it. I do know how to behave and restrain myself. I've had a lot of practice at it." His violet colored eyes showed nothing but sincerity and maybe a tiny bit of amusement in them. "Your sister will be okay right? She is alone with a half vampire, and bleeding. Also, I was wondering, could we maybe, keep this incident between us and not let Mr. Albert Alexander Hughes know how badly I behaved?" Kerian didn't really think she would agree to not notifying his guardian, but it was worth a try.

Chandra sighed as he spoke, the amusement annoying her slightly. Only as he mentioned Theia did she seem to soften slightly though she did frown. She knew Theia could handle herself, even if it bleed a little. She would have to help Theia meditate later, with physical contact and meditation Chandra could temporarily share her healing with her. Theia didn't like it but it was one of the few things Chandra put her foot down about rather then just letting her beloved sister have her way...

"If he tries to hurt her I can always tear him apart later." She said with a shrug, perfectly serious. She would kill him if he hurt Theia a second time, and no one could stop her. Still, she mused a moment over letting his guardian know. She wasn't like Theia, the rules meant nothing to her. Theia once she accepted a responsibility she had to take it all the way but Chandra didn't give a damn. She only accepted the job as leader because she knew Theia would have to work with whoever the vampire leader and she didn't trust any other vampire with Theia.

"...Tell you what, I won't tell him if you do something for me... You keep an eye on Theia when I can't. She's too nice for her own good and a little naive sometimes, She'll forgive you and that idiot before the week's over...If you will do that then I won't call Hugh..." Chandra said quietly, instantly setting on the idea. She had no problem doing a favor if he would keep Theia safe. Honestly she was tempted to hit the guy herself... not because he hated vampires, she sympathized with the feeling to put it mildly. It was because he was hurting Theia's feelings, simple as that.

Seeing Theia bandage up her arm reminded Jaio of his own injury. He nodded as he pulled out a regular old sewing needle and thread, expertly threading the former. Then he grit his teeth and began stitching up the injury. It only took two stitches, but it still hurt. He was just lucky it wasn't blessed. That would've been unbearable. "But how can you trust other vampires? It was one of them that did that to your sister after all," he replied, lavender eyes focused on tying the thread so that it wouldn't come loose. "I mean, I understand how you don't despise your sister. I probably wouldn't despise a sibling, if I had one, who became a vampire. Really, I'm asking about vampires in general."

As he finished up taking care of his own injury, he looked up, glancing at the wound a bit oddly. It still didn't make any sense. "I, uhm, have some salve if you want it," he said, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. "It does a pretty good job of cleaning up wounds. Heals them much faster too." He coughed then, digging though his bag for the container. Once he found it, he set it forward, almost as though he was just casually setting it out. While it sat there, he took out his own bandages and wrapped up his stitching, wary of having them rip open again.

~~~

"Yeah, take what you want, though you don't have to make it sound like I have enough for a country. It was only two small deer that we found, so there's only one left," he said, laughing as he entered the den. The smell of venison was almost overpowering, but Waya had long passed he stage where the scent of meat could make him change. Talia, on the other hand, wasn't that old. He whipped around when he saw her take off her shirt, his face a brilliant rosy colour as he stumbled out. "So... short stories and poems. Any particular themes or genres you like to write about?"

He still couldn't help but notice that Ziva seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with... well, he didn't really know what, just that she looked uncomfortable with something. He sighed then, glancing at the sky with a mental plead to the spirits to help him. But then he scented something... wrong. Whipping around, he saw an owl, which hooted at him six times, one for each hour of the day. Immediately, he created the sign to ward misfortune away with his hand, back up as the owl fluffed itself up. While the sun was far from directly overhead, it also was a bit far from the fall of dusk. Which meant that that owl should never have been up. As the demon bird flew away though, he relaxed visibly, though he was still greatly concerned. What was going to happen?

~~~

Gail grinned at her sister widely, feeling the rush of sensations she felt from sight. She couldn't actually see what her sister did, but she could feel the impressions. "Describe it to me, please," she asked, tapping ahead with her cane as she navigated the crowd of people. That was how they usually did things. Gail would do the same thing for her sister, but with music and speech instead. They had had quite a few years to work out their system after all.

