He should have felt happy, having finally made it to Kurayo. This was, after all, the culmination of a fairly considerable amount of travel on his part. If there were ever a place he might find information on his parents, or maybe even luck out and find them outright, this seemed like the most likely place. And even if he didn't succeed in his endeavor, this place should feel right at home for him. A city that lived in near perpetual darkness, where he could be surrounded by others just like him.

Fenriz could remember his parents talking about Kurayo, albeit vaguely. His father in particular would talk about allies within the city, and how someday soon Fenriz would get to meet them. Although this was before unfortunate circumstances forced them apart, he was hopeful that some of these alleged friends of his family still remained within the city.

Yet, the only thing he felt as he slowly made his way through the surprisingly empty streets was an overwhelming sense of unease. Despite, or perhaps because he was surrounded by his fellow kinsmen, the city gave off a looming sense of dread. He had met many other vampires in his comparatively short time as one of them, and they all varied wildly on their temperament. But then taking into account the werewolf portion of the population, a race that he had never had any contact with, and the entire situation made his hair stand on end.

Fenriz slowly meandered from place to place, alley to alley, not completely certain where to go, or who to speak with. Of the small number of people walking around he, none of them seemed particularly out of the ordinary. He had gotten somewhat competent at picking up telltale signs of vampirism, so he was capable of spotting his brethren from the rest, but even they seemingly weren't interested in him. A few would glance his way, some offering a look of concern for the blatantly lost child, even a few that seemed disgusted at his presence, but none of them stopped to offer a hand, or even a word. But it was the ones that he couldn't identify, the ones that he only knew weren't vampires, that seemed to be the most affronted by his very existence, glaring at him with awful eyes. Even with a diverted gaze and a raised hood, he could still feel their eyes baring down upon him.

Eventually the young vampire made his way to the plaza, which was slightly more populated than the streets and alleyways he had just ventured through. One building in particular seemed to be attracting a fair amount of attention. Fenriz immediately recognized it as an inn. He knew two things about inns. One being that they often attracted a wide variety of travelers, and as such, they were a great place to obtain information. It was amazing, even to someone as young as him, what people were willing to divulge when they thought nobody was listening. But with the good came the bad, and he knew that pubs and taverns were often dangerous, rowdy places, and more often than not, no matter who started a fight, everyone was involved. And yet somehow, wandering the streets felt like the more dangerous prospect. He managed to sneak in behind a more absent-minded patron, and once inside, it felt like his worst fears were already being realized.

The tavern, in contrast to the city outside, was packed. The sounds of drunken merriment almost overwhelming engulfing the senses again. Yet two people in particular, one he recognized as a vampire, and one he recognized wasn't, seemed to be louder than the rest. What it was they were arguing about, Fenriz was unable to tell, but thankfully, they didn't seem ready to come to blows, at least not yet. Using their increasingly audible argument as a distraction, he slipped away to a lone available table in a back corner, choosing to hide underneath it, rather than take a seat in one of the chairs.

Unknowingly to him, he had managed to attract a bit more attention than he thought.

    The night was still young, with the moon shining brightly overhead in the dark sky. Vena Moon, a vampire with skin equally pale as the moon, and hair equally black as the night, wiped blood from her stained lips. The body of a man laid on the cold, hard ground at her feet, blood trickling from his neck. His breathing was shallow, as a great quantity of his blood had been drained from him by this beautiful vampire. Yet, he seemed paralyzed, completely unable to lift an arm or even cry out for help. And so all he could do was lie in wait for his own death; he lost far too much blood.

At his last breath, Vena cursed beneath her own and crouched next to the now motionless body. “Please, forgive me,” she whispered, smoothly and quietly as the night, and reached down to gently close his eyes. She always hated the look they gave her after she fed. That cold, empty, glazed look… But it couldn’t be helped. She lived the life of a vampire now, and she needed to survive. A shame though it was that she needed to kill to survive…

She stood and walked out of the alleyway, leaving her victim behind with satisfied hunger. And down the dark streets she walked. Vampires, werewolves, drow, and even humans alike all walked the streets of this crescent shaped island. This was the very thing that drove her there in the first place. She had no intention of being amongst her own kind; no, she was searching for someone. Another vampire, and since this place was filled with them, she figured it was the best place to search.

