"Who she was no longer matters. She's dead and it was my fault. I was too lost in my own pursuit of love," Jonathan stated with a sigh. "I forgot to warn her of my bounty hunting ways."

He waited for Chou to be finished before putting on his black shirt with the dhampir mark on the back of it laced in white. "The Blade of the seeker found out that little affair and used it to blackmail me to not get important bounties on my list. Sooner or later, she found out about the whole thing and confronted the Blade. You don't confront him on anything, unless you want to die."

He closed his eyes bitterly. "He killed her with one strike. I was a fool. I swore then and there to not let my actions affect humanity or the world anymore. That's when I found the church, the monastery. A place where no being, whether vampire or human or demon fight upon."

"Now you know. I isolated myself because I can't find joy in the world." He stated to Chou. "I never will."

---

Raven shook her head at Caleb's question. She never hunted demons, only smelled them and followed her nose and instincts like the demon she was. "Alright, we'll do it your way. You track the demon so that we'll help the people with their problem." She stated, her black ponytail swishing in the winds as it played with said hair.

She just wanted to get the demon and end the village's suffering, she'd seen enough of that in Japan to last her a thousand years.

Kane looked up and watch a group of people walk towards the camp. "Thanon, Lydia stay down we have company headed towards us." Kane watched as some removed weapons from their backs. "I don't think they are going to be friendly to us." Lydia got up and ran into Thanon tents.

"Can I hide here until Kane gives us the all clear?" Lydia stared at Thanon waiting for him to respond.

Kane took out his guns and reloaded them waiting for a gun fight to happen. "Hey you guys walking towards me can you hurry up? You move way to slow for me to tell anything about you!" The group started to do a lite jog then stopped a few feet from the camp. "Alright who are you guys!"

The tallest person walked forward removing his hood. "Kane Gamble its been a long time." The man smiled then laughed a bit. "I passed through a town that mentioned someone like you who passed through and caused a lot of trouble." He laughed again. "And I thought to myself what trouble did my friend Kane get himself into this time? Permission to enter your camp Kane?"

"Permission granted Josh" Kane put his guns away then walked towards Thanon's tent. "Thanon and Lydia we have company old friends of mine and your uncle is one of the people in the group." Kane walked over to the fire sitting down as the group of people sat down next to him.

Lydia ran out and hugged Josh smiling. "Uncle Josh!" Lydia sat down next to him. Josh laughed "How have you been Lydia? Has Kane been a good boy?" The group laughed and so did Lydia. "Besides that who is your third member? What is this person like?"

Chou was silent as Jonathan pulled his shirt back on. “You cared for her so who she was matters to you. Her memory is an important thing. When you walk the earth as long as I have you know how important memories are. You start to lose them after many generations. Keep her memory close though not with so much bitterness or sadness.”

She stepped away and sat on the floor once again. Hunger was beginning to gnaw at her, her stomach beginning to ache slightly. Chou ignored it though, her mind focused on what Jonathan had told her of the girl’s death.

“She fell at the hands of a vindictive man. This was not your fault. Yes, mistakes were made and things left unsaid that could have helped but I think in the end he would have targeted her anyway. If not for blackmail than in pure vengeance. Such is the way of many men. When they know themselves to be the weaker in a situation they will do whatever they can."

The black haired vampire frowned, “Why did she confront him? Surely she was smart enough to know that she would hold no sway over a bounty hunter. Any man willing to kill or maim for a living, let alone blackmail would not be above attacking a woman. She should not have gone to him and her own foolishness contributed to her death.”

Her tone was level and matter of fact. Her eyes moved upward to look at Jonathan. “You carry too much guilt and punish yourself unnecessarily. You could find joy if you had been taught to look for it. It was not a lesson you learned and now you must pull yourself out of this dark place where you force yourself to dwell if you ever wish to learn to find it.”

Chou stood, hunger making her ansty. She crossed to Jonathan. She swallowed, the motion slightly painful as her throat grew dry. She could smell the blood. Her heart was pounding though her face gave nothing away.

“You can still learn to feel joy, to find it in the world around you. It is not too late.”

Chou reached up and brushed a piece of Jonathan’s hair from his eyes. Her dark eyes focused on his. “We should make preparations to leave once it is a bit darker. Our journey will be long and already someone knows we are here. There will be others.”

