The evening market that popped up every once in a while in Adeluna was a pleasant experience most times. The evening air was clear and cool, the moon was night in the sky but it was only a half moon so some lanterns were needed here and there for extra lighting of the streets. Cassandra enjoyed the night markets more often than the normal day time affairs. More interesting products could be found here, sometimes produce and meats could be found at a cheaper price to, as sellers wanted to get rid of some of their wares before they went bad.

But Cassandra was here because it was her nights off from the Second Circle. Instead of staying Vilpamolan for the night she decided to travel Adeluna and see what was going on in the city. It wasn’t too crowded tonight which was also nice, met there was more room to move around and Cass had less random scents to deal with. It had been months now since she had been first attacked and turned by a random werewolf who had attacked her out on the Plains while she had been hunting game for her family. Her parents had a farm and Cassandra was the best of them at hunting, until that night anyway. Wanting to keep them safe from her losing control, Cass had taken the offer from Serafina to stay at the Second Circle and work there doing odd jobs for a while before taking up on the bar full time. She had her other fellow bartenders got along well and Cass also helped clients who needed help in picking their… company for the night in the private rooms upstairs.

She wasn’t a tall woman, at five foot eight inches with long red hair, tied back in a pony tail at the moment, a freckled face and brown eyes she was in good shape even before becoming a lycan. She was wearing well crafted leather armour, it didn’t stand out as armour, and it allowed for her full range of movement. A dagger was sheathed in easy reach on both her hips, while two more were strapped to her lower legs, and hidden behind her dark green cape were two more, but these ones were special. She had more daggers on her to, smaller throwing style ones, so she was well armed but it wasn’t overtly so, subtle enough to be passable in public.

At the moment Cassandra was standing at a vendor who had cooked meat for sale and she was getting herself something to eat. A steak, medium rare with savoury seasoning on it and barbequed to perfection, she didn’t need a knife to cut. With her meal in hand Cassandra found a bench to sit on and eat while she watched the crowd.

It was a lovely night in the open air market in Adeluna.  Hiro Kouen had arrived in this city, looking for adventure, having been struck with boredom.  The tall young man stood out in a crowd, wearing dark red phoenix mantle, which covered his crimson plate mail and his ornate sword, a bastard sword.  His hair was black and spikey, with red highlights, while his eyes were a deep sapphire blue.  There were so many people here, he thought to himself, so many goods to browse too.  He'd been so wrapped in his magical and martial training, that he hadn't stepped back in a long time to walk amongst the people.  He felt his needed to get out, he needed to find something to do besides training.  There was only so much one could accomplish just through practice, having slipped into solitude after losing his father.

Hiro stepped over to a stall that was selling delicious looking meat kebabs, and purchased one, then started to look for a place to sit down and enjoy his meal.  He saw a bench, which was partially occupied by a woman with a long red ponytail.  He walked toward her casually.

"Lovely night tonight.  Is this seat taken, ma'am?  I'd like to sit down and enjoy my food," he asked the woman politely.  If she said no, he would find somewhere else to sit, but it was the only place nearby that he could see he could sit down.  But if she wanted to be alone, he would respect her wishes.

As Cass ate she noticed a young man at the same stall she had been at getting something to eat. She wouldn’t normally notice such things, but since he was rather brightly coloured in lots of reds he stood out amongst the crowd. She took another bite of her own meal just as he moved from the stall and a moment later she heard a voice talking to her and looked up to see him. ”Hm? Oh, no no, please, by all means.” She replied and scooted more to one side of the bench to give him and his armour some room.

Having no idea who this young man, though she’d admit he was handsome, and he would probably only get more handsome as he got older to. But she knew he was still a teenager and Cass was in her late twenties so no other thoughts passed through her mind as she ate. Unless he struck up a conversation Cassandra would eat in silence.

Regardless just before she was finished eating a couple who looked to be in their late forties walked by them rather close because of the crowd. Cass’ nostrils flared and her eyes snapped open and she looked around and then stared at the backs of the couple. That scent, she had never smelled it before yet it was far too familiar to her at the same time. But how could that be? How could someone she never met have a scent that was so familiar to her as to prod the wolf in her awake? Or was that wolf that she now was awake? Cassandra had long ago now, since the night of her first human kills while in wolf form, accepted and even embraced what she was. But there had always been a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that something was lacking and something about that scent caught too much of her attention for her to ignore.

