A dull, blue glow shown through the curtains that draped over the single window in what looked like a tiny bedroom. The room looked as though it were once part of an attic, the ceiling slanting down with the roof. It had bare wood walls and floor with a single rug in the middle, and the furniture appeared to be mismatched. It was clear that it was furnished on donations alone.

There weren't many belongings in the tiny room. A few picture frames lined the surface of the dresser, with photos of smiling faces. An old, worn Bible sat on the night stand, multiple tags in it's pages, marking something to come back to. The bed next to it was a piled with blankets, at least five, and appeared to be hiding a body. The only part that stuck out was the wild, dark brown hair.

The blankets stirred a little, and suddenly a head emerged as well. The young man blinked, then rubbed his eyes. He slowly sat up, appearing to wear some festive flannel pajamas. Christmas had just come and past, but the pants and button up shirt with an image of polar bears in little red scarves hadn't been retired yet. As cold as the little room was, the young man would probably hang on to them for a while.

As he swung his legs over the side of the bed, he found his brown house shoes and slipped them on. He stood, stretching his back with his arms above his head. The cold air whipped up his shirt, making his quickly pull it back down and wrap his arms over his chest to warm back up. He walked to the window and peaked outside. Tender snowflakes fell onto the already wet and cold streets. It was a cold January, Christmas having come and gone, it's warm glow leaving with it.

The young man went to his closet to dig out some clothes to wear. He pulled out a pair of grey, wool dress pants, a white button up shirt, a grey pullover sweater, and a black peacoat to top it all off. There was nothing like hiding under a mountain of warm clothes to keep him comfortable. To be honest, he liked the cold days like these. Summer was always miserable for him.

He changed quickly in front of the single space heater in the room. The church was old, built before decent insulation and air conditioning had been invented. It was heated by floor vents, which this room lacked. The chill seeped in through the walls in the winter. Getting it fixed would cost more than the small church had.

Once dressed, the man glanced in the mirror to attempt to comb his hair. It didn't work out so well for him, so he just gave it up. He went to his night stand and opened the top drawer. There was a slip of paper with a phone number scrawled on it. He picked it up and tucked it away into a pocket before heading downstairs.

The tiny bedroom had a narrow staircase that led directly into the sanctuary. The large room was empty, save for the statues. There were two on either side of the pulpit: Jesus and the virgin Mary. Directly behind the pulpit, there was a cross hanging on the wall, a limp Jesus crucified on it. Catholics seemed to prefer the more gruesome imagery. After all, their savior had died a gruesome death, why should they forget?

On the right of the alter, more towards the middle of the room, there was a prayer table. The young priest approached the table and opened the drawer to get a lighter. He lit the two candles on either side and replaced the lighter. Then, the man knelt down and bowed his head. He remained there for a while, praying quietly under his breath. As he prayed, a couple members quietly walked into the chapel, taking themselves into the back where an add-on building housed the homeless ministry. They carried trays of hot food to give out to those who lived there. The two women saw the young priest, but respected his prayer time and did not acknowledge him.

The man didn't even seem to notice. He prayed for longer than usual today, for his mind was taxed by a duty he would have to preform. Once he stood, he took himself out of the chapel and to the church's office to make a phone call before the secretary arrived. He unlocked the door and sat down in the rolling chair by the old computer and phone. The priest picked up the phone and dialed the number on the slip of paper.

"Hello? Yes, I work at Our Lady of Sorrows Cathedral in Middleborough, Massachusetts. I have reason to believe that my town might be under siege by, um, some creatures that your... business deals with. Could your group possibly come out today?" The man's voice was quiet, with a soft German accent.

"Ok, yes. Thank you." He hung up the phone and leaned back in the chair, sighing and closing his eyes. This was his life now. Here he had thought he'd signed up to help lead the church, not fight...vampires. The word still sounded ridiculous.

"Is my chair more comfortable than your bed, now, Father Luca?" The young man jumped, his eyes opening quickly. An older woman had made it into the office without him hearing. She set her bag down on the desk and smiled warmly at him.

"No, heh," Father Luca stood, letting her have her chair. "I was just making a phone call. Good morning, Mrs. Gloria." It was still odd having people who could easily be his parents or grandparents call him 'father'. But that was just part of it, he guessed.

He chatted with the older woman for a moment before excusing himself to go take care of his morning duties. He had to go check to make sure the homeless ministry was running smoothly and that no one was fighting in the breakfast line. After that, maybe he would get some breakfast for himself.

A fresh morning. A fresh day. She rolled out of bed clumsily and stood up, looking around. Oh. Yes, she kept forgetting. She had moved with the hunters. She was... What was this place again? She had been here for a week but still it was so new. To be living off of what the church paid her to butcher night-dwellers. Her brain ticked over slightly and she remembered, at last, stumbling out of her bedroom and into the combination living room and kitchen in her new apartment. Middleborough. That was it- that was her new home, at least for now. She turned her coffee machine on and pressed two thumbs against her skull. She was not, and had never been for that matter, a morning person.

It was a good job then that she was fairly sure that vampires were much the same as her in that regards. At least she didn't burst into flames when she came into contact with the dawn sun, which, as she opened the curtains, was particularly beautiful. The light even had a pleasant blueish-white tint to it thanks to the snow that, as it tended to do here in the north, had fallen overnight. Yawning a little, her coffee machine made a pleasant 'ding,' and she quaffed the entire glass in one go, making a noise that Scooby-Doo would have considered over the top.

Now with a little bitterness in the back of her throat to tide things over, she placed the coffee cup back in the machine, finger hovering over the 'on' button as she attempted to decipher what the new light that had popped up on her machine was. Oh, low water. Unclipping the back of the machine, she filled it up a little over-exuberantly, managing to splash herself and her brand new sleeping top in the process. With an angry grunt, she slammed it back down, and then set to work on the rest of breakfast. Normally she would go running, but the snow and the fact that she had slept in late ruled that out, at least for now. Maybe tomorrow, if they had a bit of a thaw. Bread cut, she popped it in the toaster and filled up her kettle, leaving it to heat up as she located a pot and two eggs. Soft boiled yes sodding please.

Whilst that was done she had a look through her phone. A few missed messages from her friends, her parents had called her last night, so she would need to call them in a few hours... Actually, now that she thought about it, her father would already be up. The trio had had a pleasant Christmas, it had to be said, and she had managed to entirely forget what had happened on New Years, so she couldn't think about any sort of issues that might be urgently needed. She would call them later, she decided. However, there was one thing that fascinated her. The hunters had called her. Missed call from Luca. Hmm.

Eggs were on the boil. Coffee was made. Everything was ready for her breakfast. She idly looked out the window as she sipped a fresh latte, before thumbing her phone open again. She scrolled through her quickdials before reaching the number she wanted to find. Luca Petulengro, it said, with a little cross emoji next to it. She tapped the priest's name, and then his number again, the dialling screen for her phone cropping up. She was getting antsy- she had been hired to kill vampires, not wait around doing nothing all day- and that missed call intrigued her. Had she missed the call to action?

---

---

"Raphael?" The vampire who had just been called raised his head, curious. A cigarette smouldered in his fingers, half-smoked, and his other hand was splayed out to stop the pages of his book from springing together. He made a mental note of the page and snapped it shut- breaking the spine was for degenerates and plebeians and nobody else. Picking up the glass he had been drinking from- blood, as it always was, but this time in a crystal glass designed for whiskey rather than wine, he walked patiently towards the entrance to his study, smoke curling to add to the general atmosphere of the room.

