Humans suck.

[ms]

Colin pulled at the wall, trying to get back on his feet. He didn't like to hurt people, human or not. This was human, however. A blind homeless man on the streets, a back alley, he was “easy prey.” And Colin was afraid to do what had been done to him. He wouldn’t bite, not if he could help it. And he was tired… this last full moon had drained him, food was getting harder to find… he was easy. And every cent, all fifty dollars, was gone. Wiping at the blood on his lip, ignoring the black eye that was growing rapidly, he got to his feet and leaned on the wall he had used to raise.

Sighing, he touched his head, again trying to forget that it was bleeding. He had to get rid of it, it drew people that he didn't want to him. Vamps, weres, all of them. He had to change, but he had no idea where he was. What if there was a human nearby? What if he was in plain sight? He had to find somewhere he wouldn’t be found.

[†The Blood Countess†]

"No...I don't think that's the problem." Ginny pressed her bluetooth against her ear to hear better, "Well, like I said, don't rely on Wikipedia for information like that. I suggest typing in the keywords on Google, that should help."

Rather than staying in one spot, she walked down the street while keeping an eye on the sidewalk ahead so as not to run into a pole...again. "Did it work? No? Maybe you should go to the library about that information or choose another historic character...of course I choose Vlad III...oh shut up, you know I like Alucard...no it's not an obsession…yes I am a Geek but at least I like a powerful character. Okay. You got it? Great. I’ll talk to you later. Bye."

Ginny pressed a button on her Bluetooth, ending the call right away. It was then she noticed that someone was standing on the street. ”Hey. You okay?” she called out. To be on the safe side, she reached into her pocket to finger her knife. Good, it was there.

[ms]

Voice, there was a voice. No, there were two, but one sounded far away, hazy. The other one was right there, at the mouth of the alley. They, or it, hadn’t seemed to notice him yet, which was good. But at the same time, it told him that he was in a populated area. His guess was that the second voice was a phone, and if someone was talking on their cell phone here… he had to get out. Taking a step forward he heard something a little new.

The voice was directed now at him. Great, they knew he was there. Was he okay? No, not really. He hadn’t been okay for a while, since he was what, nine? That was a long time ago… didn’t matter, they were talking about now. Was he okay? He would be if he could get out of here, find another alley, or empty house, rest, change, eat…

“Uh, y-yeah, sure.” Colin was never a convincing liar.

[†The Blood Countess†]

Ginny wasn't convinced. Not even slightly. Hands on her hips, the female approached the male, lips pursed, eyes narrowed, "You don't look alright to me. Looks like you got into a fight. Sorry to say but you're not a good liar and the bruise gave you away as well." A small grin appeared on her face and she tapped her own right eye to tell him where his bruise was forming, "Is there anything I can do to help you, sir? I have some hand sanitizer so it should dull the pain from the cut you've got on yer forehead."

Her help was interrupted by her vibrating cell phone. After a sharp growl, she raised a finger to give him a "just a moment" signal and snapped it open, "Yes?...Look, I can't help you with your project, Amy. No. I'm sorry I'm rather busy right now...NO I am not on a date. No. Oh for goodness' sake are you just talking to me to avoid your work? Sorry I won't entertain you. Get your homework done. Bye."

"My apologies. My cousin won't leave me be and is looking for excuses to not do her essay." She sighed, "Anyways...do you want the hand sanitizer?" Ginny stuck her hand into her pocket and began to search, "Ah. Here it is."

[ms]

No tossing her aside. Good Samaritan, that was rare now. In a world where everyone was about buying everything under the sun, getting money, and worrying only about-

And there’s the phone. She answered the phone. Then she hung up. He wasn’t sure what to make of that. He hadn’t seen her point or hold a finger. Hadn’t quite understood this “hand sanitizer” thing. How would something for your hands help his head? The idea of cleaning the cut didn’t click in his head. But she was on the phone, or, had been. Maybe being a Samaritan was a personal help thing now? Right…

“Um, it-it’s okay. And thank you, I guess. You could, maybe, tell me where I am?” He did hold out his hand for the sanitizer. If it would make her happy, he’d use it.

[†The Blood Countess†]

"No problem. I use this stuff whenever I get cuts. Helps dull pain and since there's alcohol in it, it also keeps infections away. Rather handy, really." Ginny handed the sanitizer over and then moved her left arm to get her Ariel, from The Little Mermaid, watch into view. Only ten o' clock at night? Not bad.