"I smell pumpkins. Do you smell pumpkins, Elysia?" she asked, nose twitching with the strong scent as a girl walked by. But she was outside of Gail's range, and so she had no way of knowing. The girl wasn't actually wearing that much perfume. It was just enough that Gail's incredible sense of smell, bolstered by her lack of vision and vampiric nature, as were her other three senses, was able to pick it up easily. "And now it's gone. Strange. Do you know what it was?"

~~~

Tsula nodded simply, a small blush peeking through the greenish tint to her face. "Anything with sugar in it makes me... sick. I don't know why though," she said, hiccuping slightly. They weren't full-blown, or, in other words, half-hiccups. Despite the fact that she was only a few steps away from returning her lunch to mother nature, she was still only worried about Waya finding out. He would tease her up a storm. He knew that she sneaked sugary snacks behind his back occasionally, but he honestly figured that she'd learn eventually.

"Do you have any... Pepto-bismol? You know... the pink stuff?" she asked, struggling to her feet to take another drink as another girl stepped back and smiled at them. To her question, Tsual simply nodded, gulping down water like she had just emerged from the Sahara. While the relief was only temporary, it was relief, so therefore, she couldn't help but continue to swill the water, only stopping and sitting back down when her tummy felt like it would explode.

Kerian relaxed, he hadn't really realized how tense he'd been until he had relaxed. He also realized he was feeling a bit...hungry. It wasn't like the hunger blood drinking vampires felt nor was it like a rumbling belly kind of hunger human's felt. It was like feeling emotionally drained but not quite. Kerian couldn't really explain how it felt to himself, heaven forbid if anyone ask him to explain it to them. He wouldn't be able to. Kerian shifted on his feet slightly, he was beginning to feel other emotions, even the emotions of people way out in the courtyard, or rather, the energies associated with those emotions. No farther than the courtyard though, but that was an early sign it was time to feed.

Kerian nodded at Chandra's words, though now he seemed slightly disinterested, distracted. Distracted by the energy he could feel, human and nonhuman and other vampire energy. Though he couldn't really feed on vampiric energy, it just wasn't as life giving as nonvampires. Humans were the best though. He blinked, violet colored eyes beginning to show a myriad of emotions behind them as he felt the energies with more clarity, he could feel it, and it made his own mood begin to plummet. Slowly the depression was creeping in."..No problem..I can watch your sister for you..." Kerian glanced around, of course he didn't expect to see anyone else in his dorm.

He hated it. The way it made him feel, all those emotions just creeping into him as he hungered for the energies that they emitted. It made him angry and as always, the anger quickly gave way to depression. A long low sigh escaped his lips. "..I need someone's energy.." He would need it quickly, his hunger escalated faster than normal vampires because it was energy. Or something like that. Kerian didn't quite understand it, even though Albert had explained it to him plenty of times. It was mostly happiness and excitement that poured into him. All the students here were very excited. It caused Kerian to bounce on his feet for a few moments before sighing again and chewing his bottom lip. He looked away from Chandra, the depression would win the struggle for dominance all those emotions played out inside of him. It always did.

Theia sighed and shook her head, he was using one being bad for hatred for all and trying to make it logical? She glanced at the salve and debated a moment. Chandra would probably do a healing anyway but it would make him feel he had done something useful. She muttered a thanks and applied some to the wound before re-wrapping it. She stayed quiet a moment in thought and debated what to say.

"Because she proves everyday they have a choice and are just as individual as humans. So saying they're all bad because there are bad vampires would be no different then saying all humans are because there are bad humans. Are all humans hitler? No, so why would all vampires be...t..that man? As long as vampires have a mind they are individuals and act as such so should be judged as such. " She shuddered slightly at the memories, not able to say his name. She knew it but she could never bring herself to say it. It was foolish of course but it felt that somehow saying the name gave him power even though she'd killed him herself. She didn't know why he was trying to apply logic to feelings of hatred... It was no more logical then the vampire who tortured her hating humans as he did. She never knew why, maybe no one alive still did.

***

Chandra’s nodded as he agreed, that was a worthy trade for her. Honestly she didn't think calling parents meant anything anyway. She was ready to leave now as she had accomplished what she had in mind. He would interrupt her before she could, however. She knew Theia had one volunteer... a shy therian who owed Theia her life, Ziva she thought her name with.

