Exploring {Open}

[†The Blood Countess†]

A sleek, black creature bound through the alley ways, passing by a few passed out homeless folks, sneaking couples and other things that one might expect in these areas. It seemed to be heading towards the busiest section of town where the subways and trams are located.

Once close enough, it snuck into a dark corner and out of sight. Something in the corner was snapping but what was it? Finally, the answer emerged in the form of a short-haired female. Good. No one saw me. Don't want mankind knowing about were-leopards now do we? It would only spell disaster for her kind.

The girl casually exited the narrow alley and merged in with the crowd heading towards the subway. She'll have to return to her hotel soon so she can get a good night's sleep and the subway was the quickest way back. The past month, she was able to gain a decent amount of control over her shape shifting but to be on the safe side she brought a coat to hide any of it.

Just in time, the subway had arrived and she climbed on board. Now seated, she folded her hands upon her lap and watched while people boarded the subway after her. Just your average, everyday people...with overwhelming scents. Be it from perfume to body odor, the leopardess smelled it all.

The poor female's nose twitched, causing her to sneeze a few times. Ugh. This will take some time getting used to. It wasn't as bad as it once was at least. The tram's doors closed and off she went towards the next station.

Little did she know, she was being watched...was it a friend or a foe?

[shade]

Ugh she hated riding the subways. It was always crowded and noisy with people chatting or businessmen chatting away on their phones then cursing when they lost a signal in a tunnel. It really was annoying but unless you wanted to walk or spend hours in traffic, it really was the only way to get around New York in any decent amount of time. So, ignoring the humans smells and noise, Kaimira walked onto the train and snatched a seat. She was wearing average street clothes; dark blue jeans that fit just right, brown leather boots, a green and white striped tank top with a grey jacket unzipped hanging lazily on her shoulders and several beaded necklaces around her pale neck. Ebony hair that fell well to the middle of her back was wrapped and twisted into a semi-messy knot at the back of her head, held in place by pins and a simple clip. Slung over one shoulder was a simple messenger bag which she opened as she took her seat, pulling out a tablet of sketching paper, a pencil and a worn-down eraser.

Usually she didn't draw for free but she had nothing better to do so as the train started moving, Kimmy balanced the tablet on her knees and looked around for a good subject. Ah, she looked pretty normal. It was a girl with red hair, she was pale but so was Kaimira so she didn't judge and she was skinny but not quite unhealthily so. All in all the girl looked normal even though a whiff told her she obviously wasn't. Interesting, were-leopard and were-tiger so close but Kaimira didn't fight unless the girl bothered her so why not draw her?

Stealing glimpses, Kimmy's hand began to move over the tablet, the girl's image beginning to come to life on the once blank paper. She was heading to a little art fair held in one of the parks where there'd be plenty of people to sketch out for money so she could afford to practice on just another were. She didn't care if it was leopard or a fellow tiger, the girl had her own grace about her even if it was obvious to Kimmy the girl knew someone around was watching or at least that she wasn't the only were around.

Glancing up again to get a good look at the girl's face, Kaimira shifted a bit and caught the girl's gaze for a nano-second before returning to her drawing, wondering if the girl had noticed.

[†The Blood Countess†]

Ginny's hands fidgeted upon her lap until the fingers wove together to keep them still. Despite needing to get a good night's rest she was brewing with energy and had to find a way to spend it. There were some arcades not too far from her hotel and a night club. Yet, this was New York and not all places were safe. Had it not been for the fact that she cannot reveal what she is, she would go anywhere without hesitation and simply transform to defend herself. Alas, the world would not accept what she is and the government would no doubt take her in for studying. Stupid government. It had it's good side and it's bad side.

It was then the leopardess noticed something was amiss. Someone was watching her but why? Who'd want to stare at an uninteresting female like herself? Ginny passed a quick glance over her shoulder but couldn't find the disturbing source. Maybe her sense of smell will help. Nostrils flared, taking in the air around her, trying to find something amiss. Then it reached her. That scent wasn't entirely human but part animal. Not leopard like herself but something different.

One more look gave away the culprit. Come to think of it, she really stood out from the crowd. Did she stand out? Nah. It's probably because she was a wereanimal and the female over there had taken notice.

Great.

[shade]

Kimmy frowned slightly. Wow this girl was fidgety but whatever. No doubt the poor girl realized she was being watched and either felt like she had to defend herself or had to find a place to hide but Kaimira's sketch was nearly complete. She was highly skilled at quick sketches. Her slender hands stilled and the pencil went slack in her grip as she looked down, glancing between the sketch pad and her unwilling subject. A small smile came to her lips. Not bad for sketching on something that was moving. You could defiantly tell it was the girl. Since the only time Kaimira had been able to get a decent look at the girl's face had been when she'd looked over her shoulder, Kimmy had drawn her looking that way, glancing over her shoulder.

