Shattered.

The wind picked up for a brief moment, carrying with it dirt, smoke, and the unmistakable scent of fresh blood. A howl shot up into the night, a howl full of pain and confusion. What had once been a somewhat peaceful castle now housed several small fires and corpses. Even the beautiful green courtyard was stained red in several patches. That was where he lay, bare bloodied body curled into a fetal position. An arrow had pierced his back, luckily not piercing anything very important.

The full moon was covered by the clouds, and it gave his quivering body a small sense of relief. It was hard to believe that a few hours prior to now he’d been eating in the grand dining hall with his father, the lord of the castle. He bit his bottom lip at the thought. “Father..” he whispered in a shaky voice. His father was now laying in the throne room, lifeless eyes staring towards the heavens while his murderer, his own son, tried to absorb what had happened.

He was young, mid twenties at the latest, and it showed. Nite’s eyes, once blue, had began to change into a beautiful gold the nearer midnight grew. His hair, once the most beautiful, palest shade of blond, had lightened to a pure shade of ivory. Had it not been for the blood, he would’ve been gorgeous, hell, he still was, but it was too horrible of a scene to think about his beautiful build and facial features. Not that there was anyone to even realize he was there.. They were all dead, from the highest knight to the lowest maid. No one had believed he’d been bitten by a werewolf; even he, the victim of the bite, had been skeptical. They’d all been wrong, a fact that made itself clear as the moon broke free of the cloud cover again.

He cried out, writhing and squirming in the grass as his flesh tore open to release his animal form. He was at least seven feet tall with the thickest, softest white fur, not that anyone would get close enough to see, not anyone that reeked of humans. He snarled, bending over the fountain and staring into the water. The eyes that stared back clearly angered him as he violently slashed at the water, sharp talons cutting at the stone beneath the liquid. His head hurt and he couldn't control his new curse. Nite was just a pup, and his first transformation couldn't have gone worse. He'd killed everyone he'd ever known in only hours.. or at least, he'd thought so, until another arrow whizzed through the air and pierced his hide. He yelped, though in an instant had leaped upon the castle guard, ripping his throat out with a snarl.

Blood. The life-force of a vampire, in more ways then one. Thus, it was only natural that the heightened senses of such a creature could smell it from some distance away, especially a large quantity of fresh blood that had just been spilled, likely in a very violent manner.
Taebien Hart had long been smelling blood, though the source had initially been unknown. He had been hoping that perhaps a band of rogue or thieves had been murdered, but the closer he got to the castle on the horizon, the more he knew that it was the source of such a wonderful smell, that left him wanting a bite to eat.
"Come, Shadowmare, faster," he demanded, giving the reigns a flick, the black creature hastily picked up her pace, large hooves galloping across the well beaten path, carrying her master towards the no doubt horrible scene ahead. Even she, a horse, knew that something more certainly was not right.
Once near the castle, Taebien wasted no time halting his horse, nor did he waste any time hiding her amongst some trees. He did not tie her. He knew she would stay put, unless something attacked her, and God help anything that was stupid enough to.
From there, the vampire traveled alone, entering the courtyard and finding most of the guards laying on the ground, bloodied and dead. He glared around, wondering what had been able to kill so many men. Clearly, they hadn't been invaded or enemies would be laying around as well.
In fact, they seemed as though they had been mauled by something.
In the distance, he heard a yelp, and did not hesitate to draw his sword as he ran towards the source, wondering what, if anything, was left alive.

Nite gripped one of the arrows in his fur covered hand, attempting a soft pull. It hurt too badly to pull out so instead he eyed the man that had hurt him. Even though he was already dead, the violent beast hoisted him up and hurled him at one of the stone walls. The cracking bones made his snicker, a snort of pleasure slipping past his pink muzzle.

His ears perked as he heard movement and he turned his head, catching the scent of something other than these humans. Something just as unnatural as he was. That something was also wielding metal. His lips curled back and he growled in warning, going down on all fours and glaring into the night as he searched for the intruder. There was no heartbeat for him to catch onto, and he still wasn’t used to all of his heightened senses.

