The snort of horses and songs of birds filled the air as the early morning sun broke through the thin cloth curtain of the small wooden ranch house. The room that the sun's rays fell into was empty and had been for some time, the bed cold and made. The house sat silent, empty as the occupants had already been up and working. The family that had owned the house and farmland for many years was out tending to the horses, most of them.

The family knew exactly who was missing and why. The older man looked towards the rising sun before saying, "They'll be back soon, prepare his stall." The younger kids looked at their father, nodding and running off to the barn. It had been many years since the family first became the Guardian of a long line of Cain's and in that time, while things hadn't changed, they had at the same time. The original house still stood, though it had been built upon and updated as technology and building standards changed. The original barn no longer existed as the family expanded to doing riding lessons and stabling of horses. Another thing that had changed was the fact that the farm did not associate with the original properties of the House of Cain, though they were never sought out for assistance anyway.

The sound of hooves beating against the ground started to be heard, the man lifted his head from watching a water trough fill with water. A beautiful horse was in full gallop from the woods, the rider riding in perfect sync with him. A smile graced the man's lips as he shook his head. "They're all the same," he laughed thinking about how his father told him, as his father him and so on, that there was an importance to the horses that had returned to them. The foul that had come with them was carefully raised, for its mother was the horse used by the original Lord of the House of Cain. The offspring of that foul were raised in much a same manner and each generation of Cain took that horse as their own. It was a symbol of their roots, yet none showed the enthusiasm of the horse as Dayna, the youngest generation.

"How went the hunt?" The man yelled, leaning against the fence as the horse started to slow to a trot, then a walk. Dayna sat back in her saddle, pulling her hair out of her face as a confident smirk played her face.

"Successful as always," she stated proudly as she pulled a slew of tied up birds from the back of her saddle. "Yes, yes, of course," the man said as he nodded his head towards the barn. "Go ahead and take him in, the little ones are ready for him." The brunette simply nodded before urging the horse onward. As distance grew between them, the man called out, "Today's the day isn't it?" The horse continued to walk and without looking back Danya nodded saying, "Yes, it is."

She didn't have to look back or hear to know that the man sighed, not liking the answer. It was Danya's twenty-seventh birthday, it was the age Rei was when she fled the attack on her home, saving their branch of the family. Granted, if you could call giving birth to a daughter and then vanishing, leaving her to grow up with people that she's not related to as saving. Dayna had vowed that she would return to her real home when she was of age and she would take it back.

Approaching the barns, she heard the rancher's children arguing about something. "Isn't it a bit early to be fighting?" She asked them as she slid off the horse, walking him towards his prepared stall. The kids jumped at being caught before spinning to look at Dayna. "Is it true?" The little girl asked, her bright blue eyes staring up at her. Dayna's brows furrowed as she stared at the child. "Is what true?" She then asked, handing the horse to the older boy as he said, "The kids papa teaches say you're a wolf."

A small smile graced the lips of the woman as she kept her chuckle in her throat. "Do you think I'm a wolf?" The kids looked at each other as they tied up the horse and began taking the tack off of him. They then shook their heads in unison. "No, the horses like you too much," the boy said as he fought the saddle onto its post. "But if you were a wolf, you're a nice one." Dayna smiled at the kids, putting a hand on the girl's head as she grabbed a brush to help them clean the horse up. "Well thank you for that," she said as she ran the brush over sweat covered fur. She remained silent for a moment, knowing that she didn't answer the children. "People can be anything if you want them to be if you think it hard enough. Mean people can be monsters and nice people can be angels, but that doesn't make it so," she said, her eyes watching the grey beast before her. "The important thing is for you to decide on your own, not to let the wiles of strangers lead you on."

The three continued to brush in silence, once done putting them away. The kids then approached the equally as sweaty woman, wrapping their arms around her in a hug. "You're definitely not a wolf. You're Dayna." They told her, keeping her trapped in the love for a few moments. Once they let her go, she simply smiled at them before grabbing her discarded weapons and kill.

It seemed that only this family saw the good in the woman of Cain. Rumors had spread about her mother, grandmother and so on. Each child was born on the night of a full moon, their mother vanishing soon after; they claimed it was because the family wasn't human. The fact that none knew their father and a father had yet to step forward seemed to paint a picture of she-wolves that would rip the heart of their mate out after they found out they were with child. To be called a she-wolf when she was preparing to hunt vampires, the irony wasn't lost on the woman.

She went inside with the children, they would help her prepare her kills for their meals for the next week while she was away. The kids didn't know what was being prepared for, as much as they knew, this was like any other day, well other than being Dayna's birthday. The family would work and later on celebrate the woman's day before the kids would be ushered off to bed. Once they were asleep, Dayna moved on to her room at the back of the house and prepared for her journey.