"I'll get you someone..." She said quietly, stepping out of the room. She would disappear for a few minutes before bringing back the white haired Theia. She had strong energy despite her weak seeming personality... Chandra had taken one meal from her once. She was strangely...tasty for lack of a better word. She doubted she could support the whole dorm, however, so hopefully more would volunteer.



"Just...life, mainly fiction for the stories though..." Ziva answered with a soft blush. She couldn't help but giggle at the fact Waya was as well. It was funny how young he looked then.. She wouldn't giggle long, however, as Chandra came out of the shadows like a ghost. She adored Theia but Chandra rather scared her. She just wasn't sure what to think...Chandra explained the situation quietly and Ziva nodded.

"Sorry Waya, I have to go... I'll be back later like i promised..." She said softly. She gave Waya a smile then turned to Chandra. She didn't explain why she had to leave or think too much of the owl. It wasn't that she disbelieved signs... she just figured she'd take evil as it came. She followed Chandra silently and soon saw the vampire with his guitar. He was actually rather cute but she wouldn't admit it.

"Er... Chandra says you need...a meal" She said quietly to Keri. She was never sure how people wanted to feed... But considering her history it wouldn't be the first time she was food so she had no problem with it. She at least felt useful then. Ultimately that was Ziva's wish, to be useful.

***

Elysia nodded and telepathically answered. She described the beautiful trees and the dove fountain, and how the buildings were laid out. She always tried to convey the feelings with her words, more then the looks. It was the feeling she always wanted to relay to Gail more then anything. It seemed to mean most to her anyway. She would have continued for some time but Gail was already asking another question. She glanced at the woman with the perfume, thinking it was an odd perfume.

~"A woman with perfume...pretty i suppose~ She responded absently. She honestly didn't care too much, but she would always do her best to fulfill Gail's wishes.

***

By the time Chandra returned with his meal, Kerian was sitting on the floor pouting with his guitar over his lap. Theia had stopped him from doing any permanent damage to Jiao's skull, but contact had been made nevertheless and his lovely guitar most likely wouldn't sound so lovely anymore if he tried to play it. He was pouting, running his fingers over the beautiful thing a little remorsefully. True he could get a new one. Gods knew he had the money to afford it, but that wasn't the point. A very sad sigh passed his lips, and he blinked, looking up at Ziva when she spoke.

Keri shoved the guitar aside and stood. He didn't need to touch her, or be too close to take her energy, but he took a few steps towards her anyway and smiled slightly. "...I'm not like the others..I don't bite...Though this might make you feel a little empty emotionally. At least for a little bit, I can't really explain it." He didn't have to do anything special, didn't need to close his eyes or touch her, they were close enough. He just focused on her energy and gave a gentle tug at it, urging it towards him. Kerian wouldn't take much, only enough to satisfy his hunger. Since she had gotten here so quickly, it wouldn't take too much energy to sate him. When he was done he licked his lips and smiled brightly at her. "Thanks for that...I'm done now." Violet eyes were clear and held on the emotions he wanted them to show. He no longer felt the tug and pull of everyone's energy and emotions like he had before feeding.

Ziva tried to say something as the other woman left but it was too late... She frowned to herself but let her go, sighing gently. It was what it was... She turned back to the vampire and offered him a smile before she let him feed without a word. She felt strange for a moment, her beast rising to sniff curiously metaphorically speaking. She felt her heart beat as he stepped closer, thinking he was cute again and a musician too. That was the last thing she would remember for a moment as part of her personality slipped... She was ziva, yet she wasn't. She was Ziva without all Ziva's ties, Ziva's beast and instinct.

"Already? that wasn't much fun... not even a hug." Ziva murmured but her voice sounded different, a slight animalistic purr to it. She leaned closer as if to whisper a secret to him, only to pause. She giggled a little, all shyness gone. She was empty... but not in the way he was thinking. She would whisper a secret, one that would make Ziva cringe when she was herself again.

"Empty? Oh I feel a little empty but only because you're over there instead of right here." She whispered as she peered at him from under thick eyelashes. She started to say something more but her eyelids dropped and she returned to herself. The memory of what just happened hit her after a moment and she instantly recoiled, red as blood and more embarrassed then she could say. She couldn't even speak, when she tried a mouse like squeak escaped her instead. W..what the hell had that been?