Not bad but a little rough still but oh well. It was a freebie. Scribbling down her signature in the corner out of habit, Kaimira glanced up as she felt the train beginning to slow down as they neared the next station. Her stop would be next. Deliberating for a moment, Kaimira carefully pulled the sketch out of the tablet and stuffed the pad back in her bag. She wouldn't sell a sketch without the consent of her subject and this one wasn't exactly her best though still very impressive.

The train stilled and people began to shuffle around, some leaving and some coming. Standing up, Kimmy headed toward the exit, passing near the girl. Flashing a small grin and folding the sketch slightly, Kimmy offered it to her. "Hey, sorry if I creeped you out with my staring" she said, keeping her tones friendly and slightly playful. No need to make unnecessary enemies. "If you want it you can have it or you can scrap it." Kimmy offered her the sketch again, keeping the paper folded between two fingers so she couldn't see it unless she took it.

[†The Blood Countess†]

What on earth was that woman doing? Rather than continuing to stare in her direction, Ginny tilted her head down and stared at her hands. This was quite unsettling. Was she a hunter? Perhaps looking for members of her own kind? Who knows. Telepathy with other large cats was hard for her to master so far since she was only turned about a few weeks ago. Establishing a "connection" was the farthest thing from her mind.

Once the subway comes to a stop she'll make a break for it and hopefully lose the female. Alas, right when the doors slid open she was trapped in a crowd of people. Everyone was eager to get to their destinations, causing the poor female to become even more distressed. That girl was coming closer and she didn't know what her intentions might be. It was then she spoke.

Oh, so she meant no harm? A relieved sigh escaped her lips. "It's fine....huh?" Ginny gently took the drawing and looked down at it. This woman was good! "Wow. This is the last thing I expected really. Here I thought you might have been something unpleasant. Ehehe..." Thank God. "Name's Ginny. What's yours?"

[shade]

"Kaimira, but everybody usually calls me Kimmy" Kaimira said pleasantly, adjusting her messenger bag on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I don't know any hunters, I'm just one of the many playful tabbies you'll find around New York." Kamira stepped aside as a man in an ugly outdated grey suit shoved his way through the crowd, either looking for someone or just intent on being rude. Frowning after her, Kimmy shook her head for a moment before looking back at the redhead, glad to see she looked a little more relaxed. "This your stop or the next?"

Kimmy was the next stop, heading to stay at a second apartment she owned in lower New York since an art street fair was being held there the next day. All week she'd been moving the things she would sell from one apartment to the other which usually she rented out for a little extra money. Being a "poor" artist and all, a girl had to have more then one way of making a living right? Tonight was the last load, a few general sketches of groups of people walking down the street or sketches of buildings with people coming out. Her weaving, colored sketches and a few traditional style Japanese ink paintings she'd done herself already waited for her at her usually rented out home. If Ginny had nothing better to do, maybe Kimmy had found somebody to help her go through what was worth selling? Then again she wasn't hopeful really, after all who trusted a stranger that wasn't even the same species?

(sorry it's a little short )

[†The Blood Countess†]

Ginny sighed in relief, "Thank God. I haven't run into any hunters yet and I don't know how to fully control myself. I was turned only a month ago while in Scotland." If she hadn't done that study abroad program she wouldn't be what she was now. Yet, the leopardess couldn't deny the vast amounts of knowledge she gained during her time there, "Good to meet you, Kimmy...and I don't think this is my stop. I was panicking and just got off the subway in hopes of giving you the slip but looks like I failed."

The teenager laughed, "The next place is my stop. We better get back on before the subway leaves without us." Once the crowd had left, both girls slipped back onto the subway, the doors slid shut and off they went to the next area. Good thing things were cleared up, otherwise Ginny would have had to wait another hour or so before the next subway came.

The transportation was a little emptier this time around but there were cameras in here. Best not to discuss about their "species" so perhaps something else...?

"So...how long have you been living in New York?" she asked.

It's fine

[shade]

Kaimira followed Ginny onto the train, pondering what the girl had told her. Only a month old huh? Wow she was really young, astoundingly young but then again, nearly two hundred years was hard to match and that was roughly how long Kimmy had been a were-tiger. Her own new, seriously new, husband had changed her into a were-tiger and had died so Kaimira had kept her old name and went through her life for the most part reluctantly alone after she'd left his family. Pulling her thoughts out of memories of the massacre that had ended her normal life, Kaimira Kazu looked up as Ginny asked her about New York. Kimmy laughed and leaned against the wall of the train as it started moving toward the tunnels, glad that people around them wouldn't take notice of their conversation.