Eventually she found herself walking into a tavern that was quite lively. And for such a beautiful girl such as herself, it was inevitable that she caught the attention of drunkards. She ignored their pitiful attempts at getting her attention, not even offering them so much as a passing glance as she made her way through the crowded place and sat at an empty table.

There, she watched all of those around her for a familiar face, and eventually the drunkards gave up and turned their attention elsewhere. This was the first time in a long time that she actually allowed herself to relax for a bit, and take a break from her search. It was getting late anyway, about time to try getting some rest.

But after watching for a good while, it wasn’t a familiar face that finally caught her attention, but a young, innocent face. From what she could see where she sat, anyhow. Curious, she stood and approached an empty table in a back corner and crouched to see a boy hiding beneath it. Blinking with slight surprise for a moment, she smiled softly with gentle, scarlet eyes. “What are you doing in a place like this, young one?” She asked with a voice so soft and welcoming, you would think she was the child’s mother.

Hiding in taverns wasn't an unusual pastime for the small vampire, although in comparison to his previous hiding places, underneath a vacant table left a lot to be desired. Still, for the most part it achieved its goal, giving him a vantage point from which he could collect information. And a wealth of information is what he got. Tavern patrons blissfully unaware of two extra, small ears listening in on their conversation gossiped away about a variety of things, from relationships to money, and even less child-friendly ideas. He could hear the two that were arguing when he arrived grow increasingly loud. From what little visibility his position offered, he was pretty certain that things had yet to become violent between the two, though he couldn't tell for sure.  In a city that is primarily inhabited by vampires and werewolves, it should come as no surprise to hear its denizens brazenly discussing potential grizzly fates for some of its visitors, discussions Fenriz wished he had gotten less details of. Fenriz himself occasionally popped up in conversation, patron's talking about a new, young vampire in town, most inquiring about who the parents might be; which of their friends or relatives were most likely to be hiding a secret child from a forbidden romance. Despite all the talk of his hypothetical parents, however, the seemingly one thing that didn't come up was the only thing he cared about. Information on his actual parents.

Disheartened, he wrapped his arms around his legs, resting his chin on his knees. It felt like he was both closer than he had ever been to finding his parents, and yet somehow never further from that same goal. What his next move was, he didn't know. Directly asking someone didn't feel like a promising option, given where he was, yet sitting here in a tavern wasn't yielding any results, either. With a sigh, he went to make his way from underneath the table when…

Just as he went to crawl out from his refuge, he caught eyes with another person. Startled, he attempted to stand up and back away, causing him to slam head first into the underside of the wooden table.

"Oww…" the boy groaned, a hand rubbing the point of impact. The collision had left him momentarily dazed, though he was able to quickly recollect himself.

As was the norm when he met new people, the only thing she got out of him initially was a frightened gaze, as he assessed her and the situation he found himself in. Almost immediately, he could tell, she was one of his own. She too, was a vampire. But there was something different about her. For starters, she was the first one since he had arrived to smile at him. That alone seemed to calm his frayed nerves, at least a bit. But it was her soft, kind voice, a voice that briefly brought back distant memories of his own mother, that convinced the young vampire that she wasn't a threat.

"I-I'm looking for my parents, miss. I think they might be somewhere nearby.." he explained, his voice still somewhat shaky. He kept his eyes locked on this new person, with an expression that landed somewhere between curious, and still frightened. Of course, with his company crouched in front of the only side of the table not pushed against the wall, he was somewhat at her mercy. For the time being, he was content to keep his back pressed against the wall "But I was just getting ready to leave! I'm really sorry if you were trying to use this table!"

    It wasn’t like Vena to approach a random person, and even less to show them such kindness just as she had done with this child. She always looked after herself, helped only herself, all with one goal in mind. Nothing else mattered to her. Yet, when she saw this child hiding beneath a table, something showed itself to her. Something that had been hidden deep within her, and it has finally revealed itself. Was it pity? Or concern? Or perhaps it out of something as empty and simple as curiosity that moved her towards the child. After finding she had become a vampire her emotions seemed to switch off, something she couldn’t seem to undo.