***

Chandra told Ziva to take care of the vampire and disappeared before the shy girl could object. She then headed for the privacy dorm. She sat on the roof, feeling her sister's health but still worried. She didn't like her being alone with the judgmental man... Theia was too sensitive! She wanted nothing more then to burst in on the two but Theia was blocking her so all she could do was pout on the roof like some lost gargoyle.


((ppoooooor Ziva XD.))

Kerian blinked when Ziva spoke. 'Not even a hug'. He frowned, well he could have hugged her, he supposed. Perhaps it would have made her feel appreciated? Maybe she just felt used or something...Her next words stopped his train of thought completely. A blush colored his own cheeks, but it was a light one. As far as Kerian knew, he was still a virgin. Then again, he couldn't remember anything from before the night he was turned, two years ago. Usually things didn't embarrass or catch him off guard, but her words were just so unexpected. He blinked. She was kinda cute, he supposed, but he didn't know her, and he had just 'fed' from her. It'd be kinda weird to get intimate anyway. Kerian shook his head, composing himself better than Ziva was. She seemed very embarrassed now and Kerian wasn't quite sure what was going on with her. "Perhaps you should go now? It was very nice meeting you." He nodded politely at her. Honestly Keri didn't know what else to do about such a situation.

Ziva was too horrified a moment to speak. She hadn't... she knew her Leopard beast grew with her so was entering that age but Jesus... It was going to give her virginity away to a total stranger? She could die... and apparently he was just as bad as her. Tears instantly began to fall, she couldn't help it. She wanted to explain, to say something.. but she wasn't sure. She bit her lip.

"I..I'm sorry... I .. I didn't realize the Leopard ...it...it's entering the age... Oh god.. forget what i said earlier, Please forget everything..." She finally managed to stutter as sheer horror hit her. She didn't realize she'd grown her ears and tail as happened sometimes when she was especially hurt or nervous. Without another word she would run from the room, the tears starting to flow even harder. She was too filled with horror to keep her tears back....

She didn't even look where she was going... Not that she could see through her tears anyway. She had known that she sometimes had to tighten the straps of the leopard when something like this happened but nothing like this! She didn't know that her unusual abilities would make an energy vampire eating from her able to make strange things happen... She could have died from embarrassment, hell part of her wanted to. She would have to see him again as the only donor currently recruited. She knew she could prevent the leopard from taking control again... probably... but just seeing him again was bad enough.

Kerian shrugged slightly as she tried to make an excuse or explain why she had said what she had said. Her explanation was a bit lacking, and then she was bolting from the room. Maybe he hadn't handled the situation as well as he could? Kerian exited the room after her, he looked down the hall watching her run off. Should he go after her? Keri shook his head, that would probably make things worse. He was still trying to figure out exactly what had happened, it was like she had been two different people. Well she was one of those shapeshifters, so maybe acting like that was normal for them? Somehow Kerian doubted that. He stood there in the doorway, running a hand through his hair and thinking. So far it had been a very interesting day. Not quite as dull as he had expected it to be.

Ziva wasn't aware he had followed her at all and was instead heading to a small shadowy corner behind the buildings where she could be alone. She covered her head with her hands and began to cry in earnest. She could only shake with tears, devastated by her own behavior. She couldn't face him.. ever. How could she have let the leopard out? Dear god...How had it even happened? nothing like that had ever happened before... She could die... Part of her wanted to. She didn't even know the beast could act that independent of her...

Kerian sighed softly, and went back into his room. He was pleased when a few minutes later his bags were brought in.

Roland had put his things in his room and come back outside. It was a pretty day and he felt like he ought to get himself more acquainted with some of the other students. Even if the vampires made him just a little nervous. He had just stepped outside when he thought he glimpsed someone, a girl, running back behind the buildings. He frowned, was she running away from something or running to someone? The human shrugged and decided to see what was going on. He moved around the buildings and stopped. The girl was obviously crying, so she had probably run away from someone. Roland cleared his throat just slightly, his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "Ah..Are you alright?" He called softly at her. Not wanting to upset her any further, if she told him to go away he would. He didn't really want to invade her privacy or anything like that.