She slipped on a pair of leather riding pants, boots and a tail coat. The jacket and boots were of a forest green color, the pants an earthy brown. On the back of the jacket was a large stamping in the middle of the Cain family crest. She pulled her hair out from under the leather, letting if fall over that crest.

"Hey wolf girl," a man's voice came from the door. Dayna didn't have to turn to know it was the old man that had raised her. "You can't convince me to not go," she called as she wrapped a brown leather belt around her waist and equipping her daggers within her boots, small sword at her side. "I know," he said, the door frame creaking as he pushed himself off of it and began walking towards the woman. "I just have a couple of gifts for you." She turned around to look at the grey haired man, a puzzled look on her face. "Oh come now, you can look happier than that." Dayna's lips drew narrow, though her expression didn't seem any more impressed. "Ok, I'm happy, now what?" The man laughed, shaking his head before pulling a bow from behind his back.

"What's that?" She asked, running a hand over the delicate carvings in it. "A trader brought it, oh, I don't know how many years ago. Said they were a sole survivor of a raid on the House of Cain, or so the story was passed down. He traded it with an ancestor of mine for a horse and ever since then, we've been told that it will only be brought out when the House of Cain decides to fight for their land once again."

Dayna's purple eyes widened as she looked up at the man. "You're giving this to me?" She was shocked and this brought a small smile to the man's face. "Once you get your House restored, you remember who supplies you your horses. We may do well now, but our job is serving your family." The woman bit her lip before hugging the man whispering, "Thank you," into his cloth shirt. Pulling away, she slung the weapon over her shoulder, her quiver should have been with her horse's tack, ready to leave.

"Sir vincent has your other gift," the man then said talking about the grey horse she had ridden earlier. "He's all ready to go so you just be safe." Dayna nodded before gathering the rest of her items and going out to the horse. Sir Vincent indeed sat ready, though his tack was not his usual. The tack was of fine leather and old crests, the crests of the House of Cain. On his back was a very old, yet still beautiful purple blanket with that same golden crest embroidered on it. While the family had served the House of Cain, it meant that some items were left with the original horse master until delivery was ready. When the House fell, there was clearly no reason to deliver and with the promise made, the equipment would eventually see use so it had been cared for and preserved until then.

Thanking the man once again, he shooed her off into the darkness, knowing that if she stayed much longer, he wouldn't let her go. Though he knew that she didn't share the view, she was as much his daughter as his other two children. From the stories he had heard, Dayna was the most stubborn of the members of Cain that had been born since the fall. She was headstrong and confident, she had a goal in mind, much more so than the other women. The others had desired to throw away what happened and live their lives how they wanted, but they all still met the same fate.

Dayna pushed Sir Vincent hard through the warm night. From the story she was told, she would reach the castle by morning. If they pushed harder, they could rest a bit. That was exactly what they did, though it also helped that they left earlier than when Rei had left, so many years before. They were most of the way there so they would be able to get a little more rest. Not being on the path, but rather deep in the woods, Dayna dismounted Sir Vincent and pulled him towards a tree. She didn't tie him up for she knew he wouldn't wander off without her and if something did sneak up on them at night, she wanted him to be able to get to safety. Sitting on the ground, her back against the tree, Dayna fell into a light sleep.

Like clockwork, as the sun rose, Dayna woke with it. They still had a bit of a ride ahead of them, but it wouldn't take more than a few hours. Mounting the horse once again, they were off, riding to a past that the woman never existed in, in order to save a world she never knew.

After a while, a stone structure started appearing in the woods. It was an outer wall of a castle. A smirk play the lips of the woman as she urged the horse onward. Once up to the foundation, she walked the horse around the outer wall. Tattered and burned banners hung from the walls, edges of her family crest were all the could be seen after the fighting that took place. "So this is the House of Cain," she quietly said to herself as she stared up towards the upper bricks of the wall. She started rounding toward the front of the wall when she heard a vehicle coming down the road. Quickly turning Sir Vincent, she hid them within the woods once again, allowing the vehicle to pass. "How strange," she thought to herself, not moving until the sound of the vehicle was gone.

She pushed Sir Vincent forward, crossing the road to hid in the woods not near the castle for better coverage. She pushed the horse onward, following the path of the vehicle until another large stone structure appeared. Dayna's purple eyes narrowed as she concluded that as House of Vladamir. She pushed the horse deeper into the woods before dismount and walking on foot closer to the structure. The trees were dense in the forest, this area clearly never having been touched by the modern world. Slinging her bow and quiver onto her back, Dayna climbed a tree that gave her a clear, yet hidden view of the courtyard the vehicle had pulled into.

Carefully pulling a decorated arrow from the quiver, the woman not having realized that her usual quiver was switched out for another family heirloom, she notched the projectile. Then, she waited. The man came for something, someone was surely to make themselves known and once a target appeared, Dayna would claim her prey. She sat ready, the late morning, near noon sun casting shadows over the opening that she was watching though.

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