”Uh, please excuse me.” She muttered to Hiro as she casually tossed the rest of the steak in a nearby trash can and stood. As she walked away Cassandra had drawn one of her many daggers out and was resting it in her hand out of casual view, though she had drawn it in plain view of Hiro not really thinking. Something was up with her that was for sure as she was carefully looking around as she walked through the thinning crowd, following the scent that had taken her attention.

She was very pretty, he thought to himself.  She was older than him, no doubt.  Age was just a number, it was maturity that mattered.  "Thank you."  Hiro couldn't really think of anything to say as he sat down next to her, giving her some space and started eating his meal.  Why should he start feeling nervous around a pretty face when he had been able to fight off hordes of monsters, orcs, or whatnot.  What would his father say, he thought to himself.  Didn't Sabishii have his own pick of women to choose from, but he picked his mother out of all of them.  What Hiro didn't realize, his own father got nervous when it came to women too.  Even though Hiro had brief girlfriend (Sapphire Rose, who ended up marrying someone else), and that . . . experience at Lord Torn, former God of Epics, palace with the Valkyries, he still didn't have a lot of experience with girls.  It'd been ages since he even thought about trying to find someone.

As thoughts and insecurities crossed his mind, and he ate his meat kebab, he didn't get to say a word to her.  The woman got up, excused herself, and started walking away, drawing out a dagger, which snapped Hiro back into reality.  She looked like she was about to shank someone.  "Shit," he muttered to himself as he tossed the left over stick in the trash and quickly got up and pursued the woman.  No one else had noticed she had drawn a dagger, but no one was looking in the direction he was, out of sight of everyone BUT him.  Hiro moved quickly, he did not want to see her stab anyone, he didn't want to be a witness to a murder, and he certainly wasn't going to let anxieties get to him for long.  His conscience wouldn't let him just walk away if this woman was about to stab someone.  "Think fast, think fast, think fast," he thought to himself.

Hiro quickly caught up to the woman, as he thought of a way to stop this, without having to bring attention to them.  He quickly placed his hand on her shoulder, moving himself directly behind her.  He put enough pressure on her shoulder not to hurt, but to get her attention.

"Hey!  Hey!  Wait up!  You almost forgot something!" he moved closer to her placing his other hand on her hand with the dagger.  "Ma'am, that's a nice dagger you dropped.  It would be a shame for you and all these people if it got dirty or lost," he said quietly to her.  "The name is Hiro Kouen.  It's a nice, peaceful evening.  What's troubling you?"  He hoped he was being . . . direct enough, while not getting attention of anyone else around them.

Cass kept following that scent through the streets until the hand grabbed her shoulder as that young guy had followed her. Cass spun as he also placed a hand on hers that was holding the dagger, he was speaking, but all Cassandra was doing was staring at him with rage in her brown eyes. ”Are you out of your fucking mind?!” Cass growled at him, also keeping her voice down. ”Are you trying to get yourself stabbed?” She continued, pulling her hand back from him and using her left hand to knock the hand that held her shoulder and backed up a step. ”Mind your own business.” She warned him as she looked around and inhaled deeply. It was faint but it was still there.

”I don’t care who you are, stay out of this, understand me? This might be my only chance, so stay out of my way.” She warned him again and turned to head back into the crowd again, inhaling as she did, clearly she was following a scent. Whether he followed or not Cassandra moved through the crowd following that scent. It had to be that one, it had to be! Why else would it seem so familiar to her even though she had never smelled it before? It was clawing at the that was her to which was even more galling that she didn’t recognize the scent.

She stopped at an alley and stared down it, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the thick darkness that was down it. The scent led this direction; but why was this feeling like a trap to her now? Had that bone headed guy make too much fuss and ruined her chance?

Hiro figured he was about to stick his nose into something it didn't belong in, he could have looked the other way, and potentially hear some rumor about a body found somewhere by a guard in the morning.  His desire to do the right thing, prevent a murder or something from happening got the best of him.  When he intervened, she was understandably pissed at him.