Ziva shook her head as he approached and she tried to wipe up ehr tears. Still she couldn't stop them from coming. The beast shouldn't have had that force of personality, it shouldn't be possible! What had just happened couldn't happen! It was physically impossible! She whimpered and covered her head even further with her arms as she tried to hide her face from him.

"I...I..I'm fine..." She lied but the tears just came harder and she shivered. She didn't know what to say for a moment as she tried to hide her head in her arms. This boy was being nice... but her mind was elsewhere. keri...he...he must think her some kind of bizarre whore, she sure felt like one anyway. Oh god, what if it got back to the pack or Waya and the dorm! She couldn't bare that... Maybe she could pretend to be sick and stay out the first week of school? Nah... theia was too smart to buy it...

"I..I'm sorry, I...I don't mean to be a bother" She whispered quietly to Roland, knowing her lie couldn't have been that convincing. She still didn't look at him... maybe she should write a note to Keri and slip it under the door? He must be so confused...and disgusted. She could always be so much better on paper then when she tried to speak.

"You don't seem fine...and your aren't being a bother." Roland stepped a bit closer to her. She was so upset, he wanted to reach out and hug her, but he wasn't sure that was such a good idea. They didn't know each other, and a hug from a stranger might upset her even more. He knelt down next to her and reached out to place a hesitant, but hopefully, comforting hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to tell me what's wrong, you can just cry on my shoulder if it'll make you feel better. I don't mind, really." He smiled softly at her.

Ziva shook her head and bit her lip. She couldn't help but cry further, especially when he touched her shoulder. She wasn't sure if anyone should be nice to her... right now she felt weak and stupid. She bit her lip and tried to change the subject but instead she found herself talking about what happened. Her words tumbled outward and her tears become as strong as they could.

"I...I am a b-b-bother... I lost c-c-c-control... I wasn't m-m-myself, I don't know h-h-how. I-i-it s-s-shouldn't be p-possible. T-the L-l-leopard shouldn't h-h-have a personality... I-i'm t-t-terrible...I l-l-looked like a w-whore" She found herself babbling. She didn't mean to... He was a stranger. Now she was being really weak... but she couldn't stop.

Against his better judgement, Roland slipped his arms around her and pulled her close. "That does seem like a problem. I'm sure whoever you were with does not think you're a whore." He tried to be soothing, or at least calm her down some. He moved his hand in soothing circles on her back. "And I'm sure there's someone you could talk to about the losing control thing. Someone that could give you some advice or pointers on how to keep it from happening? I really don't know much about that sort of thing." He hugged her gently. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, I'm sure the person realizes something wasn't quite right. So I doubt they will think of you as a whore." Really, what else could he say? "I've just met you and I don't think you're a whore. So please try to feel better and calm down some." Roland might not be the best at comforting people but he was trying his best.

Ziva shivered as he hugged her, not use to physical contact... at least not meant to comfort. She didn't mean to keep crying but she couldn't stop... He was just being too nice. She disagreed, sure that Keri thought bad things about her now. He had asked her to leave, if that didn't say what he thought what did? She didn't have anyone to talk about it with either... not really. It wasn't normal for a therian so no therian could explain it and Theia was human so couldn't explain it either she was sure. Maybe the Snow Leopard who turned her could say but he was dead so taht was out too.

"He d..does..and he s-should..." She whispered as she thought about Keri again. She'd made the school look bad too so Theia would probably be mad at her... or if not chandra would be for upsetting Theia! It was a no win situation and she didn't know what to do about it. Right now she half wanted to be back with her pack... even if they'd kill her eventually. At least they expected her to be weak and stupid so when she was it wasn't disappointing... She sniffed lightly, her tears were starting to stop even if she felt miserable.

"Fair enough, but if you only saw every member of a race committing atrocious acts, you'd be led to believe that they all did, right?" Jiao asked, leaning forward slightly. "I'm not validating hatred, but even if I get rid of that, I'm not so sure I could actually befriend any vampire. I've never met a vampire who came across as 'good' in the sense that humans think of." Abruptly, he sat back, vaguely aware that her sister was perched on top of his dorm. He sighed loudly then, pulling the stopper from his canteen before downing a good bit of it. Talking always made his throat hurt for some reason, though only after a sizeable duration, of course.