He had a special fondness for his study. It was perfect- there was the musky scent of books that permeated every inch, added to by the Twain-like aura of tobacco smoke and an ever-so-slight wooden earthiness. He reached for the door with a ringed finger, the gold clinking softly against the metal of the doorknob as he twisted it and opened it, realising why his wife had called him. The curtains were shut totally, and he had no doubt the shutters behind them. Dawn had arrived as he sequestered himself in the study. Ah well.

"Raphael!" His wife smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder, the other one sneakily stealing away his glass and taking a sip. "You had me worried that you'd dusted yourself somehow in that room of yours." His wife spoke with a slight Mexican accent. Even though they hadn't lived in South America for more than thirty years, it never truly left, no matter how far you distanced yourself from it. Henrietta was beautiful, as she always was. In fact, that was as she always was and would always be- her ageing halted by his fangs when she was in her thirties.

"Hey, that's the nice stuff. Bought it from the butcher." He so despised drinking animal blood. Not that it didn't sustain him, that would be patently false, but because it was so low-brow. Perhaps he would take a trip- what did the Americans call it? A 'road trip?' Yes, perhaps they would take a road trip to somewhere where there was a military base. The taste of blood from soldiers was exquisite. In no other member of human society could you find the same tones and smokiness. The gunpowder- it drove into their skin, into the blood itself, rewarding the drinker with a palette as delicate as his cigarettes. Alas though, he had to now enjoy bull's blood. It had its own charm, he supposed, but he didn't like it in the slightest.

"Come to bed now. Or, at least, come out of the study. It's so dull around the house when you vanish into there, even though I know you need to take a break sometimes." His wife looked at him with a soft smile, and he had to shake his head a little bit.

"Yes, well. Alright, alright. No more reading for today- but you don't drink all of that glass, I swear Henrietta..."

---

---

Massachusetts was much further east than Wyatt had ever been, the winter here was almost as bad as those he’d experienced in Alaska as a kid. He didn’t care for the cold, he’d spent most of his time enjoying the heat of the south of the desserts of the west coast. He drove a beat up blue ford pickup truck, a simple vehicle that could carry his stuff and weapons as well as handle the New England snow. He kept most of his belongings in his truck, he liked to be ready to go at a moment noticed, the quicker he got the vampire’s the quicker he could put a stop to them.

He still kept his father’s old flip phone, one that various contacts of his father could still use to get ahold of him. His father had known Father Walter, so when Father Luca had called for hunters to help his town, Wyatt responded, having just taken out a vampire nest just outside of Las Vegas he drove for days until he hit Massachusetts. Finding the small town of Middleborough had been a bit of a challenge but eventually he rolled into another quaint small town that vampires seemed to love.

The church was easy to find, it was probably the largest building in town and the roads around it where well paved, Wyatt easily found street parking and shut the truck off. He thought for a second about grabbing a gun or two to hide on his person, just in case, but it was still light out and bringing guns into a church seemed kind of wrong. He of course had some knives and stakes hidden on his person but he wasn’t fool enough to go anywhere completely unarmed.

He locked up the truck and put the keys into his back pocket. Wyatt’s boots crunched in the snow as he crossed the street to the church. A crisp wind cut through his flannel shirt and the inside of the church was only somewhat warmer than the outside. It was fairly empty, at least compared to the churches he’s seen during his time in Texas, but then again it wasn’t Sunday. His eyes searched for a man of the cloth but he did not immediately notice Father Luca. While he waited, he paused in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary, head bowed he silently said a quick prayer for his late wife, Jenny. Wyatt had lost his faith in a higher power a long time ago but Jenny hadn’t and he figured it couldn’t hurt if he was going to be inside a church anyway.

The morning light signaled the time to clock out. Kyle gathered his backpack and phone and headed to the time clock, where his fellow postal workers had gathered. The sky was gloomy and overcast, so he wasn't terribly worried about the sun. Sometimes Kyle got funny looks when he walked outside in the summer with an umbrella, but he just bullshitted by saying his skin was sensitive to the sun because of cancer stuff. No one ever questioned cancer stuff.

He stamped in his code, the clock giving a dutiful beep as he was already shrugging his coat on and heading out the door. Gentle flakes snowed down on him as he crossed the street and made his way up the block. Kyle usually drove in the summer, but in the winter, when the weather permitted, he liked to walk. Sometimes he felt like he never got to go outside anymore. His life had changed a bit when he became a vampire. A bit...not a whole lot.

The walk home took him by the church, one of his old haunts. Of course, being a vampire, he didn't go there anymore. All the religious imagery repelled him. Kyle still practiced in his own way, in his own time. He looked up wistfully at the looming towers, keeping a silent watch over the town. He'd heard of the disappearance of Father Walter, and wondered what it would mean for the coven. Would they start attacking humans again? He certainly wouldn't be okay with that; he was still friends with a lot of the townsfolk. However, watching the news, it certainly seemed like someone liked the idea...

Kyle was distracted from that train of thought when he heard the crunch of another pair of shoes on the salted sidewalk in front of him. Oh, it was Luca, carrying a bunch of greasy paper bags from the diner up the road. Must have been having some sort of meeting, or something that called for biscuits. Oop, and he dropped one. Luca began doing the awkward leaning down while trying not to drop any more and grab the one off the ground. Kyle came to the rescue.

"I got ya' man," He said, bending down and picking the bag up out of the snow. He tucked it on top of the others safely. "Must be trying to feed an army with all this, huh, Luca?" Kyle chuckled. He never called the man "Father". It seemed weird; he'd known Luca since the Pearsons had brought him to the church as a scraggly teenager. He knew the young priest didn't mind.

"Oh, thank you Kyle." Luca smiled graciously and straightened up. "Yes, it's been a bit busy around here lately. I thought everyone could use a good breakfast."

"You need me to get the door?" Kyle was already heading up the steps and reaching for the big, brass handles of the heavy church door. Luca thanked him again and scurried up the steps.

"Thank you so much. You know, we'd always be happy to have you back," Luca stepped inside the door and turned to look back at him, head tilted. He couldn't understand why, after fighting cancer, Kyle would stop coming to the church.

"Thanks man, but I just got a lot going on right now. Maybe some other time. Take it easy, ok?" Kyle smiled and waved the priest off casually. He felt a little bad, but honestly, the church had been a bit stuffy for him anyways. He slipped his hands in his pockets and made the rest of the trip without incident. The wooded walk from the edge of town to the estate was peaceful, though the snow was a bit deep. Kyle came in through the front door and hung his winter coat on one of the hooks inside.

"I'm home, guys!" He hollered into the vast manor.



Luca headed upstairs after visiting the church's kitchen. He'd gotten one of his nutrition shakes from the refrigerator to drink along with his morning meds. His doctor had recommended them to help counteract his recent weightloss. He could still hear Mrs. Pearson's voice.

"Honey, you're so thin. Have you been eating okay? What did the doctor say? Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine, Oma. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health. It's just from the stress."
Mrs. Pearson's concerned eyes searched his face, as if he would even considering trying to lie to her.

Mrs. Pearson and her husband had saved his life when they took him from that awful farm. They had raised money for his education, extension medical bills, and had taken him in like their own. He couldn't even begin to repay them. It wasn't long before he took to calling them Oma and Opa. As a sickly teen, emotionally stunted from years of horrific abuse, it had been endearing. And, the nicknames stuck. What else was he supposed to call them?

Luca almost finished gulping down the shake as he reached the top of the stairs. He saved the last sip to take his medicine with. He poured his morning meds, which took up a whole container in his weekly pill box, into his hand and tossed them back. After taking so many day to day, it was nothing to swallow several at a time. He drank the last swig of chalky nutrition shake to help them down, then tossed the bottle in the trash.

