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Riding off into the horizon, into some deep woods outside of the town, D stopped
the horse by a large tree. He dismounted and began setting up camp after untangling her
from himself. Going to sit on a large rock she turned and looked at him, asking,”Do you
have a knife?”
Pulling a sheathed hunting knife from under his cloak, D tossed it to her. She
caught it and thanked him, unsheathing it and simply saying,”Now if you have no
objections and don't mind I'm going to make this dress a little more... well not befitting a
lady, but befitting myself.”
When he didn’t reply back, merely keeping his same silence as always she picked
up the skirt in one hand and began cutting at the dress. She cut out most of the under
frills that made the dress stick out and cut a few strips from the bottom of it, sitting them
aside to tie her hair back with. As she was doing this D had gone over to his horse and
removed some clothes from one of the saddlebags. Walking over to her he sat the shirt
and pants beside her.
“I think these might be more practical,”he said quietly.
Looking at them then at him she thanked him and picked them up along with the
knife.
“I’ll be back,”she said as she stood and began to walk away into the woods a bit
furthur to go change,”And don’t even think about peeking!”
As she disappeared into the trees she shouted back to him,”Hey, there’s a clear
river over here. I might be a little bit longer.”
Sitting her things down on a dry part of the river bank she removed the dress and
her undergarments then dove into the water, the splash reaching D’s sensitive ears. After
taking a moment to relax she then began washing herself and her hair, trying to get some
of the knots out of it. Cleaning up as best as she could she walked over to the bank,
wringing her knee length hair out on the way over and trying to shake some of the water
off as she went to the clothing. Pulling on her undergarments and then the clothes he gave
her she gathered the rest of the things up, neatly folding the dress and stacking it with the
knife on top. She walked back to the camp and was greeted by the sight of D sitting there
by the fire. He looked up at her when she returned and she saw that a small smile
threatened to cross his face.
“That was refreshing,”she said sitting the things down and handing him the knife,at
his smile she frowned for a second then dropping it continued,”Don’t laugh. I know the
clothes are a bit big.”
She sat down by the fire, still trying to get some knots out of her wet hair.
“Thanks again for the clothes,”she said simply to which D merely nodded.
“So what is your name hunter?”he asked her quietly.
“We never did get around to that did we... heh,”her voice trailed off as she
laughed quietly, a light sound that seemed to float on the tiny breeze blowing by. D
simply remained quiet, not commenting on anything and she answered,”I go by Kat, my
birth name is Katrina though. And yourself?”
“D,”was the monotone answer that came as a reply.
“Simply that?”she inquired as she fluffed her hair out behind her, trying to dry it
faster,”Very well.”
An awkward silence fell over the two of them after that, D quietly looking at the
fire and Kat trying to detangle her hair. Grabbing the piece of cloth she took from the
dress earlier she pulled back her hair and tied it back into a high pony tail.
“You don't talk much do you...” She inquired of him, her voice trailing off.
“I try to let my actions speak for me,”he replied quietly.
“Ah... I understand,”she said, her stomach growling quietly as she hadn’t eaten in a
few days. Immediately a blush spread across her face,”Oh.. um... excuse me..”
As he heard this D stood and retrieved some food purchased in town from his
saddlebags, preparing to cook it for her.
“Or do you need....”His voice trailed off as he watched her carefully.
She looked up at him, her hair now pulled away from her delicate face,”Food is
always good, I don’t think I need the other right now...” As her voice trailed off she
looked into the fire.
Watching him intently she saw he skewered the piece of meat on a spit and placed
it over the fire.
“Thanks again, I really owe you..” she said quietly, staring again into the fire, it’s
light making her hair seem to shimmer and her eyes sparkle.
“Why did you become a hunter?” He asked, still watching the meat but looking at
her profile.
“It just sort of happened I think....,”her voice had a tone of uncertainty and pain to
it,”I'm not sure... I don't have many memories of my life from back then...”
She shook her head slightly then continued,”I wish I knew sometimes.. but other
times... I think it's better not knowing. To the best of my knowledge it happened when my
father was killed by another noble.... I was so furious, especially when he took my mother
and myself into servitude. I guess luckily for us though my father never told him that I
was a dhampire, so he only thought we were human servants.... and once I got the chance
I killed him to avenge my family... by the point I could kill him, the hard labor he put my
mother through had killed her..”
D sat silently listening, noting that she clenched her fist tightly at her side as a tear
ran down her cheek, shining in the firelight.
Taking the meat off the spit when it was done he offered it to her,”Eat,
you'll feel better...”
“Thanks,”she said as she gently took it from him she looked at him and took a
small bite out of it. “It’s good...”
Focusing her attention on him completely again she continued her explanation.
“As I was saying, about memories... I can't really call them that...they're more like
nightmares. Infact to this day I still have nightmares about my days in servitude to him....”
As her voice trailed off she closed her eyes and shuddered a bit, remembering
things that had shaped her future. Opening her eyes she took another bite out of the meat,
chewing and swallowing it. As she did one of her bangs fell into her face from the side as
she whispered,”More atrocities than many can imagine.”