Her eyes moved to his pack. She knew there were bottles of blood there and the longer they waited, the colder it would grow and she would then be unable to eat.

Caleb nods when she accepts that he take charge. "Good, follow me and be quite." Caleb jumps on top of a crate and scales up to the top of a house. Caleb finds demon hunting easier then hunting vampires. He doesn't understand why but he assumes it has something to do with being a Cambion, it's like he has some kind of telepathy where he can sense which way they are but not an exact location. He looks down at Raven and motions for her to climb up before he stands and walks across the roof in the direction he thinks the demon is in. He leaps across to another roof, the only noise is his cloak rustling in the wind. After a few more jumps and wall climbing he crouches in the shadows atop a three story building.

Caleb closes his eyes and listens. If there is going to be any real clue as to where the demon is, it will be the noise it makes getting to the child and the cry of fear it will make. The only thing to do is wait, and because of how late it is they wont have to wait long. He doesn't open his eyes as he sits there, listening to the sounds of night when the sound of cracking wood and shattering glass fill the air. Caleb's eyes snap open. "Let the chase begin." He climbs down from the building onto houses and runs and jumps across the roofs towards the sound of shouting and pleas for help.

As he turns the corner, he spots the house where the demon struck. The mother of the child is standing in the street crying and being consoled by other woman. Caleb quickly glances around and spots a shadow jump onto a roof then vanish from sight. Without a second look at the woman, Caleb jumps onto the roof and gives chase to the demon. Caleb spots the demon and takes off without waiting for Raven because the demon was moving so fast.

After a rooftop chase, Caleb ends up at the end of the village and he watches as the lizard-esque demon run head for the wilderness and Caleb runs after him, hoping to have it lead it to its friends if it works in a pack so he can kill them all.

Raven observed Caleb quietly as he listened for any signs of the demons that were plaguing the town. She sighed knowing that once one of these demons saw her then something bad will happen. She pushed the idea from her head as she saw Caleb bolt off and had to quickly follow after him before she lost sight of him.

Raven saw the women comforting the one who lost her child. She tried to not look but every ounce of pity welled up in her to simply give a small glance before rushing onto Caleb's trail into the woods. She knew that once there, it'd be a different type of hunting altogether. "Wait for me you crazy boy! You're fast..." She muttered to herself.

---

Jonathan opened the pack and pulled out a bottle of blood and gave it to Chou. "Drink up. It's still fresh. I filled about three bottles worth of blood. The bottles I used are treated for the consumption of blood as to maintain it's freshness for several days. It'll do till I have to hunt again." He stated as he pulled out a bit of meat and chewing on that, wincing from the pain of his wound every now and again.

He mulled over Chou's words and slowly formulated a plan of the next move. "Knowing the Blade, He'll be pondering whether whoever hired him or no should get a report on his first attempt on us. He's a stickler for details on how things can affect his pay. The next town over is several miles and would take us up to three to four hours on horseback if we had horses. doubled that if on foot. if we leave exactly thirty or so minutes after the sun sets, we should get there before dawn and into a hotel."

All the while he pondered about how and where he would try to find joy in the world.

Chou took the bottle from Jonathan. Her head nodded in thanks. Industrious man. I was not steered wrong when told to seek him out. Her thoughts on the way the man had planned ahead and treated the bottles. She said nothing as she crossed the room.

Behind her Jonathan was chewing on a piece of meat. Chou’s entire focus was on the bottle in her hands. Her tongue ran along her gums as her hand worked the cap off. The smell hit her hard and made her lip curl into a hungry snarl. She was silent but driven. At this moment in time nothing existed but her and the blood.

It had been too long since her last feeding and while she had tried to fill herself, unsure when her next meal would come the desire for the blood was overwhelming. Chou struggled to remain in control as she raised the bottle to her lips.

She drank deep. Her throat and mouth coated in the red, warm liquid. The coppery taste made her sigh with relief as she swallowed. It hit her stomach and she felt her muscles relax. Hunger did strange things to a body and the threat of starvation was not a foreign concept to her.

Chou was an older vampire and had seen many things happen in the world. Times where she had hidden, food scarce. Other times food was abundant. Now she had a supply of humans to feed on. They were well cared for and treated well, at least those in her care. When she had set out for this journey Chou had offered her humans freedom or to serve another. Only one had chosen to leave. The rest were given to vampires that Chou trusted.