Now, he needed to get ready for that meeting with the hunters this morning. Luca needed to go down the street and get some biscuits from the diner. Any morning meeting needed biscuits. Before he headed out, he sent out a group text to give them time to get there:

"Meet at 8 in the John Hall Chapel. Will be biscuits."

That was the best he could do on his old flip phone.

Luca's trip down to the diner was fairly quick. He ran into Kyle on the way back. Kyle was a good man, but Luca couldn't understand why he never came to the church anymore. Maybe he'd try inviting him back again later. He stepped inside and wiped his snowy shoes on the door mat. The John Hall Chapel was in the original part of the church, from when it was the only part of the church. It was old, and no one really went in there anymore. It was used mostly for meetings, and made a great place for a private talk.

Luca set the greasy paper bags down. They were full of hot, fluffy biscuits and jelly, honey, and butter. The hunters would be there soon.

Lilith had been in Idaho when she got the call. Yasmine had said she was in South Mexico and that she couldn't make it in time, but Lilith could. After she wrapped up her current job. She had to rush things, which almost ended in a mistake that could have gotten a chunk taken out of her neck, but she managed to make a couple heads roll. After cleaning up, she hit the road. Pinny was a good old girl, bringing her all over the country. She needed some work done, but Lilith was willing to cough up the money for her. She couldn't imagine not having her car. She made a few stops, for shorts rests, but for the most part, she drove. A lot.

She was used to it. She just blared her music and lost herself in the words and the lines on the road. If the weather permitted it, she'd let her hair be blown around by the whipping wind, screaming songs and using her steering wheel as a drum. It helped keep her awake. She got held up in Ohio. She hunkered down at a little motel for a shower and a couple hours of sleep, and discovered her neighbor was a vampire. She wasn't deaf; she heard the muffled shouts of help from the scantily clad woman he had brought into his room earlier. He must have thought the woman was quiet enough.

Lilith almost didn't kick the door down in time. But, she managed to save the woman, and turn another vampire into dust. She stayed longer than she expected to comfort the shocked woman. She also had to stress the fact the woman couldn't go around, saying vampires existed. After the woman's friend came and got her, Lilith cleaned up the mess and booked it out of there. She had been planning to arrive a day early, to settle in and get some proper rest. Now, though, she was rolling into town the morning she was supposed to meet the priest of the church and the other hunters.

She found a local coffee shop, nearly running in there. Nothing beat local coffee shops, not even Starbucks. And Lilith had a Starbucks rewards card. She ordered the largest, blackest coffee they had, cursing silently. She hadn't dressed for the weather. It was warm in the coffee shop, but her jacket wasn't made to fight off the light snowfall outside. She held her warm coffee close as she raced back out to her car.

She nearly slipped, face growing hot in embarrassment even though she was sure nobody saw. She put the heat on high, though it'd take Pinny a minute to start blowing out hot air. She needed to find a cheap motel, so she could change into more proper clothing. She typically stuck to the warmer states. She grew up in Texas, she wasn't used to this biting chill in the air. She found a motel, almost on the outskirts of town, and got herself a room. She changed into something much warmer; a long-sleeved grey sweater that had Slay in gold cursive across the chest. She snickered at the fact she literally did slay, and added a thick green jacket on top of that. She wrapped a green and grey scarf around her neck to cover her exposed ears, tucking it into her buttoned-up jacket. She found her thickest jeans, and put her black boots over them. Between her outfit and the coffee, she should be warmer now.

It was pretty early, but she decided to head towards the church anyway. What could it hurt? If nobody was there, she could go find breakfast somewhere. She left the motel and drove to the church, following the signs to it. It would have been a longer walk than was comfortable in the weather. She needed to adjust to it. She parked fairly close to the church on the street; there were plenty of spots, probably because of the hour and the fact it wasn't Sunday. She noticed a blue pickup truck nearby, and felt she had seen it before. She couldn't put her finger on it, though.

She made sure she had some of her weapons on her; Blanche Devereaux, her flask, was tucked safely away into the inside pocket of her jacket. Lucy Ricardo, her holy water-filled necklace, was hidden by her scarf. Ali and Mayweather, her cross rings, were securely on one finger of each hand. Stevie, her lock picking kit, was in her right jacket pocket. Yo Ho, her machete, was tucked safely away in her trunk. She didn't feel comfortable bringing that out in public. Her colts, Rizzo and Frenchy, however, she was torn on. She was entering a church. She couldn't say what she believed in. She had beliefs in a higher power, but what that higher power was, she didn't know.

She decided she'd rather be safe than sorry. They were hidden by her jacket since it was long enough to cover her hips. Other times, she'd have them in a chest holster, sometimes even thigh holsters, depending on her outfit. She felt like the hip holsters wouldn't add too much bulk, since she was already in thick clothing. She'd just make sure to keep her jacket on. If there was a God, he'd forgive her for being safe. After all, vampires were roaming, so he should understand.

She crossed the street securely holding her coffee and entered the church. It wasn't much warmer in here, but there was some improvement. She gazed around the older building as she walked farther inside. It was beautiful, but then, her eye caught sight of the man in front of the Virgin Mary statue. Her red lips parted in surprise.

"Wyatt Carver, is that you?!" she cried, a bit too loudly, her Southern accent echoing back in the large room. She cringed at her own loudness, glancing around, before getting closer. She felt the need to reach out and touch him, but resisted. They weren't that close, and she knew some people didn't like that. "Well, ain't this just a pleasant surprise! Got the same call to duty, huh?" she heard her phone, an older version of a Samsung, beep in her back pocket, signaling a text message, but ignored it in favor of talking to an old friend.


Sebastian gingerly put the pen back to the paper, slowly writing something down, before looking back at the book opened in front of him. He had hid himself in the library all night, reading a book titled 101 Tips to Writing Poetry. He would not admit he was learning, and that he was getting better at taking notes and hand-writing in general. He had to find something to pass the time, however, and poetry had always interested him. He had already wrote a couple himself, but he would never show another soul.

He had been at this for hours, and turned the last page of the book. He returned it to its spot in the library, eyes briefly going over to the computer in the room. He still hadn't learned how to use one of those. They seemed... overwhelming. Learning to read and write was enough of a challenge. He enjoyed it, though. One of the few things he found enjoyment in these days. He folded the paper up, slipping it into his pants pocket, and returned the pen to its rightful place on the desk.

He sunk down into a plush chair, staring at nothing in particular. He could slip into a dazed state very easily, and be in one for hours, nothing but the sounds around him going through his head. A type of mediation that helped keep himself grounded. He especially needed it when in the manor. He had his RV to disappear to when he got overwhelmed with anything, even bought a small plot of land to park it on, yet he stayed in the manor a lot.

He was trying to become more social with his fellow vampires, and so, he spent as much time as he could handle in the same house as them. The manor was large enough that he could disappear when need be, but he was trying to be... nicer. More warm. Though, when his keen hearing picked up on Kyle arriving back home, he sunk further down into the plush chair. He had no desire to go say hello to anybody at the moment. It did help him realize it must be morning, though, since Kyle did work. Perhaps Sebastian should work on getting one of those job things. It'd give him something else to do. With a sigh, he stayed hunkered down in the library, starting to ignore the world around him again.

---

Nestled underneath a cocoon of blankets and sleeping rather comfortably in her bed was a young woman that had a not so normal life. But she went out in public like she did, after all, that's what she was supposed to do. She jolted up after her alarm had chimed on her phone then shut it off by tapping on the stop button. Nicole honestly groaned as she did not want to be up yet, especially since it was still rather chilly outside and she stayed up all night last night with her family. It was Christmas, which had come and gone now but she along with a few members of her family had been opening presents and just chatting about their lives. Of course, she had to sort of lie about hers but spoke privately with her father later on that night.