He did, however, know where the man’s horse was, though he wouldn’t bother with it. The being with the weapons was more of a concern, even to a confused if not dim witted young beast. Nite growled again, lurching to perch himself on a statue and survey the courtyard. His sharp claws dug into the stone and his hackles rose, giving him even more of a startling appearance. The poor thing was scared on the inside, though considering the circumstances what humanity he had left had been set back to merely watch his own handy work. He was lost, for now.

Taebien's vampiric eyes dilated as they followed the werewolf's actions carefully. He stepped forwards, slowly stalking towards the open court yard. Why? Because he could. He needn't the upper hand over such a beast, that seemed to act on impulse and nothing else. He was an experienced fighter, and a vampire, at that, so he felt as though he was invincible against such a creature.

Tucking the sword carefully under one arm, he rose both hands to his mouth, stuck each of his pinky fingers in either side of his mouth, and let out a loud, shrill whistle to draw out the dog.

Nite growled, saliva dripping from his muzzle. He eased himself down from the statue, slinking along the outer boundaries of the courtyard. His ears perked again as he heard the whistle. The shrillness of it seemed amplified and it hurt his head more. His golden eyes locked onto the form of the vampire and he quietly made his way towards him, pushed up on his back legs with his large tufted ears tucked back as far as they would lay.

He felt a pang in his chest and paused, biting at the air as if some invisible pest was bothering him. The problem was that the moon was slowly becoming covered up again, and it was making him feel odd. The creature shook his massive head, continuing towards the man who had whistled with aching eyes.

Taebien snorted some as the beast made it's way towards him. He showed no sign of fear, and obviously was no going to. The male licked his lips gingerly, trying to ignore the smell of fresh blood, that made his hunger cry out in hunger.

"C'mon wolf, try to kill me, I dare you," the vampire hissed, sword poised and ready to strike the beast for murdering everyone in the castle.

The male were eyed the vampire, lips still curled back into a snarl. He took a step forward, daring the other in return. Every muscle in his huge body tensed, showing that he was about to pounce, but suddenly he retreated a short way, whimpering. His eyes were on the grass and he stood there wide open, as if wanting Taebien to charge with the sword. He retreated again, and his stiff posture relaxed, The monster went down, returning to his human form and releasing a cry of agony for both his own pain and the murder he had committed.

His shaking fist pounded against the grass and he turned towards Tae. He thought he recognized the man, but he wasn't sure. Wild eyes glowed in the dark, tears filling them to the brim. ".. Kill me.." he breathed. A simple request and easy enough task to carry out.

Taebien stared, growing increasingly disturbed, as the male began to back away, which he did in several rounds, before finally reverting to his human form. He swore he recognized the young man, and as he stepped closer, he realized it to be the son of the king, and not some crazed murderer as he had initially thought.

"What the hell happened?" He asked, brows furrowed as he stepped closer to the laying form. He winced at the young man's request, and sheathed his sword.

The young man's eyes widened as the vampire put the sword away. ".. W... Why did you.. I want you to kill me!" his voice got a bit angry and he covered his ears for a moment. A softer, less aggressive growl escaped him as he lay in the grass. "I.. I was attacked by an animal a few nights ago.. a large dog. No one thought anything of it..." Nite looked away, gagging for a moment. "I killed them all. Every last one of them.."

He grimaced, lightly touching the arrows that poked through his torso. "You.. My father hired you.. Gold.. you can have all our gold if you give me your blade.." The pained creature didn't know what else to do. He felt that he needed to die for what he'd done. Besides, how in the hell was he going to manage to live like this? He was a monster that would no doubt be hunted down once what had happened in the castle was discovered the next day.

"Don't tell me what to do," Taebien said simply, staring down at the young man, he wondered what he should do. He had long vowed to never kill an innocent, he still had nightmare about what had happened the last time he had, and that was entirely an accident.