"Why...you're in New York, sir. If the sight of the demolished Trade Center and Empire State Building didn't give it away, I don't know what else could. But some people may not realize it unless they've been to the busier sections." She smiled. Ginny was here for a few nights before having to hop onto a plane to Europe. The college she attended had set up a study abroad program and she signed up for it.

"I'm curious...what brought you here? You obviously are lost. Did something bad happen or do you not want to talk about it?"

[ms]

Taking the bottle he played with it, trying to get it open. It didn’t work too well until he felt the little notch and opened it up, appalled by the fake smell they put in it. But he poured some into his hand and dabbed it on his forehead. Hey, there was a big cut there. He rolled his useless eyes when she talked about being in New York. He knew that much, but it was a big place. Maybe he should have been a bit more specific. That would have worked better. He was here when the Empire State Building was built, was here when the towers were built, and fell. He never saw them, obviously, but he was still there.

“Yes, I know New York. No, I don’t know the sight of it, sorry. How about land marks or street names?” Humans, gah. Hissing a bit as the alcohol hit his blood-stream. But what brought him here? That was a good question. He was here because…

“Food.” She didn’t have to know more than that. Didn’t have to know that the food he was talking about was stray cats and dumpster diving.

[†The Blood Countess†]

Ginny couldn't help but giggle, "You need to be more specific, sir. When you asked about where you were, I just merely stated the obvious rather than going into detail. But if I must, you are at the crossroads of Broadway and Fifth Street, somewhere in the middle of this grand city." That should help him, if not, she knew where he could get a few maps to assist him.

Once he was finished with the hand sanitizer, she took it back and placed it into her pocket. "Food? Well there are a few soup kitchens nearby but you look like you could use a good meal. Soup never stays in your system for too long anyways. There's a Ruby's Diner just down the street and a friend was supposed to meet up with me but never showed up. You can come with and I'll get you something."

Ginny pointed down the street where a big sign, flashing red, said "Ruby's Diner".

[ms]

She didn’t seem to get it, but that was alright for now. He was rather against humans at the moment. They were not something he wanted to be around. But there was something that surprised him. She got that he needed some kind of food, and said soup kitchen. The shame restaurant. Homeless people feeding frenzy. And he looked like he could use it. As much as it annoyed him, he did bring it on himself. He was homeless because he didn’t do anything. Sadly, that meant he couldn’t say anything against it. sighing he grabbed his head, trying to figure it out.

But she was being nice. She offered to take him to get something real to eat. That would be… really really good. Why was she being nice? Annoying, but nice? Give in, just go with her, offer to do something to pay for your food, and get on with your life…

“You don’t mind having someone like me join you for dinner?”

[†The Blood Countess†]

Still smiling, Ginny responded, "No. Of course I don't mind. I like helping people. Kind of makes your day when you helped someone, you know? Not too many people seem to care nowadays about others, which is rather...depressing." She sighed, allowing her shoulders to droop forward before straightening her posture again. At that point the smile returned to her face, "Well, let's go. Ruby's will close within the hour and the smell of french fries is driving me crazy."

With that, Ginny walked down the street towards the restaurant. In her mind if someone needed a meal then it should be offered. At least he wasn't looking for cigarettes, alcohol or drugs. Though speaking of those things...the gangs around here made the female realize that this place wasn't very safe after dark. Her cheerful composure turned into wariness as her green eyes shifted left and right whenever they passed an alley.

In the past, New York was a safe place but nowadays? Danger can lurk around any corner this time of night. It was then Ginny heard something coming from the alley to the right. What on earth was with that vicious slurping sound? was someone that damned thirsty?

The confused human paused in front of it and squinted her eyes into the darkness. There were two figures there, one holding onto the other. Ew...necking. Was that all...? Wait...

"Holy shit..." she exhaled. There was a female in there having her blood sucked up by some...vampire! "You know drinking blood isn't the healthiest thing, right?" she called out. Normally the wannabe would shrug and go back to what they were doing but something wasn't right this time. Instantly the sloppy slurping stopped. Red eyes gleamed in the darkness and that's when Ginny realized she made a terrible mistake. They had to get to a public place. Now. The diner was just down the street.

"We have to get to the diner before that THING gets us."