Nicole sat on the edge of her bed now, running her fingers through her shoulder-length locks of hair while thoughts ran through her head. She went over towards her curtains and opened them and saw that snow still covered the ground. She sighed a little then turned heel to make up her bed then trekked towards the bathroom, where she ran herself a shower before she picked out a towel to dry off with. Once she was done with her shower and other daily routines she usually did in the morning, Nicole was finally dressed and made a walk towards the kitchen.

There, she started the coffee maker and started on breakfast since a few of her family members did stay over but haven't woken up yet. So, she thought she'd surprise them with breakfast and hoped that they'd leave today. Though then being there did make her feel somewhat normal and alive again. As she was preparing breakfast, her ears twitched at the sound of someone stirring behind her. Before she went into hunter mode, Nicole did turn heel and seen that it was her father, who sat in a chair. "Morning, darling." He muttered as she smiled over towards him while pouring him along with herself a cup of coffee.

"Morning, dad. How did you sleep?" She asked him while turning around and finishing up the breakfast food. "Eh, alright, I guess." He responded as Nicole shrugged her shoulders at his response. 'Just alright? Whatever.' She thought to herself while grabbing him a plate, along with fixing it for him and sat out a few more plates for her other family members. Nicole sat the plate down in front of her father as she sighed.

"What's wrong?" Her father questioned towards her as she shrugged her shoulders again before she responded. "I don't know. I just feel like something is about to happen, honestly. Like we're going to be fighting another battle or something." Nicole informed him on her current feelings as he ate a few bites from his breakfast before he added in his response. "I have that same feeling, sweetheart. So, maybe we're both right." It was literally a few seconds later that he had said that then the phone rang. Her eyes locked on the device as it wasn't her regular iPhone X Plus ^__ It was the regular flip phone she used for her hunting duties. It went to voicemail and when she thought the person was done with their message, Nicole grabbed the phone and eyed her father. "Told you."

She muttered while walking out of the kitchen and pulling up the voicemail then put the phone to her ear to listen to the voicemail. It was Father Luca and it seemed like he wanted to meet with some of the hunters today at the church, or at least, that's what she was hoping the meeting location was. Nicole went up to her room and placed a trench coat over her current clothing then stuffed her usual palm-sized daggers onto a holster that was on her shoulder. She did not see the need to bring any major weapons because it was only a meeting. After she was ready to leave, Nicole tied her hair up into a bun then went back to the kitchen, seeing the rest of her family scrambling about.

"I have an important business meeting to attend. Don't mess up my house, please." She told them as they all just about laughed. "Mother, you're in charge." She joked with a wink then blew everyone else kisses as she was now walking out of the home and rummaged through her very junky purse for her car keys, which she finally did found. 'Wonder why Father Luca wants to meet?' She thought to herself while shaking her head and starting the engine of her vehicle.

She drove to the church but instead of parking in the parking lot, she parked her vehicle alongside the curb then got out and headed inside of the church. Once inside, her ears twitched as she heard voices in a certain direction then followed the sound of those voices. She entered into a room and saw two other people standing there and knew that they had looked familiar.

"Wyatt? Lilith?" She questioned their names as she eyed them both and walked closer to them now. "Seems like we're all here for a reason. I wonder what that is, to be honest." Nicole stated as she let out a soft sigh while stuffing her hands into her trench coat pockets and luckily, her purse stayed upon her shoulder. Of course, she knew why they were there but just hoped it wasn't the case.

"Anyone seen Father Luca yet?" She asked while she waited to hear their replies to her question.

The quiet ambiance of the church was broken by a sharp and lively voice, just a notch or two above what was normally acceptable in a church, and with a noticeable Texan accent. Wyatt’s first reaction was to smile as he recognized the voice saying his name; Lilith, an old friend, fellow hunter, and a face he hadn’t expected to see again. He turned to face her, and although genuinely happy to see her, he doubted that he was able to hind how much it hurt as well. She’d been a good friend of his late wife, someone he’d known when he thought there was a chance for him to have a normal life, just as he was trying to leave the hunter life she was running towards it and clearly, she’d kept that up. When it came to hunters Lilith was a breath of fresh air, someone who managed to keep things light and bearable even when the shit got heavy. Seeing her was also a reminder of everything he had lost and everything he didn’t want to think about, while painful, it was a pain he’d gladly bare to work with someone he knew he could trust. He hadn’t seen her since she left Texas, and he wasn’t sure if she knew of Jenny’s death or not but he all but prayed that she already did and that she wouldn’t bring it up. He didn’t want to have to talk about it, certainly didn’t want to have to break that news to her, and didn’t want to be distracted when there was work to be done.

“Lilith Westbay, as I live and breathe, it’s good to see you.” He said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and doing his best sound happy to see her, it was, after all, no fault of hers that brought back painful memories. It dawned on him that he’d never tried to get in touch with her after she left, even after he went back to hunting himself. He wished he had; he used to be good at keeping in contact with other hunters, but after Jenny died he’d been mostly a loner, avoiding anyone who might want to talk about something other than hunting or sports. He wasn’t exactly sure what else to say and was pretty thankful when another familiar face showed up.

Nicolette Jackson, another hunter he’d worked with before, or rather worked for as she was a natural leader, entered the church and approached them. Wyatt was relieved, no time for awkward small talk now, hunters were gathering and the conversation would soon be about hunting vampires, a topic he was much more comfortable with. Miss Jackson, looking forward to hunting with you as always. Wyatt said with a nod, he almost always addressed her as Miss Jackson, feeling that it just felt like the more respectful way to address a leader. He looked around the church again but still saw no sign of the priest who had replaced Father Walter.

“Can’t say I’ve seen Father Luca around, maybe we should look around?” He suggested. Luca had be around somewhere and he was more than ready to find out more information on why they had been called here. “Either of you know much about what’s been going on here? I was able to dig up a few articles about mysterious deaths before I left but they didn’t give me much information over the phone.” Wyatt asked the other two hunters. He wondered what they were dealing with here, just a vampire or two, or something more like a major nest.

---

---

Sebastian preferred to embrace the campier aspects of vampire lore, and one of those things meant choosing to sleep in a coffin. He found it both amusing and strangely comforting to be inside a coffin, plus the obvious bonus of not accidently getting burned when the sun came up should he forget to draw the curtains. Although he had gone through many ridiculous coffins through the years his current one, and favorite by far, was an official KISS Kasket, a coffin decorated with images of the band KISS and officially sold by the band. His room also featured a huge flat screen television and speaker system, a record player and several selves of records, an Xbox, PlayStation, and several games. His walls were decorated with posters of punk and metal bands, various different pirate flags and swords, and framed movie posters. His room also featured a few bottles of rum, a pinball machine, mini fridge with blood bags, and black leather couch; a room that looked like it was designed by a college kid and not a three hundred and something year old vampire.

Where some vampires gained class and sophistication with their years Bas went another direction. He went all in with whatever the pop culture of the time was; entertainment, fads, and cool gadgets interested him so much more than fine art, scientific achievements, and education did. Sure, he was now slightly more enlightened than the illiterate bastard raised in a brothel that he once was but he still preferred what many would consider low brow things. Bas was also a bit of a cheap bastard when it came to spending money, at least with most things, but especially with clothes. His car and coffin had both cost him a pretty penny, as had some of the records in his collection, but for day to day items such as clothing, cigars, or even fun human gadgets he’d go for cheap or try to steal them. He grew up poor and liked to horde his money just in case, he never wanted to have to worry about it again.