Slowly, he crouched alongside the werewolf, ignoring his suggestion and offer of gold. "I didn't know you were a werewolf," he commented, narrowing his eyes some. "I couldn't smell it on you, and I would, so tell me, what happened," he demanded, his voice somehow firm, but soft.

".. Please?" he whispered, hanging his head in defeat. So that was it.. Maybe if he toyed with the arrows or found something else he could do it himself. Who was he kidding, he wasn't going to get out of it that easily.

"This is my first moon.." he mumbled. "I was bitten while out on a moonlit ride in the forest.. we all thought it was merely a wild dog. Well, they did.. it takes a lot to knock a man off a horse.." His broken eyes stared at Taebien, realizing only now that this man wasn't scared in the least. ".. What are you?" He inhaled, animal instinct taking over as he tried to figure out the odd scent of the vampire. Nite groaned, laying his head down and trying to think. It hurt.

"No. I wont kill you, I'm a lot a things, but I'm not a murdered," Taebien responded, looking over the human's wounds as he did so.

"I'm a vampire. That's what I am, that's what drew me back here so quickly," he admitted, seeing no harm in telling the downed wolf what he was. "And I've been one for a long, long time."

"That is honorable.. as is the fact that you wouldn't accept the gold for your sword. Who are you, sir?" Nite tilted his head, apparently wanting to know the man's name.

He shifted into a sitting position, hand wrapping around one of the arrows. Finally he managed to snap it, pulling the splintered wood out with a soft groan. "Vampire? I didn't think such a thing existed." The young man leaned in again, sniffing him without realizing it. He wasn't trying to be rude at all. "That's amazing that you've survived.. I would think they would've killed you.. you must be strong." He smiled faintly at the bounty hunter. "I'll likely be executed tomorrow when they find me.. I deserve it though, so I guess it is inevitable."

(I just pictured Nite, either scared or lonely, or both, crawling into Tae's coffin or whatever he sleeps in during the day. XD)

"Taebien Hart. Bounty hunter." He responded, staring down at the man, his chocolate eyes contemplating what he should do with the werewolf.

"A werewolf didn't think a thing such a vampires existed?" He asked, brow arched some, as if to question where exactly the boy's logic was. "They couldn't kill a vampire like me if they tried," he assured, smirking, nearly laughing at the thought. It faded at Nite's words, "You're okay with dying, because of something that is not your fault? Boy, they died by your body, but not by your hand, if you can make any sense of that."

(Nice. XD)

"It is good to meet you, though I wish it wasn't like this..." Gold moved to meet chocolate and he couldn't help but glance downwards.

".. I haven't been a werewolf for long." he stated, struggling not to snap. He looked away for a moment, taking a deep, somewhat shaky breath. "Have they ever tried?" Nite sat on his ass, oblivious to the fact that he was naked. It probably wouldn't have bothered him anyways, he had far on his mind. The were broke the other arrow, pulling it out with another groan as blood began to ooze from the wound. "It was still me, mister Hart.. I watched it happen.. I was there, and that alone makes me feel that it is on my shoulders. Besides, I have nothing left here. No one left.. I'm alone in this world now." He shrugged softly, looking towards the nearby fountain. The young man pushed himself onto wobbly though strong legs, easing himself towards the water. He sat on the edge and began to clean himself just to pass some time.

(XD I know, right? I thought it was cute.)

"Of course they've tried, they try whenever they figure out what I am, if they haven't heard of me, that is," he pointed out, still hovering over the werewolf as he did so. "It's not the same, kid, trust me when I say I know how it feels to lose control. Been there, done that, but you can't let it run your life... Chasing ghosts is an awful way to live..." He muttered, more so to himself then to the werewolf.

When the werewolf moved for the water, he briefly feared the male would attempt to drown himself. He eased up slightly when he realized it just wished to rinse the blood from his body.