D leaned over and brushed the hair from her face saying,”Don’t worry bout the
past. Only the future matters.”
She looked at him and quietly replied,”I suppose you’re right..”
Turning to look back into the fire they sat there quietly, eventually she finished off
the meat and reached into the folded dress, removing a small flute or reed pipe like
instrument. Beginning to play it softly she closed her eyes and let the music fill her heart,
moving a little as she played the haunting song.
D sat there quietly and listened to the tune as he stared at the fire, obviously
thinking about something. When she had finished playing D simply asked,”A gift from
your father?”
She nodded and answered,”From both actually, My father had it crafted for me,
my mother taught me how to play.”
“She taught you well,”D said appreciatively.
“She used to play that song for me before I went to bed as a child... it always
made it all right. Thank you.”
Holding the flute out to him she showed him that carved in it’s wood aside from
intricate designs was a note from her parents.
'May you always remember us no matter how far apart we are'
'Love, Dimitri and Rosalin'
D silently examined the flute then handed it back to her, at which point she placed
it in the dress again, wrapped carefully.
“My mother had a gift for music,”she explained, looking up at the stars then
abruptly looking down again,”Sorry, don't know where that came from.... after all, we
barely know each other and here I am, rambling my life off to you.”
D silently shrugged then said,”We are dhampire. That is enough.”
She looked at the fire for a moment longer then stood, wrapping her arms around
her slender waist, the extra fabric of the shirt rumpling and her long hair hanging down her
back to her knees and a bit beyond. D glanced at her from under his hat as a cold breeze
blew through the grove whistling a bit through the trees. As she stood there she tucked a
stray piece of hair behind her ear, her bangs hanging over her face and moving in the
breeze. A moment later she half shuddered remembering things and half shivered from the
chill in the air. D quietly stepped over to his horse, retrieving a blanket for her and placed
it around her shoulders.
She turned to look at him and quietly spoke,”Thanks... for everything...”
D simply sat back down, leaving a simple nod his only response.
She held the blanket around herself with one hand, the other still wrapped around
her waist tightly as she asked,”Aren’t you cold though?”
“No... I always liked the chill in the night air,”he replied calmly.
Her only response was a quiet “Oh.”
“So...I told you a little about myself,” she started as she walked back to the fire
and sat beside him, looking at him,”What about your life?”
D was silent for a moment then simply stated,”I hunt vampires.”
Kat smiled slightly and replied,”I mean aside from the obvious..”
He shrugged and she grinned at him.
“So not only are you the quiet type, but you keep your whole life, save the
obvious, a secret?”
“I don't often have a travelling companion to talk to,” he replied quietly.
She looked into the fire, her smile fading and her face becoming serious.
“Sounds boring in some ways, lonely in others,”her voice trailed off and D was
silent for a moment then he spoke up again.
“We're loners by nature.”
“I guess... still some company is nice,”she stated as she shrugged, her hair falling
to cover her face somewhat.
“A welcome change, occasionally,”D added from under his hat.
“I guess occasionally for you. For a while I had some friends, here and there,
probably more just acquaintances than friends... but hey.. they were someone to make
things a little more interesting.”
“So,”she trailed off, unsure of what to say,”How long have you been hunting
vampires...?”
“A long time.”
She grinned at him as she spoke,”The ever elusive answer. I swear you are not
going to give me anything to base a conversation on.”
When he didn’t reply except with silence the grin spread a little larger and she
continued,”Or would you rather us not talk at all? You know, just sit here all mopey and
quiet.”
Raising his head so she saw only one eye from under his hat he said,”We should
prepare for the morrow. Tell me what you know about the count.”
She glanced down and quietly sighed to herself,”Business as always... Allright.”
After removing the blanket and handing it to him, he folded it and she began her
explanation into who the count was.
“Let's see.... I've actually seen him before this... Once, when I was a little girl he
visited my father for some business discussion or something... that was a while ago.. And
once again, my father tried not to let on that I was a dhampire... Not because he was
ashamed mind you, he didn't want anything to happen to me..”
D was silent and so she continued,”Well anyways, the count, I believe his name is
Rugen, Maxwell Rugen... settled his business and left. There did seem some tension
between him and father but I never paid any mind to it. I never saw him again til this
village hired me to hunt a vampire that they wanted eliminated.”
She paused, took a breath then finished,”Well, I go after him, he decides I'm his to
be his next little pet or bride for amusement. He's immensely powerful and I couldn't beat
him.”
“Do you know his age?” D asked, staring into the fire as he interupted her.
“He's quite skilled with a sword and his monsters are enough of a challenge,”she
explained then paused, taking another breath she went to answer D’s question,”No... not
exactly. I'd estimate at about 5,000 years old or so.. I'm not sure and contrary to what
you might think, he is immensely powerful for that age.”
D was quiet for a moment then commented,”This will be challenging”
“Yeah,”she agreed with him,”The castle alone is a huge fortress that could easily
bear a sign that says enter and never return. If you don’t get lost the monsters will get you
and and if not them the count himself.”
“Monsters will be no problem,”D said confidently. After saying this the wind
seemed to pick up and a voice called out to them from the trees with almost mocking
laughter.