Upon rising he mixed himself a drink using blood he’d stolen from the hospital which he kept in his mini fridge in his room. His favorite blood type, A+, with its robust, savory, and full bodied flavor needed no alcohol mixed into it for it be palatable. Type O’s and just about every animal blood in the area however was downright disgusting straight up and he almost always needed to mask it’s taste with rum. Today he drank his blood straight from the blood bag like a thirsty child devouring a Capri Sun pack. After his breakfast, he rummaged through his dresser until he found a cigar, which he cut, lit, and smoked. Having had a good rest, a solid meal, and now happily smoking, he wandered through the coven house looking for something to do. He noticed light from the library, which was usually occupied by the other Sebastian, or Old Seb as he preferred to call him. He briefly thought about bothering him for fun but got distracted when he heard Kyle enter the house.

Now at first, he wasn’t sure about Kyle, he seemed very white bread boring when they first turned him. He was too nice, didn’t swear enough for Bas’s liking, and drank beer that Bas found to be overpriced. But then Kyle had proved himself excellent at both Frisbee golf and Call of Duty and had given Bas a very nice bottle of rum which had made him decide that Kyle was most definitely a solid dude.

“Kyle, man, how’s it going” He asked once he made his way to the manor’s front door. Kyle, for some weird reason, had decided to still work at the post office which to Bas seemed like the most boring and mind numbing activity for a vampire. He made sure to stand in the shadows, away from any light that might try and sneak through the door. Luckily it looked like a gloomy day outside, that was good, maybe he could find something to do today outside the house.

"Oh, hey Sebastian." Kyle greeted his housemate with a smile as he headed into the kitchen. The other vampires liked to steal blood from the local blood banks every now and again, but Kyle was still a little skeeved out by the thought of drinking it. To him, animal blood worked just fine. There were still a couple bags of deer left from a recent hunting trip. Kyle had found that he preferred the taste of wild animals' blood, as apposed to the grain fed cattle or swine.

He took a bag and poured himself a glass.

"Alright, I guess. Work is good. There's been talk of a strike because of the pay, so that'll be interesting." He took his dinner into the living room and flopped down onto one of the expensive couches that could be found there. Whoever had designed this place had extravagant, and a bit gaudy, taste. Kyle grabbed the remote and began flipping through TV channels. Nothing like a little unwind before bed. The news? Nope. HGTV? Nope. Hallmark? Double nope. Animal Planet? Hmmm...



While he waited for the hunters to show, Luca made another trip upstairs to grab Father Walter's journal. He may need it for reference as he met with the group. He hummed softly as he made his way back down the old wooden steps. As he walked into the main sanctuary, he paused.

"Oh."

There were three people there, standing about and chatting, that certainly weren't members of his congress. They must have been a few of the hunters. Luca paused, considering if he was ready for this meeting after all. These people were vicious vampire hunters, and he was but a meek disciple. He would be little help to them, other than to relay the findings in Father Walter's book. Maybe he could just give it to them, and let them do as they were meant to.

But...that didn't feel quite right. If Father Walter wanted them to have the journal, he would have left to them, not Luca. Clearly he wanted Luca involved in this matter somehow. Luca just wished he could ask him how.

He cleared his throat as he approached, his steps soft and almost silent. "Hello," He said, his voice almost a third of the volume of their's. "My name is Luca Petulengro. I'm the one who called you all here today." He clasped his hands in front of him, his deep brown eyes meeting those of the hunters as he had practiced for so many years. It had taken him a long time to become comfortable with approaching strangers, and even now, he still tended to get nervous from time to time.

"Let's step into the side chapel here so we can talk more privately." Luca motioned to the door that lead into the John Hall chapel. The last thing he wanted was for his congress to catch wind of this outlandish talk of vampires.

Honestly, Lilith hadn't seen a friendly face in a long time. She had spoken to Yasmine here and there, a couple other hunters, but she hadn't seen anybody from her early days in years. She had met other hunters, even worked with a couple, but it was a one time thing. She hadn't realized how much she missed seeing a familiar face, actually knowing somebody around town. She really just up and left everything in Texas, and as she watched Wyatt, that fact hit her like a train.

Though, it wasn't a totally happy reunion. Lilith knew Wyatt well enough to notice the smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Of course, she wasn't offended or hurt. He had lost the love of his life. While she hadn't had a connection like that, and avoided it like the plague, she knew what it felt like to lose a loved one. Her face softened, though she wouldn't mention Jenny. She wouldn't want somebody to mention her mother. She wasn't really sure what she was going to say, in all honesty, opening her mouth to spew some bullshit, when a new voice distracted her.

"Oh!" she said, eyes sweeping over Nicole's form. Beautiful woman, indeed. Yasmine had told her of the leader, and so she had been expecting to meet her. As for any other hunters, she wasn't sure. "Nicole Jackson," she said with a kind smile, nodding at the other woman after Wyatt addressed her. She wasn't sure where Father Luca was, though looking around sounded like a good start. She was about to inform Wyatt that no, she hadn't gotten much information on what was happening, when a soft voice interrupted them.

She stared at Father Luca, a bit surprised. She wasn't sure why. She just expected somebody... older. Yasmine hadn't given her much on Father Luca, just said "if he wasn't married to God, I would already have a ring on." Lilith almost laughed at the memory, but she could concede about one thing. Father Luca was handsome. She shook her head of Yasmine's words and felt some excitement bubbling under her skin. She hadn't worked in a group in a long time.

"Oh shit, the man of the hour! Or cloth, rather!" she said, not minding the volume of her voice, before her eyes widened. Her hand slapped over her mouth, looking around quickly, before her eyes returned to Father Luca. "Sh- I mean, I apologize, Father." she said after lowering her hand, holding it to her chest, "I may need some holy water thrown on me, huh?" she immediately cringed after the poor joke, giving an awkward laugh, which gave away to a sheepish smile. "Lead the way while I shut up now, Father," she said more quietly, her cheeks a little redder than before.

---

She eyed Wyatt as he addressed her but held up a hand toward him. "Whoa. Nicole is just fine, Wyatt." She said with a smile to follow her own words. She then eyed Lilith, who said her name with a smile as she smiled back at the female. It amazed her how many hunters respected her, honestly but she wondered how many knew that she was recently promoted to leader. "I am not sure what's going on to be truthful. Maybe Father Luca can give us more insight whenever he arrives." Nicole shrugged her shoulders at the thought then turned her gaze towards Father Luca as he made an appearance.

"Speaking of the devil." She muttered then thought long and hard about her words then apologized for her phrase. "Sorry. It's an expression." She informed Father Luca then sighed as she felt just a little smaller now. Nicole had hoped that someone feels this silence and leave it up to Lilith to do so.

Her comment made her feel a little bit better though. She could not help but shake her head and chuckle a little bit though but eyed Father Luca and quickly stopped chuckling. "But why did you call us here is what we're wondering?" She questioned him then heard him wanting to speak more privately in a side chapel. Nicole certainly did not hesitate to walk towards the side chapel, not like she knew where she was going but that's when she turned heel and eyed Father Luca again.

"Maybe you should lead the way like Lilith said." She muttered as she waited for them before following a few paces behind them.

Wyatt sized up Father Luca as he entered the room, the man was not at all what he expected, and he looked nothing like the other men of faith involved in vampire hunting. Truthfully, he didn’t look like he’d last more than a minute against a hungry vampire and he certainly carried himself like a priest more than like a hunter. Lilith addressed the man first, letting some questionable language slip out in front of the Father. Wyatt managed to not audibly chuckle at the exchange, but by the time Nicole let out a ‘speak of the devil’ he was smirking slightly. His mother had been a relatively faithful Irish Catholic so it would take more than a doe-eyed priest to make him lose composure. Just from looking at him Luca seemed much more laid back than the fire and brimstone preachers that he normally encountered while hunting or during his youth. Nicole requested, not for the first, nor he would guess, for the last time, that he call her simply Nicole rather than Miss Jackson. ”Is that a request or a command, ma’am?” He half joked in response.