(xD

When need to decide when his thing with Kai was...

Is Nite naked? xD)

"I'm sorry.." he mumbled, splashing more water over himself. He looked a lot better with even just a little washing. The kid was willing to listen, but he didn't know what to say. That was just it, he was pretty much a kid. "Mister Hart, I'm sorry that I'm asking you so many questions.. but.. do you get lonely living the way you do?" He tilted his head with s soft frown, eyes full of curiosity.

He looked up, making sure that the moon wasn't peeping through the clouds in the slightest. Thank God.. "You'll probably have to leave soon, won't you..? I'm sure you have to go somewhere dark for the day.."

(xDD

We do. :C And Idk how long Nite loved Tae before they did something about it either. xD I can imagine Nite struggling with his own feelings and trying to comfort Tae when he and Kai split, but then again, I dunno why they split. XD Idk.

Yes. xD)

Taebien eyed the young man, shrugging a little at his question, "You kinda get used to it, but... I don't really have anyone, anyways, and even if I did, my lifestyle would put them at risk," he pointed out, shrugging his shoulders a little, as he gave a soft sigh.

"It doesn't bother me so much anymore." He concluded, slowly looking to the sky as the male spoke. "You're right. I should find someplace to sleep, soon." He commented, straightening himself up as he did so.

(Sometimes, shit just doesn't work out, is all. XD)

"I'm sorry to hear that.." he said softly, looking to his feet. "I'd think some kind of creature that's a bit like you would make good company." He was hinting, but he was a bit reluctant seeing as he didn't know how the bounty hunter would react. The werewolf couldn't help but frown faintly at the faint sadness that he detected. It made him feel bad.

"That's good, but I'm sorry you're alone.. I hope I can get used to it too.." he mumbled, a small pout tugging at the corners of his lips.



(This is true. XD
Ooohh I have an idea, Kai can come in as Nite's starting to realize he likes Taebien?)

Taebien nodded some, getting the idea what the other man wanted, but, at the same time believing that he would just put Nite's life in further danger. He spun around, as though he were about to walk away, though paused a few moments. He remained silent, brows furrowed at the darkness, which was growing shorter with every second that ticked by.

Taebien began to walk away, though paused to peer back at Nite, "Are you coming or what?" He asked, brow arched slightly, "If I stay out here much longer I'll catch my death."

(Sures. xD)

Nite grinned, nodding softly. "Thank you, mister Hart." he stated as he sped after the vampire. He was so excited he didn't even think that there may be things required of him in return for the ability to have some companionship. Hm.

(Lame, lol, when shall we ff to?)

( (:
I was also thinking that Nite could see his fiance when he's out and about. Try to talk to her and such, but she's with another dude and she could like spit on him because he looks all peasant like.. That'd make him pretty mad at women rofl. I dunno. My brain's actually working.)

(I dunno, anything else you want in their history or whatever?

I just realized the flaw to the plan - Tae has kids a couple hundred years down the road. XD

But, I figure, if we wanted to do this, I could use it to kill off Trowa and Tala, whom are kinda boring as well, but Treize could have been made in a surrogate mother or whatevs and raised by Nite and Kai.

Yeah, sure, that sounds like a good idea. ^^)

(Hm, just a couple episodes where Nite shows his feelings towards Taebien, maybe a couple times where they save each other's asses(Maybe literally LOL.).. uhh, yeah I dunno. Anything you had in mind? And of course some of the amazing times that they had together.

Oops. XDD

Wait, Nite and Tae or Kai and Tae? Because if it was Kai he would soo not be fucking him. He's sick but not that sick lol. XD

Mmk. :3)

(I didn't have anything in mind. Maybe we can do the NIte crawling into the coffin thing? XD

Ah fuck. Nite and Tae I meant. Nite and Kai never even hooked up as far as I know. XD

Plus, it means that Natrix didn't knock Trowa up and had somewhat of a chance of being saved. XD)

(Mmk. :3 Hehe. I'll have to post first, huh? o:

XD I doubt it. Nite wouldn't ever betray Tae like that.