She looked down and realized that the bottle was empty. Her whole body felt better. Chou kept her back to Jonathan as he began to talk.

Delicate fingers wiped at her mouth to ensure there was no trace of her meal left over. Chou faced him. “Alright. I shall pack my things and be ready.”

Dark eyes looked Jonathan over as Chou moved towards him. “You are a very introspective man aren’t you?” She held the empty bottle out to him. “You have my thanks for that.”

Chou bowed slightly to Jonathan, dark straight hair falling about her face. Standing straight she brushed a few strands from her face and moved to her pack. Kneeling, Chou combed her hair and then pinned it up. She picked up her cloaked and shook it out.

“Did you rest well? Perhaps we should set up a watch schedule so that we may both rest unburdened from this point on? Our enemies may grow the closer we are to our destination. I fear too for the others who are travelling. I hope they do have such skilled guards at their sides.”

Chou pulled her pack and her cloak over her shoulders and waited for Jonathan to give word. The walk would be long but thanks to the food they would at least find themselves alert.

Caleb was on the trail, he wasn't for sure where Raven was but that was of little concern to him right now, he only cared about saving the child and killing the demons. The reptilian demon was quick and agile but years of hunting demons have made Caleb just as fast. The demon, now aware of it's pursuer, lets out a cry and Caleb hears other demons echo it's cry and Caleb sees two shapes that seem to teleport short distances and stop on a branch in a tree high above Caleb.

"Jumpers..? I wasn't expecting to fight them. " He looks at the demon that is getting away. "I don't have time for them!" Caleb looks at the two demons before taking off after the hunter demon. After a few steps one of the teleporting demons appears in front of him and a knife made of dark energy flies out of it's hand and Caleb barely dodges it as it slices his cheek. Caleb jumps back from the demon with a sneer on his face, with a lighting quick move Caleb draws his revolver and fires at the demon who quickly vanishes as it's friend jumps at Caleb from behind, Caleb senses the attack and jumps up and over the demon and tries to shoot it with the same results of the first demon. "Damn you." Caleb lands and looks around for the demons and he hears the whistling sound of a spell flying at him and he dodges it but the other demon takes the advantage to attack and the demons claws rip away the sleeve covering his tattooed arm, tearing his skin and causing him to drop his gun.

Caleb kicks the demon away and it teleports away mid flight, his face contorted into a scowl. The veins on his right arm become pronounced as the tips of his fingers grow into black claws and black scales grow over his hand and partially up his wrist. "You're in my way!" He yells at the demons. He senses another magical attack and without even looking he catches the dark, magical blade in his demonic arm and tightens his grip until it shatters into shards of dark energy. From beneath his robes Caleb draws his sword and leaps with inhuman speed at the spellcasting demon and he impales it on his sword, when he pulls the blade out the demons falls from the tree and fades away before hitting the ground. Caleb senses the other demon appear behind him and spins around and delivers a backhand to the demon causing it to plummet to the ground and it fades away after it's body relaxes.

Caleb looks off in the direction where the hunter demon ran off to and he quickly picks up the trail again and is moving even aster to catch up with it.

Raven had to catch up to Caleb but she was aghast at the sight of the presence of the other demons that he disposed of using his powers. "Oh crap." She muttered, reminding herself not to get on his bad side. She rolls her eyes as she hurries along to catch up to him. "He better not end up getting his butt whopped."


---

Jonathan sighed as he took the bottle and observed the sunset fading away into the darkness. "Let's go then, We got a lot of ground to cover tonight." He stated as he opened the door and bade her to follow before walking, ever knowing she was behind him. He just kept silent and walked for as long as it needed to be.

But his mind was still on that dreadful past he had mentioned to Chou... of the woman he'd never hold in his arms again, and of the fact he never truly met his mother. One day, all of his problems had to be solved somehow.

Stepping out behind him Chou quickly closed the door. He seemed to be in a hurry and while she understood there seemed to be a new urgency to it. She frowned slightly and wondered if she had said something to make him uncomfortable.

They walked in silence. It did not take long for Chou to realize that Jonathan was caught up in his thoughts and that those thoughts were spurring on his suddenly rushed pace and guarded demeanour.

She ran a little to walk at his side rather than behind him. “Tell me Jonathan, do you read? What do you read? What about music? Being alone you must find ways to keep your mind sharp.”