”Father Luca, it’s great to finally meet you, glad we’re able to help with you, Wyatt paused for a brief second before adding, ”infestation.” He said, greeting Luca before following him and the others to the side chapel to discuss business. He also gave Lilith a gentle nudge as they walked. “Hey, I’m sure years of vampire hunting more than makes up for swearing in church. I mean, probably at least…” He joked to Lilith in a hushed tone.

---

---

Bas nodded in agreement as Kyle explained the strike at the post office. “I remember the good ol’ days when the fat cats would get out of line, heads would roll, and revolutions would bring bloody chaos to entire countries. All that adrenalin puts a nice flavor to the blood, makes for some real good eatin’.” Bas rambled on, losing himself for just a moment in his memories. He took a long drag on his cigar and allowed the ash to fall to the floor. He vaguely remembered someone asking him not to smoke in the house but couldn’t recall who or even if they were still around. Quite a few vampire’s he’d known had come and gone from their coven. Kyle was flipping through channels on the television and Bas was far too restless to be interested in television.

Daytime was boring, this town was getting stale, and Bas growing sick of blood bags and animals. He wanted a hunt, or a fight, or something new to do, he hadn’t done anything new for a while. Kyle had paused on the Animal Planet channel, a lion or something was hunting its prey and Bas faintly wondered if it would draw too much attention if he tried to break into the zoo and sample some of the more dangerous exhibits. That would probably cause the rest of the coven to get even more annoyed with him, so then he wondered if there were any bears nearby. A bear hunt would be exciting, hunting other predators was always more fun than deer or some other prey animal. He threw the rest of his cigar into the kitchen sink and headed back towards the study. For now, he’d have to be content with poking a different bear.

Recently they had added another vampire to the coven, one who was practically as old as dirt and who shared his name. Seb, or Sebby as he hated to be called, could usually be found trying to be alone in the study and Bas always found amusement in messing with their new ally. He knocked hard on the door to the study, ”Hope you got yer pants on Sebby.” He announced before throwing the door open and strutting in, one could never be too careful when living in a house full of lonely vampire bros. The study was one of the more boring rooms in the manor, full of dusty old books and equally old and dusty junk. He wandered around the room a bit, touched one of the old knick knacks on the book shelf which subsequently fell and broke, and pretended, fairly poorly, like he was looking for a book. He opened a few books, closed them loudly, and put them back on the shelf. Bas seemed to have a talent for making more noise than was necessary no matter the situation. ”Whatcha up too? He asked the vampire who seemed to be sitting in a chair literally doing nothing.

Luca smiled at Lilith, who made a much bigger deal out of her language than he did. "That's alright, it happens." He nodded when told to lead the way, and stepped in front of the group quietly. His soft footsteps lead them down the hall and to the right. Luca opened the large, wooden door to reveal the empty chapel. He flicked on the lights and headed in.

"This is where I'd like to have meetings with you all whenever necessary," He said as he found a pew and sat down. The seating arrangements weren't the best, but they'd certainly manage.

"I know you are all wondering why I called you here today, and I hate to say that it comes with unfortunate news. Father Walter went missing a few weeks ago. He is...presumed dead." Luca wasn't sure he'd actually said it out loud yet. It didn't feel right, and it was still very upsetting for him to think about. But he couldn't dwell on his sorrow now, not with guests lingering. "Several of the townspeople have been found dead by authorities, drained of blood. They believe a serial killer is responsible, and I don't necessarily disagree."

Luca pulled the journal from his coat pocket. "Father Walter left me this journal, encompassing his hunts with your group from before he retired. It describes vampires, which, to be frank, I never even considered existing until just a few days ago. But, I believe the reason he left me this book is clear. There is a vampire loose in our town, and I need you all to stop it before it kills more innocent people."

Luca tucked the journal away again and returned his hands to a folded position in his lap. "I can't offer you much as payment, but I'm sure I can get something scraped together to make it worth your while."

This is a song about a special girl...

The guitar reached a crescendo, the staccato female voice echoing through the lavish bedroom.

Marianne!

A pile of raven hair stirred under the lavish purple comforter.

Of my dark heart!

A ruby lipped smile creeped across the mouth of the woman hiding from the day beneath the soft blankets. One of the few things modern living should be granted. The invention of technology that allows much to be played from a tiny device, and soft blankets. Marianne, smiled to herself as she let the music drift across her bedroom, rousing her to wake.

"I must remember to thank the young one properly for helping me set this device up..." She muttered to herself as the music washed over her.

She groggily pulled the warm blankets away, her pale flesh a stark contrast against the dark purple sheets. She smiled to herself the thoughts of the night before, the musician she'd been aiding had their first official concert. Their opening song, "Marianne" was a nod towards their silent benefactor. She'd been at the show of course, watching silently from the rafters. She'd purchased the album afterwards from the lead musician herself, Miriam. She grinned energetically, still high off the adrenaline of her first show.

"Thank you, so much!" As she thanked Marianne. "Did you like the set?" Marianne nodded, remembering the high she felt after her first showing.

"Yes, it was wonderful. You don't need to thank me, this was your own doing little one." Marianne's lilting speech swirled around the musician's ears, placing her into a daze of adrenaline and endorphins, as the musician cleared the haze around her head. The woman in front of her was now gone. Shaking her head, she chalked it up to a sugar crash. Marianne had already left the event, her work is done. She'd love to take more interest in the event, but the rumor of hunters always had her cautious, she could no longer directly influence artists as she once did. It didn't matter that much to her, the craft, the art of creating was what truly mattered.

A small pinprick of pride over their title track bearing her name didn't hurt either...

As she looked about her room, it held a mixture of notes of her Age of Enlightenment, an easel she'd kept safe across the sea, paints, ancient leatherbound sketchbooks from her time with her mentor, Lucia. A portrait of a blonde woman stood in the corner. The soft white skin carefully contrasted against the bright crimson accents of her dress. "This will be the next piece I move," Marianne thought to herself.

Feeling the beast inside her starting to gnaw at the edges of her consciousness, it was time to join the others. Opening her dresser, she drew forth a simple dark green dress. Slipping it over herself, she exited her bedroom. The manor was a lovely place, the accents and artwork she'd placed around the manor gave it a little more style. The young one loved to put the modern accouterments, most she was unsure of or completely understood. Yet he was always patient, and helped teach her about some aspects of modern society. In exchange, she told him tales of the old world.

As she silently crept into the kitchen on bare feet, she heard the sounds of the modern world echo and pulse around her. Television, a fascinating thing, yet she never quite understood the mortal fascination with it. She opened the fridge, and withdrew a blood pack from the supply. She rummaged through the drawer beside the for one of the "flavored coffee packets" Kyle had introduced her to. She quickly poured a portion of the blood pack and the brownish orange powder into the mug. She placed the concoction into the microwave, and read the note to the side of the microwave Kyle had nicely left for her as a reminder. She pressed the correct buttons to warm the liquid and dissolve the powder. A cheerful beep alerted her the beverage was ready. Drawing the mug from the microwave, she took a small sip of the dark red liquid. The robust blood, with the cinnamon and dark bitter coffee made her smile as she walked to the living room. Kyle, was stretched out watching some odd program, she never quite understood the shows he watched. She still tried none-the-less.