Hallelujah! XD)

(Well, yeah, Tae is sleeping. XD

Aw. ^^

XD)

( *types*

He's quite loyal, unless someone fucks with his head. But then it's not his fault. xD)

Drip.. Drip.. Drip.. He could hear the water, somewhere in the underground area where Tae was sleeping. Damn his hearing. Damn his feeling all alone in the dark. He pouted, beginning to pace, The damp earth under his feet sounded rather squishy and it bothered him just a bit. Then again, he was merely bored, lonely, and very impatient. He was, after all, still a kid.

The werewolf released a soft whimper, sitting on a huge root for a few moments while he stared at the coffin his master slept in. His eyes, the puppy dog eyes, seemed to plead through the wood, asking Taebien to wake up already. It was stupid, seeing as it wasn't near time for the vampire to awaken. "Why am I so antsy.." he asked himself, slowly unbuttoning his shirt and draping it over the exposed root beside himself. It was awfully humid underground..

Now that his shirt was off it was obvious how strong he'd become since partnering with the bounty hunter. He enjoyed the work too, which was even better. Nite brought a hand through his messy white hair, jumping a bit as he heard what was likely just a pebble falling from the wall or something. A soft sniff was all it took to disprove his theory. He growled, stomping off in a fluster that was caused by the smell of a human with foul intentions.

A few minutes later he returned, smudged and a triumphant grin on his handsome face. Needless to say, Tae would have a meal when he awoke. The werewolf used his shirt to wipe himself off before pouting again. He was lonely and a bit on edge thanks to one person. He cast another glance to the coffin, licking his lips in longing. Surely Taebien wouldn't mind a little warm company. A meat shield in case anyone showed up with stakes? Hell, he'd be out before Tae woke up, he figured. And he'd lusted for the bounty hunter for a while now. Just laying with him wasn't going to hurt anything was it?

He sighed, easing his large frame towards the coffin, which he opened cautiously. He was indeed asleep, which brought a smile to the were's face as he leaned in to gently kiss his cheek before crawling in with his master. he nested down against the vampire with a faint smile, shutting the lid on top of them.

(Lame, sorry. A bit rushed and unplanned lol. :C )

Once the lid was replaced, vampiric eyes flashed open, turning to the form that was now laying with him, which he, of course recognized at Nite, even in the bitter darkness. In his sleep, he was always more or less aware of what was going on around him, living alone for so long had made him paranoid, so he still slept lightly, even as long as Nite had been traveling with him.

"Did something startle you?" His soft voice finally asked, as to not startled the young wolf, though he was sure that perhaps the man would be embarrassed, though that hardly bothered Taebien.

(S'okay. ^^)

That had been easy enough. This closeness was nice too, even though Taebien would protest if he were awake, he thought. He'd shut his eyes and managed to relax a bit before the soft voice was amplified in the small space.

Nite tensed up, blood rushing to his cheeks. He wanted to smack himself in the face. "Err.." he whispered, praying that Tae hadn't realized he'd kissed him. "Someone came down here. I took care of them though, and I have them bound and gagged for you if you're hungry when nightfall comes.. I just got worried.. I.." He turned his head some, trying to calm his quivering body. "I'm sorry.. I should get out, shouldn't I, master?" he brought his hands up, about to push the lid open again. Nite, you're such a dunce.. he scolded himself in his mind.

(^__^)

"You didn't think you could just climb in here without me knowing, did you?" The vampire softly asked, sounding incredibly amused as he did so. "I'd have died long ago if I slept that heavy," he chuckled, turning his eyes slowly to Nite, whom he was now incredibly curious about.

"What makes you feel any better in here, then out there, where you can see anything?" He then went on to ask, not bothering to tell the man to get out of his coffin. It had been a lifetime since he had anyone laying with him, after all. A warm body against his cold flesh, made him smirk a little.