"I don't know, a random, attractive stranger starts pulling out a knife in the middle of a crowded market and chases after someone, what's going to happen?  Murder?  Assassination?  Mugging?  Take your pick.  It doesn't look good," he shot back at her, trying to keep his voice down.  She broke away from him, and started pursuing . . . whoever or whatever she was pursuing with murderous intent.  He cursed to himself and started following her, keeping some distance between them.  She stopped in front of an alleyway, he kept his distance and watched from afar.  He had no idea what he was getting himself into.  Was she some kind of murder, an assassin, some roguish criminal about to mug someone, or something else.  He really had no idea, but he was sure he could get to the bottom of whatever was going on, and he could handle anything thrown at him, whether she was going to try and kill him, or whoever she was after was going to try and kill him.

Maybe it was overconfidence.

But he wasn't bored anymore, at least.

Drawing a second dagger Cassandra started down the alleyway at a slow pace, inhaling the air as she did. Yes, this was the way that they had went, that same scent was down here. Her heart was starting to race in her chest, why had she followed that scent?! She knew it and yet she did not know it at the same time. How could that be?

She was about halfway down the alley when she inhaled again and in that instant the scent was at its strongest. At the same time, she heard a rustling noise behind her and spun, getting her daggers up as steel rang against steel. ”Who are you?!” Came a feminine voice as Cassandra got a look at her attacker as she held back their sword with her daggers as they were face to face with each other now. It felt like she had come out of nowhere, only Cass’ enhanced senses had saved her from the attack.

The woman looked in her early forties, in amazing shape, not a bit of fat on her body. Her honey-coloured skin was flawless as she held the short sword in a lose yet steel like grip as she pushed her weight against Cassandra who was pushing back. They seemed evenly matched, but that did not mean one of them was not using all her strength. ”I was going to ask you the same question!” Cassandra snapped back and pushed hard back on the woman, who only pushed back with equal strength in turn.

”You were the one… wait, ah, yes, we have met before now that I get a look at you. You’ve changed a bit since then.” The woman smiled and it wasn’t a friendly one and pushed with all her strength breaking the lock they had and kicking at Cass who just managed to hop back a few steps away and get herself in a ready position.

At the same time the man came out of the shadows holding a broadsword, he looked the same age and was a Hulk of a man with broad shoulders and thick muscles. A powerhouse indeed, though he still carried himself with practiced grace and ease. ”Watch the alley, I’ll talk with our little pup here. I think it best the ladies have some time to chat.” The female said looking over her shoulder.

”Yell if you need me, love.” He replied and turned and walked down the alley a bit to wait for Hiro if he came down. He would not attack right away, just discourage the guy from getting involved. Though with how loud the alley was making their voices, Hiro would still be able to hear everything if he was close enough.

Meanwhile the woman smiled to Cassandra who only glared back with confusing and hate in her eyes. ”What? Don’t remember me? Hm, I suppose not, it was only for a brief moment we met and it was dark and raining.” That caught Cass’ attention was her eyes widened and it clicked. ”Ah, now you remember. I’m surprised you survived that night, you’re stronger than you look then, but I’m glad you did.”

”It was you, you were the one who attacked me that night and used me like your chew toy!” Cassandra half yelled, her voice echoing down the alley. ”Why?! You took my life from me, why did you attack me and leave me for dead?” Cassandra demanded still half yelling.

The woman sighed. ”Let’s start over. My name is Lisa, can you please tell me your name?”

Cassandra snarled. ”Cassandra.”

”Ok, Cassandra, I’m sorry about that night, things went too far. When my mate and I found you that night out in the forest, well, we let our instincts get the better of us I’m afraid. The moons, they had stronger affect on us than normal that night, and had not before that night attacked a human while we were shifted.” Lisa explained as she lowered her sword to her side. ”When we came across you we were, um, overtaken by the power flowing through us that night. We had mated, a few times, that evening so we were riding rather high on emotion and passion. I was the one who ultimately bit you, Cassandra, and I am truly sorry I got carried away.”

Cass had lowered her daggers by then, though she did not remember doing so. ”Carried away?! You chewed me like a piece of meat, like I was some quick snack for you. Then you left me to die, to bleed out in the mud under the rain of that storm. If it wasn’t for…” She stopped herself short of saying Serafina, they didn’t know about the Goddess’ involvement Cass didn’t think, she could leave that information to herself for now. ”If it wasn’t for pure luck I’d be dead, I just managed to keep myself from passing out long enough to stop the bleeding.”

