Bleeding Nights

Selwyn yawned as the very first light peaked over the rooftops, he'd had a long night and the coming dawn was not helping his ability to stay awake. It also helped that Miska and he had finished off the stash they'd bought from Johnny and were slowly coming down off their high.

"What's the matter? Ya need your beauty sleep or are ya afraid the sun will fry you to bits?" Miska was laid back at the moment but not tired, and even if she had been tired she wouldn't have allowed herself to show it like her friend did.

"Fuck you, you know the sun doesn't burn me into bits all it does is give me a god awful sunburn," he informed her though the growl in his voice was both lazy and mellow.

A smirk was thrown in his direction and her cobalt eyes laughed at his indignity. "So where are you going to sleep?" the question was innocent enough and practical since she suspected he hadn't had time to steal anything of value while on the run from the council's hunters.

"The old warehouse will work for now, and I know for a fact that Gavin will be more than willing to shelter a puppy like me," his reply was calm and almost smug as his mind wandered to the seemingly abandoned and condemned building that wasn't far from the beach. No human knew that inside it was a comfortable hideaway for the nocturnal hunters of the city or that the floor had nice plush carpeting instead of the cement and rusted tin that most would expect from such a place.

A red haired vampire lounged on a throne like chair in the middle of the room surrounded by beautiful females and males alike and a lazy grin adorning his face. He looked up when Selwyn entered the room and his grin turned into a full blown smirk that would make the devil green with envy. His amber eyes shone with the inner light that was common in any vampire over two hundred years old but they also shone with a devious cunning that belied his supposedly laid back nature. “Well, well, a lost little puppy has decided to grace us with his presence at last,” his voice was melodious even with the mocking tint to the words and the entire building fell silent upon hearing it.

Selwyn cautiously moved towards the older male though he wished he could simply go to sleep without having to play this game of dominance; however, he knew that he would never get any rest if Gavin’s annoying pride was not completely satisfied with a show of submission even if he was only staying for one day. It was with this thought in mind that he came to a stop three feet in front of the vampire and respectfully inclined his head. “Gavin,” he greeted softly while silently praying that the other would be content with this and not want a blood offering because he was pretty sure he could not deal with that just yet.

Gavin shooed away his entourage and stood to tower over the young hybrid the smirk never leaving his face. “You’ve been gone a long time Puppy,” the nickname would have sounded demeaning on anyone else’s lips, but coming from the red head it simply sounded affectionate and teasing, “You managed to make almost everyone worry about, though those two cats have been the most anxious since your disappearance.” A pale had reached out and stroked through messy blonde hair in a gesture that belonged more to an older brother than to a vampire who was practically a master even if he technically did not have a territory of his own.

He stood still throughout the caress despite part of him screaming to get away from the potentially dangerous male; after all it would do any good to piss the other off when he needed a safe haven to sleep off his exhaustion. “Sorry, my travels were interrupted and I’ve had a hard time returning home,” the sentence held a world of meaning despite the simplicity of the words.

The other tilted his head slightly and his eyes narrowed just the tiniest bit as he took in the youngster’s appearance. “I can see that,” his words also held a deeper meaning though most wouldn’t even hear it.

After a few minutes of silent staring Gavin dropped his hand from Selwyn’s head and his smirk turned a bit gentler, “You look exhausted and are more than welcome to sleep here for as long as you like,” the invitation was given in the formal tone of a host offering lodgings to his guest instead of the laid back offer that a friend would give.

Selwyn ducked his head in the slightest of bows and accepted with a small smile, “Thank you that’s very generous.”

The lazy smirk reappeared and the domains ruler sat back down which encouraged his hangers-on to flock back to his side in a rush. A wave of his hand informed Selwyn that he could now do whatever he wished as long as it didn’t piss the elder off and also seemed to dispel the odd stillness that had descended on the entire room.

Now that the formal drama was over with the room’s occupants went back to conversing with one another while a slim female approached the new arrival and beckoned him towards the upper level where everyone who needed to sleep simply snagged an empty pile of pillows and blankets or collapsed on the richly carpeted floor. “I hope you have a safe sleep,” she said with a small half bow before retreating back down to the lower floor.

A quick survey of the room revealed that a corner was open and he rushed on silent feet to fall upon the pillows with a quiet sigh of contentment. This spot managed to satisfy his need to be able to defend himself without anyone being able to sneak up behind him, giving another soft sigh he closed his eyes and watched the deep blackness of sleep descend upon his senses more than willing to slumber deeply for the first time since he’d had the misfortune to meet the asshole who’d sired him.


Miska sighed and wandered away from the entrance to the warehouse, she’d waited outside to make sure that Selwyn would indeed be allowed to rest there from the day, had she been permitted to step inside she would have gone with him to speak with Gavin; however, the vampire had long since banned her from his domain, claiming that she simply caused too much trouble for him. ‘I don’t see why he says that, I haven’t so much as said ‘boo’ to Ancel in a decade or so,’ the annoyed thought crossed her mind and had she been in her feline form her tail would have swished with her ire.

“Miska,” Gavin’s smooth voice sounded from behind her and she had to control her impulse to jump in surprise.

She settled for whirling about with a glare that would most likely have slain a mortal or lesser immortal, but in the case of this particular vampire it merely caused his smirk to widen in amusement. “Gavin,” her tone conveyed the fact that she was not even slightly amused and her next words confirmed that fact. “How many times do I have to tell you don’t fucking do that?!” the demand was growled and also showed all her teeth in a predatory snarl that would have looked more impressive in her panther form.