Listening intently, Gail sighed as the feelings present in her sister's words washed over her. It was all so beautiful! Even the mention that the source of the pumpkin smell was a girl was delightful. It made her step and take a spin, a risky maneuver for her considering her blindness. A sharp, rank emotion crashed forward, however, interrupting her cheer and souring her mood. "There's a great sadness over that way, Elysia," she explained, not intending her sister to worry even the slightest bit about her. "What say we go and help out? I'm feeling a tad hungry anyway. Maybe they'll let me feed?" Of course, sadness was far from preferable, but if it helped, Gail wouldn't complain.

Leading the way to the source, Gail could tell based on the energy around her that people were purposely avoiding her. They were literally hopping out of her way. It made her frustrated usually, but that day was an exception. She had somewhere to be. Eventually, they neared the source, the proximity allowing Gail to decipher three lifeforms in front of her: two human, and one animal. Strangely enough, the animal and the sad human seemed to be close to the same area. Using her cane, she tapped the human, whom she discovered to be a girl, and where she thought the animal would be. Of course, she never hit an animal. "Oh! Now that's interesting, You've got an animal inside you, sweetheart, and it looks like it's stronger than you right now, or at least pretty close to it," she said, useless eyes staring over her head. "If that's what's causing you such sadness, I could feed on it and weaken it a bunch. Would you like me to do that?" Of course, every word she said was also telepathically sent to her sister as well so that she could hear what was being said.

((0.0 Why is it always this way? I make one post for some people's six!))

Talia finished stripping, pouncing on the meat while still partially shifted. Her shifts were smoother than others in her age group, but she thought it was because they fought it, and she just let it happen. It was much easier, truth be told. The hungry ocelot started digging into the feast before it, all thoughts of being Talia gone for the moment.

---

Dana nodded to Tsula, part of her mind still wondering if it was being a therian that made this happen to her. She looked up to the new girl, nodding to her, too. "I do have some, up in my class. I'll be right back with it," she said to Tsula, standing to turn her attention over to Artemis. "Did you just arrive? I can point out the rule sheet on my way."

((I think I will make a healer, in a bit.))

(sounds good)

Ziva felt a light tap and briefly looked up, her eyes red from tears. She bit her lip, desperately wanting to run. Was her crying becoming a public show? She frowned a little, but said nothing. She wasn't so sure that the beast could be fed on without weakening her, it was a part of her. Yet it had never seemed so foreign, so different. It was as if someone else had moved into her head and she didn't like it one bit...

"I...I'm a therian... A..Are you sure it's wise?" She whispered softly even if a few tears still fell, though inwardly she was a little afraid. She wasn't sure about the new woman. She sniffed, able to smell it was a vampire but there was something else... a scent of disease or decay that wasn't typical of most vampires. She twitched her currently cat like ears, still miserable but slightly distracted by her curiosity. It was one of the few good things about being a cat therian... easily distracted.

***

Theia sighed and briefly wondered how long her sister intended to sit up there. Probably as long as she stayed in here. She doubted that Jiao would be violent with her, yell maybe but not be violent. Then again it was hardly rare for a man to dislike hitting human women, at least in the macho world of vampire hunters. It was as if it made them less of a man in their eyes to hurt the 'weaker' sex. She was tempted to tell Chandra that when she felt Ziva begin to calm down. She would have to find out what happened later...

"When you deliberately only seek out the vampires who are so cruel, so evil even the other vampires want them dead what did you expect to find? Sounds a bit like a self fulfilling prophecy to me... I do wonder though, why you are here then. This school was founded on a simple principle, that war is pointless and lasting peace must be made for everyone's sake. Vampire, human, and therian. What, Jiao, do you expect to get out of this school?" She asked quietly, almost gently. She glanced up now and met his gaze, her own simply tired. She had been doing far more work on behave of the school then most realized...

***

Elysia nodded and followed her sister almost silently. She lived in a world of silence so it was just more natural for her than making noise...at least since they got sick. Her Aunt and Uncle always felt bad about the fact they had not turned them before the damage to her ears and Gail's eyes...Elysia didn't mind. It simply meant she didn't have to hear certain noises anymore. It was actually rather peaceful sometimes...