But, maybe…just maybe, it was the fact that she remembered how horrible it was for her to lose her own child. Yes, it was only shortly before her own death, but she felt heartache from the great loss nonetheless. A family was all she ever wanted with her husband. Perhaps seeing this child hiding beneath the table, all alone, brought out the motherly instincts she would’ve had if she and her child had not died oh so long ago. She would give anything to be the mother she never got to be. However, this could never be. For a female vampire of her kind, could never bear children.

So when he mentioned having lost his parents, she seemed to feel empathy. Even if his parents may not have been dead, it was terrifying to lose them, especially if one was such a young child such as he. “Tis alright. I wasn’t using this table,” she replied sweetly. “I just happened to notice you hiding, if only a little.”

Vena stopped speaking for a moment when she heard the argument of two others louden. This child should not be in such a place. It was dangerous, especially if someone decided to start a fight. Also, he was an easy target if someone saw him and decided to do more than fight, but actually commit a crime. With another soft smile, her eyes gentle, she reached out a hand in offering. “Please, do not fret. I am sure you will find your parents in due time. I can help you in any way that I can, if you will have me. This is not the place for a child such as yourself to be, ‘tis quite dangerous.”

She hadn’t even realized she was considering making the offer to help until she had already said it, leaving her wondering shortly afterwards. Perhaps, it was because this child was lost, and out there, somewhere, was possibly a worried mother fearing she may soon grieve. She knew all to well what that was like, and did not wish the same for this child and his mother.

He blushed a bit. Even when he had chosen it, he knew his hiding spot wasn't his best stealth work, but he had hoped that he was at least stealthy enough to make it work. Had she simply been another weary patron looking for a place to be seated, she would have done significantly less damage to his pride, but all this meant was in the future, he certainly would have to do better.

A gentle hand was extended to him, to which Fenriz hesitated momentarily. Typically he wasn't big on people he didn't know. This had been demonstrated time and time again in his past. In nearly any other situation, right there underneath the table is where he would have remained, until someone came under there with him and dragged him out. Regardless of how kind they were to him, much like this stranger was being right now, his experiences typically made him leery of other people. Yet something about this stranger was different. For as much as he wary of other vampires in this city, thanks to knowing first hand what vampires were capable of, he felt that this one was trustworthy. Why he felt this way, he couldn't place, but his hand instinctively, although still cautiously, reached out to hers, The boy placed his hand in hers, and removed himself from this shelter.


"Will you really help me, miss?" he asked as soon as he was on his feet. He tried his best not to appear too eager, but there was still an unmistakable, hopeful look in his scarlet eyes. "I don't really know my way around this place, or even where to start looking. And all the people here look really mean and grumpy. Even the other vampires have been really mean so far…"

Sure, Fenriz could be a talker, way more vocal than his initial disposition might lead one to believe. This was a fact that someone like Raziel, or Frey would very easily be able to attest to. But they were trusted friends, and trusted friends were typically the ones that this talkative side was reserved for. But here he was, complaining away about the city as if he had known this person for quite some time. And in his ramblings he had let his biggest secret slip, though it was subtle. So subtle in fact that he didn't even catch it. But even in a city full of vampires, he likely would have liked to retain that secret, just in case.

"Oh, uh, my name is Fenriz. But you can just call me Fen, if you want" he extended his hand to shake, with a youthful smile. Though this smile faded quickly, as the argument from earlier had now become too loud to ignore. He glanced their direction, although he could no longer see either man, as most of the remaining patrons had crowded around the two. But in nearly an instant, chaos descended upon the previously peaceful tavern. The first man who dropped, Fen recognized as one of the men in the initial disagreement. But soon, someone struck the other one that was partaking in the argument, and a few blows later, it seemed like everyone but he and his new friend were involved. Even though most of the thrown objects simply whizzed over the small vampire's head, he felt compelled to crouch even lower to the ground.

"W-what's going on?" He shouted, his voice nearly swallowed by the sounds of pandemonium. He looked at her, fear and confusion written all over his face.