”And I am truly sorry, Cassandra, after I realized what I had done to you, we panicked and fled, we didn’t think we could have saved you. Please, let me try and make up for it? You seem to be thriving as a lycan, it’s very impressive. We could start a pack, the three of us, be a family?” Lisa pleased with what seemed like genuine sympathy and understanding as she held out her free hand to Cassandra.

Hiro watched as Cassandra walked into the alleyway, a woman and a man appeared.  Cassandra and the woman clashed, though Hiro was tempted to step in, he held off, not sure what exactly was going on, who all the players were in this stage.  But it seemed the man knew Hiro was there, and the man approached him.  Hiro could listen to them chat.

They were all lycans/werewolves.  Seems the woman he was tailing, Cassandra, was attacked by said lycans and left for dead.  She then survived, turning into a lycan.  Hiro himself didn't really care if someone was a lycan if they could keep it under control.  If she was forcibly turned into a lycan beyond her control, he felt bad.

"Hey!  Boy.  I don't know how you know her, but I strongly suggest staying out of this, and letting the ladies talk things out," the massive male lycan said to him.  He was in human form, but he was still even taller, and more muscular than Hiro himself was (HIro was a litlte over six foot).

"You know.  I don't know her at all, honestly.  I thought she was going to stab or rob someone for a moment.  Maybe I shouldn't have tried to get involved, but I'm what they call . . . a good Samaritan.  I sometimes get involved in things that aren't my business.  I don't trust you two, you and your mate.  I don't appreciate people who potentially murder or leave people for dead, whatever the excuse may be.  I understand lycanthropy is a hard thing to deal with, I don't envy it.  But I'm just going to stay here for the moment.  I'm going to make sure Miss Cassandra over there can walk away from this alive, you understand?" Hiro stood with his hands crossed in front of his chest, revealing a glimpse of his crimson armor, and the large sword sheathed by his side.  This guy was massive, taller than him, but Hiro wasn't going to let himself be intimidated by this giant lycan.  He could only imagine how big this guy was in lycan form, but Hiro was confident he could take him on, at least get him to retreat.  Hiro had taken on larger opponents than him.

Cassandra’s emotions were all over the place now as she eyed the hand that had been reached out to her by Lisa. Part of her want to just rip and tear Lisa apart for everything she and her mate had done on that night, leaving her for dead in the forest. If Serafina had not been in the area and found her than Cass would have died from blood loss. Another part of Cass wanted to take that hand and hope that things would work out. That Lisa was speaking the truth and that they could in fact start a pack, somehow, though Cass would have to explain things to Serafina. That could get awkward as she didn’t want to abandon the Reaper, not after everything she had done for Cassandra. It was because of Serafina’s tutelage that Cassandra was able to her parents and siblings again once she had control of herself and accepted what she was. She was able to visit them from time to time, but ultimately stayed away in case she did lose herself and hurt someone. That was not a chance she was willing to take. Not to mention the animals on the farm, when she first visited there, had become terrified of her, the horses stayed away, the cows made terrified bellows, the dogs barked at her constantly. It just was not a good situation.

Cassandra had stepped closer to Lisa while she had been thinking and had been reaching for Lisa’s hand. She stopped short however and furrowed her brow as she stared at Lisa who was smiling hopefully at her. Cass reached out and took Lisa’s hand in hers and Lisa smiled more as went to hug Cassandra, who accepted the hug but after a moment she broke it and smiled as she held Lisa at arms’ length. ”Thank you for your apology, Lisa, now, please, can you tell me the truth?” Her voice was pleasant, but it was hallow.

Lisa put on a frown as she stepped back from Cassandra. ”Wha, what do you mean, Cassandra?” She asked, her guard up.

”Please don’t talk to me like I’m stupid, Lisa. You know full well if you had stayed you could have stopped the bleeding long enough for me to turn and heal it. I survived, did I not? So, tell, me, the, truth; why did you attack me?” Cassandra demanded, the dagger she had sheathed before now back in her hands again.