"Good evening young, I mean Kyle." She corrected herself, "I got you an extra copy of Darkhearts album from their show last night, I was hoping you could help me set it up so I can listen to it on my ipod today." She asked quietly, she had lived through three different revolutions, survived the bombing of her villa, and still has difficulties synching her music to her portable music device. "I will be moving another painting soon, the same auction house of course. If you could assist me with that today, I'd be grateful.." She took another pull of the coffee blood mixture.

The modern world still has it's curiosities, technology happened to not be her strong suit.

Well, at least Father Luca wasn't some up-tight stickler about Godly rules or some shi- stuff. At least, so far, it seemed like that to Lilith. She liked the Father already. He was chilled. She liked chilled. Though, she wouldn't recover from Nicole saying, "Speaking of the devil." anytime soon. That was so funny, she had to really fight hard to not burst into loud laughter in the middle of the church. What a sinner she was.

She was relieved when they could leave the room they were in; she felt watched by the statues. She looked at the Virgin Mary for a few seconds, before darting her eyes away. Maybe she shouldn't look away, or even blink. She was drawn from her thoughts by a gentle nudge, her eyes going to Wyatt. She had truly missed him. A familiar face is always nice to see, and she spent a lot of time around Wyatt when in Texas. He was one of the people she got to know not only as a hunter, but as a friend. That didn't happen often in this business.

She covered her mouth in time to muffle her snort of laughter. She flashed a grin at him. "C'mon, it has to, right! I send those damn demons back to hell. They should be thankin' me up there," she said quietly, jerking her chin up and wiggling her eyebrows at Wyatt like a total dork. Though, she had to get back to business, since they entered the room Father Luca had been leading them to.

She took ownership of the pew in front of Father Luca, sitting sideways and propping up her foot and resting her arm on the back to properly see him. Though, there was a smell in the air that slightly distracted her. It smelt amazing, but she was trying to be nice and actually concentrate on what Father Luca was saying. She listened closely to everything Luca said. She hadn't known Father Walter well. She met him a couple times before, and only because of Yasmine. The news was still sad though. It was always sad, to hear of somebody missing or dead because of an attack by a nasty creature.

Her eyebrows went up in surprise when she found out Father Luca hadn't heard of vampires until recently. Very recently. She knew how much of a shock it had been to her. And, to lose Father Walter... her eyebrows furrowed a bit in concern. She never liked seeing people in pain, but she had gotten better at dealing with it. Part of the job, and all that. She nodded once Father Luca was done, and glanced at the other two hunters.

"Well, no need to worry 'bout that vamp, 'cause we are pretty good at what we do," Lilith said, motioning between the three of them. She flashed a smile at Nicole and Wyatt. "Between our fearless leader and badass ranger, we got this, easy peasy. Though, I'll shut up now, so our actual leader can get a word in," she pretended to lock her mouth, and tossed the imaginary key away, smiling at Father Luca.


Sebastian had plenty time to think. He had many, many years to contemplate everything he had ever done, came across, or witnessed. As a result, he had mastered the skill of blanking out his mind, and tuning everything out. A form of mediation, the monks he once knew would deem it. Something that would pass the time without much effort, Sebastian would deem it. It did help him center, in some way. Once he came back to himself, whether it was hours or days later, he'd find himself feeling... calmer. A little better about the things around him.

Though, right now, he asked himself... why was he trying? Why was he even attempting to get his humanity back? What was the point? In memory of his Valentina? His Valentina... oh, how he missed her. So many years had passed since that fateful night. He was sad to think he couldn't remember how her lips tasted after saying she loved him, or how bright her eyes could get when looking at the stars. It was all so long ago. Why does he still hold her so close to his heart? Can't he just let go?

Can't he just let go of himself? Why continue walking this Earth with humans who wanted his kind dead? With his fellow vampires that he still didn't feel close with? To keep pushing... to keep going... after having gone so long... he was tired. He was tired of remembering he was forgetting Valentina. He was tired of trying to keep up with all the changes. He was tired of feeling like he kept trying, and trying, only to fail. He was... tired, and right now, he wondered... would just giving up be the best for him? He had seen so many things. Experienced many different lives. What else did he have to live for? A longer life? Why?

A hard knock sounded through the room, though he barely tilted his head towards the door. A familiar voice came through. The other Sebastian in the household. Bas, as he preferred. Now, Bas would make any vampire question why they were still living. He was... interesting, to put it mildly. But, Sebastian did not put things mildly. He was fucking annoying, and did it all on purpose like an asshole. Sebastian didn't like him at all, but secretly, he did. He was entertaining, at least. Not many things got under Sebastian's skin anymore. Not many things made him feel anymore. But, wow, could Bas bring out a twinge of annoyance every once in a while. Some amusement, too, which was strange to feel after so many years of not feeling much.

Sebastian ignored the comment Bas made before throwing the door open. Sebastian watched him with his eyes, not moving his head. Though, he lost interest quickly. At the sound of something breaking, his eyes darted up, and he almost sighed. Almost. The other noises, he ignored fairly well. He stared at a point on the floor, truly believing, for a moment, Bas was looking for a book. When the other vampire spoke, though, Sebastian realized that was not the case. He slowly lifted his head, eyes zeroing in on Bas. Sebastian's face stayed blank, only the slight lifting of his left eyebrow any indication he heard and actually understood what Bas had asked. Then, quietly in a monotone voice, he deadpanned, "nothing."

Wyatt laughed a little and shook his head at Lilith’s reply, seemed like she just couldn’t help swearing in the church. Luckily it didn’t seem to bother Father Luca and if there was any kind of higher power in the world he hoped it would be enlightened enough to care more about someone sacrificing their own life and happiness to save others and fight evil more than they would care about what one said in a church. He followed the others from the main part of the church into a smaller room, one designated by the Father as their meeting place, discussing vampires out in the open wasn’t always smart. As he followed Father Luca he also noticed the bags of food, was that biscuits?, that he carried with him. His stomach growled fairly audibly at the thought of hot food. He sat in the row behind Lilith, the proper way, he always felt like a certain about of professionalism was expected of him, an idea instilled in him by his father and the older more traditional group he tended to hunt with. Although it was nice to have someone around who brought a more relaxed energy like Lilith did.

Out of respect for Father Luca, and the position that he held, Wyatt tried to give the man his full attention as he explained the situation his town and community were in. But his attention kept shifting to, what for him, was the most heavenly thing in the whole building; the aroma cascading from the bags Father Luca held. True it was tragic that Father Walter was missing and likely dead but that was the fate that awaited most who spent their time battling actual demons. He didn’t want to bring up the delicious food he knew the bags contained right after Luca’s news about his probably deceased mentor but it was the thing his mind and eyes kept drifting towards. Luckily Lilith broke the silence, immediately assuring Father Luca that this would all be ‘easy peasy.’ While Wyatt wasn’t religious he was superstitious and she had, mostly likely, doomed them all. Whatever was going on in this town he now doubted it was going to go smoothly.

“Ranger huh? Does that make you the barbarian or the wizard” He joked back at Lilith. “You have my word, Father, that we’ll do all we can to stop this evil.” He added, standing intently. He was relieved that Luca had brought up the subject of payment on his own, it was always awkward to bring up but necessary; doing this for free was unsustainable although he only accepted payment after the job was completed. His attention then turned back to the bags of food. “So uh, are you just really hungry or were you looking to break bread with us.” He asked, gesturing to the food the Father had been carrying around and had seemingly forgotten about.

Kyle looked up from the TV. "You still have an iPod?" He asked, tilting his head. "Uh...sure. If I remember how." He got up and walked over to her. "Oh, you got an actual CD. Uh...Hang on, I think I have a ripping program on my laptop. Come on."