{Needed excitement v_v I cannot deal with too much calm for too long}

[ms]

And with that, she walked away. Fighting the urge to tell her to come back and help him find the place he limped after her, using his nose to find this “French fry” smell she was on about. It helped a little; he could at least find grease in the air. Humans had this affinity for clogging their blood with this stuff. But it did have an interesting taste, so he went along with it. Leaning against the walls as he gimped after her he caught the smell of blood before she said anything. And dead… vampire. He knew that smell so well, it permeated everything about this place. Why New York attracted the leeches he had no idea.

But it had noticed her. How could it not, with her shouting at it like that? Sighing Colin hurried up, trying to get to her before it attacked. Problem with that though. He was a wolf, slower than a vamp. And hurt, slower than a human. Fuck. Well, whatever. He had to do something, right? Stupid humans, they always invited trouble.

“Well, run then! Or if you want to take your time help me run. I have no idea where this diner place is. Hey! Back off!” He could hear and smell the thing coming closer. Damnitall. Growling he got to the alley mouth, bending low and hoping at the same time that he would need to change and that he wouldn’t have too. A change would mean healing, and not changing would mean food. And he hated fighting these guys, vampires were so fast it was hard to hear them and track their movements.

[†The Blood Countess†]

Ginny started panicking. Weren't vampires fake? Weren't they just people that have a strange urge to drink blood? They couldn't be real! They were just a part of folklore!

"Hell no! I ain't leaving you behind with this...THING!" Without much thought, she drew out her knife and pointed it threateningly at the vampire, "Yo! Back off! I know how to use this and I will not hesitate if you try something. Buzz off. Come on, we've got to go to the Diner. It's just down the street. He won't be stupid enough to try and attack at a public place."

Once Colin got to his feet, she nodded for him to start walking while she began backing away, knife still before her. The vampire didn't seem too keen on giving up the prospect of another meal and began to follow. Ginny wouldn't tolerate it. "I'm warning you. If you try anything I will stab you. I mean it! I'm not afraid to use it."

The male vampire hissed, peeling back his lips, revealing the blood-sodden canines. "Oh I'm so scared..." she remarked in a sarcastic tone. They were close to the diner now and maybe, just maybe, he'll give up.

[ms]

Wow, humans were a bit slow when it came to how creatures like him and vampires. Many times they acted like they could kill them with but a look. Rolling his eyes Colin kicked off his sandals and concentrated. At least he wouldn’t be limping anymore. And his face would be alright. It was a little slow, pain was a reason to make the change from human to wolf. Thick fur burst through his cloths, barely keeping the already thread-bare pants and shirt on him. There were less of them, torn and ripped by the onset of weight and height.

On all fours, he put himself between the girl and the vampire. He didn't honestly care what she did now, she could run away for all he cared. He wanted to run away, that was for sure. He hated fighting, hated hurting people. But when a there was a threat of someone hurting someone else, he was going to try and stop it. Gold tail twitching, he bared his teeth and hoped that would be it. No, probably not, but it was worth a try.

[†The Blood Countess†]

"Colin? What are you...WHA?!" Ginny jumped back when his body began to transform into something. Bones were snapping and reforming, fur was sprouting, clothing was tearing and finally, a werewolf stood in place of a man. Most humans would probably scream and run but for some reason, Ginny wasn't frightened. Why should she be? Rather, she stared at the vampire with narrowed eyes, "I suggest you leave. Now. I'm sure you'll want to live another day."

Believe it or not? Colin's aggressive behavior worked. The vampire backed down and took off into the night. The arm still holding onto the blade began shaking until finally, she dropped it to the ground. This wasn't a dream, this was all too real for it to even be one. A low sigh escaped her lips before her back hit the cold, brick wall.

Werewolves? Vampires? What a night!

"You okay?" she asked Colin, despite the fact he was still in his werewolf form.

[ms]

He didn't hear her voice over the sound of everything shifting growing and shrinking. Which was a good thing, or he wouldn’t have done what he did. Growling and snapping at the smell of blood he heard the creature leave, much to his relief. Standing on his back legs a little he sniffed the air again, checking to see where it went, that there were no others around. Then he fell back to the ground and stalked forward a bit. Inspecting the corpse he found that it was, indeed, dead. Sucked half-dry, neck broken. Poor thing.

Turning back as he heard her question Colin hunched forward, stopping and sitting at her feet. Black-tipped gold ears lay to the side, curious as to how she could be so calm. Had she done this before? How could she know of this world, act calm, and think that a knife was going to help her…?