Lisa frowned for a moment, but then a small smirk appeared on her lips. ”Alright, Cassandra, you’re no simple farm girl after all.” She chuckled. ”I did attack you partially by accident, we didn’t expect anyone to be out in that part of the forest that night. We thought we could hunt and mate in peace, so when we came across you we let our more… baser instincts take us. It had been too long since we had taken another and turned them, but, we didn’t feel like raising a new lycan that night. No, instead, when we found you, I wanted to taste your blood, and it was sweet I will add. If I hadn’t went a little too far my mate would have had his turn with you, and I would have been happy to watch. He does tend to get a little rough though, but the whimpering you would have made would have just made it more enjoyable. Then, after he was finished, we would have made sure to make good use of you as a chew toy. But, as I said, I went too far when I first bit you, so you were useless to us then. Not strong enough for him to play with, and bleeding to fast too last for any other kind of fun.” Lisa finished, by the time she was done her smile had turned wicked and she had her short sword up at the ready.

By the time she was done Cassandra was literally snarling, there was almost foam at her mouth with how much of a rage she was on. ”I thought as much, you were way too nice at the start.” Cassandra got into a ready position with her daggers. ”I guess the only thing left to do is see who is stronger between us, and, after we’re done, I’m going to mount your head someplace nice. Maybe in the middle of a dart board.”

The two women stared each other down while the big male only watched Hiro to keep him from getting involved.

The tension in the air was thick enough to touch and after a silent minute of waiting to see who would blink first, they blinked at the same time. Steel rang on steel down the alley again, and after a few moments a few things started to become clear; they seemed evenly matched on strength, Lisa seemed a bit faster overall but Cass’s daggers were lighter and she had two of them so between them they were a blur of motion as they traded strikes.

Lisa had a content grin on her face while Cassandra had a determined expression, trying to keep her rage from influencing her fighting.

HIro watched as the two ladies talked it out.  Lisa was trying to get things to end peacefully, but eventually it seemed the two were going to come to blows.  And so the shoe dropped.

The two went at each other, their blades clashing and sending sparks into the cold night air.

"Now, boy, if you even think of interfering, I'm going to end you, you understand?"  The male lycan said with distain in his voice.

"I may interfere in some things, but I can see this is personal, and I'm invested in seeing how this plays out.  I don't want to get a limb torn off if things get . . . hairy in there," Hiro responded, motioning with his hands in front of him.

"Huh?  Hairy?  Oh, right, yeah, sure kid."

Wait.  Hiro looked up at the sky, it was a nice, if not somewhat chilly night, clear enough to see the moon out.  And survey says . . . the moon was a half moon  Now the million gold question, could these lycans shift.  He knew nothing about Cassandra, but going by all the shit Lisa was saying (even if her honeyed words were just trying to get Cass on her side), there had to be some truth in what she was saying about not being able to control herself or her mate during the full moon.  If the lycan couple could shift at will, wouldn't Lisa have done it already?  They were just fighting with their weapons, and Lisa was starting to lose, she would shift immediately to gain an advantage.

The theory Hiro came up with: they can't shift at will, particularly not on a night were there was no full moon.  Now could Cassandra shift at will?  What caused the difference between lycans being able to shift at will, and not being able to, and being at the mercy of the full moon phase?  Was it something with control?  Magic?  The breed of lycan?  Inner strength and willpower?  There was something different between Cassasndra and Lisa despite them both being lycans, and Lisa and her mate being the ones to turn her.  Maybe something subtle in their auras, there was something else there in Cassandra that wasn't in Lisa, when Hiro used his aura sight to look at them.  Some kind of magic that Hiro wasn't completely familiar with.  Unknown to Hiro, he never met Serafina the Infernal, never even came in contact with her, so that would be why he didn't recognize the magic in her veins.  He did meet several other deities in the past, including Angela though.  He sensed something powerful, but he didn't know who's power was there.  He was going to not interfere with their fight.  It was personal, and Hiro wasn't going to white knight her Cass.  She was an adult.  She was older than him, she could probably handle herself without his help, which would probably not be appreciated.  However, he was sure the mate would butt in if Cassandra started to turn the tide in battle, and get Lisa on the ropes.  Let's see what happens with this information out in the open, he thought to himself.

"So, they're really going at it huh?  Evenly matched?  Too bad it's not a full moon, huh?  Instead of a cat fight, we'd get a wolf fight," Hiro said with a chuckle at the end, maybe a little too loud.  The intent was that maybe Cass would overhear him.  He didn't know her, but he was betting on her being able to win, and he did not like Lisa and her mate one bit.  Especially about that spiel she spun about the night Cass was attacked by them.  The male tilted his head and said nothing, looking at him funny.