~... She has a kitty tail and ear's Gail, she's so cute I just want to pet her~ Elysia said telepathically to Gail, giggling inwardly even as physically she simply gazed around absently. She was not an empath like her sister so it just didn't have as much of an impact on her. She felt for the girl but she wasn't sure it was any of her business. Still she wouldn't stop Gail, Gail was a sweety by nature.

Roland continued to hug Ziva. "Now now, you can't possibly know what he thinks. I'm sure it was just a simple misunderstanding. You probably just startled him or something." He kept moving his hand in soothing circles along her back. "I'm sure everything will be alright, and he'll probably forget all about it soon enough." Roland blinked, looking up as someone else came around the corner. He frowned. He was sure this girl wasn't in the mood for more company, she probably didn't even want him around but he was there and he was trying to help. Roland watched the newcomers warily for a moment, it didn't take him long to realize one was blind. That was no reason to poke people with a stick though, and Roland had swatted the thing away gently. Her words though made his arms around Ziva tighten and glare at the blind one. "Go away. She's upset and a vampire eating from her isn't going to make her feel any better. Just because your a vamp doesn't mean you should be so rude, or break the rules. You can only feed from a willing donor so go find someone else to chew on." Roland really wasn't one to talk back to people like that, but the situation seemed to call for some kind of action.

Kerian had put his things away, more or less. Tossed his guitar next to the trash, deciding he would just get a new one and stepped out of his room. He could feel the snow leopard girl, she wasn't too far away. Behind the buildings, and since he had fed from her he could pick up her energy signals clearer than others. She was very upset. Kerian sighed, making his way out of the dorm building and around to the back. The girl was so upset, there was also a bit of fear and anger he picked up in that direction and something else. Another energy vampire? Kerian's nose wrinkled slightly. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He stepped around the building and stopped. The human Roland was telling the vampire off, Keri only caught the tail end of it though. He just leaned against the building and watched. Not quite ready to bring attention to himself yet. He also didn't think it would be a good idea for another to feed from Ziva so soon after his own feeding.

Ziva was startled as the hug tightened and he grew so protective of her. She flushed slightly, surprised and started to glance towards him. As she did so, however, she caught sight of Keri. Instantly she paled before she blushed again. She bit her lip before she looked away and hid under her hands again. She was sure he had to be mad at her... How he could not be when she despised herself right now? Still she did think she should speak...

"I...I don't think s...she meant it that way and I am the only donor volunteer right now... t..Theia's going to ask for more after the first day of classes..." She muttered miserably, not feeling to good about it right now. She didn't know why Keri's feeding had done what it did so how could she it wouldn't happen again? She wouldn't stop being a donor, she owed theia too much, but she still felt awkward. She took a deep breath and forced herself to stand, feeling Keri was owed an explanation. She approached him b ut didn't look at him. she couldn't face him.

"I...I'm sorry...I...I don't know what happened but I wasn't myself... please believe me..." She whispered softly but then her courage failed her. She stepped back and for a moment looked like she wanted to run away again. She glanced towards Roland as if asking for his help but then she felt guilty for that so looked away from him too. She wasn't sure what to do now... there were too many people here!

Roland frowned slightly at Ziva's words. She was the only donor? She couldn't sustain all the vampires here though, that would kill her. Roland wanted to continue to hug her, but when she stood, Roland let her. Standing also, he glared lightly at the blind vampire and then looked towards Kerian. Was it Keri that had Ziva so upset? Apparently so. Roland took a few steps towards them then stopped, until Ziva looked at him. He moved to stand just behind her, his eyes on Kerian. He didn't say anything, just watched the vampire with a stern look in his eyes.

Kerian stiffened a bit when Ziva looked at him. He hadn't meant to get noticed yet. Still sooner would probably be better than later. Honestly, he didn't like the fact that she was so upset, and it was more or less his fault she was upset. He had to do something to make her feel better. Even if he did blush just slightly when she approached him. He did believe her, but what could he do to make her feel better? Kerian sighed softly and pulled her against his chest in a hug. "I do believe you. It's alright, please don't be so upset about it. Really, it isn't a big deal at all. Things like that happen sometimes. Sometimes we lose control of ourselves to the beast that lives inside of us. It happens, you didn't murder anyone, so you shouldn't be this upset over it. At least you aren't a vampire." Kerian ran a hand over her ears gently, they were so soft.