"I've lived her for maybe...seventy-five years or so? I spent most of my time in Europe and Japan before I came here."

She looked eighteen and usually passed as a university freshman trying to scrape up money to pay for a too-expensive education she'd had many times. Really she was stinking rich because of family artifacts she had sold to museums and private collectors over the years but she liked being among the poorer common people rather than flaunting her money and winding up drunk off her ass and broke like a lot of the rich humans she saw nowadays.

"You know Ginny, it's been a while since I've seen a young one like you" Kaimira commented, eyeing the girl and pushing a lock of long ebony hair that had fallen from the clip behind her ear. "Don't worry, the control comes with time, it gets a lot easier to not be so freaked out by smells and sounds too."

[†The Blood Countess†]

Ginny's eyes shot open, "Wow. That's a long time. I can't stand the thought of living in a place like this for too long. Too many people and buildings." The red head looked towards the window nearest her. The leopardess enjoyed the countryside or the woodlands free from large populations and the bustling of traffic. Living in California for so long only made her yearn for the mountains even more. The fresh scent of pine trees, the birds singing...

Ginny broke free from her peaceful reverie when Kimmy mentioned about not meeting someone as young as her for a long time. Well, it seems nowadays the leopardess keeps running into fellow werecats much older than her. One of these days she might get killed by a hostile one, right? Young weres never lasted too long in this world..."That kind of makes me worry a bit," she laughed, "makes me wonder if I'll survive in this cruel world."

"It's reassuring that others went through the same thing...but I do have trouble holding it in. Sometimes things randomly happen."

That was the part that worried her.

[shade]

Kaimira studied her long pale hands as Ginny spoke. She had been lucky in her early years. Her young husband's family had been were-tigers and when they found out how she had survived the massacre, they took pity on the love of their son and took her in. For many years Kaimira had learned from them, living in the Japanese mountains and soon mastering her form enough that the transformation wasn't as painful as it had been the first few times and she could keep her mind when in her tiger form rather than black out or go all out on irrational instincts. Her senses had become much easier to control too, her keen eyes no longer making her flinch at sudden sunlight or her ears making her jump at noises she once had been unable to hear.

Touching Ginny's arm lightly the Asian tigress smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it too much, usually its other weres you have to worry about and especially the vamps. I've been alive for a long time and don't even know why vampires and weres hate each other so much and as far as I'm concerned a were is a were and don't need to be fighting each other with vampires to be wary of, we have enough to worry about but since you're worried about it, maybe you could stay at my place? I have two apartments in New York, the one we're heading to I usually rent out but it's just a warehouse for artwork right now until I can sell some of it. Maybe I can help you a little?"

Like she always said, a were was a were regardless if it was a tiger, leopard, wolf or even those odd little things known as were-swans. Besides, she kinda liked Ginny. It was the first company she'd had in a while other than the uncaring crowds of people that filled New York to the brim. Kimmy was a people person and a well known fighter if you screwed with her enough but whatever. She had always had a compassionate mother-side and compared to most other weres, Ginny was little more than a kit.

[†The Blood Countess†]

Ginny pulled out her cellphone to see what time it was and to also to check up on a few messages. Ah, someone had sent her a text message! The leopardess pressed a few buttons and opened up the message only to find, to her dread, that it was a message from someone who she's been avoiding.

Hey Ginny. How are you doing? It's been a while since we last spoke.

A small sigh left her lips as she thought on a response to make him go away. But what? Aha. Swiftly, her fingers typed up a response message:

I'm good. I've been busy so I cannot text or talk for a good while. Sorry.

Message sent. Maybe that will make him go away. No luck. Only a minute later she got a response.

How come? What are you doing?

Why the hell does he want to know? With a sharp grunt, she responded:

I'm busy, alright? You don't have to know what I do. Later.

If he responds then she'll just ignore him. It was then Kaimira spoke to her. Help? Oh bloody hell she'd appreciate that more than anything in this world right now!
"It would be GREATLY appreciated."

[shade]

Kaimira laughed good-naturedly at Ginny's quick acceptance of help, shifting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "No problem Kit but you're gonna have to help me move stuff around if these trains ever get us where we're going." Kimmy glanced over the shoulder of a teen to catch a look at his watch before quickly leaning away and looking back at Ginny. "If you're going to stay at my place we'll be bunking together in a few days, I'm selling off the other apartment I live in so it might be a little cramped but still, it'll probably be safer for little kittens like you." She smiled and folded her arms loosely, looking out the windows at the wall flashing past the train as it sped along its way.