Kyle lead her upstairs towards his room, while pulling up Google on his phone to look up the instructions. Moving into the vampire manor reminded him of staying at his grandparents in that he was always the one called upon to battle technology. He didn't mind. It was a small price for the free rent and help with general vampiring.



"I so much appreciate your help," He said to the hunters. It didn't take Wyatt long to point out the food he'd brought, which Luca had completely forgotten about. "Oh! I took the liberty of buying you all breakfast. There's jelly and honey in the bags."

Luca stood and began digging out biscuits to hand around. He'd gotten two dozen, just in case. Worst case scenario, they had left over biscuits. While the others ate, Luca continued to talk.

"I don't know much about the vampire attacking the town, so you all will have to hunt around. I wish I could help more, but..." But he had no business being within 20 feet of a vampire. "I'm just not sure I'd be much assistance."

---

She shook her head at Wyatt then made a mental note to talk to him later if he was available. She eyed Father Luca as he started to walk to the private place where they were to speak at. Nicole followed closely to the group as the entered a small room and she eyed her surroundings, suggesting to herself that she'd rather stand than sit down. Her ears twitched whenever Father Luca started speaking about townspeople showing up dead and drained of blood. Her mind immediately clicked that vampires were involved but kept her mouth shut for now. Father Luca mentioned that he could not offer then payment as she mentally shrugged at that because she wasn't really expecting any payment. She was there to save the town of hers and would do it for free ^__ But since he was offering, a payment would be nice. She was seemingly inside of her own mind, already plotting while everyone else spoken among themselves.

When everyone had said their peace, Nicole stepped up to say what she had to say. "We're here to help you, Father and appreciate the call." She paused briefly to take a breath and tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Whatever you need, just let us know. You got our numbers."

Her eyes then went over towards the biscuits as she shook her hand and head at them. "No, thanks. I am good." She mentioned then eyed Wyatt and Lilith for a while. "If either of you wishes to talk more about this, let me know so we can strategize or whatever." With that she turned her gaze back towards Father Luca with a raised brow.

"Are we done here?" Not that she was ready to leave but she wanted to see her family off before they leave her home.

Lilith laughed at Wyatt's joke, grinning over at him. "The wizard," she replied, lifting the hand not holding her coffee cup and wiggling her fingers. "Because there are magic in these fingers, baby," she playfully winked at him. She knew, maybe, she should be a little more serious right now, but that simply wasn't Lilith. It was hard for her to not let jokes or sarcastic remarks slip. Humor was her way of deflecting the pain this business caused.

She didn't like seriousness, either, but it was necessary, especially in this line of work. If she could make at least one person smile, though, she counted that as a win. She was relieved Wyatt brought up the food. The coffee she had was good, but it wasn't enough for the hunger gnawing at her stomach walls. She gladly snatched a biscuit, the warmth seeping through the paper around the buttery bread. She carefully set her coffee down beside her, and unwrapped her biscuit. It was like unwrapping a Christmas gift. The smell made her mouth water, and she didn't bother with jelly or honey, immediately breaking off a piece to pop into her mouth.

She raised an eyebrow at Nicole's last question. The young leader seemed to be in a rush. "What's the rush, Ms. Jackson?" she said, a little teasingly, and glanced around. "Feeling a slight burning sensation from being in a church?" she laughed quietly, and glanced over at Father Luca. "Oh, thanks, by the way," she said, motioning towards the biscuit that was halfway eaten already.

Wyatt couldn’t help but silently agree with Father Luca not being much use at vampire hunting. He thought it was strange that Nicole didn’t want any biscuits, who didn’t appreciate a free meal. Wyatt helped himself to the still warm and flaky biscuits the good Father had been kind enough to provide. He chewed as he listened to the others talk. Nicole seemed to be in a rush to be out of the church, a place that did make some people uncomfortable, and he wondered what the rush was, it was still light out so they likely weren’t going to make much headway on the vampire tracking until night. Whatever, he figured that was her own business, there were some people out there whose entire lives didn’t revolve around hunting after all. He could vaguely remember what that was like to think about something other than killing monsters. He thought back to a time when the highlight of his day wasn’t free bred in a dusty old room.

No point in dwelling on the past now though, for now he had to focus on the hunt. He quickly swallowed the remains of biscuit he had in his mouth. “I guess it’d be helpful if you could tell us anything about the victims and where they were found. Maybe we could establish a pattern, a certain part of town the thing prefers to hunt at or what kind of person it tends to go after, anything you can think of to help us track the thing or even some incidental details that might have struck you as odd.” Wyatt asked the priest, hoping for a bit more to go on than a vampire in town, the quicker they stopped this thing the better. After he spoke he popped another half a biscuit in his mouth, it had been a while since he’d had hot food.

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Bas was like a frustrated cat, he hated being cooped up inside with nothing to do. He was restless and agitated; he wanted to hunt something, even if it wasn’t human. Unfortunately, unless he was craving rats from the basement, there was nothing to hunt in the manor. Waiting for anything, especially for the night, wasn’t exactly his strong suit, so to the pass the time he had to find something to do. Although Kyle was a cool guy he was somewhat predictable which made Bas lose interest in him fairly quickly, and Marianne was always going on about art and stuff he was barely interested in, and most of the rest of the coven was either out, missing, or refused to put up with his antics. The only option left for entertainment was the new vamp, Seb.

Seb was like a shiny new toy, Bas had yet to figure him out completely, he’d yet to figure out how to make him lose his cool so he was not yet predictable. Bas’s new game was to figure out the best ways to both manipulate and aggravate him, and eventually he would solve that puzzle and need a new form of entertainment. For now, though the name of the game was instigation and it seemed that noisily rummaging through the study had barely earned him a look of annoyance; Bas welcomed a more difficult challenge. So far Seb had proven to be about as lively as a god damn statue, and statues were boring. Bas’s challenge to himself was to see if he could get the guy to liven up some before nightfall.

“Nothing, huh?” Bas said in response as he picked up a decanter of scotch, scotch that was old by human standards but still young in comparison to the vampires in the room. Bas pour two glasses of the amber liquid. “Doesn’t look like nothin’, what it looks like is brooding. And fucking Christ on a cracker man that’s like vampire cliche number one.” He added as he place on of the glasses of scotch by Seb. Bas took a swig of his own glass and for a second he missed the warmth a strong drink used to give him. “You’re old as shit and all so I’m guessing you’ve forgotten how to have fun, or maybe you’ve never knew how to have fun in the first place, I don’t know. What I do know is that sitting in some dusty old room all day is gonna make you wanna go sunbathing. So instead of spending the day gloomin’ about…” Bas paused dramatically and took a second to finish the scotch in his glass before continuing. “You wanna play Mario Kart?” Bas asked, picking a game that had causedveven the coolest of heads lose their tempers.

Luca tilted his head. Nicolette seemed...a bit cold. Perhaps that was just her nature; he tried not to take it personal. The others enjoyed his offerings, and Luca pondered over what Wyatt asked.

"Father Walter's car was found on the side of the highway that leads out of town. The other victims were a jogger in the back of Hilter Park, and a teenage boy walking along the railroad tracks. None of them really have anything in common..." He paused, then stood. Luca walked over to a decorative chest and opened it to dig around. There were a bunch of advent fliers from put-ons by the church. One was of a street fair that featured a map of the town.

Luca took a pen and began to mark on the map, the three places the victims had been assaulted. The triangle made was almost perfectly squared over the forest that loomed on the outskirts of town. It was several hundred acres of land, mostly wildlife reserve. Of course, it also housed the allusive estate of a certain coven.

"Well...if I had to guess, I suppose the woods would be a good place to start," Luca said, turning to Wyatt and handing him the flier.