“Down Kitty Cat,” the unconcerned tone made the female seethe and really wish she could shred the annoying male into a million itty bitty pieces before she lit him on fire…or after she lit him on fire…whichever was more painful.

Silence descended upon the two of them as they stood staring out into the early morning simply breathing in the presence of each other as they were wrapped up in their own thoughts. After a while the snap and hiss of a lighter intruded on the quiet and Gavin took a nearly soundless drag on a cigarette he had produced from somewhere on his person. As he blew the smoke from his nose he wordlessly offered his shifter companion an unlit cig and the lighter both of which she took gratefully and soon more smoke encased the two.

Despite the hostility they often displayed towards one another they were very close, rather like a pair of siblings who couldn’t admit that they were fond of each other on a daily basis, but who could often be seen sharing contemplative moments. Their friendly animosity was considered a complete ruse by those who had happened upon them during these cease fires, and was never as malicious and bloody as the feud Kazan had with the panther shifter.

“Do you suppose Ancel knows yet?” Miska’s question shattered the stillness as they smoked, she was careful to keep her tone neutral, because while most supernatural creatures were heading off to sleep for the day or already doing so there were still the odd balls that stayed awake during a large portion of the day. The last thing either of them wanted was to be overheard by one of the spies who were more than happy to report back any sort of dissent to Cascade’s master vampire.

“He most likely knew before any of us even sensed the presence of a new vampire in the city, after all he is the most powerful master here,” Gavin’s reply was just as bland as hers though he had a bit of trouble keeping the envy from his tone, not that one would be able to tell unless they knew him extremely well. “But I suppose the question you really wanted to ask was whether or not he’d summoned him just yet,” he gave the female a pointed look that said she shouldn’t play word games so close to him going to sleep.

“Yeah, I was rather wondering that,” she gave an unrepentant shrug and puffed on her cig with the nonchalance that was typical of her at such moments. She also wanted to know whether or not Gavin would simply hand Selwyn over to the territory master without so much as a peep of protest.

“I don’t think he has yet, after all had he demanded to see Selwyn our little puppy wouldn’t be nearly so calm…no matter how much weed he put in his system,” the reply was given calmly as the male ground the butt of his cig out on the pavement. He turned to go back inside but paused at the door, “You should go tell Bronwren he’s here, after all he is her cub,” with that he disappeared through the door leaving Miska’s question unspoken in her mind.

She gave a sigh and also put out her cigarette before effortlessly shifting into her panther form so she could make better time to the den she shared with her snow leopard best friend/lover. ‘Well Pup, I sure hope that you manage to have a little bit more peace before Ancel seeks you out,’ her thoughts were extremely melancholy and she shook her head to clear it before bounding off and away from the waking city.


Ancel sighed and put down his pen to look over the six page letter/report he had written to his sire, after all it would not do to forget something that might be of interest to the older master; however, upon finding that he hadn't left anything important out he carefully folded the pages and placed them in an envelope that he then closed and stamped with his seal. 'Finally I can relax and hopefully get some sleep today,' the thought held the typical weariness of someone who held five territories and advised seven other rulers; not to mention the fact that he trained several pets at one time. Truth be told he preferred training the pets to running his territories and giving others advice, but he had an obligation as a master to try and control the younger vampires and the shifter population...at least a little bit anyway.

The door to his study opened with a nearly soundless creak of rusty hinges and Kazan entered though he was still in his wolf form, most likely because he was as tired as the vampire. Being the alpha for Cascade had a tendency to wear on the Werewolf on the best of days and on the worst of days it wiped him out. Nonetheless he still managed to look like the proud, barely tamed lupine that he was. He gave a disapproving glare at the vampire and the fact that he had yet to seek his bed like the rest of Undead in the city who had long since gone to sleep.

Ancel managed to ignore the glare as he stood with a bare suppressed groan, since even his body objected to sitting at a desk nearly all night long, and walked towards the open door with his usual grace. "Long night, Kazan?" the fact that his question was so mild gave way exactly how tired he really was and it increased the glare.

"Not nearly as long as yours and I know for a fact that you were still up at noon yesterday," his mental answer was terse. Normally Kazan didn't let the worry the blood-bond created whenever his vampire did something stupid; however, lately it had been nagging more than it usually did and he was having a hard time keeping it hidden...Besides it would do neither of them any good should Ancel make a stupid mistake because he was sleep deprived. "Go to bed or I'm going to sic Chaos on you," the threat was growled and it gave him a certain amount of satisfaction to see the other blanch despite the glower of warning his tone got him. He was well aware that if his master didn't value him as much as he did then he'd have gotten in deep shit for daring to give an order, but he was considered much higher in standing than the other pets and slaves so he was safe. Maybe.

"Fine, fine. Let's go to bed, I'll sleep as soon as you do," Ancel consented but added an ultimatum, after all he knew for a fact that his wolf had gotten even less rest than he had for the past week or so. Blue wolf eyes met his in a challenge that stated his bonded was not worried about himself and also didn't think that he needed rest. 'Still acting like a foolish puppy,' the thought held annoyed amusement but he allowed none of it to show as he narrowed his eyes still further. "Kazan," a silky smooth threat that made the other huff a sigh and lower his head in defeat, "Good boy," ignoring the snarl that got him he headed out of the study and towards his chambers the black wolf padding silently along at his side.


A/N: Gah another cutish chapter...hopefully I'll manage something more racy soon. Sorry about this I seem to be having a bit of trouble. Review please!