She was pondering in her mind what would be a good way to help Ginny other then simply telling her to wait it out, things'll get easier. Really when you were in a world of weres and vamps things never really got easier. If anything it got harder because people began to expect you to know what to do all the time and vamps never knew when to quit really, they thought their abilities entitled them to everything. Kaimira's fingers clenched, arms still loosely folded but her gaze distracted. What if vamps or idiotic weres decided to have fun with a newborn? Well, guess that was what Kimmy was for, to make sure that didn't happen. She may not have ever been a sire but Kimmy had been an older sister and a wife for a few short hours. Looks like her habits died harder than she thought.

Remembering something from way back in her own first months as a were, Kimmy looked over at Ginny curiously. "You don't sleepwalk do you Ginny?"

[†The Blood Countess†]

This was the first bit of good news she's had in ages! The constant transformations without warning, having trouble controlling her feral urges, all of it. Who would have thought being a wereleopard was such a trouble? No need to worry any longer. "Okay. That's fine by me. I'll help out as much as I can." Then there was another set of good news for her being around here. That means she'll get to see a friend or two that she made! The first one being Colin, a werewolf.

It's strange how the two met. Here she was, walking down the street and she finds him having trouble figuring out where he was. It wasn't until after they were attacked by vampires that she realized he was blind. That incident was over four months ago and it was on that fateful evening she discovered that there truly were..."darker forces" in this world.

Vampires were real. Not this whole "sang" (blood sucking) or "sung" (energy draining) born humans but actual undead folks who rely completely on blood to "live". It was hard to accept at first but she wasn't one of those willingly ignorant folks. No. Her eyes were open to another world and it wasn't something she wanted to be a part of.

Until her trip to Scotland.

"Hm? No. I don't sleepwalk. I always wake up in my bed, why?"

[shade]

Kimmy rubbed her pale hands together thoughtfully, looking around to make sure no one was paying them any more attention then a fly. Satisfied, Kaimira looked back at Ginny. "When I was turned I suffered from erratic transformations and sometimes they happened when I was asleep and according to my caretakers at the time I would roam around as a tiger looking like a lost kitten or I would attack somebody because I was dreaming. It's just one of the little things you have to keep an eye open for when you're new. If you don't have it, you're awful lucky because it really is a hassle. If you don't become a sleep walker it's usually insomnia. If you have neither you are one lucky little kitten." Kaimira grimaced at some of her memories of waking up to find herself gnawing on somebody or laying in a puddle of blood. Sometimes her husband's family would catch her and "persuade" her back into her normal form and guide her back to bed but those times were seldom because when Kimmy set her mind to something, even a dreaming mind, nobody could stop her. Needless to say she'd been a sleepwalker but had tried to fix it over time.

Over time Kaimira had fashioned herself into a light sleeper so if she did catch a nighttime disturbance she would be able to stop an intruder or, now, stop Ginny should her dreams get carried away. For the first few months Kimmy remembered her forms reacting to her moods depending on if she felt threatened and hostile or relaxed and content. Now her transformations were somewhat controlled though out of control emotions could cause her to switch to cat mode and transforming on a new moon wasn't exactly comfortable without the moon to fuel the ease of the transformation.

"Don't think I'll be showing you how to stay out of your form" Kimmy warned. "These forms are useful when they're under control but we don't need a big kitty roaming around New York on a rampage or something but anyway, our stop should be in a few minutes hopefully."

[†The Blood Countess†]

Ginny listened to her story, not once directing her gaze from the tigress. It's odd talking to someone so young yet in reality, they are much older than one would think. "Yeah I haven't woken up to something I didn't see last night. Nothing was torn apart, no full stomach from devouring an unfortunate victim...you know...the usual sort of thing I suppose." And Ginny never had problems getting to sleep, say for the times when her nose would inhale too much dust, sending her into a sneezing frenzy.

It was then she felt her cellphone vibrate. Didn't she shut it off? Looks like she didn't press the button hard enough and only shut off the screen. Another text message:

Alright. Take care.

Thank God! This fellow got the picture. The delighted female put her cellphone away and turned back to Kimmy.

"I understand. My friend, Colin, told me to accept what I was and I have began to come to terms with it. It's funny how a werewolf helps a werecat." she chuckled. They will be arriving at their stop within a minute or so...