Chou was practically running just to keep up with him. It was one thing to walk behind but he was much taller than the petite woman. His steps were at least two if not three of hers. She wanted to reach out and slow him down but did not dare. A man too caught in his thoughts may react badly from being jarred from them. Better to get him to talk then he might slow out on his own. She licked her lips and hoped her plan would work.

This pace would mean that they would certainly arrive when he wanted, if not sooner but for Chou this pace would mean needing to feed again once they arrived. She was used to hours of meditation, reading and writing. Not this.

Her eyes watched the path ahead, her ears listening for any unfamiliar sounds.

"Seems like an interesting way to start a day, wouldn't you say, Kane?" Thanon commented, opening the flaps of his tent and walking out of it. Thanon yawned,stretched, then looking over to the group of people. "Morning." He commented and walked over to everyone else. Thanon tilted his hat and said. "Honestly, didn't expect to other people way out here. But then again, you never know what you might find. Could be a pile of gleaming silver, or a heap of animal dung. But excuse my metaphors. Name's Thanon. Thanon Reed. Pleasure to meet you." Thanon then looked upward towards the barley cloudy sky, stood there for a moment, just starting into the sky and took a breath, then sighed. It was quiet for that small part of time, and everyone blankly stared curiously at Thanon. "Forgive, its just so beautiful. Nature. Not all of it is pleasing to witness; but the parts of it that are; are almost unmatchable."

Kane waited for everyone to grow silent before he started his tell. "As some of you know I was born in a human city and to normal human parents and that is where my story begins. A few days after I was born my father killed himself because he could not stand the fact that his firstborn child was an Altered human and in that city it was almost a crime for an Altered human to be born there. After my father had killed himself my mother soon followed she took her own life because of the shock of her husband killing himself and the shock that her son was born with a tail and ears." Kane looked at the others making sure he still had their attention then continued. "I was raised in that city and cause of who I was everyone hated me calling me a bad omen and insulting me behind my back and in my face. In my years there I was show no kindness and no love, not a soul cared that I ran away and I'm sure that some even made bets if I was to return or if I was going to die."

"Ten years ago I had trained myself to use duel pistols and a sword then later I was trained by a sell sword. He was the only person who even showed kindness to me up to that time and after a few weeks of traveling with him he was murdered. A rich man wasn't pleased with him and the job that he did for the rich man. I watched him get murdered in front of me and I felt rage and pure hate. I picked up my friends sword and I didn't just kill the man who had killed him I slaughtered him and made sure his death was painful." Kane stopped putting his hand on his sword. "There are three things that have made me who I am today and the first was my birth the second was the death of my first friend and the third was meeting Lydia's mother and Josh's friend. Josh is not really Elora's brother but he was when I meet Elora, her boyfriend. I had traveled by myself I didn't meet many others and most people I did meet I ended up fighting because I made them mad or they made me mad. After pissing off an entire gang and to tired to fight I decided to run, I ran and fast and as long as I could but they caught me. Next thing I know I pass out as the gang is running towards me about to end my life."

"Then I woke up in a bed with a girl smiling at me I didn't know her and she didn't know me but it felt like we were childhood friends. I got out of bed feeling my side and felt my wound, a spear barely missed my heart if it was an inch higher I would of died. After a couple of weeks of recovering I had left but I found that I kept coming back to that town. A town with other Altered humans a place where I felt welcomed, and each time I came back I had something for Elora. After a few years we had fallen in love it was the best time of my life and then." Kane closed his eyes "My life had gotten better, Elora and myself were married and she was pregnant with my child. Even though I had given up my old lifestyle I still had enemies who wanted me dead. The town was attacked and I had something to live and die for I had my love and my unborn child. The people who had attacked killed many men, women, and children. But I killed all of the enemies losing myself in a blood rage...almost killing the very thing that I was protecting. Right before I was about to slice Elora down she slapped me knocking me back to my senses. She forgave me and told me to go back to my old lifestyle she would wait at a different town for me and so would my child."

Kane turned to Lydia and smiled "Lydia is my daughter and I want to keep her safe from danger."

Josh spoke up "Kane, Elora died of heart failure"

"I know she died." Kane closed his eyes "Now will you and your party please leave I have a job to do." Josh and his party packed up and left.