Ziva was aware of Roland moving to stand behind her and couldn't help but blush slightly. Even though she instinctively had looked towards him she hadn't expected him to be so protective. It reminded her of her big brother... but at least Roland was a psychic so could defend himself. Her brother hadn't had that luxery. She suppressed the thought as Keri spoke, her thoughts to run briefly failing her. She nearly yelped in surprise as she was hugged and began to blush desperately. She had not expected that...

"B...but i wasn't even aware... Everything went fuzzy and black... It shouldn't have happened, I..I'm sorry.." She repeated, unable to keep a few more tears from coming. She didn't understand... it didn't make sense. In a way him being so nice to her made it harder, she just wasn't sure how to react. She didn't have many memories before the incident where she was turned so many of her memories were harsh. The pack would have boxed her ears and called her weak and that would have been the end of it... they wouldn't forgive her.

When he touched her ears she couldn't help the slight purring sound that escaped her and she blushed deeper. She also gasped and covered her mouth with her hand in embarrassment. She twitched her tail and tried to suppress the cat like sound. She was tempted to pull away but she was afraid it'd make him mad. She hid against his shoulder, happy he forgave her but so embarrassed. She was starting to become more embarrassed then sad at least.

Even the gentle touch Roland put on the cane disrupted Gail's balance enough that she stumbled a bit. Squinting her eyes in his general direction, she said nothing, simply analysing the emotions around her. The girl was remarkably upset, while the boy was protective and irritable. Still, it wasn't until Kerian stepped into her range that she noticed him, spinning around suddenly to face him. Intently, she listened to what he had to say, lips pursed. "So, you fed off of her? That explains a lot," she said, turning back to the girl. "See, you have two energies living together in you. By feeding off of the human energy, he weakened your dominance over the beast. If I feed off of the beast, then you can regain that dominance. Whaddya say?"

Of course, Elysia's remark about the ears and tail piqued her interest, resulting in her reaching out to the girl's head to feel for herself. That cleared up a lot about why she felt an animal. It was just that the girl hadn't harmonised with it yet. Most Therians faced a similar problem until they learned to work with the beast. But a harsh past or downright refusal to the customs and terms of the beast resulted in some... unfortunate consequences later on. Then she realised what she was doing and withdrew her hand hastily, blushing. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that," she said, looking towards her sister to bail her out.

~~~

Waya nodded to Ziva, understanding that she had duties outside of accompanying him. That was something a lot of people liked about him as a leader. He didn't expect the impossible and was understanding to unforeseen circumstances. Still, he felt a little sad that he would have to wait to get to know her better, frowning slightly as he turned back to the cave in time to see Talia ripping and rending the deer alive. His only reaction was to blink, wondering how such a sweet little girl could be so... vicious. He chuckled before shifting to accompany her, the magic in his blood morphing the clothing to extra fur. That's why it was made of wolf hide after all. Of course, having eaten earlier, he didn't really dive in to the meat, allowing Talia to eat more of it as she needed.

~~~

"Who said I deliberately hunted down cruel vampires? I just traveled. I guess I was just unlucky. I remember stopping in Rome one time. Everyone was terrified of something, and it wasn't long before I learned that it was just a coven of vampires," Jiao replied, tilting his head in thought. Had his judgement really been the result of a long series of unfortunate events? Could it be that he simply never found good vampires because of some cosmic fluke? It made next to no sense. Certainly, he would've found at least one good vampire among the few dozen he'd defeated. Shaking his head, he contemplated it. "Could you show me two vampires, not including your sister, that are good? If you could, then I swear by whatever ancestors I have that haven't forsaken me, I will try and get along with them. I'll give them a chance. That's all I can do."

Her question gave him quite a surprise though. It wasn't a question he had been expected to answer, ever. Yet, he had an answer within seconds. "I came here to keep an eye on the vampires," he said slowly. "But now, I'm starting to think that my original intentions were... misguided. Instead, I want to understand. I want to understand how you can love each race equally when one is so full of... cruelty. I believe that is the path that I should take."

((Nevermind. I have to wait for Jesse's post. :sweat:))